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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/G065802/1
Title: Horizon: Digital Economy Hub at the University of Nottingham
Principal Investigator: McAuley, Professor D
Other Investigators:
Moore, Professor T Greenhalgh, Professor C Madhavapeddy, Professor A
Binks, Professor M Dingwall, Professor R O'Malley, Professor C
Aickelin, Professor U Benford, Professor S Giannachi, Professor G
Grindrod, Professor P Jackson, Professor M Pearson, Professor R
Kuk, Professor G Burnett, Professor GE Rodden, Professor T
King, Professor J Sharples, Professor M Crowcroft, Professor J
Sharples, Professor S
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Accelerate Nottingham Active Ingredient Aerial
Airbus Operations Limited Alton Towers Resort BBC
Blast Theory British Library Broadway Media Centre
BT Creative Industries KTN East Midlands Development Agency
Experian2 Greater Nottingham Partnership HW Communcations
Infoterra Ltd Ingenuity Programme Inst of Practitioners in Advertising
Jaguar Land Rover Limited Leica Geosystems Location and Timing KTN
Logica Network Rail Northwest Inst for Bio-Health Informatic
Nottingham City Council OGC Inc Oracle Corporation
Ordnance Survey Radiator Festival Robocoaster Limited
ScienceScope SEA, The Sharp Laboratories of Europe Ltd
Siemens T R L Technology Ltd Tenet Technology Ltd
Department: School of Computer Science
Organisation: University of Nottingham
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 01 October 2009 Ends: 30 September 2015 Value (£): 12,584,584
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Cultural Studies & Pop Culture Design Processes
Displays Energy Efficiency
Human-Computer Interactions Information & Knowledge Mgmt
Mobile Computing Networks & Distributed Systems
Psychology Sustainable Energy Networks
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Creative Industries Energy
Transport Systems and Vehicles
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
20 Jan 2009 Digital Economy Research Hubs Deferred
26 Feb 2009 Digital Economy Research Hubs Interviews Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
Horizon will tackle the challenge of harnessing the power of ubiquitous computing for the digital economy in a way that is acceptable to our society and increases the quality of life for all. This will involve establishing a world-leading and sustainable centre of excellence for research and knowledge transfer for the ubiquitous digital economy. Horizon will conduct a five-year programme of research into the key scientific challenges involved in the widespread adoption of ubiquitous computing; collaborate with users to create, demonstrate and study next generation services; deliver a knowledge transfer programme that ensures that the results of our research are fully connected to the digital economy; train a new generation of researchers to meet the demands of industry for skilled interdisciplinary staff; engage with policy makers and the wider public in order to address societal concerns; and provide a focal point for international, national and regional research in this area.Horizon will exploit the distinctive nature of hub funding to develop a unique approach to this challenge. Our Collaborative Research Programme will be driven by the overarching concept of a lifelong contextual footprint, the idea that each of us throughout our lifetimes will lay down a digital trail that captures our patterns of interaction with digital services. Our research will explore the major infrastructural, human and business challenges associated with this concept, adopting a unique multidisciplinary approach that integrates insights from computer science, psychology, sociology, business, economics and the arts and humanities. We will collaborate with over 30 users from different sectors of the Digital Economy in order to create, deploy and study a series of next generation services 'in the wild' so as to drive our underlying research. We will initially focus on the creative industries and transportation sectors, but subsequently extend our focus to additional sectors in partnership with other hubs and major initiatives. In parallel, our Transformation Programme will drive knowledge transfer and long-term economic impact through partnership management, public engagement, international outreach, incubation of new ventures, the transfer of people, and training for 24 associated PhD students, funded by the University.Our team draws on leading groups at Nottingham spanning computer science, engineering, business, psychology and sociology, complemented by expertise at two spokes: distributed systems and communications at Cambridge, and mathematical modelling and advertising at Reading. A series of further mini-spokes will enable us to introduce other key individuals through hub fellowships.These multiple disciplines and partners will be brought together in a new centre at Nottingham where they will be able to engage with a critical-mass cohort of research staff and students to explore innovative and challenging new projects. The Hub will be directed by Professor Derek McAuley who brings extensive experience of working in academia, directing major industrial research laboratories, and also launching spin-out companies. He will be supported by Professor Tom Rodden, an EPSRC Senior Research Fellow who previously directed the Equator IRC. The net result will be a unique partnership between EPSRC, industry, the public, and the University, with the latter committing 16M of its own funds to match the 12M requested from EPSRC.
Key Findings
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Organisation Website: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk