Gear up for a health data science career

Our week-long intensive courses offer rapid but detailed introductions to crucial health data science topics.

Expert-led talks and lectures plus hands-on practical sessions combine to swiftly and effectively build knowledge and understanding and show what you could achieve in a health data science career.
They are organised in partnership with The University of Birmingham – one of the country’s leading centres in health data science expertise and research.

“I trained as an engineer but switched to health data science after discovering how relevant my expertise was for solving biological and health problems. These courses are a superb way to help anyone with a strong quantitative background to do the same.”

Professor Christopher Yau, University of Oxford and Health Data Research UK

Do you have a quantitative degree?

These immersion weeks are for you if:

  • you are interested in a career in health data science
  • you are considering transferring from another discipline
  • you have recently transferred from another discipline
  • you are working in health data science but want to widen your knowledge.

Applications are welcome from returning students and members of under-represented groups. 

Not sure if you meet the entry requirements?

Email learn@hdruk.ac.uk, and we’ll be happy to clarify.

“As a professional working in medical image processing, these training programmes will significantly enhance my skills in health data science.”

Outcomes and benefits

Health data science offers great career opportunities to people with diverse skills in mathematics, programming, and data analysis. Graduates with backgrounds in subjects such as physics, engineering, mathematics and computer science are ideally placed to make the transition and these courses are an excellent first step. They address the gaps in knowledge that are key obstacles to changing disciplines. 

Our courses are created by subject specialists supported by teaching fellow Dr Ben McCanna who was a theoretical physicist who crossed the disciplinary divide.  The courses leave participants ideally placed to look at training, educational or job opportunities in health data science – a field where there is a national skills shortage and which offers many opportunities to make a real, direct difference to people’s lives. 

Take part in our next immersion week

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About previous immersion weeks

Working with Real-World Data

Lecture topics included:

  • The benefits and limitations of real-world health data
  • Identifiable, pseudonymised and anonymous data
  • The principles of data cleansing.

Guided practicals covered:

  • Creating a pseudonymised and anonymised dataset
  • Data cleansing
  • Analysing a dataset and answering questions.

Study Design in Health Data Science

Topics covered:

  • the scientific method in health sciences
  • randomised controlled trials and interventional data
  • Mendelian randomisation and instrumental variables
  • observational studies and dealing with bias
  • designing an experimental study.

Participants learned:

  • how health studies are conducted
  • the difference between interventional and observational health studies
  • about study designs
  • how study design impacts the uses of health data
  • about genetics in health studies
  • how to account for bias
  • to design interventional studies to test hypotheses.

Read more about the immersion week.