The Alan Turing Institute

The UK's national institute for data science and AI, based at the British Library in London. A charity working with universities, government and industry.

About The Alan Turing Institute

The Alan Turing Institute is the UK's national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. It is an independent charity based at the British Library in London, and it brings together researchers from universities, government and industry to work on big problems using data and AI. Its research covers areas such as defence and national security, health, the environment and sustainability, and fundamental AI research.

The institute was created in 2015 and named after Alan Turing, the British mathematician who helped break the Enigma code in the Second World War and laid the foundations of modern computing. Cambridge, Edinburgh, Oxford, UCL and Warwick universities and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council were the founding members. Its remit was widened to include AI in 2017, and further universities joined in 2018. It is based in the Knowledge Quarter near King's Cross, and it has been reshaping its priorities and governance in recent years.

Its stated mission is to change the world for the better through data science and AI. It describes three goals: to advance world-class research and apply it to national and global challenges, to build skills across sectors and career stages, and to drive an informed public conversation about the technical, social and ethical sides of data science and AI.

Examples of its work include FastNet, a project developing AI methods for weather forecasting in the UK, and the Defence AI Research Centre. It also runs Data Study Groups, in which researchers and students work together on real data problems brought by organisations. It works with universities, government bodies, charities and companies, and runs the Turing University Network.

The institute says researchers from computing, engineering, statistics, mathematics, ethics, science and the humanities work together with no departmental boundaries, and it emphasises equality, diversity and inclusion. For young people interested in AI, its website points to a skills section with placement and networking opportunities, free learning resources, the Turing Careers Experience, a careers spotlight series and a jobs board. This makes it one of the best places to see what a career in AI research actually looks like.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Defence and national security, health, environment and sustainability, and fundamental AI.', 'title': 'Research programmes'}
• {'desc': 'Teams of researchers solve real-world data challenges for organisations.', 'title': 'Data Study Groups'}
• {'desc': 'Links the institute with universities across the UK.', 'title': 'Turing University Network'}
• {'desc': 'Placements, free learning resources and the Turing Careers Experience.', 'title': 'Skills and careers'}

Key facts

• Founded: 2015
• Headquarters: the British Library, London, UK
• Status: independent charity and the UK's national institute for data science and AI
• Founding members: Cambridge, Edinburgh, Oxford, UCL, Warwick and EPSRC
• Named after the mathematician Alan Turing

Website: www.turing.ac.uk