Dates: September 10 - 12th 2024

Stan is a widely used Bayesian inference software, which has found many applications across academia and industry, including political science, pharmacometrics, epidemiology, astrophysics, advertising, and more. The conference brings together both veteran and novice users, and serves as a focused event to discuss practical deployment and application of Bayesian modeling.

The conference comprises two days of tutorials (with introductory and advanced courses) and two days of contributed talks.

Sponsors

Sponsors support StanCon in various ways and help us book venues, create high quality online content, provide scholarships for early career researchers and participants from underrepresented groups in the sciences, and more.

If you’re interested in sponsoring StanCon, please email board@mc-stan.org.

We thank our current sponsors and supporting institutions: Daiichi-Sankyo, Metrum Research Group, Taylor and Francis, NumFocus, and the Oxford Internet Institute.

Keynote speakers
Call for proposals
Registration
Scholarships
Lodging
Travelling
Organizers

Keynote speakers

These are the confirmed keynote speakers:

Chris Wymant (Senior Researcher, Pandemic Sciences Institute, Oxford University)
Mitzi Morris (Stan Developer, Columbia University)
Vianey Leos Barajas (Assistant Professor, Department of Statistical Sciences & School of the Environment, University of Toronto)
Sebastian Weber (Director Statistical Methods & Consulting, Advanced Exploratory Analytics, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel)

Talk titles and abstracts will be posted soon!

Call for proposals

We’re now accepting proposals for contributed talks and tutorials. Proposals are reviewed by the organization committee on a rolling basis.

Contributed talks are 15 minutes long, with an additional 5 minutes for questions. Talks can cover a diversity of topics, including:

Data analysis and modeling using Stan in any field
Software development within Stan or the Stan ecosystem, and more broadly software relevant to Stan users
Methodological development for Bayesian modeling

To submit a proposal for a talk, please fill out this form.

Tutorials are either half-a-day or one day long, with each half-day 2 or 3 hours long. Tutorials should be introductory, though certain pre-requisites may be assumed (e.g. basic knowledge of Stan, R, Python, probability, etc.). When submitting a proposal be specific about the pre-requisites.

We will provide an “introduction to Stan” tutorial, aimed at participants who have not used Stan before.

To submit a proposal for a tutorial, please fill out this form.

Registration

Tickets can be purchased at link.

Prices for early bird registration are listed below:

Students (Conference only) £199.0
Students (Conference and tutorials) £299.0
Academics (Conference only) £299.0
Academics (Conference and tutorials) £449.0
Industry (Conference only) £599.0
Industry (Conference and tutorials) £799.0

After July 1st, all ticket prices for non-student participants increase by £100.0 (prices for students will not increase).

Scholarships

The purpose of the StanCon scholarship is to make StanCon a more accessible and inclusive event.

Participants who require financial assistance to attend the conference should fill out an application form.

The StanCon scholarship covers registration for the tutorial and the main conference, as well as local lodging. Scholarships are awarded on a need-base, and prioritize early career scientists, including students and post-docs, and members of underrepresented groups in STEM.

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis, and scholarships are awarded based on available funds.

Lodging

There are several options for securing your accommodation in Oxford, these include B&Bs, colleges, or hotels. Please see some examples below at various price points.

We also recommend looking into any available rooms at Oxford Colleges or SpeedyBooker, many of which offer ensuite accommodation with breakfast in an Oxford Hall and are an idyllic way to experience Oxford. Please note not all college accommodation is located in central Oxford, not all rooms offer hotel style amenities, and many have shared bathrooms, so please ensure you look for these when booking.

Travelling

If you are travelling from within the UK, taking a bus or train directly into Oxford would be the easiest option. Check the national providers for appropriate routes.

If you are travelling from outside the UK, we would suggest first to travel into London via train or plane. If you are travelling via plane, and arriving/departing via Gatwick or Heathrow airport, we recommend booking a return ticket on the airline – a bus service that will take you directly from the airport to the central Oxford bus station at Glouster Green. If you are arriving into London via train, and arriving/departing from St Pancras Station, we recommend taking the underground tube to Paddington Station and then a train to Oxford Station. Tickets can be bought at Great Western Railway, Trainline, and many other online providers. You can also purchase train tickets at the station if preferred. Travelling via the London underground is easiest using a contactless card. Alternatively, there are regular buses from London and Oxford through the “Oxford Tube” that provide travel at an affordable price.

For further information, please see the university’s advice on How to get to Oxford and some advice for international travel into Oxford, however, please check any travel independently as some information may be outdated.

Organizers

Michael Collyer (University of Oxford)
Joss Wright (University of Oxford)
Richard McElreath (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)
Elizaveta Semenova (Imperial College London)
Ben Lambert (University of Oxford)
Seth Flaxman (University of Oxford)
Charles Margossian (Flatiron Institute)
Juliette Unwin (University of Bristol)
Will Pearse (Imperial College London)
Makkunda Sharma (University of Oxford)