Category: News

JGI Student Experience Profiles: Ben Anson (Ask-JGI Data Science Support 2022-23)

Ask-JGI was advertised to my CDT by one of the staff members in the School of Mathematics. It sounded like a fun way to make the most of my MSc in statistics and get some ‘real world’ practice with statistics, all whilst doing my PhD! So, I applied, and it was one of the easiest application forms I have ever filled in. I was offered the job almost instantly and started 2 or 3 weeks after.

It has been really beneficial for me to chat with people from disciplines, e.g. biological sciences, psychology, education. It makes it much easier to understand the jargon from field to field (and hopefully it was helpful for them to understand more about data science), and gives interesting insights into what other research are up to. A lot of the statistics I’ve studied has been within a fairly theoretical framework, so it has been challenging and rewarding to see how this theory applies in practice. Queries are also quite varied, in the sense that some people know exactly what model they want to use, but want advice on how to perform inference, and other queries are about selecting the right method, or model, or even about framing their problem in a sensible way.

The work has spanned over many areas, I’ve worked on several queries from psychologists about how to fit models and/or test hypotheses for experiments they have run, and helping them explore ways of dealing with problematic datasets (e.g. missing data). I’ve helped analyse survey data from taught courses at the university, advised on how to process football sentiment text data, and discussed the best way to visualize results from non-destructive testing methods!

My experience of Ask-JGI has been mostly with statistics queries, but there are also queries about data visualization, data management, ML applications, etc, which are also super interesting. I’d recommend anyone who has experience in any of the above to apply, as the role is very varied and fits around PhD work.

JGI Student Experience Profiles: Vanessa Hanschke (Ask-JGI Data Science Support 2022-23)

I initially wanted to join the Ask-JGI because I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to keep my coding skills alive. I studied computer science and have worked in the data and AI industry for three years before starting my PhD in Interactive Artificial Intelligence. My PhD looks at supporting data science teams to reflect on the social impact of their applications through roleplay and although my technical background is helpful, I don’t actually write any code on a day-to-day.

The JGI experience definitely gave me opportunities to practise some coding, but it also gave me so much more. I was able explore all the interesting research work happening around the university, whether it was fish genetics, appetite psychology, analysing racist discourse or history video games. It’s inspiring to see the many different things researchers can do with data and how different their data sets look: qualitative data in the form of survey responses, hand curated excel sheets manually extracted from historical archives or long lists of numbers collected with environmental sensors. My biggest takeaway is that, because academia can be such a competitive environment, having a place that will give you constructive feedback and support is invaluable. It was very rewarding to facilitate connections between researchers who could collaborate or to provide a piece of advice or that little snippet of code that helped researchers become unstuck.

Another big highlight of being part of the JGI was participating in public outreach events such as AI UK in London or Bristol Data Week. It is such an exciting space and so much fun to speak to people who are just learning about data concepts and are curious to know if it will benefit their lives or if the perceived harms will manifest. The media buzz around data and AI means there is a lot of important work that needs to be done to both demystify the hype, while also opening up opportunities for people to be creative with the possibilities that data science can provide.

JGI Student Experience Profiles: Matt Chandler (Ask-JGI Data Science Support 2022-23)

Over the past year I’ve found my experience working with the Ask-JGI service really rewarding. I was keen to apply as I was looking for an exposure to the wider world of research being done at Bristol, which is something I have definitely achieved along the way. An aspect I was most surprised by was how relevant a lot of my previous experience in data analysis was, in topics very far removed from my own area of research. Whether it be statistics, coding advice, data ethics or visualization, data is data regardless of where it came from. And when things came up which I had not encountered before, having a team there with a range of different backgrounds made it a lot easier to get up to speed.

A part of the job I’ve most enjoyed was helping out with a range of events throughout the year. The highlights include assisting in the delivery of one of UKRN’s Train-the-Trainer workshops, working a stall at AI UK 2023 on sensing air quality, and the launch of the Ask-JGI Roadshow this year in which the team would visit departments across the university to have a more informal opportunity to engage with researchers about their data. A few of these conversations then lead to more in-depth assistance and advice. If you see an upcoming Roadshow in your department and have a question you would like answering (or even if you don’t!), I would definitely recommend going along.

The Ask-JGI team has made this year a really enjoyable experience. As a cohort, we’ve come together to deliver much better advice than any individual would be able to, and it means we’ve been able to rely on one another when our individual research projects took up more time. I would strongly recommend applying to anyone with even a vague interest in data science. It’s an amazing opportunity for development and networking, and allows you to immerse yourself in the wider community at Bristol.

JGI Student Experience Profiles: Lily Tu (Ask-JGI Data Science Support 2022-23)

I came across machine learning models in a summer project just before my PhD and have since been looking to incorporate it into my PhD project, as data analysis forms a big part of my research field. I applied to join the Ask-JGI team so that I can share my experience and understanding of data science with other researchers across the university, as well as expand my horizon of how data science is applied in other disciplines. I found that the Ask-JGI team is a really good community of PGRs at similar stages as me. Although no one is supposed to know every aspect of data science, it was a great experience to discuss the queries over the weekly meetings and learn from each other.

From the technical aspect, I have worked with queries ranging from machine translation, data visualisation for biology experimental data, to spectral data in earth science. It was a great opportunity to hone my communication skills through talking to people from unfamiliar research backgrounds, getting hold of the key question that they want support from and sending through my thoughts and ideas. I think it’s an essential skill to have and prepares me well in future inter-disciplinary collaborations.

From the non-technical aspect, there’re lots of great initiatives and ad-hoc activities coming through the mailbox. I’ve attended the AI UK conference in London this year and helped at the e-scooter stand. It was good to have the exposure to communities outside my research field. I also took part in the DataFace project and did some filming for data analysis skill videos – that was some media experience I’d otherwise not have gained just from my PhD.

JGI Student Experience Profiles: Marina Vabistsevits (Ask-JGI Data Science Support 2022-23)

What made you decide to apply to join the Ask-JGI team?

I applied to join the Ask-JGI team because I wanted to be involved in a wider data science community at the University of Bristol. I wanted to learn about data-intensive research in other disciplines and possibly gain data science skills outside my PhD project.

What did you find most rewarding about your Ask-JGI experience?

Being a part of the Ask-JGI team meant helping other researchers at the University with their data science queries. The queries we received involved anything from statistics, programming, data visualisation, machine learning, NLP, but also data ethics, data storage, software development, and even public engagement. I enjoyed being exposed to many aspects of data science, which would otherwise be impossible during one PhD programme. The most rewarding part of this experience was researching how to best help the person with their query to find the solution that would work for them, thereby helping them to advance their research at the University.

What sort of work did you do as a part of your Ask-JGI experience?

My favourite queries involved helping people with R programming, often including statistics, data visualisation, and app development. I was also involved in a long-term project with the Professional Services team at the University with another Ask-JGI student. We helped the team with analysing and producing insights from an extensive survey. This allowed the team to make data-informed decisions about the next steps, which may have a University-wide impact.

Another exciting part of my Ask-JGI experience was going to the AI UK 2023 conference in London to present and promote the Data Hazards framework developed by former colleagues at the JGI.

Would you recommend this experience to other students?

I would absolutely recommend joining the Ask-JGI Data Science support team. It is an excellent opportunity to learn about data science outside your immediate field, gain practical knowledge in new areas, and experience a data science consulting role! You also get to meet really interesting people and learn about the broader application of the skills you’re gaining in your current PhD programme.