Starting out in Data Science

Following the success of our introductory launch event on 21st of March, we are very pleased to announce our first regular meetup event on Wednesday 11th of April.

It was great to meet those who could make it to our intro session, and we would like to continue to develop the community into something where we can all come and discuss topics around Python and data science. If you didn't have chance to attend that event, then this upcoming session will also provide an outline of our vision for the future, so please come along!

For upcoming events, we are hoping to hear from many of you about your experiences of analytics and data science, as well as the tips and tricks that you can pass on to others.

The focus of this first event will be on how to develop data science skills in either a current or new role. As we all know, this is an incredibly broad term, which encompasses a great deal of different techniques across a whole range of fields and subjects. There will be two main talks, with refreshments in between:

John Sandall (PyData Bristol organiser): "A Brief Introduction to Data Science, Machine Learning and the PyData Ecosystem":
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Once confined to the corridors of academia, data science and machine learning are now having a massive impact on the world of business and beyond. There have been significant technological advances in just the last 10 years alone, from the explosion of open source software to the big data revolution, to yield what The Economist now calls the fourth industrial revolution.

In this talk we'll go beyond the hype and understand what data science really is, where it came from and where it's going. We'll demystify the field of machine learning, explain the terminology and see examples of how popular techniques are being used in practice. Finally, we'll see how you can get started by exploring the PyData ecosystem and provide concrete next steps towards a career in what the Harvard Business Review has dubbed "the sexiest job of the 21st century".

Tim Vivian-Griffiths: "Training and learning for a career in data science"
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The whole field of data science covers such a large range of different disciplines and techniques. It can often be daunting for people to assess which skills to develop to help progress their careers. This is especially the case for people new to the field.

In this talk, I will describing some of the experiences that I have had in my recent move from academia into an industry role. There will be some pointers on material that I wish I had known earlier on, as well as information on learning materials for new methods and techniques (and how to save money on all of these!).

I hope that the information provided can be of use to people either hoping to move into a data science role, or to start using more of these techniques in a current job or research project.

We are very fortunate to have the sponsorship of both AMPLYFI and Tramshed Tech for this event, and there will be BEER, SOFT DRINKS, and PIZZA available for all attendees.

We hope to see you all again soon!

Tim and Kacper