This Fall, the University of Southern Indiana Romain College of Business will introduce students to one of the newest market-leading skills—neuromarketing. USI has partnered with iMotions, an IT company specializing in human research software, to utilize a platform called EduLabs to ensure business students have access to state-of-the-art technology that can be utilized both in and beyond the classroom.

The EduLabs software is a web-based platform accessible to any student with a laptop and a webcam and allows them to participate in research and projects with eye-tracking and facial analysis technology without having to be in a lab setting. According to iMotions, USI’s Romain College of Business is one of the first in the world to pilot this high-level technology to all undergraduate business students within the University.

“Romain College of Business graduates will have first-hand experience with cutting-edge technology that most other business school graduates will not have. This experience will improve how they evaluate opportunities to apply new technologies in business and expand their thinking of how people respond to business decisions,” said Dr. Chad Milewicz, USI Professor of Marketing and Chair of the Economics and Marketing Department. “Whether it is evaluating and recommending how information is presented, how promotions are designed or how a physical space or a product is designed, our graduates will have insights that other business graduates are far less likely to have developed.”

The EduLabs technology was first introduced in Milewicz’s Marketing Management class during the 2024 Spring Semester, where students had the opportunity to do their own neuromarketing research project. Jacob Rusk, who graduated in Spring 2024 with a degree in marketing, believes having access to the technology and his experience in neuromarketing helped him feel more confident entering the job field post-graduation.

“Using the eye tracking technology was one of my favorite experiences as a student at USI. I believe that eye tracking is one of the best tools available to marketers for gaining insight into the customer experience,” said Rusk. “I’m confident that having worked with the eye tracking technology at the Romain College of Business makes me a great asset to any marketing team.”

Starting this Fall, the EduLabs platform will be used in the Introduction to Marketing course. This class will be taken by all Romain College of Business students with most taking it the second semester of their freshman year, giving them an early introduction to neuromarketing. Graduate students will also use the technology in the Marketing Strategies course in the MBA program. Milewicz says the goal is to hopefully have the program reach 1,000 students.

“Gaining first-hand experience applying eye-tracking, emotion analysis and facial expression analysis gives our students a market-leading skill they can take into any career they pursue,” said Milewicz. “Learning what eye-tracking, emotion analysis and facial expression analysis is and how it can be applied in business is something that will distinguish a USI business graduate from all other business graduates.”

The Romain College also uses iMotions tools in its Biometrix Discovery Lab—state-of-the-art equipment that includes eye-tracking glasses and software to analyze screen-based eye-tracking, facial expression analysis and electrodermal activity.

“The knowledge and skills I acquired have been important in my career. As a Marketing Insights Analyst for First Financial Bank, I apply these lessons daily to analyze consumer behavior, identify patterns and uncover trends,” said Courtney Bourne, a 2023 marketing grad who had experience working in the lab during her time with USI’s American Marketing Association chapter. “This experience has enhanced my technical skills and my ability to translate data into actionable business strategies, significantly contributing to my professional growth.”

Dr. Sudesh Mujumdar, Dean of the Romain College of Business, says the partnership with iMotions has been invaluable in helping the College actualize a key piece of its value proposition. “Leveraging technology in unique ways to build market-leading competencies in our students in a personalized, co-created learning environment.”