Academics / Undergraduate ProgramClient Project Challenge
The process of working on projects for external clients is essential to the IEMS undergraduate curriculum. Each year we look for projects for students to work on in the fall and spring quarters.
Do you have a project you would like our students to work on?
Important dates for our clients for the Spring 2025 projects
Opportunities to work with IEMS and NU Engineering
Data Engineering and Forecasting Book Sales
The project's goal was to develop a forecast of new book sales based on industry sales databases (like BookScan) and Blackstone’s internal data. To support the forecast, the team had to help with the data engineering and building data pipelines to maintain the data.
Warehouse Picking Algorithms and Multiple Objectives
A picking algorithm can drive efficiencies in a large-scale warehouse. However, the algorithm must consider different constraints, objectives, and the impact on other operations.
When to replace IT assets?
A student team worked with the Coca-Cola Consolidated IT team to determine the best time to replace IT assets like laptops, desktops, and iPads.
Using a CPC Team as Consultants
A quote highlighting the value of CPC team.
Supply Chain Optimization: Routing and Inventory
Decisions on how frequently you ship impacts the inventory you need to store.
A Forecasting App for Class Size
Northwestern's Office of the Registrar assigns courses to classrooms. Since available classroom space is always tight, having better forecasts for each course will help.
Northwestern University Logistics Assessment
CPC team completes an assessment of the current and future state of Northwestern's Evanston campus material logistics programming.
A CPC project can be a great way for alums to connect back to NU's IEMS program
An alum from Northwestern's IEMS class of 2015 works again with a CPC team.
A Deeper Understanding of College Graduation Rates Based on High School Data
Cristo Rey St. Martin (CRSM) wanted to look at more than just ACT scores to predict the college graduations of their students. This helps with admissions to college and creating support plans for the students.
Warehouse Capacity Dashboard to Long-term Forecasting
JR286 wanted to understand warehouse capacity. They wanted a daily capacity dashboard as well as a long-term forecast to understand when they might run out of space.
Staff Scheduling and Strategic Planning at a Local Non-Profit
Staff scheduling is important to help BHGH satisfy their mission: “To nurture and guide motivated young people in extreme need to become college-educated, career-ready, community-minded men and women for others.”
Improving service level by optimizing safety stock in a space-constrained environment
USG wanted to evaluate the current safety stock strategy and identify opportunities to improve service levels in a space-constrained environment.
Simulating Turnaround Time to Get Rooms Ready for the Next Patient
An operational challenge at any hospital is to prepare a room for the next patient. The faster this can be done, the better. However, it is not just about cleaning time, system congestion can mean that it may take a long time for the cleaning crew to even get to a room.
Introduction of Electric-Powered Campus Shuttles at Northwestern University
In switching from a diesel to electric-powered bus system, fleet sizes must satisfy demand with the additional incorporation of on-route charging stations.
Mixed Bag Optimization for Ferrara Candy Company
A candy company aimed to fill mixed bags by piece count and weight requirements, but needed a flexible marketing tool to prevent overfilled candy bags.
Redesigning the Geographical Territories for UPS Chicago
Lengthy travel times and high package volumes led UPS Chicago to improve methods of customer-hub assignment pairings.
Identifying Sentencing Biases in the Illinois Court System
With limited data on the Illinois judiciary, a comprehensive data set was required to encourage accountability among judges and eliminate potential sentencing bias.
Optimizing Scheduling of the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at Lurie Children’s Hospital
Lurie Children's Hospital aimed to improve patient processing in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, but needed a way to account for bed utilization and waitlisted appointments.
Automated Scheduling Platform for Attea Middle School
Highly personalized student schedules led a local middle school to streamline the complex process of student scheduling.
Inventory Management for Penda Health
A health company wanted insight into their inventory management to reduce lost revenue and improve patient experience.
Bank of America Chicago Marathon Medical Volunteer Allocation Handbook
Efficient staffing of medical volunteer locations throughout the Chicago Marathon is imperative in the event of an emergency.
Feasibility Study for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Evanston, Illinois
The City of Evanston looked to encourage electric vehicles with charging stations, but needed an implementation strategy.
City of Evanston Bicycle Rack Distribution Analysis
Bike parking at inconvenient locations led the City of Evanston to search for a better bike rack distribution.
Evaluating Fire Resiliency in Evanston, IL
American Red Cross aimed to assist those who need disaster relief with better models to improve disaster preparedness and resiliency.