What EDINA Does: Ensuring Ease and Continuity of Access
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Edinburgh Research Explorer What EDINA Does: Ensuring Ease and Continuity of Access Citation for published version: Burnhill, P 2015, 'What EDINA Does: Ensuring Ease and Continuity of Access', Paper presented at 10th International CALIBER 2015, Shimla, India, 12/03/15 - 14/05/15. <http://edina.ac.uk/presentations_publications/What_EDINA_Does_Ease_and_Continuity_of_Access.pdf> Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Peer reviewed version General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 24. Sep. 2021 What EDINA Does: Ensuring Ease & Continuity... 10th International CABLIBER 2015 What EDINA Does: Ensuring Ease & Continuity of Access Peter Burnhill 1. Introduction tion (CNI) Membership Meeting in December 2014. That included a summary presentation that covered 1.1. This paper has two parts. The first pur- the activities reported here. pose is to describe EDINA and what it does. EDINA is a centre of digital expertise and service delivery . 1.3.1. This is addressed in Part B of the paper. Playing a designated role for Jisc in providing online PART A services and expertise to benefit research and edu- cation in the UK, EDINA forms part of the Infor- 2. EDINA, Jisc and The University of Edinburgh mation Services Group of the University of 2.1. EDINA Edinburgh . Brief description of Jisc and the Univer- 2.1.1. EDINA develops and delivers world- sity of Edinburgh are included in order to provide class online services and expertise that benefit re- the context in which EDINA operates, nationally in search and education in the UK and beyond. We the UK and internationally. There is also an expla- seek ways to enhance research and education in the nation of how EDINA came about as it approaches UK. For researchers, students and their teachers its twentieth anniversary. this means enhancing their productivity with ser- 1.1.1. This is all addressed in Part A of the vices that both inspire and save time, helping to make paper. the imagined possible! For universities, colleges and 1.2. The second purpose of the paper is to high- other learning and skills organizations, this means light threats to the integrity and continuing access to helping them succeed more effectively in their mis- the scholarly record and to describe actions being sion, improving outcome and increasing impact taken. The challenge to the integrity of the scholarly within limited budgets. record is one to be shared across research universi- 2.1.2. Following designation as a national ties. It is an international matter, recognizing that data centre in 1995, as part of an open competition research literature is not limited to what is published across all universities, EDINA was launched with a in one’s own country. Together we need to devise UK remit twenty years ago on 25th January 1996. sustainable infrastructure and to prompt action that This drew upon competence gained through the results in successful, sufficient and timely archiving University’s Data Library, which was established in of all that constitutes the record of scholarship. 1983/4, and the role played by the University in pro- 1.3. Many of the issues raised in this paper were viding computing infrastructure across Scotland. discussed at the Coalition for Networked Informa This experience provided a connection into networks of university libraries both in the UK and interna- 10th International CALIBER-2015 HP University and IIAS, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India tionally. March 12-14, 2015 © INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India - 553 - 10th International CABLIBER 2015 What EDINA Does: Ensuring Ease & Continuity... 2.1.3. What is written here complements the 2.2.1.3. Advisory services - enabling uni- summaries to be found on the EDINA website.1 versities to get the most out of using technology for That includes the online version of the EDINA An- teaching, research and administration, along with nual Review which forms part of our formal account- advising the sector on how to respond to new chal- ability to Jisc and its stakeholders. EDINA provides lenges and opportunities. a significant part of the contribution that Jisc makes 2.2.1.4. Selective research and develop- as a champion for the use of digital technologies in ment activity to help keep the UK apply leading- UK university and further education and skills sec- edge technology, uncovering promising ideas and tor. translating new digital solutions from other sectors 2.1.4. A more detailed account of what EDINA and contexts into products and services that benefit does is set out in section 2.4 below. education and research communities and add real value. 2.2. Jisc 2.3. The University of Edinburgh 2.2.1. Jisc is a membership body owned by UK universities and colleges, having previously been the 2.3.1. The University of Edinburgh is one of Joint Information Systems Committee of the UK the world's leading universities and one of the larg- higher education funding bodies. As indicated on est universities in the UK. It was founded in 1583 by the Jisc website, it has the remit to be the UK’s ex- Royal Decree, shortly after the ‘Toun Council’ of pert body for digital technology and digital resources Edinburgh established its first library around which on behalf of higher education, further education and the ‘Tounis College’ and then the University was research. Since its foundation in the early1990s it formed. Today the University employs over 12,000 has played a pivotal role in the adoption of informa- members of staff in academic and supporting roles. tion technology to improve research, teaching and 2.3.2. The University of Edinburgh was proud the student experience as well as institutional effi- to honour its first Indian graduate in 1876. With a ciency in the following ways: liaison office in Mumbai, today there are 279 stu- 2.2.1.1. Network and IT services – with ac- dents from India studying at the University of cess to the SuperJanet Internet backbone, computer Edinburgh. The University is also home to the Cen- security protection and ubiquitous ‘eduroam’ wi-fi tre for South Asian Studies, the principal academic access. unit in Scotland dedicated to study of the Indian subcontinent, the new Edinburgh India Institute was 2.2.1.2. Digital resources – with a licensing established in 2014. In February 2011, the University consortium (Jisc Collections, through which institu- signed a Memorandum of Understanding with tions procure electronic journals and other infor- Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi to col- mation resources used for research and teaching), laborate together. There is now a long list of other shared services to support libraries and institutional collaborations. repositories, resource discovery tools, and access to digital archives, geospatial data, multimedia and open educational resources. - 554 - What EDINA Does: Ensuring Ease & Continuity... 10th International CABLIBER 2015 2.3.3. The University offers more than 500 manities. More than 1,000 scholars from 66 coun- undergraduate and 160 postgraduate courses to over tries have held Institute fellowships since its foun- 35,000 students each year. There are about 14,000 dation in 1969; up to 25 Fellows are in residence at international students from more than 140 coun- any one time. tries representing over 40% of the total who under- 2.3.5.2. Medicine and Veterinary Medi- take postgraduate and undergraduate study. Two- cine: rated 1st in the UK for medical research (by thirds of the world's nationalities study at Edinburgh. the Hospital-based Clinical Subjects Panel) with a More recently the University has launched signifi- long history as one of the best medical institutions cant online teaching initiatives, with approaching in the world. Veterinary Medicine came 1st in the 2,000 students currently studying its online distance UK having made a joint submission with the Roslin learning postgraduate programmes, and a total to Institute and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). date of one million enrolments for Edinburgh MOOCs. 2.3.5.3. Science and Engineering: one of the highest-ranked science and engineering group- 2.3.4. The latest UK Research Assessment Ex- ercise highlighted the University’s place at the fore- ings in the UK and a key player in many European front of international research. Research income is and international research collaborations. For ex- £200m representing 27 per cent of total income. It ample, the School of Informatics has consistently regards its professional services as critical to its suc- been assessed to have more internationally excel- cess as well as its world-class teaching, research and lent and world-class research than any other UK student facilities. The many achievements of staff submission in Computer Science and Informatics, and graduates include activities that have explored confirmed again in the latest REF 2014 results. It space, revolutionised surgery, published era-defin- holds the Silver Athena SWAN award, in recogni- ing books, paved the way for life-saving medical tion of commitment to advance the representation breakthroughs and introduced to the world many of women in science, mathematics, engineering and inventions, discoveries and ideas from penicillin to technology. cloning Dolly the sheep. 2.3.6. The support that the University gives to 2.3.5.