University of Edinburgh – Page 9 – The NEN

Tourism receives hi-tech boost

A new organisation has launched to help Scotland’s beleaguered tourism sector make a sustained recovery driven by technological innovation.

Traveltech for Scotland will build a support network for travel technology pioneers whose ingenuity could help turn the sector around following the devastating impacts of Covid-19.

The venture will create opportunities for businesses, including digital tour operators, online booking providers and companies developing robotic devices that improve the hotel experience.

Traveltech for Scotland will foster an online community of entrepreneurs, promote industry events and create a digital marketplace to encourage growth in the sector.

It builds on the country’s traveltech leadership, demonstrated by pioneers such as flight-booking giant Skyscanner, hotel guest app provider Criton and trip-planning company Whereverly.

The £342,000 initiative – led by the University of Edinburgh and funded via the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise – will tap into Scotland’s research excellence and seek to nurture the country’s tech graduate talent.

Traveltech for Scotland involves two strands of the University of Edinburgh – its commercialisation service, Edinburgh Innovations, and the Edinburgh Futures Institute, which has a particular focus on harnessing big data and digitisation to promote social good.

Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, Fergus Ewing, said: “The tourism and hospitality sector has been hit hard by this pandemic and we do not underestimate the crisis this has created.

“Protecting jobs and businesses is a key focus of the Scottish Government’s efforts to respond to the pandemic.

“As we start to see more and more of the sector re-opening, the launch of Traveltech for Scotland will support the sector further in its road to recovery. I welcome this innovative approach and look forward to seeing how the community is strengthened as a result.”

The Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, Steve Dunlop, is confident Traveltech can support economic recovery in communities that rely on tourism and help the sector to ‘build back better’ by developing sustainability and resilience.

Mr Dunlop said: “By bringing together our digital and visitor economies, there’s a real opportunity for the Scottish technology sector to lead the way in creating innovative solutions to the challenges faced by the tourism industry on a global scale.”

The newly appointed Director of Traveltech for Scotland, Joshua Ryan-Saha, of the Edinburgh Futures Institute, believes it is in moments of great crisis that new ideas are born.

He said: “The travel industry faces unprecedented challenges and we need to invest now in Traveltech to build a better, more resilient and sustainable future for Scotland’s travel industry.”

COVID-19 has impacted heavily on the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, forcing redundancies and reduced operations for airlines, hotels, bars, restaurants and tech businesses, and leading to the cancellation of Scotland’s major events and festivals in 2020.

In 2018 Scotland’s tech industry was valued at £4.9 billion, with over 100,000 people employed in the sector. Demand for tech recruits continues to grow rapidly: it is estimated that Scotland needs around 13,000 new people to work in tech every year.

The CEO of the Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA), Marc Crothall, said the launch marks a vital step forward in providing Scotland’s tourism businesses access to new technology solutions, which can build customers’ trust around virus control and safety.

He said: “It will offer reassurance that challenges can be overcome to aid a sustainable recovery for the industry and, I hope, put Scotland on the map as a leading destination for travel technology.”

Traveltech for Scotland is initially a three-year project funded under Scottish Enterprise’s Cluster Builder programme – supported by the 2014-20 European Structural and Investment Fund through a programme of jointly funded projects with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and managed by the Scottish Government.

A total of up to £342,000 has been allocated towards creating a Cluster Builder for traveltech in Scotland over three years. The ERDF contribution is up to £171,000.

Lothian MSP Miles Briggs has welcomed the boost. He said: “The creation of Traveltech is a positive move for Edinburgh’s tourist industry, which has been hit so hard by Covid-19 and lockdown.

“Social distancing has created many challenges for tourist businesses and the development of technology to allow companies to make a profit and keep people safe is welcome.”

Tonight: Edinburgh Culture Conversations

Join us for Edinburgh Culture Conversations, a 10-week series of live, online events that will debate the future role of arts and culture, and examine how the arts and creative sectors can help society recover from the effects of Covid-19.

The events will bring together members of the public, artists, academics and cultural leaders to discuss how culture contributes to our lives and what it could do in the future.

The online debates, staged in conjunction with the Edinburgh Futures Institute, begin tonight with the first conversation considering the question “How can we keep the Festival spirit of internationalism and interculturalism alive?”

Janet Archer, the University of Edinburgh’s Director of Festivals, Cultural and City Events, will host the weekly conversations which will debate the value of creativity, not only to the arts, but also to society and the wider economy.

Over the course of the series a distinguished panel of guests is set to include Scots Makar Jackie Kay, CEO and Festival Director of the Edinburgh International Festival Fergus Linehan, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Shona McCarthy, singer-songwriter Karine Polwart and British Art Show 9 artist Hanna Tuulikki.

Reserve your free place now!

The conversations have been organised by the University of Edinburgh Festivals Office and are being staged in conjunction with the University of Edinburgh’s new centre for interdisciplinary learning and research, the Edinburgh Futures Institute.

Scottish dementia researchers head back into lab

Some dementia researchers funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK have been given special access to head back into the lab at the University of Edinburgh, while ensuring they comply with the strict government guidelines on social distancing.

While resourceful scientists funded by the UK’s leading dementia research charity were still managing to do some work in innovative ways wherever possible from home, this return marks a change in pace with scientists physically allowed back in the lab to resume their pioneering research.

Almost one million people in the UK are living with dementia, and over half of us know someone affected – in Scotland alone, 90,000, people live with the condition.

People with dementia experience memory loss, confusion, personality changes and gradually lose the ability to manage daily life. And sadly, it has become clear that people with dementia are more at risk of experiencing severe effects of COVID-19.

Dr Katie Askew from the University of Edinburgh is still predominantly working from home, but has now been given special dispensation to resume experimental work.

Research will not return to 100% capacity for some time, but this return will allow Dr Askew to set up new experiments and complete time-critical work after being unable to access the lab for three months.

With only limited treatment options available for people who develop dementia, Dr Askew’s work funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK aims to examine the relationship between reduced blood flow and inflammatory changes in the brain.

It will also look for the effect these changes have on memory and thinking in Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.

As there is considerable overlap in the symptoms caused by the two different forms of dementia, tests that can distinguish between these different underlying diseases could be very valuable.

Not only would this allow people with memory problems to receive a more accurate diagnosis, it would also help make sure the right people are being given potential future treatments at the right time.

Speaking about yesterday’s return to the lab, Dr Katie Askew from the University of Edinburgh, said: “Just as research is vital in the fight against COVID-19, we know that research will help us to overcome dementia.

“We are looking forward to resuming experiments that were postponed due to lockdown. I am able to return to the lab, albeit in a much-reduced capacity, to set up complete experiments and set up new long-term studies due to special dispensation from the University as my research project has significant time constraints.

“Dementia research has been hit hard and while we won’t be at full strength for a while, our lab is looking to start new experiments to complete our projects when it is safe for us to do so. We will ensure we are working safely to help avoid vital work like this stalling again as COVID-19 is still out there and remains a significant threat to our communities as well as our research.”

Any wider return to labs across Scotland will be based on Scottish Government guidance and approval from the host university.

Dr Rosa Sancho, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Dementia affects 90,000 people in Scotland, and nearly one million people across the UK. Research carried out by dementia experts like Dr Askew is the only way we will create a world free of the fear, harm and heartbreak of the condition.

“Alzheimer’s Research UK estimates it could be facing a potential drop in income due to COVID-19 of up to 45%, and dementia research has been hit hard by the pandemic. While all researchers will still have challenges to face, this physical return to work gives them and everyone affected by dementia hope that we will see progress in dementia research continue.

“Our funding for research like this would not be possible without donations from our fantastic supporters. Now more than ever, dementia research needs our backing. Anyone can donate to help dementia research regain momentum at alzres.uk/make-donation or by calling call 0300 111 5555.”

New Zealand women complete the Dundee Virtual Kilt Walk while UK sleeps

While Scotland slept on Thursday night, two women finished the virtual Dundee Kiltwalk almost as far from the city as it is possible to get.

Jane Ludemann and her mother Elspeth walked up Signal Hill in Dunedin, New Zealand, three times. They began at 9:30am on Friday the 3rd of July New Zealand time, which is 10:30pm on Thursday GMT.

Signal Hill is 393 metres (1289 feet) high.

They chose this hill because the monument at its summit is hewn from the rock on which Edinburgh Castle stands and they completed the Kiltwalk to raise money for research into low grade serous ovarian carcinoma at the University of Edinburgh.

When Jane was diagnosed with this rare form of cancer at the age of 32, three years ago, she discovered that there was very little research on the disease and no way to fund research into it anywhere in the world.

That spurred her to establish Cure Our Ovarian Cancer, a charitable trust dedicated to increasing awareness of LGSOC, supporting women with the disease and raising funds for research into better treatments and an eventual cure.

The University of Edinburgh is their UK charity partner. Cure Our Ovarian Cancer hopes to part fund a researcher at the University of Edinburgh to develop better laboratory models of the cancer to help find new treatments.

Since 2019 they’ve raised over £10,000 of their £25,000 target.

“University of Edinburgh’s Professor Charlie Gourley has provided national leadership of low-grade serous clinical trials in the UK. Furthermore the work of his research team is world renowned,” Jane said.

“Historically low-grade serous ovarian cancer has been overlooked. It disproportionately affects young women and the overall survival rates are really poor. It’s really confronting to stare death in the face at such a young age. If I don’t survive, the thing I want most in the world is to know this won’t happen to someone else. Knowing that Professor Gourley is on the other side of the world, working hard to improve survival, makes life that bit easier”, says Jane.

Elspeth said that when Jane was diagnosed she and her husband Grant said they would do anything they could to help her: “I didn’t think that would entail climbing a steep hill three times, but thankfully the Kiltwalk is about distance not speed.”

The rock at the top of the hill isn’t the only link between the Ludemann’s Kiltwalk and Scotland. Elspeth’s father, Charles Sime, was born in Dundee and lived there until he immigrated to New Zealand in his 20s.

“Although Dad ended up living in New Zealand longer than he lived in Scotland, he retained his accent and took great pride in wearing his kilt,” Elspeth said.

“He would be very sad that his granddaughter has cancer but so proud of what she is doing to raise awareness and funds. He loved tramping and would be tickled pink that we are doing the Kiltwalk with its link to him home town.”

Six hours and 30 000 steps later the pair finished their walk. Jane said: “I don’t think we’ll win any prizes for speed but we put in a lot of effort. I’m looking forward to an early night.

“I’m thrilled that we have been able to support the University of Edinburgh’s cancer research today, from the other side of the world.”

To make a donation to Jane’s efforts go to: https://dundeekiltwalk2020.everydayhero.com/uk/jane-3

Salt water solution to reduce coronavirus progression?

A simple salt water solution may help to reduce the early symptoms and progression of Covid-19, University of Edinburgh research suggests.

This new study builds on a trial, published in 2019, designed to identify a low cost and easily accessible intervention against the common cold.

It found that participants who gargled and cleared their nose with a salt water solution reported fewer coughs and less congestion. Gargling also cut the length of their cold by almost two days.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh say the sea salt may work by boosting cells’ antiviral defence that kicks in when they are affected by a cold.

The team has re-examined the data and discovered the same benefits were also experienced by those participants who were infected with one of the four common coronaviruses known to cause colds.

Researchers now aim to investigate whether the same solution will benefit those who are experiencing symptoms of the new strain of coronavirus, which causes Covid-19.

The study is recruiting adults in Scotland with Covid-19 symptoms or a confirmed case of Covid-19. Those who join the trial will be asked to follow government advice on hygiene and self-isolation, with one group asked to gargle and clear their nose with salt water.

The study is funded by BREATHE – the Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Health.

The original pilot study – known as the Edinburgh and Lothians Viral Intervention Study, or ELVIS – recruited healthy adults within two days of them contracting an upper respiratory tract infection – commonly known as a cold.

The participants were divided into two groups with one group asked to gargle and rinse their nasal passages with a salt solution as they felt necessary. The other group dealt with the cold the way they normally would do.

All participants kept a diary of their symptoms for up to two weeks. Self-collected swabs were also tested to measure the amount of cold virus in their nose.

Those who did nasal irrigation and gargling with the salty solution had a shorter cold, were less likely to pass it on to their family, had faster viral clearance and were less likely to use medicines from a pharmacy.

Professor Aziz Sheikh, Director of the University’s Usher Institute, said: “We are now moving to trial our salt water intervention in those with suspected or confirmed Covid-19, and hope it will prove to be a useful measure to reduce the impact and spread of the infection.

“It only requires salt, water and some understanding of procedure, so should, if found to be effective, be easy – and inexpensive – to implement widely.”

To find out more about the study and to take part, please go to https://www.ed.ac.uk/usher/elvis-covid-19.

New Smart City pilot for Edinburgh schools

School pupils across Edinburgh will be challenged to come up with creative ways of using new technologies to tackle local issues and help transform their hometown into a Smart City as part of a unique partnership with local businesses and organisations.

CityFibre, the City of Edinburgh Council, and the University of Edinburgh’s Data Education in Schools programme – part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal – will deliver the Smart City-focused Internet of Things (IoT) pilot to primary and secondary school year groups across Edinburgh.

Aiming to enhance the number of children using data science education in schools, pupils will develop their understanding of data-driven solutions for a range of issues both inside and outside of the school environment.

This could see pupils develop ways of monitoring air-quality in playgrounds, improve the use of digital technology in classrooms or examine digital methods for managing traffic flow across the city.

The project will kick off in schools in spring and a number of pupils will be invited to attend a Smart Cities event in Edinburgh in May to showcase their solutions.

As part of the initiative, CityFibre will also provide schools in Edinburgh with IoT technology kits over the next 12 months. This will enable pupils to practice solving challenges using sensors and data analysis, with some of the data they’ll be collecting travelling over the CityFibre network.

The announcement was made at an event in Edinburgh’s Royal Scots Club which brought civic and business communities together to discuss how improved digital connectivity will soon transform everyday life for people across the city.

Work is currently underway on a city-wide full fibre network which will deliver significant benefits to communities across Edinburgh. CityFibre is investing more than £100m to deliver the project, which will give almost every home and business access to next-generation full fibre connectivity.

Elaine Doherty, CityFibre’s City Manager for Edinburgh, said: “We can’t wait to hear about the creative ideas school pupils have to use IoT technology and make the most of Edinburgh’s new full fibre infrastructure.

“While most schools and City of Edinburgh Council buildings have been connected to full fibre, construction is well underway to extend the benefits of a full fibre network to almost every home and business across the city with the first homes to be connected next month.”

Professor Judy Robertson, Chair in Digital Learning, at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Education, Community and Society, said: “We are delighted to be working with CityFibre to deliver this exciting IoT project to schools across the region.

“The project will encourage young people to think about how they can use sensors and data to understand their environment and to develop tools that can improve their local communities, learning how data can be used for good. The project is a fantastic addition to our Data Education for Schools project.

“By bringing business, schools and the university together we can ensure that we are providing young people with skills and confidence to take full advantage of the opportunities provided within our data driven society.”

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for young people across Edinburgh to explore how digital technology can change the way we live our lives – and to help us come up with data-driven solutions for some of the challenges facing the Capital.

“Thanks to this partnership with CityFibre and the University of Edinburgh, the next generation of problem-solvers will gain the skills needed to deliver a truly smart city for the future.”

To find out more about CityFibre’s Gigabit City vision for Edinburgh, visit: https://www.cityfibre.com/gigabit-cities/

Pictured: L – R Phil Cragg, Deloitte Smart City Specialist; Andy Starnes, Head of City Development at CityFibre; Frank Airth, City Manager at Vodafone; Elaine Doherty, CityFibre’s City Manager for Edinburgh; Jenni Doonan, Business Developer at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Education, Community and Society; Liz McAreavey, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce; Andrew Kerr, Chief Executive, The City of Edinburgh Council

Return of the all-Edinburgh gridiron derby

THE 2020 Capital curtain-raiser for the big Super Bowl match in the USA is once again an all-Edinburgh affair, with Edinburgh Napier Knights hosting cross-town rivals University of Edinburgh Predators.

With the teams playing in different divisions, the Knights had to turn to Glasgow University for opposition in the last two versions of the annual American football Varsity match.

However, Sunday (February 2) will once again see the two Edinburgh clubs compete for the MacKenzie’s Challenge trophy at Meggetland, just hours ahead of the big Kansas City Chiefs v San Francisco 49ers clash in Florida.

A full programme of family entertainment, including music, a DJ, the Knights’ youth team and the Edinburgh Napier Panthers cheer squad, will accompany the fixture, which habitually draws a big crowd to the Meggetland stadium.

Edinburgh Napier Knights head coach Pete Laird said: “The event has come a long way in the last nine years, and it’s great to have our traditional rivals, the University of Edinburgh Predators, back as our opponents this year.

“The Knights program is currently having a great run of success, with three division titles in the last four years, and we have been outperforming our bigger neighbours in recent seasons.

“But to give our opponents credit, they have been enjoying a good year back in the higher division. As with any derby match, the formbook goes out the window, and it will be a very closely fought game.”

Pete added: “Last year’s Varsity game was postponed due to the weather and had to be shifted away from its traditional home at Meggetland, so we’re very excited to be back under the lights for the game, which is a real spectacle, with all its noise, colour and general craziness.”

The gates will open at 1pm on Sunday ahead of a 3pm kick-off. Tickets – £5 for adults, £3 for students and free admission for under 16s – are available at the gates or on campus in advance.

Match tickets also include entry to the post-game Super Bowl Party at the Canalside Bar, Meggetland, from 8pm.

UK satellites to help lead the fight against climate change

New satellite data centre will use cutting-edge satellite technology to help combat climate change.

new government-backed virtual satellite data centre will analyse the impact climate change is having on the UK, help shape policies on reducing carbon emissions, and contribute to reaching net zero targets
50 new PhD researchers and £5 million investment to enable use of satellite images to better predict future weather trends and protect communities from flooding and pollution
Earth Observation experts from the Universities of Edinburgh and Leeds will work with 18 businesses on pioneering work to monitor the impact of climate change

Continue reading UK satellites to help lead the fight against climate change

Images reveal University’s plans for world-class sports village

Plans for a pioneering new sports complex have been unveiled by the University of Edinburgh. Proposals will see the sports village built on the University’s existing facilities at Peffermill Playing Fields. Continue reading Images reveal University’s plans for world-class sports village

Labour leader to address pro-People’s Vote event alongside student activists

Leader of the Scottish Labour Party Richard Leonard will speak on an explicitly pro-People’s Vote platform for the first time at Edinburgh University Student’s Association tomorrow (Monday 9th September).

Continue reading Labour leader to address pro-People’s Vote event alongside student activists