Student Research Fellow - Prof. Yufan Lin - Tarkington Business Future Institute #738648073

Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises Employment Services

ANNOUNCEMENT OF POSITION VACANCY

Position Title: Student Research Fellow

Department: Tarkington Business Futures Institute College of Business Administration Cal Poly Pomona

Reports To: Professor Yufan "Frank" Lin, Tarkington Endowed Faculty Fellow

About the Tarkington Business Futures Institute

The Tarkington Business Futures Institute (TBFI) is a think-and-do tank housed within Cal Poly Pomona's College of Business Administration. The Institute bridges rigorous faculty research with the business leaders, policymakers, and communities shaping Southern California's future through applied research, public engagement, strategic convenings, and multimedia communications.

Student Fellows are integral members of the lnstitute's team, working alongside Faculty Fellows to translate research into meaningful public dialogue while helping build the lnstitute's operational infrastructure and long-term capacity.

SUMMARY: The Student Research Fellow will help develop the lnstitute's public Al-powered market research dashboard-a continuously evolving platform that combines real survey and economic data with Al-generated synthetic research to support forecasting, market analysis, and business decision-making.

Building upon the lnstitute's Neo Smart Living research project-which integrated a 600-person consumer survey with dual large language model (LLM) synthetic respondents to conduct segmentation, pricing, and concept testing-the Fellow will help transform this methodology into a scalable research platform serving multiple regional businesses.

This fellowship is intentionally interdisciplinary. Students are encouraged to apply based on their strengths and interests in either software development or applied market research. Prior experience in every area is not expected.

SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WILL GET TO DO (this is just a small sampling of work variety):

Fellowship Tracks

Build Track {Engineering & Al Development}

Students interested in software engineering, analytics, and Al development may contribute by:

· Developing and maintaining interactive Streamlit dashboards

· Building automated data pipelines supporting dashboard updates

· Designing Al-generated synthetic respondent workflows

· Creating customer personas and market segments

· Engineering prompts for multiple LLMs

· Integrating APls (including OpenRouter and related services)

· Evaluating consistency and reliability across multiple Al models

· Automating ingestion of public economic indicators and survey datasets

· Supporting dashboard deployment, maintenance, and documentation

Analyze Track {Market Research & Business Analytics}

Students interested in market research, marketing analytics, and business strategy may contribute by:

· Designing surveys and interview guides

· Conducting segmentation, targeting, positioning, and pricing analyses

· Applying LLM-assisted coding to open-ended customer feedback

· Synthesizing quantitative and qualitative findings

· Preparing client-ready reports and business recommendations

· Supporting presentation of research findings to business partners

Shared Responsibilities

Regardless of track, Fellows will collaborate on the lnstitute's public forecasting platform by:

· Comparing Al-generated synthetic data with real-world survey results to evaluate validity and reliability

· Supporting publication of regional forecasting indices and Institute research briefs

· Participating in meetings with local businesses and community partners

· Identifying potential data sources for future forecasting studies

· Working collaboratively across engineering and research teams

· Contributing ideas for improving the forecasting platform and research methodology

Learning Outcomes

Research Fellows will gain practical experience in:

· Applied artificial intelligence and LLM workflows

· Market research and consumer analytics

· Survey design and business forecasting

· Dashboard development and data visualization

· Data storytelling and executive communication

· Client engagement and applied consulting

· Cross-functional teamwork in an interdisciplinary research environment Students will also have opportunities to:

· Receive one-on-one mentorship from Institute faculty and researchers

· Build a portfolio featuring publicly released forecasting products

· Expand professional networks through industry and community partnerships

· Explore opportunities for conference presentations and research co-authorship

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Applicants must:

· Be currently enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at Cal Poly Pomona

· Be pursuing a degree in Business Administration, Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Analytics, Marketing, Digital Marketing, Economics, Statistics, or a related discipline

· Demonstrate initiative and a willingness to learn

· Work effectively both independently and collaboratively with a team

· Communicate professionally in written and verbal settings Cross-disciplinary applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Preference will be given to applicants with experience in one or more of the following.

· Python programming

· Streamlit or dashboard development

· Pandas and data analysis

· Statistical analysis and segmentation techniques

· Survey research methods

· Prompt engineering

· Large Language Models (LLMs)

· API integration (e.g., OpenRouter)

· Front-end application development

· GitHub or version control

· Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate projects they have built.

TIME COMMITMENT:

· 10-15 hours per week

· Fall 2026 through Spring 2027

· Maximum of 20 hours per week in accordance with University student employment guidelines

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Interested students should submit:

· Resume

· Optional Portfolio of relevant work

Question regarding the position should be emailed to: tbfi@cpp.edu

Career Readiness Competencies

The Tarkington Business Futures Institute intentionally develops the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Readiness Competencies through meaningful experiential learning. Student Fellows will strengthen competencies in:

· Career & Self-Development

· Communication

· Critical Thinking

· Equity & Inclusion

· Leadership

· Professionalism

· Teamwork

· Technology

CSU along with Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises strongly recommend faculty, staff, and students who are accessing campus facilities to be immunized against COVID-19 or declare an exemption from doing so. The systemwide policy can be found at COVID-19 Vaccination Interim Policy and any questions may be sent to [email protected].

Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises may provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodation with the employer.