Using big data to solve real problems through academic and industry partnerships

Big data has revolutionized a number of industries as it provides a powerful tool for asking and answering questions in novel ways. Academic researchers can join this trend and use immense and complex datasets to explore previously intractable questions. Yet, accessing and analyzing big data can be difficult. The goal of this chapter is to outline various benefits and challenges of using big data for academic purposes, and to provide thoughts on how to succeed. The primary suggestion is for academics to collaborate with appropriate industry partners to simultaneously achieve both theoretical and practical advances.