Why I'm Studying Data Science
I've been in public policy for 20 years, working in the UK Civil Service and both in-house and consultancy political lobbying. So the motivation for studying data science may not be immediately clear.
A simple search for the term data science elicits articles that refer to it as a dream career with lucrative earnings, and a rare sector in which there is a dearth of skilled individuals. Yet the pleasant thought of being in-demand and earning well are not my motivations; they come from a much deeper place.
- Teaming public policy analysis with statistical analysis and data mining - to me, these seem like natural bedfellows, and the healthy scepticism and curiousity that comes with postgraduate study of political science at postgraduate level should stand me in good stead in data science.
- Reconciling the dearth of information on which to base insight and action in real estate - throughout my career, it's been surprising how often there is a reliance on qualitative evidence and limited information when making policy recommendations. This is especially true of real estate, where splits in responsibilities in building ownership, management and occupation permeate policy areas such as energy, maintenance and even building acquisition and provide often diametrically opposed incentives to different parties. Advances in processing power and the volume, velocity and variety of data offer us opportunities to use unconventional strategies to resolve policy problems in real estate and cities.
- Making inference from non-traditional sources of data to establish insights about cities and communities - looking at the strides that have been made in separate industries and adjacent sectors using mobility data to detect fraud, Cities of Data calls for the establishment of a New Science of Cities, and Alphabet's Project Sidewalk seems to agree that existing cities can be made smarter through listening to them through data, and establishing what they have to say.
- Building in haste, repenting at leisure - human beings build at probably their fastest rate yet our understanding of our urban environment is poor. This is concerning both for the reason that buildings endure for generations, locking in decisions, but also because we face mega trends whose implications are arguably not fully understood: what does it mean for cities that we are seeing a rise in single person households? How can we make cities accessible for our ageing populations? How will electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles change city flow and design? How can we pave the way for no net carbon cities and buildings? Without data and the insights they can provide we arguably do not stand a chance in meeting these mega trends head-on.
- I love to code - seriously. I may not be the world's best coder, but the indescribable and childish glee I get when I solve a problem or find a way past an obstacle can't be beaten. It'd be a privilege to feel that daily.
