From June 19 to June 30, 2023, the Institut Polytechnique de Paris-CREST will sponsor a Summer Institute in Computational Social Sciences. This has been made possible by the generous support of Hi!PARIS and Ecodec. The purpose of the Summer Institute is to bring together scholars interested in Computational Social Science.
The Summer Institute is open to social scientists, computer scientists, and a few seats will be reserved for people working professionally at this intersection (such as data journalists). The institute will involve lectures in the morning, lab sessions in the afternoon, and guest lectures in the evening. During the second week, the participants will take part in group work aimed at advancing a research project.
This year’s institute will focus on two aspects. The collection of digital trace data (web scraping, data cleaning, restructuring) and quantitative textual analysis using Natural Language Processing methods. Participants will have ample opportunities to discuss their ideas and research with the organizers, with other participants, as well as with guest speakers. Because we are committed to open and reproducible research, all materials created for the Summer Institute will be released open-source (find last year’s materials here).
SICSS-Paris is geared toward Ph.D. students, postdoctoral researchers, and early career-stage faculties. Advanced Master’s students may also apply. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, especially applicants from groups currently under-represented in computational social science. Although we will prioritize applicants from Europe, we are also keen on building bridges across continents. Scholars from the African continent are thus highly encouraged to apply and their travel costs (including visa fees) can be covered. Please note that we strive to avoid flying when unnecessary. To this effect, applicants from a continent on which several satellites are operated will not be selected. This does not apply to scholars from the African continent.
Housing will be offered to all applicants requesting it. We will also offer a few travel allowances to participants who would need (and request) one. About 20 participants will be invited. Participants are expected to fully attend and participate in the entire two-week program. Application materials are due February 28, 2023.
The evening talks are open to the public. People who want to attend are asked to register online (form will be linked as the program gets finalized). The talks and the institute itself will take place on the premises of ENSAE, 5 Avenue Henri le Chatelier, 91120 Palaiseau.