Eequ · After school. In place of school. Beyond school.

Get Into Data Science : An Introduction

Learn data science at the i360!

Your mentors

Andrew

Maria

Organisation links
Location address: Brighton, BN1 2LN
Chosen age group:

For ages: 12 - 18+ years

Available tickets:
Standard £15
Next date: None - message Mentor to express interest
A summary
We last ran this course at Brighton's i360 in the October half term of 2021. It was very popular amongst older children and even adults. If you'd like to see us do this again, and you have a venue in mind, get in touch! Here's a description of the two-hour workshop: If you've ever wondered how Netflix knows what to recommend to you, how Tik Tok decides which videos to show you next, or even how we discover valuable minerals kilometres under the ground, the answer is Data Science. If you've ever wondered who advises governments on how much to spend on health, or education, or on how many COVID vaccines to buy - the answer is: data scientists. We'd like to acknowledge the very generous support of the BA i360, the University of Sussex, and Geoscience leaders CGG in the production and hosting of this workshop. A 2018 Royal Society report into data science in primary and secondary education comments that: "demand for data science experts far [outstrips] that for other employment sectors."* This situation can only become more severe in the future. One of the most useful and marketable technical skills, data science combines many scientific disciplines - computer science, mathematics, statistics, and even some creative disciplines. It takes creativity to make huge amounts of data appealing and meaningful to people. When you see charts and graphs on the news, you're seeing data science in action. It's an exciting field of science, closely related to artificial intelligence and machine learning. We need to train the next generation of data scientists now, because the increasing deluge of data we currently live with will need more and better data scientists in the future. Better and smarter data science will help us solve our most pressing problems. *https://royalsociety.org/~/media/policy/Publications/2018/2018-07-16-integration-of-data-science-primary-secondary-curriculum.pdf
About your mentors
Andrew Riley-Watson
Professional geophysicist, amateur musician.
Hi - I'm Andrew, and I run Genius Brighton educational workshops. You might know us from our Venture Coders workshops. I'm a working scientist - a physicist - working in geophysics and data science. I've been running workshops like this, in and around Brighton, for children since around 2015. I also tutor maths, physics and coding privately. Our workshops are all about developing the skills our children will need in the future - it's not about creating a generation of computer scientists! We want to create a generation of children that have the skills to follow their passion wherever it takes them, without feeling restricted by a rigid education. That means having the confidence to learn new things, to solve problems, to not be afraid to dive into something new. This, more than anything else, is what you can expect from our workshops.
Maria Campos
Data scientist, PhD candidate in Astronomy
I'm a PhD candidate at the University of Sussex, where my research centres around galaxy evolution. I've also worked in several projects as data scientist, and imparted coding workshops for young enthusiasts! When I'm not in front of the computer, I like hiking, playing board games, dancing, and attempting to roller skate.
What we'll do
You'll be analysing a large dataset of earthquakes in Japan to try and find patterns in the data. We'll show you around the tools data scientists use to do this. By the end of the workshop you'll be making beautiful maps that will reveal interesting patterns in the data. You'll even be able to repeat this at home. We'll show you how!
Learning aims
Aim 1
We'll show you the tools you;'ll need to continue learning at home. How to get started and where to look for help.
Aim 3
You're going to leave with an understanding of what data science is and what we as data scientists do. You're also going to learn a bit about the tools we use, the programming languages and programs. Plus you're going to make some really cool maps of Japanese Earthquake zones!
Aim 2
You're going to learn a little about Python, data science's most useful language. You'll get a feel for how it works, and how to fix mistakes.
Aim 4
Data science is all about analytical thinking and problem solving. You'll learn how to think about data in terms of patterns and how to think like a scientist.
Why learn data science?
Well, for one thing, it's immensely fun and satisfying visualising huge datasets with simple images, and finding surprising patterns in data. Is it incredibly geeky to enjoy coding and data analysis? Hell, yes! You'll be surprised how many other people love that too! You're not in school anymore. This is Genius Brighton. We love this stuff! On a serious, or perhaps economic note, in a recent report by the Royal Society, "THE INTEGRATION OF DATA SCIENCE IN THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CURRICULUM", England's primary and secondary curricula at key stages 1-4 was examined to see how much data science existed in the various subjects. It was found that effective data science teaching at primary, and also secondary often depended on the teacher and the teaching, in technical subjects. In 'overcoming barriers', the report concludes: "Most of the curriculum issues highlighted can be overcome without recourse to potentially unwelcome curriculum change, but a more detailed, updated and coherent computing curriculum is needed – this could be through non-statutory means. Other barriers relate to teacher confidence in applying mathematics to domain questions, and in conceptual and technical aspects of computing. These issues could be addressed through professional development opportunities and more detailed guidance to teachers. Simplified ‘intermediary’ datasets and models with ‘conceptual veracity’ in secondary education would be helpful to bring real data into the analytical sphere of students. " These issues are exactly what we hope to address with our introduction to data science. We hope it will inspire you to continue your journey at school and at home. (https://royalsociety.org/~/media/policy/Publications/2018/2018-07-16-integration-of-data-science-primary-secondary-curriculum.pdf)
Pricing information
Ticket nameStandard
Price£15
PHOTO GALLERY
Where we'll be
Lower Kings Road, The Attenborough Room at the i360, Brighton, Brighton and Hove, BN1 2LN
WHAT’S PROVIDED
Equipment
Safety
Enhanced DBS
Risk Assessment
Public Liability Insurance
First Aid Training
Smoke Detector

Please note

Please note, it is the responsibility of the booker to satisfy themselves about the adequacy of the safety measures. This platform is merely an introducer and does not verify the items listed here.

Cancellation Policy
Cancel within 48 hours for a full refund.

My experience is an educational activity and the 14-day cooling-off period under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 therefore applies. After the 14 day period my standard policy will apply.