UCL Social Data Institute

16 Sept

"Of the UCL students that we've taken on board, they are very passionate and they have an excellent work ethic, which we love and is a really, really positive impact on our company." Find out more about the scheme and how to get involved: tinyurl.com/pk7tyjf6 #Internships #politics #Dods #data

📢 We are excited to launch our new Data Storytelling Toolkit! The UCL Social Data Institute, in collaboration with the Geographic Data Service, is pleased to introduce a new open-access resource to support researchers in developing their data storytelling practice. 🔗 tinyurl.com/DataStoryToolkit

ucl.ac.ukSODA Deputy Director receives honourable mention for Edie Turner First Book PrizeThe UCL Social Data Institute would like to congratulate Caroline Parker on this well-deserved recognition.

🎉 Congratulations to Caroline Parker, Deputy Director at UCL Social Data Institute, who received an honourable mention for her book 'Carceral Citizens: Labor and Confinement in Puerto Rico' by the Edie Turner First Book Prize in Ethnographic Writing. #Books #anthropology #ethnography #SocialData

UCL Social Data Institute reposted

UCL Institute of Archaeology

@uclarchaeology.bsky.social

We are hiring: Research Fellow in Spatial Modelling Fixed-term | Full time | Hybrid 🔗Find out more and apply: tinyurl.com/DREAMResearchF #archaeology #UCL #hiring #jobs #IoA

21 Sept

"There's all sorts of choices and decisions that cartographers are making that gently steer us in one direction or another. And that's what makes them so powerful." Check out James Cheshire's (SODA Director and Professor in @uclgeography.bsky.social) on BBC Radio Stoke 👇 #maps #cartography #bbc

spectator.comThe man trying to save Britain’s last great map libraryIn the heart of Bloomsbury, deep in the bowels of the UCL geography department, down corridors floored in institutional linoleum, sticky and scuffed by generations of students, is a room full of maps....

17 Sept

"What we forget when looking at a map on a phone screen is how big physical maps are – you can lean over them, trace routes. They give you a god-like view on the world." James Cheshire, SODA Director and Professor of Cartography (@uclgeography.bsky.social) in @thespectator1828.bsky.social. #maps

8 Sept

"If you’re trying to show things that relate to the population of the planet, Mercator’s not the way to go, because, actually, it expands the areas where no one lives, largely.” James Cheshire, SODA Director and Professor of Cartography (@uclgeography.bsky.social), on BBC Radio 4. #BBC #Maps

7 Sept

"There's no perfect solution to this problem, but I do think the push for more variation in the kinds of maps that we commonly look at is a welcome suggestion." James Cheshire, SODA Director and Professor of Geographic Information and Cartography in @uclgeography.bsky.social on BBC News 👇 #map #UN

tinyurl.comWhat different world maps get right - and what they get wrongAs the UN adopts a new world map to reflect Africa's true size, let's take a closer look at what different maps get right and wrong.

7 Sept

🔗 Find out more at tinyurl.com/bdhcy34t

2 Sept

“I got to upskill people who are way more experienced than me.” Fem Alonge, now a Data Analyst at @octopus.energy, completed her UCL Social Data Science internship at the #BBC. Her experience is a great example of how #internships aren’t just a one-way street. Find out more: tinyurl.com/pk7tyjf6

3 Sept

@sriucl.bsky.social

We are delighted to announce that Michał Iliev, PhD student in the @uclgeography.bsky.social, received the Jack Dangermond Award by Esri UK! Michał won the prize for his Data After Dark StoryMap: Locating London's night-time food deserts. 🧵

The results reveal a stark contrast: while over 92% of daytime workers can reach a grocery store within 10 minutes, this figure drops below 60% after midnight, leaving an estimated 150,000 people still working across many parts of the city without sufficient access to food retail options.

🔗Explore the award-winning StoryMap to learn more about the challenges facing London's night workers and how geospatial research can help shape more equitable cities: tinyurl.com/5y2ts48t 🔗Read the paper: tinyurl.com/6nnbe7tm #DataStories #Geography #ESRI #ESRIUK #DataAfterDark

The study addresses this gap by mapping where and when access to food retail options is most limited for those working between 6 pm and 6 am.

Drawing on a dynamic accessibility framework, we combine mobile-phone-derived worker footfall data, store opening hours, and public transport schedules to develop the first food accessibility model that explicitly captures the shifting spatial distribution of night workers across Greater London.

"Winning an award there gave me a real lift near the end of my PhD, and extra motivation to continue my research on the challenges facing night workers. On top of it all, sharing the experience with Young Scholars from over 30 countries made it one of the most memorable trips of my PhD."

Food inaccessibility is a major issue for London’s 1.3 million night-workers; however, to date, there has been little geospatial or quantitative evidence to show how this issue unfolds across space and time.

Reflecting on the experience, Michał said: "I never imagined that a project on London's night would carry me all the way to San Diego. Presenting our work outside Europe for the first time was exciting, especially in the US, where the study of the urban night is still largely uncharted territory.

"Most of the Esri User Conference attendees that I discussed my work with have never considered how cities and people behave and change throughout the night, so it was rewarding to introduce them to the 'urban night' studies.

UCL Social Research Institute

As part of the award, he attended and presented his research as the 2026 Esri User Conference in San Diego.

UCL Social Data Institute reposted

@sriucl.bsky.social

29 July

We are so proud of our brilliant Social Sciences with Data Science BSc student, Daniel Jones, taking up a @uclsocialdata.bsky.social summer internship at @financialtimes.com. One of his first contributions 👇

ft.comMinisters look at restricting cash payments as disability benefits bill soarsRise in claims since 2019 has been driven by mental health and neuro-developmental conditions

28 July

Not one, not two, but three Senior Promotions💜 Congratulations to Julia Du Pont De Romémont (@uclspp.bsky.social), Caroline Parker (UCL Anthropology), and Igor Tkalec (@uclgeography.bsky.social) on their promotions. Full list: tinyurl.com/35tj2ah8 #Promotions #UCL #SocialData #Celebrate

23 July

In this paper James Cheshire (@uclgeography.bsky.social) and Rob Davidson draw on 20 semi-structured interviews with people who communicate research on geographic health inequalities to explore the challenges of using data visualisation in practice 🔗 tinyurl.com/5d4y763u #Data #Health @ucl.ac.uk

UCL Department of Geography

21 July

Check out the journal article by our Deputy Director, Caroline Parker, and Community Health and Translation Project Officer Daniela Larrain (UCL Anthropology)👇 🔗 tinyurl.com/4vnasza3 #Prisons #UCL #LatinAmerica #Health #Anthropology

UCL Social Data Institute reposted

@uclgeography.bsky.social

20 July

Catch Professor James Cheshire on BBC Sounds. 🎧 If you missed Sunday's BBC 6 Music appearance with @cerysmatthews.bsky.social, you can now listen back as James discusses The Library of Lost Maps and the music that inspired it. 🗺️ #UCLGeography #Cartography @ucl.ac.uk @uclsocialdata.bsky.social

tinyurl.comCerys Matthews - Myer U Clark session and looking for lost maps - BBC SoundsBristol-based artist Myer U Clark in session and talking lost maps with James Cheshire.

UCL Social Data Institute reposted

UCL Department of Geography

@uclgeography.bsky.social

16 July

This Sunday at 10am, Professor James Cheshire (MSc Social and Geographic Data Science) joins BBC Radio 6 Music to discuss The Library of Lost Maps, exploring @ucl.ac.uk’s map archive and how maps have shaped discovery, society and our understanding of the world. @uclsocialdata.bsky.social

tinyurl.comBBC Radio 6 Music - Cerys Matthews, Myer U Clark session and looking for lost mapsBristol-based artist Myer U Clark in session and talking lost maps with James Cheshire.

UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies

13 July

NEW PUBLICATION: Check out the journal article by our Deputy Director, Caroline Parker, Amaya Perez-Brumer, Mariangela Castro Arteaga, Aarti Doshi, Karla Solari Perez, Julien Brisson, Alixe Sánchez, Carmen H. Logie, Alfonso Silva Santisteban P. 👇 tinyurl.com/2rwxe3dw #Peru #Lima #Venezuela

UCL Social Data Institute reposted

@clscohorts.bsky.social

10 July

New Millennium Cohort Study data release! The MCS core dataset consolidates a wide range of core variables from all 8 sweeps of data collection into one ready-to-use research resource. Follow the link for the user guide, data access info & supporting code: bit.ly/4gs8EoZ @ukdataservice.bsky.social

UCL Social Data Institute reposted

UCL Institute of Archaeology

@uclarchaeology.bsky.social

3 July

We are hiring: Research Fellow in African Heritage, Remote Sensing and GIS The postholder will be employed on the Mapping Africa’s Endangered Archaeological Sites and Monuments (MAEASaM) project. Full time | Hybrid | Fixed-term | Deadline: 26 July 2026 Find out more: tinyurl.com/2myczpv8 #jobs

24 June

Sometimes, having a bit of extra capacity makes all the difference ☕ Find out more about what our internship programme can do for your organisation: tinyurl.com/pk7tyjf6 @ucl.ac.uk #interns #internships #coffee #RedemptionRaosters

UCL Social Data Institute reposted

UCL

@ucl.ac.uk

18 June

📣 Have you heard? Thanks to incredible minds from every corner of the globe, from curious first-years to Nobel prize-winning researchers, we’re now joint #8 in the QS World University Rankings. We are University College London. And here, it can happen. #QSWUR 🔗: https://bit.ly/4vlW4w2

uncoveringpolitics.comTeaching The Use Of Evidence In Policymaking | UCL Uncovering PoliticsThis week we ask how we can teach future policymakers to use evidence well.

12 June

Check out Julia De Romémont, our Deputy Director, on @uclspp.bsky.social's podcast, UCL Uncovering Politics 👇

UCL Political Science@uclspp.bsky.social

On this week's episode of UCL Uncovering Politics, we speak to Dr Julia De Romémont about a new module on UCL's Master's programmes that teaches students to think rigorously about what conclusions can and cannot be drawn from research. @ucl.ac.uk #Policy #Evidence #HigherEducation #Podcasts #UCL

10 June

Wondering how a Social Data Intern could support your organisation? Head to tinyurl.com/pk7tyjf6 to find out more!

UCL Social Data Institute@uclsocialdata.bsky.social

🥳 Thank you to everyone who made it to our event celebrating 10 years of our Social Data Internship programme! If you would like to find out more about how hosting a social data intern could help you, head to tinyurl.com/pk7tyjf6 or email us at UCL.SODA@ucl.ac.uk #SocialData #Internships #Intern

1 June

Meet James Cheshire, Director of the UCL Social Data Institute (SODA) As well as his role in SODA, James is Professor of Geographic Information and Cartography at @uclgeography.bsky.social and Deputy Director of Smart Data Research UK's Geographic Data Service. 🔗 Read more: tinyurl.com/4yktptd2

22 May

☀️ Boost your CV with data skills this summer! Join us for our three-day (15-hour) course, equipping health scientists and practitioners with essential tools to gather human-centred insights and turn them into actionable strategies. 🔗 tinyurl.com/HealthCPD #Health #Shortcourses #SocialData #Data

18 May

🩺 What drives behaviours and programme outcomes in public health? Advance your data skills with our three-day (15-hour) course, equipping health scientists and practitioners with essential tools to gather human-centred insights and turn them into actionable strategies. 🔗 tinyurl.com/HealthCPD

UCL Department of Geography

14 May

☀️Learn new programming skills this summer! Boost your CV by signing up for our Introduction to Bayesian Inference and Modelling four-day (eighteen hours) short course. Find out more and book your spot: tinyurl.com/BayesianInfe... #ShortCourses #Bayesian #SocialData #Programming #CV @ucl.ac.uk

UCL Social Data Institute reposted

@uclgeography.bsky.social

13 May

Teaching + spatial data = real-world impact. We’re looking for an Associate Lecturer (Teaching) in Social Data Science and Cartography to join the @ucl.ac.uk Geography. 👉 Details: tinyurl.com/ucl-carto #UCLGeography #GIS #SpatialData

11 May

This week⏰ 🔗https://tinyurl.com/soda10y Join us to celebrate of 10 years of connecting organisations with world-class talent and find out more about how our internship programme can help you! Booking is essential: tinyurl.com/soda10y #Interns #events #UCL @ucl.ac.uk

7 May

⏰Just one week to go! Join us to find out more about how the Social Data Institute's Internship Programme can help you. Get your ticket: tinyurl.com/soda10y #Internships #NGOs #Collaboration #UCL200 @ucl.ac.uk

UCL Social Data Institute@uclsocialdata.bsky.social

For a decade, SODA's Internship Programme has partnered with organisations across sectors to deliver real-world impact. Join us to celebrate this milestone and discover how you can collaborate with top-tier talent from one of the world’s leading universities: tinyurl.com/soda10y #Interns #Data

UCL Social Data Institute reposted