Culture, creativity and tourism

Our research also enriches topics including tourism, festivals, and the rich cultural heritage of Scotland and other countries.

Lead by the Edinburgh Futures Institute and Creative Informatics, our data-driven expertise is at the forefront of understanding current shifts within the creative industries and can help organisations understand, adapt and thrive in the new normal.

The University specialises in meaningful innovation where the particular combination of expertise, co-creation and creativity has enabled significant impact.

Key areas of expertise

Edinburgh Futures Institute

Edinburgh Futures Institute collaborates with industry, governments and communities to build a challenge-led, data-rich portfolio of activity that has demonstrable ethical, social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts.

Creative Informatics

Creative Informatics is an ambitious research and development programme that aims to bring the city’s world-class creative industries and tech sector together, providing funding and development opportunities that enable creative individuals and organisations to explore how data can be used to drive ground-breaking new products, businesses and experiences.

Data, Culture and Society

The Edinburgh Centre for Data, Culture and Society aims to support data-led research across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. As new technologies enable us to develop novel methods, scale-up our questions, and tackle interdisciplinary challenges, research is moving in exciting directions.

Digital Influence and Intelligence

The Digital Influence and Intelligence Lab (DIIL) uses digital monitoring and experimental approaches to better understand digital influence. DIIL is a cross-disciplinary University of Edinburgh consortium with International Cultural Relations and M&C Saatchi World Services, based in the Edinburgh Futures Institute.

Experiential AI

Experiential AI aims to support the creation of artistic works using machine learning algorithms and robotics, and to inspire new concepts and paradigms on ethical and responsible AI. Experiential AI develops research on AI futures, science, art and ethics through collaborations with artists, festivals and the AI community.

Future Infrastructure

The Centre for Future Infrastructure (CFI) is a world-class centre of excellence on infrastructure systems. The CFI combines knowledge and expertise within the University’s expertise in engineering, informatics, architecture, social and political studies and business school.

Technomoral Futures

The Centre for Technomoral Futures at Edinburgh Futures Institute is a home for developing more constructive modes of innovation: innovation that preserves and strengthens human ties and capabilities; that builds more accessible and just paths to public participation in the co-creation of our futures; and that reinvests the power of technology into the repair, maintenance and care of our communities and our planet.

Tourism, Technology & Data

The Tourism, Technology & Data Cluster focuses on the strategic application of technologies in tourism and hospitality, and data analytics. Equipped with interdisciplinary research experience spanning multiple areas, such as digital marketing, statistics, big data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, the cluster aims to generate impactful research and actionable, data-driven insights to support businesses operating in the tourism sector.

Traveltech

Traveltech Scotland is already transforming the experiences of tourists and their hosts. Traveltech Scotland is facilitating a bolder application of traveltech, leading the way to a cleaner, greener and more inclusive Scotland. The priority is to help the Scottish tourism sector make a sustainable recovery from the devastating effects of the pandemic through technological innovation.