International delegates head to city conference

Val Gillet, professor of chemoinfomatics at the University of Sheffield’s Information School, is jointly hosting the event with the iSchool at Northumbria University. The theme of the conference is ‘Transforming Digital Worlds’ and it will focus on the importance of the information field in transforming an increasingly data-driven world.

iSchools is a worldwide association of around 90 Information Schools dedicated to advancing the information field, and preparing students to meet the information challenges of contemporary society. The iConference has grown year-on-year since the series began in 2005, bringing together thinkers and leaders from academia, industry and not-for-profit organisations to discuss emerging challenges and potential solutions for information and data management.

More than 420 of this year’s delegates hail from outside Sheffield, with people travelling from North America, China, South East Asia, the Middle East and Europe to attend the event at the University of Sheffield’s Diamond building, kicking off this Sunday, and running until next Wednesday.

The Information School at Sheffield has been at the forefront of developments in the information field for more than 50 years and has recently been named number one by the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

Professor Val Gillet said: “I’m proud to be bringing the iConference to Sheffield. It’s a real coup for the University and is great timing given our recent top position in the QS rankings.”