InformaticsSchool Overview

Key Facts

UK Research Assessment Exercise:• 69% more world leading research than nearest competitor• 44% more world leading + internationally excellent• 10% of all UK world leading researchStaff and students:

90 Academic staff 150 Postdoc researchers 280 PhD students 215 Masters level students 450 Undergraduates (approx. 200 in 1st year)

Teaching awards in 2010:• Voted Best School in EUSA poll of over 3000 students)• Top in Guardian League table for teaching excellenceResearch spend ≈ £10MNon-research spend ≈ £9M

Foundations for a new science

The science of information – how natural and artificial systems process, store and communicate information

A fundamental science underpinning all areas of life - Academic, Industrial and Social.

Encompasses sub-disciplines such as Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science

This broad view of informatics is necessary because: Big technological problems are multi-disciplinary Big societal problems demand integrative science

Formation of the School

Computer Science

Cognitive Science

Artificial Intelligence

AIAI

HCRC

LFCS

Departments

LFCS

School

ICCS

ICSA

IPAB

ANC

CISA AIAI

HCRC

ITO

Grad. School

Theory of computation

Computer systems

Brain and learning

Language and cognitionRobotics and vision

Knowledge and agents

Res

earc

hA

dmin

Institute Statistics

Interdisciplinary Centres

Centre for Speech Technology Research

Centre for Neuroscience Research

Digital Curation Centre

Institute for System Level Integration

Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre

National e-Science Centre

Centre for Numerical Algorithms and Intelligent Software

Centre for Systems Biology at EdinburghInformatics

Linguistics

Law

Engineering

Physics

Biology

Medicine

Maths

Teaching

Informatics 1 Maths 1 Additional

Informatics 2 Maths 2 Additional

3rd year modules

4th year modules Honours thesis

1 year MSc

4 year Honours UG

Strategic issues:•Continuing to raise quality (admitted and graduated)•Engagement with other disciplines in teaching•Change in demands on course structure•Change in expectations of those being educated•Developing the “computational thinking” ethos

Head of School

TeachingComputingResearch Grad School

Deputy Teaching

HR Commercialisation KM & Outreach

Directors

Senior DoS

Directorsof studies

Directorsof studies

Courseorganisers

Courseorganisers

PGselectors

PGselectors

Curriculum/QA

UGselectors

UGselectors

Top-level management is via a board of directors:

• Directors of research oversee our major research initiatives.• Director of computing provides academic oversight of computing support.• Director of staff recruitment & development oversees our HR activities.• Director of graduate school oversees our graduate school activities.• Director of commercialisation coordinates our commercial activities.• Director of teaching develops teaching strategy and oversees the ITO academic team• Director of knowledge management coordinates information management

Academic Management

Chief Administrator

Head of ITOCommercialisation and Outreach

ITOITOIGSIGSCommercialisationand outreach

Commercialisationand outreach

Head of Computing

Computingsupport

Computingsupport

Head of School

HRHR

Institutefront-offices

Top-level management responsible for support groups divided by function.Front-offices service provided by:

• Research front-offices providing day-to-day support on floors of the Forum.• IGS office for PG research students• ITO office for taught course students

Back-office research, finance and HR services brought together.Portfolio teams within research grouping maintain familiarity with subgroups of researchers (e.g. institutes).Graduate School and ITO brought together.Commercialisation and outreach support combined.

Deputy Chief Administrator (research)

Research and financeResearch and finance

Deputy Chief Administrator (teaching)

Portfolio teams

Schooloffice

Schooloffice

Administrative/Computing Management

TeachingComputing Research Grad SchoolHR Commercialisation KM

Academic/Commercial Directors

Deputy Chief Administrator (teaching)

Deputy Chief Administrator (reasearch)

Commercialisation& Outreach

Administrative/Computing Directors

Computing

Each academic director has a counterpart in the support organisation.This is the top-level interface between academic and support groups.A top-level support director runs the administration of each of the main School committees.

Planning & Resources

Computingcommittee

Teachingcommittee

Board ofStudies

Grad Schoolcommittee

Institutecommittees

Outreachcommittee

Head of School Chief Administrator

Top-Level Committee Structure

Memberof staff

ITO

IGS

Commercialisationand outreach

HR

Schooloffice

Institutefront-office

Researchportfolio team

Computing

commercial contractspublic engagement

day-to-day supportaccommodation

computing issuescomputing advice

course admin issuesDoS support

research student adminresearch student recruitment

research project supportfinancial aspects of research

issues for Head of Schoolissues for Chief Administrator

development supportwork permits etc.

Staff Perspective

Recruitment and Promotion

Recruitment Process:•The School maintains a list of strategic areas for recruitment.

Currently these are: cognitive science; computer networks; computer vision; data intensive research; large scale knowledge systems; operating systems; software engineering

•Strategic areas are aligned to the opportunity when funding becomes available

•All academic posts are advertised in open competition

Promotion and career development:•Annual appraisal for all staff•For academic staff, an issue is progression to Professor•For research staff, an issue is competing for academic posts•Startup company route is becoming much more common

Workload

Typical workload:•1.5 lecture courses (30 lectures) per year•2 tutorial groups (20 tutorials) per year•3 PhD students in steady state (1 new student per year)•3 MSc student projects•1 Honours UG project•1 significant research grant

Allocating duties:•Aim for typical workload for everyone•Adjust individual components depending on specific case•Effort not quantified but allocation to duties is public•Wide variation in specific cases

Broader Initiatives, Now Mature

Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance:•A Scottish research pooling initiative• Involves Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews as core with

(almost) all Scottish universities as partners•Funded 10 new academic staff in Informatics•Funds 20 PhD students across SICSA (competition)

ProspeKT and Informatics Ventures:•Funds entrepreneurial training and events•Funds Business Development executives who work with

institutes•Brings in advisors and mentors from MIT/Stanford, etc.

Examples of New Initiatives

Pump priming activities:• iDEAlab•College workshops

Strategic activities:•FET-Flagships•CS Doctoral Training Centre

Outreach activities:•Design-Informatics•e-Research

Funding Climate

Change in UK Funding Landscape

RAE 2001 RAE 2008

UK RCs 103 249

EU 57 106

Industry 38 47

Increase in government research funding to UK computing research departments over previous 10 years (values in £M)

Sharp decrease in UK research council funding expected post-2010. Effects at EPSRC probably will be:• Reduction in “responsive mode” research funding• Focus on thematic research• Clawback of some existing funding

UK government approach to funding is likely to become “absorptive” and for clear economic gain.

Strong possibility that cap on teaching fees charged for UK undergraduates may be raised/abolished.

Sources of Research Funding

Application Volume v Success Rate

Staff Profile

Academic Strategy

Defend the core

Target timely areas

Encourage more “systems”

Produce T-shaped students

Increase social engagement

Help UK funders to support theory

Support theory integrators inside School

Develop shared strategies with funders

Develop shared themes with other Schools

Influence large UK/EU systems challenges

Encourage systems designers in School

Develop Design-Informatics Centre

Extend existing entrepeneurial initiative

Engage more strongly with social challenges

Make our teaching more outward facing

Structural/Administrative Issues

• Make research administration run more effectively by consolidating Informatics Research Organisation.

• Strengthen our policy of recruiting and retaining only the most talented staff in strategic areas (especially in emerging areas) by planning strategic appointments to a 3-year horizon, focusing on “new blood” junior appointments.

• Develop support for long term career development of research funded staff, through better mentoring and review.

• Ensure that institutes remain lightweight administratively, and find ways to make the institute structure more fluid without breaking the social groupings.