DMA Scotland creative industries roundtable

Earlier this month, Caroline Parkinson, the Creative Industries Team Lead for the City Region Deal Data-Driven Innovation Programme chaired a discussion with DMA Scotland members on delivering education and training in data to young people.

In efforts to help close the skills gap in industries and places affected by it, the UK and Scottish governments have allocated funding as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal. The deal commits over £1bn for developing the data sector in Edinburgh and beyond, which has become a pivotal component of the Scottish economy.

DMA Scotland has been playing a supporting role in the execution of the sector deal. While the project is very much in the early stages, DMA members have been contributing in many ways, including at this roundtable discussion. The group discussed how programmes should be aimed not only at university-aged people, but all the way down to early years education.

There is a propensity to think that one has to have a maths or science-based education to work well with data. In fact, many roles revolving around data require a lot more creative thinking and alternative viewpoints.

Indeed, a crucial element of working with data is an ability to think critically and have good problem solving abilities. As such, developing courses and programmes that build these skills will be invaluable to the burgeoning Scottish data and tech sector.

Similarly, a discussion about learning ethics in parallel was had. While the work in this sector opens up countless technological possibilities to help humanity, discussions about how this should be done—or indeed whether it should be done—also needs to be had. The group agreed that this should play a central role in education in the sector going forward.

The type of education is also important. While traditionally degree education may be where most people who work with data are educated, it was widely agreed that this wasn’t fundamentally necessary. Apprenticeships and vocational practice, along with courses run by industry bodies such as the DMA could be places where more people can prepare themselves for working in the data sphere. Moving the conversation away from this discussion is important so that more people than ever can access data-led education.

These are exciting times for our members and the wider sector and DMA Scotland will continue to play a crucial role in the development of this crucial industry.

DMA Scotland creative industries roundtable

DMA Scotland members contributed to a discussion on educational programmes in the data industry.

Earlier this month, Caroline Parkinson, the Creative Industries Team Lead for the City Region Deal Data-Driven Innovation Programme chaired a discussion with DMA Scotland members on delivering education and training in data to young people.

In efforts to help close the skills gap in industries and places affected by it, the UK and Scottish governments have allocated funding as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal. The deal commits over £1bn for developing the data sector in Edinburgh and beyond, which has become a pivotal component of the Scottish economy.

DMA Scotland has been playing a supporting role in the execution of the sector deal. While the project is very much in the early stages, DMA members have been contributing in many ways, including at this roundtable discussion. The group discussed how programmes should be aimed not only at university-aged people, but all the way down to early years education.

There is a propensity to think that one has to have a maths or science-based education to work well with data. In fact, many roles revolving around data require a lot more creative thinking and alternative viewpoints.

Indeed, a crucial element of working with data is an ability to think critically and have good problem solving abilities. As such, developing courses and programmes that build these skills will be invaluable to the burgeoning Scottish data and tech sector.

Similarly, a discussion about learning ethics in parallel was had. While the work in this sector opens up countless technological possibilities to help humanity, discussions about how this should be done—or indeed whether it should be done—also needs to be had. The group agreed that this should play a central role in education in the sector going forward.

The type of education is also important. While traditionally degree education may be where most people who work with data are educated, it was widely agreed that this wasn’t fundamentally necessary. Apprenticeships and vocational practice, along with courses run by industry bodies such as the DMA could be places where more people can prepare themselves for working in the data sphere. Moving the conversation away from this discussion is important so that more people than ever can access data-led education.

These are exciting times for our members and the wider sector and DMA Scotland will continue to play a crucial role in the development of this crucial industry.