πŸ“Ÿ Communication

2024/25 Autumn Term

Author

Dr. Ghita Berrada

Find out how to reach out to your peers, teaching, and administrative staff during this course.

Slack logo Slack

You can think of Slack as our primary communication hub. We will use it to share resources, do a few polls, post announcements, and answer your questions. (For more serious matters, such as requests for extension, please use e-mail)

Most of our informal communication and interactions will happen through Slack. Use this place to ask questions, share resources, and engage with your peers and instructors.

Things we love to see on Slack:

  • People asking questions on the #help channel.
  • People practising what they’ve learned by answering each other’s questions
  • People engaging in discussions around data science/AI in any of the channels or posting materials related to data science/AI in #interesting-materials

πŸ—’οΈ IMPORTANT NOTE:

You can contact your instructors directly on Slack and send us private direct messages (DMs). However, please note that we may not respond immediately or even on the same day. Please don’t expect any responses in the evenings, over weekends or during the holidays. Each week, the DS202A staff will dedicate a set number of hours to answer Slack questions, and we will always prioritise messages posted on public channels such as #help, #social, etc.

Expect to find us on Slack at these times:

  • Tabtim on Tuesdays between 11:00-12:00 and Thursdays between 11:00-12:00
  • Yassine on Wednesdays between 19:00-20:00 and Thursdays between 19:00-20:00
  • Stuart on Thursdays between 14:00-16:00
  • Ghita on Tuesdays between 14:00-17:00 and Wednesdays between 16:15-17:45
  • Andreas on Fridays between 16:30-18:00


You will receive an invitation to join our Slack group via e-mail. Send an if you have not received an invite by the time of the first lecture.

Check out the following links to understand more about this tool:

πŸ—¨οΈ Office Hours

  • It is probably a good idea to book office hours if:
    • you struggled with a technical or theoretical aspect of an activity or assignment in the previous week,
    • you have queries about careers in data science,
    • you want guidance in how to apply data science to other things you are studying outside this course.
  • Come prepared. You only have 15 minutes.
  • As a good practice, add a little note to your booking so we can prepare in advance and make the most of our time together
  • Ask for help sooner rather than later.
  • Book slots via StudentHub up to 6 hours in advance.

πŸ—’οΈ NOTE:

Here is when your instructors will be running their office hours weekly:

  • Stuart on Tuesdays between 13:00-15:00
  • Yassine on Tuesdays between 17:30-19:30
  • Ghita on Wednesdays between 12:30-14:30
  • Andreas on Wednesdays between 17:30-19:30
  • Tabtim on Fridays between 11:00-12:00

πŸ›Ÿ Weekly support sessions

Every week, we will offer drop-in sessions (no booking required) where you can get help with the week’s homework or with an upcoming assessment, ask questions about the lectures and classes, or simply chat with your peers and teachers.

Weekly support sessions

  • When: Every Tuesday, 12.15-13:30
  • Where: COL.1.06 (DSI Visualisation Studio)
  • Who: Sara Luxmoore

Always check the πŸ““ Syllabus or Slack for the most up-to-date information. Some sessions might be rescheduled on particular weeks.


We will offer additional sessions on key weeks, such as closer to the deadlines for the graded assignments. We will announce these sessions on Slack, lectures and in the πŸ““ Syllabus.

πŸ“§ E-mail

Help us reduce our e-mail footprint

Reserve πŸ“§ e-mail for formal requests of extensions, deferrals, etc., or other essential matters. For example, there is no need to e-mail to inform you that you will skip a class.

Send an e-mail to πŸ“§ , our Teaching and Learning Administrator, if:

  • You need to request an extension on an assessment, either because you have learning adjustments in place or because of an exceptional circumstance.
  • You want to defer an assessment; that is, you will not be able to submit it.

Read more about Extensions, Deferrals, and Exceptional Circumstances.

Send an e-mail to πŸ“§ if:

  • You have a personal issue affecting your ability to complete the course and would like to discuss your options.