There has never been a more significant time to work in data science and AI. There is recognition of the importance of these technologies to our economic and social future: the so-called fourth industrial revolution. The technical challenge of keeping our data secure and private has grown in its urgency and importance. At the same time, voices from academia, industry, and government are coming together to debate how these technologies should be governed and managed. The Alan Turing Institute, as the UK's national institute for data science and artificial intelligence, plays an important part in driving forward advances in these technologies in order to change the world for the better.

The University of Southampton is set to join The Alan Turing Institute (ATI), the UK's prestigious national institute for data science. Subject to signing a partnership agreement, it is anticipated that Southampton and the University of Bristol will be working with the Institute and its university partners to develop collaborative programmes of research from summer 2018. The Institute is named in honour of Alan Turing, whose pioneering work in theoretical and applied mathematics, engineering and computing are considered to be the key disciplines comprising the emerging field of data science. All new universities joining the Turing network have been admitted based on the excellence of their research and its alignment with the Institute's research interests, their ability to bring new expertise and opportunities which add to the core strengths of the Institute and its existing partners, and their willingness to contribute financially to the Institute. Professor Mark Spearing, Vice-President (Research and Enterprise), University of Southampton, commented: "We are a pioneering world-leader in computer, data and web science and becoming a university partner of The Alan Turing Institute is an important step as we seek to further expand our capabilities in harmony with other world-leaders in these fields. This partnership comes at a time when the digital world faces many challenges and it is only through collaborative efforts like this that we'll succeed in addressing the world's societal and scientific needs."

IBM's Cognitive Horizons Network produced more than 70 peer-reviewed AI publications in its first year With over two decades of AI research expertise across our global labs, our scientists take pride in their ability to explore, invent and uncover new innovations, but we also understand that the solutions to the most complex AI problems will come from a diversity of perspectives and disciplines. Therefore, we seek to collaborate with the best minds –- whether they are industry partners or from universities –- so we can approach a single problem from multiple perspectives and arrive at the best solution most efficiently. By partnering with top experts from the world's leading universities for engineering and scientific research under the IBM Cognitive Horizons Network, which was formed last year, we're aiming to influence and lead the trajectory of future AI innovation. Under this program IBM scientists, world-class faculty and students are working together on a series of advanced AI research projects and experiments. By nurturing an AI research ecosystem like the Cognitive Horizons Network, we are helping amplify and accelerate foundational AI research and applications that can solve real-world problems.