About the role#
The Tarkington Business Futures Institute is looking for Student Research Fellows to join our team. You will help develop our public AI-powered market research dashboard. This platform combines real survey and economic data with AI-generated synthetic research to support forecasting and business decision-making. Fellows work alongside faculty to translate research into public dialogue while building the operational infrastructure of the institute.
This fellowship is interdisciplinary. You may focus on software engineering and AI development or applied market research and business analytics. We do not expect prior experience in every area.
What you'll do#
Fellows contribute to the institute through two primary tracks:
- Engineering & AI Development: Develop and maintain interactive Streamlit dashboards, build automated data pipelines, design synthetic respondent workflows, create customer personas, engineer prompts for LLMs, integrate APIs, evaluate AI model reliability, and automate the ingestion of economic indicators.
- Market Research & Business Analytics: Design surveys and interview guides, conduct segmentation and pricing analyses, apply LLM-assisted coding to customer feedback, synthesize findings, prepare client-ready reports, and support presentations to business partners.
All fellows collaborate to compare synthetic data with real-world survey results, publish regional forecasting indices, participate in meetings with community partners, and identify new data sources for future studies.
What you'll need#
- Current enrollment as an undergraduate or graduate student at Cal Poly Pomona.
- Pursuing a degree in Business Administration, Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Analytics, Marketing, Digital Marketing, Economics, Statistics, or a related field.
- Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
- Initiative and a willingness to learn.
- Professional written and verbal communication skills.
We value experience in Python, Streamlit, Pandas, statistical analysis, survey methods, prompt engineering, LLMs, API integration, and version control. If you have built relevant projects, please share them.
Location & details#
- Location: Pomona, California (On-site).
- Term: Fall 2026, Winter 2027, and Spring 2027.
- Hours: 10 to 15 hours per week, with a maximum of 20 hours per week.
- Compensation: This is a paid position.
About Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises
Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises is a nonprofit organization established in 1966. It operates in the higher education sector and provides services to Cal Poly Pomona. The organization manages dining, college retail, student housing, hospitality, and real estate. Surplus funds from these operations support the university by providing financial and facility resources for students, faculty, and staff.
How to get in at Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises
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