The Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are to launch their first joint postgraduate research programmes in September.Together,the universities–Scotland’s largest research-intensive institutions–will recruit four students to each of three programmes that will address pressing global concerns.Topics covered reflect the research strengths of the two universities and will focus on health,criminology and efforts to ensure that cities of the future prosper economically and culturally.Increased collaboration The new venture is part of awider initiative that will see both institutions work more collaboratively on key areas of research and common interest.Students taking part in the fully funded four-year programmes will have alead supervisor from their host institution and aco-supervisor from the other University.Research strengths Prospective students are being invited to apply for projects in three areas.The first of these–One Health–will focus on improving the wellbeing of people and animals and how this is connected to their environment.The second area of research–Criminology–will seek to better understand the causes of inequalities,deprivation and marginalisation in society.The third discipline–Future Cities–will consider how new technologies and data might address the economic,social and environmental challenges that urban centres face. 查看详细>>

The University’s Bayes Centre aims to develop and apply data science and AI–drawing meaningful insights from vast amounts of information–for the benefit of society.Some 600 experts from research and industry will seek to make use of large datasets and ahigh-speed analytics facility to improve people’s lives.These might include identifying trends from healthcare data to improve disease management,analysing traffic data to improve transport,or enabling businesses to improve products or services.Collaborative space The£45 million Bayes Centre building houses about 600 researchers,students,and entrepreneurs over five floors.Its architecture,featuring open spaces,a central atrium and open terraces,is intended to foster collaboration among occupants.The Bayes Centre is the first of five data-driven innovation hubs being created as part of the recently announced Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.The new hubs will help business and public sector organisations improve products and services through collaboration with researchers and data analysts.They will embed their research and development teams in the University environment to facilitate collaboration.The initiative is supported by Scottish Enterprise,which has part-funded the Bayes Innovation Programme to help encourage this collaboration.Innovation hubs The City Region Deal’s Data-Driven Innovation initiative includes the University’s Easter Bush Campus,the Bayes Centre,Edinburgh Futures Institute,Usher Institute,and the National Robotarium–a partnership with Heriot-Watt University.The Bayes Centre shares acourtyard and walkways with the University’s Informatics Forum–home to some 500 computer scientists–and the Dugald Stewart Building,which houses Edinburgh’s language sciences experts.It was designed by architects Bennetts Associates. 查看详细>>

Scotland’s data innovation centre,hosted at the University,has secured up to£13.5 million in Scottish Government funding.The announcement follows The Data Lab’s success during its first phase of activity,in which it established Scotland as an international data science hub.Since its launch in 2014,The Data Lab has used its existing funding from the Scottish Funding Council to attract and develop data talent in Scotland.It has created and run educational programmes and events,and provided backing to Scottish innovation projects.Five-year award The new funding was confirmed by Minister for Further Education,Higher Education&Science,Richard Lochhead.The funding for phase two will officially begin in April 2019 and run for five years.The funding package exists of up to£9.5 million from the Scottish Funding Council,£2.5 million from Scottish Enterprise,£1 million from the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate and£500,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.This new funding will allow The Data Lab to improve data innovation’s economic impact on Scotland,generate more jobs and build on its growing global reputation.Strong foundation To date,The Data Lab has provided approximately£2.4 million to 66 projects,with the projects’total value reaching£6.3 million.The new funding will ensure The Data Lab continues supporting businesses across Scotland,with an expected investment of£18.9 million towards more than 100 new data-driven innovation projects. 查看详细>>

A simple blood test could be used in the future to predict the health and productivity of dairy cows,research shows.Testing female calves for molecules in the blood–called microRNAs–could help predict their likelihood of developing disease,scientists say.Scientists have found that the blood levels of certain microRNAs change dramatically during the early life of cows.Health prediction Some of these blood molecules are associated with diseases such as lameness and mastitis–inflammation of the udders–as well as with milk production.Researchers at the Roslin Institute and Scotland’s Rural College(SRUC),who carried out the study,say aprocedure to identify calves that are likely to have problems later in life would benefit the dairy industry and improve animal welfare.Improving welfare Levels of microRNA can be easily analysed in lab tests,and used to assess changes in tissue function.This approach is already being applied to disease diagnosis in humans.In UK dairy herds,up to one-third of cows are affected by disease or reproductive failure.This incurs costs to farmers.The research was published in Scientific Reports. 查看详细>>

The China-UK Low Carbon College(LCC)in Lingang,Shanghai,will become akey centre for the exchange of ideas,talent,technology and resources to tackle global environmental challenges.Students,academics and industry experts from China,the UK and farther afield will develop arange of projects,courses and partnerships.These will be based around ideas that include sustainable construction,air quality and energy efficiency,as well as developing smarter cities that use data and digital technology to improve quality of life.The new college is ajoint initiative between the University of Edinburgh,Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Shanghai Lingang City,and is based in acustom-designed facility in Lingang,south of Shanghai.Joint educational programmes The College will also explore opportunities for joint undergraduate and PhD education programmes and operate an exchange programme for faculty members,support staff and graduate students.The aim is to grow the student population at the LCC to more than 1,000.The two courses currently offered by the College are an MSc in Energy and an MSC in Environment.Further courses will be launched in the coming months,including Carbon Finance,Management,Smart Cities,and Circular Economy.The College will build upon the achievements of the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation(ECCI),part of the University of Edinburgh,which has helped more than 1,000 Scottish companies develop their business and build international links.Six Schools at the University of Edinburgh are involved in the new College–Business,GeoSciences,Engineering,Informatics,Law and Chemistry. 查看详细>>

The University has announced 25 new fellowships for talented international researchers.The TRAIN Ed programme will provide three-year posts for researchers who have not worked or lived in the UK in the last three years.Researchers will focus on collaborative research with industry,creative arts and third sector organisations.The programme is open to postdoctoral fellows with two years post PhD experience.Training and development The researchers will benefit from training and development that will help them build their engagement skills.They will receive career development plans,academic and industry mentoring and careers advice throughout their training.The group will meet and exchange ideas with each other through regular events and social media channels.Assistance will be provided with visa applications,relocation expenses and health care.Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions COFUND The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions(MSCA).MSCA enables research-focused organisations to host talented foreign researchers and create partnerships with leading institutions worldwide.The grants address amajor gap in opportunities for early career researchers and encourage international and interdisciplinary collaboration.Edinburgh is one of only two UK institutions awarded an MSC COFUND.The successful bid involved support from industrial partners.The award has atotal value of€7.1m–€2.65 from the European Commission and€4.45 from the University.Chancellor’s Fellows The TRAIN Ed initiative is based on the successful and innovative Chancellor’s Fellows programme.Edinburgh has appointed more than 200 Chancellor’s Fellows,50 per cent of whom were based outside the UK at the time of their recruitment.Applications The University will welcome up to five fellows from January 2019 and recruit afurther twenty over the next two years.The scheme is now open for applications. 查看详细>>

Experiments with the world’s biggest laser are giving scientists fresh insights into the giant planets of our solar system and beyond.A study of hydrogen at extreme temperatures and pressures has enabled researchers to build aclearer picture of conditions within Jupiter and Saturn–where hydrogen accounts for much of the mass.The findings also shed light on the fundamental physical properties of the gas,which is the focus of research into asustainable form of energy known as fusion.Advanced facility An international team of researchers carried out sophisticated experiments using the most advanced laser in the world,the National Ignition Facility in California,US.Powerful laser beams were fired across the stadium-sized facility towards ahydrogen sample,and optical sensors used to detect changes in the sample.Researchers were able to observe how hydrogen behaved as the pressure and temperature were raised to 6million times that of Earth’s atmosphere.Conditions were similar to pressures found in the interior of Jupiter.Elusive form Their observations helped pin down the physical conditions at which hydrogen begins to behave like aliquid metal.This elusive phase of the element has been little understood by scientists for many decades and has rarely been recreated in experiments.The outcome gives scientists valuable insight into how hydrogen behaves at extreme conditions,such as those found on other planets.The study,carried out by the University of Edinburgh with researchers in France and the US,was published in Science and supported by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council. 查看详细>>