The Data Lab, Scotland’s Innovation Centre for Data and AI, welcomes the announcements in the budget on the increase in funding for the college sector and universities, investment in innovation, enterprise and entrepreneurship, employability and skills development and a further £125m investment in City Region Deals.
Heather Thomson, CEO of The Data Lab, said,
“The increased funding for colleges and universities is vital to address financial challenges and support the key role they play in driving economic growth, creating a pipeline of talent and supporting upskilling to meet the country’s workforce needs, which helps people move into higher-value jobs and equips businesses with the skills they need to remain competitive.
“A further £215m investment in regional growth deals creates opportunities for new economic partnerships, building on existing employability projects in communities across Scotland, such as the Data Skills Gateway programme, which works across all education stages – schools, colleges, universities and in-work vocational training – to ensure that all citizens of the Edinburgh & South East Scotland (ESES) City Region have opportunities to improve and enhance their skills and benefit from the data and AI revolution.
“Data and AI technologies have huge potential to increase productivity, reduce inefficiencies, improve our society and change lives in Scotland, but ethical and responsible development and adoption are critical. It’s exciting to see the £126m investment in modernising our NHS through digital infrastructure, introducing digital, data and AI technologies, ensuring safe foundations are in place to deliver services more efficiently and enhance patient outcomes.”