Industry 4.0 has been a bedrock of innovation for at least the last decade. Now, as generative AI, advanced machine learning, and modelling algorithms become more accessible with “off-the-shelf” technologies, questions are being raised about the value – and risks – artificial intelligence might bring to the sector.
As industries embrace the Internet of Things, AI has emerged as a transformative force, enhancing operational efficiencies, offering predictive capabilities, and paving the way for easier strategic decision-making in unprecedented ways. In manufacturing alone, spend on AI is predicted to reach $9.8 billion (£7.6bn) by 2027 – a CAGR of almost 25% during the forecast period.
Industries obviously see the value of AI when it comes to harnessing IoT effectively. However, this advancement also brings with it complex security challenges and ethical dilemmas. Let us delve into these dual perspectives of AI in industrial IoT, exploring how its integration is reshaping the industry while simultaneously raising crucial questions about cybersecurity and ethical considerations.
The Upside of AI on Industrial IoT
The transformative impact of AI in the industrial IoT space extends across a variety of use cases, each demonstrating its power to streamline and innovate.
For instance, in manufacturing, AI-driven predictive maintenance is not just about early fault detection; it is about understanding patterns that lead to wear and tear, extending the overall lifespan of machinery.
In supply chain management, AI algorithms move beyond basic stock control, offering real-time tracking and predictive analytics for efficient inventory management and a responsive approach to demand fluctuations. Quality control, another crucial area, is also revolutionised by AI’s ability to perform high-precision inspections at speeds unattainable by human workers.
These implementations showcase AI’s capacity not only to optimise existing processes but also to open new avenues for operational excellence and strategic foresight in the industrial sector. Yet, for all these groundbreaking advantages, businesses owe it to themselves to tread carefully before deploying AI as part of their IoT ecosystems.
Security Challenges in AI-enhanced Industrial IoT
As AI propels the industrial IoT into new frontiers, it simultaneously broadens the attack surface, introducing unique security challenges.
The complexity of IoT ecosystems, combined with AI’s data-intensive nature, creates vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cyber threats.
These vulnerabilities range from unauthorised access to sensitive data, to potential hijacking of networked industrial systems. The interconnectedness inherent in IoT means that a breach in one node can have cascading effects, compromising the integrity of entire networks.
Addressing these security challenges requires a multifaceted approach. First, it is crucial to implement robust cybersecurity protocols specifically tailored for the IoT environment. This includes regular updates to security algorithms, secure data encryption methods, and vigilant monitoring for any signs of intrusion.
Additionally, there is an urgent need for a proactive strategy that anticipates potential threats and mitigates risks before they materialise. This involves not only advanced technological solutions but also a strong emphasis on training personnel to recognise and respond to security threats, creating a comprehensive defence against the multifaceted risks presented by AI in industrial IoT.
Navigating the Risks
Navigating the risks and challenges associated with AI in industrial IoT environments involves addressing both technical and ethical concerns. Technically, AI can become a target for cyber-attacks, with the potential to cause significant disruptions in operational technology environments.
Ensuring the reliability of AI systems in the face of corrupted data is also critical, as false positives or negatives in decision-making can have far-reaching consequences.
Ethical challenges include managing the privacy concerns associated with the vast amounts of data processed by AI systems and addressing potential biases in AI algorithms.
To effectively manage these challenges, a comprehensive approach is required. Cybersecurity measures need to focus on protecting AI systems from attacks and ensuring their reliable operation. This involves developing robust security protocols that can adapt to the evolving nature of cyber threats.
On the ethical front, regulations and guidelines should be established to promote transparency, accountability, and fairness in AI applications. This includes addressing data protection, mitigating biases, and ensuring that AI systems operate within ethical boundaries. Such measures will be crucial in maintaining trust in AI systems and ensuring their beneficial use in industrial IoT environments.
Strategies for Mitigating Risk
To effectively mitigate the risks associated with AI in industrial IoT, it is essential to adopt a proactive and comprehensive security strategy. This involves implementing security controls based on principles of zero trust and zero tolerance, ensuring that every component within the IoT ecosystem is verified and secure.
Additionally, integrating good cyber hygiene practices across the board is crucial to safeguard the integrity of AI systems and the data they handle. These practices include regular system updates, thorough risk assessments, and diligent monitoring for potential vulnerabilities.
Beyond technical measures, regulatory frameworks such as the EU AI Act play a pivotal role in addressing the broader implications of AI in industrial IoT. These regulations should focus on critical aspects such as data protection, bias prevention, transparency, and accountability in AI applications.
The development of ethical guidelines for AI is also necessary to ensure that its deployment aligns with societal values and privacy concerns. By combining robust security measures with thoughtful regulation, industries can harness the full potential of AI in IoT while maintaining a secure and ethical operational environment.
As AI continues to evolve within the industrial IoT landscape, its potential to revolutionise the sector is boundless. The future could see AI not just as a tool for efficiency and security, but as a collaborator in innovation, shaping the very fabric of industrial processes.
This synergy of AI and IoT is poised to unlock new levels of creativity and efficiency, heralding an era where technology and human ingenuity converge to redefine the possibilities in industrial operations – but only if businesses can walk the line between value and risk effectively.
NHS Dumfries and Galloway has been targeted in a cyber-attack that’s “focused and ongoing.”
The Scots health board said in a statement to DIGIT today (15 March 2024) that it’s working with Police Scotland, the National Cyber Security Agency, and the Scottish government to resolve the situation.
The statement included a warning that the hackers could have acquired a “significant quantity of data,” and that the board has “reason to believe that this could include patient-identifiable and staff-identifiable data.”
Work is currently ongoing together with the cybersecurity agencies to investigate what data may have been accessed.
The health board also said that there may be some disruption to services due to the situation.
“We are encouraging everyone, staff and public, to be on their guard for any attempt to access their systems or approaches from anyone claiming to be in possession of data relating to them,” the board advised.
“In any of these situations, contact Police Scotland immediately by phoning 101.
“A dedicated web-page has been established on the NHS Dumfries and Galloway website, available at this address: https://www.nhsdg.co.uk/cyberattack.”
Jude McCorry, CEO of the Cyber and Fraud Centre — Scotland, said: “We have seen a worrying increase in attacks over the last few weeks in both public and private sector.
“If anyone needs support please contact our Incident Response line – but please start looking at your cyber resilience plan.”
The number of technology companies incorporated in Scotland rose by 21% in 2023, new analysis from RSM UK — the audit, tax, and consulting firm — has discovered.
The firm found that a total of 1,553 Scottish tech companies were incorporated last year, compared to 1,280 in 2022 — marking an increase of 273 companies, or 21%.
Across the UK as a whole, last year saw 51,017 new tech firms incorporated, compared to 2022’s figure of 41,972, representing a change of 9,045 companies, or 22%.
Key sub-sectors that saw significant growth included software development companies, data businesses, and IT consultancies.
However, the only UK region that didn’t see an upward, positive change was Wales, which had 1,257 tech company incorporations in 2022 compared to 2023’s 1,150 — a decrease of 107 companies, or -9%.
Speaking on the Scottish stats, Ross Stupart, who’s office managing partner for RSM in Edinburgh, said: “It’s great to see another strong year for incorporations in Scotland, closely reflecting the national average of 22%.
“This demonstrates that Scotland continues to be a place that creates a good volume of tech start-ups. The key challenge for Scotland in the tech sector however remains the ability to scale in Scotland.
“By creating an environment that provides businesses with ready access to capital for rapid upscaling, and encourages their ambition for internationalisation and growth, we should see many of Scotland’s tech start up entrepreneurs fulfilling their huge potential.
“This could help create lots of economic value from Scotland’s tech sector. Some policy changes will be required within the Scottish Government to get us on that track.”
Ben Bilsland, who’s a partner and technology industry senior analyst at RSM UK, commented on the stats for the UK as a whole: “Our research is testament to the resilience of the UK’s tech sector despite global challenges. The rise in tech incorporations shows there is cause for optimism in this key industry.
“But the sector has, and continues to be, marked by layoffs, so it may be that these members of the workforce have been confident enough to go it alone, thereby fuelling incorporation growth.
“The government has an important role to play if this trend is to continue. Making valuable resources, including AI compute, accessible for universities and early-stage entrepreneurs is critical.
“Funding and policy changes, including innovation reliefs, that ensure a world-class tech workforce are crucial both in terms aiding education and skilled immigration.
“For those businesses working in AI, clarity on future regulation will assist the ability to forward-plan.”
Parliamentarians are being urged to back the Automated Vehicles Bill and ensure its swift passage into law to reap the safety and economic benefits of self-driving cars and public transport services.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that the tech could save an additional 3,200 lives and prevent 53,000 serious accidents from now until 2040, and also provide a £38 billion economic boost — but only if the Bill is enacted without delay.
Even if the current timetable is met, following the Bill’s second reading in the House of Commons in early March, it’s unlikely that self-driving vehicles will be on British roads until at least 2026, the industry body noted. If the legislation is delayed until after the general election, the date could be nearer 2030.
While the UK has a firm foundation for automated vehicles thanks to government and industry jointly investing more than £600 million in self-driving trials since 2015, the EU and US already have regulatory frameworks in place and deployed the technology on public roads.
Speaking on this, the SMMT’s chief executive Mike Hawes said at the industry body’s Connected 2024 event today: “Backing the AV Bill now is fundamental if Britain is to not only develop but deploy self-driving passenger cars and services.
“We have the foundations, but other major markets are stealing a march, with regulation already in place allowing them to benefit from UK-developed self-driving tech that cannot be rolled out here.
“Any further delay risks leaving Britain in the slow lane, jeopardising our competitiveness and holding back the significant safety and economic rewards self-driving technology can deliver.”
Research commissioned by the SMMT and undertaken by YouGov found that nearly a third of UK adults (29%) would use an automated bus, shuttle, or taxi service if available today, with one in four (26%) likely to try self-driving features in a personal car — even though they’ve yet to experience the tech first-hand.
The survey also found that young people are even keener, with Gen Z (18-27 year-olds) almost twice (34%) as likely to try a personal car with self-driving features than Baby Boomers (60-78 year-olds).
Reduced stress of driving, safer journeys, and potentially lower insurance costs were listed as the top three benefits of a self-driving car.
For self-driving passenger services such as a bus, shuttle, or taxi, consumers were most motivated by the prospect of lower fares, better availability in rural areas, and safer journeys.
Existing technologies, such as adaptive cruise control and park assist — the most popular advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) among survey respondents — are already helping roads to be safer.
Advanced emergency braking (AEB) technology, for instance, is available in eight-in-ten new cars, and has led to a 38% reduction in real world rear-end crashes, research has found.
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has launched, at the University of Strathclyde, the first of three innovation nodes focused on the application of accurate and precise timing for new technologies and products in sectors such as quantum and fintech.
The nodes have been developed in partnership between NPL and the host organisations Strathclyde, the University of Surrey, and Cranfield University.
The innovation nodes are part of NPL’s National Timing Centre (NTC) programme, the UK’s first nationally distributed time infrastructure that provides secure, reliable, resilient, and highly accurate time and frequency data.
NTC will aid the acceleration of new technologies such as time-critical 5G and 6G applications, next-gen automated factories, and connected autonomous vehicles.
The innovation node at Strathclyde was officially launched by the university’s principal and vice-chancellor, Professor Sir Jim McDonald, and by NPL CEO Dr Peter Thompson.
The launch is part of a wider two-day programme of events that showcases the breadth of work delivered by NPL, and gives Scottish industry access to NPL’s capabilities in quantum and timing.
The programme underpins NPL’s long history of collaboration in these areas with Strathclyde.
During their development, the three node sites hosted feasibility and demonstrator projects funded by Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency.
In total, 26 projects were supported with technical consultancy and access to high accuracy timing signals to enable the development of new products and services.
Dr Leon Lobo, head of the NTC programme, said: “Time is an invisible utility that underpins our digital infrastructure, from synchronising the energy grid and telecom networks to timestamping financial trades.
“The close collaboration with Strathclyde will offer industry and academia access to reference timing signals to stimulate the development of new products and services, necessary to enable resilient time for the future.”
A quantum technology cluster is embedded in the Glasgow City Innovation District, an initiative driven by Strathclyde along with Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise, Entrepreneurial Scotland, and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.
It is envisaged as a global place for quantum industrialisation, attracting companies to co-locate, accelerate growth, improve productivity, and access world-class research technology and talent at Strathclyde.
The University of Strathclyde is the only academic institution that has been a partner in all four EPSRC-funded quantum technology hubs in both phases of funding.
The hubs are in: sensing and timing; quantum enhanced imaging; quantum computing and simulation; and quantum communications technologies.
Techscaler, the Scots government’s tech startup support programme awarded to CodeBase, and FinTech Scotland, the cluster body driving Scotland’s fintech innovation, have announced a strategic partnership to drive forward Scotland’s fintech sector development.
Fintech SMEs now employ more than 10,500 people across 226 enterprises in Scotland, with around 38% of fintechs having reached scale-up stage.
FinTech Scotland’s affiliated scaling firms will now be able to access the comprehensive benefits offered by Techscaler membership, opening the door to a network and support system of mentorship, educational courses, community events, and more, enhancing collaboration opportunities and fostering growth for fintech innovators.
Techscaler runs three main programmes – Startup First Steps, Startup Next Steps, and Reforge. Techscaler’s partnership with Reforge, the career development platform for top-tier professionals in tech, brings access to Silicon Valley playbooks and best practices to founders in Scotland who are scaling their teams.
Techscaler’s fintech-focused members will also be introduced to the resources and opportunities provided by FinTech Scotland, bringing sector specific support to fintech founding teams.
To mark the initiation of the partnership, Techscaler and FinTech Scotland will host a Founder Roundtable next month to gather insights from fintechs, providing founders with the opportunity to engage directly with industry leaders and peers.
The insights gathered from the roundtable will be used to curate activities and support mechanisms that meet the fintech community’s needs.
The roundtable event will take place at CodeBase in Edinburgh on Wednesday 3 April at 10.30am after Unfiltered, CodeBase’s monthly open networking event.
Speaking on the partnership, Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland, said: “This collaboration is about getting behind Scotland scaling for tech, together. It underscores our joint dedication to cultivating innovation and showcasing the vibrant fintech community in Scotland.
“We look forward to bringing tangible benefits to our scaling fintech SMEs, and sharing our sector expertise with Techscaler founders, to build a robust and forward-thinking fintech cluster.”
Yasmin Sulaiman, VP of partnerships at CodeBase, also commented: “Connecting the diverse parts of the tech ecosystem is a huge part of our job running Techscaler for the Scottish government.
“When organisations like ours and FinTech Scotland come together to understand founders’ needs, we’re able to offer a much stronger suite of support and join up founders with the opportunities they’re looking for to grow.
“We’re looking forward to growing our partnership, and helping connect our community to FinTech Scotland’s expertise.”
Innovation minister Richard Lochhead further added: “Our £42 million Techscaler network is already showcasing some of Scotland’s most promising start-ups.
“This partnership with FinTech Scotland is another example of how the Techscaler network is helping to galvanise our innovative, collaborative and inclusive tech community by sharing knowledge and supporting growth.”
“Progress like this demonstrates Scotland’s ambition to become one of Europe’s leading start-up communities. We are setting an example and helping drive a fair and growing economy.”
Scotland’s commitment to fintech innovation is seen in its ten-year sector roadmap, targeting the creation of 30,000 jobs and an ambitious economic value increase of over 330%, surpassing £2 billion by the end of the decade.
The strategic vision aligns with the country’s focus on four key segments: open finance data, climate finance, payments and transactions, and financial regulation.
Through the partnership, Techscaler will lend its expertise to initiatives such as the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), launched by FinTech Scotland in December in partnership with mutual partners the University of Strathclyde and University of Glasgow.
The initiative seeks to advance understanding and adoption of new and emerging technologies in fintech through industry-led innovation challenges, skills and education programmes, workshops, roundtables, conferences, and trade missions.
Techscaler has forged multiple partnerships across and beyond the Scottish tech ecosystem since it has been operational, including with the chief scientist office’s NHS Innovation Hubs, govtech funding challenge programme CivTech, and STAC, the Internet of Things accelerator.
Funding has been awarded to space scientists at the University of Aberdeen to further develop their technology to evaluate the habitability of Mars.
The Planetary Sciences Group will receive £320,000 from the UK Space Agency to support the implementation of HABIT (Habitability; Brine, Irradiation and Temperature), an instrument developed by the researchers to measure key conditions on the planet.
The technology will be included on a lander expected to touch down on Mars’ surface around 2028-30 and led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), who’s embarking on a comprehensive long-term Mars exploration programme.
As well as measuring conditions, HABIT will be used in an attempt to produce liquid water on Mars for the first time, based on the theory that there are unique salts on the planet surface which absorb water from the atmosphere and produce liquid water (in the form of brines) at night when the temperature is lowest.
The funding will enable the scientists to create a unique “Martian chamber” that will be used for the calibration of HABIT, so that it can be ready to perform its exploration of Mars’ water cycle, chemistry, and habitability.
The chamber will be a box about the size of a refrigerator, recreating the temperatures, pressures, and atmospheric conditions of the Martian surface, essentially creating a Mars environment on Earth.
Speaking on the funding, Professor Javier Martin-Torres, who leads Aberdeen’s Planetary Sciences Group, said: “HABIT is designed to monitor various environmental conditions crucial for understanding the presence of liquid brine and supporting (bio)chemical reactions on Mars.
“It is a critical component for the mission as HABIT will work with other instruments onboard the lander to enhance the understanding of Mars’ habitability.
“Our technology will make an important contribution in answering fundamental questions not only in Mars science and astrobiology but could also pave the way for future human exploration.
“We are delighted to be one of only seven universities in the UK – and the only one in Scotland – to be part of this funding award which will keep the country in the forefront of Mars research and astrobiology.”
Dr Paul Bate, the chief executive of the UK Space Agency, also commented: “The University of Aberdeen’s work with JAXA on environment monitoring technology for Martian rovers demonstrates how UK science can make crucial contributions to ground-breaking global missions that will deepen our understanding of our neighbouring planets.
“Our funding will help catalyse international investment into the UK space sector and highlights the value we place on sharing knowledge and expertise with our counterparts overseas to push the boundaries of space exploration.”
The convictions of hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters wrongly convicted as a result of the Horizon IT scandal will have their convictions cleared following new legislation introduced today (Wednesday 13 March).
The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill will quash convictions brought about by erroneous Horizon evidence, and extend to England and Wales.
Under the Bill, convictions will be automatically cleared if they meet the following criteria:
Were prosecuted by the Post Office or Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Were for offences carried out in connection with Post Office business between 1996 and 2018.
Were for relevant offences such as theft, fraud and false accounting.
Were against sub-postmasters, their employees, officers, family members or direct employees of the Post Office working in a Post Office that used the Horizon system software.
The UK government said that it will continue to work closely with the devolved Scottish and Northern Irish governments as they develop their own plans.
“Regardless of where or how convictions are quashed, redress will be paid to victims across the whole of the UK on the same basis,” the government also assured.
Under the Bill, impacted sub-postmasters in England and Wales will receive an interim compensation payment, with the option of immediately taking a fixed and final offer of £600,000 to help them with rebuilding their lives.
The government also confirmed it will bring forward increased financial redress for postmasters who were not convicted, or part of legal action against the Post Office, but still suffered considerably due to Horizon failures.
These individuals, called the “Horizon Shortfall Scheme cohort,” will have the option to receive a fixed sum payment of £75,000.
Those who have already settled for a lower sum will have their redress topped up to this level, bringing them in line with the approach taken for members of the Group Litigation Order group of postmasters.
The Horizon IT scandal has been called one of, if not the biggest, miscarriages of justice in the UK.
Dating back to the 1990s, it resulted in hundreds of post office operators being wrongfully prosecuted for theft, fraud, and false accounting due to faulty software. In total, around 900 people have been prosecuted.
Numerous attempts have been made throughout the years by sub-postmasters and campaigners to receive justice.
In 2019, and after over 500 sub-postmasters successfully took legal action against the Post Office, it was agreed that £58 million would be paid out — though the legal fees significantly reduced this number.
Speaking on the new Bill, prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “I want to pay tribute to all the postmasters who have shown such courage and perseverance in their fierce campaign for justice, and to those who tragically won’t see the justice they deserve.
“While I know that nothing can make up for what they’ve been through, today’s legislation marks an important step forward in finally clearing their names.
“We owe it to the victims of this scandal who have had their lives and livelihoods callously torn apart, to deliver the justice they’ve fought so long and hard for, and to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”
Edinburgh Innovations (EI), the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, has announced a new interim CEO in Dr Andrea Taylor in light of Dr George Baxter’s upcoming departure.
Currently serving as director of strategic partnerships, Taylor will take the helm of Edinburgh Innovations at the end of March.
In her partnerships role, Taylor led the university into high-profile collaborations such as NEURii, which aims to explore the use of data and digital solutions to complement treatment options for dementia patients, and beLAB1407, which looks to advance drug discovery opportunities.
Speaking on the appointment, Taylor said: “I am delighted to take on the opportunity of interim CEO of Edinburgh Innovations. We have a fantastic team at EI that has already supported the university to achieve record levels of innovation and commercialisation under the leadership of George Baxter.
“Innovation and entrepreneurship have never been a more integrated part of the university, and the opportunities for multi-stakeholder engagement and partnership are greater than ever. Along with the support of the whole leadership team, I will be looking ahead to capitalise on significant opportunities across the innovation landscape.”
Dr Baxter, who’s served as EI’s CEO since 2016, will take on a new role as chief innovation and economic development officer at the University of California, Davis.
During his tenure at EI, Baxter has helped the university grow its industrial and translational research income from £10m to almost £92m.
Last year, 123 companies were launched, and £107m was invested into the university’s portfolio through its in-house venture investment team, Old College Capital.
Baxter himself added: “I am extremely proud of how EI has grown and of the fantastic work the team does every day to enable innovation and impact at the university, which contributes to us meeting global challenges in the most pressing areas of climate, future health and data and AI for good.
“As Andrea said, it’s fantastic to see the role of innovation and entrepreneurship continuing to grow and embed at the university, and I very much look forward to seeing the impacts that will be achieved over the years to come.”
The last time DIGIT reported on Edinburgh Innovations-related news was just last week, when it was announced that biotech spinout Wobble Genomics had secured £8.5 million in funding to commercialise its RNA sequencing technology.
Wobble Genomics was spunout in 2021 with the support of Edinburgh Innovations.
Members of parliament are concerned that little progress is being made by the UK government on tackling the country’s “e-waste tsunami.”
The MPs in question are a part of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), a 16-member cross-party group which includes the likes of the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas, Labour’s Clive Lewis, and the SNP’s John McNally. Its remit is to examine policies and programmes concerning environmental protection and sustainable development.
In November 2020, the committee published a report which looked at the environmental impact of electronic items in particular, calling on the UK government to do more regarding the use, re-use, and recycling of physical tech products. The report also offered 27 related recommendations, of which the government accepted one and part-accepted 22 the following February.
However, in an update published today (12 March 2024), the EAC said that the government’s current consultation on the issue, “Electrical waste: reforming the producer responsibility system,” has a “narrow focus” and doesn’t address many of the aforementioned recommendations.
While the EAC did say that it was encouraged to see certain measures, such as the mandatory collection of e-waste, as part of new obligations, proposals such as making it easier and safer for the public to repair their items were missing.
Speaking on the update and the perceived lack of progress, Philip Dunne, chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee, remarked: “When the committee reported on e-waste in 2020, each UK household had 20 unused electronic items hoarded at home, and there were enough unused cables in UK households to go around the world five times. Despite these extraordinary statistics, it appears the government is yet to grasp fully the scale of the e-waste tsunami.
“It is not just the amount of waste created in the sector through planned obsolescence or insufficient recycling schemes, but the significant environmental impact of creating the products in the first place. For example, when disposed of incorrectly, toxic chemicals can leak into the surrounding environment. The precious metals needed for our mobile phones, tablets or headphones are needed for Net Zero Britain and renewable energy infrastructure.
“As a select committee, we are encouraged when the government looks carefully at the evidence we have collected and accepts our recommendations. However, four years on, we are yet to see many of these initiatives make it into policy or be reflected in its current consultation on e-waste. I look forward to receiving the Environment Secretary’s response to see how EAC’s recommendations can help mould this critically important piece of government policy.”
Around this time last year, DIGIT reported on a Uswitch study which found that the UK is the second-highest contributor to e-waste in the world, only behind Norway. In 2021, 36,681 tonnes of household waste electrical and electronic equipment was generated in the UK.
A new UK-German agreement to boost tech, science, and research ties—and plans for a joint group of experts—are a part of shared measures being announced today (12 March 2024).
The UK science and technology secretary, Michelle Donelan, and German federal minister of education and research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, will announce the plans later today where they will sign a Joint Declaration of Intent committing both countries to broadening and deepening their tech, science, and research links.
Today’s meeting also brings together a forum featuring leaders and organisations from both countries to share and agree opportunities for R&D teamwork, ranging from quantum and AI to clean technology and research security. Moving forward, the UK and German governments are to establish a Strategic Working Group to match high ambitions with plans for delivery.
The UK-German relationship on tech, science, and research is already well-established. Germany is the UK’s second largest research collaborator globally after the United States, and is the UK’s biggest research partner in Europe. The two countries also play a significant role together in some of the world’s foremost international scientific organisations, including CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, and the European Space Agency.
The Declaration builds on underway efforts to boost UK researchers’ opportunities to collaborate with colleagues in Germany and beyond through Horizon Europe, the world’s largest programme of research collaboration, which the UK rejoined after Brexit.
As part of its plans to deepen collaborative links, the UK government will also look at using funds available through the £377 million International Science Partnerships Fund to enable UK researchers and innovators to collaborate with German partners on key projects.
Speaking on the new agreement, Donelan said: “Germany is the UK’s second-largest trading partner, as well as a critical science and research partner through the likes of Horizon Europe and CERN. To capitalise on this, bringing our shared strengths in science and technology together will be essential.
“By supporting our brightest minds and leading institutions to work together, we will maximise the opportunities for them to create new jobs, build new businesses, and ultimately deliver a better quality of life for us all.”
Stark-Watzinger further remarked: “The UK’s association to Horizon Europe is a major step in this direction. But we must also deepen bilateral cooperation. The United Kingdom with its excellent research and its renowned science institutions, universities and companies is one of Germany’s key partners. In the face of current challenges, it is all the more important that we move ahead together and prepare the ground for joint research solutions.
“Today’s exchange of views together with the science communities in Germany and the UK is only the beginning. Our Joint Declaration of Intent provides the basis for good and close cooperation to strengthen science and research.”
The agreement marks the latest in a series of bilateral international science deals the UK has signed recently. In the last fortnight alone, partnerships have been announced with both France and Saudi Arabia.
Some of Scotland’s most innovative female-led businesses will take centre stage at Dundee’s V&A Museum later this week at an event hosted by AccelerateHER.
The AccelerateHER Showcase, taking place this Thursday (14 March) will feature 14 female founders presenting an overview of their companies and pitching for potential investment to an invited audience.
Key sponsors supporting the event include Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) and British Business Bank (BBB). SNIB’s executive director, Nicola Douglas, and BBB’s senior manager, Barry McCulloch, will also attend the gathering where they will take part in a fireside with AccelerateHER CEO, Elizabeth Pirrie.
The Showcase is designed to celebrate and promote some of Scotland’s leading female founded businesses and to help them raise growth investment.
The businesswomen showcasing their companies at the event include Aleksandra Czech-Selecka of VanFill; Carmen Cumminsky (FOMO); Carolyn Hogg (Cascade Water Products); Genna Masterton (Gifted Kind); Eliza Ralph (Spectral Wrender); Nicole Christie (Tax Torch); Karen Robinson (Three Robins); Janis Roddie (Everyday People); Sacha Wright (Practest); Gemma Stuart (Gutsy Health); Sarah Nutt (Rosa Lifestyle); Nyasha Mutembwa (Your Choice Yearbooks); Zoe Russell (Rethink Carbon); and Amina Okhai (Brain Innovation).
As event hosts, AccelerateHER will bring together its UK-wide network of business mentors and investors further leveraging on its experience as an organisation centred on accelerating growth for female-founded businesses. Angel investors from its sister company Investing Women Angels will be among those attending the event.
Elizabeth Pirrie, CEO of AccelerateHER, said: “We are delighted to be bringing together 14 inspiring female founders at our AccelerateHER Showcase this week. These businesses cover a broad range of key industry sectors with many focused on innovative solutions to major societal challenges including improving health, widening financial accessibility and tackling climate change.
“We are delighted to have the support of SNIB and BBB as our key sponsors for what promises to be an unforgettable showcase designed to celebrate innovation and champion the next generation of female leaders.”
Seven network operators — including Openreach and CityFibre — have signed up to new protections which will ensure people who rely on personal alarms to call for help are not left without a working device during the migration.
It follows the UK government‘s technology secretary, Michelle Donelan, convening telecom firms after becoming aware of “serious incidents” occurring during the migration.
Phone providers have been upgrading household landlines to digital technology, which uses an internet connection, to deliver a modern network that’s suitable for the future.
However, nearly two million people in the UK use “telecare” alarms, offering remote support to elderly, disabled, and vulnerable people, many of which are located in rural and isolated areas.
Last year, UK phone providers agreed to new measures to protect vulnerable customers when upgrading phone lines to a new digital network, with Donelan asking all providers not to force people to switch over until enhanced protections are in place.
The new measures agreed upon today (Monday 11 March) include:
Operators will have to work with partners, including internet providers, to check if their customers own a telecare device.
Operators will provide at least 12 months’ notice to phone providers before enforcing the switchover of a customer and will jointly discuss suitable migration options.
No telecare user will be migrated to a digital landline service without the provider, customer, or telephone company confirming that they have a functioning solution in place.
Telecom operators will work with Ofcom, government, and phone providers to create a shared definition of ‘vulnerable’ customer, so it is no longer dependent on the company and establishes an industry wide standard.
Commenting, Donelan said: “The safety of vulnerable customers comes before anything else and that’s why I called on the industry to listen to concerns and take action to make sure the right protections are in place.
“I welcome more telecoms companies joining forces to make this a priority, meaning we now have agreement from those responsible for our telecoms infrastructure and those providing mobile and broadband services.
“This will provide much needed reassurance to those relying on these vital devices and I will continue to pressure organisations to do everything in their power to make sure the switchover is seamless and safe.”
Julia Lopez, the digital infrastructure minister, further added: “When a person needs urgent medical attention, they must have confidence that their call for help will be responded to as quickly as possible.
“The recent incidents that left some people disconnected are unacceptable and must not happen again. The technology secretary and I are united in pressuring all those responsible to implement mitigations that meet the needs of the most at risk.
“I hope today’s agreement provides some peace of mind to those affected and reassures the millions of vulnerable people in our country that their concerns have been heard far and wide across the whole industry.”
Home secretary James Cleverly will discuss the threats posed by organised crime groups, and how global law enforcement can tackle it, during a series of meetings with senior ministers and representatives from the G7, Five Eyes, Singapore, and South Korea.
The ministers will also explore how closer partnerships with the private sector can be used to counter criminality and reimburse victims of crime. Representatives from some of the world’s biggest tech companies, such as Amazon and Apple according to Bloomberg, are expected to attend.
Fraud is a global problem, with around 70% of all offences in the UK having ties to overseas criminals, with £3 billion lost to overseas accounts last year.
“This summit delivers on yet another pledge we made to the British people in our Fraud Strategy and is a clear sign of the UK’s status as a world leader,” said home secretary James Cleverly.
“Fraudsters have no regard for boundaries, they devastate citizens in all our countries. We will only put a stop to this scourge if we fight it head on together, and that’s precisely what we plan to do.”
A key aim of the summit is to increase partnership work between law enforcement agencies, such as the National Crime Agency, the FBI, INTERPOL, Europol, and the Japan National Police Agency.
In 2022, UK law enforcement agencies worked with international partners, including the FBI and Europol, to take down an online service known as iSpoof. The website was used to make more than 10 million fraudulent phone calls. Its administrator was jailed for more than 13 years.
Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL secretary general, noted: “Changes in technology and the rapid increase in the scale and volume of organised crime has driven the creation of a range of new ways to defraud innocent people, business and even governments. Urgent action is required.
“It is important that there are no safe havens for financial fraudsters to operate. We must close existing gaps and ensure information sharing between sectors and across borders is the norm, not the exception. This summit is both timely, and needed.”
The summit will also aim to encourage greater collaboration between government and industry to tackle fraud.
The UK is already collaborating with the private sector, as shown by the “world first” Online Fraud Charter, a voluntary agreement the UK agreed with 12 leading tech companies in November 2023.
The agreement includes measures to verify sellers on peer-to-peer marketplaces, promptly remove fraudulent advertising, and allow people using online dating services to only interact with people who have confirmed their identities.
Partner countries agreeing similar charters will severely hinder fraudsters, who rely upon new technologies to commit fraud.
Antony Walker, deputy CEO, techUK said: “The Global Fraud Summit will provide tech companies with the platform to build upon their existing efforts and enable better and more consistent cooperation between the private sector, government, and law enforcement in the fight against fraud and online scams.
“As the nature of online fraud continues to evolve, tech companies remain committed to taking measures against online fraud, adapting their approaches to effectively counter this criminal activity and protect users.”
From healthcare projects tackling gender bias and new economic reports showing a mixed picture for the Scottish economy, to spinout funding stories and new gender gap data, last week was a busy week for Scottish tech.
To get you up to speed with these major stories, here’s our round-up.
Equity Investment in Smaller Scots Businesses Remain Resilient
Equity investment in Scotland’s smaller businesses nearly halved last year but was still ahead of the UK average and on track to record the third highest annual figure in the last decade, according to new research from the British Business Bank.
The Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets 2023/24report found that by the end of the third quarter of 2023, the total value of equity investment in smaller firms in Scotland had reached £295 million. While this was down on £562 million during 2022 and 2021’s £417 million, it was well ahead of the ten-year average of £236 million.
During the first nine months of 2023 there were 118 equity deals, below the ten-year average of 134. However, the average deal size was the second highest of the previous decade at £2.5 million, behind only 2022’s £3.6 million.
Strathclyde Uni Creating Low-cost Sensors to Improve Kenyan Crop Yields
A low-cost sensor system to detect nutrients in soil for improved fertility is being developed by researchers to help tackle food insecurity in Kenya.
The project is taking inspiration from ancient art and design-based printing processes such as wood blocking, combined with local natural materials such as chimney soot, egg, newspaper and enzymes from local plants and bacteria to make extremely low-cost soil sensors.
Woodblock printing allows lots of copies to the same pattern to be created and has been around for about 2,000 years. The printing inks were also made from natural materials. Instead of using these to print artwork, they will be used to make very biodegradable single use sensors.
The collaboration, led by the University of Strathclyde, will develop the novel sensor for farmers to regularly test for the two most depleted soil macro-nutrients in Kenya, nitrate and phosphate.
New Glasgow Uni Project Aims to Tackle Gender Bias in Healthcare AI
A team from the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering has won new funding for a project to help examine gender bias in healthcare AI and find ways to ensure AI-supported treatment remains equitable.
Currently, scientists around the globe are looking at how cutting-edge sensors that track vital signs can be combined with artificial intelligence.
As Dr Nour Ghadban, a research fellow at the University of Glasgow and the project’s principal investigator, further explained: “New sensors linked with artificial intelligence could offer potentially transformational opportunities to improve the way that we monitor patient wellbeing.
“However, we can only reap those benefits if we can be sure that the AI systems we use to achieve them are up to the task. We know that all kinds of human bias across race, class, gender, and more can be unwittingly incorporated into AI decision-making tools if the proper care isn’t taken when they are being trained on real-world data.”
Latest Figures Paint Stark Picture for Scots Economic Inactivity
Scotland is pulling ahead of the rest of the UK – in terms of its economic inactivity.
Scotland’s economic inactivity between October 2022 and September 2023 is at 31.7%, the highest of all UK nations.
CBI’s and Fraser of Allander’s Scottish Productivity Index revealed a stark picture for Scotland’s economic performance, finding that Scotland also fell behind in 10 out of 13 productivity indicators available in the rest of the UK.
In terms of business, Scottish GDP contracted by 0.3% in 2022 to 9.5%, whereas the rest of the UK increased to 9.8%, another case of Scotland lagging.
As far as exports, as a share of Scottish GDP they increased from 20.4% to 22.1% in 2022, whereas the UK rose to 33.4% as a whole.
STAC Launches Fourth Cohort and Appoints New Chair
The Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC) has launched its fourth cohort, with 20 companies joining Scotland’s first smart things and IoT accelerator, and also appointed a new chair.
The new companies joining STAC are: Zephyrus Labs, Orchyio, BennuAI, Hycean, FocaliseAI, Konpanion, Deep Sym, Audio Mitto, Lu Innovations, Mix Innovations, MyFarm, Dr Little, Kyobit, Ufarms, RfIoT, Vuabl, Atypical, Lowtek Games, Curious Chip, and Thistle Rocketry.
Paul Wilson, CEO and co-founder of STAC, said: “STAC had evolved rapidly into what we describe as a full wrap-around accelerator, around four main pillars – scaling mentorship, space, investment and talent acquisition.”
“What’s also notable”, continued Wilson, “is that with over 50 companies now at STAC, sector clusters are emerging, for example in sustainability, robotics, drones, health and wellbeing, and creative tech.”
Strathclyde Uni Developing System to Balance UK Electricity Network
Energy experts at the University teamed up with the Electricity System Operator (ESO) to design an optimisation tool which paves the way for net-zero electricity system operation in Great Britain. It enables the control room to make better use of the most economic service providers, including fast-response batteries.
To maintain a balance between electricity generation and demand, the ESO operates an hour-ahead market known as the Balancing Mechanism (BM). The first phase of the Open Balancing Platform (OBP), developed as part of the ESO’s existing programme of operational improvement, is supporting transformation of system balancing by allowing control room engineers to send instructions to hundreds of balancing units in each battery and small BM unit (BMU) zone across Britain at the touch of a single button.
In the past, balancing electricity generation and demand involved sending dispatch instructions to several large generators. Greater numbers of smaller generators including fast-response batteries are participating increasingly in the BM market. The addition of these assets brings about potential cost savings, but also an increased number of dispatch instructions and greater system operation complexity.
Edinburgh Startup Uses IoT Devices to Improve Fish Farming Sustainability
Aquanzo, in collaboration with CENSIS, Scotland’s premier innovation centre for sensing, imaging, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, is pioneering the cultivation of artemia, a species of brine shrimp hailed as an optimal protein source for feeding fish and crustaceans.
Aquanzo’s modular recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), developed in partnership with Heriot-Watt University, allows artemia to be grown wherever they are required using the co-product of agricultural processes, such as malt production for the whisky industry.
By repurposing the mineral-rich water used in malt processing, Aquanzo can cultivate artemia without impacting marine ecosystems.
CENSIS engineers will help Aquanzo with the development of an IoT-enabled array of sensors and a ‘data lake’ (a centralised repository for data) to help the team collect, store, and process data.
A competition to find and fund innovative solutions to improve electrolyser efficiency has been launched by the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) today, Thursday 7 March.
Electrolysers help with the sustainable production of hydrogen, separating the hydrogen and oxygen molecules found in water using electricity without emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Improving the efficiency of hydrogen production is crucial to the success of strategically-located Energy Hubs that will integrate various energy vectors to meet national power demands and facilitate energy export, NZTC said.
Technology developers can apply for funding to accelerate the development of their electrolyser technology towards pilot or prototype level.
Up to £500,000 of funding is available, and will be split between three to five technologies, with the deadline for applications being 23:59 on Sunday 14 April 2024.
Edinburgh Uni Spinout Wobble Genomics Secures £8.5M in Funding
Wobble Genomics, a spinout from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute with a novel approach to RNA sequencing, has raised £8.5m to help commercialise its technology.
The funding round was led by Mercia Ventures and BGF, and was backed by IQ Capital, EOS Advisors, and Old College Capital (OCC), the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment team. It brings the total amount raised by Wobble to over £10.5m.
The spinout has found a way to detect previously invisible ‘full-length’ RNA. The technology could have wide-ranging applications, from drug development and research to agriculture and ecology.
AccelerateHER Research Shows Mixed Picture for Female Founders
New research from AccelerateHER, the female founders network, released on International Women’s Day, shows a strong appetite for growth among UK female company founders — but also that numerous challenges and concerns remain.
The survey, which involved 316 female founders from all four nations of the UK, showed that 92% believed their business proposition had growth potential.
Further, more than half (52.1%) of those polled are currently focused on scaling their businesses with nearly two in five (38.8%) keen to achieve growth on an international scale. 41% of respondents said they were actively seeking investment to grow their companies.
However, some of the core concerns raised within the qualitative research included constraints over resources and finances; cashflow issues, especially with late payments from large companies; and the struggle in managing work-life balance with the many female founders juggling childcare and other responsibilities while managing their business.
Could This Scots-German Device Help Push Healthcare Further Forward?
An academic paper published on it indicates that such light sources will enable minimally invasive means of treating and better understanding diseases which currently require the implementation of bulky devices.
The new approach presented by Scottish and German scientists is based on the integration of organic light-emitting diodes—or OLEDs, which are usually found in smartphones and high-end screens—on “acoustic antennas.” They consist of thin layers of organic materials which can be deposited on almost any surface.
“We have exploited this property to deposit OLEDs directly on the acoustic antenna, thus merging the unique properties of both platforms into a single, extremely compact device,” explained Professor Malte Gather, from St Andrews’ School of Physics and Astronomy.
The funding comes from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), to continue its work in catalysing industrial decarbonisation.
IDRIC said that the funding will allow it to maintain momentum and impact through continued knowledge sharing, supporting skills development, and providing evidence to policymakers to accelerate industrial decarbonisation.
Since its launch in 2021, the centre has made numerous strides on the UK’s road to net zero by supporting challenge-led research projects, industry engagement activities, and policy initiatives.
To date, IDRIC has funded 100 research projects across 34 universities, creating an industrial decarbonisation “Knowledge Hub” for research projects and cluster activities across Scotland, Wales, the Black Country, Northwest, Humber, Teeside, and the Solent.
It’s also supported policymakers at both the UK and devolved levels, carried out skills and training programmes, and developed initiatives that promote equality, diversity, and inclusion for academia, industry, and government.
Speaking on the the year ahead, Lucy Martin, deputy director of cross council partnerships at EPSRC, said: “IDRIC will use the next 12 months to maximise the impact of the research and innovation delivered so far, while laying groundwork for the future research agenda and maintaining engagement across academia, industry, policymakers and other critical stakeholders.
“Through innovation and collaboration their work will pave the way for a cleaner, greener future.”
Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer, director of IDRIC and UK decarbonisation champion, further added: “IDRIC’s values and mission align with the UK government’s commitment to support and drive net zero goals. In a short space of time, IDRIC has demonstrated its standing internationally as a multi-disciplinary, mission-driven research and innovation centre.”
“Now is the time to really leverage IDRIC’s convening power and engage with our network of academic, industry and government partners to realise the full benefits of the work done so far towards decarbonising Britain’s industrial heartlands.
“During this critical time for driving forward action towards the UK’s net zero goals, IDRIC will deliver key outputs that have been co-created with the communities of the industrial clusters to enable long-lasting economic growth and societal benefits, and moreover, to build the foundations for the new green industries of tomorrow.”
An academic paper published on it indicates that such light sources will enable minimally invasive means of treating and better understanding diseases which currently require the implementation of bulky devices.
The new approach presented by Scottish and German scientists is based on the integration of organic light-emitting diodes—or OLEDs, which are usually found in smartphones and high-end screens—on “acoustic antennas.” They consist of thin layers of organic materials which can be deposited on almost any surface.
“We have exploited this property to deposit OLEDs directly on the acoustic antenna, thus merging the unique properties of both platforms into a single, extremely compact device,” explained Professor Malte Gather, from St Andrews’ School of Physics and Astronomy.
Biomedical implants have already helped push forward healthcare. For instance, electrode-based implants—such as cochlear implants, cardiac pacemakers, and brain stimulators—function based on the electrical excitability of human cells. They can help to restore hearing, normalise heart function, and mitigate the effects of debilitating diseases like Parkinson’s disease.
However, this wireless light-emitting device targets optical stimulation, which has emerged as a promising alternative to electrical stimulation because it can be more cell selective and even enable the stimulation of individual cells via genetic modification. Such techniques have shown promising results in early clinical trials, for example, in treating an otherwise untreatable eye disease.
For many emerging applications, multiple sites must be stimulated independently, and this is why modern brain stimulators often incorporate a large number of electrodes. An alternative stimulator however could consist of tiny, distributed devices, which could be powered and read wirelessly centimetres inside the body, eliminating the need for wires into and through the body altogether.
As is also the case for electrical antennas, the size of both classical and acoustic antennas determines the frequency at which the device operates and in turn the frequency of the magnetic field that is received. This property is exploited by the new wireless light sources: by simply tuning the operation frequency of different acoustic antennas to different values by slightly varying their size, the scientists can operate several of their tiny light bulbs independently, turning each one on and off individually.
In the future, this could allow for the individual addressing of multiple stimulators in different parts of the body, for instance, to treat debilitating neurological disorders.
With their novel device platform, the scientists move one step closer to developing the “ideal stimulator” by combining minimal device size, low operation frequency, and optical stimulation—and Professor Gather is keen to continue the work.
“As a next step, we will work to further reduce the size of our wireless OLEDs and test our technology in an animal model,” he said.
The survey, which involved 316 female founders from all four nations of the UK, showed that 92% believed their business proposition had growth potential.
Further, more than half (52.1%) of those polled are currently focused on scaling their businesses with nearly two in five (38.8%) keen to achieve growth on an international scale. 41% of respondents said they were actively seeking investment to grow their companies.
However, some of the core concerns raised within the qualitative research included constraints over resources and finances; cashflow issues, especially with late payments from large companies; and the struggle in managing work-life balance with the many female founders juggling childcare and other responsibilities while managing their business.
Access to finance was cited as a key issue with 50% of respondents saying this was proving a barrier to growth. Additionally, while less than a third (29.7%) of those polled cited self-doubt or lack of confidence in their abilities as a barrier to success, nearly two in five said getting access to the right resources and guidance was a challenge.
The female founders who were surveyed represent a broad range of sectors, including technology, financial and business services, life sciences, and creative industries.
Less than a quarter of the respondents are currently engaged with AccelerateHER and its network, while well over half (58.5%) said they were keen to grow their network and connect with other female founders or individuals who could support their business journey.
Commenting on the research findings, AccelerateHER CEO Elizabeth Pirrie, said: “As we mark International Women’s Day, this comprehensive survey highlights the progress being made by female company founders across the UK.
“The findings challenge some of the existing conceptions about female company founders showing a majority of women believe they can scale their businesses, with many currently focused on achieving this on a global level.
“We are also highly encouraged to see that a large majority of female founders feel self-confident in developing their companies, an important area that AccelerateHER has been focused on in our work with aspiring businesswomen.
“With two in five female-led businesses seeking growth investment, getting access to finance remains a huge challenge. This key issue needs to be further addressed and will remain a key area of focus for AccelerateHER going forward.
“The need for additional resources and guidance, raised by a majority of survey respondents, is also shaping our own plans in developing new support measures to help overcome some of the main barriers that continue to confront female founders.
“Growing the numbers of scalable female-led businesses delivers universal economic benefits. We need to ensure that we all work together to help women overcome some of the existing barriers highlighted in our survey, and ensure we further increase female entrepreneurship across all regions of the UK.”
Wobble Genomics, a spinout from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute with a novel approach to RNA sequencing, has raised £8.5m to help commercialise its technology.
The funding round was led by Mercia Ventures and BGF, and was backed by IQ Capital, EOS Advisors, and Old College Capital (OCC), the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment team. It brings the total amount raised by Wobble to over £10.5m.
The spinout has found a way to detect previously invisible ‘full-length’ RNA. The technology could have wide-ranging applications, from drug development and research to agriculture and ecology.
Current genetic sequencing techniques largely focus on DNA, however it is RNA molecules which ultimately determine cell behaviour. Therefore, RNA sequencing can provide a better understanding of how cells will react in different situations.
Historically, it has been difficult to use RNA sequencing for many applications due to its inherent instability, complex molecular structure, and the abundance of molecules. Wobble’s approach overcomes these challenges and enables long-read sequencing, allowing for optimal detection of full-length RNA.
Wobble spun out in 2021 with the support of Edinburgh Innovations, led by Dr Richard Kuo, who spent 10 years researching long-read RNA sequencing at the Roslin Institute. The company, which currently employs a team of 10, expects to double in size in the next two years.
Dr Kuo, the CEO of Wobble, said: “Genetic sequencing has come a long way since its inception in the 1970s. The industry is now moving past short-read towards long-read sequencing, with long-read RNA sequencing being one of the most exciting new developments in biotechnology.
“We believe our solution could accelerate a new wave of biotechnology innovations. We are pleased to receive backing from some of the UK’s leading life science investors, which highlights its potential. The funding will help us to pursue our mission to reveal the unseen world of RNA and unlock exciting new applications.”
Andrea Young, the head of Old College Capital, also commented: “OCC is proud to continue investing in Wobble Genomics, an exciting company whose technology could make a huge difference in how we understand, research, diagnose and treat a wide variety of diseases such as cancer.”
Jo Smart of BGF further added: “Wobble has developed a full stack approach to identifying and analysing RNA markers – an exciting field of research and development in the biotechnology sector – which has the potential to revolutionise the early detection of cancer markers from blood.
“We look forward to bringing our considerable experience in the life sciences market to support the business as it continues to build further validation and guide how the technology is taken to market.”
A competition to find and fund innovative solutions to improve electrolyser efficiency has been launched by the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) today, Thursday 7 March.
Electrolysers help with the sustainable production of hydrogen, separating the hydrogen and oxygen molecules found in water using electricity without emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Improving the efficiency of hydrogen production is crucial to the success of strategically-located Energy Hubs that will integrate various energy vectors to meet national power demands and facilitate energy export, NZTC said.
Technology developers can apply for funding to accelerate the development of their electrolyser technology towards pilot or prototype level.
Up to £500,000 of funding is available, and will be split between three to five technologies, with the deadline for applications being 23:59 on Sunday 14 April 2024.
The funding competition has been launched as part of the Energy Hubs Project, one of seven within the Net Zero Technology Transition Programme (NZTTP).
Darren Gee, NZTTP programme manager, said: “Our latest call focusing on innovative electrolyser technologies supports sustainable hydrogen production and the development and feasibility of Energy Hubs.
“Our funding competitions always bring to the fore a dynamic range of technologies that drive progress toward global energy goals.”
Scottish government minister for energy, just transition, and fair work, Gillian Martin, also commented: “The Scottish government is helping fund this important research into cutting the cost of hydrogen production through our Energy Transition Fund.
“This will make hydrogen more attractive to exporters and help secure new markets for our abundant renewable energy resources.
“We are supporting innovative, green technologies to spur on the just transition, build a sustainable economy and help reach net zero.”
Welcome to the second instalment of DIGIT Movers and Shakers this year.
Movers and Shakers gives you the low-down on recent news in the Scottish tech ecosystem, from recruitment and partnerships to expansions and awards.
This month’s column features a mix of cutting-edge organisations and key players doing exciting things — read on to find out what’s been happening!
Recruitment
Trojan Energy Appoints New Board Members
On-street electric vehicle charging firm Trojan Energy has made three new board member appointments in Chris Waples, Terry Hart, and Keith Barclay, it’s been announced.
Launched in 2016, Trojan Energy’s patented charging technology provides convenient on-street EV charging through a unique flat and flush charging system that integrates into pavements, supporting the green transition for nine million households in the UK without access to a driveway.
The chargepoints themselves are manufactured at Trojan Energy’s headquarters in Aberdeen, where the headcount is currently 68.
Speaking on the new appointments, Ian Mackenzie, CEO at Trojan Energy, said: “Together they bring a wealth of strategic and leadership experience to the company and each has a strong track record in helping build high-growth and high-performing companies.”
Luke Farajallah has been appointed chief executive officer of Loganair.
He has experience in the UK regional airline sector, holding senior roles at flybe, BA CitiExpress, and Brymon Airways. He also made significant contributions while in roles at easyJet and Wizzair.
Farajallah himself remarked: “I am looking forward to commencing this exciting role on March 4th and to meeting and engaging with the people of Loganair and our key partners.
“I feel a great sense of responsibility to ensure Loganair continues its proud tradition of being present in key regional areas and connecting people from some of the most remote areas of the UK. I am grateful to the board for entrusting me to lead this exceptional airline and its loyal workforce into the future.”
Zumo Announces New Head of Sales
Zumo, the B2B digital assets infrastructure that prioritises sustainability, has announced the appointment of Jason Tucker-Feltham as the company’s new head of sales.
Tucker-Feltham is an experienced crypto sales, business development, and capital introduction professional. Prior to joining Zumo, he worked in business development and European sales at Celsius, covering some of the largest institutional clients in the crypto space.
Nick Jones, founder and CEO of Edinburgh-based Zumo, said: “Jason has a rich background in financial services and deep expertise in EMEA institutional sales in the crypto sphere.”
Tucker-Feltham himself added: “I’m thrilled to be joining an award-winning firm that enables our clients to capitalise on the endless opportunities arising from the fast-growing digital assets sector.”
Alba Bank Undergoes Leadership Change
Alba Bank has announced that Rod Ashley is stepping down from his role after 6 years in post.
Jonathan Thompson will assume the role of acting CEO to lead the business over the next critical phase, bringing with him extensive startup and SME banking experience.
Rod Ashley said: “I have enjoyed every moment of leading Alba from the early days but now is the right time to step aside.
“I will be following Alba’s progress over the coming months and wish the team every success.”
Thompson himself commented: “I am delighted to take the reins at Alba and lead the bank through this next critical phase. It is great to have someone of Dom’s calibre alongside me as we take the business forward.”
Strathclyde Uni Appoints New PNDC CEO
The University of Strathclyde has appointed a new chief executive officer to lead its Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC).
Dr Will Drury, currently the executive director for digital and technologies at Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will take over the running of PNDC on 8th April.
PNDC is a power technology innovation and testing facility established in 2013 by Strathclyde, SP Energy Networks, and SSE Power Distribution, with support from Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council.
The Centre supports the development and deployment of innovative electricity network technologies to accelerate the decarbonisation of the energy system and create new opportunities for supply chain companies as part of the journey towards a sustainable net zero economy.
“I am honoured to have been appointed to deliver a growth plan with PNDC,” said Dr Drury.
BJSS Makes New Key Hire
Glasgow-based BJSS, the business technology consultancy, has announced the appointment of Brendan Scott as client principal within their energy, commodities, and utilities division.
Scott joins BJSS from a data consulting background, with the last three years being focused on supporting major organisations within the energy sector on their digital transformation journeys.
Scott commented: “I am delighted to have joined BJSS at an exciting time for the firm. I have only been here a couple of weeks but it is already clear to me that BJSS have outstanding pedigree as well as a forward-thinking approach to helping our clients overcome the major challenges within the energy sector.”
BJSS has continued to experience positive growth with an increase in headcount and capability in alignment with a significant number of new client wins.
Dundee-based digital transformation specialists Vidatec has announced a management buyout from The Insights Group.
Vidatec’s managing director, Ross Wilson, has now taken the helm as CEO to embark on a journey of growth focusing on health and wellbeing, tourism, and sustainability sectors.
In his leadership role for the last six years at Vidatec, Wilson has applied and developed specialist knowledge of the technology sector and is therefore well placed to continue Vidatec’s growth trajectory.
NatWest Group has formally appointed Paul Thwaite as group CEO and executive director after publishing its highest yearly profit since before the financial crash of 2008.
Thwaite will replace previous CEO Alison Rose after she stepped down following last year’s Nigel Farage controversy.
NatWest Group said it undertook a “rigorous and competitive search process” to find the right candidate to fit the bill, landing on Thwaite.
Rick Haythornthwaite, chair designate of NatWest Group said: “Paul has shown an unrivalled understanding of this business, our customers, and the opportunities for growth.”
The Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for artificial intelligence and data science, has appointed four new directors tasked with addressing prominent societal issues. They are: Professor Marc Deisenroth, Professor Aldo Faisal, Professor Tim Watson, and Dr Andrew Duncan.
The organisation said that the announcement represents a key milestone in implementing its new strategy and work which is centred around the three grand challenges of sustainability, health, and national security.
“This is an important year for our AI ecosystem, as we come together to ensure powerful new technologies help us find solutions to society’s greatest challenges and I warmly welcome these exciting new appointments to our scientific and organisational leadership,” said Dr Jean Innes, chief executive of The Alan Turing Institute.
Did Clarus Networks Help With Finding Amelia Earhart’s Plane?
A Scottish tech firm is at the forefront of perhaps unravelling one of aviation’s greatest mysteries: the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
Scottish technology company Clarus Networks Group partnered with South Carolina-based marine robotics experts Deep Sea Vision in providing high-speed satellite internet connectivity for their search vessel, aiding in new sonar imagery to potentially reveal Earhart’s lost plane.
“Our search mission took us to one of the most remote oceans in the world, but working with Clarus we were able to maintain superfast connectivity,” said Tony Romeo, CEO of Deep Sea Vision.
According to Romeo, the discovery only came at the tail end of the expedition, so fast connectivity had a positive impact on the crew, allowing them to communicate with support teams back on the shore.
A new strategic partnership between FinTech Scotland, the fintech cluster body, and Scottish Friendly, the mutual life and investments organisation, has been announced.
The partnership will provide Scottish Friendly with insights into new fintech areas such as open finance data and regulatory technology (regtech), which can help with the evolution of savings and investment strategies.
Meanwhile, Scottish Friendly will participate in FinTech Scotland’s research and innovation roadmap, which aims to accelerate the development of fintech in Scotland.
Nicola Anderson, CEO at FinTech Scotland also commented: “We are delighted to welcome Scottish Friendly to the FinTech Scotland cluster to embrace fintech innovation through strategic partnership.”
Johnston Carmichael, the professional services firm, and Foras have signed a long-term partnership to support Scottish tech startups and scaleups as they venture out internationally and across the UK.
The 12 month agreement will bolster Foras’ plans for a comprehensive set of international trips and UK-wide activities throughout a packed 2024 and early 2025 calendar.
Johnston Carmichael had previously provided funding support for Foras’ excursion to Lisbon, Portugal in November 2023. 34 founders and startup leaders from across Scotland were the key beneficiaries, with a subsidy offered for female entrepreneurs planning to attend with their children and partners, removing barriers around childcare.
“This long term partnership highlights Johnston Carmichael’s commitment to supporting the early stage founder community and we’re very excited to be working with the Foras team again,” said Shaun Millican, partner and head of technology & life sciences at Johnston Carmichael.
Thorntons and Foras Agree New Strategic Partnership
Thorntons Solicitors and Foras have agreed a new strategic partnership which seeks to help Scottish startups to realise “life-changing” opportunities across the globe.
As part of the initiative, Thorntons will be supporting and playing an active role in Foras activities, both in the UK and internationally, throughout 2024.
The year-long partnership follows the success of a previous collaboration when Thorntons provided funding for an excursion of 34 Scottish entrepreneurs to Lisbon last November.
“We are delighted to partner with Foras in the delivery of their programme and to support their cohorts in realising opportunities across the world,” said Alistair Lang, partner and head of ventures and innovation at Thorntons.
BR-DGE and PayPal Announce Integration Partnership
Edinburgh-headquartered payment orchestration provider, BR-DGE, has announced its integration with PayPal, the global payments platform, in an effort to offer merchants greater choice and flexibility at online checkout.
Through this collaboration, BR-DGE’s merchants will have access to the latest PayPal technology, enabling them to offer payment innovations to consumers via BR-DGE Connect, its payment ecosystem connectivity tool.
Merchants will be able to access PayPal’s full stack of payment methods and features, including PayPal Pay Later and Venmo in the US coming later this year, and offer consumers greater flexibility at checkout.
“By partnering with PayPal, we are able to meet merchant and consumer needs with an easy-to-use and frictionless payment solution,” said Tom Voaden, head of partnerships at BR-DGE.
University of Glasgow researchers have partnered with Sung Kyung Kwan University (SKKU) in the Republic of Korea for a major new international partnership in quantum technologies.
The five-year Joint research centre in Superconducting Electro-Optic technology for Near-infrared single photon counting project, or JOSEON, aims to develop cutting-edge quantum devices.
The researchers plan on working together to create next-generation superconducting photon detectors for demanding applications such as secure quantum communication networks in optical fibre and space.
JOSEON is one of just four Korea-Europe Quantum Science and Technology Collaboration Centres selected for funding by the National Research Council of Korea.
Heriot-Watt University and Edinburgh Napier University are bringing together engineering and nursing students to develop innovative health technologies that address prescient clinical needs.
The Edinburgh-based universities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the joint programme which will see Heriot-Watt engineering students visit Napier’s specialised clinical simulation facilities to gain first-hand understanding of current healthcare scenarios and challenges.
The learnings, alongside insights from Napier’s nursing students into patient needs and care, will lead to projects focused on co-designing health solutions that target clinical issues.
Scots Uni and Canadian Firm Link For Nuclear Tech Research
The University of Strathclyde has joined forces with Kinectrics, a global provider of nuclear lifecycle services based in Canada, to help bolster academic, governmental, and industrial collaborations in the nuclear tech sphere.
The partnership was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), an essential aspect of which is the development of highly skilled personnel through student training and internships, ensuring the next generation of professionals is equipped to tackle challenges in the nuclear sector.
It will also seek opportunities to support advanced nuclear reactors, including small modular reactors, robotics and autonomous systems, reactor fuel, fusion technologies, medical isotopes, as well as decommissioning and waste management.
“We’re delighted to sign this MoU and formalise our working partnership with Kinectrics through the expertise of Strathclyde’s Advanced Nuclear Research Centre,” said Daryl Landeg, executive director of the Advanced Nuclear Research Centre (ANRC) at the University of Strathclyde.
Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) have teamed up with HAELO – a regulatory tech company based in Glasgow – to develop an app that aims to offer cutting-edge solutions in anomaly detection and regulatory compliance.
Anomalies, defined as patterns or behaviours in data that deviate from the norm, can pose significant risks to businesses, especially in meeting regulatory requirements.
The primary objective of the collaboration is to create a user-friendly application that empowers companies, particularly those operating in highly-regulated industries such as finance, to effectively detect and mitigate anomalies.
The project’s Dr Yan Zhang said: “Through this collaboration, Glasgow Caledonian University reaffirms its commitment to fostering impactful research that translates into tangible benefits for industry and society.”
A social media campaign for CyberScotland Week has launched to bring attention to the common pitfalls of cyber safety.
With only 26% of adults following advice to use three random words in their passwords, the campaign, created by the CyberScotland Partnership, aims to raise awareness of common mistakes people make in relation to their passwords, backing up data, and using a password manager.
Local comedian Fred MacAulay has lent his support to the awareness campaign, through his DIGI Ken? gameshow host character, Chip. Bringing his own brand of humour to cyber awareness, Fred provides a series of top tips including why you shouldn’t use your pet’s name as your password, as well as other DIGI Ken? facts.
Scottish Enterprise Partners With Adarma For Neurodiversity Strategy
Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s national economic development agency, has entered a partnership with the Edinburgh-based company Adarma to unveil a neurodiversity strategy to make the cybersecurity industry more accessible.
Data from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) revealed that 19% of respondents in the UK cybersecurity industry identified as neurodivergent, significantly higher than the estimated 10% prevalence in the broader population.
Through the collaboration with Scottish Enterprise, Adarma intends to embark on a neuro-inclusion journey aimed at effecting lasting organisational change, starting from the early stages of the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, hiring, and onboarding.
“It’s been great to work with Adarma on developing its inclusive recruitment and retention practices. The company clearly recognises the value of embracing neurodiversity to boost the inclusivity and productivity of its workforce,” added Clare Alexander, head of workplace innovation at Scottish Enterprise.
Edinburgh-based Tata Consultancy (TCS) is expanding its partnership with the Co-operative Group Limited (Co-op) to usher in a cloud-first strategy.
As one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives, in a diversified portfolio spanning food, funerals, insurance, and legal services, Co-op is looking to make a shift towards a more agile and sustainable business model.
This new partnership will witness TCS aiding Co-op in transitioning from conventional data centre frameworks to a fully managed, scalable cloud ecosystem powered by the TCS Enterprise Cloud.
“We are delighted to extend our strategic partnership with TCS in enabling us to meet Co-op’s business objectives and serving and supporting our member-owners who are at the very heart of our business,” said Rob Elsey, CDIO at the Co-operative Group.
Snappy Shopper and MSP Systems Announce Integration Partnership
Snappy Shopper, the home delivery app serving convenience stores, has partnered up with EPOS solution MSP Systems.
MSP Systems, part of the MSP group, is an EPOS solution for retailers founded by Romesh Perera. The EPOS system is designed to provide retailers with an easy way to control stock and identify and allow price changes.
Romesh Perera, MD of MSP Systems, comments: “It is with great pleasure that we announce our integration with Snappy Shopper. We see the potential for our clients to further compete in retailing. MSP has been in the forefront of software innovation and new integrations like Snappy Shopper that has credibility in the digital marketplace.”
Mike Callachan, co-founder and chief executive officer of the Snappy Group, said: “We’re really proud to be selected by another EPOS firm, cementing our eighth retailer partner.”
Expansions
J.P. Morgan Private Bank Expands Scottish Team
J.P. Morgan Private Bank has announced it will expand its presence in Scotland with a new team of advisors added to its Edinburgh offices.
Advisors will provide wealth management services to individuals, charities, family offices, and foundations in Scotland.
“Our journey in Scotland began over a century ago. Fast forward to today and the country has become a strategic hub for the firm with several lines of business represented including J.P. Morgan Private Bank,” said Oliver Gregson, region head of J.P. Morgan Private Bank in the UK, Ireland & Channel Islands.
“As we continue to deepen our roots across the country, our vision is clear: we are here to grow, to partner and to invest in the people and the communities that make Scotland so unique.”
Watt Laser, which specialises in the development, design, and manufacture of laser processes, systems, and software has completed a £433,000 project aimed at expanding its business operations within the Clyde Gateway Tradepark in Glasgow.
The expansion, which started in September 2023, landed a substantial boost of £128,000 in the form of a grant from Scottish Enterprise.
With the expansion, Watt Laser says it will be capable of enhanced productivity, operational efficiency, and increased innovation capacity. The expansion also led to the creation of three new full-time positions, while safeguarding eight existing jobs.
“This is an extremely exciting time for Watt Laser,” Declan Brannagan, lead engineer at the Glasgow company, commented.
Edinburgh-headquartered provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, FOR:EV, has opened a Glasgow office amid growing team numbers.
Around half of the 22 team members will be based at the St Vincent Street premises, sharing an office with GFiveThree Architecture—a company FOR:EV regularly collaborates with for the design and 3D visualisations of their larger EV charging hubs.
FOR:EV’s CEO, Steve Dunlop said: “As we expand geographically, it made perfect sense for us to open an office in Glasgow, where we can be closer to our clients in the west of Scotland.”
Awards
Zudu Achieves ISO 9001 and 27001 Certifications
Full-service software development agency, Zudu, celebrates its recent attainment of the ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications, coinciding with the company’s 10th anniversary.
ISO 9001 is an international standard that focuses on enhancing customer satisfaction through the implementation of quality management systems (QMS) and the formation of clear processes that uphold high quality standards.
ISO 27001 is an international benchmark for information security management systems (ISMS) and outlines the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an organisation’s data management processes.
James Buchan, CEO of Dundee-headquartered Zudu, said: “These newly acquired certifications for quality and security management not only demonstrate our commitment to developing outstanding digital products but also serve as tangible proof of our adherence to internationally recognised standards, laws, and guidelines.”
Next-generation battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will be on average cheaper to produce than a comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) by 2027, according to Gartner, who outlined an incoming “new phase” for electric vehicles.
The technological research and consulting firm has said that the coming years will see BEV production costs drop “considerably faster” than battery costs, as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) move to disruptively transform their manufacturing operations in tandem with product design.
“This means BEVs will reach ICE cost parity much faster than initially expected, but at the same time, it will make some repairs of BEVs considerably costlier,” explained Pedro Pacheco, vice president of research at Gartner.
Graduating Repair Costs
In terms of near-future repair costs, Gartner predicts that the average cost of an EV body and battery serious accident repair will increase by 30% by 2027. As a result, vehicles suffering a collision may be more prone to a total write-off as the repair cost could cost more than its residual value. Equally, more expensive crash repairs may lead to more expensive insurance premiums, or even the refusal of insurance companies to cover particular car models.
Gartner said the fast reduction of BEV production costs should not be done at the expense of higher repair costs, as it may generate consumer backlash in the long run. New ways to produce a BEV must only be deployed together with processes to ensure low repair costs, the firm added.
EV Startup Consolidation
The research and consultancy also predicts that by 2027, 15% of EV companies founded since the last decade will be acquired or bankrupt. “This does not mean the EV sector is crumbling. It is simply entering a new phase where companies with the best products and services will win over the remaining,” said Pacheco.
“With the perceived promise of easy gains, many startups gathered into the EV space – from automakers to EV charging – and some are still heavily dependent on external funding, leaving them particularly exposed to market challenges,” he noted. “In addition, EV-related incentives are being progressively phased out in different countries, which makes the market more challenging for incumbents.”
Gartner said that EVs will continue growing market penetration in 2024, estimating that EV shipment will reach 18.4 million units in 2024 and 20.6 million units in 2025. However, it indicated that we’re also moving from “gold rush” to “survival of the fittest,” meaning the success of companies in this space is now heavily conditioned by their capabilities to respond to the needs of early mainstream EV adopters.
According to the upcoming State of Digital Trust report from ISACA, the IT governance professional association, more than half of organisations (55%) believe it’s extremely or very important to have a digital trust framework.
Digital trust is defined as confidence in the integrity of the relationships, interactions, and transactions within an associated digital ecosystem.
An early look at ISACA’s research, which explores attitudes of digital trust, also uncovers the benefits of digital trust. These include: an enhanced positive reputation (71%), more reliable data for decision-making (60%), fewer privacy breaches (60%) and fewer cybersecurity incidents (59%), and stronger customer loyalty (56%).
To help meet these needs, ISACA has announced it’s launching a Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework (DTEF) and accompanying resources to help businesses focus on trust by securely using technology, reducing reaction times to unforeseen events, and improving financial performance through enhanced trust.
This also follows the association’s prior research which found that while 94% believe that digital trust is relevant to their organisation, and a further 83% think it will be more important over the next five years, only 44% feel there’s sufficient collaboration in their organisation to improve digital trust.
“High levels of digital trust ultimately improve financial performance by lowering the risk of impact of data and cyber breaches and associated regulatory fines,” said Shannon Donahue, ISACA chief content and publishing officer. “Organisations can also see greater gains from responsible digital investments, and the Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework helps with both of these.”
The professional association said that its Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework (DTEF) and portfolio of resources helps organisations by addressing the key components of digital trust: integrity, security, privacy, resilience, quality, reliability and confidence. The new framework is also compatible with many existing frameworks and best practices, including COBIT, ITIL, GDPR, and numerous ISO and NIST standards.
“Strengthening digital trust is not just a one-time exercise, but a continuous practice of proactive relationship building between enterprises and stakeholders that is both responsible and profitable while also addressing underlying ethical questions,” commented Rolf von Roessing, member of the ISACA Digital Trust Working Group and lead developer of the framework, and partner and CEO at FORFA Consulting AG.
“Having a framework to guide organisations as they integrate trustworthiness into their technology and business operations ensures that they are covering all ground, minimising risk and maximising impact.”
ISACA said it will also be releasing the Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework Foundation Course and Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework Foundation Certificate later this year.
The SmartShooter SMASH technology has been supplied to Colchester-based paratroopers this week alongside training on how to use the assistive tech, the BBC first reported this morning (Wednesday 6 March).
According to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the technology, which is mounted on top of a rifle, provides soldiers situated on the ground with a “high probability” of shooting targets down.
The technology’s producer, SmartShooter, says on its website that SMASH is a “high-tech individual Fire Control System,” and that its “dual-core computer with sophisticated ballistic processing can recognise, track and engage aerial (Drone/UAS [unmanned aircraft system]) and ground targets with unmatched precision.”
Warrant Officer Joe Cooke, who’s at the helm of small arms training for the 16 Air Assault Brigade, told the BBC of the difficulties of downing weaponised drones during conflicts.
He explained that “Our current option to target a drone is to just shoot at it, and they are small and mobile targets that are very hard to hit.”
“We’ve got medics and signallers on this course who, because of their role, don’t use their rifles as much as infantry and they are shooting with an accuracy that they have never achieved before.”
Weaponised drones bolstered by artificial intelligence are not an uncommon occurrence in today’s conflicts.
Olga Tokariuk, a Ukrainian journalist and researcher, spoke at the recent Data Summit on how AI is changing, and has already changed, the battlefield.
She explained that automated drones have been deployed widely throughout the conflict in Ukraine: “Not just to do reconnaissance,” said Tokariuk, “but also to identify targets and help the operators destroy enemy targets efficiently.”
The last time DIGIT reported on the MOD, technology, and flying targets was in January, when the UK’s first firing of a high-power laser weapon against aerial targets was achieved in a trial in the Hebrides.
The new companies joining STAC are: Zephyrus Labs, Orchyio, BennuAI, Hycean, FocaliseAI, Konpanion, Deep Sym, Audio Mitto, Lu Innovations, Mix Innovations, MyFarm, Dr Little, Kyobit, Ufarms, RfIoT, Vuabl, Atypical, Lowtek Games, Curious Chip, and Thistle Rocketry.
Paul Wilson, CEO and co-founder of STAC, said: “STAC had evolved rapidly into what we describe as a full wrap-around accelerator, around four main pillars – scaling mentorship, space, investment and talent acquisition.”
“What’s also notable”, continued Wilson, “is that with over 50 companies now at STAC, sector clusters are emerging, for example in sustainability, robotics, drones, health and wellbeing, and creative tech.”
STAC has also revealed that there are 6 female founders in the new cohort, with Paul Wilson adding: “We are seeing more female founders join STAC, ideally, we can up the percentage over time but it’s critical for now that we help them succeed.
“Unlocking the potential from inclusivity and diversity is highly strategic for STAC and we want to leverage the Stewart Report and collaborations to make maximum impact.”
Paul Winstanley, the CEO of CENSIS—Scotland’s innovation centre for IoTtechnologies—has also been appointed as STAC’s chair. Winstanley, a co-founder at STAC, had already been a board member at STAC supported by an advisory team that includes includes Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan, and Meta’s VP of supply chain Sean Murphy.
In January, STAC announced a partnership between the UK government and Glasgow City Council, including significant government investment, aimed at transforming Glasgow into Europe’s largest smart things and IoT innovation hub. The partnership centres around a £2.5 million private and public sector investment into a 250-desk state-of-the-art facility named “thebeyond” at SkyPark, Finnieston, in Glasgow.
Paul Winstanley, chair at STAC, remarked: “thebeyond is an incredible addition to Scotland’s tech ecosystem, and STAC has a number of further announcements this year which will ramp up Scotland’s overall tech offering and take it to the next level, focused on academic, industry, and government related partnerships and initiatives, and transforming Scotland into a bona fide global tech hub.”
A team from the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering has won new funding for a project to help examine gender bias in healthcare AI and find ways to ensure AI-supported treatment remains equitable.
Currently, scientists around the globe are looking at how cutting-edge sensors that track vital signs can be combined with artificial intelligence.
As Dr Nour Ghadban, a research fellow at the University of Glasgow and the project’s principal investigator, further explained: “New sensors linked with artificial intelligence could offer potentially transformational opportunities to improve the way that we monitor patient wellbeing.
“However, we can only reap those benefits if we can be sure that the AI systems we use to achieve them are up to the task. We know that all kinds of human bias across race, class, gender, and more can be unwittingly incorporated into AI decision-making tools if the proper care isn’t taken when they are being trained on real-world data.”
To help tackle bias, the University of Glasgow researchers will work to develop a new framework to balance gender-related behaviour in AI monitoring systems over the next 18 months.
The team will collect healthcare data from 30 men and 30 women study volunteers using radar sensors. The data will be used to train a newly developed AI architecture, which will analyse the results of the radar monitoring.
Separate models will then be trained on the data, comparing performance and highlighting any biases in the AI’s performance – which can be adjusted for using statistical models and mitigation techniques.
Dr Julien Le Kernec, from the James Watt School of Engineering, is the project’s supervisor. He said: “By the end of our research, we expect to have created a robust demonstration of how gender balance can be embedded in the heart of any future AI healthcare monitoring systems.
“We hope the outputs from this project will help guide the future development of this very promising technology and ensure that the AI which supports it is fair and balanced for the many diverse groups of patients who will benefit from it.”
The project is supported by €9,500 (£8,200) in new funding from the Women and Science Chair at Université Paris Dauphine-PSL, supported by the L’Oréal Foundation, Generali France, La Poste, Amundi and the Talan Group.
Dr Ghadban, originally from Syria, joined the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering in August 2022 with the support of the Cara Fellowship Programme. Cara (the Council for At-Risk Academics) provides urgently needed help to academics in immediate danger.
The team leading the research are Dr Nour Ghadban, Mostafa Elsayed, Professor Jonathan Cooper, and Dr Julien Le Kernec.
Professor Alison Heppenstall, Dr Yiannis Giannakopoulos, and Dr Dezong Zhao are part of a new cohort of 51 Turing Fellows joining from universities and research centres across the UK.
The Turing Fellowship scheme aims to grow the data science and AI ecosystem in the UK by supporting, retaining, and developing the careers of the next generation of leading researchers, whilst contributing to the Turing’s overarching strategic goals.
Dr Giannakopoulos is a senior lecturer in algorithms and complexity at Glasgow’s School of Computing Science, whose research interests lie in the general area of algorithms, complexity, and optimisation.
Dr Zhao develops methodologies and toolkits for automation and autonomous systems. His research focuses on promoting the safety, trustworthiness, and efficiency of autonomous vehicles and robotics.
Professor Heppenstall’s research investigates the creation and adaption of AI and machine learning methods to spatio-temporal systems. She is also interested in the development of exascale computation for application to agent-based models in the social sciences.
Speaking on the appointments, Professor Mark Girolami, chief scientist at The Alan Turing Institute, said: “I’m delighted to welcome a new cohort of Turing Fellows, brought to us from across our University Network in recognition of their status as the next generation of world leading researchers in the data sciences, AI and related fields.
“I’m very much looking forward to seeing the immense value they will add to our diverse and vibrant science and innovation community, including playing a critical role in the delivery of the Turing’s strategy as we strive to change the world for the better through data science and AI.”
The appointment of the three new Turing Fellows is the latest development in the University of Glasgow’s relationship with the AI and data science institute.
In April last year, the university was announced as one of the founding members of the Turing University Network, a new network of higher education institutions which will work to use data science and AI for social good.
In June 2023, Professor Dame Muffy Calder, head of the College of Science & Engineering, co-authored a Turing report on privacy intrusion and national security in the age of AI.
In September, Professor Mark Girolami attended the official opening of the university’s Centre for Data Science and AI, which brings together hundreds of academics from across its four colleges with the aim of tackling global grand challenges and creating a better future for all.
The Home Office has been issued an enforcement notice and a warning by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) regarding a pilot involving GPS ankle tags to monitor the movement of up to 600 migrants in the UK.
The purpose of the Home Office’s pilot, which ended in December 2023, was to assess electronic monitoring as a way of maintaining contact with people on immigration bail, and as a detention alternative.
After concerns about the scheme were raised by campaign group Privacy International, the ICO’s enquiries found that the Home Office was unable to adequately explain why it was necessary or proportionate to collect, assess, and use people’s information via electronic monitoring for the pilot’s purpose, including failing to evidence that it had considered less intrusive methods.
The data regulator also said that the Home Office failed to sufficiently assess the privacy intrusion of the continuous collection of people’s location information.
Further, the Home Office failed to provide clear and easily accessible information to the people being tagged about what personal information is being collected, how it will be used, how long it will be kept for, and who it will be shared with.
The Home Office’s guidance also failed to provide adequate direction to staff on when it would be necessary and proportionate to electronically monitor people as an immigration bail condition, said the data regulator.
Although the pilot scheme ended at the tail end of last year, the Home Office will continue to be able to access the personal information gathered throughout the pilot until all the data has been deleted or anonymised. This means there is still the potential for the information to be accessed and used, not just by the Home Office but other third-party organisations.
John Edwards, the UK Information Commissioner, commented on the pilot and the ICO’s enquiries: “Having access to a person’s 24/7 movements is highly intrusive, as it is likely to reveal a lot of information about them, including the potential to infer sensitive information such as their religion, sexuality, or health status. Lack of clarity on how this information will be used can also inadvertently inhibit people’s movements and freedom to take part in day-to-day activities.
“If such information were to be mishandled or misinterpreted, it could potentially have harmful consequences to people and their future. The Home Office did not assess those risks sufficiently, which means the pilot scheme was not legally compliant.
“We recognise the Home Office’s crucial work to keep the UK safe, and it’s for them to decide on what measures are necessary to do so. But I’m sending a clear warning to the Home Office that they cannot take the same approach in the future. It is our duty to uphold people’s information rights, regardless of their circumstances.”
The Enforcement Notice issued by the ICO orders the Home Office to update its internal policies, access guidance, and privacy information in relation to the data retained from the pilot scheme.
Alongside the notice is a formal warning, stating that any future processing by the Home Office on the same basis will be in breach of data protection law and will attract enforcement action.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is calling on people with experience of the care system to share the challenges they’ve encountered when trying to access their care records from organisations.
With the launch of its new survey, the regulator aims to improve the assistance it provides to both the people who grew up in the care system in the UK and the organisations holding their information.
Under data protection law, everyone has rights over their own personal information. This includes the right to ask for this information using a subject access request (SAR) but for people with care experience, this can be a lengthy and stressful process.
Last year, the ICO ran workshops which identified that accessing care records is a significant issue with long delays, heavily redacted records, and challenges accessing support.
The insights revealed that organisations can struggle to understand what information they can release from complex records and often fail to treat these requests with the sensitivity they require.
Also highlighted was that the ICO itself could do more to help people with care experience obtain their personal information and exercise other information rights, as well as assist organisations to provide timely responses.
Amid these raised concerns, the ICO is now urging people to come forward to share their experiences both requesting their records and having their personal information handled in the care system.
The regulator said that the information gathered about the impact of delays, redactions, and other concerns will help it to identify areas where it can focus its support.
Catherine Evans O’Brien, the head of communities at the ICO, commented: “Accessing care records can be an emotive and personal subject, as the information can play a huge role in helping someone to understand their identity.
“As the UK data protection regulator, we want to empower people to exercise their rights over their own personal information and we want to improve the support and resources we provide to help people understand these rights.
“This survey is a major step towards improving the experience of accessing personal information for people who have been in the care system.
“As well as experiences trying to access records, we want to hear about any concerns people have about how their personal information has been used, so we can understand where we can make the most difference with our support.”
Speaking on her experience of accessing her records, campaigner Jackie McCartney said: “Someone I do not know, someone who I do not have a relationship with, gets to decide what I can or cannot see.
“A total stranger knows more about me than I do, or ever will. This is my history and the whole process should be dealt with compassion and care.”
At the ICO’s Scottish office, the regulator has been engaging with local authorities after receiving complaints about several local authorities regarding poor performance handling SARs.
In Scotland, many local authorities have seen an increase in SARs, especially since the Redress Scheme. The scheme, which can help people receive a formal apology and payment from the Scottish government if they’ve suffered abuse while in care, requires people to submit supporting documents when applying for redress.
Jenny Brotchie, regional manager for Scotland at the ICO, remarked: “We have heard how undue delays and other challenges accessing care records can cause further trauma for people in Scotland.
“Organisations must get this right which is why we are closely monitoring local authorities until we are satisfied that their compliance has significantly improved.”
ITZA, the London-headquartered e-learning specialist, has secured £2 million in R&D and equity funding from Scottish Enterprise, Alba Equity, and private investors to grow a digital learning, production, and AI analytics hub in Edinburgh to accelerate independent learning for young people in the 10-16 age range.
ITZA’s web platform helps young people to learn independently via content and personalised analytics, with a team of filmmakers, cognitive scientists, educators, and game designers working with external brands and organisations to produce films, games, and other interactive educational content.
The company is set to embark on a pilot at schools in West Lothian, Dundee, and Aberdeenshire this summer with access via GLOW, the Scottish schools digital network, ahead of a rollout across Scotland in the next academic year. To support its growth plans, the company expects to increase its Edinburgh headcount from 15 to over 50 in the next three years.
Anthony Bouchier, CEO and founder of ITZA, said: “Scotland has a longstanding reputation around its pioneering introduction of digital learning into schools, and we thank Scottish Enterprise and Alba for their dedicated support. We’re excited to be here — ITZA plans to go global from a base in Scotland.”
Jane Martin, managing director of innovation and investment at Scottish Enterprise, also commented: “It’s great to see ITZA choose Edinburgh as the location of its new digital hub. The city is home to hundreds of ambitious technology companies, leading academic institutions, and a deep pool of tech talent, making it the ideal place in which to scale up a digital technology business.
“If Scottish Enterprise is to help increase the number of scale-up businesses in Scotland, create high-value jobs and drive increases in turnover, it’s critically important that we continue to encourage companies like ITZA to anchor their research and development projects here and support investment in innovation.”
In June 2023, the Scottish government published the “It’s Our Future – Review of Qualifications and Assessment” report which highlighted the skills and knowledge learners need for the modern economy, the role of technology, the culture of education in Scotland, and international comparisons.
Anthony Bouchier added: “The timing could not be better for ITZA in Scotland when you consider the focus and work of the Scottish government, the cabinet secretary for education and skills, Education Scotland, and the education reform directorate. Our aim is to be a trusted partner to all stakeholders as the sector evolves at pace.”
ITZA is set to announce a series of Scotland, UK, and international partnerships over the coming weeks and months.
The vast majority from a pool of around 600 marketers reported concern around technology replacing jobs in their industry with the acceleration of GenAI, which 47% of marketers are utilising already.
This comes amid findings from another Gartner survey of around 800 business executives, undertaken at the tailend of last year, revealing that 26% of marketing leaders plan headcount reductions in 2024 as a result of generative artificial intelligence.
In addition to the forefront statistic, the technological research and consulting firm found that 89% of marketers are concerned about layoffs at their company, and 61% have encountered a technology and/or process change in the last 12 months.
What’s more, a prior survey from Gartner, conducted in May and June last year and on around 400 martech leaders, found that 63% reported that marketing lacks the hands-on technical skills to successfully integrate and operate some of the technologies in their stack.
Iliyana Hadjistoyanova, director of advisory in the Gartner marketing practice, remarked that “Marketing’s use of technology is constantly adapting, and the accelerated adoption of GenAI will encourage greater performance and engagement, enhance creativity, as well as free up time and allow marketers to engage in more thought-intensive work.”
However, “While CMOs cannot fully insulate their employees from change, they must take early action in change management in a clear and transparent manner to ensure employee buy-in and mitigate any negative impacts of change.”
The director also advocated that “By developing robust talent plans that incorporate the use of GenAI and work to increase skill preparedness, CMOs can mitigate its impacts on employees’ wellbeing, leading to overall engagement and retention.
“These actionable steps must address role transition and fit-for-purpose employee learning, as well as cover technology and process changes related to GenAI adoption.”
Eighteen business concepts, including numerous technology-led ideas, have received funding following the results of Venture, an annual three-stage competition from the University of Dundee.
With the goal of turning novel ideas into thriving future enterprises, the university’s students, staff, and graduates have received financing ranging from £1,000 to £12,500 through this year’s prize fund of £78,500.
In addition to the financial support, the winners are also set to receive a place on a summer business accelerator programme from Elevator, the Scottish social enterprising supporting entrepreneurship.
Among the fledgling business ideas to succeed were AQusTx, a software tool for AI-driven drug design, and Cognicall, an automated phone-based cognitive health monitoring service.
Both received £12,500 having been named winners of the McGhee Award, donated by the CEO of Current Health—the virtual care-at-home platform—and former university student Christopher McGhee and his partner Jo-Ann.
Other winners included Leximos, an adaptive language learning platform, and Bio-Wool, a no waste and biodegradable material made from British wool.
The Venture final marked the culmination of the University’s annual Entrepreneurship Week, a series of workshops and lectures championing opportunities for small enterprise in Scotland.
Dr David McBeth, vice-principal of enterprise and economic transformation at the university, spoke on the competition’s results, saying: “This year’s Venture competition has once again demonstrated the dynamic and enterprising spirit that is prevalent throughout our university community.
“All of our entries displayed enormous potential, and I have no doubt that all have the capability to be successful enterprises in the future.
“The Venture competition once again served as a tremendous finale to our annual Entrepreneurship Week, organised by the University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, and I wish all of our winners well on their business journeys.”
Imagine this: Despite having worked various roles in numerous fields, you haven’t quite landed on something that lets your true potential come to the fore. So, while in your mid-thirties, you commit your entire life savings—around £7,000—to an intensive, well-regarded bootcamp that’ll train you as a software developer.
Though challenging, you begin learning the fundamentals of coding through the programme, which requires undoubted and constant dedication. After a while, you successfully showcase your first coding project alongside your fellow students. You all celebrate that night at a nearby bar, where you bask in the glow of hope and possibility.
However, the very next day, an email lands in your inbox: It tells you that the company providing the course, CodeClan, has gone into liquidation and ceased trading with immediate effect. Your instructors no longer have jobs; in fact, everyone who worked there no longer has a job. As a result, your course can’t continue, signalling the end of the road.
If that’s too difficult, perhaps try imagining this instead: You’re working as a chief product officer for CodeClan, a not-for-profit with the mission of helping career pivoters change their lives for the better through learning new, digitalskills. Every day, you witness the efforts of dedicated software development and data analysis students, who afterwards go on to secure jobs at technology companies both in and outwith Scotland.
But due to a perfect storm of various factors, and despite significant efforts to turn things around, the company—after eight years of existing as a talent pipeline for the Scottish tech ecosystem—falls apart. You’re without the job you love, and without the opportunity to be a cheerleader for people who put everything on the line.
For Stuart Ure and Ceri Shaw, they don’t need to imagine these difficult scenarios: it’s their very recent lived experience. To hear about their stories—and get more of an understanding of what happened leading up to, in the midst of, and post CodeClan’s collapse—we’ve spoken to these two people at the centre of the ecosystem-rocking event.
The following isn’t an investigation of who to blame following a situation that was incredibly complex and nuanced. Instead, it’s a lamentation for what happened—despite the efforts for it not to—and also a testament to human resilience in the face of adversity.
A Primer on CodeClan
CodeClan, for those without prior knowledge, was founded in 2015 with around £2.1 million in financial backing from the Scottish Government. At its Edinburgh and Glasgow campuses, it offered 16-week-long, rigorous software development and data analysis courses and, by virtue, a safe environment for people to upskill, reskill, and forge more fulfilling, fruitful career paths. Due to its key differentiator—not being a college or university, but an alternative route for determined individuals at any stage of their life or career—the not-for-profit attracted people from an array of different backgrounds.
To make its courses more financially accessible to students, CodeClan had a somewhat atypical business model: the courses were run at a deficit. To break even, the skills provider would charge a fee for businesses that hired graduates through them, roughly 10% of the employee’s starting salary. To further increase accessibility for underrepresented people in tech—not least women, LGBTQ+ folks, and those from minority ethnic backgrounds—it also had an initiative where businesses could help fund places for such students via a pay-it-forward model.
However students funded their places, whether through their own savings or sometimes via philanthropy, the value of a CodeClan certificate was certainly recognised by Scottish employers and those further afield. Before it was taken down, CodeClan’s website pointed out that 84% of its software development graduates between 2015 and 2020 gained relevant employment after completing their course. Further, 40% of these people secured a role within one month, while around 35% were hired within a span of two to three months.
For Stuart Ure, an Edinburgh-based 35-year-old, it was credentials such as these—as well as the overall positive reputation that CodeClan built for itself—that ultimately led him to study software development with the skills provider, just as countless others had done prior.
“It Seemed Like the Perfect Fit at the Time”
Wanting to continually learn, develop, and grow is innate to Ure. His decision to pivot careers was rooted in the fact that he felt intellectually stifled by the repetition of the jobs he was working—for instance, student coordination roles at universities and business advisor positions for governments. “I wanted an industry and career where you always have to learn and develop,” he explained, acknowledging—but also excited by—the fact that software development has many difficulties.
After an undeniably thorough evaluation process, which involved creating a spreadsheet of various bootcamp options, sifting numerous social media platforms to gain qualitative insight, as well as visiting CodeClan’s premises in person and speaking to people there, Ure decided to make the leap. “It seemed like the perfect fit at the time,” he said.
In April 2023, Ure officially joined “E64”—CodeClan’s 64th software development cohort based at its Edinburgh campus. Immediately, he found the atmosphere to be an energising one. “Going back into a learning environment, getting stuck into group work together, being around the instructors and other staff—it was a really positive, supportive place to be,” he recounted. “You had all these people who invested a lot and for many different reasons, and we were giving it our all.”
Around a month or two into the programme, and despite instructors telling him he was doing perfectly fine, Ure chose to defer down to E65—the cohort starting a few weeks later, as to gain a better grasp on some knotty technical concepts. During the interim, the staff supported Ure, helping him to continuously learn until the next cohort kicked off.
The first major milestone for the E65 software development cohort was a Python-based project, which served as a chance for the students to individually showcase their newfound knowledge and skills. (Ure, for instance, created a sports event tracking app that doubled up as a social media platform.) Following the successful showcasing of E65’s projects, Ure and his new cohort—and some instructors, too—celebrated at a local bar, letting off steam following an intensive stretch of weekdays and weekends spent coding.
The next day, a Friday, was supposed to be a lighter, more relaxed study-from-home day. But at around 2 or 3pm, Ure’s phone started buzzing incessantly. “I had a bunch of missed calls from people in my cohort, and our Slack channel had a lot of notifications and messages. I thought, ‘This is odd,’” he explained. “Then, the first thing I saw was a message from CodeClan’s head of student support, basically saying they’d just found out that CodeClan had been liquidated with immediate effect, the course would not be running anymore, and further information would come.”
Ure’s reaction was entirely what you’d expect for somebody in his position. “I was completely numb,” he described. “Then that numbness turned to anger, and then disappointment and sadness—not just for the students who had invested so much, but also the staff because they’d lost their jobs.” Among the flurry of emotions was also the realisation that, if he hadn’t deferred, he wouldn’t’ve even been in such a position: He would’ve graduated the week before.
“It Was Just Absolutely Heartbreaking”
Ceri Shaw, who uses they/them pronouns, joined CodeClan at a time when they sought a much-needed change in their career. Although starting out as a developer, and then moving on to engineering lead, technical lead, and head of department roles, Shaw wanted to pivot to a role and career that resonated with them more. Luckily, in 2021, a chief delivery officer position opened up at the skills provider, enabling Shaw to head up its software instructor team.
Reminiscing about their tenure at CodeClan, in which they served as chief delivery officer and then its chief product officer, Shaw mentioned how they felt a real sense of meaning and purpose at the organisation, but also “most if not all the staff would have felt that way—because you’re interacting with the students, talking to them every day, and you hear the difference CodeClan makes and all the positive stories,” they explained. “I knew it was a good thing.”
Shaw’s feelings towards CodeClan echoed Ure’s: that it was a truly beneficial, helpful, and supportive talent pipeline and place. And for Shaw, it was these reasons that made the collapse of the company even harder, not least because of the sheer amount of background work by the few who knew of the company’s financials to help secure its longevity. But what factors, exactly, had contributed to the folding of the not-for-profit, in Shaw’s view?
They said that post-COVID, in around 2022-23, staff attrition at companies was incredibly low. “Nobody left, which meant companies didn’t need to backfill with junior roles. When somebody senior leaves, a company might promote somebody and then hire a junior. But that wasn’t happening,” remarked Shaw. “I think that was one of the big things that hurt us.”
However—and as with all things—there wasn’t just a singular reason, but rather multiple factors. For instance, Shaw mentioned how, amid economic headwinds, companies no longer had the budgets for CodeClan’s bespoke training offering—in which instructors would go in and help (re)train a company’s staff. This meant large contracts were consequently pushed back, impacting cash flow during a difficult time.
In response, and in a push for longevity, CodeClan started launching a number of new initiatives such a self-paced, on-demand learning option to bring in more and different kinds of students. Efforts happening in the background also involved speaking to the likes of the Scottish Government for additional funding. “We were doing everything we could to make it work,” expressed Shaw. “It was just absolutely heartbreaking.”
In the lead-up to the liquidation announcement—which couldn’t be discussed with the vast majority of staff due to legal reasons—Shaw “hadn’t eaten properly for many, many days just from the stress,” they recounted. “The stress was unbelievable. And you can’t talk to people about it.” However, being the resolute and altruistic problem-solver that they are, Shaw couldn’t help but think once everyone knew: “What can I do?”
First on Shaw’s to-do list was reaching out to staff members who were on holiday, and therefore in different timezones, to ensure they were up to date with the news. They then explained to confused staff members all the background attempts to stabilise CodeClan, and why they couldn’t know beforehand. There was also the gathering of helpful resources—“I started compiling lists of all the resources that would help people, like recruiters and companies that I knew were hiring—just getting anything down that I could,” Shaw said—on top of making themselves available to support staff who quickly had to find another job. “I think that helped me feel I was at least doing something,” they remarked.
Amid the turmoil, and while staff were simultaneously doing their best to support the students, the students themselves were also displaying an inspirational amount of gumption and resolve—not least Ure himself.
Unsurprisingly, Ure said that he “didn’t really sleep” on the night of the announcement. But by the next morning, he was redirecting his energies into action. “I don’t like sitting back; I’ve always been somebody who likes to do something,” he explained. “So I began reaching out to a couple of instructors—one, to check in with them, and two, to see how they felt about me starting a fundraiser to pay them to help the cohorts get over the line and complete their courses.”
After some dialogue with instructors, students, and staff, Ure launched a crowdfunding campaign on the JustGiving platform. The aim was for £50,000 to be raised to pay instructors and secure in-person workspace, thereby enabling the students to deservedly finish their education.
In the following days, the Scottish tech ecosystem’s rapid response caught Ure off guard. Both individuals and businesses alike were significantly contributing to the pot, and it quickly became apparent that the £50,000 goal would very likely be raised. “Every time I checked, it jumped by £1,000, £2,000, £3,000—it really did take me by surprise.”
Other, non-financial forms of support were widely being offered, too. “I had hundreds and hundreds of messages on LinkedIn from people and businesses in the tech community saying they’d happily offer mentoring, as well as services like code reviews, or talks on coding methodologies,” Ure mentioned. FanDuel, the Scottish tech unicorn, also supplied office space for affected students and their instructors to use—because, at this stage, the tutors were volunteering their time for free so the students could keep on learning.
“A Lot of Emotion Was Released”
Much like the liquidation announcement, the next event also came out of the blue for Ure: days after the crowdfund’s launch, he was given a heads-up from Mark Logan, the Scottish Government’s chief entrepreneurial advisor, that a plan had been formulated in the background.
Specifically, it involved the Scottish Government providing funding to see the student learning process through, and for CodeBase—the tech and entrepreneurial support organisation and adjacent neighbour of CodeClan’s Edinburgh campus—to buy the not-for-profit’s training materials and assets from the liquidators.
In practicality, this meant the impacted students would be able to finish their courses—and a group of instructors selected to teach them would be compensated, too—without the need for crowdfunding. Soon after informing Ure, Logan made a public statement explaining the forthcoming measures to a concerned ecosystem, and Ure later returned the JustGiving donations.
Fast forward some weeks, and after working out of FanDuel’s offices, Ure and his fellow students returned to CodeClan in person to complete the final stages of their programmes, after Logan et al.’s efforts. While Ure noted that it was good to be back at CodeClan, the stress of the complex, stressful situation had taken its toll. “By the end, people were drained. It felt like an absolute age that a very intense period had been going on for.”
In October, Ure and the rest of E65 finally graduated as new software developers, despite the significant hurdles in their way. The following graduation ceremony, which was hosted by FanDuel, served as not just an acknowledgement and celebration of their resilience, but also as a crucial opportunity for catharsis. “The graduation was quite an emotional one,” Ure recounted. “A lot of emotion was released on that final day. But everybody’s really close now; we have a bond.”
“You Don’t Realise How Stressful Something Is Until You Get Past It”
Following graduation, Ure returned to the CodeClan campus to receive some CV support. But after that, he took some much-deserved time away from coding—and preparing for the job application process—for his mental health. “I couldn’t think about opening my laptop,” he said. “I switched off for a few weeks.”
Now, in early 2024, Ure is navigating an undeniably tough job market. “It’s difficult,” he stated. “There’s not many junior or graduate roles at the moment.” Despite the lack of entry positions currently available, Ure is tapping into the same resilience that helped him navigate the prior turbulence: “You just keep going.”
Shaw, too, took some time out shortly after the upheaval due to its mental and emotional ramifications. “I was lucky in that I had a pot of savings, so I knew I didn’t have to immediately get a job—because there was no way I could’ve done that,” they explained. “I needed a lot of downtime afterwards. And you don’t realise how stressful something is until you get past it.”
They’ve since launched their own consultancy, Thistle Labs, helping to provide fractional CTO advice to tech startups and entrepreneurs; they’re also assisting some UK-based education providers with their offerings. This has allowed them to continue cheerleading those they want to get behind, albeit in a slightly different capacity.
CodeClan 2.0
But what about the CodeClan-shaped gap left in Scotland’s technology ecosystem? In the coming months, it’s expected that “CodeClan 2.0” will be launched by CodeBase and industry partners, with Logan previously stating that the new talent pipeline “is being designed from the ground up” and with a “robust business model.” And it sounds thus far like the overall mission—which is an important, necessary one, on so many fronts—will remain the same: to help determined folks in Scotland gain practical skills, forge new career paths, and ultimately improve both their lives and the lives of those around them.
According to newly released UCAS data, the number of young women in the UK applying for computing degrees has risen by 10% on last year.
BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, analysed the January deadline application data from UCAS, the university admissions services.
It found that, in total, there were 18,880 applications from UK 18-year-old women to study computing this year, up from last year’s figure of 17,140.
While male applicants still outnumber women in computer science by 4.1 to 1 this year, the gap has closed slightly from 4.4 to 1 at the same stage in the application cycle in 2023.
Applications to study computing from all UK young people (aged 18) rose by 7% to a total of 99,710. This mirrored notable growth in STEM, with maths up 11%, engineering 10%, and physical sciences 8%.
Computing is now the 7th most popular subject for UK 18-year-old applications, and 5th for all UK applicants. This is the sixth consecutive year of growth for computing applications from 18-year-olds.
Computing degrees at UK universities also continue to attract students from outside the UK. Over one-fifth of applications (21%) came from non-UK students, though this is a slight decrease from last year (23%).
BCS said the rise in women applying for computing was good news for the future safety and fairness of artificial intelligence, in particular.
Gillian Arnold, president of BCS, said: “More and more young women understand that taking a computing degree can help them change the world and that is shown by these UCAS application figures.
“There’s still a long way to go until we have the truly diverse tech profession we need to ensure emerging technology like AI benefits everyone. That also includes creating a more inclusive culture across the tech profession itself.
“Diversity is more than just a concept when it comes to teams creating AI – reducing bias is a critical factor in all teams if we are to get more innovation in areas like medical diagnosis.
“People from every background need to be encouraged by the demand for computing and know that the tech profession needs them.”
Earlier research from BCS, undertaken in partnership with Coding Black Females, found issues such as microaggressions, lack of flexible working, and tech bro culture were just some of the barriers to women progressing in IT careers.
Eleven manufacturingtechnology projects have been awarded £3.7 million in funding through UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Made Smart Innovation (MSI) Challenge.
The MSI Challenge helps to take the risk out of innovation for UK-based manufacturers by supporting collaborations for creating new, innovative solutions with the help of industry experts.
The winning projects of the challenge, each of whom have secured between £107,000 and £535,000 in funding, span areas such as process control, machine vision, and deployment in end gripper technology. Each project will last from nine to 15 months, and tested across sectors including electronics, food and drink, and fast-moving consumer goods.
One of the successful projects is “BROM-BOT,” aiming to optimise bicycle production at the London manufacturing site of Brompton, the folding bicycle manufacturer, through the development of industrial-grade robotic and automation solutions.
The project involves creating a “robot sandpit” or “playground,” leveraging East Kent College’s Group’s robotic learning factory in Canterbury to test integration across key operations within the factory.
Graham Razey, chief executive of East Kent College’s Group, said: “It is absolutely fantastic news that we’ve been selected as the education partner for this exciting project. It will offer up a range of fantastic opportunities for our students and staff in engineering and computing to engage in innovating through research and development.
“We will also work to align our curriculum to the project’s developments, ensuring that what our students learn meets the future needs of employers, enabling organisations to fully realise the business benefits that moving to Industry 4.0 can bring.”
Phill Elston, the operations director at Brompton, said: “This new funding will enable the team to drive forward an array of exciting technology projects, ultimately meaning that Brompton can continue to be a leader of innovation in the urban mobility industry.”
Another winning project, Flamingo Flowers’ Project FLORABOT, looks to develop digital and automation technologies for flower packaging factories, as well as developing flexible automation solutions for bouquet-making operations.
Martyn Shannon, the operations general manager at Flamingo Flowers, commented: “This competition is a real opportunity to help us advance our automation and robotics development programme.
“Our partnership with the Manufacturing Technology Centre, part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, allows us to utilise key expertise in automation, robotics and vision systems and keep Flamingo Flowers at the forefront of innovation.”
Speaking on the funding, Chris Needham, innovation lead in the MSI Challenge, remarked: “The successful 11 projects have the potential to improve process automation and efficiency in environments where those kinds of gains are hard to come by.
“The importance of these kinds of innovations for the UK economy can’t be overstated. Our funding is designed to support them as they pave the way to a smarter and more resilient manufacturing landscape.”
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has put forward new proposals to allow drones to be flown beyond an operator’s line of sight, helping with inspections of railways, powerlines, roads and with the delivery of critical medical supplies.
The civil aviation regulator has set out its proposals in a consultation published today (Tuesday 20 February). The measures would allow drones to be used beyond line of sight by remaining at low heights and closer to buildings and infrastructure where fewer aircraft would be operating.
While some drones have been able to fly beyond the visual line of sight for several years in the UK, these are largely trial flights that have been and are being conducted under strict restrictions.
The regulator said that, following the adoption of the proposals it plans to work with several operators to help implement the measures in a safe and scaled way.
It’s also one of the various initiatives to come out of the regulator’s UK Future Flight Programme, which aims to bring the UK closer to a future where drones safely share more of the sky with other airspace users.
Speaking on the measures, Kevin Woolsey, head of remotely piloted aircraft systems at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Our proposals are a positive step towards unlocking the next stage for drone flying in the UK.
“Allowing drones to fly beyond the sight of the remote pilot, without placing restrictions on other aircraft in the area, will be a major achievement for UK drone operations.
“Safety comes first in everything we do and so we have identified sensible mitigations on where drones can fly using this proposed concept to make sure we maintain levels of safety.”
One of the last times DIGIT reported on the intersection of drones and policy was last month, when “no fly zones” were introduced by the UK government in a bid to combat prison smuggling.
Heriot-Watt University and Edinburgh Napier University are bringing together engineering and nursing students to develop innovative healthtechnologies that address prescient clinical needs.
The Edinburgh-based universities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the joint programme which will see Heriot-Watt engineering students visit Napier’s specialised clinical simulation facilities to gain first-hand understanding of current healthcare scenarios and challenges.
The learnings, alongside insights from Napier’s nursing students into patient needs and care, will lead to projects focused on co-designing health solutions that target clinical issues.
“Nurses are an untapped reservoir of innovative solutions for the health and care sector,” explained Cathal Breen, professor of simulation and clinical skills at Edinburgh Napier, which is the only Scottish university to offer pre-registration training in all four nursing specialties and midwifery.
“However, the health sector workforce is not currently incentivised to come up and come forward with solutions,” he added. “In our new agreement with Heriot-Watt, our students will identify potentially suitable clinical problems and work with engineering students at Heriot-Watt to design solutions to real-life clinical problems. It is hugely exciting.”
Maïwenn Kersaudy-Kerhoas is a professor in microfluidic engineering at Heriot-Watt, and the lead academic for the university’s new global research institute in health and care technologies. She said: “It has already proved to be a fantastic and fun learning experience for students from both the nursing and engineering programmes.
“This collaboration will ensure an excellent student experience and we are very enthusiastic about the interface between nursing and engineering. Nurses are the closest to patient needs on a daily basis, by championing this first-hand knowledge and expertise, we enable nurses to co-create and help deliver innovation.
“Alongside this, our engineering students benefit from detailed real-world feedback on their health and care engineering concepts. The professional advice of nursing practitioners and their network of patient engagement opportunities is invaluable as we continue to create the health and care technologies needed for the future.”
The partnership will provide Scottish Friendly with insights into new fintech areas such as open finance data and regulatory technology (regtech), which can help with the evolution of savings and investment strategies.
Meanwhile, Scottish Friendly will participate in FinTech Scotland’s research and innovation roadmap, which aims to accelerate the development of fintech in Scotland.
The company’s involvement will be aimed at streamlining the savings and investment process, using technology to make it as easy and accessible as possible for consumers.
Speaking on its mission and the new partnership, Alexander Manas, Scottish Friendly’s commercial director, said: “We are dedicated to helping individuals and their families achieve the best possible financial outcomes through affordable, high-quality products and exceptional customer service.
“We are therefore delighted to partner with FinTech Scotland in our efforts to continuously deliver better outcomes for our customers through technology and innovation.”
Nicola Anderson, CEO at FinTech Scotland also commented: “We are delighted to welcome Scottish Friendly to the FinTech Scotland cluster to embrace fintech innovation through strategic partnership.
“This partnership is a testament to our inclusive approach, aiming to revolutionise financial services by leveraging collective expertise. Scottish Friendly’s objectives align perfectly with our mission to drive impactful changes in the sector.”
Scottish Friendly has roots stretching back to 1862. Established as the City of Glasgow Friendly Society, its name changed in October 1992 when it took over Scottish Friendly Assurance.
It provides investors and their families with investment and protection solutions, and provides life and investment products and services to other financial organisations.
FinTech Scotland was founded in January 2018 as a joint initiative by University of Edinburgh, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and Scottish Enterprise.
FinTech Scotland’s objectives are to develop an innovative community of FinTech firms, generate impactful collaborations between firms of all sizes, and foster an inclusive cluster which is recognised and connected in the UK and beyond.
The firm’s “DRFT MRKS” software uses deep learning applied to video capture to provide an accurate measurement of a vessel’s weight and load. Accurate draught readings are necessary for determining how much cargo it’s carrying and what depths it can navigate safely.
The grant funding from Scottish Enterprise, the nation’s economic development agency, will be used by Tymor’s team to create a portable and commercially viable app version of the software without the need for cloud-based processing.
Since ancient times, mariners have conducted draught surveys — a means of determining the weight of a vessel and its cargo – by eye, but environmental variables and human error make it an inexact science. A misreading of the draught by just a centimetre could result in legal claims for assumed shortages in cargo.
Tymor Marine originally developed DRFT MRKS to help its in-house naval services team help overcome draught survey challenges. The firm was later supported by Scotland’s innovation centre CENSIS and the University of Edinburgh to optimise the deep learning functionality of the software.
Utilising AI capability, the software helps to mitigate human error and challenging factors such as faded or rusted markings, poor lighting, marine growth, bad weather, and the swell of the waves. The video capture can be collected at a safer distance from the vessel, either by a mariner using a handheld device on a boat or by drone.
Speaking on the digitisation of the marine sector and the funding news, managing director at Tymor Marine, Kevin Moran, said: “In the next two decades the digitalisation of operations will drive more changes in the maritime sector than we have seen in the last century.”
“The funding from Scottish Enterprise is fantastic because it will allow our developers to refine our software, reducing its processing requirements so that it can be used within a smartphone app. The funding will help us to accelerate time to market with a new technology that is scalable, secure, reliable, and portable.”
The blog post introducing the AI model states Sora is able to “generate complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate details of the subject and background.”
The videos, which run for up to a minute long, can be created from text prompts or from existing still images. The model can also extend existing video footage or fill in missing frames.
One of the highlighted examples of Sora’s capabilities depicts a woman walking down a Tokyo street. The video is highly realistic in spite of subtle giveaways that it’s artificial—such as irregularities in the camera movement and visual inconsistencies such as pavement not naturally interacting with the road below.
Prompt: “A stylish woman walks down a Tokyo street filled with warm glowing neon and animated city signage. she wears a black leather jacket, a long red dress, and black boots, and carries a black purse. she wears sunglasses and red lipstick. she walks confidently and casually.… pic.twitter.com/cjIdgYFaWq
OpenAI acknowledged in its post that the current model has weaknesses—one of which being that it “may struggle with precise descriptions of events that take place over time, like following a specific camera trajectory”—despite the overall realism that Sora can produce.
In a bid to advance the model, the company is now granting access to a number of visual artists, designers, and filmmakers so that they can provide feedback on Sora.
The model is also becoming available to red teamers who are proficient in misinformation, hateful content, and bias to adversarially test Sora ahead of it becoming publicly available at a later date.
OpenAI noted that, to help with the detection of misleading content—and in addition to using existing safety tools, such as text classifiers that reject prompts requesting celebrity likeness—it’s building a detection classifier that can tell when a video has been generated by Sora.
Speaking on why Sora has been introduced ahead of its release, the company said that it’s “sharing our research progress early to start working with and getting feedback from people outside of OpenAI and to give the public a sense of what AI capabilities are on the horizon.”
The programme is being delivered by Scotland-based AccelerateHER, the female founders network whose aim is to amplify the work of entrepreneurial women, in partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs and with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
The 100 selected founders are from technology businesses which cover a range of sectors—including finance, education, healthcare, and food—and are either currently trading or ready to bring their product or service to market.
During the programme participants will work with experts from across the entrepreneurial landscape, including Barclays ‘champions’, in a series of masterclasses with the focus of further developing their businesses.
It also includes one-to-one mentoring opportunities, accountability groups, and community networking events held in-person in Glasgow and London.
The accelerator will culminate with a showcase event in Manchester next month, where selected participants will pitch their companies to an audience of investors.
AccelerateHER said that, as a programme delivery partner, it will further leverage its experience and expertise as an organisation centred on helping female-founded firms to boost growth.
The network’s sister company, Investing Women Angels, will also provide support and advice, particularly concerning how to pitch for investment.
Speaking on the accelerator, Elizabeth Pirrie, CEO of AccelerateteHER, said: “We’re delighted to be once again working in partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs to deliver this new, UK Government-funded programme aimed at bolstering female-founded businesses.
“Interest in the Female Founders Accelerator has been overwhelming with over 250 applicants for the initial 100 places available. We will now focus on supporting the participating founders in further developing their business proposition and their own leadership skills.
“We have a proud history of providing support and mentoring that has helped female-led companies thrive and we look forward to delivering those outcomes through this new programme.”
Amanda Allan, the director of Barclays Eagle Labs, also commented: “We are proud to continue our support for female founders who want to advance their ambition to grow their technology businesses.
“The digital-tech economy needs more female founders and this programme, via AccelerateHER, is a great way for us to support achieving that ambition.
“It’s also very encouraging to see the number of female founders that applied for the programme. Women are clearly looking to entrepreneurship in the digital-tech sector, so this kind of support is vital to level the playing field.”
The Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for artificial intelligence and data science, has appointed four new directors tasked with addressing prominent societal issues.
The organisation said that today’s announcement represents a key milestone in implementing its new strategy and work which is centred around the three grand challenges of sustainability, health, and national security.
Professor Marc Deisenroth, who’s the Google DeepMind chair of AI and machine learning at UCL and part of the UNESCO chair on AI, will lead the environment and sustainability grand challenge. The challenge aims to find solutions to decarbonisation and environmental systems.
Professor Aldo Faisal, meanwhile, will head up the grand challenge in health, aiming to improve the country’s health and wellbeing. Faisal is a professor of AI and neuroscience at Imperial College London, and the founding director of the UKRI centre in AI for healthcare and the UKRI centre in AI for digital healthcare.
Professor Tim Watson, who’s the director of the Cyber Security Centre at Loughborough University and the previous programme director of defence and security at the institute, will lead the defence and national security grand challenge. It aims to ensure that AI and data science plays a role in safeguarding the UK and allies from security threats.
Dr Andrew Duncan will also join the institute to lead its fundamental research. He joins from Imperial College London, having been senior lecturer in the department of mathematics. He was also lead scientist in the defence division at UK technology company Improbable.
The directors are set to announce their priorities for their respective challenges later this year. The aim of these priorities, or “missions,” is to help society benefit from the continued use—and improvement of—AI and data science, while also minimising risks.
Speaking on the announcement, Dr Jean Innes, who’s the chief executive of The Alan Turing Institute, said: “This is an important year for our AI ecosystem, as we come together to ensure powerful new technologies help us find solutions to society’s greatest challenges and I warmly welcome these exciting new appointments to our scientific and organisational leadership.
“Combined with our existing capabilities and challenge-led approach to science and innovation, this marks an exciting new chapter for the Turing as we play our part working with colleagues in academia, civil society, industry and government.”
Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, also commented: “I congratulate The Alan Turing Institute on the appointment of these four new directors to its senior scientific leadership team.
“We are living through a time of tremendous progress in the field of artificial intelligence, and will need their energy and insight to make sure its promises are shared by all. Turing himself once put it best, ‘We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.’”
The UK government has announced it’s made a multi-million pound investment into potential breakthrough medical devices that can be adopted by the NHS.
As part of a £10 million funding package for increasing access to medical technology, eight tech companies will be supported to bring their devices to market more quickly.
One device, by HistoSonics, aims to identify and destroy liver cancer tumours using focused ultrasound waves. These waves break down tumours without damaging healthy tissue, offering a safer alternative to radiotherapy and other high-intensity treatments.
Another company is developing a blood test for Alzheimer’s Disease, which means patients could be identified and treated earlier. Roche Diagnostics Ltd has developed the Amyloid Plasma Panel—a blood test which could help clinicians decide if patients with cognitive impairment should undergo tests or imaging to confirm Alzheimer’s Disease.
The funding is part of a new programme called The Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP), which aims to bring state-of-the-art technologies and solutions to the forefront of the NHS. Currently in the pilot stage, the funding will be used to test new technologies for use on a large scale as quickly as possible.
The government is investing £10 million in the pilot as part of a wider programme to accelerate access to medical technology. The programme is run by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Health Technology Group, Health Technology Wales, and NHS England.
Today’s funding announcement follows the government’s unveiling of its blueprint for boosting NHS medtech and innovation last year.
Speaking about the new funding, health minister Andrew Stephenson commented: “NHS staff need access to the latest technology to deliver the highest quality care for patients and cut waiting lists – one of our top five priorities.
“These cutting-edge technologies could help thousands of patients with a range of conditions, including cancer, stroke, and Alzheimer’s, while easing pressure on our hospitals and reducing healthcare inequalities.
“Our investment in these pioneering companies is part of our long-term plan for a faster, simpler and fairer health care system, and demonstrates our clear commitment to ensuring the UK is the most innovative economy in the world.”
Glasgow-based agritech startup SOLASTA Bio moves closer to market following successful field trials of its green bioinsecticides.
Founded in 2020, SOLASTA Bio has developed what’s been said to be the world’s first technology platform for creating neuropeptide-based insect control agents (ICAs)—bioinsecticides that aren’t based on synthetic chemicals, are environmentally-friendly, and can help preserve the ecosystem by protecting beneficial pollinators.
Trials of SOLASTA Bio’s ICAs demonstrated efficacy on par or better than commercial standard across 20 field trials on multiple crops in the UK, Europe, and US.
Field trials targeting aphids—small, sap-sucking insects—were conducted on sugar beet, vining peas, cotton, lettuce, cucumber, and melon sites across the UK and Europe, while bioinsecticides targeting the Spotted Wing Drosophila fruit fly and caterpillar pests were deployed on crop sites in the US and Europe.
During trials in Greece, the company was also able to deploy new bioinsecticides against the emerging pest problem of leafhoppers on a cotton crop site. The deployed bioinsecticides demonstrated leafhopper control at levels better than commercial standard.
The trials also showed that beneficial insects continued to thrive in crops treated with the Scots startup’s pollinator-safe products.
The firm says that, with these latest results, it remains on course to bring its first ICAs to market in 2027/2028, in at least half the time traditionally taken by synthetic chemical pest control products.
Shireen Davies, the co-founder and CEO of SOLASTA Bio, said: “We’re really excited by these findings which bring us one step closer to delivering safe, effective micro-peptide ICAs to market.
“These outstanding trial results demonstrate our ICAs consistently perform on par or better than commercial standards across multiple pests, crops and territories. We are focusing now on expanding these as we ready these game-changing ICAs for growers worldwide.”
The global insecticides market is currently dominated by synthetic chemicals—accounting for 94% of insect control solutions—with a projected 2028 value of around $27 billion (£21b). While 75% of food crops are dependent on pollinator insects, other insects can cause enormous social, health and economic damage, accounting for at least $70 billion ($55b) in US crop losses alone.
Virgin Media O2 has hit a milestone in its Shared Rural Network (SRN) rollout after upgrading or building 100 company-managed 4G coverage sites, with the 100th site being on the Isle of Skye.
The SRN programme is a £1 billion joint initiative between mobile network operators and the UK government to extend 4G connectivity to 95% of the UK’s landmass by the end of 2025.
Of the 100 rural sites that have been built or upgraded by Virgin Media O2 so far, 78 are in very remote parts of Scotland, such as Shetland, Ardross, and Argyll and Bute. Meanwhile, 19 are in rural parts of England, including parts of Yorkshire, Suffolk, and Kent, and three are in Northern Ireland.
The Isle of Skye became the 100th site for improved mobile connectivity after helicopters were used to install new 4G masts on the island.
The 100 sites are controlled by Virgin Media O2, but Three and Vodafone customers also benefit from the operator’s rollout. Taking into account the progress of Three and Vodafone, Virgin Media O2 customers can currently access reliable 4G services at 146 rural locations.
Speaking on reaching its 100th SRN site, Virgin Media O2’s chief technology officer, Jeanie York, said: “We’re going to extreme lengths connecting the most remote corners of the UK to deliver our share of the Shared Rural Network.
“This investment is vital to ensure we provide fast and reliable coverage to all areas of the UK. With so much of our modern life taking place online, rural communities deserve the same standard of mobile connectivity as those in urban areas, and we’re proud to be stepping up and playing our part.
“The 100 sites we have delivered will mean that more residents, businesses and visitors in rural areas can benefit from better mobile coverage, with more locations to follow in the coming months. This work is vital in tackling the urban-rural digital divide that exists in the UK.”
On-street electric vehicle charging firm Trojan Energy has made three new board member appointments in Chris Waples, Terry Hart, and Keith Barclay, it’s been announced.
The appointments follow £26 million of funding secured by the company in a raise led by investors BGF and The Scottish National Investment Bank. The new investment will support the Aberdeen-headquartered business to continue its rollout of chargepoints across the UK.
Chris Waples, appointed as non-executive chairman, has 35 years of experience in the infrastructure sector with businesses such as John Laing plc, where he served as executive director of asset management. Chris is currently a non-executive director at several organisations, including BBGI Global Infrastructure Fund, Cero Generation, and South Clyde Energy Recovery.
Terry Hart, appointed as non-executive director, was part of the founding team of CityFibre where he was CFO for over nine years. Terry is a senior advisor to Octopus Investments in relation to its portfolio in the fibre optic infrastructure sector, and is also a board advisor to Voneus Ltd.
Keith Barclay, also appointed as non-executive director, is an investor at BGF. For over eight years, Keith has helped with a number of investments in Scotland. He also supports a range of businesses in the north-east of Scotland.
Launched in 2016, Trojan Energy’s patented charging technology provides convenient on-street EV charging through a unique flat and flush charging system that integrates into pavements, supporting the green transition for nine million households in the UK without access to a driveway.
The chargepoints themselves are manufactured at Trojan Energy’s headquarters in Aberdeen, where the headcount is currently 68.
Speaking on the new appointments, Ian Mackenzie, CEO at Trojan Energy, said: “I am pleased to welcome Chris, Terry and Keith to the Trojan Energy board. Together they bring a wealth of strategic and leadership experience to the company and each has a strong track record in helping build high-growth and high-performing companies. I look forward to working with them in the years ahead.”
Elevator, the Scottish social enterprise supporting entrepreneurship, has launched a new programme to help women in Scotland turn their business aspirations into reality.
Funded by the Scottish Government through their Pathways Fund, the free six-week programme, called “E3f”, will offer participants the chance to connect with a community of like-minded women, sharing experiences and building connections.
The programme will run in South Glasgow, Angus, and Moray, and is aimed at women who want to explore their potential, whether they already have a solid business idea or are interested in starting a business but currently have no firm focus.
Elevator said that the programme’s interactive workshops, which will include idea generation activities through to practical sessions, will help participants enhance their skills and boost confidence.
A digital platform will also offer ongoing support beyond the six-week programme, helping to further foster connections and give participants access to useful resources.
The programmes will be delivered by Lucy Steading, Cat Ward, and Blessing Shamaki, all of whom have backgrounds in business development and mentoring.
Professor Gary McEwan, the chief executive of Elevator, said: “We are thrilled to launch the E3f programme, an initiative that reflects Elevator’s commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and empowering women across diverse communities in Scotland.
“Our goal is to provide a transformative experience for women who aspire to reach their full business potential. The E3f programme not only breaks down barriers but also creates a dynamic space where women can connect, share experiences, and build lasting connections.
“At Elevator, we believe that every woman, regardless of her background, deserves the opportunity to turn her passion into a flourishing business.”
Rachel Ross, Elevator’s strengthening communities director, commented: “This programme is specifically designed to offer tailored support to women in three regions across Scotland, addressing the diverse needs of individuals in rural areas, those representing different facets of diversity, and those facing socio-economic challenges.
“We understand the unique hurdles that female entrepreneurs often encounter, and E3f aims to be a catalyst for positive change.
“By providing a platform for women to explore their potential, connect with like-minded individuals, and receive practical skills through interactive workshops, we are breaking down barriers and fostering an environment where women can thrive in their entrepreneurial journey.”
A 14-person cohort of Scottish tech entrepreneurs has been selected to travel to Austin, Texas next month for a programme of growth-related activities under the Foras excursion initiative.
The upcoming trip, which will take place between 6-14 March, includes full access to the prominent South by Southwest (SXSW) conference, a reception with local venture capitalists (VCs) at the Wilson Sonsini Austin HQ, and a startup showcase in front of an audience of international VCs and buyers.
The SXSW 2024 startup Cohort Programme was designed by Foras co-founders Dec McLaughlin, Nick Murray, and Carolina Melendez. The delivery team also includes Robert Gelb of Campfire and Amy Wallace of Bracken Grove, alongside Greg Zienkiewicz of CreateGreg.
It’s supported by the Scottish Ecosystem Fund 2023-24 from the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise, and follows the successes of similar past Foras cohort trips to Silicon Valley, NYC, Helsinki, and Lisbon.
The Foras cohort initiative is aimed at making connections with the wider US startup community, peer learning, investor engagement, and learning best practices for building world-class tech business.
The initiative’s goals complement the 2020 Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review, published by the Scottish Government’s chief entrepreneurial advisor Mark Logan. Logan recently said: “To succeed, our startups must be as good as the world’s best startups. Our founders need to be outward-looking, learning from world-class techniques and frameworks, and from those who have already built global tech companies.”
The 14-person cohort of Scottish tech entrepreneurs are as follows:
Don Smith of 1nhaler
Colin Gray of Alitu
Ana Betancourt of Black Goblin
Damien Roux of Drimify
Mathew Norbury of FC Labs
Daniel Marrable of Forumm
Joe Gibson of Gibson Robotics
Anne Lanc of Ionburst
Camila Jimenez Pol of Konpanion
Hamish Geddes of Lenz Labs
Sheena Johnstone of Nursery Story
Jen McLean of Raven Controls
Emily Rogers of Reath
Dominic McCann of Siccar
The cohort was hosted at Thorntons Edinburgh HQ last week, on the back of the announcement of their long-term partnership with Foras.
Alistair Lang, partner and head of ventures and innovation at Thorntons, said: “Congratulations to the 14 founders selected for the Foras SXSW excursion. It’s a phenomenal opportunity to learn more about what it takes to grow a successful, global business and forge new connections. We’ve already had the pleasure of meeting the cohort and we look forward to further supporting their journey as entrepreneurs.”
Caro Melendez, Foras co-founder, also commented: “We’re excited to bring together another diverse cohort, not only in the industry focus and aspiration but also in age, ethnicity, gender and lived experience, representing Scotland’s eclectic entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
“These excursions encourage peer connectivity, rapid growth and inspiration, and the importance of looking ‘up and out’ to global markets when scaling a business from Scotland.”
Ana Betancourt, CEO of audio design tech startup Black Goblin, remarked: “SXSW is a beacon for innovation and creativity, and for Black Goblin it represents a huge opportunity to connect with US leaders in the creative sector as well as understanding the investor ecosystem. We are also very honoured to be given the chance to represent Scotland’s creative industries with our upcoming product Thol in such an important global stage.”
Led by Cranfield University, the Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC) brings together academics from ten universities across the UK—including Heriot-Watt University, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Glasgow—to advance the abilities of microorganisms to monitor the environment and remove pollutants.
The centre is being established with £13 million in funding from the Technology Missions Fund of UKRI, the country’s funding agency for science and research, as well as support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, which invests in bioscience research and training in the UK.
Tony Gutierrez, associate professor of environmental microbiology and biotechnology at Heriot-Watt University’s School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, explained: “Micro-organisms, or microbes, are microscopic organisms that are like tiny but effective ‘superheroes.’ Whilst they can only be seen through a microscope, they can be used, for example, to clean up almost any pollutant from the environment.”
Scientists involved in the five-year EBIC project will examine ways to develop microorganisms to target and mitigate negative impacts from polluting substances like plastic waste, hydrocarbons, metals and oil. The microorganisms can be used to not only clean up hazardous and toxic pollutants from the environment, but also to help regenerate or recycle waste.
Cutting-edge techniques from biotechnology, synthetic biology, and environmental engineering will be used to develop applications in the lab and then apply them in the field. Engineering biology is identified as one of the UK government’s five critical technologies in its Science and Technology Framework.
Professor Leon A. Terry, pro-vice chancellor for research and innovation at Cranfield University, said: “This new research centre is set to bring together some of the UK’s leading experts in biotechnology to create a world-class hub of excellence. Working closely with industry and focused on real-world applications, the research will develop a creative and sustainable way to address some of our most pressing environmental challenges.”
Professor Steve McLaughlin, deputy principal of research and impact at Heriot-Watt University, also commented: “At Heriot-Watt University, we are committed to using our deep research and teaching expertise to help to tackle global challenges like pollution and climate change. This project shows how we can make a real impact through science and collaboration.”
Biotech firms helping to pioneer new technologies to prepare for pandemics, protect against floods, innovative farming, and more have been awarded £100 million from the UK government.
Six new “Engineering Biology Mission Hubs” and 22 “Mission Awards” projects across the UK that look to address global challenges, increase national resilience, and drive economic growth through biotech are set to receive the cash from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology.
A further £21 million is being awarded by the Department to the UK Biobank, the large-scale biomedical database and research resource. The Biobank is being given the money for a new robotic freezer, which is to be used to store 20 million samples of biological data, supporting research that’s being done to treat diseases like dementia and Parkinson’s.
Michelle Donelan, the science and technology secretary, visited the UK Biobank in Stockport earlier this week, where she reiterated the UK government’s aim for the country to become a science and technology superpower by the end of the decade.
“Long-term growth is the only way we will deliver the public services and improvements in living standards that every Briton wants for themselves and their families,” she said.
“But as history shows, it is technological and scientific advances that are the true engine room of growth, and despite our existing strengths in these sectors, we cannot afford to pat ourselves on our back and take our eye off the ball.
“Cementing the UK as a science and technology superpower by 2030 is more than a slogan. It is a goal we must reach if we want to grow our economy, continue creating well-paid jobs and build a better, healthier, more prosperous future for the UK.”
The biotech funding news comes amid other science- and technology-related announcements from the government today (Friday 9 January), including the National Timing Centre R&D Programme for Quantum Clocks receiving £7 million in funding, and the launch of a £3 million metascience grant funding call, aimed at boosting the efficiency and effectiveness of the UK’s research system.
There was a drop in recruitment activity across Scotland at the start of 2024, the latest Royal Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs has found.
The report is based on a monthly survey of around 70 recruitment and employment consultants, and provides an up-to-date view of Scottish labour market trends.
The surveyed consultants said that subdued levels of business activity and ongoing uncertainty has discouraged both companies from taking on additional staff and workers from seeking new roles.
Permanent Staff Supply Continues to Drop
Further deterioration in the availability of permanent candidates in Scotland was recorded last month, extending the current run of contraction to three years. In contrast, an eleventh successive monthly expansion in permanent staff supply was seen at the UK level.
The availability of temporary candidates across Scotland improved in January however, and for the fifth month in a row. It also expanded across the UK as a whole.
Further Downturn in Permanent Staff Demand
Permanent staff demand from Scottish businesses weakened again in January. What’s more, the pace at which vacancies contracted quickened for the fifth straight month and to the strongest since November 2020. At the UK level, a further drop in permanent vacancies was seen as well, albeit only marginally.
The sixth successive monthly reduction in temporary vacancies was also recorded in Scotland last month, with the downturn being the most pronounced since mid-2020. Meanwhile, recruiters at the UK level saw a slight rise in demand for temp workers.
Sustained Decline in Permanent Placements
Regarding permanent placements, a second consecutive monthly decline was recorded during January and was sharp overall. That said, permanent staff appointments also fell at the UK level—and at a stronger rate than seen in Scotland.
Scottish temporary billings fell markedly in January too, ending a two-month sequence of growth. While temp billings fell across the UK as a whole, the level of decrease was only slight and notably weaker than what was seen in Scotland.
Speaking on the overall findings for January, Sebastian Burnside, chief economist at Royal Bank of Scotland, commented: “The health of the Scottish labour market weakened at the start of the year, with recruitment agencies revealing notable declines for both permanent placements and temp billings.
“The subdued economic climate, high costs and uncertainty over the year ahead all contributed to muted hiring activity at businesses.”
He also noted that “The downturn in hiring activity in Scotland reflected the trends seen across the UK as a whole, with many employers pausing recruitment decisions until the economic environment improves and market confidence revives.”
Academics from the University of Glasgow have partnered with industry and two key charities to develop the RoboGuide—an AI-powered, four-legged robot to help visually impaired people move more independently through museums, shopping centres, hospitals, and other indoor public places.
The RoboGuide prototype integrates a range of new technologies into an off-the shelf robot body to overcome the challenges preventing robots from being more widely used to blind and partially sighted people.
The project aims to bring a more complete version of the technology to market in the coming years to support those who live with sight loss. Around 340,000 people in the UK are currently registered as blind or partially sighted.
RoboGuide’s system uses a series of sensors mounted on the robot’s exterior to accurately map and assess its surroundings. Software developed by the team helps it learn optimal routes between locations, as well as interpret sensor data in real-time so the robot can avoid the moving obstacles it would encounter while guiding a human.
The RoboGuide also incorporates large language model technology, lending it the ability to understand questions and comments from users and provide verbal responses in return.
The Forth Valley Sensory Centre (FVSC) Trust and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Scotland have lent their support to the development of the RoboGuide.
In December, the RoboGuide was tested for the first time at the Hunterian, Scotland’s oldest museum. The RoboGuide helped RNIB and FVSC volunteers to find their way around the first floor of the museum, and provided interactive spoken guidance on six exhibits.
Today (Thursday 8 February), RNIB and FVSC representatives are joining the research team at the University of Glasgow’s Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre for an event showcasing the ongoing development of the RoboGuide.
Professor Muhammad Imran, dean of graduate studies at the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering, is a co-investigator on the project. He said: “Our assistive technology project for the visually impaired embodies innovation, fostering inclusivity.
“In Glasgow, we’re pioneering world-changing technologies that hold the potential to transform lives and reshape societal norms.”
James Adams, director of RNIB Scotland, also commented: “We’re delighted to be supporting the research and development of technology that could be part of making the world more accessible and empowering blind and partially sighted people to live their lives confidently.
“Technology innovations like this are reshaping the future of accessibility and this partnership demonstrates their burgeoning potential to create of a more inclusive world.”
The nine-month research project is being financially supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and through UKRI’s Impact Acceleration Account programme.
Anthony Browne, the technology and decarbonisation minister, has today announced grants for schools, cash for councils, and new proposals for increasing chargepoint numbers.
The initiatives follow recent laws mandating the switch to electric vehicles, the end goal of which is to have 100% of new cars and vans sold in the UK to be zero emission by 2035.
The support package includes a new grant for state-funded schools and education institutions, providing up to 75% of the cost to buy and install chargepoints and up to £2,500 per socket.
Chargepoint installations usually cost between £1,500 and £2,500, depending on factors such as area and installation type. The grant will be paid for by the Department for Transport.
Local councils can also receive a share of the £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund for chargepoint installations. An electric vehicle infrastructure training course for council officers is being created to help with the delivery of installation projects. It will be open to local authorities from mid-March, following a trial.
The government has also launched a consultation looking at ways to speed up chargepoint installations across the country. The proposals would give EV chargepoint operators the right to carry out street works using a permit, which can be issued faster and more cost-effectively than a license.
The decarbonisation minister said that “this latest set of measures will mean EV owners everywhere benefit from easier and more convenient access to chargepoints.”
He further added that the government has “already spent over £2 billion to ensure a smooth switch to EVs,” and that it’s “committed to supporting drivers as we transition towards net zero in a proportionate way that doesn’t burden working people.”
Infrastructure aside, DIGIT reported on new figures earlier today that show it’s taken twenty two years for one million EVs to be sold in the UK.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) believe that the government introducing attractive consumer incentives—such as halving VAT on electric vehicle purchases—would act as a significant driver for faster EV uptake.
In January, a total of 20,935 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were registered in the UK, representing a year-on-year rise of 21% and bringing the total of BEVs sold to the milestone of 1,001,677. Comparatively, and across all kinds of cars, the first month of the year saw 142,876 new cars being registered.
While the BEV market share for January grew year on year to 14.7%, this is below the full 2023 performance of 16.5%. Further, while fleet and business demand for BEVs grew by 41.7% in January, registrations by private buyers fell by -25.1%.
The SMMT said that such volatility in BEV supply has been expected and is likely to continue, not least due to the current lack of significant EV buying incentives for the UK’s private consumer market despite new laws mandating the switch to electric.
The trade body noted that halving VAT on new BEV purchases in particular could put more than a quarter of a million electric cars on the road by 2026—on top of those already expected—and that it’d help to deliver the next million EVs in just two years.
It was estimated that it would cost the Treasury an average of just £1,125 per car, which is less than the cost of the previous Plug-in Car Grant.
Temporarily reducing VAT on EVs would partly mirror the tax exemption already offered to consumers on other carbon reduction technologies, such as heat pumps.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, commented, “It’s taken just over 20 years to reach our million EV milestone – but with the right policies, we can double down on that success in just another two.
“Market growth is currently dependent on businesses and fleets. Government must therefore use the upcoming Budget to support private EV buyers, temporarily halving VAT to cut carbon, drive economic growth and help everyone make the switch.
“Manufacturers have been asked to supply the vehicles, we now ask government to help consumers buy the vehicles on which net zero depends.”
The code, albeit voluntary, has been developed and agreed by 12 music industry bodies representing music creators, record labels, publishers, digital service providers, distributors, and collecting societies.
It sets out agreed standards and practices in an attempt to build greater trust in music-maker contracts, streaming licensing deals, royalty payments, usage data, audit rights, and communication to music creators.
The government said that the code “will help build creators’ confidence that they are being paid correctly when their music is played via streaming services,” as well as improving “creators’ understanding of how their music is licensed, administered, and used.”
The code comes after a 2021 UK government inquiry into music streaming which highlighted that performers, songwriters, and composers receive “pitiful” returns from music streaming. MPs called on the government to introduce a right for musicians and creators to be equitably compensated for the streaming of their work and for a “reset” of the market.
The IPO is set to have oversight of the new code and its implementation, and will convene meetings of signatory organisations every six months to consider how it’s working, with a formal review of the code to take place in 2026. The code is set to come into force on 31 July 2024.
The Independent Society of Musicians, the Music Managers Forum, the Music Publishers Association, and the Musicians’ Union are those among the signatories.
Culture secretary Lucy Frazer said: “For decades the UK music industry has projected our soft power to the world. Our home-grown artists make awe-inspiring music that brings in billions of pounds to the economy.
“As technology continues to transform the industry, musicians must be entitled to a clear and simple way of understanding what they can expect to be paid from streaming royalties.
“I welcome the music industry working together on this, and look forward to this code being put into practice.”
Phil Kear, the Musicians’ Union assistant general secretary, also commented: “It is encouraging to see progress on Government commitments following the revolutionary music streaming inquiry report, although it will take time to know if and how well the Code is working for our members.
“In the meantime, we are still waiting for the terms of reference for the working group looking at musicians and music creators’ earnings from music streaming.
“Equitable remuneration from music streaming is our priority and is fundamental if the Government is serious about fixing streaming.”
The innovation challenge, spearheaded by the recently established Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) and funded through the UK Government’s Innovation Accelerator programme, focuses on simplifying compliance through the application of AI and emerging tech.
The first in a series of industry-led innovation calls, the initiative has been created to foster confidence in the adoption of emerging technologies into financial services.
This call aims to demonstrate the ability technology could have in meeting global regulatory requirements, setting a new standard for future advancements in the industry.
FinTech Scotland and the financial services firms, in conjunction with Deloitte, are inviting entrepreneurs and innovators to identify and use technologies to address industry compliance challenges.
Launched under the principle of responsible innovation, these calls set the stage for exploration and development of solutions that will yield positive outcomes for the needs of consumers and businesses alike, resulting in an overall economic contribution.
The CEO of FinTech Scotland, Nicola Anderson, said: “We are extremely excited to kick off this inaugural industry innovation challenge.
“Demand-led innovation calls are an important part of the toolkit that the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab will employ to drive positive outcomes.
“It is also an opportunity to bring together financial institutions and innovators, enabling financial institutions to learn collaboratively about ways to improve compliance processes to drive efficiency for the sector and, ultimately, increase consumer protection.”
In partnership with the University of Strathclyde and the University of Glasgow, FRIL aims to leverage expertise in financial services risk and compliance, and combine this with emerging tech to build capabilities that maintain and grow both Scotland and the UK’s position as a leader in financial services regulatory innovation.
Gareth Murphy, chief risk officer at abrdn, also commented: “At abrdn, we’re delighted to join the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab’s inaugural innovation call to action.
“It is essential that we continue to evolve the mix of people, process and technology in all of our activities. We draw on extensive experience in financial services, in Scotland and globally.
“This collaboration is a testament to our commitment to seizing the ongoing opportunities that financial services and innovation present.”
The programme includes three phases: challenge definition, solution design & testing, and final demonstrations.
Applicants are set to receive insights about financial firms through collaboration, a support network, academic expertise, and service design support, and successful companies will receive grant awards up to £50,000 for further development and implementation.
Fintechs and other teams of innovators are invited to join the challenge, with applications open from today (1 February).
The innovation challenge call finale event will take place in April 2024.
Seagrass meadows have been called “the lungs of the ocean,” and are capable of absorbing carbon dioxide 35 times faster than tropical rainforests.
More than 90% of Britain’s seagrass has been wiped out during the past century, damaging the country’s chances of hitting its net-zero targets.
Now, a group of eight engineering graduates from the University of Edinburgh are developing a robot to plant seagrass seeds on the seabed in a faster and cheaper way than currently available.
Previously, it has taken 2,000 volunteers some six months to plant just one hectare of seagrass—the equivalent of 1.5 international football pitches—at a cost of more than £200,000.
Niall McGrath and Joe Ralphs, two of the engineers involved, began working full-time last month at Robocean, the company that the team founded to turn the idea into reality.
Robocean won the 2022 Net Zero Challenge at Converge, the initiative launched in 2011 to help students, recent graduates, and staff from Scotland’s universities to create their own business.
Winning £30,000 from Converge has now allowed Robocean to match fund a £100,000 SMART:Scotland grant awarded by Scottish Enterprise.
Speaking on the firm’s robot as well as the funding for it, Niall McGrath, co-founder and chief executive at Robocean, said: “The key differentiator for our technology is that we’re taking a bottom-up approach to develop bespoke solutions for large-scale seagrass restoration, as opposed to adapting existing technologies designed for other purposes.
“Our aim is to create something which is truly versatile and scalable. This will make reinstating Scotland and the world’s seagrass meadows more affordable and equitable, not just for planting but for all aspects of the restoration process.
“The training and support we received from Converge – coupled with the grant we’ve now received from Scottish Enterprise – will allow us to develop our technology and prototype key innovative systems.
“Launching a business like Robocean isn’t the end-game – instead, it’s a way to make a difference to the world and we’re actively looking for partners and investors to join us on our journey.”
News of the latest funding comes as Converge today (1 February) opens applications to its 2024 programme.
More than £280,000 in funding and support is available to winners and runners-up across four challenges categories—Converge, Create Change, KickStart, and Net Zero—along with access to the advice, networking events, and training that make Converge a highly-regarded company creation initiative for all of Scotland’s universities.
Over the past 13 years, the initiative has supported more than 670 people to launch more than 420 companies, raising £360 million in follow-on funding along the way.
Companies formed by Converge alumni have an 80% survival rate after three years.
Dr Claudia Cavalluzzo, executive director of Converge, commented: “Converge is committed to empowering and supporting the next generation of diverse founders and innovators who are driven by purpose and passion to make a difference in the world.
“We take a collaborative, ecosystem approach – working closely with universities, research institutes, investors, corporate partners and other organisations to help these brave individuals turn their dreams into reality.
“By backing talented, mission-led founders and connecting them to the full range of Scotland’s entrepreneurial support system, we can have an even greater collective impact.
“Whether it’s a climate-focused business like Robocean or a company addressing other societal needs, our goal is to foster more inclusive innovation and harness Scotland’s spirit of invention to build a better future.”
Can extended reality (XR) technology—which includes virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality—transform education? The University of Glasgow has published a new whitepaper looking at its benefits and challenges.
Supported by Big Tech company Meta, which has made significant investments into XR in recent years, the whitepaper makes a series of recommendations to the XR technology industry, government, and the education sector in light of the advantages and obstacles.
The paper notes that XR “represents a significant watershed” in the progress made with audiovisual technology, with devices now modelled “on the way we naturally interact with the world.”
“Instead of reading about the distinguishing features of various dinosaurs, a user can don an XR headset and walk up to a virtual dinosaur as it’s grazing on Mesozoic grass and get an immediate experience of its size, shape and presence in the world,” it explained.
For the XR technology industry, the paper’s researchers advise the sector should build products that will allow for a growth of use. This includes a set of standardised, cost-effective tools and platforms allowing educators to be trained and to create content fit for purpose in the classroom.
It also encourages the education sector to bring forward processes that will help prepare teachers, curricula, and classrooms for XR technology, and for government to support research to help inform strategy and regulation.
A recent survey by XR Association (XRA) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) found that over two-thirds (67%) of educators hope that immersive technologies will be used regularly in schools, and that 77% believe in the power of extended reality to incite curiosity and engagement in the classroom.
Neil McDonnell, professor of philosophy and XR technology at the University of Glasgow and based at its Advanced Research Centre (ARC), said: “I believe that XR technology will transform what we teach and how we teach in ways we cannot yet fully comprehend.
“That is both exciting and daunting and our work on this project aims to prepare educators, technologists, and policymakers for the opportunities and the challenges that such change will bring.”
The research was supported by a gift from Meta’s Immersive Learning Fund. The firm’s global affairs president, Nick Clegg, said: “This whitepaper adds to a growing evidence base that demonstrates just how powerful metaverse technologies can be in education.
“What’s really encouraging to see is the optimism educators have about how these technologies can inspire students and improve learning.
“We will take the recommendations on board as we continue to build these tools, and we hope policymakers and those in the education sector will learn from this work too.”
When organisations implement rigid return to office (RTO) mandates, high-performers, millennials, and women are the three employee segments most likely to quit their job, according to new Gartner research.
The firm’s survey of over 2,000 knowledge workers measured the effect of mandated requirements on employee outcomes.
Among high-performing employees, their intent to stay was 16% lower with strict RTO mandates, which was double the rate of “average” employees. Among millennials and women, the intent to stay was 10% and 11% lower respectively.
“Mandated on-site requirements can carry very steep costs for talent attraction and retention,” said Caitlin Duffy, director in the Gartner HR practice.
“This is especially true for high-performers, women and millennials – three employee segments who greatly value flexibility.”
“Often these costs far outweigh the moderate benefits to employee engagement and effort.”
When it comes to high-performers, Gartner said they often react to RTO mandates as a signal that their organisation doesn’t trust them with the autonomy to make the best choices about how they do their work.
They feel that they have proven themselves and maintained high levels of performance throughout the pandemic and remote working.
Female employees reported that they prefer remote settings due to fewer encounters with microaggressions and biases, as compared to working in an office.
Gartner noted that when organisations mandate rigid in-office times and days, women disproportionately face greater schedule complications and significant monetary costs related to caregiving responsibilities.
The research firm’s data also showed that millennials chafe more at RTO mandates, as they have a better understanding of what environment supports their best work, yet are less able to customise their environments when forced to operate within rigid on-site requirements.
Further, it was found that millennials employees’ performance was lower at organisations with RTO mandates.
In the face of this, Gartner suggested firms should motivate employees to return to the office rather than mandate; consider policies that focus on-site attendance per year, not per week; enable employees to shape the RTO policy; and provide a clear reason behind requirements for working on-site.
A new law has come into effect in Scotland today (31 January), making it a crime to encourage or assist another person to self-harm.
The offence can be committed online, in correspondence or publications, as well as in-person. The law also applies whether an individual goes on to injure themselves or not. Anyone found guilty can face up to five years in prison.
It’s hoped the law will act as a deterrent to people deliberately encouraging others to self-harm and can create a safer online environment, particularly for people who may be in distress and are looking for help on the internet.
Maree Todd, the mental wellbeing minister, said: “We welcome this new offence which criminalises people who encourage or assist another person to serious self-harm. It will help to make the internet a safer place for everyone.
“We believe this new law aligns with our ambitious approach on self-harm, which is laid out in our dedicated Self-harm Strategy and Action Plan.
“It demonstrates our ambition to improve support for people who self-harm – a critical part of which is ensuring people are protected from harmful communications.”
Neil Mathers, the executive director of Samaritans Scotland, also commented: “Samaritans Scotland welcomes new legislation to take action against those who encourage or assist another person to engage in serious self-harm.
“It is hugely important to keep people safe online and protected from dangerous content and those wishing to cause harm.
“This legislation should only apply to those who encourage self-harm in a deliberate and malicious way, and aims to deter them from targeting vulnerable people.
“The internet can provide advice, helpful information and supportive networks for people seeking help about self-harm. It is crucially important that people can access this support, while being kept safe from dangerous content and those wishing to cause harm.”
The offence under the UK Government’s newly-introduced Online Safety Act was extended to Scotland through a legislative consent motion agreed in Scottish parliament in June last year.
The Self-harm Strategy and Action Plan was published jointly with COSLA, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, in November.
Next-generation socially assistive robots have been successfully tested in healthcare settings to assist patients, alleviate their anxiety, and relieve pressure on nursing staff as a part of a hospital trial.
The trial, co-conducted by researchers from the National Robotarium in Edinburgh, developed robots equipped with advanced artificial intelligence to enable natural conversations, understand patients’ needs, and assist hospital staff with routine tasks at the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris.
Early results show the robots were able to smoothly engage in social interactions like greeting patients, answering questions, and providing directions. Further, they were able to demonstrate an ability to comprehend multi-party conversations, following dialogue between several individuals simultaneously.
By undertaking simple but repetitive duties, the robots also reduced potential physical contact between clinicians and patients as part of the trial, with initial feedback suggesting the use of socially assistive robots may lower infection transmission risk, while boosting productivity of nurses and doctors.
Anxiety and uncertainty can often precede a hospital visit and it’s understood that this behaviour can be more pronounced in senior patients, with up to 20% of older adults suffering from the illness. It’s hoped that the availability of helpful and socially intelligent robots that can converse and answer initial screening questions whilst alleviating busy hospital staff could prove beneficial in clinical settings.
The feasibility of implementing the trial has been made possible by academics at the National Robotarium who have made advances in developing large language models (LLMs) that enable robots to be capable of natural and fluent conversations with groups of people.
The €8.4 million (£7.1m~) collaborative project involves researchers from the National Robotarium, Heriot-Watt University, the Czech Technical University, Bar Ilan University Israel, University of Trento Italy, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, PAL Robotics Spain, ERM Automatismes France, and was coordinated by Inria France.
The National Robotarium is part of the Data-Driven Innovation initiative, supported by £21 million from the UK Government and £1.4 million from the Scottish Government. The initiative aims to turn Edinburgh into the data capital of Europe and is part of the wider £1.5 billion Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region Deal.
Oliver Lemon is a professor of AI and academic co-lead at the National Robotarium. He said: “Today’s rapid advances in AI are truly inspiring and open up a world of possibilities for its positive impact on various sectors, including healthcare. One of the most significant contributions of robotics and AI is its ability to conserve resources and alleviate human workload, therefore providing valuable new tools for enhancing healthcare delivery.
“The prospect of robots seamlessly collaborating with hospital staff to enhance the patient experience is now closer to reality. Promising initial trials at Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris have demonstrated our robot’s ability to converse effectively with patients and their companions simultaneously.”
He also remarked that the project “marks a significant milestone in the development of interactive robotics, and we are proud of its achievements, while recognising the exciting challenges that lie ahead.”
Professor Anne-Sophie Rigaud, head of department at Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, said: “Our patients are increasingly interested in robotics and the evolution of hospital services, which they see as the logical evolution of our society.
“We believe that the ARI robot could in future become an essential element of patient care in hospitals, thanks to its capacity for social interaction and guidance.
“Older adults have also expressed that they’re pleased with the design of the robot and thought that it would be useful to provide information and companionship to patients with cognitive disorders.”
Gillian Fleming, a prominent figure in Scotland’s business investment landscape, has been appointed as the University of Stirling Management School’s latest entrepreneur in residence.
Gillian is chief executive officer and co-founder of Mint Ventures, the women-led angel investor group which is making angel investing more accessible to women.
As an entrepreneur in residence, Gillian joins three others in supporting students, alumni, and staff with practical advice and mentorship for their business ambitions. She also becomes a member of Stirling Management School’s International Business Advisory Board.
A saltire fellow, Gillian has been nurturing and advising successful science and technologystartups for more than 20 years, helping them build teams, develop strategy, and raise funds to grow.
Speaking on both her mission and her new appointment, Gillian said: “We need more gender diversity in equity investment to enable more women-led and diverse teams to have access to capital, particularly in underfunded sectors where women are more likely to start their businesses.
“Encouraging more women to consider entrepreneurship and investment as a career will help develop more sustainable companies.”
She added: “With an investment background and being immersed in the startup ecosystem, I’m excited to be bringing my perspectives and philosophies to Stirling Management School and honoured to be part of its excellent Entrepreneur in Residence programme.”
Professor Kevin Grant, dean of the University of Stirling Management School, also commented: “We are delighted to welcome Gillian as our latest entrepreneur in residence, a programme that goes from strength to strength.
“She brings unrivalled expertise to Stirling Management School, its staff and students, thanks to working so closely with business startups and the entrepreneur community in Scotland and beyond.”
The University of Stirling Management School has close ties to business and teaching, with research which impacts business and society.
It’s ranked second in Scotland and top 10 in the UK for Economics and first in Scotland and second in the UK for Marketing and Public Relations (The Guardian University Guide 2023); and in the top five in Scotland for Economics (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023).
The School is one of a select number of Scottish partners delivering the Help to Grow: Management course which helps to boost SME performance and growth.
The ‘Ways of Working’ report from Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) and law firm CMS indicates that the trend of there being no dominant model for hybrid working has continued, with firms now differing significantly in their approaches to suit their own business model.
Despite hybrid working becoming standard practice, and being offered by 96% of firms, what it actually looks like varies from organisation to organisation.
The research found that around two-fifths (41%) of respondents have a formal written policy, while three-fifths (59%) have an informal approach. Approximately two-thirds (64%) of respondents do not have set office days, with them instead being decided on a team/businesses basis.
The findings also showed that some firms are opting to be more office-centric, with qualitative responses showing that many believe offices play an important role in shaping culture and improving productivity.
Further, it was found that businesses are largely using a ‘carrot’ rather than a ‘stick’ to lure employees back into the office, with nearly three-quarters (70%) of respondents offering some form of incentive including free or subsidised meals and social events.
When it comes to recruitment and retention, 85% of respondents referenced their hybrid working policy during the recruitment process.
Speaking on hybrid working and the new research, Sandy Begbie, chief executive at Scottish Financial Enterprise, said: “There has been a lot of adjustment over the past few years to ensure that both employers and employees feel the benefits of hybrid working.
“While it’s clear we are still in a period of transition, it’s positive to see that businesses are becoming more assured in what successful hybrid models look like for them.
“There is no one size fits all and businesses are finding different solutions that reflect the diversity of people’s working preferences and requirements.”
Gillian MacLellan, partner in the CMS UK employment team, further commented: “Clients still consult us regularly on hybrid working, with the most common query relating to employees who are refusing to return to the office.
“It is clearly a difficult balance to get right and the fact the survey indicates there is no ‘norm‘ probably reflects that organisations are all trying to find the right balance.”
Aurum Biosciences, the Scottish biopharmaceutical company, has raised nearly £730,000 in the first tranche of a new funding round aimed at further developing its therapeutic and diagnostic technology.
The funding round, which is to be split across two tranches, has been supported by new and existing investors.
These include co-founder Dr Celestine Santosh, InnoScot Health, Scottish Enterprise, TRICAPITAL business angel syndicate, and a number of private investors.
A spinout of InnoScot Health, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and the University of Glasgow, Aurum is developing a novel drug for therapeutics and multiple diagnostics, in areas of unmet clinical need such as stroke, spinal cord injury, and inflammatory imaging.
The drug is a novel oxygen carrier, but is also being developed as a “19F” contrast agent for imaging with MRI.
The new funding will be used to advance the company’s “ABL-101” platform technology ahead of further planned investment and growth in 2024.
ABL-101 has the potential to offer advancements in the management of acute stroke patients, especially acute ischemic strokes (AIS) – a leading global cause of disability and death.
It also has the potential to reduce ischemic damage in acute spinal cord injury, improve treatment options in radiotherapy resistant tumours, and reduce secondary organ damage in cardiac arrest, among other uses.
Dr Santosh – a clinical consultant neuroradiologist with a special interest in strokes working at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, and now chief medical officer and chief scientific officer of Aurum – has made a significant personal investment.
He said: “I am immensely proud that Aurum Biosciences’ leading technology continues to develop so positively. I believe that my own participation in this round amply demonstrates my huge belief in its vast benefits and wide applications.
“My clinical background and knowledge of the great team in place at Aurum tells me all I need to know – that this is a company which offers unique know-how and has world-leading capabilities that will only go from strength to strength and will help to put Scotland on the map.
“It is a real homegrown success story that continues to take on a life of its own. I am in no doubt that an even brighter future awaits.”
David Brennan, CEO of Aurum, also commented: “We are delighted to complete this fresh round with our investment partners – a significant step up on the previous round.
“We believe that is testament to the vast potential of and significant clinical need for ABL-101 particularly in stroke treatment and diagnosis, and as we increasingly now set our sights on its applications for acute spinal cord injury trials following very positive scientific advice from MHRA.
“Advancing management of strokes remains our primary goal and commitment, with one in six people globally having a stroke in their lifetime, 5.8 million dying each year as a result, and disability increasing by 1% for every nine minutes of stroke.
“However, we are certain that spinal cord injury will also become an increasing focus as we further develop pipeline indications, providing hope for the many patients, carers, and healthcare professionals who live with the consequences of such devastating conditions.”
Last year, DIGIT reported on the news that Aurum had been recognised by the United Kingdom’s Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) for ABL-101 and awarded an Innovation Passport.
The Innovation Passport acts as a gateway to the accelerative pathway, streamlining innovative products to market, and helping to improve patient access to new and effective treatments.
The ILAP was awarded by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).
To qualify for the pathway, new medicines must offer significant benefits to patients with a life-threatening or seriously debilitating condition or meet a significant patient or public health need.
The UK Government has provided £33 million in funding to over 30 projects to develop green technologies for the country’s ports and ships.
The funding pot has been awarded to 33 projects across all 12 UK regions to deliver demonstrations, factory trials, and feasibility studies.
The government said that the initiatives position the UK as a leader in emerging clean maritime tech, helping to boost high-skilled sustainable jobs and coastal economies.
The funding comes from the fourth round of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC4), which focuses on developing clean maritime technologies including electric, hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and wind power.
It also follows three previous funding rounds, which allocated over £95 million to 105 projects and leveraged over £45 million in private investment.
In Scotland, the Orkney Islands Council, the University of Strathclyde, and Edinburgh-based wastewater treatment startup Waterwhelm were among the latest round’s winners.
Waterwhelm was awarded just under £130,000 to deliver a state-of-the-art demonstrator system at the Port of Leith for the production of hydrogen for shore power. The startup will use treated wastewater that’s ordinarily put into the sea to produce freshwater for hydrogen production.
Speaking on the new funding, and having visited some of the winning organisations today, maritime minister Lord Davies said: “Unlocking a sustainable maritime sector and the economic growth it provides relies on cutting-edge technology to propel it to the next level. The voyage to sustainability demands bold investments to not just deliver greener shipping but highly skilled jobs across the UK.
“Today, we witnessed a firsthand glimpse into the transformative solutions that can help shape the future landscape of the maritime industry and support jobs in coastal communities.”
The government also said that the support has fostered partnerships between government and the private sector, “paving the way for exciting innovations that will decarbonise the maritime industry.”
Lesley Robinson, the CEO of British Marine, the membership company for the UK’s maritime industry, commented: “This significant funding is just one way in which the government can help accelerate our industry’s journey to net zero emissions and mark a new era in maritime history.
“Many of our members are pioneering electric vessels and charging ports, in turn, contributing to environmental sustainability, job creation and the UK’s levelling-up agenda.
“We’re excited to witness this pivotal shift towards a cleaner, more prosperous maritime future.”
The announcement of the winners comes on the first-ever International Day of Clean Energy, declared by the United Nations to raise awareness about the clean energy transition and help prompt action.
People trying to fly in phones, weapons, and drugs via drones in England and Wales will face tough repercussions under new restrictions coming into force today (25 January).
The new law makes it an automatic offence to fly drones within 400 metres of prisons and young offender institutions. Prior to this, police could only act where there was evidence of contraband being smuggled.
Drone operators are to be fined up to £2,500, while those smuggling illicit items may face up to a decade behind bars.
The crackdown comes as figures reveal the number of drones sighted, intercepted, or captured within prison grounds has more than doubled between 2019 and 2021, with over 500 drones being seen or seized.
The new law follows a £100 million investment in increased prison security measures, which has seen 95 prisons equipped with new trace detection technology and 75 additional prisons equipped with X-ray body scanners.
Other measures include the deployment of more than 600 trained search dogs to help crack down on attempts to smuggle illicit contraband into prisons, and the recruitment of 160 additional counter-corruption personnel.
Speaking on the prison no fly zone restrictions, Edward Argar, the prisons and probation minister for the UKGovernment, said: “We are working harder than ever to prevent the smuggling of contraband into our prisons and this is the latest step to keep ahead of the tactics exploited by organised criminals.
“These new anti-drone measures – along with our advanced airport-style x-ray security and drug detection dogs – will crackdown on those illicit items that fuel violence behind bars.”
The legislation for the law was made in late October last year, with the previous prisons and probation minister, Damian Hinds MP, commenting at the time: “This is the latest step in the war we are winning to stop drugs, weapons and phones getting into our prisons.”
Edinburgh Napier University has announced Lynne Cadenhead—a serial entrepreneur, experienced tech sector leader, and chair of Women’s Enterprise Scotland—as its newest entrepreneur in residence.
A Napier alumna with a background in life sciences, professor Lynne Cadenhead has started and grown three successful businesses, and has more than 25 years of entrepreneurial, equity investment, and policy experience.
Lynne has drawn recognition for her work to support women into entrepreneurship through her post as chair of Women’s Enterprise Scotland, and as women’s advocate and investor relations director for Tricapital Angels Limited.
In her new role as entrepreneur in residence, Lynne will join The Royal Society’s entrepreneur in residence scheme, a part of the Science, Industry, and Translation programme. It aims to enhance knowledge and awareness in UK universities of cutting-edge industrial science, research, and innovation.
Lynne is set to be actively involved in fostering a more entrepreneurial environment for women across Edinburgh Napier, reflecting the university’s commitment to encouraging and supporting women in entrepreneurship.
Speaking on the appointment, Lynne said: “I am honoured to be taking up the role of entrepreneur in residence at Edinburgh Napier University.
“If we want to unlock Scotland’s economic potential, we need to champion the entrepreneurial spirit across academia and contribute to a culture of innovation.
“Drawing from my own journey, I am particularly excited about supporting and inspiring women in enterprise, as they face numerous additional barriers when it comes to starting and growing a business.
“This new role will allow me to actively contribute to the university’s commitment to fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial mindset for all.”
Nick Fannin, head of enterprise at Bright Red Triangle, the university’s enterprise hub, also commented: “We are thrilled to have Lynne Cadenhead join us as our latest entrepreneur in residence.
“Lynne’s incredible personal experience in building companies and her commitment to supporting the next generation of entrepreneurial women aligns perfectly with Edinburgh Napier’s mission to nurture and support the women in our university community, enabling them to have real impact in their academic careers, and to commercialise their research.
“We believe Lynne’s expertise will have a profound impact on our students, staff, and alumni as they embark on their entrepreneurial journeys.
“Lynne’s presence will be a tremendous asset to our community, and we are committed to bringing about positive change.”
A new system using artificial intelligence to accurately model how sound waves travel underwater could help reduce the impact of noise pollution on marine life.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow, alongside academics from the University of British Columbia in Canada, are behind the development of the technology.
The loud sounds created by manmade tech, including the propellers of cargo ships and the construction and operation of offshore wind farms, have been shown to have negative effects on a wide range of sea life.
For instance, the noise—which can reflect off the surface of the ocean, the seabed, and everything in between—can disrupt migration patterns or marine animals like dolphins and whales, and affect their ability to navigate by echolocation.
Accurately modelling the physics of the sound waves’ movements and interactions underwater is currently difficult without using a large amount of compute. Large-scale projects can take days of computing time to fully model the spread of noise through water.
The researchers investigated if deep neural networks could help tackle this challenge, and bring future systems closer to providing real-time feedback on the propagation of sound waves which could be used in the real world.
To do so, they built and tested their acoustic wave modelling system using neural network architecture, known as a convolutional recurrent autoencoder network, or “CRAN.”
The CRAN works by compressing complex modelling data into a more simplified form. An AI model known as a long short-term memory network then analyses the model based on what it has previously learned about underwater physics, creating predictions of how underwater sound waves spread over time.
According to the researchers, when the system was asked to predict how sound waves would behave in 15 new underwater scenarios that it hadn’t seen before, it was capable of accurately predicting wave propagation with less than 10% error.
Further, it was said that the system can provide results much faster than conventional modelling processes.
In the future, the system could be used to help industries such as shipping and renewables to make better-informed decisions about the effect of their activities on the undersea environment.
Dr Wrik Mallik, of the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering, is the corresponding author of the paper published on the research. He said: “These are really encouraging results, which clearly show the potential deep neural networks hold for predicting the complex physics of underwater ocean acoustic propagation.
“Waiting seconds instead of days to produce models of underwater acoustic scattering would be a significant breakthrough for this field of research, and this paper shows how we’ve taken one step closer to making that happen.
“Having real-time feedback on devices which could be used out on the ocean would allow much more effective planning to help mitigate the effects of noise pollution on marine animals.
“Although this early-stage study demonstrated the effectiveness of the CRAN on two-dimensional data, we’re confident that the technology can be scaled up to meet the challenge of dealing with fully 3D acoustic simulations.
“We’ve already begun work to further develop and refine the system, and we plan to test it in real-world situations in the months ahead.”
The team’s paper, Deep neural network for learning wave scattering and interference of underwater acoustics, is published in Physics of Fluids.
eBay, the San Jose-headquartered e-commerce company, has said that it’s to cut approximately 1,000 roles—an estimated 9% of full-time employees–in a letter sent to its workforce.
In addition to the 1,000 full-time jobs, the online marketplace will also reduce the number of contract workers it has over the coming months.
Jamie Iannone, the company’s chief executive, cited economic headwinds and “overall headcount and expenses” as the reasons behind the latest round of layoffs.
“Despite facing external pressures, like the challenging macroeconomic environment, we know we can be better with the factors we control,” wrote the CEO.
“While we are making progress against our strategy, our overall headcount and expenses have outpaced the growth of our business.
“To address this, we’re implementing organizational changes that align and consolidate certain teams to improve the end-to-end experience, and better meet the needs of our customers around the world.”
Iannone stated that employees affected by the layoffs would shortly be notified, followed by a consultation process.
“We have to say goodbye to people who have made so many important contributions to the eBay community and culture, and this isn’t easy,” he noted.
The layoffs are but the latest in a long line of post-COVID staff reductions from global tech companies, with many firms citing reasons including high inflation rates, changing consumer demand, and slower than expected growth.
In January alone, numerous notable firms have already announced that they’re looking to reduce the size of their workforce.
For instance, DIGIT reported earlier this week that video games company Riot is reducing headcount by 11%—equalling 530 jobs—due to unsustainable costs following years of expansion, according to the company’s chief executive, Dylan Jadeja.
Another firm in the video games space, Unity Software—creators of the Unity game engine which is used for lucrative games such as “Pokemon Go”—submitted a regulatory filing recently which stated it would cut around 25% of its staff, or about 1,800 jobs.
Just under a year ago, eBay laid off around 500 employees, around 4% of its total workforce.
University of Aberdeen researchers are leading a project that aims to create a new method of recycling critical elements from electronic devices, helping to breathe new life into old smartphone and vehicle batteries and reduce e-waste.
Academics at the university’s Department of Chemistry have received £140,000 from the AXA Research Fund for the two-year project, which seeks to develop a sustainable electrochemical recycling route by looking at the use of neoteric (green) solvents.
Combined with the use of a flow electrochemical cell that will be designed and engineered to extract the elements, the aim is to make the separation and recovery of rare and critical earth elements efficient, safer, and cleaner.
If successful, the project could have a significant impact in reducing electronic and electrical equipment waste. The world produces as much as 50 million tonnes of electronic and electrical waste a year, but only 20% of this is formally recycled, according to a UN report.
Leading the project is Dr Haytham Hussein, from the University of Aberdeen’s chemistry department. Speaking on the research and why it’s being undertaken, he said: “Critical and rare raw elements are essential in our modern society, powering industry, homes and our personal devices but this has resulted in the rapid and unsustainable growth in electrical and electronic equipment waste.
“Global accessibility to these vital resources poses a significant challenge due to their rapidly increasing demand and ever-decreasing supply, but the international use of critical resources is expected to continue surging.
“This means that it is essential to discover and develop efficient recovery methods of elements from waste to enable the transition to a sustainable circular economy.
“This will reduce waste and it could also reduce demand for these elements from countries where child labour is used in the mining industry.”
Dr Hussein further commented: “Our two-year project aims to develop a sustainable recycling route for elements recovery from batteries and electronic waste for further reuse, utilising tailored green solvents and an innovative experimental approach based on a flow electrochemical cell and electrically conductive synthetic diamond.
“If proven, it has the potential for commercialisation and the creation of a valuable, secondary raw stream for urban mining and recycling that could play a significant role in the sustainable economy.”
The Scotland and Northern Ireland team of the Business Growth Fund (BGF) has reported that it delivered five company exits and invested £33 million in the local growth economy last year.
Set up in 2011, BGF is a UK and Ireland growth capital investor, providing backing via capital and expertise as a minority partner. In 2023, and across the UK and Ireland as a whole, BGF backed 44 new businesses and invested £430 million.
The investor said that local funding activities last year have helped to support acquisitions, product development, strategies, as well as provide working capital for portfolio companies.
Scottish investments in 2023 have included: a £4.5 million investment in Stellar Omada, the Edinburgh-headquartered technology services company; a £2 million investment into STC INSISO, an Aberdeen-based software solutions company; and a £8m investment into Trojan Energy, another Aberdeen-headquartered company that’s developed and commercialised a ‘flat and flush’ EV charging system for on-street users.
Follow-on investments across its existing Scottish portfolio included a further £2 million investment in MRM Global (which rebranded to Hyble), a provider of marketingtechnology to the global drinks and hospitality sector.
BGF also announced five exits in Scotland and Northern Ireland during the year, at a total value of over £260 million. The exits included Kick ICT, the North Lanarkshire-based IT services provider, and STATS (UK) Ltd., the supplier of pressurised pipeline isolation, hot tapping, and plugging services to the petrochemical, gas, and oil industries.
The investment and exits came amid Scottish businesses reporting delays to growth projects because of funding challenges, with the cost of doing business being named as a key challenge.
Patrick Graham, BGF’s head of Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “I’m very happy with the performance the team has delivered this year, particularly given the economic backdrop.
“Over the last year, we’ve backed a diverse range of brilliant businesses with both new and follow-on funding packages. At the same time, we secured strong exits from five portfolio companies, delivering us a strong rate of return. The results of our 2023 activity demonstrate not only the success of BGF’s investment model but also the quality within our portfolio.
“In 2024, BGF will continue to help ambitious businesses realise their growth potential. We know that the general market outlook in Scotland, and indeed globally, continues to be challenging.
“However, despite the wider market picture, we are confident in our pipeline of deals because it is built on established relationships and a deep understanding of the local SME market which continues to show remarkable resilience despite what is thrown at it. The variety of success stories we have had in 2023 underlines this.”
Riot Games, the developer and publisher of popular video game titles such as “League of Legends,” “Valorant,” and “Teamfight Tactics,” has announced it will cut around 11% of its staff globally.
The Los Angeles-headquartered company’s decision to reduce headcount by 11%—equalling 530 jobs—is due to unsustainable costs following years of expansion, according to the company’s CEO, Dylan Jadeja.
The chief executive pointed to “expanding our global footprint, changing our operating model, bringing in new talent to match our ambitions, and ultimately doubling the size of Riot in just a few years” as the causes behind the unmanageable costs.
“Today, we’re a company without a sharp enough focus, and simply put, we have too many things underway,” he wrote in a letter to employees. “Some of the significant investments we’ve made aren’t paying off the way we expected them to. Our costs have grown to the point where they’re unsustainable.”
Jadeja stated that all employees—known as “Rioters”—would receive an email within an hour of the letting telling them whether their role would be impacted or not, and that a calendar invite would be sent to affected staff to discuss next steps.
“This isn’t the usual way we do things, but we wanted to optimize for letting people know as soon as possible, and that’s tough to do at our scale without using email,” he noted.
It was said that those impacted will receive a minimum of six months salary in severance pay, additional pay for health benefits, job placement services, and visa support, among other layoff benefits.
“I realize this is awful news to hear, and especially hard for those who will be leaving us. To all the Rioters who are being laid off, we are deeply sorry that it has come to this,” the CEO said.
In addition to the layoffs, the video game company will also sunset its “Riot Forge” label, a third-party publishing label of and for League of Legends-related games. It was launched in 2019, and has put out titles such as “Hextech Mayhem,” “The Mageseeker,” and “Bandle Tale.”
Riot Games is but one of the video game companies to have made sizable layoffs in recent months.
Around two weeks ago, Unity Software—the company behind the Unity game engine which is used for lucrative games such as “Pokemon Go,” “Subnautica,” and “Pillars of Eternity”—submitted a regulatory filing which stated it would cut around 25% of its staff, or about 1,800 jobs.
Unity decided to reduce its headcount to “position itself for long-term and profitable growth,” according to the filing.
Scottish businesses experienced a hike in both early-stage and more advanced financial distress in the last quarter of 2023, new research from Begbies Traynor, the business recovery company, has found.
According to the latest data, there was a 25.9% rise in levels of Scottish businesses seeing advanced or “critical” distress in Q4 last year when compared to the previous quarter. Further, there was a 9.1% increase compared with the same period in 2022, with this type of severe distress affecting over 2,240 businesses in Scotland.
The less advanced “significant” distress (which refers to businesses showing deterioration in key financial indicators and ratios, including those measuring working capital, retained profits, net worth, and more) also experienced an uplift in Scotland of 14.2% quarter-on-quarter, and a rise of 5.9% year-on-year. More than 26,000 Scottish businesses suffered from significant distress in Q4 2023.
The picture across the UK however reflected the trends in Scotland. At the UK-level, there was a 25.9% uplift in critical distress in the last quarter of 2023 compared with the third quarter, with almost 47,500 businesses affected.
Instances of less advanced “significant” distress across the UK also increased by 12.9% quarter-on-quarter, and by 5.6% year-on-year, representing a total of 539,900 businesses.
Speaking on the firm’s latest research, managing partner for Begbies Traynor in Scotland, Ken Pattullo, said: “It is concerning to see early and advanced distress in Scotland and, indeed, across the whole of the UK, continuing to climb. With no respite from high interest rates and rising costs, both businesses and consumers are struggling.
“Given the UK’s performance in recent years and with further ‘stagflation’ predicted, a technical recession remains a distinct possibility in the second half of 2024.
“This, together with a climate of global geo-political uncertainty, makes it more important than ever that businesses proceed with caution and seek advice from insolvency professionals at the first signs of trouble.”
Professor Cristian Bonato, co-lead of Heriot-Watt’s Quantum Photonics Laboratory, has worked with colleagues across both Heriot-Watt and Europe on what’s been cited as a new breakthrough.
At present, quantum networks rely on expensive lasers and additional equipment to make single atoms ‘talk’ to each other using light—a crucial requirement for quantum communication to work, and one which ensures all communication remains secure.
Bonato and the team have developed a semiconductor system with single atoms that automatically all emit light at the same frequency, removing the need for additional scientific and technological equipment, as well as reducing significant costs.
Professor Cristian Bonato explained: “Semiconductors are very appealing for quantum communications. They use chips similar to those we find in mobile phones and computers, which means we already have the manufacturing capability in place.
“Small-scale variations in the semiconductor mean the atoms all emit light at slightly different frequencies.
“This is a big issue for quantum communication since it means the atoms cannot talk to each other—it’s like having your radio receiver tuned at a different frequency than the transmitter: no signal reception is possible.
“Until now, this problem has been solved by using extra lasers and complex frequency-conversion equipment, which is very expensive and makes quantum a less attractive proposition.”
Bonato and the researchers decided to add vanadium atoms to the semiconductor. Vanadium is mostly used to make extremely strong steel alloys, for use in tools or armour plating.
They chose to experiment with vanadium because it emits light at a frequency compatible with standard telecommunication fibre networks. This removes the need for new fibre to be laid down, which could be a major expense for any organisation looking to move to quantum networking.
The scientists implanted single vanadium atoms into silicon carbide, a semiconductor comprising a lattice of silicon and carbon atoms.
As Bonato explained: “Each vanadium atom acts like a tiny antenna, which emits light at a given frequency.
“This antenna can perturb when heavier atoms are sitting nearby. For example, in nature, some silicon atoms are heavier than normal, as they host an additional neutron.
“A heavier atom nearby compresses the antenna, making it emit light at a slightly different frequency. We solved this problem by growing our semiconductor using identical silicon and carbon atoms.”
Bonato says the finding heralds a breakthrough in quantum communications.
“We now have a network of single atoms all operating at exactly the same optical frequency, in the telecommunication range,” Bonato continued. “Therefore these atoms can now talk to each other and transmit quantum information.
“Using silicon carbide was intentional. It’s widely used in the electric vehicle industry, so there are already standard manufacturing processes and knowledge of the material in place – that’s a huge saving on investment, compared to using a novel material.
“Data is the new currency and we need quantum networks to keep it secure. Our breakthrough will help accelerate the adoption of quantum networks and increase the security of our communications.”
Bonato worked with colleagues at Heriot-Watt University and collaborators in Germany, Austria and Sweden on the research, which was funded by the European Commission and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The findings of the research has been reported in Nature Communications.
The UK’s first firing of a high-power laser weapon against aerial targets has been achieved in a trial in the Hebrides, the UK Government has said.
The firing of the beam was made possible due to “DragonFire,” a laser-directed energy weapon system which is the result of a £100 million joint investment by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and industry partners.
The high-power laser beams that are emitted can hit targets at the speed of light and over long ranges, cutting through them and leading to structural failure—or more, if a warhead is targeted.
According to the government, the cost of operating the laser is typically less than £10 per shot, and has the potential to be a long-term, lower-cost alternative to certain tasks carried out by missiles.
This latest trial follows recent tests of DragonFire’s viability and performance at Porton Down in England.
The MOD recently announced its intention to fund a multi-million-pound programme to transition the technology from the research environment to the battlefield.
Both the Army and Royal Navy are considering using the laser beam tech as part of their future air defence capabilities.
Commenting on the trial, defence secretary Grant Shapp said: “This type of cutting-edge weaponry has the potential to revolutionise the battlespace by reducing the reliance on expensive ammunition, while also lowering the risk of collateral damage.
“Investments with industry partners in advanced technologies like DragonFire are crucial in a highly contested world, helping us maintain the battle-winning edge and keep the nation safe.”
Dr Paul Hollinshead, Dstl’s chief executive, also remarked: “These trials have seen us take a huge step forward in realising the potential opportunities and understanding the threats posed by directed energy weapons.
“With our decades of knowledge, skills, and operational experience, Dstl’s expertise is critical to helping the armed forces prepare for the future.”
Shimon Fhima, director of strategic programmes for the MOD, further added: “The DragonFire trials at the Hebrides demonstrated that our world-leading technology can track and engage high-end effects at range.
“In a world of evolving threats we know that our focus must be on getting capability to the warfighter and we will look to accelerate this next phase of activity.”
The government said that UK defence is continuing to invest in the “game-changing” technology, and is advancing the plans which will ultimately bring it into service.
The CSSF, which was launched in April 2015 and is led by the Cabinet Office, is a pool of money for tackling conflict and instability overseas.
According to the recently published 2022 to 2023 CSSF Annual Report, CSSF spending on cybersecurity programmes more than doubled last year, with projects being delivered in locations such as Ukraine, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific.
Around £25.5 million was spent on the Global Cyber Programme, which aids the cybercrime fighting capabilities of Commonwealth countries, as well as the Africa Joint Operations Against Cyber Crime, which helps to protect African countries from cyber-attacks and crime, among other cyber defence schemes.
In total, Ukraine was the biggest single-state recipient of CSSF-funded Official Development Assistance, receiving £41 million — an increase from approximately £23.5 million in the 2021-22 financial year.
Through the CSSF, the UK established its Ukraine Cyber Programme, providing £7.3 million from the beginning of the invasion to March 2022. Following the Integrated Review Refresh in 2023, where the prime minister announced that the CSSF would turn into the Integrated Security Fund (ISF) from April this year, the programme’s funding is to increase by up to £25 million, and with £16 million in investment from the UK.
“Ukraine has been, and remains, a key priority for the government and the Fund,” wrote Baroness Neville-Rolfe in the ministerial foreword of the Annual Report. “It has bolstered Ukraine’s resilience to Russia’s cyber-attacks at the start of Russia’s illegal invasion.”
“It has also improved cybersecurity capability in Georgia, Iraq, the Indo-Pacific, the Commonwealth and Africa, and worked with India to strengthen partners’ ability to counter ransomware,” she continued.
“The CSSF has played a key role in strengthening international partners’ cybersecurity against increasingly complex threats.”
Cybersecurity aside, the Annual Report also revealed that significant spending went into projects in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which accounted for around 14% (around £120 million) of CSSF funding, while projects in Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for almost 12% (roughly £100m) of investment. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the CSSF’s investment has “tackled the threat of violent extremists by working counter-terror organisations.”
The CSSF also manages peacekeeping operations and deployments, managing the Rapid Response Mechanism — a lever to provide emergency resources in crisis situations. Peacekeeping efforts accounted for more than a third (36%) of CSSF spending (around £300m).
The Cabinet Office-led CSSF brings together several UK Government departments, including the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Home Office and Ministry of Defence. The FCDO was the single biggest spender of CSSF funding in the 2022 to 2023 financial year, accounting for 81.7% of total spend (£678m).
The centres work with Scotland’s higher education institutions, such as colleges, universities, and research institutes, with the aim of spurring innovation in businesses, as well as the public and third sectors.
The Scottish Government said that the yearly funding “will support the Innovation Centres to strengthen relationships with colleges and universities” and “lead to greater impact for Scotland.”
The funding announcement was made by first minister Humza Yousaf at the opening of the National Retrofit Centre for Scotland at Built Environment Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) in Hamilton.
BE-ST aims to improve Scotland’s construction industry through the use of technologies such as drones, robotics, and exo skeletons, while the retrofit centre wants to help the retrofitting of buildings in Scotland via new technologies, materials, and processes.
Speaking on the funding, the first minister said: “Innovation and collaboration are at the heart of our work to grow our economy and that is why I am delighted to announce funding of up to £8m per year for the SFC’s new investment plan for the Innovation Centres.
“This is a long-term commitment that will deliver greater stability and allow them to sustain and deepen their impact.
“The centres allow businesses and organisations to innovate by working with the best from academia to develop new products and processes. This will drive positive societal impact and economic prosperity across the country.”
While the aim of the yearly funding is to help drive innovation and economic prosperity, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce’s latest survey, published today, has indicated that Scotland’s economy is stuck in a persistent low growth cycle.
“Persistently high inflation, higher borrowing costs, frozen investment and ongoing global uncertainty are placing businesses under significant pressure,” said Stephen Leckie, president of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
Flowcopter, a drone technology manufacturer, has received almost £1 million from Scottish Enterprise to support the development of a new hybrid, heavy-lift, unmanned aircraft that can rival—and operate on 30% less fuel than—helicopters.
The Scots firm designs and manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and recently expanded into larger premises in Loanhead, Midlothian.
It’s set to use the £950,000 from Scottish Enterprise to develop an industrial heavy-lift drone capable of carrying up to 100kgs of goods to target industries including retail, renewables, agriculture, emergency rescue, and humanitarian aid.
The Flowcopter drone, called “FC100,” is cited as the first of its kind, using a new type of hydraulic power take-off which enables it to lift a heavy payload and fly for hours at a time. It also has the potential to reduce risks to aircrew in conflict or disaster zones by moving cargo to remote or difficult to access areas.
The technology could also be used for offshore wind operations and maintenance, remote logistics, crop dusting, and wildfire fighting.
The grant complements a total investment in the company of £1.9 million, and has supported the creation of at least seven new jobs, bringing the team to 17.
Flowcopter was founded in 2019 as a spinout from Artemis Intelligent Power, prior to acquisition by Danfoss. Peter McCurry, Dr. Uwe Stein, Marek Szupryczynski, and Dr. Niall Caldwell set up the company after identifying the potential that digital hydraulics offered for aerospace applications.
Speaking on the new funding, Peter McCurry, the managing director of Flowcopter, said: “The ongoing support we’ve had from Scottish Enterprise is fantastic and will enable us to develop our drone products further and access markets such as the offshore wind supply chain.
“We are using our proven, disruptive transmission technology to develop a completely new type of drone that is not available anywhere in the aerospace market. It is already generating significant interest from aerospace companies looking to decarbonise their operations.
“As we commercialise our technology and expand the team from our new base we will really see the business take off.”
Wellbeing economy secretary Neil Gray visited the Flowcopter site alongside Jane Martin, managing director of innovation and investment at Scottish Enterprise, to see the drone.
Gray himself remarked: “Flowcopter embodies the Scottish Government’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.
“This technology will drive improvements in Scotland’s economy and progress our vision to become one of the most innovative small nations in the world as set out in our National Innovation Strategy.”
Martin also added: “Scottish Enterprise has provided financial support and tailored growth advice to Flowcopter and the company is set to scale new heights with its exciting plans.
“Flowcopter is an innovative and future focused business with ambitions to scale, exactly the kind of company who will help transform Scotland’s economy by delivering growth and high value jobs.
“Scottish Enterprise aims to build on its track record and boost business innovation to unlock thousands of new jobs and billions of pounds worth of global growth opportunities for Scottish companies.”
Innovative technology to help women deal with menopause symptoms and satellite monitoring to limit the spread of disease in trees are just two of the solutions which have been selected for the accelerator stage of CivTech round 9, a Scottish Government-funded programme.
A total of 13 companies have made it through to the final stage of the CivTech accelerator, responding to a range of environmental, healthcare, economic, and cyber-crime challenges facing the public sector.
The winning companies will spend the next few months working closely with their challenge sponsors to develop solutions with a view to create a minimum viable product (MVP).
CivTech round 9 has a total of up to £7.48 million of investment from the Scottish Government and, at the end of process, the businesses will hope to win contracts ranging in value from several hundred thousands pounds to £1.3 million.
CivTech is the ‘world’s first government-run accelerator for digital public services’, and previous challenges have seen the development of numerous innovative solutions, including a virtual reality programme to familise people with the experience of giving evidence in court; an app to make it easier for people in tenement buildings to organise and pay for repairs; and AI and voice recognition technology to help people connect more simply and quickly with their local Citizens Advice bureau, among others.
Round 9’s challenges, winners, and sponsors are as follows:
Challenge 9.1
Challenge: How can technology help us rapidly and accurately gather and analyse stress, pests and disease data in trees and wild plants to aid early detection at national levels? Sponsored by: Scottish Forestry, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. Challenge Winners: 2Excel Aviation and AAC Clyde: aerospace technologies to deliver early warning on stress, pests and disease in trees and wild plants across the country.
Challenge 9.2
Challenge: How can technology help empower women to better understand menopause and access the right support for their individual needs at the right time? Sponsored by: Scottish Government’s Chief Scientists Office. Winners: Adora Digital Health, Lumino, and Cohesion: empowering women to better understand menopause and access the right support for their individual needs.
Challenge 9.3
Challenge: How can we help Wildlife Rangers identify the exact location of every animal larger than 5 kilograms in a specified area in real time, to improve forest management and ecological restoration? Sponsored by: Forestry and Land Scotland. Winners: 2Excel Aviation and BH Wildlife Consultancy: tracking the exact location of deer in real time identification to improve forest management and ecological restoration.
Challenge 9.4
Challenge did not progress.
Challenge 9.5
Challenge: How can we use technology to create the most efficient and secure supply chain for public sector procurements? Sponsored by: Scottish Government Directorate for Digital, Cyber Security Unit and Digital Transformation Division. Winner: AR-SQ Limited: creating the most efficient and secure supply chains for public sector procurements.
Challenge 9.6
Challenge: How can technology help Scotland’s public sector protect against ransomware and other forms of cyber-crime, and should they occur, mitigate, and recover from their effects, including data loss? Sponsored by: Scottish Government Directorate for Safer Communities: Defence, Security and Cyber Resilience Division. Winners: Lupovis and Swordbreaker: protecting against, and mitigating and recovering from ransomware and cyber-crime attacks.
Challenge 9.7
Challenge: How can technology help increase access to public services and products by making use of the trusted relationships people already have? Sponsored by: Scottish Government Directorate for Digital, Cloud and Digital Services Division. Winner: Interrobang: developing approaches to make access to public services and products easier for every person in Scotland.
Challenge 9.8
Challenge: How can technology offer everyone an individualised communications channel that is endlessly adaptable, never goes out of date and interacts with public sector services securely and in a timely way? Sponsored by: Scottish Government Directorate for Digital, Cloud and Digital Services Division. Winner: Netcompany: building a secure communications channel so every individual can interact with public sector services in the best way possible.
Challenge 9.9
Challenge: How can technology and data create a streamlined experience to help people and businesses across Scotland get access to training, guidance, support, and approval for the licences they need, starting with tobacco products? Sponsored by: Scottish Government Directorate for Population Health and Scottish Government Directorate for Safer Communities. Winner: Zudu: making licence training, guidance, support, and approval as fast, secure and effective as possible.
Speaking on CivTech and round 9’s winning companies, innovation minister Richard Lochhead said: “Solutions being developed through the latest CivTech accelerator promise to have a positive and meaningful impact on Scotland’s society and people. Using the very latest technology, including artificial intelligence, we are tackling real world challenges to help build a stronger and fairer economy.
“Our investment in the CivTech programme is creating tangible and accessible solutions. This shows the tech sector’s appetite to use advances in areas such as AI, machine learning, satellite, and drone technology to make people’s lives easier and better.
“Our focus is on creating opportunities for a highly productive, competitive economy, providing new jobs, embedding innovation and boosting skills.”
An international prize worth £1.2 million has been launched in a bid to find innovative technologies capable of purifying water buried beneath the moon’s lunar surface.
The new Aqualunar Challenge, in collaboration with the UK Space Agency, Challenge Works, the Canadian Space Agency, and Impact Canada, will reward both UK- and Canadian-led startups with seed funding to develop such technologies—which could also have benefits here on Earth.
Research conducted to mark the launch of the new prize found that just over half (51%) of people in the UK believe that technologies designed for the moon should prioritise sustainability, with 86% saying they’d like to see lunar water purification tech be adapted for use on Earth.
Entries to the newly-announced prize should help solve the challenge of removing contaminants and purifying water found on the moon’s surface in an efficient, reliable way.
The UK-led teams with the ten most-promising ideas will each receive £30k in seed funding in June this year, helping them to develop their ideas.
In March 2025, three teams will then be named as winner and runners up, sharing an additional £300k to take their solutions to the next level.
Successful Canadian-led teams will receive a similar amount, provided by the Canadian partners.
Commenting on the new prize, the minister for space at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Andrew Griffith, said: “The UK has always been the home of great ideas and by backing UK start-ups to develop innovative technologies, long-term missions on the Moon may be possible.
“The Aqualunar Challenge demonstrates our commitment to collaborating on space innovation, unlocking commercial opportunities, supporting exploration of the Moon and building on our important relationship with Canada.”
The UK Space Agency’s CEO, Paul Bate, also commented: “The Aqualunar Challenge is rewarding the development of technologies that will help make this a reality by purifying the ice that is locked inside the Moon’s soil.
“While the challenge is focused on developing these technologies for the harsh environment of the Moon, they could also have important uses here on Earth.”
Holly Jamieson, executive director at Challenge Works—which is delivering the prize in the UK—further added: “To survive on the Moon, astronauts will need water to drink and to grow food. Water molecules – H2O – can also be split to produce oxygen to make breathable air and hydrogen for fuel. For a long-term lunar base to be viable we will need alternatives to sending deliveries of water, food, air and fuel in rockets from Earth.
“The Aqualunar Challenge is calling on innovators, start-ups, scientists, academics, engineers and problem solvers to submit their ideas – whether they have worked in the space sector previously or not.”
According to Gartner, the technological research and consulting firm, worldwide IT spending is expected to total $5 trillion (£3.9t~) in 2024—an increase of 6.8% from 2023.
However, this is down from the previous quarter’s forecast of 8% growth, and while generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) had significant hype in 2023, it will not significantly change the growth of IT spending in the near-term.
“While GenAI will change everything, it won’t impact IT spending significantly, similar to IoT, blockchain, and other big trends we have experienced,” said John-David Lovelock, VP analyst at Gartner.
“2024 will be the year when organisations actually invest in planning for how to use GenAI, however IT spending will be driven by more traditional forces, such as profitability, labour, and dragged down by a continued wave of change fatigue.”
In particular, IT services is anticipated to see continued growth this year, becoming the largest segment of IT spending for the first time.
Spending on IT services is expected to grow 8.7% in 2024, reaching $1.5 trillion (£1.1t~). Gartner said this is largely due to enterprises investing in organisational efficiency and optimisation projects.
Following—and just behind IT services spending—is communications services, which is predicted to have $1.4 trillion (£1.1t~) spent on it in 2024. After communications services comes spending on devices $1t (£787b~), software $732b (£576b~), and data centre systems $261b (£205b~).
As Lovelock mentioned, it’s expected that change fatigue—which happens when there’s too much organisational change—will continue to affect spending growth rates, just as it did last year. The overall IT spending growth rate for 2023 was 3.3%, only a 0.3% increase from 2022.
Gartner says that change fatigue could manifest as change resistance in 2024, with CIOs hesitating to sign new contracts, commit to long-term initiatives or take on new technology partners.
For the new initiatives that do get launched, the research firm suggested that CIOs will require higher levels of risk mitigation and greater certainty of outcomes during this period of economic unpredictability.
Announced by the First Minister today (17th January), the commitment—whose sum hasn’t been disclosed—will enable the innovation centre to continue the development of a greener economy and support Scotland’s transition to net zero.
Industrial biotechnology explores the creation of more sustainable materials, consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals by using bio-based alternatives to petrochemicals.
IBioIC delivers support for industrial research and development, early-stage entrepreneurship—including university spinouts and startups—and helps develop a skilled workforce for the green transition.
The innovation centre is a key driver of Scotland’s National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology, which sets out a target of £1.2 billion in associated turnover and 4,000 direct employees by 2025.
In the decade since IBioIC was founded, it has supported over 260 companies through projects valued at £6.8 million, which has in turn generated £35 million in further investment from other sources.
IBioIC has also delivered skills programmes valued at £25 million, supporting more than 467 students and connecting universities and colleges with industry partners.
Speaking on the funding, Mark Bustard, CEO of IBioIC, said: “The renewed commitment from SFC secures the long-term future of IBioIC and allows us to move into a new phase of supporting the acceleration of Scotland’s bioeconomy.
“Industrial biotechnology has been recognised as a key driver of sustainable, economic impact and high-value, green jobs aligned to Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation and Scottish Enterprise’s focus on economic transformation.
“Over the last 10 years, we have played an important role in developing the biotechnology ecosystem through our projects and membership initiatives.
“We now have our sights set on generating further impact and ramping up our efforts to connect the world-leading powerhouse of Scotland’s universities and colleges with industry, alongside activities that will fuel the development of further early-stage companies and secure inward investment into this vibrant bioeconomy cluster.”
The chief executive of the Scottish Funding Council, Karen Watt, also commented: “Today’s announcement builds on a decade of astute investment that has produced significant dividends in terms of new products, new processes and new jobs. It has also created valuable relationships between universities, colleges and industry.
“We are delighted to be continuing to support the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre to bring Scottish biotechnology processes and products to the global market and create future prosperity.”
One Singaporean company and four businesses based in England will collaborate with Scottish universities on new projects following funding from the Inward Investment Catalyst Fund.
The Catalyst Fund was launched by the Scottish Government and Interface, the Edinburgh-headquartered organisation supporting innovation and knowledge exchange, to support businesses not yet located in Scotland to work with Scottish academic institutions.
From advancements in hydrogen energytechnology to a remote robotic training system, the projects in this latest funding round help support a net-zero, health, and wellbeing economy.
The five funded projects, businesses, and Scots universities include:
Extend Robotics (England) and Heriot-Watt University. Awarded £9,559 to study the impact of a remote robotic training system used by non-technical operators in various industry settings.
Green Flow Energy (England) and Glasgow Caledonian University. Granted £9,894 for a feasibility study into developing technology that captures kinetic energy through airflow created by electric buses to increase its operating range.
Simul Software Ltd (England) and University of St Andrews. Given £10,000 to further develop their Teleport protocol for apps using extended reality in the cloud by testing the protocol in commercial gaming systems and the heritage sector.
SunGreenH2 (Singapore) and Heriot-Watt University. Provided £10,000 to validate their solar photovoltaics (PV) integrated electrolyser performance in green hydrogen generation, accounting for seasonal differences.
Okoform (England) and University of Strathclyde. Awarded £9,759.60 to model the effect of their heated desks on energy usage and office air temperature through an advanced thermal modelling framework across various scenarios.
Speaking on the fund and this latest round of investment, Richard Lochhead, minister for small business, innovation, tourism, and trade, said: “The Inward Investment Catalyst Fund is not only paving the way for great collaboration between prospective investors and our highly esteemed universities and academia, but also helping deliver on our ambition for Scotland to be an increasingly attractive location for inward investment.
“The early impacts of the fund have been extremely positive and I am pleased to see another successful round of applications set to support more exciting projects. Through the delivery of the Inward Investment Plan, the Scottish Government will continue to help ensure we make the most of our competitive advantages and strengths to maintain our position as a leading destination for inward investment.”
Howell Davies, Interface’s head of strategic programmes and funding, also commented, saying: “I am delighted to see another round of strong applications which has yielded five innovative projects marrying ambitious companies who value Scotland as a place of opportunity with the excellent academic expertise and facilities we have here.”
In a new blog post, arguably the world’s most prominent AI company has shed light on its new and continued efforts to thwart election misinformation and disinformation via generative artificial intelligence.
One of the latest key areas the firm is exploring is image provenance, thereby helping the general public to know whether an image has been created by or doctored with AI, or if it’s legitimate.
OpenAI has been experimenting with a provenance classifier—a tool that can detect images generated by DALL·E, its AI text-to-image product. According to the company, internal testing of the tool “has shown promising early results,” even in instances where images have been further modified.
The firm also said that, early this year, it will implement DALL·E 3 with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity’s digital credentials, which encode details about where the image originated from via cryptography.
In terms of user limitations, subscribers of OpenAI’s tools aren’t allowed to create chatbots—like its new GPTs—that pretend to be real people or institutions like local government. Nor are they allowing users to build applications for political campaigning and lobbying, or applications that would deter people from electoral participation.
Meanwhile, ChatGPT itself will direct people asking US election-related questions, such as where they’re able to vote, to CanIVote.org—a non-partisan website created by state election officials that informs voters how and where they can register their votes.
“We’ll have more to share in the coming months,” the company wrote after sharing these details. “We look forward to continuing to work with and learn from partners to anticipate and prevent potential abuse of our tools in the lead up to this year’s global elections.”
Despite OpenAI’s work on preventing election abuse, that’s not to say other AI tools—such as models that’ve been specifically created by bad actors for nefarious purposes—won’t be utilised in lieu.
The exploitation of AI for negative political purposes has emerged as a major, global concern, which the World Economic Forum highlighted last week. Through a poll of experts, the WEF found that the world’s largest short-term risk is AI-driven misinformation and disinformation.
In its following report, the NGO echoed fears that artificial intelligence in the hands of bad actors can be used to drive false narratives, incite conflict, and help foster climate denial.
The large amounts of energy needed to power the University of Edinburgh’s Advanced Computing Facility (ACF) can potentially be recycled to heat at least 5,000 households in Scotland’s capital.
The facility, home to the national supercomputer and used for research such as national climate modelling and healthdata modelling, currently releases up to 70 gigawatt hours (GWh)—with each GWh equivalent to 1 billion watts—of excess heat per year.
This number is projected to rise to 272 GWh once the UK Government’s recently announced next-generation Exascale supercomputer is installed at the university.
The £2.6 million feasibility study will examine how the water in old mine workings near the computing facility could be harnessed to heat people’s homes.
The process of cooling the supercomputers would be augmented to transfer the captured heat into the mine water—up to a maximum temperature of 40°C—which would then be transported by natural ground water flow in the mines, and made available to warm people’s homes via heat pump technology.
If successful, the study has the potential to provide a global blueprint for converting abandoned flooded coal, shale, and mineral mine networks into underground heat storage.
With a quarter of UK homes sitting above former mines, potentially seven million households could have their heating needs met this way, according to the researchers.
Known as the Edinburgh Geobattery project—and led by Edinburgh-based geothermal company TownRock Energy—it’s being spearheaded by industry and academic partners from Scotland, the US, and Ireland.
The University of Edinburgh is the lead research partner on the project and is providing £500K of funding as part of its own net zero objectives.
Meanwhile, Scottish Enterprise has awarded a £1 million grant to the project through a joint call launched by the Horizon 2020-funded Smart Energy Systems (JPP SES) and Geothermica partnerships, to develop innovative heat and cooling solutions.
A further $1 million from the US Department of Energy will fund researchers from the Idaho National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
University College Dublin, whose researchers are funded by Geothermica as well as the Geological Survey Ireland and the University of Strathclyde, are also project partners.
Edinburgh Innovations, the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, will help make the research findings an investable proposition and support further funding applications.
Professor Christopher McDermott from the University of Edinburgh, who’s the lead academic on the project, commented: “This project opens up the potential for extracting heat stored in mine water more broadly. Most disused coalmines are flooded with water, making them ideal heat sources for heat pumps.
“With more than 800,000 households in Scotland in fuel poverty, bringing energy costs down in a sustainable way is critical, and using waste heat could be a game-changer.”
David Townsend, founder of TownRock Energy, said: “We are pleased to be leading this multi-national research consortium, benefitting from world- leading academic expertise.
“Capturing, storing and re-using waste heat is critically important to reaching net zero, and here we are learning and testing how best to do this in the ground, in legacy coal mine infrastructure.”
Suzanne Sosna, director of Energy Transition at Scottish Enterprise, also commented: “This is a remarkable, collaborative project for Scottish Enterprise to support alongside international and Scottish partners from government, academia, and industry.
“I’ll watch with keen interest how gigabytes can turn into clean heat as the Edinburgh Geothermal project progresses. This initiative also highlights the energy transition market opportunities available for Scotland as we strive for net zero.”
Image credit: Keith Hunter, via Scottish Enterprise
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a series of public consultations on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), looking at how aspects of data protection law should apply to the technology’s development and use.
Generative AI models are being widely used by businesses and people to create new content, from text, to images, to code. The first consultation examines when it is lawful to train generative AI models, which typically require massive datasets, on personal data scraped from the web.
This first consultation is open until 1 March 2024, with stakeholders who have an interest in generative AI—including developers and users of GenAI, legal advisors and consultants working in this area, as well as civil society groups and other public bodies—encouraged to respond to help inform the regulator’s position.
Future consultations, which will examine other related areas such as the accuracy of generative AI outputs, will be launched throughout the first half of 2024.
As the UK’s data protection and information rights regulator, the ICO can take action to address and change the behaviour of organisations and individuals that collect, use, and keep personal information—including criminal prosecution, non-criminal enforcement, and audit.
Speaking on GenAI and the consultations, Stephen Almond, executive director for regulatory risk at the ICO, said: “The impact of generative AI can be transformative for society if it’s developed and deployed responsibly.
“This call for views will help the ICO provide industry with certainty regarding its obligations and safeguard people’s information rights and freedoms.”
Following the surge in the interest and usage of generative AI since November 2023, when artificial intelligence company OpenAI unveilled ChatGPT to the public, artificial intelligence has become a more prominent focus for the data protection regulator.
With these consultations, it said that it seeks to move fast to address risks but also enable businesses and the public to benefit from GenAI.
Despite people spending nearly a quarter of their day online, SJP’s research found that people’s digital life is often overlooked when thinking about legacy planning in the event of something like death or incapacitation.
The reasons why Scots haven’t shared details of their financial accounts include not knowing they needed to brief someone (39%), not getting round to it yet (15%), not wanting to share this information (14%), and not knowing where to start (9%).
Somewhat positively, robust digital hygiene was also a reason why Scots haven’t shared details with anyone else. Slightly over one in ten (11%) change their passwords so regularly that they say it’s too much work to keep legacy plans updated.
Not so positive is the fact that a significant number mentally keep track of their passwords, and as such have no digital or physical record of them. Four in ten (40%) people in Scotland rely purely on memory to keep track of online passwords.
For many who do share details of their financial accounts with a trusted person, it’s been personal experiences that have prompted them into doing so. Nearly one in ten (8%) have shared after experiencing a personal loss, while 6% have a medical condition that’s driven them to share their information.
Nearly a third (31%) have shared their details to ensure loved ones are as prepared as possible in the event of their death.
Speaking on digital legacy and the new findings, Eddie Grant, director at St. James’s Place, said: “Every element of our lives has been impacted by the rise of digital technology, and while we often relied on a paper trail most things are now being done online, including our financial affairs.
“There are a multitude of benefits that this brings, with the added convenience and speed to access our finances and manage our money. But with this comes a significantly smaller paper trail and as a result this may leave loved ones struggling in times of vulnerability to search for details to these personal accounts, some of which they may not even know exist. This can be especially problematic in the event of death or incapacitation.
“Legacy planning is often overlooked in our day-to-day lives unless prompted by a personal experience, as our research has shown. It is important that people consider their digital legacy as part of their wider financial planning to ensure that our loved ones have all the information that they may need in times of vulnerability.
“There can be lots to think about and it can be a difficult and uncomfortable topic, so it’s worth speaking to a financial adviser who can help guide you through the process of passing down your digital legacy in a safe way, at your own pace.”
Openreach, the UK’s largest broadband network provider, will have access to First Bus’ rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at its nationwide bus depots following a new collaboration.
With the new deal, the telecoms firm joins the ranks of Police Scotland and DPD, plugging into the shared infrastructure initiative from Aberdeen-headquartered First Bus, one of the biggest bus operators in the UK.
The initial phase of the partnership will see up to 30 Openreach electric vehicles from its fleet charging at depots in Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Leicester while buses are in service. This can help Openreach engineers to cover more ground while reducing environmental impact.
Openreach has more than 3,000 EVs in its fleet, and is also a founding member of EV100, a global initiative bringing together companies dedicated to accelerating the transition to EVs this decade.
First Bus, meanwhile, is continuing to roll out its electric bus fleet across the UK, with over 600 zero emission buses expected on the road by the end of March 2024. The business will have four fully electric bus depots, and a total of 9 sites with electric charging infrastructure and an operational EV bus fleet.
Speaking on the new link-up, Robert Thorburn, Openreach Scotland’s partnership director, said: “We are excited to try a new approach with First Bus that can potentially help both our businesses. As two major fleet operators in the UK, it makes sense for us to explore the most efficient ways to power up our electric vans and buses.
“First Bus has made a massive investment in charging infrastructure and using their empty stations to juice up our vans will take pressure off public charge points. Our engineers often live in flats or apartments where charging is not yet an option, so this will make life easier for them too.
“It is all about learning and trying new, sustainable ways of working. There are many hurdles on the low carbon journey, and businesses need to join forces to overcome them, help drive wider adoption of electric vehicles and talk to government on issues like charging infrastructure availability.”
Faizan Ahmad, the decarbonisation programme director at First Bus, also commented: “We’re excited about this collaboration, showcasing the power of teamwork to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality in the communities we serve. The shift to electric is a journey for businesses nationwide, and we are offering a smart, community-friendly solution that’s simple, effective, and benefits everyone.”
The operator is interested in hearing from businesses and orgnaisations who would like to benefit from a similar partnership at its electrified bus depots in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Scotstoun, York, Leeds, Bramley, Leicester, Hoeford, Norwich, and Portsmouth.
Worldwide shipments of personal computers rose in Q4 of 2023, marking the first time that quarterly shipments have increased after eight straight quarters of decline, according to preliminary results from Gartner.
The technology research and consulting company noted that global shipments of PCs—which include desktops and laptops that are equipped with Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS—totalled 63.3 million units in Q4 2023. This represents a 0.3% increase when compared to the same time the previous year.
However, for the year overall, PC shipments reached 241.8 million units—a 14.8% decrease from 2022. This also marks the first time that shipment volume has dipped below 250 million since 2006, when 230 million units were sold.
Speaking on these fluctuations and what could happen in 2024, Mikako Kitagawa, director analyst at Gartner, noted: “The PC market has hit the bottom of its decline after significant adjustment. Inventory was normalised in the fourth quarter of 2023, which had been an issue plaguing the industry for two years.
“This subtle growth suggests that demand and supply are finally balanced. However, this situation will likely change due to the anticipated component price hike 2024, as well as geopolitical and economic uncertainties.”
“Through these challenges, all top six vendors maintained their position without notable share gains or losses. With this in mind, Gartner projects that the PC market will return to annual growth in 2024.”
In Q4 of 2023, shipments of Acer PCs rose by more than 11%, while for Apple the number was 7.2%, HP Inc. 5.6%, and Lenovo 3.2%. ASUS PC shipments fell by 9.4%, Dell PC shipments by 8.3%, and shipments of PCs from other vendors by 5.6%.
In particular, Lenovo marked its first year-over-year growth in worldwide PC shipments since the third quarter of 2021, registering 3.2% growth. Other vendors had mixed results however, with Dell registering its seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year shipment decline.
In terms of regional differences in Q4, EMEA and North America recorded year-over-year growth, thereby leading the worldwide growth. The Asia Pacific religion however was still in decline in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“The EMEA market is reflective of the overall market, with inventory levels finally under control,” said Kitagawa. “However, this could change if demand becomes weak, and the channel would be wary of adding new stock, especially as higher interest rates means holding inventory now costs much more for the channel.”
Bevvy, the whisky discovery app founded in 2021 and based in Scotland, has closed a $1.5 million (£1.2m~) seed funding round.
The new investment principally comes from Scottish angel investors, existing shareholders, and a Denver-based family office.
Laurie Black, co-founder and head of whisky, commented: “Having already established the leading position in the digital whisky space; this new capital allows us to cement our market share and grow our consumer audience into new territories. We’re hugely excited to be heading Stateside in 2024!”
Founded three years ago by whisky expert Black, medtech entrepreneur Lucas Heron, and mathematician Atanas Tonchev, Bevvy is a tech-led platform that operates via consumer-facing Android and Apple mobile phone applications.
Users can utilise the app and the camera on their phone to scan the label of any whisky bottle and uncover tasting notes alongside indicative valuations for their collection.
At its heart is a proprietary image capturing software, supported by the world’s largest database of whiskies, numbering over 200,000 catalogued from the past 120 years of releases. The database includes 150,000 images and tracks retail and auction pricing whilst also monitoring market sentiment.
Over the past 12 months, Bevvy has begun to integrate whisky bar and pub data, whereby bar operators can scan the bottles they have available and publish a live menu.
The company has also begun to grow its presence in the US, and its database work to expand its catalogue of Bourbon bottles is currently underway. Part of its investment from US investors was predicated on a commitment to be live and active in the US market by the middle of 2024.
On the new funding, Greg Gormley, finance director at Bevvy, said: “In one of the most challenging fundraising environments I can recall; Bevvy’s successful raise underlines its dominant and growing position as a critical tool among whisky consumers and collectors. The interest and demand in whisky is growing at a pace not seen before.”
Black further added: “This is an extraordinarily exciting time for us, we see thousands of bottle scans each and every week, we are gaining a fascinating insight into user taste preferences, price trends and industry strengths and weaknesses.
“Bevvy finds itself at the heart of a major shift in how consumers and collectors engage with this multi billion dollar market. 2024 is going to be a year of spectacular development and innovation.”
In total, the sum invested into fintechs across the globe last year reached $51.2 billion (£40b~), marking a decrease of 48% compared to 2022. The capital put into fintechs in 2023 was spread across 3,973 deals, while there were 6,397 deals the year prior.
The UK’s fintechs received the second-highest level of funding globally in 2023, bringing in $5.1b (£4b~). However — and despite UK fintech receiving more than the next 28 European countries combined — the US clinched the top spot with $24b (£18b~). In third place was India at $2.5 billion (£1.9b~), followed by Singapore with $2.2b (£1.7b~) and China at $1.8b (£1.4b~).
The $5.1b (£4b~) that was invested into UK fintech last year was spread across 409 deals, compared to the $14.6b (£11.4b~) and 592 deals in 2022 — a capital decrease of 65%. The decrease, however, is in line with many other top ten markets.
Some countries witnessed notable drops in fintech funding in 2023, including France, Germany, and India. Other countries, however, have jumped — the UEA rose from 24th place to 6th, while Hong Kong jumped from 27th to 9th position.
The value of the top five biggest deals globally last year was over $9b (£7b~), with Stripe receiving $6.9b (£5.4b~), the largest investment of the year. The other four largest deals from highest to lowest are Rapyd, Xpansiv, BharatPe, and Ledger. Of these, Rapyd occurred in the UK.
Speaking on the data and the subsequent findings, Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance, said: “While economic headwinds presented a significant challenge for fintechs globally in 2023, it is encouraging to see how the UK fintech sector has shown great resilience by maintaining its position as a global hub for investment, second in the world behind only the US, and maintaining the leading position in Europe.
“The data demonstrates a clear opportunity for UK fintechs to strengthen ties with rapidly growing markets in Asia – many of which entered the global top 10 for the first time, and saw more combined investment than the European counterparts. The UK’s mature fintech sector is well placed to develop stronger collaboration with the region, and create new commercial and scaling opportunities.
“We remain confident the momentum of high-profile deals we saw in Q4 will continue well into 2024, as we anticipate a boost to the wider market. We are focused on working with industry, government and regulators, to maintain the UK’s leadership and ensure the necessary support, including proactive regulation, is in place for the UK to attract investment from seed stage to higher levels of critical growth funding.”
City minister Bim Afolami MP also commented: “UK fintech is a real British success story and it is reassuring to see the UK retain its place attracting more funding than any other country bar the US.
“What’s more, UK fintech firms won twice as much investment as our next competitor and more than the next 28 European countries combined, demonstrating our appeal as a leading global fintech hub.
“This is not happening by accident – we’ve introduced a fast-track visa system to attract global talent to fintech scale ups, a FCA scale box allowing innovators to trial new products and reformed our listings regime to maintain the UK’s position as Europe’s dominant capital markets hotspot.”
The majority (82%) of companies say that there’s an expanding gap between the number of security exposures and their ability to manage them.
This is according to new research from XM Cyber, the hybrid cloud security company, which has published its 2024 State of Security Posture Survey. The report, based on a survey of 300 cybersecurity decision-makers from large orgs in the UK and US, looked at how exposures are being remediated and the level of effort invested into doing so.
Alongside the headline statistic, it discovered that 87% of organisations indicated plans to enhance vulnerability and exposure remediation efforts within the next year. This decision comes despite challenges such as a shortage of skilled personnel and the continued burden on existing security teams.
According to the findings, 62% of IT and security teams are actively engaged in remediating exposures, handling an average of 12 per week. This indicates a significant but insufficient effort given the ever-growing number of exposures.
The research also found that there’s to be a particular focus on cloud and integrated cybersecurity strategies going forward. Around 45% of firms identified the cloud as a primary area for enhancing security posture amid growing concern. However, nearly half of the companies surveyed manage exposures separately for on-prem and hybrid cloud environments.
Challenges in communication and organisation alignment were also evident. Approximately 68% of companies emphasised the importance of effectively conveying security posture to leadership.
“The data highlights two crucial gaps that need to be bridged: the expanding gap between exposures and remediations, and the communications gap between security operators and leadership,” said Boaz Gorodissky, CTO and co-founder of XM Cyber.
“It’s a call to action for organizations to not only invest in advanced solutions but also to foster a culture of cybersecurity awareness and collaboration.”
Researchers at the University of Glasgow have built and fired the first unsupported “autophage” rocket engine, which consumes parts of its own body for fuel.
The design of the autophage engine—the name comes from the Latin word for “self-eating”—has several potential advantages over conventional rocket designs.
The engine works by using waste heat from combustion to sequentially melt its own plastic fuselage as it fires. The molten plastic is fed into the engine’s combustion chamber as additional fuel to burn alongside its regular liquid propellants.
This means that an autophage vehicle can require less propellant in onboard tanks, and the mass freed up can be allocated to payload instead. The consumption of the fuselage could also help avoid adding to the problem of space debris—discarded waste that orbits the Earth and could hamper future missions.
The team’s design developments are being showcased this week as a paper presented at the international AIAA SciTech Forum in Orlando, Florida.
In the paper, the team describe how they successfully test-fired their Ouroborous-3 autophage engine, producing 100 newtons of thrust in a series of controlled experiments. The test fires were conducted at the MachLab facility at Machrihanish Airbase.
The tests showed that the Ourobourous-3 is capable of stable burn—a key requirement for any rocket engine—throughout the autophage stage, with the plastic fuselage supplying up to one-fifth of the total propellant used.
The tests also showed that the rocket’s burn could be successfully controlled, with the team demonstrating its ability to be throttled, restarted and pulsed in an on/off pattern. All of these abilities could help future autophage rockets control their ascent from the launchpad into orbit.
Professor Patrick Harkness, of the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering, led the development of the Ourouboros-3 autophage engine. He said: “These results are a foundational step on the way to developing a fully-functional autophage rocket engine. Those future rockets could have a wide range of applications which would help advance the UK’s ambitions to develop as a key player in the space industry.
“A conventional rocket’s structure makes up between five and 12 percent of its total mass. Our tests show that the Ouroborous-3 can burn a very similar amount of its own structural mass as propellant. If we could make at least some of that mass available for payload instead, it would be a compelling prospect for future rocket designs.”
The autophage engine was one of 23 space technology projects recently selected to share in £4m from the UK Space Agency and STFC last year. The Glasgow team received £290,000 to help establish further pilot testing of the prototype engine.
Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said: “One of the key ways we catalyse investment into the UK’s growing space sector is by backing innovations in emerging areas of space technology.
“The University of Glasgow’s impressive work towards an autophage engine is an example of one which has great potential to meet the growing global appetite for developments in the efficiency and sustainability of rocket propulsion.”
Development of the team’s autophage engine will continue with the support of new funding from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the Sciences and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Twitch, the popular streaming service owned by Amazon, is to cut 35% of its staff—or 500 jobs—Bloomberg has reported. Citing people familiar with the matter, the reduction in headcount could come as early as this week.
News of the layoffs comes ten months after it was announced that the company would let go of 400 of its workers in a bid to boost Twitch’s longer-term business outlook.
“Like many companies, our business has been impacted by the current macroeconomic environment, and user and revenue growth has not kept pace with our expectations,” Dan Clancy, the company’s chief executive, wrote in a blog post. “In order to run our business sustainably, we’ve made the very difficult decision to shrink the size of our workforce.”
However, reducing its headcount has not been the only cost-saving measure undertaken by Twitch recently. In early December, Clancy announced that the business would no longer operate in South Korea—despite the country boasting a top ecosystem for esports.
The move was made due the costs of operating there being “prohibitively expensive,” and despite the company trialling money-saving measures such as reducing stream quality to a maximum of 720p.
“Twitch has been operating in Korea at a significant loss,” wrote Clancy at the time, adding that “unfortunately there is no pathway forward for our business to run more sustainably in that country.”
While costs to operate in Korea are higher than in other countries, running such a large-scale video streaming platform will always be an expensive affair. In another previous blog post from Clancy, the chief executive said that live video costs for each top creator is more than $1,000 per month.
Twitch sees around 7 million streamers go live on it each month, with around 35 million daily visitors. In 2022, over 1.3 trillion minutes of content were watched on the platform.
According to new analysis from HSBC Innovation Banking and Dealroom, UK venture capital (VC) investment could be on its way back in 2024, after having turned a corner in the second half of 2023.
Following the sharp global pullback of venture capital in H2 2022, VC being put into the UK has been distinctly growing as of the second half of 2023. Nearly $22 billion, or £17bn~, was raised last year, the third highest total on record.
The growth has been driven by early-stage investing, which has remained active, filling the startup pipeline. Breakout stage investment is also now at 110% of the pre-pandemic level.
All eyes on climate tech — and AI
Climate tech was the UK’s standout sector in 2023, raising an all-time high of $6.2b (£4.8b~) and accounting for 29% of all UK VC investment last year.
Electric mobility and EV batteries were the top funded UK climate tech startup segments, raising $2.2b (£1.7b~) and $1.2b (£944m~) respectively.
The second most attractive sector was artificial intelligence, with startups utilising AI raising $4.5b (£3.5b~) in investment, with the likes of Synesthesia, AutogenAI, and Stability AI gaining significant funding rounds.
The UK’s position remains strong
The UK remains the third top tech ecosystem in the world and the number one tech ecosystem in Europe. Last year, it raised more venture capital than France and Germany combined.
The UK is also at the centre of the European VC market and home to 40% of the continent’s venture capital, while London is the European base of choice for top international funds.
Positively, it’s evident that UK entrepreneurship is distributed throughout the country with investment growing fast in locations such as Birmingham (+1183%), Liverpool (+657%), and Sheffield (+595%). UK startups also employed 1.8 million people, representing 300% job growth since 2018.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2024
Data points to the UK’s VCs having more dry powder than ever before with over $25bn (£19b~) raised in the last three years — plus, leading UK funds are freshly equipped to deploy in 2024.
There’s also a growing exit pipeline with more than 63 non-acquired, private unicorn potential exits from the UK. The UK’s private unicorn stable is worth an estimated $137b (£107b~).
Speaking on the slew of data and what it all could mean moving forward, Erin Platts, CEO of HSBC Innovation Banking UK, said: “This data demonstrates a significant positive trajectory for the UK’s innovation economy, despite what has been a challenging period globally.
“We should be proud of the resilience the UK innovation ecosystem has shown and should celebrate its commitment to solving some of our most intractable problems.
“We are hugely optimistic and excited about the ecosystem in 2024 and look forward to playing our part in fuelling this critical part of the UK’s economy.”
Welcome to the latest edition of the DIGIT Deal Roundup.
While Scotland’s tech sector enjoyed some much-deserved time off over the holiday period, that isn’t to say December was without exciting news relating to funding, deals, and more.
For a recap on those standout stories, here’s our round-up.
Funding and Investments
Scotland Spacetech Firms Get £6.7M Funding Boost
Two Scotland-based space firms have secured a funding boost, courtesy of the UK Space Agency, to develop their launch technologies in a sustainable way.
Shetland-based HyImpulse, a launch company working with SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst, and Forres-headquartered Orbex, a launch company working with Sutherland Spaceport, will receive around £6.7 million between them.
Orbex will get over £3.3 million to undertake activities to ensure its work is environmentally sustainable. This includes installing a green propellant plant to manufacture a clean propane, produced from renewable feedstocks such as plant and vegetable waste material.
Meanwhile, HyImpulse UK will receive nearly £3.4 million to undertake its Hybrid Propulsion Test Programme ahead of the proposed launch of its launch vehicle, SL1, from SaxaVord Spaceport. By 2030, HyImpulse aims to achieve carbon neutral operations, including the use of synthesised paraffin fuel and using renewable energy sources.
£3.3M Plugged Into the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre
The Medical Device Manufacturing Centre (MDMC) has been awarded £3.35 million in additional funding to continue developing medical device innovation and improve industry sustainability.
The MDMC is a consortium of Scottish universities, including Heriot-Watt University—where it’s headquartered—as well as the University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, Robert Gordon University, and the University of Dundee.
The Centre provides medical device developers and manufacturers with advice, technical expertise, and the necessary facilities to help translate medical device concepts into commercial products.
“This funding will not only drive innovation across the healthcare landscape, but help produce more sustainable medical devices,” said the wellbeing economy secretary, Neil Gray.
£1.5 million was invested into 38 early-stage, high-growth businesses at the Scottish EDGE Awards.
The investments were dished out during the 22nd round of the Scottish EDGE awards, which took place in Glasgow for the first time since 2019. It was hosted by the Royal Bank of Scotland, and supported by The Hunter Foundation, the Scottish Government, and Scottish Enterprise.
A notable tech company that won funding was Connekt, the electric vehicle (EV) charging network startup out of Ayr which claimed £100,000. The startup is hoping to make the transition to EVs seamless by offering charging solutions at workplaces and destinations, to integrate charging with the lifestyles of drivers, all while providing customer service on a local level with a privately-owned public charging network.
“As supporters of the Net Zero category, we’d like to extend special congratulations to Connekt Charging. Their work in creating an extensive and reliable charging network has the potential to be transformational,” said Judith Cruickshank, MD commercial mid-market at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Heriot-Watt Researcher Gets Nearly £1M for Optical Fibre Innovation
A Heriot-Watt University researcher has been awarded almost £1 million in funding to develop a mass manufacturing process for a type of hyper-fast optical fibre that could replace conventional telecoms networks.
Dr Calum Ross secured the funding award of £970,000 through the Future Leaders Fellowships programme of UKRI, the UK’s national funding agency for research and innovation.
Dr Ross has spent two years developing an automated process that would allow the mass production of hollow-core fibre — a type of optical fibre that carries light in air about 50% faster than conventional solid glass optical fibre.
“Hollow-core fibre is currently made using a manual process that involves stacking fibre systems by hand – so it can’t be manufactured at scale,” he explained. “I’ve developed a laser-based fabrication approach that is automated and allows me to make a fibre that can be mass manufactured and can also have any internal structure.”
Scots Medtech Startup Secures New Funding for Robotic Glove
Bioliberty, the Scots medtech startup which has created a soft robotic glove to help with the rehabilitation of stroke patients, has received almost half a million pounds in new funding to accelerate its product to market.
The firm secured £435,000 from the Biomedical Catalyst, Innovate UK’s flagship grant funding mechanism to transform innovative ideas into commercially viable businesses.
The Edinburgh-based company’s robotic glove works by assisting a patient to open and close their hand, an action which can be severely limited following a stroke.
“With this newfound funding, we’re poised to accelerate trials and expedite our market launch,” said Bioliberty co-founder, Conan Bradley.
Mint Ventures Funds Debt-Fighting Scots AI Company
Women-led angel investment group, Mint Ventures, has provided funding to Inicio AI, the financial support company based in Scotland and the Midlands.
The strategic partnership looks to aid the AI company in its next phase of product development as the AI landscape continues to transform.
Led by CEO Rachel Curtis, Inicio AI uses artificial intelligence to support those struggling with debt.
The investment, which has not been disclosed, reflects the shared commitment between Mint Ventures and Inicio AI to push the boundaries of innovation, promote women investors and founders, and advance social purposes.
Gillian Fleming, CEO of Mint Ventures, said: “We are extremely pleased to be supporting Inicio AI to take them to the next level and align our members collective expertise as well as bring more diversity to the investment base.”
Edinburgh Uni Wins Contract for Lithium Fusion Tech
The University of Edinburgh and four others organisations have secured contracts to develop lithium technology for fusion energy.
The recipients have received contracts ranging between £700,000 and £1.5 million, totalling £7.4m, from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) Fusion Industry Programme.
The Fusion Industry Programme challenge, “Realising the potential of lithium in an economic, sustainable and scalable fusion energy fuel-cycle,” was launched in early 2023. It was created to help encourage organisations to create and evaluate prototypes of lithium technology.
Iomart Group, the cloud and IT services solutions provider, has announced it will fully acquire all assets of London-based Accesspoint Technologies.
The IT hosting firm has dealt mainly with the UK legal industry since 2009, providing an array of managed services, ranging from software licensing, infrastructure hosting, and security management, to business continuity services and communications provisioning.
Accesspoint generated £3.8m yearly revenue by September 2023, with an adjusted earnings of £800,000. The IT firm is set to provide iomart with a refined industry expertise from its strong reputation in the legal sector, providing insight into the key sector.
£4.5m, the initial consideration, will be paid in cash on a debt free basis, upon completion. There will be a potential further £500,000 that can be payable on particular achievements made after the acquisition.
Unity Software, the video games company behind the Unity game engine, is cutting approximately 25% of its staff—around 1,800 employees—in a new round of layoffs.
The company, whose engine is used for lucrative games such as Pokemon Go, Hearthstone, Subnautica, and Pillars of Eternity, is reducing headcount to “position itself for long-term and profitable growth,” according to a new regulatory filing.
The technology firm expects for most of the costs and charges in connection with the layoffs to be largely incurred in the first quarter of the year, suggesting that the majority of affected employees will be let go by March.
This the fourth round of layoffs by Unity since the start of January 2023, with the company previously reducing its staff count in November. That layoff led to 3.8% of its workforce—or approximately 265 jobs—being cut.
Prior to November’s layoff round, the firm was surrounded by controversy after trying to introduce new fees for developers utilising its engine if specific thresholds for game installations and revenue were met. Smaller-scale indie developers were particularly in opposition to these changes.
Following the announcement, the company wrote an open letter apologising to the game developer community, stating that “We should have spoken with more of you and we should have incorporated more of your feedback before announcing our new Runtime Fee policy.”
The community’s response led Unity to alter its approach and make amendments to the policies and fees. A few weks later, Unity’s CEO, John Riccitiello, stepped down.
The company, which was originally founded in Denmark as Over the Edge Entertainment in 2004—the year before the Unity engine was first released—is now curently headed by Jim Whitehurst and is based in San Francisco.
Growing economic uncertainty has impacted hiring decisions and discouraged workers from seeking new roles, resulting in a fresh decline in permanent staff appointments across Scotland during December.
This is according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland’s Report on Jobs, which is based on a monthly survey of around 70 Scots recruitment and employment consultants.
It found that the rate of decrease in permanent Scottish job placements last month was the most pronounced since April, and sharp. It also fell at a steeper rate in Scotland than what was seen across the UK as a whole.
On the other hand, December’s data pointed to a second consecutive monthly rise in temporary staff billings in Scotland, with the increase linked to heightened demand for contract workers.
The availability of permanent Scottish staff sharply fell, stretching the current period of decrease to 35 months, while there was a marked upturn in permanent staff availability at the UK level. Fewer workers were willing to risk a job move in the current economic climate, said the Scots recruiters.
Additionally, Scottish recruiters registered a notable fall in permanent vacancies during December, with the rate of contraction being the strongest since November 2020. Demand for permanent staff weakened at the UK level, but only marginally.
In terms of remuneration, salaries awarded to newly-placed permanent staff increased sharply across Scotland last month. Though the rate of inflation hit a seven-month low, the rise in salaries was primarily driven by candidate shortages.
Speaking on the report’s findings, Sebastian Burnside, chief economist at RBS, said: “The Report on Jobs survey highlights that 2023 has generally been a weak year for the Scottish labour market, with permanent staff appointments rising in only three months of the year.
“Moreover, December recorded the most marked decline in permanent placements since April and one that was sharp overall, as employers were hesitant to commit to new hires amid lingering economic uncertainty – a theme also observed at the UK level. In contrast, temp billings continued to increase at the end of the year as businesses opted for more flexible employment arrangements.
“The subdued economic environment and signs of further declines in vacancies suggest that hiring activity will remain weak as we head into 2024. However, softening demand conditions have led to slower rates of pay growth, especially for permanent starters’ salaries, helping to ease the pressure on employer’s budgets.”
BT Group’s first electric vehicle (EV) charging unit that’s been repurposed from an old green street cabinet will be powered up in East Lothian in the coming weeks.
The turning on of the Scottish charger will mark the first step in new UK-wide trials exploring the potential to upgrade up to 60,000 cabinets that have traditionally been used to store broadband and phone cabling.
The Group said that the pilots will explore how the solution could be scaled to tackle the current lack of EV chargers on UK roads — a concern for many potential buyers of electric vehicles.
With only 53,000 on-road charge points available, 60% of people think the country’s EV charging infrastructure is inadequate, BT Group’s research found, while 78% of current petrol and diesel drivers said not being able to easily charge an electric vehicle is a barrier to purchasing one.
The charging solution works by retrofitting street cabinets with a device that allows renewable energy to be shared to a charge point alongside the existing broadband service, with no need to create a new power connection.
The EV charging capabilities can be deployed to cabinets that are either already in-use for broadband services or those due for retirement, depending on the space and power available to the unit.
Once the cabinet is no longer needed for broadband as the UK-wide full fibre rollout progresses, the broadband equipment can be recycled and additional EV charge points added.
Facilitating the trials is, Etc., the startup and digital incubation arm at BT Group. It will scope a range of different technical, civil planning, operational, and commercial considerations for bringing the EV charge point network online.
Tom Guy, the managing director of BT Group’s Etc., said: “Our new charging solution is a huge step in bringing EV charging kerbside and exploring how we can address key barriers customers are currently facing.
“Working closely with local councils in Scotland and more widely across the UK, we are at a critical stage of our journey in tackling a very real customer problem that sits at the heart of our wider purpose to connect for good,” Guy continued.
“This is a key step in our mission to build products and services right now that work for the future, with positive transformation at the heart.”
