RI Masterclasses in Data Science 2027

Lobby of the Warwick Statistics Department

RI Masterclasses in Data Science

What are the Royal Institution Masterclasses at Warwick?

Ri masterclasses at Warwick are an exciting opportunity for young people to explore the fascinating worlds of data science, mathematics and engineering. Through hands-on, interactive workshops we aim to raise students' enthusiasm and nurture their continued engagement with STEM disciplines.

What are the Ri Masterclasses in Data Science?

Whatever we do, from online shopping and social media to using music and podcast services or browsing the internet, data is collected.
Data science is concerned with turning this data into actionable knowledge, improving decision making and solving real-life problems.

The Warwick Ri Masterclasses in Data Science is a new series that was established in 2025, now running for its third edition.

Each masterclass consists of an interactive workshop that explores an aspect or method in Data Science including modern statistics and probability theory, and is delivered by academics and students from the Department of Statistics.

Successful Year 10 students will attend the Saturday morning Masterclasses at the Department of Statistics, at the University of Warwick in the spring term. These classes start on 23rd January 2027 and finish with a celebration event on 20th March 2027. Teachers and families are invited to this celebration event.

Inspiring talks
Subject experts
Labs and hands-on sessions

Can students from my school get involved?

For Teachers: local schools (within easy transport to Coventry) are invited to nominate up to 5 pupils from Year 10, attempting to ensure a mix of genders in the group of nominated students.
For Parents: to apply for a position for your child, please fill in the application form below.

How to apply?

If you are a parent, you will have to fill in an online registration form with your contact details and medical information.

Application for the Ri Masterclasses in Data Science 2027

Complete the application form

The application period is now open for the 2027 intake.

For any information, please get in touch by contacting: francesca.basini.1@warwick.ac.uk

When are the Masterclasses taking place?

The dates for the Ri Masterclasses 2027 Series are:

Saturday mornings January 23rd, January 30th, February 6th, February 27th, March 6th, and March 20th.
Please note there is a two week break over the February half term.

What will each Masterclass be about?

The sessions that have provisionally been organised for Spring 2027 are listed below*:

Session Title	Led by	Date
Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics: an Exploration of Statistical Fallacies Data is not the be all and end all when it is misused or misapplied. Sometimes this misuse is accidental, but other times it is intended to deceive. In this session, we will discover various ways data can be used to lie or support incorrect assertions, along with methods to help identify and uncover the deception.	Dr Conor Hughes	23/01/2026
*My estimate is better than yours…..or is it?* Statistics is all about trying to explain behaviours in data by modelling it in a way that helps us draw useful conclusions or make meaningful predictions. Just like drawing a line of best fit on a scatter plot, you want to search for trends in the data. But when you draw that line of best fit and then look at the one your friend drew there will be slight differences, so who has the most valid line and is there a best one? For modern complicated statistical models, how we estimate our trends really matters and there are lots of possibilities, a very principled option is called Maximum Likelihood Estimation, and I look forward to trying to convince you that this is the best! Time permitting we will look at how we can capture our estimate’s uncertainty and maybe have a go at some real examples.	Dr Nick Tawn	30/01/2026
*Title* Abstract tbc.	TBC	06/02/2026
*Title* Abstract tbc	TBC	27/02/2026
*Title* Abstract tbc	TBC	06/03/2026
*Mini Masterclass*	TBC	20/03/2026
Celebration Event (Families welcome)

* note there may be some changes to the final plans.

More interested in Maths or Engineering?

Royal Institution Mathematics and Engineering Masterclasses are held at Warwick on the same dates as above.

Click the links below to find out more about the other streams.

Maths Masterclasses for Year 9 and 12 Engineering Masterclasses for Year 9