The University of Glasgow has announced the opening of a new centre that will support its research in data science and artificial intelligence (AI). The Centre for Data Science will bring together hundreds of academics from different disciplines to tackle challenges such as climate change and inequality.

The centre will have six research programmes, covering areas such as engineering, medicine, social sciences, arts, innovation and fundamental research. It will also collaborate with industry and government to develop new products and services using data and AI.

The centre is led by Ana Basiri, director of the University of Glasgow’s College of Science and Engineering. She said the centre will help the university to work more strategically and to put data science at the heart of decision-making.

Richard Lochhead, Scotland’s innovation minister, welcomed the launch of the centre and said Scotland wants to be a world leader in the development and use of AI in a trustworthy, ethical and inclusive way.