FICO Partners with AAMU, Morehouse, Delaware State, Bowie State for Fall 2025 semester

Global analytics software leader FICO announced its FICO® Educational Analytics Challenge is returning for a third year this Fall ’25-Spring ’26 school year to cultivate the next generation of data scientists from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) nationwide. The semester-long program will provide aspiring data scientists with a real-world problem to solve using data and AI. FICO’s Chief Analytics Officer, Dr. Scott Zoldi, and his team of industry data scientists will spearhead the program, provide weekly lectures, and mentor the students along the way.

“FICO played a pivotal role in supporting our university to introduce a newly approved Data Science minor,” said Dr. Zhengtao Deng, Dean of the College of Engineering at Alabama A&M University. “Our students are bright, motivated, and many are aspiring data scientists. We are excited to welcome back the Analytics Challenge and to provide our students with this unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience working alongside industry data scientists and exploring real-world applications of AI.”

FICO is proud to partner with Bowie State University, Delaware State University, Morehouse College, and Alabama A&M University for the Fall 2025 semester. The Analytics Challenge presents a new challenge annually.  This year's focus emphasizes addressing authentic business problems through custom AI language model systems. The challenge is designed to show students how AI, LLMs and chatbots work and how they are trained. The course covers the underlying mechanisms of neural networks, transformers, large language models, and FICO’s focused language model approach. 

“Over the past few years, FICO has collaborated with hundreds of students and faculty through the Analytics Challenge,” said Dr. Zoldi. “Inspiring the next generation of data scientists is just one component of the program. At FICO, we're committed to educating students on the responsible use of AI and look forward to guiding them as they develop their own GenAI-focused language models. These students are not only gaining valuable industry experience, but also exploring the paths that will help them achieve their future goals”

The Analytics Challenge allows students with data science, engineering, and technology backgrounds to improve their AI skills. The challenge also provides financial support to enhance analytics study for each participating university and students, as well as offers resources to learn more about internship opportunities for student participants. FICO is a proud participant in the HBCU Partnership Challenge, an initiative of the Bipartisan Historically Black Colleges and Universities Caucus, led by Congresswoman Alma Adams and Congressman French Hill.

To learn more about the FICO Educational Analytics Challenge, including how to get involved, visit: https://www.fico.com/en/feac