Free EIDF information event for University of Edinburgh researchers

19 August 2022

Maximise the power of your research data  with EIDF

15 September 2022, Bayes Centre, EH8 9BT.  

Register now: https://bit.ly/3KaGAnW 

 

The Edinburgh International Data Facility (EIDF) is a place to store, find, and work with data of all kinds. Built and operated by EPCC at the University of Edinburgh, and a core part of the University’s Data-Driven Innovation initiative, this unique and growing collection of compute resources and data is now available for use by University of Edinburgh researchers.  

 

Core services include on-premises cloud, data storage and management, Safe Haven facilities, and specialist compute platforms such as the leading-edge Cerebras AI system.  

EIDF in action  

EIDF is a dynamic, challenge-led facility, offering bespoke services co-designed with project partners to solve real problems. Current research applications include:  

• Accelerating scientific understanding of COVID-19 and future outbreaks by providing secure data environments for researchers.  

• Applying new processing techniques to generate cloud-free satellite imagery.  

• Enabling guided research in finance through secure data analysis environments.  

• Providing open and confidential analytics workbenches for the Scottish Government.  

• Benchmarking new language processing algorithms on Cerebras AI acceleration hardware. 

What EIDF users say 

Research Data Scotland is a partnership between Scottish Government, Scotland’s leading academic institutions, and public bodies which aims to facilitate insight from data and improve economic, social and environmental wellbeing in Scotland.  

“Research Data Scotland has been established to create value from data by improving access for research in the public good. At the heart of that is the public having trust in how that data is handled and researchers having the tools they need to derive new insight. As such, we couldn’t achieve our goals without partnering with the EIDF given their expertise, technology and reputation for safety and security of data.” Roger Halliday, Chief Executive Officer, Research Data Scotland. 

The Data SlipStream project, led by the School of Geosciences, is working with EIDF to develop satellite and Earth Observation data ingest, processing, hosting and dissemination services. 

“DataSlipstream is being built on EIDF as a tool for rapid access to, and processing of, global satellite imagery (both free and commercial). It can create cloud-free "analysis ready” mosaics and facilitates the processing of both Sentinel 1 and 2 data at scale. Researchers can now bring their algorithms to the data, rather than trying to bring the data to their desktop.” Iain Woodhouse, CSE Lead for Space & Satellites and Professor of Applied Earth Observation, School of Geosciences.  

EIDF and the Data-Driven Innovation initiative 

The Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) initiative is a 15-year investment and innovation programme, and the largest part of the £1.3bn Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region Deal. DDI established six data-driven innovation hubs at the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University. The Edinburgh International Data Facility is the heart of the DDI initiative - powerful, high-capacity data infrastructure capable of responsive and secure delivery of a range of complex data and analytical services. 

“Exploratory approaches to generate, manage and analyse data to deliver outcomes are growing rapidly across all research domains, from arts and humanities to physical and mathematical sciences. EIDF is a unique asset, supporting such data-driven research with cutting-edge tools, services, datasets and expertise.” Jarmo Eskelinen, Executive Director of the DDI initiative. 

Join us on 15 September to learn how EIDF can boost your research 

Organised by EPCC, this event will include talks by established users of EIDF’s research services. There will also be an opportunity to meet the EIDF leadership team and technical staff. 

This event will be of particular interest to Principal Investigators within the University of Edinburgh. 

Starts 10.30am, Bayes Centre, EH8 9BT.  

Full details and registration:  

https://bit.ly/3KaGAnW 

Contact us 

We invite academic staff across the University of Edinburgh to contact the EIDF team to explore how we can collaborate and advance your work. To discuss your research data needs, please email us: 

eidf@epcc.ed.ac.uk 

Sign up to our mailing list for updates on EIDF: 

www.ed.ac.uk/edinburgh-international-data-facility/eidf-mailing-list 

EIDF website: 

www.ed.ac.uk/edinburgh-international-data-facility