Awarded through competition and operating under the SERAPIS framework, the DDRC comprises a consortium led by the University of Exeter, supported by the Universities of Liverpool and Surrey, the Digital Catapult and the Defence AI Centre. The consortium brings together a strong combination of talent to advance the technical and cultural capabilities at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) in their use of data science and AI.

This transdisciplinary centre explicitly recognises the importance of data and the urgent need for a cross-disciplinary approach.

In leading the consortium, the University of Exeter combines its business and digital strategy expertise from the Initiative for the Digital Economy at Exeter (INDEX) with the deep data science skills of the Institute of Data Science and AI (IDSAI), to form a cross-disciplinary hub for advancing the practice of data-driven research.

Professor Alan Brown, Deputy Director of DDRC from INDEX, said: “This transdisciplinary centre explicitly recognises the importance of data and the urgent need for a cross-disciplinary approach. This is a significant award for the universities involved and we are delighted to host this prestigious centre. It is an important indication that Exeter is at the forefront of driving understanding in digital transformation and its implications for key sectors of our society.”

Glen Hart, Senior Principal Scientist at Dstl said “The DDRC is an exciting addition in capability to the Defence AI Centre.  The DDRC helps us to overcome some of the barriers to using data and enable us to realise much of the hidden value of our data to better support the defence and security of the UK.  The DDRC is a unique capability in the UK Academic landscape and we look forward to working closely with them.”