HDR UK and Cambridge Spark are today announcing a new partnership to build data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capability in the health sector. Working together, they will provide the AI Apprenticeship Academy for Health’s – offering organisations in the health sector a work-based route for upskilling staff with a masters-equivalent qualification in AI.

The programme will combine Cambridge Spark’s expertise as a data science education technology company with HDR UK’s expertise as the UKs national institute for health data science. The programme is fully funded by the apprenticeship levy and enrolment is now open for employers to join the first cohort starting in September 2021.

With the application of data science and AI in health, there is huge potential to better understand diseases, discover ways to prevent, treat and cure them and optimise the delivery of health systems and services. The UK has some of the richest health data in the world, making it possible to deliver national-scale improvements to health and care and lead the way in using data science and AI to produce better health outcomes for us all. To realise this ambition, organisations in the health sector are faced with a challenge to attract new talent and upskill their existing UK workforce – something this partnership will help solve.

The AI Apprenticeship Academy for Health offers organisations a solution to upskill existing and new staff to build their data and AI capabilities. As part of this unique programme, learners will use, secure, anonymised real-world health datasets in their studies, with access to expert health insights from HDR UK and the industry-leading data science and AI expertise of Cambridge Spark, including their proprietary cloud-based data science learning platform – EDUKATE.AI®.

The Academy is open to employees working in analytical roles who are familiar with programming in Python. During the 15 month programme, they will be equipped with the skillset to discover and devise new data-driven AI solutions, automate and optimise processes and support, augment and enhance human decision-making in health. Learners will build a portfolio of work-based projects during the programme, working with Cambridge Spark’s technical mentors to practically apply their new skills directly to their work.

Dr Raoul-Gabriel Urma, CEO and Founder of Cambridge Spark

“We are incredibly excited to be partnering with HDR UK to support the health sector in building their AI capabilities in the workforce. There are incredible untapped data opportunities within the health sector to improve patient outcomes and human health. Through our partnership with HDR UK we will empower health professionals to take advantage of these opportunities.”

Sarah Cadman, HDR UK Programme Director for Talent and Training

“Data science is becoming critically important for healthcare and we need to be sure that the right training and information is readily available for everyone from students to data engineers, analysts and scientists working in industry, academia or the NHS.

“Working in partnership to develop new, high quality training programmes is a key part of HDR UK’s strategy to power up the UK’s health data science skills. So, we are delighted to be working with Cambridge Spark to provide this innovative Masters-level course, which is a perfect fit for our portfolio.”

To find out more, join our webinar “Building AI Capability in Health” on 16th June at 11am.

Register for the webinar here

 

About Health Data Research UK

HDR UK has a range of education and training options from short CPD-accredited videos to fully funded PhDs.

Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) is the national institute for health data science. Our mission is to unite the UK’s health data to enable discoveries that improve people’s lives. HDR UK is funded by UK Research and Innovation, the Department of Health and Social Care in England and equivalents in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, and leading medical research charities.

HDR UK was set up in 2018 to support research on health data at scale to advance our understanding of disease and enable new discoveries that will ultimately improve health and care. We have established national research programmes that use data at scale, and we are building an infrastructure to enable the responsible access and analysis of this data. Our work is structured around three themes:

  • Uniting health data – which includes the UK Health Data Research Alliance and the Health Data Research Innovation Gateway.
  • Improving health data – which includes tools, methods, Health Data Research Hubs and the BHF Data Science Centre.
  • Using health data – which includes research discoveries and skills development across four national priority areas: Understanding the Causes of Disease, Clinical Trials, Public Health and Better Care.

We are delivering this strategy through our inclusive, team-oriented One Institute ethos – bringing together NHS, universities, research institutes and charities – built on our values.