"World-class" big data centre opens in Leeds
BIG data is set to make a big impact in Leeds with the opening of a centre that will be a major resource for the regional economy.
The Leeds Institute for Data Analytics (LIDA) at the University of Leeds will work with public and private sector organisations to assist them to meet the challenges and opportunities of Big Data.
The purpose-built facility has space for more than 40 academic and research personnel, and will also provide a safe data room, advanced computational infrastructure, and a fully-equipped training suite.
“Using large and complex data sets presents huge challenges for organisations,” said Prof Mark Birkin, director of LIDA. “They may be combining different data with their own sales data, analysing and integrating data from various sources, or simply thinking about diverse data sets that can be pulled together to reveal new insights.
“With all these challenges, there is a constant need for new techniques and tools, and to ensure organisations have the right data analytics capabilities. That’s where LIDA comes in – we’re a trusted partner that has developed world-class facilities under one roof, so we’ve raised the bar in standards of secure data storage, access and analysis.”
LIDA is home to two centres of research, the MRC Centre for Medical Bioinformatics and the ESRC Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC), and its work is supported by £12m in grant funding.
The focus of the MRC-funded research will be to link up electronic health records from people who have already agreed to use of their data for research, with high volume molecular data, such as genome sequences.
The CDRC is in partnership with University College London and will be a national resource that will make data, routinely collected by business and local government organisations, accessible for academics in order to undertake important research in the social sciences to inform policy development, implementation and evaluation.
At Leeds, this data analysis will span a wide range of topics, including research into controlling the spread of epidemics and improving network transport planning.
Cllr James Lewis, deputy leader of Leeds City Council, said: “Cities around the world are benefitting from new ways to capture, analyse and process data. Valuable real-world applications of this range from the intelligent routing of vehicles and design of energy efficient communities to optimising the provision of health and social care services.
“This is a key priority for the city as Leeds aims to maintain its position at the forefront of the Smart Cities revolution. We are recognised as a pioneer in our approach to health and social care, and we lead the field in developing a single integrated social care record. The LIDA provides a unique opportunity for the city to bring together existing expertise and data from across a range of organisations to solve real problems for people and communities.”
