Winsted, CT – Northwestern CT Community College has partnered with Great Falls Brewing Company in North Canaan to provide an immersive, career-related project for data science students Trevor Kolbusz and Trevor Rinaldi, and Northwestern data science alumnus and Assistant Project Manager, John Bennett. The project is part of a capstone research course where the students will spend the semester working with Chris Tripler, owner of Great Fall Brewing Company and a former environmental science college professor, on solving a real business challenge

The nature of this project is to analyze large amounts of data to determine the financial impact that the market forces have had on the brewery’s bottom line.

Located in the historic refurbished Canaan Union Station railroad depot in North Canaan, Great Falls Brewing Company opened its doors in December 2018. Great Falls offers a variety of beers including classic lagers and ales, as well as popular American-style beers such as New England-style and West Coast-style IPAs. According to Tripler, “Our goal is to listen to, and learn from, the palate of the local drinker, as well as push boundaries of craft beer innovation while keeping up with craft beer market trends.”

Professor Crystal Wiggins, faculty advisor for the Data Science program, and Stacey Williams, professor of business, are the faculty team overseeing the capstone project. Professor Wiggins said this capstone research project mimics an internship, “where students learn to interact in a business setting, manage deadlines, produce technical documents, and think critically to find solutions.” The students will hold regular meetings with Tripler to provide updates on their progress. At the end of the course, the students will produce a client report with their recommendations and present it to Tripler.

If you have a business challenge and would like to partner with Northwestern to have a team of students and faculty work with you, or you would like more information about the Data Science and Business programs at Northwestern, please contact Crystal Wiggins at cwiggins@nwcc.edu.