Recruitment and Appointments

The Data Lab

The Data Lab announced last month that Gillian Docherty OBE will step down as CEO, a position she has held for the last six years.

Gillian will remain in position at The Data Lab until late-January 2022 before taking up a new position in the Higher Education sector.

Commenting on Docherty’s departure, Brian Hills, Deputy CEO of The Data Lab, said: “Since Gillian joined The Data Lab, she has done a tremendous job of elevating the profile of AI and data science across academia and business in Scotland.

“We are extremely grateful for her leadership and contribution that she has made during her tenure and wish her the best for her future endeavours.”

Les Bayne, Chair of The Data Lab board, added: “The work and programmes achieved under the leadership of Gillian over the last six years have made a considerable difference to Scotland’s AI and data sectors and set the tone for the future of the organisation.

“I extend my thanks to Gillian for her support and ambition, which has benefitted the centre and all who work for and with The Data Lab.

“Brian has worked closely with Gillian during her tenure and will step into the interim role upon her departure. The board and I will continue to work closely with Brian and the wider organisation during this interim period to continue the brilliant work of The Data Lab.”

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

Equity Gap

Edinburgh-based Equity Gap has announced key board member and advisory appointments, as it looks to expand its relationships with next-stage funders and “enhance exit capability”.

Tracey Ginn, US, and UK corporate partner at MBM Commercial; Rachel Jones, entrepreneur and founder and CEO of SnapDragon Monitoring, and Brian Williamson, entrepreneur, Chair at 4ICG and experienced board member will join the board as Non-Executive Directors, while Stuart Paterson, partner at Scottish Equity Partners will become a board advisor.

Founder Jock Millican and fellow director Fraser Lusty will remain as executive board members, with Wright Johnston Mackenzie partner Ken Long retaining his advisory role.

Commenting on the appointments, Millican said: “These new appointments come at an exciting time for Equity Gap, as we build our capabilities in next stage funding and exit readiness.

“We look forward to having the diverse knowledge and experience of Tracey, Rachel, Brian and Stuart to support us in this development.”

Cloudsoft

Software and service provider Cloudsoft grew its team to 32 in November with four senior hires and is planning a further six appointments across its sales, software development and cloud engineering teams.

Lauren Mugridge joins the company in a senior business development role, with a focus on driving growth across Cloudsoft’s innovative digital platform conductor (DPC) tool, Cloudsoft AMP.

Mugridge will support large enterprises in taming complexity by using AMP to resiliently orchestrate workloads across increasingly complex hybrid IT estates.

The business also welcomes Max Thomas and Dan Pudwell as Principal Cloud Architects to its expert-led cloud consultancy arm, Tempo. Both hires will ensure Cloudsoft’s clients see maximum value from their investment in public cloud.

Ben Shireby also joins Tempo as Client Engagement Manager to drive further growth from clients looking for expertise to support their cloud journey. All three appointments are a result of strong growth in demand from clients for cloud modernisation and optimisation services.

Ross Gray, CEO of Cloudsoft, said: “We’re seeing huge growth potential across all sectors at the moment and real traction in the market, particularly with regards to AMP, which offers safe innovation and continuous resilience for critical workloads in complex hybrid estates – a key challenge for CIOs and organisations.

“Our new hires are crucial to us maximising the current opportunities and we’re still looking for more talent to join our growing team.”

hubb

Challenger insurance broker hubb will welcome industry veteran Stuart Middleton to its senior leadership team from January 2022 as new Chief Insurance Officer.

Joining hubb from Great American Insurance Group, Middleton will bring his extensive experience in international underwriting and product leadership, and distribution strategy to the business as it continues to disrupt the broker industry.

Having originally joined hubb in the capacity of Non-Executive-Director in December 2020, he opted to work within the business full time after working closely with co-founders Mark Costello, Ed Halsey, and John Costello and in seeing its potential to transform the industry through its customer-centric approach and advanced tech capability.

Middleton commented: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to join hubb at this exciting time in our development.

“Having worked for a number of prestigious insurers across Europe over the last 30 years, I know exactly what hubb’s insurer partners’ expectations are and I am convinced that we will exceed these expectations in the years to come.

“The quality, dynamism and range of expertise of the hubb team are exceptional and were crucial factors in my decision to come on board.”

Costello added: “Stuart is an experienced and impressive individual who is united in our vision to disrupt and transform the broker industry with a transparent, usage-based model.

“Having worked with him for several months in the capacity of NED, John, Ed and I are now really excited for him to be part of the business full-time end believe he will play a key role in driving strategic and accelerated growth in the months and years to come – watch this space.”

Wideblue

Product design and development firm Wideblue, part of Pivot International, has appointed Barry Warden as its new managing director.

Warden joined the company in 2014 as a mechanical design engineer and was most recently Wideblue’s design and development director.

A Chartered Engineer, Warden has over 14 years of experience in mechanical design, working on many high-profile consumer and medical device projects.

He has a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Glasgow and is a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.

Commenting on his appointment, Warden said: “I am delighted to be taking over as managing director at this exciting time for the company. Wideblue has just celebrated 15 years in business and has experienced high growth in the past few years working on many interesting and innovative products.

“Over half of our product portfolio is now in the medical device sector which has seen a sharp increase in demand since the pandemic. We are actively involved in a number of exciting and technically challenging products in the medical space working with clients across the UK, Europe and US.”

Outgoing MD and company founder Russell Overend, who has been with the company since its inception in 2006, will carry on in an advisory capacity to support the firm with new business development.

Overend said: “I have loved leading Wideblue and helping the company grow and move into new markets. I am leaving my role as MD with the company in an extremely strong position, and I am very confident that Barry will continue to drive the company forward.

“Having worked with Barry over a number of years he has proven to be a very capable and creative design engineer and leader. I am confident the business will go from strength to strength.”

Cumulus Oncology

Oncology drug discovery accelerator Cumulus Oncology made three appointments across its business in November.

Munich-based Dr Diane Seimetz and UK pharma industry specialist Dr Sally Waterman join as Non-executive Directors on its board, while former NXD Nicola Broughton moves to an executive role as Chief Business Officer.

Cumulus CEO and co-founder Clare Wareing said: “We have stepped up our international activity and oncology asset discovery process markedly over the last twelve months, and Diane, Sally and Nicola’s appointments significantly strengthen both our advisory and executive teams.

“Diane is an entrepreneur, and a leading drug development and regulatory expert, a perfect mix for the experience we need on the board alongside Sally, who brings over 30 years’ of experience in R&D, operations and corporate development from senior executive roles in small biotech companies.

“Nicola has been invaluable as an adviser, then NXD over the last year, and we are excited to have her as our first chief business officer.”

As former Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at the Fresenius Group, Seimetz led an international team that developed several first-in-class and award-winning biopharmaceutical products.

With previous experience as co-founder and former CEO of Biopharma Excellence, she supported numerous companies to progress their biopharmaceutical assets from lead selection to the clinical trial stage or to approval.

Waterman was until recently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Medherant, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company with a novel drug delivery technology.

Prior to this she was Senior VP Corporate Development at Abzena (formerly PolyTherics), a company offering antibody drug conjugate (ADC) and other services, where she was involved over eight years in multiple funding rounds, an IPO and several M&A transactions.

Dr Broughton, a former Investment Director at Mercia Asset Management, is co-founder of Oskare Capital, and is an experienced life sciences investor, executive and non-executive director with strong expertise in identifying and supporting university spinouts.

Broughton, who joined Cumulus’s advisory board in 2020 before her appointment as an NXD in 2021, also chairs genetic sequencing specialist Wobble Genomics, a spin-out from the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute.

CENSIS

Scotland’s innovation centre for sensing, imaging systems, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, CENSIS – appointed Stephen Milne as its first director of strategic projects in November.

Milne takes on the new role after spending the last five years as a business development manager at CENSIS. A Saltire Fellow, he was previously a research associate at the University of Strathclyde and a product engineer at Freescale Semiconductor. He also holds a doctorate in medical devices from the University of Strathclyde.

As director of strategic projects, Milne will focus on identifying and securing larger and longer-term projects – working with funders from across the UK – as well as developing new partnerships with companies and academic institutions.

Commenting on his new appointment, Milne said: “I am excited to take on this role at CENSIS, as we enter a new era for the innovation centre.

“Focussing on the big challenges that we face in business and society, particularly climate change, will be a key part of what we do in the years ahead and I look forward to playing a central role in helping CENSIS, and the businesses we support, respond these issues.”

Paul Winstanley, CEO of CENSIS, added: “Stephen has been with CENSIS for five years – not only does he know the innovation centre inside and out, he has a deep understanding of the academic world and industry across Scotland the UK more widely.

“His appointment is part of a wider re-organisation of our team that will make us even more proactive in seeking out large, ambitious projects that can make a significant and sustainable impact in Scotland and beyond.”

ScotlandIS

ScotlandIS announced the appointment of five new members to its board, representing a variety of segments of Scotland’s digital technologies industry as well as academia.

Each new member brings a “diverse and valuable background” to the board, the firm said, with “shared ambitions” to develop the country’s digital skills, improve sector diversity and to ensure future prosperity in the sector.

Anne Widopp, CEO of VR Hive, has been appointed to represent the Scottish startup community and tech businesses outside of the Scottish central belt. Widopp said she is particularly keen to see skills developed and high-quality tech jobs created across the whole of Scotland.

Managing Director at Edge Testing Solutions Sharon Hamilton will take up a role as a representative of SMEs, bringing over 25 years of experience in IT to the board. She said she is looking to help address the digital skills gap and also improve diversity and inclusion in IT.

ScotlandIS has also appointed Laura Casci, Head of Delivery at BJSS, to represent large businesses. She also views skills and future talent as a key priority for the organisation.

Professor Gordon Morrison, Head of Computing Department at Glasgow Caledonian University, is also welcomed, representing academia and further informing ScotlandIS’s work to address the skills gap and improve diversity in the industry.

Finally, Grace Galloway, Head of Finance at 2i Testing, has also been appointed to provide financial oversight and help continue to drive ScotlandIS forward.

Commenting on the new hires, Alison McLaughlin, Chair of ScotlandIS, said: “We are delighted to welcome this group of individuals to our board.

“Their ambitions reflect the priorities of our members, with the skills gap and talent pool being a core issue, as well as access to funding to enable growth and support to scale businesses, to name a few.

“These members bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge, and ScotlandIS and our members only serve to benefit from the guidance, ambition and diverse range of skills they will provide.”

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

Partnerships

Chromacity and MSH Systems

Ultrafast laser firm Chromacity and MSH Systems will work together to supply and distribute ultrashort pulse lasers in Japan.

The collaboration will see MSH Systems, with its base in Tokyo, make use of Chromacity’s fixed wavelength femtosecond lasers and picosecond optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) for imaging and sensing applications.

Commenting on the collaboration, Shahida Imani, CEO of Chromacity, and newly appointed Vice-Chair of the Photonics Leadership Group said: “The Asia Pacific region presents a significant opportunity for our ultrashort pulse lasers.

“We know that major industrial players in Japan are interested in the reliability and tunable wavelengths of our systems, so establishing in-country relationships with key channel partners, like MSH Systems, is absolutely vital to our success in the region.”

Chromacity has leveraged support provided by Scottish Enterprise (SE) to form the partnership, including its Scaling Services team and international network.

Victoria Carmichael, Director of Strategic Investment at SE, said: “The fact that Chromacity is now making significant in-roads in international markets is no surprise.

“We’ve long championed Chromacity as a company with excellent technological expertise and high growth potential – from its early days to our recent equity investment and via the invaluable support of our field colleagues in Asia.”

Katsuo Morita, CEO of MSH Systems, added: “We are very excited to establish a partnership with Chromacity and offer its ultrafast lasers to the Japanese market.

“The affordability of Chromacity’s plug and play optical parametric oscillators will help our customers to advance their research and develop industrial applications.”

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

Heriot-Watt University and Silicon Catalyst

A California semiconductor incubator announced a collaboration with Heriot-Watt University (HWU) to boost the development and launch of firms utilising next-gen semiconductor tech.

Silicon Catalyst and HWU have shared ‘strategic objectives’ which focus on developing high-growth opportunities, equipping Scottish-based semiconductor companies to transform into scale-ups.

Through its Global Research Innovation and Discovery facility (GRID), HWU said it is focused on “commercialising high-impact research that delivers economic and social value”.

David Richardson, chief entrepreneurial executive, Heriot-Watt University, said: “GRID offers bespoke support to ambitious scale-ups developing innovative solutions to global challenges.

“The partnership with SiliconCatalyst.UK emphasises our commitment to the development of a global ecosystem by building on our specialisms and applying these to catalyse new collaborations, investment and jobs.”

Sean Redmond, managing partner, Silicon Catalyst added: “Semiconductor startup opportunities have changed dramatically over the last few years. We have entered a period of semiconductor industry hyper-scale, having just experienced annual industry growth of 30%.

“Never has so much demand been created by so few new innovations. Scotland has a rich tradition of successful global semiconductor success.

“The silicon glen is very much alive and bubbling with new semiconductor ideas and inventions to create the next wave of fabulous disruptive semiconductor startups.”

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

Stagecoach and SSE Energy Solutions

Stagecoach and SSE announced a new pilot community electric charging hub initiative to help drive Scotland on the road to net-zero.

The collaboration hopes to maximise the efficiency of EV infrastructure and encourage the take up of green transport in Scotland.

This initiative aims to assist efforts to create a network of rapid charging hubs for fleets which travel across the country, further helping efforts to decarbonise the transport sector.

Sam Greer, Stagecoach Regional Director for Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be launching a pilot of the community charging hub concept in partnership with SSE, two companies with strong commitments to delivering on Scotland’s net-zero ambitions.

“Electric charging infrastructure is a significant investment and there is a real opportunity to maximise the benefit of the technology by making facilities available to other fleet users, such as logistics companies.

“As well as helping accelerate decarbonisation, it would complement the wider opportunities beyond technology to cut carbon emissions from the transport sector and reduce local air pollution through a shift away from cars to more sustainable public transport, cycling and walking.”

Kevin Welstead, EV Sector Director of SSE Energy Solutions, added: “We think this is a game changing idea with the potential to really accelerate Scotland’s journey to net-zero.

“COP26 coming to Scotland is a vivid reminder that we need to get more green and clean transport on our roads; and we believe a network of EV community hubs could hold the key to doing just that.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Stagecoach on this pilot who share our vision to get more people using greener transport so we can provide cleaner air for our citizens and combat climate change. In Glasgow we are building the infrastructure for 150 green buses by the end of the year, and we’re keen we leave a lasting and sustainable legacy for Scotland from COP26.”

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

Caskshare and Flavourly

Online cask spirits marketplace, Caskshare has agreed a new fulfilment partnership with online drinks specialist, Flavourly.

The new Fulfilled By Flavourly deal will see Flavourly provide logistics, packaging and courier relationships for Caskshare’s growing whisky community and retail services.

With the global Scotch whisky sector nearly doubling with a 6% CAGR over the next 10 years, Caskshare’s democratisation of single casks lowers the threshold of entering early into the niche market.

The Edinburgh based business has, in the 10 months since launch, had over 23,000 unique visitors with almost 40 casks and 10,000 bottles listed on the platform.

Flavourly launched their Fulfilled By Flavourly service earlier this year, with Innis & Gunn one of the first users. The model sees drinks brands benefit from the firm’s logistics expertise, courier relationships and service reputation.

The Fulfilled By Flavourly service also helps brands to increase capacity without increasing service costs.

Caskshare will continue their customer relations and the running of their website, but the new partnership will allow the firm to focus on its online curation of whiskies and community building while Flavourly manages courier and logistical services.

David Nicol, founder of Caskshare, commented: “Partnering with Flavourly offers us the ability to focus on engaging with whisky fans and industry partners whilst having Flavourly focus on scalable and timely logistics.

“Our technical integration means that we are running an efficient and well-integrated platform that can take orders from our Caskshare platform directly into Flavourly’s logistics capabilities.”

Ali Stewart, CEO, Flavourly added: “Our ‘Fulfilled by Flavourly’ model allows Caskshare to focus on the exciting task of opening up the cask ownership sector, safe in the knowledge that their delivery needs are fully covered by our best in class logistics service.”

Infralink and Tay Cities

Four local Tay Cities authorities are to adopt a new Infralink programme to deliver a smarter and fairer network across the region.

The four authorities, Angus, Dundee, Fife, Perth & Kinross, are working with Infralink to support the next generation of communication needs.

Together, they aim to promote the rollout of digital connectivity across the region, through a project partially funded by The Scotland 5G Centre.

Paul Coffey, CEO of The Scotland 5G Centre, said: “At the moment there is a disconnect between network operators and landowners, and bringing these two groups together is an important step in creating out next generation of communication networks.

“I’m delighted that these four local authorities are making the commitment to increasing mobile infrastructure and collaborating through the Infralink programme to help dive mobile connectivity and aid the development of 5G in Scotland.”

Councillor John Alexander, Chair of the Tay Cities Region Deal Joint Committee, said: “We are delighted to be working with Infralink as they begin engagement with mobile operators to encourage investment and promote the ongoing rollout of cutting-edge digital connectivity across the Tay Cities region.

“This commitment will allow us to achieve our collective goals of creating a smarter, fairer region and will benefit urban and rural communities alike.”

Infralink intend to facilitate regular meetings between the local authorities and industry. They aim to build a working relationship and enable the Tay Cities to achieve their collective goals of optimising conditions for digital infrastructure deployment.

Once developed, this relationship will result in a more strategic coordination of supportive council policies and processes to grow digital connectivity.

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

The University of Strathclyde and Satellite Applications Catapult

Strathclyde Uni has launched the Glasgow Space Enterprise Lab (SEL) in collaboration with tech firm Satellite Applications Catapult.

Created by Innovate UK, the catapult is a not-for-profit independent innovation and tech company looking to “drive economic growth through the exploitation of space”.

The catapult is launching its second cohort of SELs across the UK, including in both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Professor Malcolm Macdonald, Director of the Applied Space Technology Laboratory based at the university, said: “The university has a strong and historic partnership with the Satellite Applications Catapult which is further strengthened with the opening of the Space Enterprise Lab for Glasgow.

“Collaboration is at the heart of what we do here and this dedicated space will help us to bring more organisations into the space sector, accelerate innovative ideas and help the growing space community in Scotland to thrive together.

“Hosting the lab further demonstrates Strathclyde’s commitment to supporting the development of the Scottish Space Sector and supporting organisations to access and benefit from working with the sector.”

Lucy Edge, Chief Operations Officer at the Satellite Applications Catapult, added: “We are delighted to be launching the Space Enterprise Labs as we continue to support the growth of the space sector across the UK.

“These unique facilities embrace the new hybrid way in which we all now engage, while also offering a safe and secure environment to foster UK-wide space innovation and discussion.

“Businesses across the UK will now be able to collaborate across a range of high-tech, high-innovation subjects, to bring ideas and customers together more effectively.”

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

Awards

Skyrora

Six graduates have been chosen among thousands of entrants into STEM roles by Scottish space firm Skyrora.

After more than 1,000 applications at an assessment held at the firm’s Cumbernauld testing facility, Edward Robertson from Suffolk, Conor Melens from Inverness, Leo Glass from Edinburgh, Liam Brymer from Stirling, Magdalena Kraus from Poland, and Amy Markham from Malta will now begin their aerospace careers.

The assessment day consisted of several stages including aptitude tests, company assessments, high level engineering exams, company design projects and speed interviews, amongst other tasks.

Following the assessment, the six best performing candidates were chosen and assigned engineering roles at the Edinburgh-based firm.

The six successful candidates are already underway with their STEM jobs and are part of creating a more environmentally cautious, sustainable space industry.

Head of Engineering at Skyrora, Dr Jack James Marlow, said: “We have six brilliant young talents here that we are really excited about getting into the thick of it.

“With the sheer volume of applicants and those at the assessment day, it’s a testament to Amy, Conor, Leo, Liam, Magdalena and Edward for performing so well and showing us why they are right for Skyrora.

“There were so many strong applicants across the board at our assessment day, so we’d urge everyone to continue applying for roles at this exciting group.”

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

The University of Edinburgh

The first twenty startups have been chosen to join a new academic entrepreneurship incubator from the University of Edinburgh.

The Venture Builder Incubator aims to turn research from postgraduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and academic staff into viable and sustainable businesses. The incubator was open to projects from the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University.

In addition, on the back of a partnership between the University of Edinburgh and Cancer Research UK, eight companies operating in the field of cancer prevention and treatment were selected to join the incubator.

The incubator forms part of the university’s Data-Driven Entrepreneur Programme and was delivered by the Bayes Centre, with support from Edinburgh Innovations. Edinburgh-based design consultancy Nile, Scale Space and pan-European university venture builder and accelerator edventure also provide support.

Enterprise and innovation programme lead at Edinburgh Innovations Charlotte Waugh said: “We are delighted to welcome some of the most promising entrepreneurial students in Edinburgh along with leading academic researchers from other parts of the UK to participate in Venture Builder Incubator 2.0.

“The programme features 20 companies that have been engaged in academic research to address some of the world’s major challenges including the climate emergency, health and wellbeing, children’s mental health, and financial security.

“We look forward to supporting these ventures, helping commercialise their ideas to transform them into world-leading businesses. This programme further builds on our ambition to establish Edinburgh as the Data Capital of Europe.”

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

Scottish EDGE Awards

UK funding competition Scottish EDGE has awarded three Scottish environmental sustainability firms a total of £200k after they were selected as winners in the Net Zero EDGE award category.

Taking place at COP26, the finalists were given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a high-profile judging panel consisting of NatWest Group CEO Alison Rose, Scottish EDGE funding partners The Hunter Foundation founder Sir Tom Hunter and Professor Eleanor Shaw of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the Strathclyde Uni Business School.

Dundee-based Faisal Ghani was awarded the largest amount – £100k for his solar technology business SolarisKit. Also awarded £50k each were Alicja Dzieciol of SilviBio and Jonathan Feldstein, from Bennu.AI.

Commenting on the awards, Sir Tom Hunter, entrepreneur and philanthropist, said: “To be an entrepreneur you need to be an optimist and take action; two attributes we need to win the war against climate change.

“They say winners get to write history – we need to win this battle so we can write the positive history of how we came together to beat the climate crisis for future generations… Scotland as ever has a chance to lead in this if we invest coherently and wisely, and in that Scottish EDGE is a world class exemplar.”

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

Firefish Software

Glasgow-based recruitment platform Firefish Software was shortlisted at the 2021 Northern Tech Awards in November.

The awards recognise the fastest growing technology companies in the North of England, across Scotland, and in Ireland.

Each year 100 businesses are shortlisted, demonstrating the biggest tech success stories of the year.

The recruitment software platform is one of only five Scottish tech businesses to make it to the shortlist and be announced at the ceremony in Leeds.

Wendy McDougall, founder and CEO of Firefish Software, commented: “Despite the turbulent times we’ve been living in, through a pandemic and recession, the Firefish team have shown incredible resilience.

“To make it into the tip tier of these industry awards for five years running shows the strength of our business and the important role we play in the tech ecosystem.

“The winners in the current market will be those employers who adapt to the skill sets in front of them rather than waiting for the market to get back to normal.

“Being agile has never been more important, and the value of effective tech solutions in the recruitment space is greater than ever.”

Alongside Firefish were four other Scottish nominees. These are the digital services business MRM Global, Fintech company The ID Co, and software firms TVSquared and Odro.

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

Touchlab

An Edinburgh-based startup was among the global finalists competing for $10 million of prizes at the ANA Avatar XPrize Finals.

Touchlab was chosen out of 37 semi-finalists after judges evaluated a system developed by the company to allow humans to control robots in real time.

The ANA Avatar prize was devised to promote the creation of an avatar system capable of transporting a human presence to remote locations and receive information as if they were physically there. This would allow humans to operate robots in places that people might struggle to reach or operate.

Testing for the Finals will take place in autumn 2022. Finalists will receive equal shares of a $2m milestone prize purse, with a chance to win part of the $8m Finals prize purse. The overall winner will take home the grand prize $5m, with second and third place getting $2m and $1m.

CEO of XPRIZE Anousheh Ansari said: “The possibility of living in a world where individuals can provide aid during a crisis in a different country without ever leaving the comfort of their homes is closer than ever.

“While it’s been difficult this year to predict what the future will bring for the evolving health landscape, these avatar solutions will solve real world problems and can bring people together in more ways than ever before.

“We’re looking forward to supporting these incredible Finalist teams competing in the ANA Avatar XPRIZE and their technology into the future.”

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

LevelUp! Digital

Creatives across Scotland have been offered the opportunity to take part in a unique digital up-skilling programme, custom-designed to focus on the skills, confidence, market awareness and networks required to drive their creative career forward in the digital space.

Delivered by Ironworks Venue and supported by the National Transition Training Fund, the LevelUp! Digital course will offer free, high-level, industry-led digital training to participants who are 25 years old and over and resident in Scotland. At least half of the cohort will come from rural Scotland.

Speaking about the programme, Skills Development Scotland’s Sector Manager for Creative Industries, David Martin, said: “SDS is extremely excited about being involved in this ground-breaking and innovative programme that will benefit so many creatives across Scotland.

“The LevelUp! Digital course will provide creative professionals in the industry with valuable skills that they can use in their everyday working lives; the course will have a positive impact and we’re looking forward to seeing the outcome.”

The course will offer attendees sector specific training in areas including digital marketing, content production, online events, crowd economy models and much more.

Also, LevelUp! Digital will offer a bespoke programme of digital training, mentorship, networking opportunities, business development sessions, masterclasses and unique insights from leading professionals.

The free course will involve six hours per week in a fully online programme.

Existing freelance professionals, practitioners, sole traders, recent graduates and those looking to re-enter the sector can now apply to take part in the seven-week programme, starting on January 10th, 2022.

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.

Moves and Relocations

Vidatec

Digital transformation specialist Vidatec has opened its new headquarters at Innovation House in the Dundee Technology Park.

The office space will be home to Vidatec’s growing team of developers, designers, and UX/UI specialists, as well as its operations and marketing functions.

Greig Johnston, CEO of Vidatec, said: “Moving into the technology hub of Dundee and becoming part of the wider community is an exciting opportunity for everyone at Vidatec. It gives us room to continue our growth plans and, after we’ve all had to endure life in the pandemic over the last 18 months, the move comes as a real boost for our staff. We’re looking ahead with great optimism.

“Dundee has become a melting pot of innovation over the years, and this aligns perfectly with our own purpose to make an impact with the work that we do.

“To be among other great businesses working to help Scotland remain a dominant figure in the technology and innovation space makes this the ideal place for Vidatec to relocate.”

Andrew Lothian, Group Chief Executive, added: “I am delighted to have both our Group businesses headquartered together in Dundee. We are very proud to continue supporting our home city, where it all began for us.

“Insights and Vidatec are unique organisations, and the opportunities for collaboration and growth through this move are very exciting. What makes Vidatec special is its purpose, ‘to improve people’s experience of life through technology’.

“That purpose exists both in what we do and how we operate. We are looking forward to playing our part in Dundee’s thriving technology scene.”

Accenture

Accenture has announced plans to boost its UK workforce with 3,000 new roles over the next three years, with Scotland emerging as a prime location.

The company said it intends to expand its Edinburgh office and open new premises in Glasgow, aiming to “harness the expertise and talent in Scotland,” as well as boosting local growth opportunities.

New roles will offer technology and industry career opportunities across a range of areas, including data intelligence, cloud computing and cybersecurity with a focus on financial services.

Commenting on the news, Michelle Hawkins, Managing Director for Accenture Scotland, said: “This investment to create more jobs across the UK is an opportunity to grow our footprint in Scotland.

“Scotland has the talent and by creating these high-value jobs across data analytics and cloud in particular, we hope to continue to build Scotland’s reputation as a place of technology innovation and digital transformation.

“The pandemic has emphasised the role that technology plays in our economy and how it not only drives change but also competitiveness. It has also demonstrated that talent can be accessed anywhere. By building our expertise here in Scotland we envisage a greater role for Scottish skills supporting companies and economies oversees, without the need for them to relocate.”

Accenture has announced that half of the new roles will be based outside London, adding to its existing workforce of approximately 11,000.

Want to find out more? Read the full article here.