Data Science Education Centre of Excellence

News and Events 2017

A summary of Edinburgh Data Science related news, conferences, seminars and events from 2017.

December 2017

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Data Science Open Day

The Open Day will take place on Wednesday 18 January 2017.

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Data Science will hold an Open Day on Wednesday 18 January 2017. The event is a great opportunity to meet staff and speak to current students about the CDT and the programme it offers.

Book a place

EPSRC CDT in Data Science

November 2017

Data Science Research Day 2017

The CDT in Data Science’s Annual Research Day will be held Thursday 23rd November 2017.  The day is organised by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Data Science based at the University of Edinburgh, which is focused on training a new generation of data scientists with the technical skills and interdisciplinary awareness necessary to become R&D leaders in this emerging area. Those interested in meeting with academic research staff, data science students and partner organisations interested in developing new collaborative opportunities are invited to attend. 

Date: Thursday 23rd November 2017 Time:  9.30am - 5pm Location: Informatics Forum, University of Edinburgh, Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9LA

View the full schedule for the day and register at: Data Science Research Day 2017

October 2017

Data science boost aids postgraduate research

Postgraduate students are to benefit from a £10 million UK initiative to support data science research.

The investment aims to raise the number of physicists working in data-intensive science. The emerging field of data science uses advanced computational, statistical and programming techniques, including artificial intelligence, to extract meaningful insights from huge datasets.

Edinburgh is leading this national collaboration and is one of eight new UK Centres for Doctoral Training, the only one in Scotland. The funding will support the creation of the Scottish Data-intensive Science Triangle (ScotDIST), supporting PhD students at the Universities of Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow. Sixteen postgraduate physics students have been awarded places through the initiative to date.

For further details see the full University of Edinburgh News story below:

Data science boost aids postgraduate research

University Joins BBC Data Science Partnership

BBC Research & Development has announced a five-year research partnership with eight UK Universities, including Edinburgh, to unlock the potential of data in the media.

The Data Science Research Partnership will be at the forefront of machine learning in the media industry, helping create a more personalised BBC that can inform, educate and entertain in new ways.

The partnership brings together industry experts from across the BBC and world-leading UK data scientists from the Universities of Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh and Surrey, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, Ulster University and University College London.

Full details available here:

UoE News: University joins BBC data science partnership 

The Alan Turing Institute 2018 Doctoral Studentships Now Available

The Alan Turing Institute is the UK’s national institute for data science founded by the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Oxford, UCL, Warwick, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). 

The Institute is seeking highly motivated and talented individuals to embark on a career in the rapidly emerging field of data science. In line with the Institute’s cross-disciplinary research community, applications are welcome from graduates whose research spans multiple disciplines and applications. 

Application deadline: 12:00 GMT Thursday 30 November 2017

Further details are available on The Alan Turing Institute website below:

The Alan Turing Institute 2018 Doctoral Studentships

September 2017

Next Cancer Innovation Challenge funding competition launched

The competition brief for the next Cancer Innovation Challenge funding competition has been launched. The competition will be to find Innovative data science solutions to improve cancer care and outcomes in Scotland. Organisations in the EU can apply for a share of £425,000 through a two phase funding competition.

The application process opened on Friday 8 September. Potential bidders will need to register their interest by 27 October 2017 to get access to the competition documents and their final applications will need to be submitted by 10 November 2017. Full details are available via the link below. 

Cancer Innovation Funding Competition

August 2017

DataFest 2018 Dates Announced

The Data Lab have announced dates for the next DataFest, to be held 19 - 23 March 2018. 

Now in its second year, DataFest will showcase Scotland’s leading role in data on the international stage, while offering an unprecedented networking platform where you can interact with local and international talent, industry, academia and data enthusiasts.   The festival will continue to explore how #DataChangesEverything, and this year the programme will have a special focus on collaboration. Find our more via the link below. 

DataFest 2018

July 2017

University to play pivotal role in creating Data Capital of Europe

The University of Edinburgh will be a key partner in a major initiative that seeks to make Edinburgh and its surrounding region the European leader for applying data science to products and services.

The move to transform the region into a digital powerhouse is a key strand of the recently announced Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Deal.

Under the agreement, significant investment from the UK and Scottish Governments will be provided for major infrastructure projects in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders.

Further details can be found on the University of Edinburgh News page here. 

The Data Lab MSc

The Data Lab are supporting up to eight new industrial doctorate programmes. Funding for up to 50% of the programme cost will be provided, with the remainder to be matched by an industry (or public / third sector) partner. They are currently looking for applications from academic supervisors either who have a proposed project with an agreed industry and/or public sector partner, or who are actively engaged with a partner to define a project.

For an Industrial Doctorate project to be eligible for The Data Lab funding it must be hosted at a Scottish University and be sponsored by an Industry Sponsor that has an operational base in Scotland.  To find out more details about the application process, please read our guidance document.  The closing date is 23:59 on Sunday 16 July 2017. If you miss this round, there will be a new opportunity to apply in autumn 2017.

To apply, please complete the Industrial Doctorate Application form

Further information can be found on The Data Lab website here.

June 2017

Cancer Innovation Challenge Data Dive

Product Forge and the Cancer Innovation Challenge are running an open cancer "data dive" event at CodeBase in Edinburgh from Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th June 2017.

Entrepreneurially minded data scientists and analysts, clinicians, designers, and software engineers will spend 3 days and 3 nights side by side developing data focused projects to improve cancer care in the NHS in Scotland.

Participants form small cross-functional teams to work on a product prototype with support from subject matter experts and the wider technology community. In addition to a large collection of NHS open data, participants will also have access to computer generated synthetic data. These are representative of the structure but not the content of the following data sets used by the NHS:

  • Prescribing Information System (PIS) Data
  • Scottish Morbidity Records: Cancer Registry Data
  • Scottish Morbidity Records: General / Acute Inpatient and Day Case Data
  • National Records of Scotland: Deaths Registrations

Further information and registration details can be found here

May 2017

ESRC/Alan Turing Institute Joint Fellowship Scheme

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and The Alan Turing Institute are pleased to announce a Joint Fellowship Scheme aimed at driving forward the development and application of cutting-edge data science to study major societal challenges. 

This first joint call will focus on two key and interlinked issues – the complex challenges:

(a) facing the development of cities and

(b) in maintaining a healthy population.

These are multifaceted challenges that lend themselves to the novel development and deployment of advanced modelling techniques. (Further details can be found in the call specification.)

Proposals are welcome from mid-career and senior academics from an RCUK eligible research organisation (RO). Up to two studentships will be attached to each Fellowship and it is expected that these will work in similar areas to that of the Fellow. The Fellow will act as the primary supervisor, helping in particular to develop the quantitative and data science skills of the students.

The closing date for proposals is 16:00 on 21 September 2017

Further information about the application process can be found here

Dr Data: The answer to cancer - Tickets on sale now

Join our very own Professor Dave Robertson alongside Professor Aileen Keel (IHDP) to discuss the contributions of data science towards cancer research and care.

Data is everywhere. From diagnosis to treatment to recovery, a patient’s cancer journey leaves a data trail.  What if the answers we seek about cancer are hidden in there?  It could help us refine diagnosis, select treatments and improve the patient experience.  With the Cancer Innovation Challenge, data scientists, technologists and clinicians are looking for innovative data science solutions to help Scotland become a world leading carer for people with cancer.

The show forms part of the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas programme at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and takes place on Saturday 19 August, 13.50-14.50 at the New Town Theatre, George Street, Edinburgh. Tickets are on sale now.

The Data Lab - MSc Scholarship Opportunities

The Data Lab has announced it will be expanding their MSc scholarship programme to 130 students for 2017/18, an increase of over 40% from last year.  This will be the third cohort of MSc programmes offering collaborations with 11 universities across Scotland including Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and the West of Scotland.

The Data Lab MSc courses are guided by both the needs of Scottish industry and the cutting-edge research of Scottish academia to make sure that students are equipped with the skills needed to start their data science career.  Students will have the opportunity to complete a paid three-month industrial placement for their dissertation project. Through these projects, students get the chance to apply their learnt skills to life problems and get familiar with the working world.

For the full list of programmes on offer please visit The Data Lab MSc website.

April 2017

The Data Lab Funding call - Industrial Doctorate Projects

The Data Lab is supporting up to eight new industrial doctorate programmes. Funding for up to 50% of the programme cost will be provided, with the remainder to be matched by an industry (or public / third sector) partner. The Data Lab are currently looking for applications from academic supervisors either who have a proposed project with an agreed industry and/or public sector partner, or who are actively engaged with a partner to define a project.

For an Industrial Doctorate project to be eligible for The Data Lab funding it must be hosted at a Scottish University and be sponsored by an Industry Sponsor that has an operational base in Scotland.

To find out more details about the application process, please read the guidance document.

To apply, please complete the Industrial Doctorate Application form.

IHDP Guest Lecture - Data to drive intelligence and improve patient outcomes

The Innovative Healthcare Delivery Programme (IHDP) is delighted to welcome Sir Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, to the Farr Institute Scotland on Friday, 28 April 2017, to deliver a lecture titled: 'Data to drive intelligence and improve patient outcomes'

Further information and Registration instructions can be found here.

March 2017

Prof Andrew Morris Appointed Director of New UK Health and Biomedical Informatics Research Institute

Prof Andrew Morris, Director of The Farr Institute in Scotland, has been appointed as Director of a new UK health and biomedical informatics research institute, which is to be named Health Data Research UK (HDR UK). The new institute will, for the first time in the world, incorporate on a national scale the whole breadth of data science research aimed at improving human health.

HDR UK is a joint investment led by the MRC, together with the health research departments of England, Scotland and Wales; the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); British Heart Foundation; and Wellcome. Harnessing the power of the NHS and associated health and biomedical data in the UK, HDR UK will develop and apply the cutting edge informatics approaches needed to address the most pressing health research challenges facing patients and the public.

Read more here

Cancer Innovation Challenge Launched!

A call for innovative data science solutions to improve cancer care in Scotland was launched on the 24th of March at DataFest17 by Dr Catherine Calderwood, Chief Medical Officer, Scottish Government.

The Cancer Innovation Challenge is a £1M project funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to encourage Innovation Centres in Scotland to work in partnership to help Scotland become a world leading carer for people with cancer through open innovation funding calls for data science solutions.

The project brings together three Innovation Centres, led by The Data Lab in collaboration with the Digital Health and Care Institute (DHI) and Stratified Medicine Scotland (SMS).  The Innovation Centres are funded by the SFC to support transformational collaboration between universities and businesses. The Centres aim to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship across Scotland’s key economic sectors to create jobs and grow the economy.

The Challenge has two major work streams:

1)              An open innovation funding call to identify innovative cancer data science solutions

2)              An open innovation funding call to develop new tools for cancer patient reported outcomes and experience measures

There will be a programme of activities surrounding each work stream involving industry, the public and a variety of stakeholders in the wider health sector. The aim is to utilise NHS data to support the delivery of more effective and efficient cancer care to help derive new analytical insights into Scottish cancer data, inspire local start-ups to join in the effort, demonstrate ability to produce large scale NHS data for complex analysis under safe and secure conditions and to support informed discussion about the creation and use of synthetic data.

To find out more about the Cancer Innovation Challenge and its associated activities and funding opportunities, please visit www.cancerchallengescotland.com

Data Summit 2017

Hosted by by The Data Lab, Data Summit was held in Edinburgh at The Assembly Rooms over 2 days on the 23rd and 24th of March 2017.  The theme of the 2 day event was 'Data Changes Everything'. The Data Summit explored leading examples of successes and challenges of transformation using data, with a forward look to how this will develop across industry and social sectors in the future with presentations from world leaders in the field of Data Science.

Edinburgh Data Science were delighted to be a part of the event to promote our online distance learning postgraduate programme in Data Science, Technology and Innovation.  Interacting with businesses and delegates from all over Scotland and beyond provided a great opportunity to showcase the benefits our programme could provide organisations and the range of courses on offer.  There was a terrific buzz and enthusiasm over the whole of the event and it was fantastic to have the platform to both showcase our programme and also to hear about the latest innovations in the field of Data Science.

Further information about the event can be found here.

Data Talent Scotland 2017

Edinburgh Data Science were delighted to take part in Data Talent Scotland 2017 for the second year in a row.  This years event was held in Edinburgh at Murrayfield Stadium on 22nd March 2017.

Hosted by by The Data LabMBN and WeAreTheFuture this collider event brought together data science students, data enthusiasts, Universities and businesses from all over Scotland providing attendees a great opportunity to access the best of Scotland's data talent and education.

Edinburgh Data Science representatives were on hand to discuss our online distance learning postgraduate programme in Data Science, Technology and Innovation as well as potential bespoke courses.  There was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the day and it was fascinating to hear about some of the new innovations in Data Science and the work being carried out across Scotland.   Further information about the event can be found here.

Scotland Datathon 2017

Scotland will hold its first ever datathon over datathon in Edinburgh on Monday 20th to Tuesday 21st of March.  Edinburgh Fintech are looking for data scientists and MSc project students to participate in Scotland Datathon 2017.  Teams will be crafted to have a variety of experience levels that all can be engaged, to learn and experience the growth of competing in this Datathon.  It will also be a great opportunity for you to meet with Fintech and data science leaders.  The winning team will also benefit from mentorship with Deloitte in Edinburgh and complimentary tickets to attend the Innovate Finance Global Summit.  Participants will be working with Urban Tide USMART platform and APIs. Aquila Insights, Sainsbury's Bank, Money Dashboard, 7 Elements, and others will be joining and mentoring throughout the competition.

Further event information and registration details can be found here.

Guest Lecture: Blockchain Explained 

On Wednesday the 1st of March The Usher Institute was delighted to welcome John McLean, CTO Europe and Vice President at Blockchain Technologies, to Nine BioQuarter to give an overview of Blockchain, why it is so important and the real world use cases and applications.

Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger for recording the history of transactions. It fosters a new generation of transactional applications that establish trust, accountability and transparency.  IBM Blockchain has joined The Hyperledger Project to evolve and improve upon earlier forms of blockchain. Instead of having a blockchain that is reliant on the exchange of cryptocurrencies with anonymous users on a public network (e.g. Bitcoin), a blockchain for business provides a permissioned network, with known identities, without the need for cryptocurrencies.  It will have implications on all industiries such as Finance and Healthcare.

February 2017

Edinburgh Data Science - DataFest 2017

Edinburgh Data Science are delighted to announce that we will be taking part in Scotlands first ever week long Data Festival, DataFest17.  Representatives will be on hand to discuss our online distance learning postgraduate programme in Data Science, Technology and Innovation as well as potential bespoke courses and masterclasses.  We will be exhibiting at both the Data Talent Scotland event being held on the 22nd of March at Murrayfield Stadium and then at the 2 day Data Summit held in the Assembly Rooms on the 23rd and 24th of March.

DataFest is focussed on providing opportunities to learn from renowned international speakers, case studies & best practice, while offering an unprecedented networking platform for interacting with local & international talent, industry & academia & data enthusiasts.

Tickets are still available and Edinburgh Data Science very much hopes that you can join us for this exciting, innovative event.

Informatics for Health 2017 Programme Launched

The Informatics for Health 2017 Programme has now been launched.  This exciting 3 day event is taking place in Manchester on 24 - 26 April 2017 and incorporates Medical Informatics Europe (MIE2017) and The Farr Institute International Conference 2017.  

Over three days an international audience of academics, health professionals and industry partners will share the knowledge, insights and experience that are fuelling the rapid advancement in informatics research for health science, health care, and economic growth in/around digital health. The varied and dynamic conference programme will include global thought leaders presenting alongside innovators in health data science. By blending academic rigour with the latest technological developments Informatics for Health 2017 will provide the academic bedrock needed to create a stimulating and challenging international congress.

Further information about the weeks events and ticket registration details can be found here. 

Data Summit Programme Announced

The programme for Data Summit, the two-day international conference, in Edinburgh, that forms a key part of the inaugural DataFest17 being held in Scotland in March, has now been announced under the banner #DataChangesEverything.

The first day of the summit, 23 March, will focus on ‘proof’ - current applications, experience and challenges in delivering value from data. The second day, 24 March, will focus on ‘hypothesis’ - the future of data.  Summit headliners include so-called data ‘rockstar’, Hilary Mason founder of Fast Forward Labs in New York who will discuss Machine Intelligence and the future of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence as well as Nuria Oliver, European Digital Woman of the Year 2016, who will showcase one of the core themes of the summit – data for good.

Other high profile speakers at the event include John Akred from Silicon Valley Data Science, who will be will be presenting on how to run successful data science teams as well as contributing to a panel discussion on the role of leaders in successful data initiatives.  Dr Hannah Fry, presenter of the BBC’s Joy of Data and Marc Priestley, former F1 racing technology expert and broadcaster, will also be speaking and contributing to the event. Organisations involved include Deloitte, IBM, Transport for London, Snap40 and Telefonica.

The second day of Data Summit will also include a ‘Scottish Innovation Showcase’ featuring exciting start-ups fuelled by the data revolution.

January 2017

Women in Data Science

The Data Lab will be hosting a "Women in Data Science" afternoon tea at the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh. This event will take place at 1100 - 1330 hours on Wednesday, 15 February 2017.  This will give you the opportunity to hear about Data Science research across the world, to learn how leading-edge organisations are using Data Science for success and to connect with potential mentors & collaborators. 

Further information and registration instructions can be found here.

Women Data Scientists in the Making

In conjunction with the "Women in Data Science" afternoon tea The Data Lab would also like to welcome some "Women Data Scientists in the Making" from schools across Scotland to this event.  Due to the limited capacity of 25 available places The Data Lab will be running a competition open to all schools in Scotland (both primary and secondary), and the girls from the winning class will be invited to attend the afternoon tea event, where they will hear from successful and inspiring women in the field of Data Science. 

To participate, each class must submit their best idea of "How the world will look in 20 years, thanks to data and technology".  Submissions can be made in the form of a drawing/illustration, video (max 2 minutes) or simply a short essay summarising the class girls' idea (max 1000 words).  The winning team will have the opportunity to present their ideas to the audience.

The class leader (teacher or parent) must submit the class' entry to info@thedatalab.com by 5pm on Tuesday 31st January 2017.  Further information can be found below.

Future Health - Product Forge

Product Forge, a company aiming to bring together developers, creatives and entrepreneurs to build new products that solve real world problems, are running a competitive healthcare hackathon at CodeBase in Edinburgh from Thursday 19th January until Sunday 22nd. 

Participants form small cross-functional teams to work on a product prototype with support from industry experts in the NHS and the wider technology community. You will have access to health data released by the NHS Information Services Division, as well as scientific medical imaging data.

This is an opportunity to develop your career, gain new skills, network with professionals, meet potential employers or even kick-start your own company.

Further information and registration details can be found here.

The Data Lab MSc - Funded Places

The Data Lab MSc is a collaborative effort between The Data Lab and Scottish Universities, with the aim of developing talented data scientists to support the Scottish economy.  This call is open to Scottish Universities who would like to apply to receive £6000 per student to cover MSc course tuition fees.  This call is for the 2017/18 academic year and The Data Lab are allocating up to 90 places and are seeking to fund places on courses from between 3-4 Scottish university partners

Students must be based in Scotland or from the European Union. Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland are not eligible for funded studentships.

The application deadline is Friday 3rd February 2017.  

Applications must be submitted online.  The application form can be found here.