For businesses
Student Placements
Get the data and AI skills your business needs with our student placements
Discover new data and AI talent to benefit your business
Inject some data and AI expertise into your organisation through our range of well-respected student placement programmes.
We can link you with Scotland’s brightest data students through our well-respected placements. They provide an invaluable opportunity for your businesses to benefit from the most up-to-date thinking, technical skills and enthusiasm from highly motivated students.
Discover what is possible with an injection of data-science expertise!
Contact a member of our team to learn more.
Who can apply?
Our student placement programme is open to any Scottish organisation looking to add state-of-the-art data-driven knowledge into their organisations. Our dedicated Placement Team will work with you to find a suitable student based on your business needs.
Join the likes of Capita, Think Analytics, NatureScot, The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, NatWest and other who have benefited first-hand from our placement students. Check out the video below to hear their story.
What types of student placements are available?
Data Lab Academy programme, which matches you with an Integrated Masters or MSc Student for 8-12 weeks.
Contact us to discuss your needs and we’ll find you the perfect match.
The Data Lab Academy Placements
You’ll be amazed at what our students can achieve for you within an 8–12-week period.
At any one time, we have over 100 students in Scotland studying a range of MSc courses in AI, data science, data analytics, data engineering and more from top university and colleges. Our students are keen for work experience to use their technical skills in the real world.
From energy market price forecasting and connecting electric vehicle drivers with nature-based tourism to machine learning for glucose prediction and reinforcement learning for herd mentality in investments; our students have had an impact across every industry.
Our team will help you shape your project and will match you with a suitable student and skill set. There is no up-front cost to participate, employers are only responsible for the 8–12-week salary of the placement student.
Examples of previous placement projects
- AI in automated human vaccination
- Blockchain-driven sustainable chemical marketplace
- Connecting electric vehicle drivers with nature-based tourism
- Energy market price forecasting
- Enhancing computer vision interpretation of vegetation photography
- Machine learning for glucose prediction in diabetes
- Reinforcement learning for herd mentality in investments
Hear first-hand from our delighted employers…
“Spyros worked on a commercial piece of work and the income for this will pay for the placement. An excellent outcome.”
Laura Anderson
Director, Sea Spyder
“We are delighted with both our placements who have delivered significant cutting edge data science solutions for us.”
Duncan Hart
Deepminer
“Ionannis went beyond what was expected by producing a new AI image classification system.”
Stephen Gerrard
NatureScot
If you would like to host a student, contact the Placements Team now.
Find out how we’ve helped some of Scotland’s business access the talent they need:
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The Scottish Climate Intelligence Service: Helping local authorities reduce emissions
Supported by The Data Lab, the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute (ECCI) developed innovative tools to facilitate data-driven decisions and positive climate action by local governments. The Challenge Scotland has ambitious net-zero targets, requiring all public bodies to cut their organisational emissions. But Scotland’s 32 local authorities want to go further, tackling emissions from all sources…
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Elementz and The Data Lab: Advancing AI Talent Through Industry Collaboration
The Data Lab is helping shape Scotland’s AI talent pipeline by connecting students with industry. Elementz, specialists in subsea integrity software, shared their experience hosting Karol Hetman, a Data Lab Academy student whose placement delivered lasting impact. Karol Hetman, a Computer Science and Physics graduate from the University of Aberdeen, had already been working as…
News about our business support:
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From Data to Diagnosis: How AI Is Revolutionising Healthcare
Healthcare systems are facing unprecedented pressures, with demand outpacing resources and services struggling to keep up. In Scotland alone, Public Health Scotland estimates that the NHS could be managing around 1,300 additional unplanned hospital admissions every week, largely driven by an ageing population. Cancer treatment waiting times are now the worst on record, with a third of patients with…
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Embracing the economic potential of AI in Scotland
A new programme helping Scottish companies seize the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) has been launched. Supported by nearly £1 million of Scottish Government funding, it will offer small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) a range of support – including tailored consultancy services and grants – to introduce or expand the use of AI in order to…
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From Data to Decisions: Building Trustworthy AI in Financial Services
In this guest blog, we’re pleased to welcome insights from David Bull, Senior Consultant at Talan. With over 15 years of experience across Retail, Commercial, and Investment Banking, as well as industries including Transport and Renewable Energy, David has led projects spanning data analytics, regulatory change, and remediation. Drawing on his expertise in data governance…
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