£80m earmarked for UK research systems

Project concentrates on networking, elearning and infrastructure

Higher education support and advisory body, the Joint Information Systems Committee (Jisc), is to invest £80m in UK education and research technology systems over the next two years.

The plan is being financed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s (Hefce’s) Strategic Development Fund (£30m) and the government’s Spending Review (£50m).

Jisc spokesman Philip Pothen says the funding will help the committee implement the Department for Education and Skills’ e-strategy, which aims to use digital technology across education.

‘These funds will allow us to supplement this work with some highly-targeted activities in key areas, such as networking, research and elearning,’ he said.

‘Janet, the network linking UK education and research, is – by common consent – the fastest and most secure in the world. But we need to keep it so, and this needs long-term investment.’

Jisc is planning to invest £27.6m in networking over the next two years, including support for transition to the next-generation SuperJanet5 network.

‘Such technologies should help to change the way that research is undertaken,’ said Pothen.

An additional £6m funding will help drive national digitisation and e-content strategies.

A £10m programme is already under way, involving the digitisation of 3,000 hours of ITN newsreels and 12,000 National Sound Archive materials.

Jisc will also invest £13m in its digital repositories programme, which helps institutions make research more accessible.

Pothen says many universities need help establishing repository systems and inputting content.

‘UK education and research needs to make its outputs as visible as possible, to increase impact and make the most of the excellence of UK research,’ he said.

New elearning programmes will also build on current capital spending programmes.

Jisc’s additional £16.4m online learning funds will be used to create an elearning advisory centre, and to promote the use of e-portfolio learning records and e-assessments, in colleges and in the workplace.

The committee is also allocating £17m to develop a national e-infrastructure in support of the research community.