Data Science Education Centre of Excellence

News and Upcoming Events

Latest news, conferences, seminars and events.

Data Talent Scotland Event 2016
Data Talent Scotland Event 2016

Follow us on Twitter @EdinDataScience     

Data Science, Technology and Innovation Online Distance Learning Programme 

Applications are now being accepted for the following suite of programmes for September 2018:

  • MSc in Data Science, Technology and Innovation
  • MSc in Data Science, Technology and Innovation with Specialism in Medical Informatics
  • PG Diploma in Data Science, Technology and Innovation
  • PG Certificate in Data Science, Technology and Innovation

The modular courses are also offered as single courses with multiple start dates throughout the year. Enhance your career by taking up to 50 credits:

  • Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD) in Data Science, Technology and Innovation

The flexible online framework means that working professionals can pursue professional development in a variety of forms while continuing to fulfil professional commitments. See the Programme link below for further details. 

Data Science, Technology and Innovation Online Distance Learning Programme

April 2018

New Data Science MOOC Available Soon

An exciting new UoE Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) will be launched 30th April 2018 on Coursera: Data Science in Stratified Healthcare and Precision Medicine

DataSciMed Logo

Working with the University of Edinburgh’s Learning, Teaching and Web MOOCs Team and with partial funding from the Innovation Centre The Data Lab, Professor Dave Robertson, Dr Areti Manataki, and Dr Frances Wong have developed the MOOC with contributions from leaders in the field.

This MOOC forms part of the suite of the University-wide online learning Data Science, Technology and Innovation programmes, which can provide additional courses for interested students up to MSc level.

This free 5-week MOOC will teach learners about some of the different types of data and computational methods involved in stratified healthcare and precision medicine, while giving them hands-on experience working with such data. 

Topics in this MOOC include: (i) Sequence Processing  (ii) Image Analysis  (iii) Network Modelling (iv) Probabilistic Modelling  (v) Machine Learning (vi) Natural Language Processing (vii) Process Modelling and (viii) Graph Data

Find out more in the video linked below and sign up via Coursera. 

Data Science in Stratified Healthcare and Precision Medicine

How UK Universities Are Using Patient Data in Research: New #DataSavesLives Animation Launched

A new animation has been created to answer questions about the use of patient data by UK universities, researchers and scientists.

Data Saves Lives Animation Still

Produced in collaboration with patients and members of the public by Connected Health Cities and The Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research, the 3 minute animated film has been designed to increase public awareness of how routinely collected NHS data is safely and securely re-used by universities for health research.

The animation takes viewers on a journey to understand how patient data is created and shared and the important role it plays in research to improve the health of patients and populations. Examples are highlighted with relevant case studies and the measures that universities must take to ensure patient data is protected and accessed is explained.

The animation forms part of the #DataSavesLives campaign that has been supported by Connected Health Cities, The Farr Institute and The Data Lab since it was launched by The University of Manchester in 2015.

Stephen Melia, Communications Lead at Connected Health Cities (CHC) said: “Over the last four years we’ve been engaging with patients and members of the public in a variety of ways to highlight the positive re-use of patient data in research. We’ve found that often people have the same questions and sometimes a lack of understanding about how their data is used and shared to improve health.

“Teaming up with our colleagues at The Farr Institute, we wanted to create a short video that answered these questions and reassured people that UK universities take seriously their responsibilities regarding the safe and secure use of patient data. Ultimately it’s about transparency and being open about the work we deliver”

“We developed the animation with patients and members of the public from across the UK. It’s really important to both organisations that we listen to what the public have to say on the subject of health data sharing and this approach is embedded into our research.”

Cherry Martin, Communications Manager at The Farr Institute said: “The #DataSavesLives campaign is a plain-English way of talking about health data science research and the positive impacts it has on patients and society. It helps us build public trust around using patient data in research and allows us to highlight the work being done that really is helping to save lives. Social media is a powerful tool. The #DataSavesLives campaign has created a direct channel of communication between health data professionals and the public and is now used by organisations across the world, united in supporting the re-use of data for research.“

“It’s a way for the research community to say “this is why we do what we do”, and hopefully helps non-expert audiences and the public to understand why using data in research is important for all of us.”

“We hope this short film will be a useful tool for health and research communities to stimulate discussions around the importance of patient data over the coming months and we invite all corners of the research community, NHS, charities, industry, and indeed the public, to support our message by sharing the video - data really does save lives.”

The animation can be viewed at www.datasaveslives.info

For more information or to request a media pack, please contact Stephen Melia (stephen.melia@manchester.ac.uk) or Cherry Martin (cherry.martin@ed.ac.uk)

March 2018

Successful Second run of Data Fest 2018 

The second year of Data Fest run by the Innovation Centre The Data Lab saw successful events run throughout Scotland with widespread engagement from a diverse crowd. 

Data Fest 2018 was a celebration of data-driven innovation, and was applauded for its focus on the potential positive power of the ethical use of data. From predicting pandemics and childhood obesity to enhancing B2B payments and earthquake response, examples showcased how data can be used for good. DataFest18 celebrated all the Data Warriors who, data scientists or not, understand and help drive the power of data innovation in their own companies and industries, while encouraging others to become Data Warriors too.

In its third edition, Data Talent Scotland saw about 300 data science and engineering students mix with a number of Scotland’s leading employers including Royal Bank of Scotland, SAS and Merkle Aquila. Inspiring speakers included Lydia Nicholas, Futurologist and Senior Researcher at Nesta, Roger Halliday, Chief Statistician at the Scottish Government and Stephen Breslin, CEO of the Glasgow Science Centre.

Over 40 Fringe Events took place across Scotland including hackathons, networking and inspiring workshop sessions for school pupils stretching from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Inverness, Dundee and Aberdeen. This is almost double the number of events held last year, which demonstrates the interest and willingness of the data and tech community across Scotland to discuss and get involved in data driven innovation.

Data Talent Scotland 2018

Read more on the Data Fest webstie at the link below.

Data Fest 2018

February 2018

£54 Million Funding to Transform Health Through Data Science

A Scottish bid to become one of the HDR UK’s substantive sites has been successful. The new Scotland site will be comprised of six institutions: University of Edinburgh, University of Aberdeen, University of Dundee, University of Glasgow, University of St Andrews, University of Strathclyde.

Health Data Research UK is awarding £30 million funding to six sites across the UK, including Scotland, to address challenging healthcare issues through use of data science.  Each site has world-class expertise; a track record in using health data to derive new knowledge, scientific discovery and insight; and works in close partnership with NHS bodies and the public to translate research findings into benefits for patients and populations.

Health Data Research UK Website

Bayes Centre set for key role in City Region Deal

Image of the Bayes Centre

Proposals are being finalised for the Bayes Centre’s involvement in the City Region Deal for Edinburgh and South East Scotland.

The Centre could receive capital funding up to £45m to drive advances across a number of industry sectors through data innova

tion projects.

To learn more and for details about information events to be held across the University in April and May 2018 please see the link below:

Bayes Centre set for key role in City Region Deal

January 2018

UoE Vice Principal of Data Science Recognised in New Year's Honours List

Professor Andrew Morris Vice Principal of Data Science at the University of Edinburgh, was awarded a CBE for services to science in Scotland.

Professor Morris is the Director of Health Data Research UK, a new institute which, for the first time in the world, will incorporate the breadth of data science research aimed at improving human health on a national scale.  In his role as Chief Scientist at the Scottish Government, he supported and promoted high quality research aimed at improving the services offered by NHS Scotland and securing lasting improvements to the health of the people of Scotland.

Previous News Items & Events:

Archive - News and Events 2017

Archive - News and Events 2016

Archive - News and Events 2015