Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

HPC Wales – the £40million High Performance Computing project – will be taking centre stage at Westminster tonight (Wednesday, May 11). HPC Wales will have an audience of ‘movers and shakers’ for a presentation which will outline the bold ambitions for the project. The recently-appointed chief executive of HPC Wales, David Craddock, will be making the main presentation to an audience of MPs, Peers and Welsh University Vice-Chancellors. Mr Craddock said: “It is a great opportunity for HPC Wales to get its message across to some very important decision-makers. “I will be putting the spotlight on the collaborative nature of the project and the support we have had from the Welsh Assembly Government, BIS (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills), HEFCW (Higher Education Funding Council for Wales) and all the universities in Wales. “I will also be putting the focus on the economic driver for the project – how HPC Wales will speed up innovation and give Welsh businesses a cutting edge....

This month, Aberystwyth University will showcase two innovative green computing technologies that could save the University in excess of £50,000 in electricity and travel costs. The JISC-funded PAWS (Powerdown and Wake System) project, a computer program that saves electricity by turning off idle computers, is now in its second phase of development. Speaking about the project’s success to date, Rob Johnson of Aberystwyth’s Information Services department has said: ‘PAWS Mark 1 has already saved in the region of £25,000 in electricity costs and of course more importantly approximately 185 tonnes of CO2 emissions since its inception in July 2010. We hope to at least double this saving by deployment on Staff computers and more so by deploying to other institutions’. Both Mr Johnson and his colleague, Tim Davies, will be giving a presentation at the University on the 20th of May, which falls within Wales’ Sustainability Week 2011, to describe the next phase of this project’s development. F...

The Council of Aberystwyth University has met to consider the appropriate level of graduate contribution, and the detail of the fee plan to be submitted to the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), setting out how revenues will be allocated consistent with the guidance issued by the Funding Council. The Council needed to ensure that future revenues substituted for any phased reduction in government support, were invested in capital and teaching infrastructure to maintain a competitive position, covered the expected effects of inflation, and in particular were aligned with the priorities of the Welsh Assembly Government and the Funding Council. Aberystwyth offers high quality provision and has an excellent record for student satisfaction, and these must be protected and enhanced. Above all, the university must ensure a sustainable, internationally competitive Aberystwyth University. HEFCW requirements specify that at least 30% of the revenue above a level of £4000 be used ...