State Farm Research Center

The State Farm Research Center opened in January 2005 at the University of Illinois’ Research Park. State Farm has been involved in academic programming, student assistance and research at U of I for over 35 years, but this facility allows for a captive audience of college interns working on projects to benefit the company as a whole while students get to apply what they learn in class to real business problems. [ [http://www.sfresearchcenter.com/index.htm State Farm Research Center] ]

Departments and Majors

The Research Center (RC) is located about convert|50|mi|km from State Farm’s Corporate Headquarters making it easy to communicate back and forth on projects. This location allows State Farm associates to interact with the campus community and provide real-world education opportunities to students. [ [http://www.researchpark.uiuc.edu/resources/tenantprofiles/?ID=57 University of Illinois Research Park] ] [ [http://www.statefarm.com/about/careers/career_areas/plan_research.asp State Farm] ] The Research Center houses five main departments or areas. The Strategic Resources department works with corporate research functions, Systems works with information technology and Actuary works with pricing insurance. [ [https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ro/www/ActuarialScienceClub/state_farm_research_center.htm University of Illinois Actuarial Science Club] ]

The Research Center hires University of Illinois students for fall, spring and summer internships from a variety of majors and backgrounds. The Research Center started with 16 interns and four full-time staff members [ Arney, Steve (2004, November 30). “Insurer gains partner at U of I”. The Pantagraph] , but has expanded to house up to 70 interns and 14 full-time staff [ [http://sfresearchcenter.com/interns_staff.htm State Farm Research Center] ] . Some of the majors that have been employed at the RC are Computer Science, Accountancy, Engineering, Actuarial Science, Mathematics, Finance, Economics, Media Studies, Speech Communication, Advertising, Marketing, Business Administration, Urban Planning, Political Science and Psychology. The Research Center is always looking to expand into new areas as well. The Research Center paid internship runs part-time at about 10-15 hours/week during the fall and spring semesters and full-time in the summer.

Expansion

In 2006, the Research Center facility doubled in size, to nearly convert|6000|sqft|m2 [ Miller, Scott (2006, February 18). “State Farm increases commitment to research at U of I”. The Pantagraph, A14] . 2007 saw more growth as the Center for Consumer Feedback opened adding another convert|3400|sqft|m2. [ [http://www.sfresearchcenter.com/aboutus/history.htm State Farm Research Center] ]

In January 2007, State Farm was announced as a Private Sector Partner for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) located at U of I. [ [http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/News/07/0126NCSAadds.html NCSA] ] Interns began working Research Center internships located at NCSA the following summer and continue on today.

MAGNet

Students have an opportunity to apply analytical skills to State Farm business issues through MAGNet, short for the Modeling and Analytic Graduate Network. Students in MAGNet are expected to enroll in a new master’s curriculum created via a relationship between State Farm and the U of I’s Statistics Department. MAGNet is similar to a 50% graduate assistantship as students work at the Research Center 20 hours per week during academic semesters and receive a pay rate similar to that of graduate assistants at the university. Students are also offered tuition assistance while working in MAGNet. Those staying on in the summer will work full time and receive higher pay. Interested students apply in the fall of their senior year and begin work the summer before their graduate program begins. [http://www.stat.uiuc.edu/MagnetBrief.pdf]

Center for Consumer Feedback

Another portion of the Research Center is the Center for Consumer Feedback (CCF). This part of the Research Center mostly hires students or community members on a part-time basis and not as part of an internship. The CCF is said to be one of the most state-of-the-art outbound call facilities in the country. The center collects consumer research via phone and online surveys. Hiring processes for the CCF are conducted through Spherion (spherioncareers.com). [ [http://www.sfresearchcenter.com/opportunities.htm# State Farm Research Center] ]

Recognition

Computerworld selected State Farm as one of the top 100 workplaces for information technology (IT) professionals in its 2008 rankings. Research completed at the Research Center is cited as one of the major reasons to work there.

This year's rankings were based on a comprehensive questionnaire regarding company offerings in categories such as benefits, diversity, career development, training, and retention. In addition to this year’s company portion of the survey, Computerworld randomly surveyed employees to collect data on employee satisfaction with management, benefits, workplace culture, compensation, and job duties. [ [http://www.computerworld.com/spring/bp/detail/67 Computerworld Article.] ]

This is the second year in a row State Farm has been named in these rankings.

References

External links

* [http://sfresearchcenter.com/ State Farm Research Center]
* [http://www.statefarm.com State Farm]
* [http://www.statefarm.com/bank/bank.asp State Farm Bank]
* [http://researchpark.uiuc.edu/ Research Park at the University of Illinois]