Robert Gordon University (RGU) will launch a new Center for Smart Data Technologies, which aims to bring the benefits of analyzing and mining vast quantities of data to industry, according to a news release.

The center, which will be launched Sept. 9, will focus on big data analytics, particularly for the oil and gas sector. It is intended that the industry will secure efficiencies from the use of analytics to extract added value for processes such as increasing speed to first oil, enhancing production, improved asset maintenance and reliability, reducing risks in health and safety and the environment, the release said.

The center will launch with a core team of up to 10 research staff, alongside business development and administrative support, building on RGU’s expertise in data modeling, smart information systems and knowledge management, according to the release. It will provide a collaborative facility involving academic and industry partners, where there will be purpose-driven research aimed at solving key technical challenges in the monitoring and management of subsea fields. This initiative, the release said, is aligned with the data lab, a forthcoming national innovation center in data science, which will see a hub located at RGU.