This episode requires a brief introduction. As Brian will mention in the intro it was recorded pre-COVID-19 and some of the issues discussed have had changes to them to match the current needs. Roger Halliday started as Chief Statistician of the Scottish Government in November 2011. Before that, he worked in the Department of Health […]
Guest Blogs
What schools can do to close ‘bleak’ Stem gender gap
Guest blog by Toni Scullion, Secondary Teacher and founder of DressCode Girls are the ‘greatest untapped population of Stem professionals’ – but teacher Toni Scullion has ideas for changing mindsets The number of young girls studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) subjects – particularly computing science – is falling in schools in Scotland. So […]
A week is a long time….
By Gillian Docherty OBE, CEO of The Data Lab This time last week on Wednesday we had three calls through the day which culminated in the decision to cancel the remainder of DataFest20. We realised early on Wednesday morning that the momentum was shifting fast with COVID-19 and we felt it was only right that […]
Nesta in Scotland: AI for Good
Nesta in Scotland have opened a call for applications to a £100,000 grant fund to find and support innovative projects that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for social good. We want to demystify Artificial Intelligence and open up the public discourse around the positive, ethical uses that can have a positive impact on people’s lives. Deadline […]
Synthetic Data Part 1: What, Why and How it can Financially Boost Scotlands Economy
Blog by Euan Gardner, Senior Information Development Manager, Strategic Development Team, NHS NSS 1. Introduction Guess who’s back, not-so-slim shady’s back, tell a friend and this time I’m talking about synthetic data. This blog is about the concept of synthetic data, if you want a discussion on the methods (and safeguards) that The Data Lab […]
CogX, The Data Lab, and Innovation in Scotland
Guest blog by Euan Gardner, Senior Information Development Manager, NHS NSS It’s 9am in London, I’m half-dressed in a suit, smell like an accident in an aftershave factory while nursing a coffee and getting ready to speak on a panel. The conference is Cognition X’s excellent CogX conference where most people have more letters in […]
Understanding Data Layers For Your Business
Guest blog by Yard If you work in the world of digital, it’s likely you’re familiar with the term ‘data layer’, but perhaps you’re wondering what exactly it means. To put it simply, data layers make data collection more efficient and reliable, compiling all data in one place to make it easier to understand website usage […]
Why can’t every day be a DataFest day?
Photo above shows panel with Zoe Webster, Dr Sue Black, Sally Eaves and moderator Tabitha Goldstaub discussing How Data and AI is enabling humankind One of our MSc students, Daniel Sloan (Strathclyde MSc in Fin Tech), writes about his DataSummit experience after winning a free ticket to the event Still buzzing from Data Talent on […]
Debbie Maltman, recent graduate in Data Science for Business, tells her story at the Scottish Parliament
Debbie Maltman, who recently graduated with an MSc in Data Science for Business (with Distinction), had the opportunity to tell her story at The Data Lab’s Reception at Scottish Parliament on 30 January. Hers is an inspiring story of a journey from redundancy through retraining and securing a job she loves as a data scientist, […]
Human + Machine: combatting myths
Guest blog from Megan Hughes, Artificial Intelligence & Social Media Analytics Lead at Accenture Artificial Intelligence will be inarguably the most transformative technology of the information age and perhaps for this very reason, there are lots of questions being raised. On the one hand AI stands to fundamentally transform the economy and change the way […]