Data science centre marks second successful industry event

A £1.3 million Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) established to train the UK’s next generation of data scientists, has held its second annual event, bringing together PhD students and industry representatives.

The NUdata STFC Centre For Doctoral Training In Data Intensive Science is a collaboration between Northumbria and Newcastle Universities and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and involves over 40 industrial partners, including SMEs, large/multinational companies, Government and not-for profit organisations, and international humanitarian organisations.

Opened two years ago, NUdata is training a new generation of PhD students, giving them the skills required to address the data challenges presented by the STFC core-science programme, as well as applying those skills to different sectors of the broader economy.

Students carrying out their PhDs with NUdata specialise in a range of sciences, including planetary, solar physics, heliospheric physics, stellar physics, galaxies, cosmology and particle physics – including both theoretical and observational astrophysics.

However, the data intensive science skills they learn can also be applied more generally, with every NUdata student carrying out an industrial placement of at least six months with one of the Centre’s industry partners.

These include household names such as the BBC, NHS, Met Office, Johnson Matthey, Oliver Wyman and Jumping Rivers.

The annual industry event, held at Northumbria University, is a chance to bring together academics, students and industry representatives to hear more about the opportunities and experiences available during placements, as well as the data challenges facing business from different sectors.

The 2024 event included presentations by industry partners including the Centre for Process Innovation. Commenting on the two-day event, Dr Mark Taylor, Chief Technologist – Digital, said: “It was fascinating to hear and see the enthusiasm of the students for both the core science they were exploring and the data science techniques they were engaging with. It was also wonderful to see how they were thinking about how the data science techniques could be applied more widely beyond their doctoral work.”

Also represented at the event was Northumbrian Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust’s Kate Martin, Head of Information & Statistics, said: “This was a great opportunity to see both the students’ scientific work and how data science is being (or could be) used in industry.  This highlighted the similarities and differences between theoretical scientific work and the application of data science methods in practice. The social programme gave us a chance to chat with students and with other industry representatives about their background and work in a more informal setting.”

Alisdair Willis, Data Science Manager – Research & Innovation, at TESCO also presented and commented: “It was great to attend the NUData CDT annual Industry event and talk about life as a Data Scientist in Tesco. It was fantastic to meet the students, whose enthusiasm and knowledge of how to apply Data Science techniques to both astrophysics and industry greatly impressed me."

ProfessorJames McLaughlin, head of Northumbria University’s Solar and Space Physics research group, led the bid to create the NUdata Centre For Doctoral Training In Data Intensive Science.

Speaking about the second annual industry event, and plans for the future of the Centre, he said: “We are now two years into this six-year programme and it is wonderful to see the Centre scaling up: we can see our ‘Cohort One’ of PhD students growing in confidence and ability – and about to embark on their individual industrial placements – our ‘Cohort Two’ students have now completed their formal taught courses, and we look forward to welcoming ‘Cohort Three’ in September 2024”.

Find out more about the NUdata STFC Centre For Doctoral Training In Data IntensiveScience.