Smart Data Solutions Celebrates Grand Opening, Highlights University Partnership
Minnesota-based Smart Data Solutions (SDS) recently celebrated its grand opening in North Texas with community members including faculty, students and staff from The University of Texas at Dallas. The Eagan, Minnesota company, which has eight global offices, focuses on healthcare optimization. SDS added its Plano location in part to further existing partnerships with UT Dallas.
“Companies such as Smart Data Solutions enhance the relevance of our educational experience and then provide our graduates with opportunities to secure high-tech jobs,” said Dr. Stephanie G. Adams, dean of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science and holder of the Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair at UT Dallas. “By becoming physical neighbors, our partnerships with SDS can expand opportunities for students and flourish into new areas of research with faculty members.”
That partnership between the Jonsson School and SDS currently encompasses recruiting at career fairs, SDS service on an advisory board and sponsorship of two UTDesign® Capstone groups, teams of upper-level engineering or computer science students who solve problems for outside companies for course credit. The bachelor’s degree program in computer science is the second largest in the nation, according to the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).
Dozens of Jonsson School faculty, staff and students attended the May 1st grand opening, with the pair of SDS-sponsored UTDesign teams demonstrating their work. Event speakers included Adams, who is also a Jonsson School professor of systems engineering; Mark Israelson, city manager for the City of Plano; Shashi Yadiki, SDS chief executive officer, and UT Dallas student Victoria Friedhoff. Adams, Israelson and Yadiki formally opened the office with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“We are thrilled to launch our new Center of Engineering and Technology in Plano, tapping into the vibrant AI and tech talent in Texas,” Yadiki said. “This extends our existing relationship with UTD for research, talent and collaboration in AI and automation in healthcare. As a high-growth company focused on healthcare process automation, this center is a key step in driving our mission forward to better support our clients.”
Adams, who also resides in Plano, welcomed SDS to the business community and emphasized the University’s strong ties to industry since its inception in the late 1960s.
“UT Dallas was created by the founders of Texas Instruments, so that puts us in unique air,” she said. “Innovation and research are in our DNA. We started as the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, and 65 percent of our alums stay in the DFW area.”
The UTDesign Capstone teams and faculty sponsors also met with SDS employees and community leaders to display and discuss their work. The two spring 2024 student teams comprised of software engineering or computer science students were led by Dr. Jalal Omer, associate professor of instruction in computer science, and Dr. Yi Zhao, assistant professor of instruction in computer science, and SDS mentors were Stephanie Edwards, legal counsel, and Patrick Bores, chief technology officer.
The Healthcare Correspondence LLM team created an assistant for hospitals or healthcare facilities to quickly filter patient data, and students included senior computer science majors Jonathan Asplund, Miguel Gebremedhin, Ethan Gonzalez, Ari Hu, Hyeongjin Joo and Thien Nguyen. The AI Powered Legal Contract Capture team worked on an AI model to help care providers track contracts to streamline the process, and students included Camden Alpert, Jonas Ellington, Diego Mallen, Gabriella Miani and Wenjun Wang, all computer science seniors; and Kayla Tucker, a software engineering student.
Rod Wetterskog, assistant dean of corporate relations for the Jonsson School, has collaborated extensively with Jonsson School executive council chairman and Computer Science Advisory Board member Kris Fitzgerald on the SDS-UTD partnership and happily connected student teams with the company. Fitzgerald, a retired NTT DATA chief technology officer, now consults for SDS.
“Kris is the reason we’ve engaged with high-tech company Smart Data Solutions,” Wetterskog said.”He facilitated an introductory meeting with SDS leadership for a UTDesign tour and review of our research capabilities. His ability to ideate, collaborate and dream big led SDS to host a tech talk for our students, hire a UT Dallas student as an intern, enter into discussions about advanced research topics and sponsor two CS capstone projects.
“The students did so well in their capstone projects that several are being invited to consider SDS internship or full-time positions. Kris mentored the students, SDS leadership and us to form a very strong collaboration.”
The SDS mentors helped students throughout the capstone process and introduced them to industry standard tools.
“They’ve been great,” Miani, of the AI-Powered Legal Contract Capture team, said. “They’ve been providing tools that we probably wouldn’t have access to otherwise. They’ve been really helpful explaining things that we’re not familiar with, like contracts, for example. They’ve simplified that whole process of defining what they’re looking for.”
The projects also gave SDS insight about how students approach novel problems, which can help with sourcing new talent.
Dr. Stephanie G. Adams, Jonsson School dean (center left), meets with the UTDesign Healthcare Correspondence LLM student team led by Dr. Yi Zhao (center right).
“We wanted to be able to help people answer questions but in a streamlined way,” Gibremedhin, of the Healthcare Correspondence team, said. “I think the language used to describe the projects was ‘experimental design,’ so that’s [what] we’re doing. We’re still in the process of fleshing that out.”
University leaders look forward to a continued partnership, particularly because of SDS’s interest in working directly with student groups. Adams and others also noted the SDS office’s ability to inspire, noting employees have ample access to windows and natural light.
Adams observed, “The space breeds creativity and collaboration. We are open to the best ideas wherever they come from. I join the city manager and others in welcoming SDS to the City of Plano.”