"I was super surprised to win, as I had no idea about the KTP Awards. Our achievements are the result of a whole team effort, and a strong cohesion between the business and academia. "
Ryan Jessop
A rising star data scientist employed by global one-to-one marketing specialist, Clicksco Group, has been recognised in a prestigious national awards scheme.
Durham graduate Ryan Jessop, KTP Associate at Clicksco, was named winner in the ‘Best Future Innovator’ category in the KTP Best of the Best Awards.
Supported by Innovate UK, the awards shine a spotlight on the KTP projects that have delivered above and beyond expectation. Judges reward exceptional impacts of KTP in areas including business growth, innovation, transformative change and extraordinary team and individual contributions.
Ryan, from Worksop, was recognized for his work as part of Clicksco’s KTP with Durham University, on its unique audience data management platform called Carbon. Developed from Clicksco’s Teesside office, where Ryan is based, Carbon is an innovative tool that leverages high quality intent and audience data to deliver actionable insights that drive profitable outcomes for advertisers and publishers, whilst improving the customer experience.
Ryan’s efforts focused on boosting the accuracy of online advertising, by developing statistical models of consumer behaviour in a bid to better predict click through rate (CTR), and therefore increase revenue. His research led to an algorithm being developed that allocated an ‘Intent Score’ to a consumer, replacing the binary ‘Interest’ versus ‘Intent’ label that is traditionally used in the industry.
The 22-year-old embarked on the two-year KTP Associate role at Clicksco after graduating in 2017. He said: “I was super surprised to win, as I had no idea about the KTP Awards. Our achievements are the result of a whole team effort, and a strong cohesion between the business and academia. It’s also fantastic to see the impact that my research and a small team of developers can have on the product.”
Pete Danks, Carbon divisional CEO, said: “A huge congratulations go to Ryan, and we’re pleased that he has decided to continue his hard work for us in a data scientist role after the KTP completes later this year. It has been an incredible success for Carbon and for Ryan’s own development. Innovation is key to pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in the ever-evolving digital landscape and Ryan is testament to that. Carbon is committed to challenging and extending our team’s expertise, particularly within the North East’s burgeoning tech scene.”
Ryan added: “My time at Clicksco has held plenty of surprises. My background is maths, with very little coding experience so working in a room of coders was a bit of a culture shock at first, but now I feel comfortable. I’ve learned from interns and senior team members equally and been involved in areas that I never expected I’d have insight into.”
Ryan will receive his award at an official ceremony on 2 May 2019 at 2nd May at London’s Royal Society of Chemistry.
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