Introduction

Estimated time: 12 minutes

The hackathon invites participants to explore how digital data sources can come together to address research questions associated with global challenges and cultural heritage. The event will be the first of a series of activities collaboratively exploring opportunities to work with available data by leveraging A&H Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) to address research questions and pilot innovative research directions. During the hackathon, participants will gain insights into UKRI-funded data services, community-generated code and innovative AI-assisted methods with the support of technical professionals.

The integration of data from heterogeneous sources is a particular focus of these scenarios, as the hackathon aims to explore the infrastructures, tools, and knowledge required for this. Hence, participants are invited to reflect on the strengths and needs of these data services, the availability of tools, and the knowledge barriers to developing research approaches based on this integration of data. The role of Artificial Intelligence models in supporting coding and agentic processes in software development is of further interest.

For the Hackaton a series of scenarios are presnted. To investigate your chosen scenario, we will go through the following steps:

Step 1: Familiarisation with the scenarios

Familiarise yourself with the summary of each scenario, as it sets out the context and general theme to be investigated, and begin shaping your research questions.

Step 2: Access the datasets

Access the available datasets in the DRI services and explore them to identify the most suitable datasets, sub-datasets and associated metadata that can potentially help address your research question/s.

Step 3: Address the research questions

Explore how combining the selected datasets can help you address your research question/s as part of the wider problem or presented scenario.

Step 4: Communicate the data

Explore how the combined data can be presented to various stakeholders, including archaeologists, policy makers, and the general public. Consider the use of digital tools, such as dashboards and visualisation tools, to support decision-making and interpretation. Present your ideas to the rest of the teams using the following guiding questions:

Discussion

Challenge: Present your ideas

• What research questions have you identified?
• Why are they important in the context of your chosen scenario?
• Which data need to be linked to address your research question/s?
• How would you communicate your findings to inform decision-making and interpretation?
• How could the developed or envisaged workflows, and the addressing of research question/s, benefit the economy, society, or support the SDGs?