Crick Data Challenge 2026

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Location: The Francis Crick Institute

A multi-disciplinary, inter-institutional, hackathon-style event fostering collaborations between Crick scientists and data experts to tackle big scientific problems.

Apply

Are you ready to take on a challenging data problem and apply your computational skills? Want to work as part of a team to explore new ways of analysing data? Want to connect with computational scientists with diverse backgrounds and expertise who share a passion for solving problems and coding challenges?  

Join our inter-institutional 4-day hackathon-style event and tackle one of the projects proposed by Crick scientists! 

How does it work? 

  1. Crick scientists submit their projects to the Crick Data Challenge. 
  1. The organising committee selects up to 6 projects. 
  1. Data scientists (internal and external) sign up for the event. They’re given a clue about the theme of each project, but no spoilers. 
  1. Launch Day (Fri 6 November) – project leads pitch their ideas to data scientists. Leads, mentors, and attendees will have the chance to connect over lunch, followed by dedicated workshops in preparation for the event. We’ll end the day with the Crick Pub Quiz Challenge to break the ice and build the much-needed collaborative atmosphere! 
  1. Over the weekend, participants rank their project preferences.  
  1. Hack Days (Wed 11 – Fri 13 November) – teams get allocated on Wednesday morning and have two and a half days to dig into their project. On Friday afternoon, every team presents their progress, followed by a closing reception to celebrate new collaborations. 

This is a  FREE  event. You can find more about the Crick Data Challenge through the website.  

Applications to participate are open until Monday 12 October (12pm). 

Get in touch: data-challenge@crick.ac.uk 

Have a question?

Read our Frequently Asked Questions

Contact us at data-challenge@crick.ac.uk

Programme

Sponsor

This year’s edition is sponsored by the UKRI-funded network DisCouRSE

 

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