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University of Edinburgh School of Informatics
If you're thinking of studying Informatics, the University of Edinburgh is a good choice, being a well-established and world-leading institute.
Here you can find out more about the subject, and what Edinburgh University offers its students in this area.
Informatics (also known as information science, informatique, informatik or informatica) is the study of information, how it is used and how it is understood. The term originally came from combining the two key principles – 'information' and 'automatic' - literally automating information - when studies began.
Informatics aims to understand how humans interact with machines and process language. It's also about how information is stored, processed and accessed, and how all of these elements can benefit society. Its effects are far-reaching and touch on many aspects of modern life.
Because of the wide range of disciplines, informatics combines many specialist fields, including robotic, computer science, cognitive science, artificial intelligence (AI), DNA mapping and processing biological data for genetic research, to name just a few.
Edinburgh University was one of the first education establishments to set up a School of Informatics. In 1963 a small research group at Edinburgh University began investigating artificial intelligence (AI). The head of the department, Ian Richie, became interested in AI during the Second World War when he was part of the code-breaking group at
Bletchley Park. He realised the potential of computers to think and learn.
At the same time, the field of robotics was growing. In 1973, as part of a collaboration between Edinburgh and Cambridge Universities, the robot Freddy II was built. Freddie could assemble objects from a pile of parts, which was a huge breakthrough at that time.
From these beginnings the teams went on to explore the human brain and linguistics, computational modelling and Informatics. Later the department grew to include Intelligent Robotics, Knowledge-Based Systems, Mathematical Reasoning and Natural Language Processing (NLP).
The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), a major survey of the UK's universities and colleges in 2008, confirmed Edinburgh University as the UK's leading centre for research in Informatics.
The School of Informatics has now grown to include groundbreaking work in:
- Neuroinformatics (or neuroscience data modelling)
- Computer modelling (networked computers processing vast mathematical models)
- Sensory-motor control (human muscular function and impairment)
- Bio-mimetic robotics (mimicking biological systems with robotics)
- Computational systems biology (the study of interactions in biological systems)
- Synthetic biology (design of biological components and systems)
Their range of courses includes:
- Artificial intelligence
- Cognitive Science
- Computer Science
- Software Engineering
- Computational Linguistics
These cover honours degrees (BSc, BEng) and undergraduate masters (MA and MEng).
For a full list of courses visit
the Edinburgh University School of Informatics website.
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