BBC and UCL launch major partnership to unlock potential of data

BBC Research and Development has announced a five-year research partnership with eight UK Universities, including UCL, to unlock the potential of data in the media. The Data Science Research Partnership will be at the forefront of machine learning in the media industry, helping create a more personal BBC that can inform, educate and entertain in new ways. The partnership brings together industry experts from across the BBC and world-leading UK data scientists from the Universities of Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh and Surrey, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, Ulster University and UCL. The partnership will also collaborate with media and technology organisations from across the UK, Europe and internationally on a range of projects. These will focus on the following four areas, all combining anonymised BBC data with cutting-edge algorithms and analytics. The aim is to create a body of research, insights and prototypes that can start making a real impact on the BBC and its audiences. Understanding audiences: Use data to better understand what audiences want from the BBC, why they want it, and what impact these programmes or services have on them Understanding content: Explore what machine learning can teach the BBC about its programmes and services, and what it stands to gain from it Curation and personalisation: Create a more personal BBC, designing tools and algorithms to help programme makers with editorial and commissioning decisions Content of the future: Design future audience experiences, based on BBC R&D's object-based broadcasting concept, and new forms of data journalism Alongside this will be a range of educational opportunities to help the BBC and its staff improve the skills they'll need in a data-driven future.