The Data Lab has secured £13.5 million in Scottish Government funding following a successful first phase of activity.

Since its launch in 2014, the Data Lab has capitalised on existing funding from the Scottish Funding Council to attract and cultivate some of Scotland’s finest data talent. It has created and led a number of education programmes and events, as well as providing support for Scottish innovation projects.

This funding will allow it to improve data innovation’s economic impact on Scotland, help to generate more jobs and build on its growing global reputation. To date, The Data Lab has provided approximately £2.4 million to 66 projects, with the projects’ total value reaching £6.3 million.

Backing Innovation

Funding for Phase 2 will officially commence in April 2019 and run for five years. The package consists of up to £9.5 million from the Scottish Funding Council, £2.5 million from Scottish Enterprise and £1 million from the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise will also provide support in the range of half a million pounds.

Gillian Docherty, CEO of The Data Lab, said: “We’re proud of the impact The Data Lab has had on Scottish business and innovation communities over the past four years and are pleased to receive further backing from the Scottish Government. The continuation of our work will help develop a strong data science community and accelerate Scotland’s economic growth.

“The Data Lab has built a vibrant, supportive and effective data community across Scotland. The success we’ve had means we’re in a great position to continue to collaborate with the Scottish and international community on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence innovation during Phase 2.”

Supporting Scottish Business

Phase 1 saw The Data Lab support a broad range of sectors, which the centre said reflects the breadth of value that data can deliver for Scotland. The sectors included healthcare, oil, gas and renewable energy, finance, creative industries and telecoms.

The Albyn Housing Society was one of the organisations supported by The Data Lab during its involvement in the FIT Home Initiative, which aims to develop housing solutions to enable people to live independently for longer, as well as helping to improve medical treatment at home.

Lucy Fraser, head of innovation at Albyn Housing Society, said the support was “invaluable” in terms of the funding it provided and also the opportunities it created for connecting with wider industries.

Due to the centre’s support, Fraser said: “We’re now able to grow the project and have recently taken on a PhD student to help take us to the next level and reach our long-term goals”

The Data Lab also established an internationally recognised MSc Data Science programme, having supported 260 MSc studentships through 17 courses delivered across 11 universities in its first three years. The programme is expected to grow throughout Phase 2, supporting 665 new data science MScs and ensuring a steady flow of talent into Scottish businesses.

DataFest19

In March this year, Scotland hosted DataFest18, a week-long festival of data innovation which brought to life the collaboration overseen by The Data Lab and its engagement with the data community. The festival saw more than 3,000 individuals attend more than 50 events.

Building on the success of this year’s event, DataFest19 aims to further enhance Scotland’s blossoming global data reputation. The 2019 event will be extended to run over a two week period and will include the renowned Data Summit and Data Talent Scotland.

Additionally, 2019 will see the introduction of a new technical event, DataTech.