LSE Data Science Institute officially launches
The LSE Data Science Institute celebrated its official launch on 21 September, bringing together experts from education, industry and public policy to discuss how data science has revolutionised the social sciences.
During the event, the LSE Data Science Institute (DSI) mapped out its ambitions to make a meaningful impact, as it enters a new phase following the award of a new transformative gift.
It was a pleasure to take part in a discussion on the future of social data science. From government to public policy, data science presents both incredible opportunities and significant challenges that will shape our society. It is great to welcome the LSE Data Science Institute to the social data science landscape.
The study of human affairs has transformed the study of the social sciences. Data science needs the domain knowledge from the social sciences whose study is led by LSE. Conversely, social science needs the tools and methods from the emerging fields of data science to study big data. By fostering this multi-disciplinary collaboration, the DSI will bring together LSE’s specialist expertise in the social sciences with technical expertise in machine learning and AI. Also, crucially, LSE brings a critical focus on the paramount ethical and legal issues surrounding the applications of data science to the social world. We fully expect that the next phase of studying the social sciences will be transformative and that the path to this transformation is through data science.
The DSI is uniquely placed to combine the technical aspects of data science – statistics, machine learning, and computer programming– with applications to the social world. It will lead LSE during the ongoing revolution of 'social data science' through spreading data science education across the School and supporting research and outreach via the implementation of innovative ways of working.