CAGE GES Winter School 2026

CAGE GES Winter School 2026

11th - 13th January 2026

Are you a Government Economic Service member interested in growing your knowledge base around coding, data management and using AI for research design?

Applications are now open for our annual winter school, specifically designed for GES members.

CAGE is a research centre based in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick. We deliver policy-driven economics research informed by culture, history and behaviour.

Building on the success of our previous winter school, this year’s programme will run over two days and further enhance opportunities for participants to develop practical skills and engage with applied research techniques.

All accommodation, meals and travel contributions will be funded by CAGE.

Organiser: Professor Mirko Draca, Director of CAGE Research Centre, University of Warwick

Confirmed presenters: Mirko Draca (University of Warwick), Peter John Lambert (LSE)

Guest speakers: Mike BrewerLink opens in a new window (Resolution Foundation) + more to be confirmed

Location and timing:
Radcliffe Conference Centre,
University of Warwick,
Coventry
CV4 7AL,
United Kingdom

The Winter School will begin with a welcome dinner on the evening of Sunday 11th January and finish at 4pm on the afternoon of Tuesday 13th January.

[FULL PROGRAMME TO FOLLOW]

What will I learn?

The programme will be a mix of lectures and interactive sessions delivered by academic and policy experts and cover the following:

• Coding for economists: learn how to organise a professional coding workflow.
  
• Data management and analysis: understand ways to put together, present and analyse complex repeated cross-section and panel datasets
  
• Working on the cloud: a guide to setting up and running big data analysis on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
  
• Using Large Language Models: learn how to build new types of data for economics research.

The timetable of the winter school will be organised around lectures in the first half of the day with research presentations / case studies in the second half. There will also be the chance for more hands-on and participatory work in the afternoon sessions.

Biographies of the speakers

Mirko DracaLink opens in a new window is a professor of economics at the University of Warwick, a research associate at the Centre for Economic Performance, and CAGE Research Centre Director. His main research area is applied microeconomics, with applications to labour markets, political economy, criminal behaviour and innovation and technology.

Link opens in a new window

Peter John LambertLink opens in a new window is an economist and co-director of the Applied Economics using AI (AEAI) Lab. His research focuses on leveraging novel data and AI/LLMs to study organizations, industries, and economic growth. He studied his PhD in Economics at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Eligibility

The winter school is open to Government Economic Service members only.

Practicalities

• Accommodation and meals will be provided free of charge to students. Economy only travel expenses (up to £75) will also be covered.
• Travel expenses will be reimbursed post event. Facilities are fully accessible.
• Applicants must be available and attend for the full duration of the winter school.
• Applicants must bring their own laptop preferably with Python installed OR the ability to use Google Colab (which will run Python in the cloud).
• All meals are included.

How to Apply

Please click the button below and fill out the form by Wednesday 3rd December 2025.

Apply for a placeLink opens in a new window

Notification of acceptance will be sent out by Monday 8th December 2025.

Any questions about the Winter School, please direct your enquiry to cage.centre@warwick.ac.uk