Students pose in front of a Winnebago Industries wall display.

Carlson MSBAi Students Build Machine Learning Models for Winnebago

Thursday, October 8, 2026

By Charly Haley

Using artificial intelligence, Minnesota Carlson students are helping to power market forecasting for Winnebago Industries, an iconic North American manufacturer of outdoor recreation products.

For their Master of Science in Business Analytics & Artificial Intelligence (MSBAi) capstone project, a team of five Carlson students worked with real data from Winnebago Industries to create machine learning models that apply AI to understand product demand by region. When the students presented their project to a boardroom of company representatives, they fielded many questions about how to use the technology because the company aims to incorporate the students’ work into its operations.

“The students showcased a data science approach to forecasting that aligns with Winnebago Industries’ ongoing investment in advanced analytics and AI-enabled decision-making,” says Rick Patterson, enterprise director of data and artificial intelligence at Winnebago Industries.

This experiential learning project — managed through the Carlson Analytics Lab with Associate Professor Xuan Bi as faculty advisor — involved 14 weeks of work where the students interacted directly with Patterson to build forecasting models to meet Winnebago Industries’ needs. The company, headquartered in the Twin Cities suburb Eden Prairie, builds motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth-wheel products, outboard and sterndrive powerboats, pontoons, and commercial community outreach vehicles under the Winnebago, Grand Design, Chris-Craft, Newmar and Barletta brands.

“The opportunity to work with real clients and stakeholders taught us so much beyond the technical side of machine learning,” says Minh Khue (Rachel) Le, ’26 MSBAi, who served as the student team’s engagement manager. “We gained firsthand experience in client engagement, scope management, and communicating technical work in a way that was clear and actionable. As master’s students, that kind of real-world exposure was incredibly valuable in preparing us for the work we hope to do after graduation.”

 

Key Takeaways

  • Forecasting Models: Carlson MSBAi students built machine learning models to help Winnebago Industries forecast regional product demand.
  • Hands-On Learning: The 14-week capstone project gave five graduates hands-on client engagement and technical experience.
  • Real-World Impact: Winnebago Industries plans to integrate the project into its operations to drive AI-enabled decision-making.
MSBAi students present in a conference room at Winnebago headquarters
Carlson MSBAi students give their final presentation at the Winnebago Industries headquarters. Photo by Pat Vasquez-Cunningham / Minnesota Carlson.


The other student team members were Shivanshu Dagur, ’26 MSBAi, Yung Hsuan Hsieh, ’26 MSBAi, Cole Johnson, ’26 MSBAi, and Evelyn Lai, ’26 MSBAi. All five graduated at the end of the summer semester, after completing their capstone project and final presentation at the Winnebago Industries headquarters.

Dagur says he learned a lot from having to quickly solve problems and react to a client in real time while working with other team members who come from different backgrounds.

“It was particularly interesting to work with such a diverse student cohort, bringing together people from different career backgrounds and countries,” Dagur says. “This project provided us the opportunity to apply what we learned in the classroom and see how that can impact a real business, doing it firsthand and coming up with solutions with our team.”

 

A Winnebago vehicle driving on a highway
A Winnebago recreational vehicle. Photo courtesy of Winnebago Industries.

 

Patterson says the students’ work will be valuable for years to come as the company’s focus on forecasting through machine learning continues to grow. He’s also glad that Winnebago Industries was able to help the students’ education.

“These students represent the future workforce for us,” Patterson says. “So, we were taking that time and investment to help them gain more skills early in their career, and in return, we benefit from future employees who are ready to hit the ground running, making an immediate impact on our work.”

Top photo: From left, Carlson Associate Professor Xuan Bi, Winnebago Industries Enterprise Director of Data and AI Rick Patterson, and Carlson MSBAi graduates Minh Khue (Rachel) Le, Evelyn Lai, Yung Hsuan Hsieh, Shivanshu Dagur, and Cole Johnson pose for a photo at the Winnebago Industries headquarters. Photo by Pat Vasquez-Cunningham / Minnesota Carlson.
 

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