The University of Dundee's fund to establish a centre researching technology for elderly people has beaten off rival bids to secure a £1/2 million funding boost. The cash will be used to set up a "human interface research theatre" including a cybercafe designed for "silver surfers".
The generous donation from the Wolfson Foundation will provide a custom built laboratory dedicated to designing computer technology to meet the needs and abilities of older people.
The research theatre will be linked to a cybercafe providing an ideal place for older people to meet, surf the net, learn computing skills, share their particular needs and access problems first hand with researchers.
The theatre will also serve as a training facility for designers and executives in industry, where they will be taught to consider the needs of older people in their designs. As well as supporting academic endeavours, the theatre will act as an evening venue for dramatic groups with an interest in providing entertainment for older people.
The Research Centre is to be named after the late Queen Mother who was the first chancellor of the University of Dundee and gave her name to the centre not long before she died.
Professor Alan Newell welcomed the boost to the fundraising campaign saying: "I am grateful for the Wolfson Foundation's generous support of the Queen Mother Research Centre. With over 30 researchers, the department of applied computing has the largest academic group in the world developing computer systems for older and disabled people. The grant from the Wolfson Foundation will provide a significant boost to this activity and lead to improvements to the quality of life of older people throughout the world."
The Wolfson Foundation is a charitable foundation set up in 1955 whose aims are the advancement of health, education, the arts and humanities. Grants are given to act as a catalyst to back excellence and talent and to provide for promising future projects.
This generous donation adds to the £1/2 million promise of infrastructure from Scottish Power and £2m in SRIF funding.
Contact Professor Alan Newell 01382 344144
By Jenny Marra, Press Officer 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk