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For Businesses

Collaborate With Specialists

For more on how we can help your business collaborate with data science specialists, get in touch

Get in touch

Collaborate with data science specialists

Is your business looking for expertise to unlock the potential of data , or do you need specialist help to develop new data-driven products, services or processes?

We provide advice, contacts, funding and project-delivery support to enable businesses like yours to both harness the power of data and collaborate with data science researchers and specialists, on innovative data projects.

Talk directly to our Data Scientists

The Data Lab has a team of expert data scientists internally, and we can support you in understanding your data goals and identifying valuable data projects that can help move you forward. If you know what you want to do but aren’t sure of the language, or if you need help to identify your next steps, please get in touch.

Our internal data scientists can also provide direct support in delivering data projects.

  • We can support your data science efforts by helping you apply for external funding.
  • We can deliver up to 20 days of individual data-science support to help deliver a proof of concept project.
  • We can offer mentoring support to an individual member of your team, something that can be valuable if the individual and/or the organisation are new to data science.

Come to us for project collaboration help

Thanks to our extensive network of academic and industry contacts, we can link you up with the expertise and collaborators you need (and potentially access the funding you require) to get your next data project underway. We can also supply professional project management staff to coordinate between you and your academic partners, and ensure your projects run smoothly.

The collaborative projects we help set up and run typically feature:

  • One or more industrial partners focused on developing a new product / service.
  • One or more university researchers (ranging from senior academics to research associates) at a Scottish university.
  • Data scientists supporting or mentoring internal data-science teams.
  • Projects vary in length, but are typically 3-12 months long.

To find out more on how we can help you collaborate with specialists on your next data science project, get in touch

Get in touch

Get funding for your project

We can help you access various funding streams for your next collaborative data science project.

What businesses can apply for funding?

Any sector or industry can apply for our collaborative project funding — ranging from oil and gas, healthcare, food and drink to tourism, agriculture and financial services companies. We help small, medium or large companies – as long as they have a registered office in Scotland.

Our business development team will help you develop your project ideas into fundable propositions.

Depending on the level of funding you’re seeking, your project will either be assessed by The Data Lab’s Innovation Advisory Board or by an internal Data Lab panel. (NB: SMEs normally make a cash contribution of 25% towards total collaborative projects costs, rising to 40% for large companies.)

The core requirements for collaborative project funding applications are as follows:

  • Projects must have a clear economic impact (e.g. jobs, turnover) and/or positive societal outcome in mind.
  • Your company must show a clear ability to execute the project. This can be demonstrated through previously delivered R&D projects, domain expertise, and commercial capabilities (including access to markets).
  • The project must feature a novel and innovative application of data science/ AI techniques. This can be in the context of a particular industry sector.
  • Project proposals should typically be within Technology Readiness Levels 3 to 6 (TRL)

To find out more, view our pdf on funding processes for academic collaboration:

Collaborative-Innovation-Projects-timeline

If you require this document in an alternative format please contact The Data Lab, by email: info@thedatalab.com or telephone: 0131 651 4905

Eligible companies may also be able to obtain innovation support from other sources including Scotland’s enterprise agencies (Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise), the Innovate UK and EU programmes. Where appropriate, we will help you identify appropriate external support schemes for the project you want to develop.

What sort of support can data scientists provide?

Data science is anything that takes raw data and turns it into something that people can draw insight from. At its simplest, data science is the same as analytics, and provides static numbers, graphs, and trends within data to help identify key insights. Data science can also build dashboards, which are interactive visual tools that help a user self-select the information they need themselves. Or it can deliver advanced machine-learning models which may produce predictions, categorisations or even sentiment analysis from your data.

The type of support you can access will depend on both the data you collect and the insight that you need.

For more information on data science, read our Back to Basics series on our Blog.

Key benefits

Data Specialists

Get the expertise you need to make your projects happen

Funding

Get the finance required to get things off the ground

Support

Let The Data Lab help you manage the whole process

If you would like to know more about how we can help you collaborate with data specialists, get in touch. 

Get in touch

Find out how we’ve helped some of Scotland’s business collaborate with data specialists:

  • Driving Value from Data Case Study: NatureScot Supporting a Net-Zero Future

    Case Study

    Case Studies, Skills & Talent

    Driving Value from Data Case Study: NatureScot Supporting a Net-Zero Future

    Biodiversity and nature play a key part in meeting climate change and net zero goals. NatureScot is Scotland’s nature agency responding to the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. They work to protect and restore nature by inspiring everyone to value our natural world. Philippa Vigano, Innovative Technologies Programme Manager, recently completed our […]

    View case study

  • Data Leaders Case Study: Social Bite

    Case Study

    Skills & Talent

    Data Leaders Case Study: Social Bite

    Beginning life as a small café in Edinburgh in 2012, Social Bite has become an internationally renowned charity, supporting people facing homelessness or facing barriers to employment. In the last decade, it has also established several programmes, such as The Social Bite Village, free food provision, and globally renowned campaigns including Sleep in the Park. […]

    View case study

View all case studies

News about collaborative projects:

  • Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc’s Innovation Challenge 2 Awards £86,000 in Funding

    Net Zero, News, Support to innovate
    31/01/2023

    Five companies have been awarded funding as part of Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc’s (MSIP) second Innovation Challenge. MSIP and partners The Data Lab, CENSIS and Dundee City Council, are providing project funding of over £86,000, towards a total project cost of over £136,000. MSIP, a joint venture between Michelin, Dundee City Council and Scottish Enterprise, […]

    View

  • Scottish companies using space data to help tackle climate change

    Funding, Net Zero, News, Support to innovate
    24/01/2023

    The 11 companies selected to take part in the Scotland Can Do ‘Applying Space Data to the Net Zero Economy’ research and development (R&D) challenge – run by Scottish Enterprise in partnership with the Scottish Government and The Data Lab – came together yesterday (Monday, 23 January) to share their innovative ideas after recently being […]

    View

  • 2023 predictions on data and AI

    Healthcare, Net Zero, News, Support to innovate
    18/01/2023

    Brian Hills, CEO at The Data Lab, on what’s likely to happen this year in the world of data, AI and machine learning. SMEs will invest more in digital transformation I see 2023 as a year of opportunity for SMEs to drive innovation and adoption of data, AI and machine learning, and a time when […]

    View

View all news

The Data Lab Community enables data and AI professionals, academics, students and other enthusiasts to connect, collaborate and learn from each other.

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The Data Lab is part of the University of Edinburgh, a charitable body registered in Scotland with registration number SC005336.

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