News

Wendy Hall appointed to the Board of DSTL

Professor Dame Wendy Hall has been appointed as a non-executive member of the board of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).

DSTL provides the government with scientific research and technical support on defence and security matters. It is the largest governmental scientific organisation, with 3500 employees spread over 3 different sites and an annual turnover of about £550M.

Professor Dame Wendy Hall said: “I am delighted to be taking up this position on the DSTL board and, having worked with Dstl before, I am looking forward to furthering my relationship with the organisation’s science and technology community.”

Nigel Shadbolt at the Big Data conference

The Big Data conference, which took place on the 8th of February, was part of the “Data Science Series 2012” series of conferences which is aimed at business leaders, especially Chief Information/Finance/Marketing Officers.

Speakers included the Global Creative Director at EMC Consulting, Matthew Bagwell, acclaimed mathematician Marcus Du Sautoy and the Managing Director of Intelligent Business Strategies Ltd., Mike Ferguson.

In his talk, entitled “The Promise and Peril of Open Data,” Professor Shadbolt discussed the value of open data and the challenges for its implementation. He also examined the use of open data in the private sector to give a competitive advantage.

Details of future events in the series can be found here .

Hugh Glaser gives keynote speech at Kultivate project Linked Data workshop

The Kultivate project is part of the Kultur consortium and the talk was entitled “An Introduction to the Potential of Linked Data.”

The Kultur consortium is a collaboration between the University of Southampton, the University of the Arts London, the University for the Creative Arts and the Visual Arts Data Service. Its
aim is to create a repository model for research findings in the creative and applied arts. The repository will be available to a range of performing arts institutions and also to museums and galleries.

The Kultur consortium has a wide remit and is working at both a detailed level, for example examining software configuration, and at a high level, determining policies for information dissemination and deposit.

The consortium is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) which provides leadership and support for the use of I.T. in post-16 and Higher Education establishments in the U.K.

Nigel Shadbolt named as co-director of UK’s new Open Data Institute

The UK Government has announced up to £10m funding for a new world-leading Open Data Institute to innovate, exploit and research Open Data opportunities. It will be co-directed by Professor Nigel Shadbolt and Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

The new Institute will be based in Shoreditch, the newly designated ‘Tech City UK’ area of London, where there is a huge concentration of Web 2.0 start-ups, and it will involve business and academic institutions.

The Open Data Institute is intended to help demonstrate the commercial value of public data and the impact of open data policies on the realisation of this value. The Institute will also help develop the capability of UK businesses to exploit open data opportunities, with support from University researchers. It will help the public sector use its own data more effectively and it will engage with developers and the private and public sectors to build supply chains and commercial outlets for public data. The Government is to commit up to £10m over five years to support the Open Data Institute through the Technology Strategy Board – in a match-funded collaboration with industry and academic centres.

Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, Public Sector Transparency board member and new director of the ODI, said: “One of the reasons the Web worked was because people reused each other’s content in ways never imagined by those who created it. The same will be true of Open Data. The Institute will allow us to provide the tools, skills and methods to support the creation of new value using Open Government Data.”

Professor Nigel Shadbolt, Founding Partner of Seme4 Ltd, Head of the Web and Internet Science Group at the University of Southampton, Public Sector Transparency board member and new director of the ODI said:

“Data is the new raw material of the 21st century and the UK is world-leading in the release of Open Government Data. Open Government Data not only increases transparency and accountability but also creates economic and social value. The Institute will help business to realise this value and foster a generation of open data entrepreneurs.”

The new Institute is one of a number of measures that the Government announced today as part of a larger initiative to boost UK economic growth.

Nigel Shadbolt at the Open Government Data Camp

Nigel Shadbolt gave a keynote talk on Open Government Data in the U.K. (slides available here) at the Open Government Data Camp.

The event took place in Warsaw on the 20th and 21st of October. It is the world’s largest gathering for discussing Open Data, with approximately 400 people attending from over 40 countries, spanning all continents.

Professor Shadbolt discussed the importance of Open Government Data and the successes and challenges encountered. He also described policy and technology requirements.

Nigel Shadbolt gives keynote speech at Open World Forum

The conference took place form the 22nd to the 24th of September and the talk was entitled “Open Data, the UK experience.”

The Open World Forum (OWF) is a global summit where leading decision-makers, researchers and developers meet to exchange ideas on technological initiatives.

It is an annual event which first took place in 2008 but which has grown fast, with over 160 speakers and 1,400 delegates attending in 2010.

Wendy Hall receives lifetime achievement award

The presentation took place on the 22nd of September at the 10th anniversary Gala of the Oxford Internet Institute.

Professor William Dutton, director of the Oxford Internet Institute, said: “The Lifetime awards are intended to honour individuals who have played a uniquely significant and long-lasting role in shaping the Internet. Professor Hall’s impressive career exemplifies the OII’s philosophy that multi-disciplinary collaboration is essential if we are to fully understand the implications of the Internet and Web.”

Wendy Hall was also a member of the panel at a public plenary session which took place before the awards ceremony. The panel included a number of distinguished guests, including Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist at Google, Professor Eli Noam, Director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information in New York and Dame Stephanie Shirley of the Shirley Foundation.

The Oxford Internet Institute is part of the University of Oxford. It carries out research into the social, political, legal and economic aspects of the Internet.

ESSIR opens with keynote speech by Nigel Shadbolt

The 8th International Summer School on Information Retrieval (ESSIR) took place from the 29th of August to the 2nd of September.

The ESSIR is the only word-wide school for Information Retrieval (IR). It offers a programme of lectures on the management of information on the Internet for a range of people, including students, researchers and people in industry.

In his keynote lecture Professor Shadbolt discussed the challenges of Information Retrieval and Web Science.