Last Updated on March 22, 2022
The purpose of the Summer Institute is to bring together postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers interested in critical computational social science. The Summer Institute is for both social scientists (broadly conceived) and data scientists (broadly conceived).
The SICSS-JIAS/IPATC instructional program will involve lectures, group problem sets, and participant-led research projects. Topics covered include text as data, website scraping, digital field experiments, machine learning and ethics. There will also be outside speakers who conduct computational social science research in a variety of settings and contexts.
Speakers will touch on topics such as artificial intelligence in Africa, equity, ethics, decolonisation and algorithmic justice. There will be ample opportunities for participants to discuss their ideas and research with the organisers, other participants and visiting speakers. Because they are committed to open and reproducible research, all materials created by faculty and students for the Summer Institute will be released open source.
Funding
- Limited transport and accommodation grants available for participants outside Johannesburg.
Eligibility
- Participation is restricted to masters and doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers and researchers working outside of academia.
- However, there are no restrictions based on citizenship, country of study or country of employment. Approximately 20 participants will be invited.
Evaluation
They welcome applicants from all backgrounds and fields of study, especially applicants from groups currently under-represented in computational social science. They evaluate applicants along a number of dimensions:
- Research and teaching in the area of computational social science
- Creative and critical perspectives in computational social science
- Contributions to public goods, such as creating open source software, curating public dataset and creating educational opportunities for others
- Likelihood to benefit from participation
- Likelihood to contribute to the educational experience of other participants
- Potential to spread computational social science to new intellectual communities and areas of research.
They are also keen on applicants who have an interest in Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D). Further, when making their evaluations, the organisers attempt to account for an applicant’s career stage and previous educational opportunities.
Application
Applicants must submit the following documents:
- Curriculum Vitae
- A personal statement (maximum 1000 words)
- A brief research statement (maximum 500 words)
For more information, visit SICSS-JIAS/IPATC.
Deadline: March 31, 2022