Data management and AI skills training for government economists
Data management and AI skills training for government economists
Tuesday 20 Jan 2026Thirty-five members of the Government Economic Service from across government departments and regions attended a winter school hosted by the CAGE Research Centre.
The two-day event looked at coding, data management and using AI for research design, and was an opportunity for early career government economists to develop practical skills and engage with applied research techniques.
Participants at the winter school had interactive sessions with Mirko Draca (University of Warwick/CAGE Director) on organising a professional coding workflow and analysing datasets; and Peter John Lambert (University of Warwick) around using AI tools to achieve research tasks more effectively.
They also had an insightful presentation from Amrita Kulka (University of Warwick) on the Where to Build project and mapping tool which analyses housing demand and looks at barriers to supply and planning across the UK.
James Smith, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation delivered a keynote on the low growth challenge and the need for a place-based approach to ensure equality of pay and productivity across the UK.
"The content covered was quite extensive, and the delivery of the presentations was amazing. Lecturers went at the right pace and were very knowledgeable.”
“The speakers were clearly very engaged and interested in their subjects which was a really big bonus. Really good resources to go with, too.”
“All of the speakers and sessions were engaging and enjoyable and there was a good mixture of technical material and interesting presentations.”
CAGE is an ESRC funded research centre based in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick which delivers policy-driven economic research informed by culture, history and behaviour.