The Data Lab, Scotland’s Innovation Centre for Data and AI, welcomes the UK Government’s spending review announcements and is pleased to see the commitment and approach towards driving economic growth through investment in innovation, research and digital skills.
An increase to R&D funding to £22 billion per year by 2029-30, alongside £2 billion for the AI Opportunities Action Plan and £6 billion to support start-up growth, represents a significant commitment to unlocking the UK’s potential for homegrown AI innovation to address national challenges. The £750 million allocated for a new exascale supercomputer at our host institution, the University of Edinburgh, boosts our national infrastructure, and provides scientists across the UK access to compute power on a world-leading scale.
The announcement follows the launch of TechFirst, a £187 million national programme aimed at embedding AI and digital skills in classrooms and communities. It includes targeted support for over 4,000 learners and innovators through initiatives including TechYouth, TechLocal and TechGrad, which collaboratively include new under- and postgraduate scholarship programmes, seed funding, and practical routes into tech and data careers and AI innovation across the UK’s nations and regions. The Spärck Scholarship programme offers 100 elite AI scholarships awarded across 9 universities, including the University of Edinburgh, in partnership with industry. This funding commitment will complement the work that The Data Lab leads on in Scotland to support 75-100 data and AI masters students annually through a fully-funded scholarship programme offering wrap-around employability and industry skills training with funding provided by the Scottish Funding Council.
Heather Thomson, CEO of The Data Lab, said,
“We welcome these funding commitments, which recognise the power of data and AI to transform lives, drive innovation, and support inclusive economic growth.
These programmes will open new opportunities for people to develop digital skills, for businesses to adopt AI and transform productivity, and for public services to innovate.
Whether it’s boosting the talent pipeline by helping someone retrain, ensuring industry can access the skills needed to unlock the power of AI, or helping open the door to collaboration by connecting academia with industry to drive growth through innovation, at The Data Lab, we’re proud to connect individuals, organisations, and communities – turning potential into impact and helping ensure Scotland remains at the forefront of responsible AI innovation.”