Data study groups (DSGs) are intensive "collaborative hackathons" where a team of talented multi-disciplinary researchers tackle a real-world problem posed by an organisation from industry, government or the third sector. During the event participants brainstorm and explore new data science approaches to the problem and record their methods and findings in a report which is published on the Turing website. Researchers are typically PhD students and early career academics.

This September, the Turing are running a DSG in collaboration with CHIRP, a charitable organisation dedicated to improving safety in the maritime and aviation sectors.

CHIRP operates a confidential reporting system that allows individuals working in these industries to raise safety concerns without fear of victimisation. To support this mission, the organisation has compiled a large dataset of maritime incident reports submitted to national institutions around the world. This DSG will explore whether text-based and quantitative models can distinguish isolated incidents from broader safety trends.

They welcome candidates with experience in:

• NLP and text analysis
• Econometrics
• Causal inference and causal machine learning
• Maritime safety or maritime operations

This opportunity is well suited to candidates interested in applying rigorous quantitative and computational methods to a socially important, real-world safety problem.

This DSG will run: Monday 7 September – Friday 18 September 2026
Week one: Part-time, online | Week two: Full-time, the Alan Turing Institute (The British Library), London

Find out more and apply here

Note: You can apply to join the DSG participant pool at any time. For each DSG, participants will be selected from the participant pool based on how closely their skills, experience, and interests align with the specific challenge(s) being addressed. To be considered for this particular DSG you must apply by 3 August 2026.