First of its kind CDT will offer research career paths to currently under-represented groups in the data visualization sector, with the goal of upskilling the wider workforce to harness the benefits of data visualization.
By Mr Shamim Quadir (Senior Communications Officer), Published (Updated )
Announced today, a new Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) has been funded by a grant of over £10.4 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to help train the next, diverse generation of research leaders in data visualization.
A collaboration between City, University of London and the University of Warwick , the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Diversity in Data Visualization (DIVERSE CDT) will train 60 PhD students, in cohorts of 12 students, beginning in October 2025. The set-up phase will begin in July 2024.
The funding announcement is part of a wider UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) announcement of the UK’s biggest-ever investment in engineering and physical sciences postgraduate skills, totalling more than £1 billion.
DIVERSE CDT will be supported by 19 partner organisations, including the Natural History Museum , the Ordnance Survey, and the Centre for Applied Education Research.
Data Visualization is the practice of designing, developing and evaluating representations of complex data – the kinds of data that lie at the heart of every organisation – to enable more people to make real-world use of a source of information which is otherwise challenging to access.
Data visualization can be used to synthesise complex data into a clear story upon which actions can be based. From illustrating how the Covid-19 pandemic made countries poorer, to showing how the processing-power of cryptocurrencies may have driven up the price of high-street graphics cards; data visualization is crucial to society obtaining meaning from data.
However, no current CDT focuses upon training its students in data visualization. This is despite government’s Department of Digital, Media, Culture and Sport listing data visualization as one of the top five skills needed by businesses - with 23% of businesses saying that their sector has insufficient capacity. Likewise, Wiley’s Digital Skills Gap Index, 2021 listed data visualization as the third most needed business and organisational skill for employees to succeed in the workplace in the next five years.
Key innovations of DIVERSE CDT will include students:
- undertaking and relating a series of applied studies with world-leading industrial and academic partners through a structured internship programme and an exchange programme with 18 leading international labs
- using an interactive digital notebook for recording, reflection and reporting which becomes a “thesis” for examination, in lieu of the traditional doctoral thesis, and in line with current best practice in data visualization methodology
- being provided with tools that mitigate against the dreaded isolation that PhD students fear, including opportunities for cohort reflection and supportive inclusion via enriching and inclusive processes for admissions, support, and a research environment that addresses barriers for students from under-represented backgrounds; specifically students who identify as female, students from ethnic minority backgrounds and students from lower socio-economic groups.
DIVERSE CDT will be led by Professor Stephanie Wilson, Co-Director of the Centre for HCI Design (HCID) and Professor Jason Dykes, Professor of Visualization and Co-Director of the giCentre , both of the School of Science & Technology at City, University of London.
Members of DIVERSE CDT’s interdisciplinary team include:
- Professor Cagatay Turkay and Dr Gregory McInerny from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies, University of Warwick
- Dr Sara Jones, Reader in Creative Interactive System Design, Bayes Business School at City
- Professor Rachel Cohen, Professor in Sociology, Work and Employment, School of Policy & Global Affairs at City
- Professor Jo Wood, Professor of Visual Analytics, and Dr Marjahan Begum, Lecturer in Computer Science, School of Science & Technology at City
- Ian Gibbs, Head of Academic Enterprise at City.
Collaborating labs
Collaborators on the international exchange programme comprise the world’s leading visualization research labs, including the Visualization Group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA; the Embodied Visualisation Group, Monash University, Australia; Georgia Tech, USA; the Aviz team at Inria & Université Paris-Saclay, France; the DataXExperience Lab, University of Calgary, Canada; and the ixLab, Simon Fraser University, Canada.
Reflecting on DIVERSE CDT, Co-Principal Investigator, Professor Stephanie Wilson said:
Professor Cagatay Turkay said:
Dr Sara Jones said:
Professor Rachel Cohen said:
Professor Leanne Aitken, Vice-President (Research), City, University of London, said:
Professor Charlotte Deane, Executive Chair of the EPSRC, part of UKRI, said:
Science and Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan, said:
About the funder
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK. Our portfolio covers a vast range of fields from digital technologies to clean energy, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry.
EPSRC invests in world-leading research and skills, advancing knowledge and delivering a sustainable, resilient and prosperous UK. We support new ideas and transformative technologies which are the foundations of innovation, improving our economy, environment and society. Working in partnership and co-investing with industry, we deliver against national and global priorities.