Get involved as a researcher

What will you do?

During the Precursor Week you will have the opportunity to read the challenge long descriptions, watch the challenge video presentations and attend the challenge Q&A sessions which will allow you to make an informed decision about which challenge you want to work on. You will be asked to submit a ranking of the challenges in your order of preference and the Data Study Group Team will match you to a challenge. You will be notified on the Friday of the Precursor Week as to which challenge you are working on. You will start the Event Week with your challenge group, on the Monday you will begin to explore the data and brainstorm ideas which you will then develop over the next three days.

During the Event Week, you will need to keep a record of your work, which you and your group will compile into a report for the Challenge Owner. On the Friday, you will present your work to all participants and Challenge Owners.

Throughout the week you will be supported by your group facilitators, chosen from the participant applications, who will help move the project forward. There will be a representative from the Challenge Owner’s organisation, along with the challenge Principal Investigator, who will work alongside you and give you insights into the business problem, the datasets, and approaches that have been tried before. You will also be able to call upon the knowledge and help of the whole Data Study Group.

But it won’t all be work; there will also be social activities throughout the Precursor and Event weeks.

"The challenge was particularly interesting from a research point of view as there could be many different approaches to solving this problem. Therefore, the project drew a fantastic selection of candidates to our team from different fields."

Chanuki Seresinhe, Turing Enrichment Year Doctoral Student

How do you engage?

Researchers are typically PhD students and early career academics from statistics, computer science, engineering, mathematics, and computational social science, as well as wider disciplines where data science and AI skills are increasingly becoming relevant. Participating researchers include talent from across the UK and are recruited through regular open calls on the Institute’s website. 

Considerations

For in-person Data Study Groups you will need to be able to commit to an intensive five days at The Alan Turing Institute, based in the British Library in London (96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB).

Lunch and dinner will be provided during the Event Week, travel to and from the event will be covered by The Alan Turing Institute (up to £200 for those within the UK and up to £300 for those who are travelling from abroad*) as well as accommodation for those who don’t live in London.

For virtual Data Study Groups you will need to be able to commit to 9am - 5pm over two weeks.

*Please refer to the Event Logistics section of the FAQs for details about reimbursing expenses.