Manchester Informatics - Membership and launch event.

14 Jan 2008

Register as a member of the University's informatics research community.

Dear colleague 

This is an invitation to register as a member of the University's informatics research community and, if you are interested, sign up to attend an internal stakeholders' workshop that has been planned for the afternoon of 21 January.  If you already know about Manchester Informatics (MI), you can choose to visit the registration site immediately.

Informatics concerns the development and application of computational methods and information systems across the spectrum of human activity.  It is multidisciplinary, drawing on insights from computing, social science, business, mathematics, psychology, biology (to name but a few), and has become pervasive, playing an important role in most academic disciplines. This presents many exciting opportunities and challenges, which Manchester Informatics aims to address by harnessing the creative and intellectual power of the University. Internally it will help to promote a truly multidisciplinary approach, exploiting synergies between areas of existing strength and helping to identify opportunities for new academic development. Externally it will provide a coherent view of informatics activity across the University, helping to maximise impact and improving our ability to build strategic relationships with external stakeholders.

The plan to establish MI was approved by the senior management of the University in September 2007 and it has been operating informally since then, with Professors Chris Taylor and Peter Halfpenny acting as Directors.  Currently a number of core themes (Fundamentals of Informatics; Computational modelling; Information, Systems and Society; and e-Research) and interdisciplinary challenges (Computational Biology; Cognitive Systems; e-Health and Population e-Laboratories; and Sustainability) have been identified in a series of exploratory workshops, but the ultimate shape of the programme of research will be determined by the members.  Several important multidisciplinary initiatives have already been fostered by MI, and the emphasis on the 'Digital Economy' in the forward plans of all the research councils will make it increasingly important that we develop coherent plans.

As a first step to engaging more of the research community than has been involved to date, we are inviting colleagues to register their interest. We have also organised an Internal Stakeholders' Workshop for the afternoon of 21 January. Please visit the registration site to provide brief details if you wish to follow up either option. If you register an interest you will receive information on future events and funding opportunities, and we will become part of an online community. The Workshop will provide a brief overview of existing activities, but most of the time will be spent in breakout groups, identifying opportunities for the University to engage effectively in the digital economy research that the research councils are committed to fund over the next few years, and discussing our approach to external stakeholders.

We very much hope that you will take the opportunity to become involved in what we believe is an exciting venture.

Best wishes

Chris Taylor and Peter Halfpenny