News
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
Falling demand signals shift in Scotland’s rural land market
Scotland’s rural land market is showing signs of cooling, with falling demand in key sectors such as commercial forestry and natural capital investment.
New analysis from the Scottish Land Commission and Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) reveals how economic and political uncertainty have reshaped rural land market activity over the past year.
Source: Business Insider
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
Scotland secures decade stretch as top UK FDI location outside London
Scotland secured 135 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2024 and has cemented its reputation as the top UK FDI location outside London after marking a decade in the position. Despite a drop of seven projects (-4.9%) on the year before, this is still the second highest annual number of projects recorded, according to the latest EY Scotland Attractiveness Survey.
Source: EY
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
The missing ingredient in Scotland's renewable transition: food and drink
When it comes to renewable energy, Scotland's food and drink producers have quietly emerged as one of the more proactive industrial sectors.
But while progress has been made, the journey to net zero is far from complete – and it’s clear that the sector is now reaching an inflection point.
Source: Business Insider
University set to host £750m national supercomputer
The University of Edinburgh has been announced as the home of the UK's next national supercomputer.
The significant investment represents a huge endorsement of the University and its future as a world-leader in supercomputing and AI, recognising the strength and value of Edinburgh’s expertise.