‘Big Data’ project for Admiral and Cardiff

Cardiff University has joined forces with Admiral to work on two Big Data analytics Knowledge Transfer Partnership projects.

Admiral is one of the UK’s largest car insurance providers, with over 11% market share and market-leading financial results.

To be at the forefront of capitalising on Big Data analytics the company  wanted to use the academic ‘know-how’ in analysing the high volumes, variety and velocity of their Big Data and the technological capacity to design and embed a platform which will capture data more effectively.

Working with Dr Pete Burnap, Lecturer at Cardiff School of Computer Science and Informatics, the import of novel methodological knowledge and expertise will be invaluable, enabling Admiral to further enhance their performance, create new products and remain ahead of the market.

Dr Pete Burnap is experienced in both Big Data research and software platform design and technology. He has developed a growing international reputation for “Big Data” analytics in the area of Human and Cyber Security, using applied machine learning and statistical modelling to predict the outcomes of real-world events.

Two Associates have been recruited to manage the projects, a Data Scientist in Scalable Analytics and a Data Scientist in Risk Analytics who will lead on individual projects which will contribute to the overall Big Data Analytical capability sought.

Commenting on the partnership, Daniel Mines, Data Transformation Manager at Admiral Group plc said: “Rapidly advancing consumer technology and the increasingly ‘connected’ world in which we live is changing many traditional industries with insurance being no exception.  Admiral has embraced innovation and this has been key to our success which is why we are looking forward to collaborating with Cardiff University to develop our innovative Telematics product further. Together we will further build our ‘Know How’ in data related technology providing improved experiences for the end customer.”

Dr Pete Burnap: “The Social Data Science Lab has an established track record of methodological innovation and data-driven computational research that addresses significant social safety and security problems. We are very excited to be working with Admiral on the important social and economic problem of providing safer roads and understanding driver risk. The school of Computer Science and Informatics at Cardiff University is nationally recognised for the impact of its research. Interaction with industry is crucial to creating impactful innovation and cutting edge degree programmes. We fully expect this KTP project to enhance and transform risk assessment processes within Admiral and provide the foundation for their cutting edge data science strategy going forward”

For more information about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, visit http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/ktp/