The UK government and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) jointly launched a compute roadmap with up to £2 billion investment to expand publicly accessible compute capacity. This includes £1 billion to expand the AI Research Resource twenty-fold by 2030 and £750 million for a new national supercomputing service at Edinburgh. UKRI is supplementing this with over £59 million, allocating £9 million to five Digital Research Technical Professional Skills NetworkPlus awards across multiple universities and a further £6 million to the Universities of Surrey and Durham to enhance technical skills. These investments aim to improve areas including health diagnostics, climate change mitigation, and energy supplies.
National Compute Roadmap Launched
The initiative includes up to £2 billion to establish a holistic and user-centred compute ecosystem, with a specific allocation of £1 billion to expand the AI Research Resource twenty-fold by 2030. This capability expansion of UK compute investment complements the national supercomputing infrastructure.
UKRI is supplementing the roadmap with over £9 million, totalling £. These awards will address gaps and support connectivity of digital infrastructure. An additional £6 million will be directed to the Universities of Surrey and Durham to align with global standards. The University of Edinburgh will receive £1.6 million to share best practice and knowledge exchange regarding the future of supercomputing, while also fostering exchange and collaboration.
Further investment in the programme encompasses a network of interconnected data services and complex practice-based data.
Investment in Skills and Training
Over £59 million in additional investments from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will focus on world-class skills, training, and nationwide capability and access, intended to foster knowledge exchange between business and research experts. These measures include five Digital Research Technical Professional (DRTP) Skills NetworkPlus awards, totalling £9 million, distributed to the Universities of Warwick, Southampton, Edinburgh, University College London, and Imperial College London, addressing critical technical skills gaps and supporting national connectivity of digital skills. Complementing this, £6 million will be directed to the Universities of Surrey and Durham to enhance technical professional skills, aligning them with global standards.
The University of Edinburgh will receive £1.6 million to share best practice and knowledge exchange regarding the future of supercomputing, while £6 million will establish two new national hubs hosted by the University of Surrey and University of Durham. These hubs will provide a robust training curriculum, career pathways, and a talent pipeline bridging data, software, and hardware development, and will foster engagement with large-scale UK and international initiatives. A further £1.6 million investment will support a Knowledge Exchange and Communications NetworkPlus, also hosted by the University of Edinburgh, uniting diverse communities, showcasing UK strengths internationally, and sharing best practice.
UKRI is also allocating £2.2 million to support the continuation of the infrastructure for Digital Arts and Humanities (iDAH) for three years, encompassing a network of five interconnected data services, pioneering innovative approaches to curation and enhanced access to complex data, and driving technological innovation in AI and associated technologies, including services for archaeology, museums, and complex practice-based data. These investments aim to establish clear career pathways and recognition for technical professionals in areas such as high-performance computing, data stewardship, and research software engineering.
Boosting Digital Infrastructure for Research
A further £750 million will be invested by UKRI in a new national supercomputing service at Edinburgh, complementing the broader compute roadmap and its aim to significantly increase publicly accessible compute capacity. This investment underscores the importance of high-performance computing power as a fundamental requirement for modern research, powering the AI revolution and driving economic growth.
The £59 million in additional investments from UKRI includes £9 million allocated to five Digital Research Technical Professional (DRTP) Skills NetworkPlus awards, distributed amongst the Universities of Warwick, Southampton, Edinburgh, University College London, and Imperial College London. These awards are designed to build new cross-domain communities, facilitate conversations with researchers and innovators, and support the development of skills across domains and disciplines, ultimately establishing clear career pathways and recognition for technical professionals in areas such as high-performance computing, data stewardship, and research software engineering.
Complementing this, £6 million will be directed to the Universities of Surrey and Durham to establish two new national hubs, providing a robust training curriculum, career pathways, and a talent pipeline bridging data, software, and hardware development, while also fostering engagement with large-scale UK and international initiatives. A £1.6 million investment will support a Knowledge Exchange and Communications NetworkPlus hosted by the University of Edinburgh, uniting diverse communities, showcasing UK strengths internationally, and sharing best practice regarding the future of supercomputing.
The funding also encompasses a further £2.2 million to support the continuation of the infrastructure for Digital Arts and Humanities (iDAH) for three years, maintaining a network of five interconnected data services that pioneer innovative approaches to curation and enhanced access to complex data, driving technological innovation in AI and associated technologies, including services for archaeology, museums, and complex practice-based data.
Expanding Digital Arts and Humanities Resources
The funding package includes a further £2.2 million allocated to support the infrastructure for Digital Arts and Humanities (iDAH) for three years. This programme maintains a network of five interconnected data services, pioneering innovative approaches to curation and enhanced access to complex data, and driving technological innovation in AI and associated technologies. These services extend to areas such as archaeology, museums, and complex practice-based data, facilitating advancements in these fields through enhanced data management and accessibility.
These investments in digital infrastructure are expected to drive technological innovation in AI and related fields, ultimately supporting services for a diverse range of disciplines including archaeology and museum studies. The iDAH programme’s focus on complex practice-based data underscores the importance of addressing the unique challenges associated with managing and analysing non-traditional research data.
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