Source – governmentcomputing.com

Data Science Accelerator programme offers chance to experiment with different data science techniques and open source software

A key data science joint initiative between the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Government Digital Service (GDS) and the Government Office for Science and Civil Service analytical professions is approaching a closing date for applicants.

The Data Science Accelerator is a capability-building programme gives analysts from across the public sector the opportunity to develop their data science skills such as machine learning, natural language processing and geospatial analysis. The next application deadline for the programme is this Tuesday, September 26, with subsequent deadlines on October 27 and February 8.

The programme, which started in 2015, is open to analysts and aspiring data scientists from across the public sector, including central and local government.

Participants have the chance to work on a data science project, proposed by them for 3 months. They will be assigned a dedicated mentor (an experienced data scientist) and benefits from peer support from other participants in their cohort.

Participants have to commit to spend one day a week working on their project, based in one of the five regional hubs (Bristol, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Newport and Sheffield).

The programme is free of charge and takes places every 4 months.