Industrial Challenge Project Advancing and Applying the Science of Behaviour Change through Machine-Live Learning

This PhD requires advanced quantitative methods training to understand, communicate and potentially develop AI functionality within systems, as well as further statistical methods training in order to run experiments and simulations.

Formal training for the studentship in 2018/19 will include modules run within UCL the 'Advanced Quantitative Methods' course (MSc Social Research Methods) and the 'Introduction to Deep Learning' (MSc Machine Learning), both running in early 2019, and covering both the Machine Learning and Statistical Methods Training Requirements. Further training in 2018/19 will be undertaken through National Centre for Research Methods courses, using the available training budget, on 'Applied Data Science with R' (https://www.ncrm.ac.uk/training/show.php?article=9167) and 'Introduction to Python' (https://www.ncrm.ac.uk/training/show.php?article=8792); a course on 'Design of experiments and analysing experimental data' will also be undertaken where budget allows (https://www.ncrm.ac.uk/training/show.php?article=8731). I will also apply for a place in the 2019 Machine Learning Summer School in London, which will provide training across a range of topics in machine learning and AI delivered by a range of international experts in the field (https://sites.google.com/view/mlss-2019/home). Informal training will also be arranged with the IBM Research Team in Dublin through work shadowing and meetings, and further training opportunities will be explored with UCL colleagues at the Alan Turing Institute.

In future years, to build on this grounding in AQM, further UCL modules will be undertaken, including 'Affective Computing and Human-Robot Interaction', 'Approximate Inference and Learning in Probabilistic Models' and 'Computing for Practical Statistics Decision & Risk'. This will be supplemented by further NCRM and other training, as well as informal opportunities. In addition to the AQM described above, other forms of training will include attending conferences (and potentially presenting my work); target conferences will include the Cochrane Colloquium and future meetings of the APA Technology, Mind and Society group.