Are you a PhD candidate or early-career researcher looking to transform your approach to collecting digital platform data to better understand society? The Australian Internet Observatory and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, are inviting applications for SICSS-Melbourne 2026!
What is SICSS?
Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS), founded in 2017, is a global initiative designed to bring together social scientists and scientists from computational research fields. Its main mission is to democratise access to computational training and build a network of interdisciplinary researchers. By participating in a local institute, you don’t just learn new skills, but also join a community dedicated to open, reproducible, and innovative research.
SICSS-Melbourne 2026
Running from June 22 to July 3, 2026, this two-week intensive program will bring together researchers from different fields to explore the intersection of computational methodologies and the social sciences. Through a mix of workshops, group activities, and expert-led sessions, you will learn how to use different tools for digital platform data collection and analysis. You will have the opportunity to collaborate on participant-led research projects to address real-world problems together with academic and industry experts.
During the institute:
- You will learn more about accessible and reproducible tools for data collection and analysis.
- Innovative data donation frameworks, including download packages and screen capture.
Web scraping and LLMs in research. - The ethical aspects and limitations of digital platform data.
How to apply:
We are looking for a diverse cohort of 20 participants (PhD candidates or ECRs) from different disciplines and institutions across Australia. If you are eager to participate and expand your network locally and globally, check out our page and apply:
https://sicss.io/2026/melbourne/
To ask questions about the event and organisation, feel free to send us an email at sicss[at]internetobservatory.org.au
