Government Statistical Service (GSS) Conference 2023
- Date
- 8th November 2023 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Venue
- Hybrid
We’re excited to announce that the GSS Conference 2023 will take place on Wednesday 8 November. The theme this year will be “Statistics and diversity: using statistics to build a more inclusive world”.
Venue
The conference will be a hybrid event. The in-person aspect of the event will take place across three Government sites:
- Office for National Statistics, Newport, South Wales
- Office for National Statistics, Titchfield, Hampshire, England
- Scottish Government, Victoria Quay, Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland
You will also be able to attend the conference virtually on Microsoft Teams. Details of how to attend will be made available soon.
Speakers
We are pleased to announce that we will be welcoming back the UK’s National Statistician, Professor Sir Ian Diamond, and the Director General for Regulation at the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), Ed Humpherson, to this year’s conference.
We are also lining up some fantastic keynote speakers. You can look forward to hearing from:
- Reema Patel from Ipsos UK
- Richard Laux from Cabinet Office
- Zamila Bunglawala from the London School of Economics (LSE) International Inequalities Institute
Parallel sessions
We are now inviting statisticians and data scientists from government departments, public sector organisations and private sector organisations to submit an abstract if they would like to give a parallel session presentation. Each parallel session presenter will have a 25-minute slot in which to present on their chosen topic. Submissions should be related to this year’s theme of statistics and diversity. We encourage proposals from statisticians and data scientists from a variety of backgrounds.
You can complete our online form to submit your application to give a parallel session presentation. The form asks you to provide:
- an abstract — this should be a maximum of 300 words
- a brief explanation of how your presentation relates to this year’s theme of statistics and diversity
- an indication of which conference locations you would be able to present at
Please submit your application by 5pm on Friday 29 September 2023.
We are happy to accept abstracts for work in progress, but the work should be due to be completed before the conference. Please note that submitting an application for a parallel sessions presentation does not guarantee a place at the conference.
All abstracts will be reviewed by members of the GSS Conference Committee. We will contact you by the start of October to let you know whether your application has been successful.
Delegates
We will announce more information about the conference and how to attend as a delegate very soon. The information will be shared on this webpage and by email.
Meet the organising team
Eleanor Cuzner
Eleanor is based in Bournemouth and works for the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA).
Favourite random statistic or publication
More people in the world own mobile phones than toothbrushes!
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was geography.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I would have my own women’s football podcast.
Ben Peters
Ben is based in London and works for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
Favourite random statistic or publication
My favourite publication is the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics (DUKES).
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was PE.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I would be a gardener.
Beth Cunningham
Beth is based in Manchester and works for the Department for Education (DfE).
Favourite random statistic or publication
I like any statistics that tell me eating chocolate is good for me!
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was PE.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I would probably own a sweet shop.
Cheena Ghataoura
Cheena is based in London and works for the Department for Education (DfE).
Favourite random statistic or publication
It’s not really related to statistics, but applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have always fascinated me. One of the applications which still baffles me is how robots can judge a beauty contest! This is where robots are trained to detect face symmetry and features, including wrinkles, skin health, ageing factor, and other related factors. Humans take a photo of themselves and submit it to the robot for evaluation based on data that has already been supplied to them. The robots can detect and analyse the data online. It supports the robotic jury in comparing the results and finalising Beauty Queen and King.
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subjects were maths and space science.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I would be an astronaut.
Emma Campbell
Emma is based in Newport and works for the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Favourite random statistic or publication
I love a good academic article, especially from medical journals!
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was biology.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
Before coming to ONS I was a cancer research scientist. I loved that!
Mahima Zain
Mahima works for Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Carolyne Tah
Carolyne works for the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Riya Atanasova
Riya is based in Dundee and Edinburgh and works for Scottish Government.
Favourite random statistic or publication
My favourite random statistic is that there are still an average of 7 cases of plague each year in the US and 80% of these are of the bubonic form.
Favourite subject at school
I always enjoyed languages at school, starting with French at nursery and primary, then Russian and English at secondary school. My favourite subject was always Bulgarian Language and Literature though and I briefly dreamt about being a writer or journalist.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I most likely would have stayed in academia and pursued a career in Neuroscience which was the original plan. Or I would have followed that dream of being a writer or journalist.
Joseph Bull
Joe is based in Leeds and works for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Favourite random statistic or publication
93% of people don’t check facts they read on the internet. Or is it 94%…?
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was maths.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I would be a food critic.
Camilla Somers
Camilla is based Glasgow and works for Public Health Scotland.
Favourite random statistic or publication
I try to catch the British Medical Journal’s Christmas Edition which can usually bring some statistical festive cheer!
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was history.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I would do something related to food.
Fabiana Macor
Fabiana is based in London and works for Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
Annie Campbell
Annie is based in Cardiff and works for Welsh Government.
Favourite random statistic or publication
I always love seeing the trends in baby names and how they change over time, as well as seeing all the unusual and unique names.
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was art.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
If I had infinite money then I would be travelling the world!
Rebecca Smith
Rebecca is based in Glasgow and works for Data and Analytics Team at SQA.
Favourite random statistic or publication
As of 2021, there are more mobile phones in the world than people!
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was mathematics — thanks to some wonderful teachers and their motivational cake Fridays!
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I would be an artist or work in arts-based research.
Matt Heery
Matt works for Cabinet Office.
Haydn Gill
Haydn is based in Bristol and works for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
Favourite random statistic or publication
My hometown of Cardiff was once crowned the Greggs capital of the UK, with one Greggs for every 19,000 people.
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was geography. I spent the lessons reading the geography textbook in full – it was an engaging read!
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I have always dreamed of owning and running a café which would only serve hot drinks and fish finger sandwiches, with discounts if people walk or cycle.
Mark Ranganathan
Mark is based in London and works for the Department for Business and Trade.
Favourite random statistic or publication
Most of the London Underground network is above ground. 55% of the network is above ground and only 45% is actually underground.
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was maths.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I would be an operational researcher.
Menna Zayed
Menna is based in Leeds and works for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Favourite random statistic or publication
Every minute humans shed an average of over 30,000 dead skin cells.
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was biology.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I would be a chef.
Ally Turner
Ally is based in Salford and works for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
Favourite random statistic or publication
An amazing 98% of Norway’s electricity is generated from renewable sources.
Favourite subject at school
My favourite subject was art.
What would you be doing if you were not a statistician?
I would be a marine biologist. Or maybe I would just spend all my time hiking in Scotland.