Oxford - the new home of Internet research?
Oxford University, UK, is to be the location for the world's first Internet institute in an initiative that has been welcomed by the European Commissioner for Information society and enterprise, Erkki Liikanen. The Oxford Internet institute (OII) aims to put Europe at the centre of the debate of how the Internet can develop. Located in the university's Balliol college, the institute has been made possible by both donations and UK public funding, totalling just over 20 million euro. The UK state secretary for education, David Blunkett, welcomed the new institute. 'I congratulate Oxford university on establishing this innovative institute...In bringing together research from across the country, I hope the institute will become a world leader,' he said. Some of the issues which are already being discussed as possible subject areas for the institute to focus on include e-government, privacy and security, innovation and knowledge creation and participation in the information society. Places for senior visiting staff, which will be filled after an open competition, will be available at the institute.