INFORMS members:
Please allow me to share an opportunity with you that may be of interest to you. Syngenta and the INFORMS Analytics Society have announced an early call for entry for the Syngenta Crop Challenge in Analytics. The contest asks the brightest minds to answer the following question: Which soybean seed variety, or mix of up to five varieties with corresponding proportions, are more likely to be chosen by farmers in a growing region? Each entry will be evaluated based on the rigor and validity of the process used to determine which variety or varieties are selected for planting.
We recently announced the inaugural Challenge winners, a team from Stanford University, and the level of participation far exceeded our expectations. Not only are we learning more about how to improve agricultural products, we are also encouraging others to think about important issues like the global food security, often for the first time.
We are planning a series of informational conference calls to be held in the upcoming few months to describe details of upcoming challenge, and invite questions from interested attendees. If you are interested in attending, please respond by email as indicated below.
Deadline for submissions is January 16, 2017 and finalist presentations will take place during the INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics & Operations Research, April 2-4, 2017. More information about the contest may be found by visiting www.ideaconnection.com/syngenta-crop-challenge. We look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you,
Joseph Byrum
Senior R&D and Strategic Marketing Executive in Life Sciences – Global Product Development, Innovation and Delivery
Syngenta
joseph.byrum@syngenta.com
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James Williams
Principal Consultant
FICO
Roseville MN
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