Skills and Education

Supporting TDL Driving Value from AI  

Continuing in the vein of collaborative and supportive partnership working with key players in Scotland’s data and AI ecosystem, the Scottish AI Alliance lent its support in the creation of The Data Lab’s Driving Value from AI course.  

Designed for leaders and team members who are accountable for driving AI adoption within their organisations, and for business owners keen to understand how to get started with using AI, Driving Value from AI gives participants the leadership tools needed to deliver AI responsibly and ethically, while delivering value to stakeholders and wider society.  

The 4-week course, delivered over 14 hours, has been designed to accessible to non-technical businesses and their leadership to ensure wider participation regardless of existing knowledge around data and technology. 

The Head of the Scottish AI Alliance featured in the course to talk about Scotland’s AI Strategy and its vision for trustworthy, ethical and inclusive AI. She was also involved in the test and review panel for course.  

Skills landscape mapping 

On 30 August 2023, the Scottish AI Alliance hosted a "Mapping AI Education and Skills Provision in Scotland" workshop. 

The overarching aim was to collectively investigate the AI and machine learning course ecosystem in Scotland. 

Our objectives were to identify existing courses, assess deficiencies in educational offerings, and collaboratively design future courses tailored to a diverse, inclusive audience. 

The expected outcome of the workshop was to gain a clearer understanding of the AI/ML educational landscape and pathways for enhancement. 

While the resulting directory and workshop findings provide valuable insights into the landscape of AI /ML and Data Science courses in Scotland, there are still significant challenges for the future. 

Some may include ensuring accessible and equitable access to these course/programmes, addressing potential gaps in practical skill development, and adapting content and learning objectives to keep pace with rapidly evolving AIML technologies. 

Moreover, fostering collaboration between educational institutions and industries could enhance the relevance of courses and better prepare Scottish learners for real-world applications that will have impact in their career prospects. 

The constantly changing education and skills landscape in Scotland as a result of three reviews (Muir, Heyward and Withers) has proved very challenging for the Scottish AI Alliance to progress on a cohesive skills plan.  

Going forward, the Alliance will convene a Skills Advisory Group with representation across the education and skills landscape to help drive this work forward.  

Engagement with education/skills organisations  

The Scottish AI Alliance has representation on the Digital Economy Skills Group and the Data Driven Innovation Skills Gateway Advisory Board. Collaboration with these groups and organisations such as Skills Development Scotland, Education Scotland and the Alliance’s partner The Data Lab will be further developed.