CAPACITY-BUILDING COURSES
The core curriculum of the Data Diplomacy Academy consists in individual modules that can be carried out in-person or remotely.
The course is intended for members of Permanent Missions accredited to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, members of the UN Secretariat and other international public servants, delegates of Ministries of Foreign Affairs and other government officials, and other professionals who also have need of data science training for the purposes of information retrieval and analysis.
Introduction
to Machine
Learning and its
Applications
1
Description
This course introduces the fundamentals of Machine Learning (ML) at a starter level. Its goal is to elevate the AI-literacy of beginners in this field, so that they may discern the distinctive features of ML systems, their advantages and limitations. The course content encompasses the varieties of data and datasets used in ML models and the canonical types of problems for which such models are used.
2
Program
- Introduction to the course: data formats
- Types of Machine Learning models according to human supervision
- Types of Machine Learning models according to objectives
- Evaluating the accuracy of models, strengths and limitations
Information
Science and
Network
Analysis for
Multilateralism
1
Description
This course teaches how to harness the potential of data science to translate large amounts of data into timely and actionable insights that
can enhance multilateral diplomacy. It achieves this goal by introducing
fundamental concepts and methods in information science and network
analysis, by demonstrating their application in diplomatic activities
(with a focus on UN resolutions and documents), and by instructing
students on the usage of tools tailored to UN activities. By completing this
course, students will be able to use data science to support evidencebased
decision making and policy formulation in multilateral settings.
2
Program
- Introduction to the course
- Bibliometrics: measuring impact and relevance of documents and sources
- Networks I: introduction
- Networks II: types of networks and data
- Networks III: centrality and importance
- Networks IV: similarity and clusters
The UN Security
Council Debates
and Text
Analysis
1
Description
The United Nations Digital Library contains thousands of documents
on the practice of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
The traditional method of manually reading and organizing these
documents makes it challenging to retrieve information promptly. Data
science tools can support the process of retrieving insights from huge
amounts of text. This course teaches how to process and analyze the
UNSC meeting transcripts quickly and precisely. For that, it introduces basic
concepts and tools of automated text analysis and demonstrates its application through the use of an interactive platform.
2
Program
- Introduction to Automated Text Analysis for the UN Security Council
- Approaches to Automated Text Analysis
- The UN Security Council Debates Platform
Applications of
Data Diplomacy
Tools in Energy
Security Analysis
(DD4ES)
1
Description
This course aims to leverage the power of data science and web-based
tools to translate openly available data about international energy cooperation into useful information for diplomacy. It achieves this objective by (1) introducing fundamental concepts and methods in data diplomacy and (2) instructing students on the use of web platforms and their application to addressing issues on energy security.
2
Program
- Introduction to the course, primer on data diplomacy
- Data diplomacy applied to energy security (Lab #1)
- Data diplomacy applied to energy security (Lab #2)