The universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Oxford and Warwick, along with University College London, will lead the Alan Turing Institute, which will be based at the British Library in London. The Institute is intended to position the UK as a leader in the analysis and application of big data and algorithm research.
Business Secretary Vince Cable, said: "Alan Turing's genius played a pivotal role in cracking the codes that helped us win the Second World War. It is therefore only right that our country's top universities are chosen to lead this new institute named in his honour.
"The Alan Turing Institute will attract the best data scientists and mathematicians from the UK and across the globe to break new boundaries in how we use big data in a fast moving, competitive world."
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is providing £42million to the Institute over the next five years. Professor Philip Nelson, EPSRC's chief executive, added: "The Institute will use the power of mathematics, statistics, and computer science to analyse Big Data in many ways, including the ability to improve online security. Big Data is going to play a central role in how we run our industries, businesses and services. Economies that invest in research are more likely to be strong and resilient; the Alan Turing Institute will help us be both."
Author
Graham Pitcher
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk