talk-data.com

Enjoy three talks from our brilliant speakers after drinks and networking.

Sponsors: NumFOCUS Exeter Innovation Hub Butterfly Data - https://butterflydata.co.uk Mekion - https://www.mekion.co.uk

Agenda:

• 18:45 Doors open • 19:15 Talks start • 20:30 Talks finish - stick around for a drink and networking at the CUCKOO taproom across the road.

Talk #1 by Lucie Wright From South West Water

Title: Natural Capital Mapping in the Water Sector

Right now we are experiencing a step-change in the way we manage the natural world around us, thanks to a combination of public datasets combined with high resolution satellite imagery now at our fingertips. This talk is an introduction to the real world application of an AI powered GIS system in the context of habitat mapping and how humans are essential to shaping its functionality.

Talk #2 by Jamie Conn and Matt Drew From Sparx Learning

Title: Beyond multiple choice: Using LLMs for Marking and Feedback in Secondary Science Sparx Science is an online homework system used weekly by over 400,000+ students in England, part of the broader Sparx portfolio which serves 2,600+ schools and 2.2m+ students. Traditionally, open-response questions—requiring students to answer with anything from a few words to full paragraphs—have required marking by teachers. As a result, online homework systems typically relied on constrained question types, such as multiple-choice. However, Large language models (LLMs) have opened the door to reliably mark and provide meaningful feedback on open-response tasks, supporting effective retrieval practice and challenging students to think deeply. In this talk, we'll share our approach to using LLMs to automatically mark prose in Sparx Science, including: fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and everything in between.

Talk #3 by Yash Sakhuja From Performalytics

Title: Presentation on how AI can be used for fuzzy matching Showcasing how vector embeddings and unsupervised learning techniques can effectively deduplicate and merge messy customer data, illustrated through a real-world use case.

A little more about our speakers

• Jamie Conn

Leads the product development of Sparx Science. Formerly a Data Scientist developing personalisation algorithms used across Sparx products.

• Matt Drew

Data Scientist in the Modelling & Research team at Sparx. Works largely on the monitoring, development, and deployment of the various models used in our products.

• Yash Sakhuja

“I’m a Data & Insights Analyst at Performalytics, where I help e-commerce, retail, and sports brands unlock growth through data storytelling, machine learning, and AI. With a Master’s in Operations Research and Risk Analysis from the University of Manchester, I’ve delivered talks at PyData Manchester, Southampton, and Cambridge. Outside of work, I serve as the Vice President of Education at Toastmasters in Oxford, combining my love for public speaking with a passion for improv and all things data.”

CODE OF CONDUCT 
The PyData Code of Conduct governs this meetup ([https://pydata.org/code-of-conduct/](https://pydata.org/code-of-conduct/)). To discuss any issues or concerns relating to the code of conduct or behaviour of anyone at the PyData meetup, please contact the PyData Exeter organisers, or you can submit a report of any potential Code of Conduct violation directly to NumFOCUS (https://numfocus.typeform.com/to/ynjGdT)

We're back for another event in 2023 - same time and place, new speakers. Come join us! Big thanks to everyone who made the inaugural event a success. We look forward to welcoming you (and hopefully lots of new faces) back.

Get to know the other attendees over a drink and pizza, followed by several talks. After the event we invite you to come along to Topsham Brewery to discuss the talks, make new connections and enjoy the company.

Agenda:

• 18:30 Doors open (ring reception)
• 19:15 Talks start
• 20:30 Moving on to Topsham Brewery

Talks: 25-minute talks:

• "Teaching drunk giraffes to walk using reinforcement learning" by Tim Dodwell.
• "Teaching Astronomy with Python" by Dimitrios Theodorakis.

10-minute lightning talk:

• "Using synthetic data to unblock the client project" by David Dancey.

If you're interested in presenting at future events please submit a talk proposal: PyData Talk Proposal Form.

Speakers: Tim Dodwell: As the Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of digiLab, he leads the development of innovative and scalable solutions for the digital twin revolution. digiLab is a fast-growing start-up that leverages artificial intelligence, mathematical modeling, and statistical data analysis to help engineering industries optimize their complex systems and make effective decisions. He is also a Turing AI Fellow and a Chair of Data Centric Engineering at the University of Exeter, where he conducts cutting-edge research on the fusion of real-world data and mathematical models for engineering applications. He works with partners from aerospace, high-value manufacturing, weather, air traffic control, water, and energy sectors.

Dimitrios Theodorakis: He is a former science teacher (physics specialist) turned software engineer based at the UK Met Office. An Astronomer by training and keen Python programmer his interests lie in how coding can be used to teach other subjects, using Python to teach the BTEC Unit 16: Astronomy and Space course and as part of astronomy club. During the first lockdown in 2020, he started the “Astronomy and Python” project which incorporates coding into the teaching of astronomy at all levels. Since then, the project has grown to over 15 interactive Python activities and created the “astroedu” package that provides utility code and activities to teach astronomy.

David Dancey: They are a data consultant at Butterfly Data and have worked across a variety of public sector projects. Previous experience includes ML-based insurance risk profiling and the assessment of flood mitigation plans using simulations.

Sponsors: DigiLab, University of Exeter

If your plans change, please cancel your attendance on Meetup in good time to free up your space for other community members.

CODE OF CONDUCT The PyData Code of Conduct governs this meetup (https://pydata.org/code-of-conduct/). To discuss any issues or concerns relating to the code of conduct or behaviour of anyone at the PyData meetup, please contact the PyData Exeter organisers, or you can submit a report of any potential Code of Conduct violation directly to NumFOCUS (https://numfocus.typeform.com/to/ynjGdT).