“The start of the 21st century as seen two major advances in the area of informatics. Firstly data-acquisition and distribution technologies have been able to generate and make available massive amounts of potentially valuable data covering everything from the human genome, through how people shop and vote, ecology, economics, taxonomy to history and entertainment. This data is available online now and has massive potential to improve people’s lives by contributing to social, scientific and economic progress. The other major advance in computing has been a change in how people are able to interact with computers. The traditional paradigm of a solitary individual interacting with his or her pc is rapidly being replaced by a world where people are increasingly inclined to work together using multiple devices in different environments.
In theory the improved access to data along with the ability of people to work together to make proper use of the data should lead to a democratization of information where the population is able to share data to become more productive and more involved in society. This is not however a reality just yet. Researchers still don’t have a sufficient understanding of how people work together or how to best represent data for the new paradigm of collaborative working. This would require a deep understanding of collaborative working, statistical data analysis, information visualization and interaction design.
Our aim as a research group is to bring these talents together to develop the techniques and understanding necessary for the new breed of accessible data analysis, data exploration and data discovery software. We plan to nurture this understanding with a new generation of young Mexican researchers who will be capable of spearheading the next wave of informatics research and innovation.”
Dr. Paul Craig, November 2013