The Data Lab’s placement programme is helping shape Scotland’s data and AI talent pipeline by connecting students with industry. The Scottish Government recently took part in the programme, hosting MSc student Oliwer Szmytkowski, whose placement supported the development of cloud cost reporting dashboards as part of an emerging FinOps project.
The Challenge
While studying for an MSc in IT with Business Intelligence at Robert Gordon University, Oliwer wanted to gain practical experience to apply what he had learned in a real-world environment. Having never completed an internship or placement before, The Data Lab’s placement programme gave him the opportunity to work on a live project within the Scottish Government while developing the skills needed for a career in data.
The Solution
Matched with the Scottish Government and hosted by Erica Belcher, Oliwer joined the team as a Student Data Analyst, supporting a Financial Operations (FinOps) project. FinOps focuses on helping organisations better understand and manage cloud computing costs, and at the time, the team was developing an in-house approach to making complex cloud spend data easier to interpret.
As the project evolved, he worked closely with colleagues to refine the dashboards in response to customer feedback. The placement also formed the basis of his master’s thesis, combining FinOps theory with a practical case study of the Scottish Government solution.
“The best way to learn is by doing. The placement pushed me beyond academic examples into delivering something for real users and real organisational needs.”
Oliwer Szmytkowski, MSc in IT with Business Intelligence at RGU and The Data Lab Masters Scholarship Programme (Class of 2026)
For Erica, the placement came at an ideal time. As recruitment across the Scottish Government became increasingly challenging, hosting a placement student offered an opportunity to bring fresh skills and perspectives into the team while providing meaningful experience within the public sector. It was a reciprocal arrangement, enabling the team to benefit from Oliwer’s contribution while giving him valuable hands-on experience in an emerging area of work.
“Having a student who was engaged and keen to contribute created real collaboration. Reviewing measures, discussing visuals and improving the overall design of the dashboards led to better products.”
Erica Belcher, Scottish Government
Outcomes
Working alongside the team, Oliwer collaborated with user researchers and service designers to improve dashboard usability, presented demonstrations to customers and shared the team’s work through the cross-government FinOps community. By the end of the placement, a private beta had been released to around eight organisations that use the Scottish Government cloud platform, and presentations had also prompted interest from colleagues at the Office for National Statistics.
Alongside the project, Oliwer expanded his technical expertise in Power BI, SQL and DAX while gaining experience working with stakeholders and multidisciplinary teams.
He also achieved Microsoft and FinOps certifications during the placement.
The placement also became an important milestone in Oliwer’s career. At the time, Oliwer decided to leave his administrative role at the NHS to undertake the placement.
Although it felt like a risk, he says the experience was worthwhile, helping him strengthen his CV, build a portfolio of practical work and secure his next role.
For Erica, the experience reinforced the value of bringing students into the team. The placement not only added capacity to an emerging area of work but also introduced new ways of thinking and problem-solving, leading to a stronger product. Having continued working with Oliwer beyond the initial placement, she says she would gladly host another student in the future.
The project highlights the value of collaboration between The Data Lab and organisations such as the Scottish Government. By connecting students with meaningful industry projects, the programme creates value for both students and organisations—helping organisations access emerging talent while giving students the practical skills, experience and confidence needed to build careers in Scotland’s growing data and AI sector.
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