News
Tech top of agenda for deputy first minister on Canada trade visit
The tech sector will be top of the agenda for a forthcoming trade visit by deputy first minister Kate Forbes to Canada – which she hopes will encourage investment into Scotland. Forbes jets to Toronto and Nova Scotia today where she will meet banks and assets managers – with a focus on getting more investment into Scotland through key sectors such as digital technology, fintech, renewables and clean energy.
Source: FUTURESCOT
Ministers welcome new loans that will ‘kickstart’ business innovation
Ministers have welcomed plans by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for a new type of loan for high-growth businesses, saying it will help “kickstart” business innovation in Scotland.
From next year, Scottish firms will be able to secure borrowing against the value of their intellectual property (IP), instead of traditional assets such as buildings and machinery.
Source: STV
Senior UK government figures get behind Scotland’s Global Investment Summit
Four senior UK government minister will be attending Scotland’s Global Investment Summit in Edinburgh this week, hosted by Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) and the Lord Mayor of London.
Source: Scottish Financial News
Scottish Government backs 'innovative industries' with £5 million
The Scottish Government has announced a nearly £5m investment package backing businesses in innovative industries.
It will provide more than £2m of support for new market clusters set out in Scotland’s Innovation Strategy, including space, robotics and critical technologies like semiconductors and quantum systems.
Source: Business Insider
Edinburgh research organisation receives £3.6 million for AI health project
An Edinburgh-based research organisation has been awarded £3.6m from Scottish Enterprise for a project that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to improve medical scans and speed up data analysis.
Canon Medical Research Europe’s (CMRE) new project will cost around £14m in total, and is expected to benefit both patients and health services.
Source: Business Insider
Scottish Health-Tech Trade Mission Heads to Japan
A trade mission from Scotland’s health technology sector is set to visit Japan next week to strengthen trade and innovation ties and promote Scottish expertise on the world stage. Led by health secretary Neil Gray, the delegation will feature a host of forward-thinking health-tech firms highlighting Scotland’s strengths in digital health and life sciences at a series of events, including Japan Health 2025 in Osaka and a programme at the UK Pavilion at Expo 2025.
Source: DIGIT
Future Trends for Scotland: findings from the 2024-2025 horizon scanning project
The “Future Trends for Scotland” report sets out 60 trends that are likely to be important to Scotland over the next 10-to-20 years and includes the project methodology. The supporting Trend Pack articulates the evidence and interview insights that informed each trend in the report.
Source: Scottish Government
Ministers publish ‘horizon scanning’ report looking at future trends and how they might inform policy in Scotland
Ministers have published a new ‘horizon scanning’ report looking at future trends and how they might inform policy in an ‘increasingly complex and uncertain world’. The Future Trends for Scotland report looks at 60 global trends spanning areas including politics, the economy, society, technology, health and the environment, to inform strategic decision-making over the next 10 to 20 years.
Source: Futurescot
Boosting university spin-outs
New initiatives taking advantage of Scotland’s world-class reputation as an innovation nation have been announced by the Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes. A new package of funding has been launched to help transform Scottish university and college spin-outs into growing businesses. Just over £4.5 million will be split across the Proof of Concept Fund, the Spinout Pipeline Project, the Entrepreneurial Campus Blueprint, and a scheme to help prepare future generations for careers in tech-based businesses.
Expert government body created in bid to make Scotland 'leading tech nation'
A new government body has been created to ensure that Scotland is a leading tech nation on the global stage.
The Scottish Technology Council will assist ministers in maximising the country’s multi-billion pound technology sector.
Source: STV