Edinburgh University has announced plans to appoint 30 Chancellor’s Fellowships in data innovation. The appointments are part of the university’s commitment to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal’s Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) Programme, a partnership with Heriot-Watt University.
Edinburgh aims to attract academics from across a range of disciplines who will focus on data-enabled research to drive innovation in ten industry sectors, including space and satellite, health and social care, and fintech. The broad sectoral scope of the Fellowships within a data innovation theme is believed to be a first for a UK university.
Announced in 2017, the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal is a £1.1bn investment from the UK and Scottish Governments, local authorities, and universities and colleges. The 15-year DDI Programme aims to establish the region as the data capital of Europe, “attracting investment, fuelling entrepreneurship, and contributing to inclusive growth”.
Edinburgh University’s achievements in informatics have been ranked as first in Research Power in the UK by the body that assesses the quality of research in higher education institutions.
Professor Jonathan Seckl, vice-principal for planning, resources and research policy, commented: “This investment will contribute to a number of state of the art facilities underpinned by the ethos of the ‘porous university’ in which research leaders, innovative educators, students, industry and public sector experts ‘breath the same air’ in interactive facilities to co-create the benefits to derive from our leading position in data sciences and artificial intelligence.”
For more information, visit Chancellor’s Fellowships Opportunities.