Welcome to the latest edition of DIGIT’s Movers and Shakers, where we highlight some of the biggest partnerships, recruitments, appointments, expansions, and awards shaking up the Scottish tech ecosystem.

From landmark NHS and university partnerships to major C-suite appointments, catch up on some of the most intriguing news stories hitting the Scotland’s tech landscape.

Partnerships

InnoScot & NHS Ayrshire and Arran Competition Collaboration

NHS Ayrshire & Arran have launched a new innovation competition in collaboration with InnoScot Health open to all NHS staff members, looking for innovative ideas to improve patient care.

Regardless of role or department, NHS employees are encouraged to submit ideas. They can address issues as simple or as complex as the employee likes, what’s important is that they are tangible solutions to real-life issues in the NHS system 

The competition opened on 28 August and is calling for ideas that align with the vision “caring for Ayrshire,” which promotes local care, self-management, early interventions, and collaboration with local community services. It is run by InnoScot, which works in partnership with NHS Scotland to improve patient care through innovations. 

Read more here

Pulsant Partners with Fibairo to Provide Edge Computing to Local Scots Businesses

A new partnership will see the implementation of edge computer infrastructure between The Crichton Trust’s 85-acre campus in Dumfries and the Pulsant South Gyle data centre.

The partnetship will not only deliver edge infrastructure to the 126 business across the Trust site, including the academic institutions and The Crichton Trust itself, but will also encourage businesses across the South of Scotland, to connect to high performance
compute capability and benefit from access to the onsite S5GC Hub to develop and test new products.

The investment from Pulsant will ensure all local users and campus-based businesses can access the company’s platformEDGE network free of charge, opening up the host of productivity benefits, solutions, and remote working capabilities that edge compute can deliver.

Wendy Shearer, director of smart cities and ecosystems at Pulsant, said: “Pulsant is committed to supporting the growth of regional businesses across the UK.

“Connecting rural companies into digital infrastructure allows them to tap into new markets, develop innovative products, streamline their business and scale globally.

“There is much talk of Levelling Up and Innovation zones, but sometimes the small and simple initiatives like this can really make a difference at a local level. Pulsant is proud to invest in this critical connection and to work alongside Fibairo and The Crichton Trust to connect businesses across the South of Scotland into the opportunities available from edge technology.”

Snugg and Scottish Building Society Strike Energy Partnership 

Edinburgh-based Snugg, which is an online tool that analyses properties to create personalised energy-efficiency improvement plans, has teamed up with the Scottish Building Society.

The partnership is set to give the Society’s members access to resources like energy efficiency plans and financial assistance. 

Snugg will also recommend Scottish Building Society members to grants they may be eligible for to fund their projects, and link them with installers that could carry out the work.

“Our mission is to make it simple and affordable for everyone to have an energy efficient home. Currently, homes in the UK rank amongst some of the worst in Europe for energy efficiency and over a fifth of UK emissions come from homes,” said Robin Peters, CEO of Snugg.

Read more here.

RM Technology Extends Partnership with Education Scotland 

RM Technology’s digital learning solution will continue to be used by staff and students across Scotland’s education sector following RM Technology’s partnership extension with Education Scotland. 

Glow, the proprietary software of the edtech company has been implemented across 32 local authorities across Scotland to date. The move has proven to be instrumental in continuing the education of students during the pandemic. 

Now that students are back in schools, educators noticed that the learning habits of students have shifted significantly, which prompted the continued use of the tool. “The way young people learn is evolving as technology continues to advance at a rapid pace,” said education secretary Jenny Gilruth.

“We’re thrilled to continue this journey with Education Scotland. We’ve always seen our technology’s 99.95% uptime rates for schools as a huge achievement, but the fact that we’ve managed to maintain these exceptional levels and help Glow navigate the pandemic confidently and consistently gives us great motivation,” said Jason Tomlinson, managing director at RM Technology.

Read more here. 

AstroAgency Partners with Dubia-based AzurX 

Edinburgh-based space agency AstroAgency has partnered with Dubai-based AzurX to develop earth observation (EO) solutions. 

The two companies hope the partnership will lay the foundations for a Gulf-UK “space channel” to encourage further collaboration between the regions. The project is receiving funding from both sides, notably, the UK Space Agency’s International Bilateral Fund (IBF) has awarded the companies £75,000.

“Working with other space agencies and organisations across the globe through our International Bilateral Fund allows us to draw on skills that enhance our homegrown expertise and capabilities, drive up investment in the UK, and support world-class science and discovery,” said Dr Paul Bate, chief executive of the UK Space Agency.

The companies are proposing to use EO data to monitor and manage water resources, urbanisation and infrastructure, carbon monitoring, oil and gas leaks, natural disaster monitoring and support general ESG (Environmental, social, and corporate governance) initiatives. 

Read more here. 

Wood and Harbour Energy Agree to £261M Partnership

Wood and Harbour Energy (Harbour), the UK’s largest oil and gas producer, have entered into a new strategic partnership for UK North Sea operations agreeing a new master services agreement (MSA) and associated contracts valued at around $330 million (£261m).

Under this new agreement, Wood will provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance (O&M) services, including digital and decarbonisation solutions, for a number of Harbour’s offshore assets critical to UK energy security.

The strategic partnership will run for an initial term of five years, with five one-year extension options covering Harbour’s operated assets, including its J-Area, Greater Britannia Area, Solan and AELE (Armada, Everest, Lomond and Erskine) hubs.

Audrey Stewart, Harbour Energy’s Vice President of Supply Chain, said: “Harbour is excited to develop our relationship with Wood and the signing of this contract is an important step forward in establishing our suite of long-term strategic partnerships across our North Sea assets.”

Read more here. 

Frog Systems Chooses Bupp as Benefits Partner

Glasgow headquartered Frog Systems has further expanded its wellbeing support for employees by partnering with the Bupp membership programme to offer regular discounts to users of its streaming service Ashia.

Employees whose companies subscribe to Ashia will receive money off everyday wellbeing products and treats, without having to earn rewards.

Phil Worms, CEO of Frog Systems, said: “We are delighted to have worked with the team at Bupp to create these exclusive offers and bring extra value to users of our wellbeing streaming service. The ability of employees to save money on items that help them to be mentally, physically and financially healthy is a great incentive for any employer who wants to sign up.”

The offers have been selected to reflect the 16 areas of wellbeing support covered by Ashia. There are discounts on health checks, healthy eating, wellbeing apps and coaching as well as days out and trips to the cinema.

NCSC and ICO Partner on Cyber Threat Intelligence 

The UK’s data protection watchdog and national security agency agree to cooperate closely on the nation’s cybersecurity posture. 

The agreement came in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which both the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) formally signed.

As part of the agreement, the ICO has committed to sharing cyber-incident information with the NCSC on an anonymised and aggregate basis. However, the MoU said the ICO will also share “incident specific details where the matter is of national significance.”

The MoU also confirms that the NCSC will never pass information shared in confidence with it to the ICO without consent from that organisation. 

Read more here. 

Smart Data Foundry and FCA Partner to Tackle Fraud

Smart Data Foundry has been selected to partner with the FCA and the City of London Corporation to provide synthetic data in support of their drive to encourage innovative solutions to tackle the problem of Authorised Push Payment (APP) Fraud.

Smart Data Foundry’s aizle® synthetic data engine is being used to create an APP fraud synthetic dataset that can be accessed via the FCA’s Permanent Digital Sandbox.

APP Fraud scams happen when someone is tricked into sending money to a fraudster posing as a genuine person. £485.2m was lost to APP Fraud scams in 2022 which accounts for 40% of all financial fraud losses in the period.

Bryn Coulthard, chief product and technology officer at Smart Data Foundry said “We focus on creating high utility synthetic data to enable innovation within the financial services industry.

“We are delighted to continue partnering with the FCA with our APP Fraud datasets to help play a part in tackling this growing problem and to help ignite and accelerate innovation in this space.”

Read more here. 

Recruitment and Appointments

New UK National Technology Advisor 

The UK government has appointed Dr Dave Smith as its National Technology Adviser, following the departure of Sir Patrick Vallance from the role.

Appointed by the Prime Minister, Smith’s experience and leadership in the tech sector ‘ideally places him to guide the nation’s tech aspirations.’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Innovation in technology is one of the most important ways we can transform people’s lives, which is why I am delighted to appoint Dave Smith as the UK’s National Technology Adviser – who brings expertise and vision to this vital role.

National Technology Adviser Dave Smith said: “I am deeply honoured to serve as the UK’s National Technology Adviser. Throughout my career, I’ve consistently advocated for the transformative power of technology and innovation to redefine societies.

“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to harness the growing potential of the British tech sector to drive growth and tackle society’s biggest challenges. Building upon the significant foundations laid by Sir Patrick Vallance, I’m eager to ensure the UK’s continued leadership and position as a global tech superpower.”

Read more here. 

iomart Announces New CEO 

Glasgow-headquartered cloud computing firm iomart has announced a change in leadership as Reece Donovan, who has served as the company’s chief executive officer since March 2020, announced he will be stepping down with immediate effect, with executive chair, Lucy Dimes, moving in to the role in Donovan’s wake.

A statement published on iomart’s site, read: ‘The Board of iomart (AIM: IOM), the cloud computing company, announces that Reece Donovan will be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer and leaving the Company with immediate effect. Reece joined the Board as Chief Operating Officer in March 2020 and became Chief Executive Officer in September 2020.

Lucy Dimes, executive chair, will become chief executive officer on a full-time basis, with immediate effect. A search for a new chair will commence in due course.

Read more here.  

UK Gov Levels Up with 2,500 New Tech Recruits 

The UK Government is aiming to recruit 2,500 people into internal tech- and digital-focussed roles through new apprenticeship and early-talent programmes by June 2025, it’s been announced.

The Cabinet Office stated the efforts are being set in motion with a new digital apprenticeship programme, which supports the hiring of 500 early-career entrants into digital roles across government this financial year.

Through the programme, both civil servants and new entrants to be recruited into different in-demand roles, such as cybersecurity technologists and software developers.

The 2,000 other opportunities will include 1,300 additional digital apprenticeship programme roles, and 700 roles created through the expansion of initiatives already in place, such as the Software Developer Programme.

Read more here. 

Scottish Financial Enterprise Appoints New Young Professionals Senior Role

Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE), the representative body for Scotland’s financial services industry, has appointed Cheri Burns to a senior role within its Young Professionals network to bolster communications, with the aim of engaging and supporting the next generation of industry leaders.

SFE Young Professionals (SFEYP) was set up in 2016 by young people working in financial services across Scotland to provide opportunities for career development, access to networking and, ultimately, make the sector more accessible for emerging professionals.

Burns, currently PR & Corporate Communications Director for RegTech provider Encompass Corporation, joins its Committee structure as a Communication Strategy Lead.

Cheri Burns, PR & corporate communications director for RegTech provider Encompass Corporation, said: “I am thrilled to have been selected to be part of such a forward-thinking, important group, and cannot wait to use my expertise to contribute to campaigns that help to amplify the roles and voices of the young professionals driving our industry forward.

Read more here. 

FinTech Scotland Appoints New Senior Leader 

FinTech Scotland has announced today the appointment of a new senior leader, Trish Quinn, who joins as Strategic Innovation Director.

Quinn will be leading the development of the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) which is due to launch later on this year.

The Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) is one of the recommendations laid out in the UK Fintech research & Innovation Roadmap published in March 2022.

It is set to be a new collaborative centre of excellence for cutting-edge fintech developments in financial regulation. The Lab will explore solutions that aim to streamline regulatory processes, enhance compliance measures, and drive efficiencies across the financial sector.

Commenting on her appointment, Trish Quinn said: “I am delighted to join FinTech Scotland as the Innovation Director and lead the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab.

The potential to reshape the financial industry through technology applied to financial regulation is significant, and I am excited to join the team at FinTech Scotland to drive innovation, foster collaboration, and contribute to the growth of the fintech sector.”

Read more here. 

Net Zero Technology Centre Adds Board Member

The Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC) based in Aberdeen has announced that Sarim Sheikh – an experienced figure in the international renewables and energy industry – has been appointed as an independent non-executive director on its board. 

The NZTC was founded in 2017 as part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal, kick started with £180 million in UK and Scottish government funding. Since 2017, the Centre has invested more than £253m in technology, screened more than 2,170 new technologies, and supported almost 60 tech startups. 

Sheikh brings with him nearly three decades of experience with companies like General Electric and Shell across Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. During his career, Sheikh has collected a number of accolades including the General Electric Chairman’s Leadership Award, and Top Companies Award from the Pakistan Stock Exchange for Shell under his leadership. 

“I’ve been following the impressive evolution and growth of the Net Zero Technology Centre for some time and am excited to join the board as a non-executive director at this pivotal moment,” said Sarim Sheikh.

Read more here. 

Alba Bank Hires New CRO and Chair

As it continues to gear up for its launch, Alba Bank is appointing industry leaders to fill key roles. 

The Glasgow-based challenger bank, dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), onboarded two industry veterans Robert Sharpe and Andrew Lewis. 

The move comes almost half a year after the bank was granted a licence by the UK Prudential Regulatory Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, allowing it to move into mobilisation. During this time the bank focuses on assembling its team and refining and strengthening infrastructure and operations. 

Now the bank has secured two industry leaders for pivotal roles. Robert Sharpe joins the bank as chair of the board with over 45 years of experience in retail banking. He currently holds positions as chair at Metro Bank, Hampshire Trust Bank and Pollen Street.

Alba bank also onboarded Andrew Lewis as its new chief risk officer (CRO). Lewis brings over 25 years of experience in financial services with him, most of which were spent at NatWest Group where he was instrumental in various senior business and risk roles. While there, he co-founded NatWest’s Esme Loans, an SME digital lending platform. 

Read more here. 

Stampede Hires New Consult and and Commercial Head

Julie Grieve, Founder and CEO of Criton, has also joined Stampede as a commercial consultant and adviser.  Criton, the UK’s largest provider of guest apps for independent hotels, was acquired by Nonius, the global hospitality technology vendor, last year. Grieve’s addition to the team comes as Stampede increases its focus on the hotel sector.

Patrick Clover, Founder and CEO of Stampede, said: “It’s great to get Julie on board, she brings incredible industry experience and operating know-how, gained at one of the UK’s most successful hospitality tech startups of recent times.  It also comes at an important juncture for Stampede, where we are entering our next phase of growth, working more with hotels, and aiming to take the business to the next level.”

Additionally, Christian White has joined the company as Head of Commercial, moving from Fresh Car Group where he was Director of Operations.  As a previous operations manager at both Signature Pub Group and G1 Group, White brings extensive experience from the pub and restaurants, bars, and nightclub market.  

Clover added: “I am delighted to have hired someone of Christian’s calibre and experience into the business, and I know that he will continue our laser focus on delivering exceptional tools for the hospitality industry.”

Greenbean Hires New Associate Director 

Greenhouse, the recruitment partner, has announced the latest addition to its senior leadership team with the appointment of Dean Durrant as Associate Director of Client Solutions. 

With over two decades of expertise in recruitment and talent management, Dean stands out with his ability to forge enduring client relationships while leveraging his recruitment acumen. 

Leanne Chambers, Managing Director at greenbean, expressed her optimism about the appointment, stating, “Dean’s induction to our leadership team signifies a remarkable advancement for greenbean. His proficiency in strategic hiring and innovative partnership models stands to propel greenbean to new heights, offering unmatched value to our clients.”

Dean echoed this sentiment, commenting, “Joining greenbean is an exciting chapter in my career. I was looking for an opportunity to leverage my experience within change & transformation with a business with proven capability to deliver complex experienced hire projects. The company’s values align seamlessly with my dedication to creating tailored partnership solutions that simplify and optimise the recruitment process. I’m looking forward to driving innovative strategies that address talent acquisition challenges and streamline recruitment for businesses.”

Awards

Dundee Uni Student Wins Young Software Engineer of the Year

A Dundee University student has been named Young Software Engineer of the Year for his solution which illustrates what unexplored areas of the moon might look like.

The 34th annual Young Software Engineer of the Year Awards took place in a ceremony in Edinburgh yesterday evening (28th September) hosted by Scotland’s tech trade body ScotlandIS at its ScotSoft conference.

Struan Robertson, originally from the Isle of Eigg in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, took the top prize home for his project on Lunar Terrain Void Infilling.

Karen Meechan, CEO at ScotlandIS, said: “Each year we are amazed at the amount of young talent coming through our universities, showcasing true innovation by producing creative solutions to solve real-world problems.”

Read more here. 

Glasgow Uni Students Reach Amazon TaskBot Challenge Finals 

Students from the University of Glasgow‘s School of Computing Science are defending their title in the finals of the Alexa Prize TaskBot Challenge funded by Amazon.

The teams compete to build the best AI-powered multimodal conversational assistant to help people perform real-world tasks like cooking, making crafts, or helping with DIY.

The research group – the Generalized Representation and Information Learning Lab (GRILL), advised by faculty member Dr Jeff Dalton – won the $500,000 cash grand prize in last year’s competition.

The GRILL team are the only UK entrants selected by Amazon to compete against students from 10 universities in the USA and Portugal. A semi-final in June whittled the competitors down to eight teams.

PhD student Sophie Fischer is the GRILL team’s leader. She said: “We find it exciting to use the latest advances in Large Language Models to create experiences for users that are fun and engaging by bringing in new types of rich interactions and teach them new knowledge and skills. The Challenge is a fun rollercoaster because the time from research to real-world deployment is shorter than in most research projects.”

Read more here.  

Heero Technologies Shortlisted for Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards

Heero Technologies, a high-growth cleantech software and data company based in Dundee, is excited to be shortlisted for two Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards. The start-up has been announced as finalists in both the Funded Business of the Year and Business to Watch categories.

Commenting on being shortlisted, Nicola Kennedy, CEO of Heero Technologies, said: “As a young company, we are incredibly proud to be nominated in these two categories. It is a positive endorsement of our ambitious, woman-led team and the solution we have created, and a testament to the growing realisation that technology has a vital role to play in addressing environmental challenges.” 

Heero Technologies was launched in 2022 with the aim of empowering homeowners to reduce their energy consumption and decarbonise their homes. To help overcome the multitude of barriers and complex guidance householders often encounter when trying to reduce their energy bills, the company developed an easy-to-use App aimed at guiding people through the entire retrofit journey while streamlining the user experience.

Expansions

FD Intelligence Sets Up New Office in Glasgow

Scottish automation firm FD Intelligence expands to Glasgow with a new office. 

Founded in 2020 out of Edinburgh, the firm expanded to Glasgow as part of its ambitious plan to triple revenue each of the next two years. 

The company specialises in robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) to handle tasks that would otherwise require human intervention. 

The company currently has 25 employees across the UK, 12 of which already based in Glasgow, and the remaining 13 between Manchester and London. 

“This technology has the capacity to resolve many of the current issues with staff shortages by freeing people from repetitive tasks to get involved in more customer-focused activities,” said Andrew Guy, founder and chief executive of FD Intelligence, as reported by Insider.

Read more here. 

Heriot-Watt Launches Solar Test Site in Dubai

Heriot-Watt’s satellite campus in Dubai launches a solar energy testing facility with support from the UK Government. 

The funding for this project was provided by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), along with support from the British Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Dubai’s abundance of sunshine made it an attractive place to set up the Heriot-Watt solar test site. The site can accommodate between 24 and 32 panels at a time, with a weather station providing time data on ambient temperature, sun intensity, humidity, wind speed and direction. 

All data is then linked to a data centre in the University’s campus, allowing the researchers to analyse live data against theoretical models.

“This provides a unique opportunity for the British industry to test and showcase their technologies, and to explore potential new markets in the Middle East and beyond,” said Nick Boucher, head of the UK Science and Innovation Network for the Gulf Region.

Read more here. 

UofG Launches new Centre for Data Science and AI 

In a bid to tackle key global challenges through innovative technologies, the University of Glasgow has launched its new Centre for Data Science and AI.

The centre will bring hundreds of academics from across the university’s four colleges together to undergo and unlock research on data science and artificial intelligence across various applications.

At the centre’s official launch event, a handful of projects utilising data science and AI to deliver new advances across six programmes of research were showcased.

The cross-disciplinary programmes target data- and AI-driven advances in engineering and the physical sciences; medical, veterinary and life sciences; economic and social sciences; arts and the humanities; and innovation. The sixth programme will support research in data science and AI across the university.

Speaking on the launch and the centre’s mission-led ethos, professor Ana Basiri, who’s the centre’s director, said: “We were pleased to welcome Mr Lochhead to campus to learn about some of the work we’re doing to help tackle problems like climate change and inequality through data science and AI.”

Read more here. 

Eureka Solutions Expands to England 

Tech business, Eureka Solutions, has launched a new base in Gateshead, Tyneside within the Your Business Networks (YBN) building on Delta Bank Road to cater for its growing staff numbers and new business in the region. 

The office will be manned by up to six employees at any one time, providing expert advice for customers new and old, with the premise open on weekdays between 9am – 5.30pm.

It sees the firm begin an ambitious growth strategy as it looks to attract further clients to its portfolio.

David Lindores, CEO of Eureka Solutions said: “Expanding our reach to Tyneside is more than just opening a new office; it’s unfurling our ambitions across the UK’s digital horizon. 

“This milestone isn’t just about physical space; it’s about creating virtual bridges that connect us to a wealth of new opportunities. With this new chapter, we’re not only extending our presence but casting a wider net for innovation, talent, and partnerships. 

“Tyneside, with its vibrant tech community, will be the backdrop to our story of growth, inspiring us to scale new heights in the sector.” 

Emblation Moves to Stirling Office 

A Scottish health tech leader has announced that it is well underway in moving staff into its stunning, new £4m office in Stirling, ushering in the start of a new era. 

Medical microwave technology innovator Emblation has invested heavily in its new HQ Emblation House – which boasts a sauna, gym, chillout area and a 90-person auditorium – with the first of its growing workforce having moved in this week. 

Departments already moved in include Commercial, Corporate and Finance, with the Product Development, Research, Operations and Quality and Regulatory teams expected to move over the next few weeks. 

To mark the milestone, senior officials from Stirling Council, including leader Chris Kane, enjoyed a tour of the 20,000 plus square feet premises following its 18-month refurb. 

Councillor Kane said: “Emblation is a world leading business, with an outstanding reputation for innovation in health technology.

“The move to Stirling further enhances the growth of the life sciences sector in the city and they are exactly the type of pioneering and forward-thinking company we want to attract.

“Emblation brings high value, highly skilled jobs and with plans for even greater expansion they will help deliver economic diversity and development opportunities to the area.”