GW4 Turning Network – Enhanced Interdisciplinary Collaborations to Build Capacity and Capability in Data Science an AI in the Region

Background

An Initiator Award in 2016-2017 (Data Intensive Research) established effective routes and networks for collaboration across the GW4 Alliance – this now provides a foundation to build a successful network to exploit links to the Alan Turing Institute, the national institute for data science and AI in the UK. This application aims to capitalise on the upcoming opportunities that GW4 partners can access via the membership of two GW4 University partners (Bristol and Exeter) of the Alan Turing Institute. The Turing was established with the remit to innovate and develop world-class research in data science and AI that supports next generation theoretical developments and is applied to real-world problems, generating the creation of new businesses, services and jobs. This fits very well with the aims and vision of the GW4 Data Institutes and a coordinated activity across the alliance could yield a number of interdisciplinary and cross-institutional programme of work.

Project summary

Accelerator funding was used to develop links and a joint collaborative strategy across the Universities and the Turing Institute. The community delivered two workshops on “Data Centric Engineering” and “Social Justice and AI” which attracted participants from diverse disciplines and areas of interest. They established a mailing list for the network and developed a communications strategy to provide timely information to all GW4 research groups that would benefit from activities and funding available at the Turing Institute.  The community leadership team also set in motion an initiative to explore career development and progression for data scientists and research software engineers. Going forward, the community will continue to explore ways of supporting collaborative data science activities across the GW4 partner universities including exploring new funding opportunities.