Uni group aims to lead web future

Edinburgh University opened the Informatics Forum earlier this year

Ten Scottish universities have joined forces to create a multi-million pound partnership, specialising in virtual reality, robotics and the internet.

It is hoped the £29m Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA) will help create the "next generation" of the internet.

Another key area will be creating ways for people to interact with computers.

The group will receive half its funding from the Scottish Funding Council and the remainder from the universities.

SICSA partners will pool their resources on research projects.

Professor John Oberlander, director of SICSA, said the alliance would nurture world-class research.

He said: "Scotland's informatics and computing researchers are already world leaders, facing up to the challenges of securing, interfacing, modelling and engineering the systems of tomorrow.

"Our new alliance builds on our strengths to catalyse innovative projects, and attract rising international stars, both researchers and students."

New posts

A total of 37 new research posts and 20 new PhD posts will be made. The SICSA also plans to create a graduate academy, to offer advanced postgraduate training in research.

The universities which make up the alliance are Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews, Aberdeen, Abertay Dundee, Dundee, Heriot-Watt, Robert Gordon, Stirling and Strathclyde.

It comes after Edinburgh University opened the £42m research centre, the Informatics Forum, in May.