We are very pleased to announce that Dame Ottoline Leyser, Chief Executive of UKRI, will be our opening keynote at the DAFNI launch event on the 5th July 2021.
We are delighted with the variety of influential speakers who will be joining us on this day, some of whom will share information about the many use cases where DAFNI is beginning to have a real impact.
We hope you will be able to attend this special occasion to mark the launch of DAFNI as an operational collaborative platform and to learn about DAFNI’s future plans. More information on how to book is available below.
Also in this edition of the newsletter we highlight recent reports from our Champions; share a recent blog about our governance board Chair, Professor Jim Hall; share insights gained from recent events particularly our roadshow event with Scotland’s research community; and finally details of recent features added to the DAFNI platform.
Book now for our 5th and 8th July conference!
Dr Brian Matthews, DAFNI Project Lead
Contents
- DAFNI official launch: 5th and 8th July
- Recent roadshows
- Recent DAFNI enhancements: DAFNI version 2.4
- News from our Champions and central team
- Our pick of funding & training calls
DAFNI is pleased to announce its official operational launch event:
“Bridging the physical divide with digital”
5th and 8th July 2021
Day One (5th July): keynotes at the Conference:
- Dame Ottoline Leyser, Chief Executive, UK Research and Innovation
- Professor Jim Hall, Chair of the DAFNI Governance Board, University of Oxford
- Dr Brian Matthews, DAFNI Project Lead, Scientific Computing Department, STFC
- Professor Gordon Masterton, UKCRIC and Chair of Future Infrastructure, Centre for Future Infrastructure – Edinburgh Futures Institute
Keynotes illustrating use cases demonstrating the power of DAFNI:
- Professor Robert Nicholls, University of East Anglia – The Open Climate Framework (OpenClim) – how DAFNI is support this project
- Professor Liz Varga, UCL – Data Ontology for Digital Twins – supporting research and operations
- Professor Daniel Coca, University of Sheffield – Digital Twin and Urban Observatories – how DAFNI is supporting the national Digital Twin Agenda
- Professor David Wallom, University of Oxford – UK Greening Finance and Investment Centre and how DAFNI is supporting this new centre
Day Two (8th July): Champions and training sessions using DAFNI platform
We will hear from our DAFNI Champions followed by the opportunity to attend training sessions led by the DAFNI development team on how to use DAFNI.
For more information and how to book available from
https://dafni.mhp.ukri.org/conference2021/
DAFNI meets Scottish researchers
As part of our DAFNI’s Roadshow events we were delighted to meet with researchers from Scottish Universities. Thanks to Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh for enabling this great event.
We are now delighted to be able to share with you the outputs of this event through our YouTube channel:
- Professor Gordon Masterton, Chair of the Centre for Future Infrastructure, Deputy Convenor of UKCRIC presents:
UKCRIC and the relationship and connectivity of data - Professor Lindsay Beevers, Professor in Water Management, Heriot-Watt University describes: Urban system response to COVID-19: modelling Edinburgh
- Dr Brian Matthews, DAFNI Project Lead presents:
Why DAFNI and what DAFNI enables
How DAFNI is supporting the OpenClim Project - Dr Frederic Bosché, University of Edinburgh: Using data for future infrastructure and construction (including data in neighbourhoods; earlier identification of flood threats; data in automation; data in construction; data in an AI project
- Alex Kemp, Senior Software Engineer, DAFNI – provides a demo of the data discovery part of DAFNI
- Tom Gowland, Senior Software Engineer, DAFNI – provides a demo of the modelling service
The outputs of the event can be accessed through the DAFNI website and are also available on the DAFNI YouTube channel.
UKCRIC event
On Thursday 29 April, the University of Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) hosted an online workshop for UKCRIC academics and researchers to explore the challenges and research opportunities around digitalisation in the built environment.
Latest developments on the DAFNI platform
DAFNI launches version 2.4
DAFNI developments continue apace, here’s a summary of the key features of version 2.4:
- User Authentication system moved to Keycloak
- Allows users to change their name and email address on DAFNI
- Allows users to see their active DAFNI sessions and log out from all of these sessions from one page
- Enables users to add Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) to their DAFNI account
- Enables the DAFNI team to explore future benefits like Single-Sign on and Social Login
- Login Tokin will automatically refresh keeping you logged in whilst you’re still active on the site
- Improved security of algorithm used to encode our security tokens
News from DAFNI Champions and central team
DAFNI research ontologies project
The DAFNI Infrastructure Research Ontologies Champions, led by Professor Liz Varga, are delighted to be able to share with you results and recommendations from this DAFNI Champions project.
DAFNI supporting Digital Twins
Cristian Genes, DAFNI Championship for DAFNI as a Digital Twin Platform has also provided a report and recommendations on how DAFNI is supporting Digital Twins.
Professor Jim Hall’s ICE accolade
We would like to congratulate Professor Jim Hall, Chair of the DAFNI Governance Board, for his recent appointment as the succeeding Vice-President of the Institution of Civil Engineers from November 2021.
Building back better, Oxford University event
On 25th February the Oxford Martin School, a research and policy unit based in the University of Oxford, hosted the latest in their enthralling series of events on ‘building back better’ post-Covid.
Focusing this time on infrastructure’s role, Professor Jim Hall, Chair of DAFNI Governance Board and Sir John Armitt of the National Infrastructure Commission held an incredibly impressive and wide-ranging conversation on the UK’s infrastructure systems, the goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions, and the government’s commitment to levelling up in terms of geographical and social inequalities.
Funding & training calls
- Statement of community need: NERC scientific support and facilities Deadline: 22 June 2021 16:00 UK time. “Tell us what you need from the next generation of NERC’s scientific support and facilities (S&F). We want to hear about S&F ideas that are essential to the delivery of environmental science over the next five to 10 years. This is not a funding opportunity. We will use your ideas to design future funding opportunities.”
- Adventurous energy research for a sustainable net zero: outlines Deadline: 8 July 2021 16:00 UK time. “Apply for funding for high-risk research into technologies to enable a sustainable net zero. You must be a UK-based researcher employed by an eligible research organisation. Holders of postdoctoral fellowships are not eligible to apply. This is an outline stage. If you’re successful, we will invite you to interview.”
- NERC standard and new investigator grant Deadline: 13 July 2021 16:00 UK time. “This funding opportunity supports researchers to carry out world-class research projects in any area of environmental science within our remit. You can apply for funding of up to £800,000 (at 100% full economic cost). We will fund 80% of your project’s full economic cost.”
- Digital technologies for health and care Deadline: 21 July 2021 16:00 UK time. “Develop research ideas for novel digital technologies to monitor, diagnose and treat the population remotely. You can be from any research area and must be eligible for EPSRC research grant funding. The first stage of the process is a ‘sandpit’ event. In this three-day online event, you will work with other researchers to develop ideas for proposals.”
- Embedded research on UK climate resilience Deadline: 22 July 2021 16:00 UK time. “Apply for funding to do an ‘embedded researcher’ project. This is a research placement at a non-academic organisation. You’ll support the sharing of knowledge between academics, decision-makers and practitioners. You must be a UK-based researcher employed by an eligible research organisation. Your project must focus on climate resilience in the UK.”
Funding & training calls cont…
- Investigate high-priority use case for exascale software Deadline: 28 September 2021 16:00 UK time. “Apply for funding to design use cases for exascale software. You can apply if you are a currently funded ExCALIBUR design and development working group. Your project must be three years in length. It must start on 1 December 2021.”
- NERC large grant Deadline: 9 November 2021 16:00 UK time. “This funding opportunity supports innovative, large-scale and complex research tackling big science questions. You can apply for funding between £1.2 million and £3.7 million (at 100% full economic cost) for projects lasting up to five years. We will fund 80% of your project’s full economic cost.”
- EPSRC standard research grant Deadline: Proposals are welcome at any time. “You can apply for standard research grants at any time in any area funded by EPSRC: chemistry, engineering, information and communications technologies, materials, mathematical sciences and physics.”
- EPSRC programme grant Deadline: Proposals are welcome at any time. “You can apply for large and strategic programme grants at any time in any area funded by EPSRC: chemistry, engineering, information and communications technologies, materials, mathematical sciences and physics.”
- EPSRC network grant Deadline: Proposals are welcome at any time. “You can apply for network grants to build new interdisciplinary research communities and topics at any time in any area funded by EPSRC: chemistry, engineering, information and communications technologies, materials, mathematical sciences and physics.”
- Strategic equipment grant Deadline: Proposals are welcome at any time. “You can apply for funding for cutting-edge equipment that improves your ability to carry out research in any area funded by EPSRC: chemistry, engineering, information and communications technologies, materials, mathematical sciences and physics.”
- EPSRC discipline-hopping in ICT Deadline: Proposals are welcome at any time. “You can apply for support to use your ICT skills in a new discipline or learn ICT research skills to apply them in your own discipline.”
- EPSRC new investigator award Deadline: Proposals are welcome at any time. “You can apply for this award at any time in any area funded by EPSRC if you are an academic and have not previously led a research group or received a significant grant.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Further funding opportunities available through: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/
Further opportunities available through: