Alan Turing Institue for Data Science opened

Plans have recently been announced for a new Alan Turing institute for data science, to be based at the British Library. The institute will form part of London's 'knowledge quarter' and will aim to make Britain a world leader in the area of big data research. The world-class institution will work alongside universities across the country, in order to focus on new ways of collecting, organising and analysing large sets of data.

The Alan Turing institute will receive £42 million in funding over 5 years, a stark contrast to the £100,00 Turing had to fight to get during the war in order to build his decoding machine. Part of the institute's role will be to use big data to help businesses enhance their products and manufacturing processes, target their marketing better and provide more efficient services.

A timely announcement following the recent release of the film depicting Alan Turing's life, 'The Imitation Game', where many will have seen the work he did and how unjustly he was treated in the following years because of his personal life. Being described as a 'fitting tribute' to Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science and a national hero, the institute will help ensure that Britain remains at the forefront of and leading the rest of the world in this important field.

The amount being dedicated to the institute seems very high, with £42 million seeming a lot to be spent on research when there is so much else needing money across the country. However, the centre for Economics and Business research estimates that the UK economy could be benefitted by £216 billion as a result of the big data marketplace and create 58,000 jobs by 2017. Taking that into account, £42 million doesn't sound like a bad investment, if it all goes to plan and the projected figures are correct!

As mentioned previously, don't forget there is a year-long exhibition dedicated to the new film 'The Imitation Game' currently at Bletchley Park, where the film was set, right on our doorstep here in Milton Keynes. 

The Imitation Game and Bletchley Park- Watch the official trailer here

The Imitation Game is released in cinemas today, and other than looking to be a great film with a great cast (Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong for starters) it is also high in relevance to the Milton Keynes area. 

You'll probably be aware of the history surrounding Bletchley Park and the amazing decoding work which was done there during the Second World War, led by Alan Turing. Alan Turing and his team were given the task of cracking the German Enigma code, a nail-biting race against time and something which was deemed impossible. The genius work of Alan Turing helped dramatically shorten the war, and consequently saved thousands of lives. 

Bletchley Park opened a special exhibition on Monday on the making of the film and the story of Alan Turing. Having had some of the film filmed on location at Bletchley park, it is a great exhibition with not only props and costumes worn by the cast to see, but also the real locations where the film was shot.

The film is expected to draw many visitors to Bletchley Park, and the exhibition is open for a year in order to give as many visitors and fans as possible the chance to see it for themselves. The Imitation Game is a great chance to have the story of Bletchley Park, and Alan Turning in particular, told, and with a great cast it looks to be a great watch.

For more information on Bletchley Park, visit the website by clicking here.

You can watch the trailer for the movie below. For film times visit the Cineworld or Odeon website for Milton Keynes. 

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits Bletchley

Bletchley Park was yesterday graced with the presence of Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, as she came to visit the park and officially re-open it after an £8million renovation project. It was a visit of particular importance and poignance to Kate, as her Grandmother was a codebreaker during the war, and so as well as re-opening it she was able to see where her Grandmother would have worked. She was also introduced to a number of her Grandmother's colleagues, including Lady Body, who also worked alongside her as a codebreaker. They were part of the team, made up largely of women, who managed to unlock the secrets of the German Enigma machine, ultimately leading to Britain winning the war.

Kate was able to have a go at using morse code as she was shown around the Park, and saw a glimpse of how life may have been for those working during the war. Many well-wishers turned up to meet Kate, including groups of school children, officials from the Bletchley Park trust and a number of ladies who worked as codebreakers during the war. 

We're glad the sun was shining for the visit, it looked as though all involved had a great day!