Science Landscape Seminars: Big Data, E- Infrastructure and Supercomputing

Background to the meeting

This seminar is one of a series convened by the Council for Science and Technology (CST), which is working to provide a map of the UK Knowledge Landscape as a whole. This mapping includes all areas of research carried out by academia, industry, charities and others.

The seminar series has brought together diverse sets of experts to discuss eight parts of the research landscape in depth; these areas are roughly aligned with the UK government’s eight great technologies.

The aim of this work is to provide decision makers with a clearer picture of the whole landscape and enable better strategic decisions to be made. We would also like the reports to prompt communities to think more about what they can do to ensure their areas continue to make the best case for themselves and operate in a coherent way. The seminar series is limited in scope, but has revealed the importance of a clear articulation of the strengths and requirements of different parts of the UK research landscape. Specific research communities may wish to hold further sessions of their own.

The discussion took place under the Chatham House rule. This document represents the views of this group and is published alongside an infrastructure document (see below) which reflects the seminar’s view of the Big Data landscape.

This meeting addressed Big Data research and development, and was asked to
consider:
– Strengths and weaknesses of Big Data research in the UK;
– How the UK compares internationally; and
– Future concerns that exist for the discipline.

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