Don't Miss THE Scotsman Data Conference 2024!

Data, Deepfakes and Democracy

Thursday 26th September 2024

The Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh

Data and artificial intelligence has played an increasingly prominent role in elections in recent years. 2024 is packed with democratic elections, in countries including the UK, United States and India, but what impact will data and AI have - both positive and negative?

How are rogue actors spreading disinformation and deploying plausible deepfakes to influence elections - and undermine our trust in democracy more generally?

How can democratic societies counter those threats  - and more importantly, how can we build better future democracies by regulating and controlling AI and data effectively?

Hear from experts on these and a range of other issues around the complex interplay between artificial intelligence, data and democracy.

 Keynote speakers:

Oliver Escobar is Professor of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation at the University of Edinburgh. His work combines research, teaching and practice in the fields of public participation, policy innovation, power inequalities, and the democratic governance of the future. Before academia, he worked in radio, retail, fishing, construction and literature.

Olga Tokariuk is a Chatham House OSUN Academy Fellow, Ukraine Forum. Her professional interests are international affairs and research on disinformation, especially in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She is a former fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University and CEPA non-resident fellow. Olga’s background is in journalism and she has vast experience in Ukrainian and international media.

More to be announced soon.

Get your tickets here

Work Starts on Edinburgh Innovation Hub

A ‘ground-breaking’ ceremony has taken place to mark the start of construction on an innovation hub designed to become a nationally significant centre for innovation driven business growth and to create new high value employment.

The Edinburgh Innovation Hub is a joint venture between East Lothian Council and Queen Margaret University (QMU).

Representatives of the council and university were joined for the ceremony by Donald Cameron, UK Government Minister for Scotland, and Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Small Business, Innovation, Tourism and Trade.

The 7,200 sqm Hub, which received planning permission last September, is expected to be completed in 2025. It will comprise flexible laboratory, office and fully equipped meeting and conference spaces for rent by high growth small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

The Hub will support and grow businesses driven by innovation, knowledge exchange and technology, bringing together research, industry and academia under one roof, creating opportunities for synergies and knowledge-sharing. Tenants will be able to rent accommodation packages, for move-in ready space, that fits their size and needs. The design of the Hub will enable tenants to take up more space as and when they need to.

The venture is supported by £28.6 million from the UK Government, £1.4 million from the Scottish Government and £10 million from East Lothian Council as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal (ESES City Region Deal).

Councillor Norman Hampshire, Leader of East Lothian Council, said: “The start of construction on this project highlights our ambition to create a sought-after location for business growth and increase high value jobs for East Lothian. It aligns with our aim of making East Lothian the best place in Scotland in which to live, work and do business.

“By supporting the food and drink and other important economic sectors, including tech and life sciences, we can attract innovative businesses to one of Scotland’s fastest growing areas.

“The 52 acre Edinburgh Innovation Park adjacent to the Edinburgh Innovation Hub will transform a strategic economic development site, owned by East Lothian Council, into a nationally significant cluster of knowledge exchange, innovation and high value business growth.”

Sir Paul Grice, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of QMU said: “Along with driving economic development locally and nationally, the Hub will act as a gateway into QMU for businesses, increase opportunities at the University for industry-relevant research and knowledge exchange, promote an entrepreneurial culture, and increase the vibrancy of the area around the campus.

“The Hub is not just a new building, it will be a new business. Importantly, it will provide a much more bespoke and focused service than is currently offered by business parks, providing not only physical facilities but also the operational support SMEs need to work effectively and grow.”

UK Government Minister for Scotland, Donald Cameron said: “Construction starting on this UK Government and partners funded innovation hub is a hugely exciting milestone for the area. I can't wait to see the facility up and running as it will help boost the local and national economy through generating innovative business and employment growth. The UK Government is backing the facility with £28.6 million investment - part of our £300 million commitment to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. In total we are investing more than £3 billion to level up across Scotland.”

Scottish Government Minister for Small Business, Innovation, Tourism and Trade Richard Lochhead said: “This is an important milestone in the development of the Edinburgh Innovation Hub, which is being delivered with Deal partners and £1.4 million of Scottish Government investment.

“We are investing £300 million in the Deal across a range of projects, which will be crucial in helping us deliver a fair and sustainable wellbeing economy with good quality jobs at its heart.

“Our National Innovation Strategy for Scotland sets out our vision of how, over the next ten years, Scotland will become one of the most innovative small nations in the world – projects such as this are going to be crucial in fulfilling that ambition.”

The Hub will help to initiate development of the wider Edinburgh Innovation Park on land adjacent to the QMU campus. The development was granted planning permission in principle in March 2019, as part of a wider mixed use development, including new homes and a new primary school, business & industry use and community facilities.

More information on the Edinburgh Innovation Hub is on the website.

IRES Programme Wins At The Annual Scottish Public Service Awards

The Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal’s Integrated Regional Employability and Skills (IRES) Programme has won the Project and Programme Management Award at the annual Scottish Public Service Awards in the Scottish Parliament.

Deputy First Minister, Shona Robison and Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Liam McArthur announced the winners of the Holyrood Communications Scottish Public Service Awards (SPSA) in the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday evening.

Scottish Public Service Awards Winners 2023

The IRES Programme Management Office has been the driving force behind this innovative and groundbreaking programme, bringing about substantial change to the lives of citizens and communities, brokering innovative partnerships, elevating opportunities for under-represented groups and attracting sizeable leverage funding. 
 
The IRES Programme and its cross-sector partnership is a change programme seeking to evolve regional labour market policy and practice to drive inclusive growth.

The IRES partnership is funded by £25 million investment (over eight years) and will deliver an additional 14,700 skill improvements; 5,300 people into employment; and a further 500 career enhancements through its seven themes:

• Integrated knowledge management systems;

• Labour market analysis and evaluation;

• Integrated employer engagement;

• Intensive family support service;

• Housing construction and infrastructure (HCI) targeted skills gateway;

• Data-driven innovation (DDI) targeted skills gateway; and

• Workforce mobility.

 Five years in, the programme is exceeding targets and has:

• supported 120,000 people to improve their skills.

• secured 4,600 job outcomes.

• leveraged an additional £6.33m funding.

Find out more about the IRES programme and its seven themes on the City Region Deal website.

A short film below summarises the IRES Programme and its achievements up to 2023:

IRES Programme 2023

IRES programme 2023

You can also watch three recent short case study videos that demonstrate show the impact that the IRES programme is having across the Edinburgh and South East Scotland region:

• Data Skills in Schools 

• The Housing, Construction and Infrastructure (HCI) Skills Gateway

• Women in Data

Celebrating in its tenth anniversary, the awards have been organised in partnership with the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government. Created to celebrate the often-unsung contribution made to Scotland’s civic society by the public sector and its partners, last night’s ceremony once again showcased innovative and inspiring work from across the length and breadth of Scotland.

First Minister Humza Yousaf, offered his congratulations and gratitude to the nominees and the work of all those within the wider public service in a message reading:

“The annual awards are an opportunity to come together and celebrate the achievements of those working with and within our cherished public services. Every finalist tonight has made an incredible contribution to Scottish society and it’s right the difference you make in your communities is recognised. On behalf of Scotland, I want to say a sincere thank you.”

IRES Project Team (left to right) Graeme Rigg,, Adam Dunkerley, Nicola Raine

DDI Unveils Economic Opportunities in the City Region

The benefits of data-driven innovation (DDI) opportunities across the Lothians have been highlighted in a whitepaper, published on 22 November 2023.

DDI Economic Development Opportunities – The Lothians was published by the University of Edinburgh’s DDI initiative, and identifies ways to drive socio-economic growth across the three local authorities of East Lothian, Midlothian, and West Lothian.

The report also sets out how regional collaboration around DDI opportunities could improve prosperity and inclusive growth by improving economic and social resilience.

The research team identified five themes for innovation-focused opportunities, based on priorities in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal, the Regional Prosperity Framework and the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation. These include:

• Sustainable housing and infrastructures

• Mobility and access to facilities and amenities

• Cross-sectoral high-tech sustainable circular economy

• Empowering creative and value-adding enterprises

However, the study acknowledges resource constraints, disconnected infrastructure (such as transport), economic conditions and climate change as challenges. Commonalities across the region mean joined up solutions would enable a greater regional capacity to effect change and tackle these issues.

The report’s lead author, Dr Matjaz Vidmar, Lecturer in Engineering Management at the University of Edinburgh, said: “With this research, we hope to bring the data-driven innovation across these areas into focus, to enable the emerging high-tech and digital opportunities for businesses, the public sector and local groups. Our report highlights immense potential for further sustainable development, leading on national conversations around the future of towns and high streets, as well as gaining tangible local benefits from the presence of the world-leading tech parks.”

Recommendations to strengthen regional frameworks include building data innovation expertise across councils, sharing data, information and knowledge, and further collaborations in economic development funding. The authors hope the report will further empower local authorities by taking up these opportunities.

The report builds on two previous DDI reports, with Fife Council and Scottish Borders Council, published in 2022. The long-term objective is to generate additional economic and social benefits by co-creating new place-based innovation strategies.

The University of Edinburgh and the three local authorities are partners in the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City Region Deal, signed in 2018.

Access the complete report here DDI Economic Development Opportunities: The Lothians

Discover the insights and perspectives of the authors themselves in this must-listen Podcast

The National Robotarium wins Project of the Year at Learning Places Scotland Awards

Heriot-Watt University’s National Robotarium facility for robotics and AI took home the Project of the Year prize at this year’s Learning Places Scotland awards, held on 14 November in Glasgow. The awards, delivered in partnership with the Scottish Government as part of Scottish Learning Estates strategy, are an annual celebration of Scotland’s growing learning estate, recognising facilities that are making strides in sustainability, technology and student experience.

Supported by £21 million from the UK Government and £1.4m from the Scottish Government as part of the £1.3bn Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal, the National Robotarium officially opened in September 2022. Since then, the facility has been a catalyst for bridging knowledge between science and business, delivering sustainable economic benefit to Scotland and the UK through its expanding portfolio of industry partnerships that are developing new robotic technologies to address real-world and sectoral challenges.

Designed with sustainability at its heart, the 40,000ft² facility itself offers unrivalled learning spaces, allowing Heriot-Watt to maximise its AI and robotics strengths and lead the field in research. It boasts a variety of flexible spaces and test beds for specialist research, student projects, public engagement, and industry collaborations across three distinct themes; Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS), Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), and Precision Laser Applications (PLA).

The estates and projects team at Heriot-Watt, along with external consultants Michael Laird Architects and Atkins Realis, who collected the award on the night, were recognised for their collaborative efforts in creating a cutting-edge, sustainable centre for the advancement of research and learning in robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

The success of the project and its construction, enduring challenges such as the Covid pandemic and Brexit, was the result of extensive stakeholder engagement, ensuring the building met the requirements of individual teams and research areas, and accommodated emerging technologies through its flexible, fabric-first design.

More on the awards