We aim to set the global standard for a truly interdisciplinary approach to contemporary data-driven research challenges. Established in 2015, the Data Science Institute (DSI) has over 300 members and has raised over £40 million in research grants.
We are working to create a world-class Data Science Institute at Lancaster (DSI@Lancaster) that sets the global standard for a truly interdisciplinary approach to contemporary data-driven research challenges. DSI@Lancaster aims to have an internationally recognised and distinctive strength in being able to provide an end-to-end interdisciplinary research capability - from infrastructure and fundamentals through to globally relevant problem domains and the social, legal and ethical issues raised by the use of Data Science.
The Institute is initially focusing on the fundamentals of Data Science including security and privacy together with cross-cutting theme areas consisting of environment, resilience and sustainability;health and ageing, data and society and creating a world-leading institute with over 300 affiliated academics, researchers, and students.
Our data science, health data science and business analytics programmes have launched the careers of hundreds of data professionals over the last 10 years. Students from our programmes have progressed to data science roles at Amazon, PWC, Ernst & Young, Hawaiian Airlines, eBay, Zurich Insurance, the Co-operative Group, N Brown, the NHS and many others - please look at our Education pages for further details of the courses on offer.
Amber Leeson is stepping down from her role as DSI theme lead on the Environment. Amber was part of the first round of hires into DSI and has been our theme lead for the past 5 years – we’d like to record a huge thanks for all her hard work and dedication to DSI.
We are now seeking applicants for the next DSI Environment theme lead. Working with the support of the Directors, theme leads play a significant role in shaping the mission of the institute. Major duties of these roles are to provide research leadership and mentoring in the areas for which they are responsible, to participate in the overall management of DSI and to organise events and activities to catalyse new research. Theme leads also form a key part of DSI’s management team and have a significant role in defining both strategic and operational activities. Start dates are flexible but no later than October 2024. Theme leaders would normally be appointed for a period of three years and may be renewed. The post is open to suitably qualified academic staff who have a track record of, and commitment to, data science research in the identified areas. Prospective candidates are invited to discuss their applications informally with DSI’s Co-Director Nigel Davies: n.a.davies@lancaster.ac.uk
Candidates should submit a one-page statement of their interest in the role outlining their relevant experience and their vision of the topics that could form the focus of the theme area, together with an accompanying CV. We would expect theme leadership to be a significant commitment (e.g. 1 day a week) and before submitting an application, candidates should discuss it with their Head of Department and obtain consent in principle.
Expressions of interest should be received no later than 1st May and sent to dsi@lancaster.ac.uk with the Subject Title: Environment Theme Leader Application.
Please contact DSI with any questions dsi-enquiries@lancaster.ac.uk
On the 29th – 30th July 2024, Lancaster University is hosting the first international conference on Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence for Cyber Security.
This is the very first event of its kind and it could not come at a more critical time. In today’s digital age, cyber security has emerged as a heightened priority for both individual users and organisations. With the surge in online information, new innovative solutions are required to address the challenge of tradition security measures falling short against evolving threats.
The conference will also have a special theme track with the goal of stimulating discussion on the future of cyber security in the era of Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI. Delegates will examine the challenges, risks and safety issues associated with employing these models in everyday tasks, focusing on aspects including fairness, ethics, and responsibility.
Lancaster staff and students who want to attend, please contact Julia Carradus
For more information on the conference, submissions, and to book your place, please see the NLPAICS website or email info@nlpaics.com.
We are delighted to announce our workshops for 2024. Further details will follow in the DSI newsletter.
Katie McDonough (History) & Daniel Wilson (Turing Institute) Advertising Machines - 21st & 22nd March 2024
Jess Bridgen (Maths & Stats) and Jon Read (Lancaster Medical School) Real-time Modelling of Nosocomial Transmission: the unanswered Questions - 11th June 2024
Paul Rayson (SCC), Jo Knight (CHICAS/FHM) , Daisy Harvey and Nick King HealTAC 2024 Healthcare Text Analysis Conference 12th - 14th June 2024
Barbara Shih (Biomedical & Life Science) & Richard Mort (Biomedical & Life Science) Disentangling the genes contributing to Dalmatian spotting and associated disease - 10th July
Paul Smith (Maths & Stats), Alex Bush (LEC) , Emma Eastoe (Maths & Stats) Environmental and Ecological Statistics Group - First week of July 2024
Kate Cain (Psychology) and Anastasia Ushakova (CHICAS/FHM) T-READS Tracking Reading and Educational Attainment through Data Science - tbc 2024
David Parkes (Maths & Stats/LEC), Luke Rhodes-Leader (Maths & Stats), Paul Cureton (LICA) Calibrations and validation for complex system modelling - 11th & 12th June
Elisa Rubegni, PhD (SCC) & Kate Cain (Psychology) Empowering Tomorrow: Bridging Disciplines for Inclusive Child-Tech - 2nd & 3rd May 2024
Data Science at Lancaster was founded in 2015 on Lancaster’s historic research strengths in Computer Science, Statistics and Operational Research. The environment is further enriched by a broad community of data-driven researchers in a variety of other disciplines including the environmental sciences, health and medicine, sociology and the creative arts.
Foundations research sits at the interface of methods and application: with an aim to develop novel methodology inspired by the real-world challenge. These could be studies about the transportation of people, goods & services, energy consumption and the impact of changes to global weather patterns.
The Health theme has a wide scope. Current areas of strength include spatial and spatiotemporal methods in global public health, design and analysis of clinical trials, epidemic forecasting and demographic modelling, health informatics and genetics.
Data Science has brought new approaches to understanding long-standing social problems concerning energy use, climate change, crime, migration, the knowledge economy, ecologies of media, design and communication in everyday life, or the distribution of wealth in financialised economies.
The focus of the environment theme has been to seek methodological innovations that can transform our understanding and management of the natural environment. Data Science will help us understand how the environment has evolved to its current state and how it might change in the future.
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The Data Engineering theme aims to explore how we can utilise digital technologies to accelerate and enhance our research processes across the University.
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