Birkbeck joins Turing University Network
Membership of the national network provides an important opportunity to engage and collaborate within the data science and artificial intelligence (AI) landscape.
Birkbeck’s pioneering work in Computing, dating back to the 1950s, along with its more current work in data science and web technology, takes another leap forward this week as it joins forces with other UK universities to become a member of the Turing University Network.
The Alan Turing Institute has expanded its university network to include 29 new members, offering UK universities with an interest in data science and AI the opportunity to engage and collaborate both with the Institute and its broader networks in academia, industry and the public sector. This follows the launch of the pilot network in April 2023, followed by an open call for new members in the early summer of this year.
The Alan Turing Institute is named in honour of Alan Turing, whose pioneering work in theoretical and applied mathematics, engineering and computing laid the foundations for the modern fields of data science and artificial intelligence. The Institute was created as the national institute for data science in 2015; and in 2017 added artificial intelligence to its remit, as a result of a government recommendation.
Professor Rick Cooper, Executive Dean, Faculty of Science, said, “We are pleased to join the Turing University Network which is a logical progression for Birkbeck as we look to contribute to the conversations on AI and to engage more deeply with research which will have an impact on both UK society but also for wider, global challenges. Birkbeck was one of the first UK universities to establish a computing department in 1957 and even earlier, in the late 1940s, one of the first electronic computers was developed at Birkbeck by Drs Kathleen and Andrew Booth.
"We are proud of this history, which continues to advance today with our Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Research Group within the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, and Birkbeck’s Institute for Data Analytics, both of which involve collaborations with other research groups and with industry, in the UK and abroad, and both of which undertake interdisciplinary research in the life, natural and social sciences, and in the humanities.”
Membership of the network also offers collaborative opportunities across Birkbeck’s other sciences and beyond, with the Natural Sciences, Psychological Sciences and Humanities now also being routinely concerned with the analysis of extremely large data sets (e.g., from microscopy, neuroimaging, genetic, geographical and social data).
Dr Jean Innes, Chief Executive Officer of The Alan Turing Institute, said, “We’re really pleased to welcome our new members to the network. We hope that they will benefit from being part of our data science and AI group and find opportunities for new, meaningful collaborations across the data science and AI landscape.”
Further Information
Read more about Birkbeck's Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Research Group.
Find out more about The Alan Turing Institute.