ESES City Region to lead new era of UK supercomputing

The UK’s first next-generation supercomputer – 50 times faster than any of the country’s existing machines – is to be hosted by the University of Edinburgh.

Exascale will be housed in a new £31 million wing of EPCC’s Advanced Computing Facility, which has been purpose-built as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

The Exascale supercomputer will perform one billion billion calculations each second to provide high-performance computing capability for key research and industry projects across the UK.

Exascale will help researchers model all aspects of the world, test scientific theories and improve products and services in areas such as drug discovery, climate change, astrophysics and advanced engineering.

The computer – one of only a handful of its kind in the world – is funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It will be managed by EPCC, the University’s supercomputing centre.

This investment means the City Region is one of the few places in Europe able to host a computer of such enormous scale, experts say.

Installation of the first phase is due to begin in 2025.

The University has been home to the UK’s high-performance computing services for more than 30 years, and it hosts the country’s current national supercomputer, ARCHER2.

Funding for the new supercomputer was announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the Spring Budget as part of an investment of around £900 million in both exascale and a separate AI Research Resource.

Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said: “We are thrilled to be chosen to host this significant leap forward in the UK’s supercomputing capabilities.

“Bringing the Exascale computer to Edinburgh is a testament to our expertise in managing such world-class facilities, and the depth of global talent in computer science and AI within the University.

“Exascale’s power will help all who work with it to untangle some of the world’s knottiest problems, ensure the UK is prepared for the data-driven future, and further establish Edinburgh as the data capital of Europe.”

Professor Mark Parsons, EPCC Director, said: “I’m immensely proud that Edinburgh through EPCC has been chosen to host the UK’s first Exascale system.

“These supercomputers are immensely complex systems, and we’ll use everything we’ve learnt over the past 30 years to run the best possible service for our thousands of users from across the UK’s scientific and industrial research communities.”

Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack, said: “We have already seen the vital work being carried out by ARCHER2 in Edinburgh and this new exascale system, backed by the UK government, will keep Scotland at the forefront of science and innovation. As well as supporting researchers in their critical work on AI safety this will bring highly skilled jobs to Edinburgh and support economic growth for the region.”

Exascale is the latest in a series of nationally strategic computing and AI developments at Edinburgh since the University established research hubs in the disciplines 60 years ago.

A year-long programme of events is marking those achievements and anticipating major developments in computer science and AI at Edinburgh in the future.

Find out more about the 60 year celebration here: edin.ac/60-years-computer-science-ai

Planning permission granted for Edinburgh Innovation Hub

Another significant milestone has been reached in the delivery of the Edinburgh Innovation Hub, a joint venture between East Lothian Council and Queen Margaret University (QMU) - and an Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal (ESES City Region Deal) project.

Planning permission has now been granted for the 7,200 sqm Edinburgh Innovation Hub, that will be a nationally significant facility to capture, support and grow innovation-led enterprise in East Lothian and the wider regional area.

Focusing on important high growth sectors with specialist needs, including the food and drink sector, the Hub will support innovative start-ups and small to medium sized businesses, delivering a specialist service for research and business development. It will become a vibrant new economic innovation cluster featuring serviced and fitted commercial laboratory, office and events space.

The venture is supported by £28.6 million from the UK Government, £1.4 million from the Scottish Government and £10 million from East Lothian Council as part of the ESES City Region Deal. 

Councillor Norman Hampshire, Leader of East Lothian Council, said: “This is a great example of partnership working and the benefits that the ESES City Region Deal is bringing to East Lothian and the wider area. East Lothian has long been known for its agriculture and fishing industries and that has naturally led to us being a leading area for innovative food and drink businesses and product development. This in turn supports the local economy, in particular the hospitality and tourism industry. This Hub, and the support it will provide to food and drink and other important industries, I’m sure will be invaluable.”

Sir Paul Grice, Principal of Queen Margaret University, said: “We are delighted that full planning approval has been granted for this hugely important development that will do so much to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, help bring quality jobs and investment to the local area, and support local and national economic development. We look forward to seeing fulfilment of this project which is underpinned by many years of strong partnership work between the University and East Lothian Council, supported by the ESES City Region Deal.”

Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, Neil Gray, said: “The Scottish Government is proud to support this Innovation Hub which will encourage entrepreneurship in East Lothian and beyond. By turning cutting edge research into businesses, we are supporting the entrepreneurs of the future. This will help us to achieve the vision set out in the National Innovation Strategy for Scotland, which is to become one of the most innovative small nations in the world over the next decade.”

UK Government Minister for Scotland, Malcolm Offord, said: “This new innovation hub will help nurture businesses, foster creativity and bring jobs and prosperity to East Lothian. There is a huge amount of potential in Scotland's food and drink sector, and this facility will help to unlock this, and build on other strengths.  The UK Government is investing £28.6 million in the Innovation Hub and more than £380m in levelling up across South East Scotland."

The Hub is a first step in the development of the wider Edinburgh Innovation Park on land adjacent to the QMU campus. The development was granted planning permission in principle in March 2019, as part of a mixed use development, including new homes and a new primary school, business & industry use and community facilities.

It is hoped that site activity will begin later this year with completion estimated in 2025.

Fife Innovation Park

The Fife Innovation Zone is being delivered as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal’s innovation theme.

It delivers a sustained investment programme in modern business premises. In this video, we explore in further detail the methods being used to save energy, and contribute to the wider economic growth in Fife, and speak to a tenant directly operating out of the innovation zone.

Five years after it was signed by the UK and Scottish governments, the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal has helped 15,000 people secure employment and improved the skills and knowledge of over 103,000 of the region’s citizens.

Watch this video from our recently-published Annual Report to find out more.

Ukrainian Construction Academy

The Integrated Employer Engagement Project, in partnership with Balfour Beatty plc and the Edinburgh Futures Institute, designed and delivered a construction academy for members of the Ukrainian Community who had been forced to resettle within our region due to the conflict in Ukraine.
The programme supported Ukrainians to obtain UK industry qualifications, which led to them securing sustainable employment and additional education opportunities.
 
This short film was created to tell the story of our project journey and is part of the Edinburgh South East Scotland City Region Deal 2023 Annual Report.
Since it was created we are pleased to share that of the 13 candidates, nine are now working in construction, two are employed within other sectors and two have progressed to further education and training.

Singing from the Rooftops: Celebrating the City Region Deal

To mark the recent release of the City Region Deal’s fifth annual report, a short video: Singing from the Rooftops, has been produced .

The Dunard Centre is being delivered as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal as the sole project in the ‘Culture’ theme. In the video, we hear from those making this centre a reality, as well as Beth Malcolm, who shares why this space is so exciting to her as one of Scotland’s up and coming performers:

This is the first in a series of City Region Deal videos highlighting the people and organisations behind all the projects who have benefitted from the Deal. Future featured projects include data skills in primary schools, circular economy and low carbon in the Fife Innovation Zone, and a construction academy for members of the region’s Ukrainian community.