CHENNAI: The American Express Data Analytics, Risk and Technology
(DART) Laboratory was inaugurated at Indian Institute of Technology
Madras (IIT-M) on Thursday.
The lab aims at positioning itself as a hub of research in risk analytics and
behavioural sciences by leveraging machine learning/artificial intelligence
(ML/AI) and related technologies.
The lab has been established utilising an undisclosed amount of grant
from American Express. The financial giant has also instituted annual
scholarships for economically disadvantaged and meritorious students.
The scholarships include Ambition Awards for deserving women students
at IIT-M.

DART would focus on risks that originate from human behaviour and decisions. The goal of the lab is to best manage risk by developing a "science-based understanding of humans strengths and weaknesses." It will develop technologies to measure the cognition and attention of the decision-makers and prevent potential accidents in
high-risk industries.

It will also build talent for industry by partnering with academia and findings, research, algorithms and tools from the lab will be publicly available to be used for government collaborations and education advancements. "We are proud to partner with the countrys premier academic institution to invest in the future of cutting-edge data science and analytics research. We are also thrilled to announce Ambition scholarships and awards for meritorious women students that underlines our focus on fostering diverse talent," Manoj Adlakha, senior vice-president and CEO, American Express Banking Corp., India, said.

The scholarships and awards will encourage our women students to excel in STEM and pursue enriching careers at the postgraduate level. We look forward to continued support from American Express for growing these efforts in the coming years," Bhaskar Ramamurthi, director, IIT Madras, said.