The Smith Institute is the leading intermediate
organisation in the UK coupling industry and academia in the key
enabling disciplines of applied mathematics and computer science.
In a knowledge-driven economy, both areas are vital to formulating
industrial strategy, creating new business and increasing profitability.
The careful application of cutting-edge scientific ideas provides
new understanding and cost-effective solutions across a wide range
of business sectors, leading to improved productivity, new products
and increased market share.
The Smith Institute puts companies and agencies of all sizes in
a position to steer core research in the mathematical and computational
science base. The greatest added value comes from harnessing the
best scientific ideas to the most important industrial challenges
and the Institute achieves this goal by providing a single point
of contact to the activities of outstanding mathematical and computer
science departments across UK universities. It provides mechanisms
for systematically exploiting their talents on behalf of industry,
and in doing so establishes and sustains comprehensive, flexible,
innovative and high-quality interactions, involving a two-way
flow of ideas and people, to the mutual benefit of all partners.
The Smith Institute has evolved a virtual structure, in which
its research programmes are carried out in the participating university
departments. The Institute provides 'technology translators',
who are senior researchers with extensive experience of industrial-academic
collaborations, to manage the coupling between academic research
and industrial end-users. They are available to guide the exploration
of possible research paths, to undertake feasibility or pilot
studies, to interpret industrial needs to the academic community
and, conversely, to advise on the application of academic research
results to industrial operations.
The Smith Institute has an uncompromising
focus on the quality of its research and the professional management
of its programmes, as measured by the needs of industry. It currently
has research programmes in creative media, defence and aerospace,
information technology, the natural environment, telecommunications
and transport. On June 28th, the Smith Institute was announced
by Lord Sainsbury, Minister for Science and Innovation, as one
of four new Faraday Partnerships. The Faraday initiative, funded
jointly by DTI and EPSRC, provides £2.2M over the next four
years for forging new high-quality collaborations leading to significant
commercial benefits for the Smith Institute's industrial partners.
Faraday activities will initially be concentrated in the following
broad areas, building on the Smith Institute's existing strengths:
As the Institute's Faraday activities gather pace, this web site will provide information on specific opportunities for companies to become involved, announcements of forthcoming programmes and a record of progress.