digital skills Archives - Page 8 of 9

18 Jul 2018

Zonal supports Scotland’s next generation techies with Digital Xtra Fund

Leading Scottish technology firm, Zonal, has teamed up with Digital Xtra Fund to help fund technology initiatives for young people across Scotland.

The funding will help guarantee that even more young people have access to digitally creative activities and give them a better understanding of the future career opportunities digital skills provide, regardless of their gender, background, or where they live.

Edinburgh based Zonal was recently voted Family Business of the Year 2018 and for almost 40 years has been designing and delivering technology solutions for the hospitality sector, including its market leading EPoS system, Aztec. Today, it employs around 550 people with over 200 located at its Tanfield headquarters.

Head of Human Resources, Catriona Dick, said: “Our chief executive’s father, Ralph McLean, devised the UK’s first EPoS solution for his hotel in order to keep track of sales and stock. Fast forward 39 years and Zonal is number one across the UK when it comes to providing the hospitality sector with technology innovations and we are keen to make sure the next generation have the skillset in place to keep us in pole position.

“We have been impressed by the work of Digital Xtra Fund and are delighted to play our part in supporting more young people as they discover the fantastic range of job opportunities open to them in the blossoming world of digital technology.”

The support from Zonal will form part of the Fund’s annual grant awards for high-quality digital skills initiatives in Scotland and will include visits to the firm’s HQ with mentoring support for students seeking a career in technology.

Kraig Brown, Partnerships & Development Manager, Digital Xtra Fund said: “We are very excited to welcome Zonal as a Partner of Digital Xtra Fund. Zonal is a highly successful family owned technology company and very proud of its Scottish heritage. The company is a great innovator and shares our commitment to bridge the digital skills gap through partnership and collaboration. We look forward to working with the team at Zonal to help inspire more young people across Scotland.”

Photo by Rory Semple Digital Xtra Fund was originally established in 2016 and funded through the Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership whose partners included both public sector and industry representatives. In March 2017, Digital Xtra Fund became an independent charity to enable it to work with a wider range of partners. In its first year as a charity, the Fund supported 11 fun and engaging digital skills initiatives across Scotland ranging from coding clubs in rural areas to designing apps and technology for social good.

Zonal is the leading provider of integrated hospitality management solutions to over 16,000 leisure and hospitality businesses across the UK. For nearly 40 years, the company has been working closely with clients to enhance the customer experience through market leading technology, experienced people and a partnership approach to business.

About Zonal:

Zonal began in 1979 when the McLean Family identified the need to monitor sales, stock, and wastage in their family hotel near Edinburgh when they noticed shortfalls in stock and takings. Zonal founder, the late Ralph McLean, invented a solution to manage and control operations and the first EPoS system was created. After being adopted by a number of regional breweries and pub groups, the family hotel was sold to grow the business from their offices on Forth Street in Edinburgh. The Forth Street site remained the company’s head office until 2014 when it moved to state of the art premises at Tanfield.

Zonal has developed and evolved from a small Scottish business to a company that employs over 450 people whilst still maintaining its proud Scottish heritage. Today, Zonal solutions are used daily in over 15,000 leisure and hospitality businesses across the UK, ranging from restaurant and pub groups, night clubs to, garden centres. The company’s full product suite of technology solutions enable Zonal to offer a fully integrated service to any hospitality business.

https://www.zonal.co.uk/

10 Jul 2018

Baillie Gifford partners with Digital Xtra Fund to invest in digital skills across Scotland

Known for investing in digital tech companies from Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, Baillie Gifford is partnering with Digital Xtra Fund to invest in digital tech skills here in Scotland.

Digital Xtra Fund is delighted to announce a partnership with global Investment Managers, Baillie Gifford. Digital Xtra Fund is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) which supports extracurricular digital technology activities across Scotland, giving young people opportunity to learn advanced digital skills regardless of their gender, background, or where they live. Backed by businesses, organisations, and individuals with a common will to help young people succeed in a digital world, the Fund provides grant awards for activities which inspire, engage, and enable young people to be digitally innovative and creative, and helps them understand the variety of future career opportunities these skills will make available.

Digital Xtra Fund became a charity in March 2017 to enable it to work with a wide range of industry partners. Last year, the Fund awarded grant awards for 11 exciting, high-quality initiatives across Scotland such as Stirling High School’s Digital Learning Hub in partnership with CodeBase Stirling. The initiative saw pupils from SHS deliver a variety of Raspberry Pi based workshops to six primary schools in the area creating a sustainable ecosystem of young developers in Stirling.

Helping young people and the community is part of the culture at Baillie Gifford. For more than 100 years, it has been a feature of the Edinburgh community and has a long history of supporting initiatives which make positive differences in the areas of the arts, education, and sports. Baillie Gifford’s support for Digital Xtra Fund will extend their already considerable CSR programme and give more young people the skills needed to succeed in an increasingly digital world. Baillie Gifford recognises it is important to foster these digital skills as more and more companies look to recruit young digital talent and increase their diversity to grow and achieve success. Baillie Gifford’s successful track record of finding and investing in emerging and growing tech companies speaks to their ability to also recognise and support strong digital talent.

Mark Urquhart, Partner at Baillie Gifford, said: “As investors, we have long observed the powerful impact which technology can have in terms of changing lives and improving access to opportunities. We are happy to be able to support the exciting work of Digital Xtra Fund in trying to encourage similar outcomes in Scotland through wider use of technologies.”

Kraig Brown, Partnerships & Development Manager, Digital Xtra Fund, said: “Our partnership with Baillie Gifford marks a new chapter for Digital Xtra Fund; as a financial company, they are our first “non-tech” partner, however, through their work with some of the world’s most successful tech companies as well as their investment in their own digital infrastructure, they recognise the necessity for young people to learn high-level digital skills to succeed in any sector. Their support illustrates the important role digital technology plays across all parts of the Scottish economy and how Digital Xtra Fund is perfectly placed to be the de facto young people’s digital skills charity for all sectors.”

About Baillie Gifford:

Baillie Gifford is an investment management firm wholly owned by 44 partners, all of whom work within the firm. It was founded in Edinburgh in 1908 and still has its headquarters in the city today. As of 31 March 2018, Baillie Gifford has £177.6 billion under management and advice in specialist equity, fixed income and multi-asset portfolios for a global client base.

Whether through their financial or community investments, Baillie Gifford believes the best ideas spring from thinking about future possibilities, not short-term probabilities. They are committed to partnering with dynamic organisations who strive to make Scotland a better place to live, work and visit. https://www.bailliegifford.com

04 Jul 2018

Inverness Science Festival: Community Coding

This year Digital Xtra Fund has introduced over 3,200 young people to digital technologies through supporting 11 high-quality initiatives across Scotland. Since January, we’ve highlighted each of these initiatives, taking a closer look at how they inspire, enable, and engage young people to be digitally innovative and creative, and give them a better understanding of the future career opportunities digital skills provide.

Community Coding in the Highlands

Our final blog looks at the Inverness Science Festival, delivered by the University of the Highlands and Islands. Through a broad programme of community and schools’ events, this project introduces young people to inspirational events and stimulating digital technology, giving them the chance to get hands on and excited about coding, no matter their location or economic background.

With a focus on remote and rural schools, this multi-faceted project trains teachers and volunteers to support science, technology, engineering, maths and digital extracurricular clubs (STEMD), provides equipment, administration and resources to coding clubs, creates a pool of trained mentors, and inspires people through lectures, workshops, and hands on events at their exciting annual Science Festival.

Over 1,500 students from the Highlands took part in this year. Primary school pupils have had the opportunity to participate in digital-based workshops and presentations, learning about coding, computer game creation, and hardware and programming, giving them experience of digital signals, binary code, Light Bot, Scratch, Code Bugs, Spheros, and Ardunios. School teachers and S6 pupils have been given support and training to boost their knowledge and confidence, and will now host STEMD clubs for S1-S4 pupils. In addition, the Inverness Science Festival took place in May, offering digital-based interactive pop-up activities at their popular Family Events, alongside structured workshop sessions.

Giving young people access to and opportunity to get hands on with digital equipment and technology has been key across this project. Support from Digital Xtra Fund has allowed Inverness Science Festival to invest in digital equipment, including code-a-pillar, Spheros, micro:bits and Bit:bot robots, Raspberry Pi, Arduino rocket kits, and snap circuits. By offering this equipment and their expertise to schools, clubs and community groups, the Inverness Science Festival breaks down barriers caused by a lack of local equipment, knowledge, or funding. Support from Digital Xtra Fund will also help create a lasting legacy as the equipment will remain available long-term for local groups to borrow free of charge from the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Evelyn Gray, STEM Administrator at the University of the Highlands and Islands said, “The team at Inverness Science Festival have loved being part of this year’s Digital Xtra Fund initiatives. The support has enabled us to successfully expand our current digital offering. Our regular workshops stimulate students’ interest in digital technologies while the availability of equipment that we can ‘loan out’ enables us to build upon this enthusiasm, allowing students to continue the learning journey at their own pace back at school.”

Digital Xtra Fund’s annual grant rounds, which support the Inverness Science Festival and many other inspirational projects, are made possible by the valued support of Scotland’s tech industry, supplying sponsorship, insight, and in-kind support that all go towards our goal of giving every young person in Scotland access to a digitally creative activity. Find out more about supporting Digital Xtra Fund and inspiring Scotland’s digital future.

15 Jun 2018

Sky UK teams up with Digital Xtra Fund to support digital tech activities in West Lothian

Digital Xtra Fund is proud to announce a new partnership with Sky UK to grow and develop even more high-quality extracurricular digital technologies activities for young people in West Lothian.

Last month’s Tech Nation 2018 Report painted a very positive picture for the UK technology industry, with strong signs of development coming from Scotland’s key tech hubs including Livingston in West Lothian. Livingston was highlighted as one area with above-average tech employment, which is key to inspiring more young people to consider a career in digital technology.

As the main private sector employer in West Lothian, Sky UK recognises the important role it plays helping young people succeed in an increasingly digital world, especially as a major technology company itself. They have teamed up with Digital Xtra Fund to grow and develop high-quality computing science activities for young people in the region.

Digital Xtra Fund is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) determined to give every young person in Scotland access to digitally creative activities regardless of their gender, background, or where they live. Backed by businesses, organisations, and individuals with a common will to help young people succeed in a digital world, the Fund delivers grant awards for activities which inspire, engage, and enable young people to be digitally innovative and creative, and gives them a clearer understanding of the future career opportunities digital skills provide.

Digital Xtra Fund was established in 2016 and originally funded through the Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership. In March 2017, the Fund became an independent charity to enable it to work with a wider range of industry partners. Last year, grant awards were provided for 11 exciting, high-quality initiatives across Scotland including the highly successful F1 in Schools STEM Challenge which saw two all-girl teams from West Lothian qualify for the F1 in Schools World Finals in Singapore.

As a hugely recognisable brand found in millions of homes, Sky knows it has a responsibility to affect real change, whether through its Sky Sports Living for Sport programme or Sky Academy, which works with young people from primary school right through to starting their career to build digital skills and experience. Since opening in 2012, more than 85,000 young people have visited Sky Academy Studios in London and Livingston to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes at Sky. In November, it launched Sky Academy Studios at its Italian headquarters in Milan.

Sky is constantly striving to develop a talented, capable, and dedicated workforce committed to creating success for all its stakeholders. The company recognises that investment in the next generation through programmes like Digital Xtra Fund and Sky Academy is crucial to the progression of the technology, media and entertainment industries.

Ronnie Corse, Head of Technology at Sky, said: “Sky Technology Scotland are delighted to be working with Digital Xtra Fund to help engage more young people in digital technologies. Technology is the foundation of Sky’s business and is the driving force behind all our products and services. As one of the biggest employers in West Lothian it is important that we reach out and support the local community. This partnership gives us a great opportunity to build on the existing relationships that we have made with local schools and colleges and to further promote the exciting careers available to young people in Technology & Digital.”

Kraig Brown, Partnerships & Development Manager, Digital Xtra Fund, said: “Sky UK is well recognised as a leader in the UK entertainment and communications industry, an industry that young people are very interested in. This makes partnering with Sky a very exciting opportunity for us and the initiatives we support. We are really looking forward to working with their team to not only engage more young people in tech in West Lothian, but to also show them the wide range of interesting and innovative careers right here in Scotland”

About Sky UK:

Sky UK is part of Europe’s leading entertainment and communications business. With over 22.5 million customers across UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Italy, Sky makes life easier by entertaining and connecting people. Sky is constantly ensuring it is the home of more of the best content from around the world, with sustained market-leading innovation across multiple platforms, delivered by a trusted brand that offers exceptional customer service.

Sky is also committed to using their platform to inspire, create, and act alongside delivering strong and sustained financial performance and returns. Sky seeks to make a wider contribution to the communities in which they live and work through supporting local digital tech, sport, and environmental initiatives. https://www.sky.com/

03 May 2018

Skyscanner to help digital skills take off in Scotland with Digital Xtra Fund

Digital Xtra Fund is proud to announce a new partnership with Skyscanner, the global travel search engine. Skyscanner’s support will increase the number of digital technology initiatives for young people across Scotland; ensuring even more young people have access to digitally creative activities regardless of their gender, background, or where they live.

Digital Xtra Fund is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) which supports extracurricular activities that inspire, enable, and engage young people to be digitally innovative and creative while giving them a better understanding of the future career opportunities digital skills provide.

Digital Xtra Fund was originally established in 2016 and funded through the Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership whose partners included both public sector and industry representatives. In March 2017, Digital Xtra Fund became an independent charity to enable it to work with a wider range of partners. In it’s first year as a charity, the Fund supported 11 fun and engaging digital skills initiatives across Scotland ranging from coding clubs in rural areas to designing apps and technology for social good.

Skyscanner was launched in 2003 after CEO Gareth Williams felt there must be an easier way to find cheap flights for his upcoming skiing holiday. The idea of Skyscanner was originally drafted on the back of a beermat, and 15 years later, is now used by 70 million people per month. More than 900 staff are based in 10 offices around the world, including in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

As one of Scotland’s leading technology companies, Skyscanner shares Digital Xtra Fund’s ambitions to inspire more young people with technology and have become the Fund’s first Gigabyte Partner. Support from Skyscanner will be included as part of the Fund’s annual grant awards for high-quality digital skills initiatives in Scotland; and will help demonstrate to young people the breadth of exciting opportunities a future in tech can provide.

Michael Hall, Senior Engineering Manager at Skyscanner said, “Our founder, Gareth, took his first steps towards building Skyscanner at the age of 11, when he started learning assembly language with his dad, creating his own basic computer games. We’re delighted to support Digital Xtra Fund and are really excited to play a part in enabling more young people to discover the world of technology, like Gareth did all those years ago.”

Kraig Brown, Partnerships & Development Manager, Digital Xtra Fund said, “We are very excited to welcome Skyscanner as a Partner of Digital Xtra Fund. Support from one of the most well-known and successful tech companies to ever come out of Scotland speaks volumes about the value of working together to tackle the digital skills gap. As they say, many hands make light work and we look forward to working with the team at Skyscanner to help inspire more young people across Scotland.”

About Skyscanner:

Skyscanner is a leading global travel search site, a place where people are inspired to plan and book direct from millions of travel options at the best prices. They are unbiased and free, which means that the 60 million people who use them every month can trust our comprehensive range of flight, hotel and car hire options. Founded in 2003, they employ over 900 staff, with offices in Barcelona, Beijing, Budapest, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Miami, Shenzhen, Singapore and Sofia. Skyscanner is part of the Ctrip group. https://www.skyscanner.net

11 Apr 2018

Two all female teams from West Lothian heading to World Finals

Two all female teams from West Lothian will be travelling to Singapore for the World Finals of the F1 in Schools STEM Challenge in September after winning at Silverstone.

Team AcceleRace from Linlithgow Academy have qualified for the World Finals by winning the National Championships Development Class while Velocity Racing from Inveralmond Community High School have also qualified as Scottish Champions Professional Class. Digital Xtra Fund was proud to support Inveralmond Community High School as one of this year’s digital skills initiatives, enabling them to become Scotland’s first F1 in Schools Centre for Excellence and engage pupils from secondary schools across Scotland who are keen to take part in the Challenge.

Read more about both teams and the importance of supporting fun and engaging STEM activities to inspire the next generation of Scottish digital makers and technologists in this week’s DIGIT.

20 Feb 2018

Young Engineers and Science Clubs Scotland: Little Lighthouse

In our fourth blog, we highlight how Digital Xtra Fund is supporting Scottish Council for Development & Industry’s ‘Little Lighthouse’ programme as part of their Young Engineers and Science Clubs Scotland (YESC) network. Of the 11 projects supported by Digital Xtra Fund in 2018, the Little Lighthouse programme will engage the youngest audience, introducing 6-8 year olds to digital skills.

Little Lighthouse is a creative interdisciplinary programme which encourages children to combine computing science with various other science and technology concepts such electricity, design, light and sound using lighthouses as context. During the 2016/17 pilot year, YESC received support as part of Digital Xtra Fund’s second funding round to assist with the programme’s roll-out in 40 schools across Perth & Kinross, Scottish Borders, Western Isles, and Highlands. Based on the success of this initial cohort, further support was secured from Education Scotland to extend the programme across all 120 Highland primary schools and funding from the current Digital Xtra Fund grant awards will see Little Lighthouse expanded again into Argyll & Bute and Moray. This expansion will include teacher CPD courses as well as free resource kits for 18 schools in order to deliver the programme. As part of Digital Xtra Fund’s support, YESC is targeting schools that do not currently offer extracurricular computing science related activities, building the confidence and knowledge of teachers in these schools to deliver digital activities.

The first of these CPD courses took place at Dunoon Primary earlier this year with teachers from across Argyll & Bute in attendance. Aileen Morrison from Strone Primary said, ‘The resources for science/tech are always a challenge so providing this kit is fantastic. CodeBugs are new to me – learning to use them is really helpful. The kids will love using this’. Gina Nitschke from Innellan Primary added, ‘I now have a new idea to encourage digital literacy in the P1/2 class!’.

In total, 360 P2-P4 pupils in Argyll & Bute and Moray will take part in the Little Lighthouse programme learning digital concepts using Bee-Bots, CodeBugs, and Scratch. Pupils will complete eight exciting lighthouse themed modules, each building on concepts learned in the previous module. From constructing a working model lighthouse in ‘High Height’ to learning about communicating over long distances in ‘Light Delights’, by placing computing science and creativity in a real-world context alongside fun, hands-on activities, the Little Lighthouse programme helps to instil a positive attitude to digital technologies at a young age, increasing the likelihood of young people going on to choose computing science subjects at school.

Alongside support from Digital Xtra Fund, YESC is also working with BT Scotland as part of the Little Lighthouse programme to help engage young people with digital technologies. BT Scotland supports the CAS Barefoot resources which provide teachers with a brilliant range of ‘unplugged’ activities to develop computational thinking skills. Volunteers from BT Scotland are also invited to support schools participating in the programme by sharing their skills and career paths into digital roles with the children. This helps raise awareness of exciting opportunities within the digital sector in Scotland to both teachers and pupils and open their eyes to the diverse range of exciting career opportunities available within the sector.

Rebecca MacLennan, Programme Director at Young Engineers & Science Clubs Scotland, SCDI said, “Little Lighthouse is one of a range of innovative STEM projects available to schools across Scotland through SCDI’s YESC programme, supported by many partners including Digital Xtra Fund and BT Scotland. We are delighted to have support from Digital Xtra Fund to continue to grow the Little Lighthouse programme across Scotland by engaging another two local authorities. Our CPD courses have been very well received by teachers who are now enthused to use the lighthouse context to help pupils develop valuable skills including computational thinking and inspire the future workforce!”

Little Lighthouse is one of 11 initiatives supported by Digital Xtra Fund’s annual grant awards, contributing to our goal to give every young person in Scotland access to a digitally creative activity. These awards are made possible by the valued support of BT Scotland, a Digital Xtra Partner, and many others in Scotland’s tech industry, through sponsorship, donations and in-kind support. To help us continue this work, find out more about supporting Digital Xtra Fund and inspiring Scotland’s digital future here.

31 Jan 2018

Inveralmond Community High School: F1 in Schools STEM Challenge

In 2018, Digital Xtra Fund is supporting an exciting programme of 11 high-quality initiatives, which will introduce over 3,200 young people to high-level computing skills. We are highlighting each of these initiatives through a series of blogs; looking at how they inspire, enable and engage young people to be digitally innovative and creative, with a better understanding of the future career opportunities digital skills provide. In the third blog in this series, we are looking at Inveralmond Community High School and their use of the F1 in Schools STEM Challenge to engage young people from around the country.

The F1 in Schools STEM Challenge, with support from the Formula 1 community, is a global not-for-profit initiative that offers young people something truly unique – the opportunity to design and produce a model Formula 1 car that reaches speeds of 20 metres per second, utilising cutting edge digital manufacturing technologies and working alongside instantly recognisable global businesses.

Pupils aged 11-18 work as part of a team to design their own model Formula 1 car, utilising 3D modelling, testing and simulation packages, then operating rapid prototyping equipment to turn their digital concept into a physical model, which they will then race against teams around the country in the hope of making it to the UK finals, followed by the 2018 World Finals held in September. Underpinned by science and mathematical principles, the F1 in Schools Challenge supports the development and application of a broad range of digital skills, including digital creation and production, animation, and coding. Teams must also work together using soft skills such as project management, communication, and marketing to secure team sponsorship and manage budgets to fund their research, travel, and accommodation costs.

Inveralmond Community High School is currently Scotland’s only F1 in Schools Centre of Excellence. They offer a range of digital resources which any school from across Scotland can utilise free of charge in order to compete in the F1 in Schools STEM Challenge Scottish Finals, ranging from industry standard CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) machines and resources through to state of the art 3D modelling and printing facilities. Support from Digital Xtra Fund has enabled Inveralmond Community High School to purchase the final piece of their resource jigsaw, an official F1 in Schools race track and timing system. This will allow participants to not only design and build their cars on site, but also test them in an official capacity – greatly improving their chance of success on a UK and global level.

David Dodds, Principal Teacher at Inveralmond Community High School said “The support from Digital Xtra Fund has been fantastic. This new equipment will enable teams to properly test their custom cars in the build up to the Scottish Finals later this month [23 Feb]. Every student involved in the challenge relishes the opportunity to celebrate months of hard work as they race their cars down the new track on competition day in a bid to get to the UK finals in March. The procurement of this state-of-the-art system will add a new dimension to the development and application of digital skills in Scotland”.

The F1 in Schools Scottish Finals will take place at Inveralmond Community High School on 23 February when 20 teams comprised of 120 pupils will travel to Livingston from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow, Midlothian, and West Lothian to compete in this exciting and unique extracurricular activity while enjoying STEM in action.

This hands-on programme provides a fun way for pupils to challenge themselves and gives them the opportunity to develop key skills which will form the foundation of their future, in whichever career path they choose. Digital Xtra Fund’s support of this programme will have a lasting legacy for F1 in Schools in Scotland, and is made possible thanks to the valued support of Scotland’s tech industry.

Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman, F1 in Schools said “Scotland has always produced very strong F1 in Schools teams, with ambitious, engaged students who really relish the challenge that F1 in Schools offers them. We haven’t had a World Champion team from Scotland yet, but I’m sure it is only a matter of time, particularly with Inveralmond Community High School now having the luxury of a race track and timing system for the Scottish schools to use for track testing. We wish all the teams competing at the Scottish Finals the best of luck and we look forward to seeing the winning teams at our National Finals at Silverstone race circuit on 19th and 20th March.”

Thanks to our industry Partners, donations, and in-kind support, Digital Xtra Fund is able to provide annual grant awards to support projects like this, contributing to our goal of giving every young person in Scotland access to a digitally creative activity. Find out more about supporting Digital Xtra Fund and inspiring Scotland’s digital future.

F1 Schools STEM Challenge Scottish Event

Interested in seeing the F1 Schools STEM Challenge in action? Looking for an apprentice with hands-on experience to join your team? Join us at Inveralmond Community High School on 23rd February from 10:00 – 14:30.

The event will bring together over 120 students as they compete for a place at the UK Finals. If you fancy a day of digital skills, friendly competition, and fun – please sign up to attend here.

14 Jun 2017

Digital Xtra Fund Announces New Fund of £50K to support digital skills projects

Projects that teach digital technologies skills to young people could be in line for a financial boost as the Digital Xtra Fund announces its first new fund since becoming a charity.

The new fund of £50,000 will be available for projects that inspire young people by taking digital skills out of the classroom and teaching concepts like computational thinking, coding, digital making, or data science in a fun environment. Applications open on 16 June and each project can apply for up to £5000.

Digital Xtra Fund was created in 2016 to fund a variety of projects, all with an aim to foster a new generation of digital makers who will, in future, bridge the skills gap in Scotland’s digital economy.

It is seeking applications for innovative, adaptable, and sustainable projects, particularly those that engage with groups such as girls and young women, who are underrepresented in the digital sector. Its ultimate aim is to increase the number of young people from all backgrounds entering highly skilled digital careers.

The Scottish Government’s Digital Strategy sets out plans to increase the number of people in digital technology roles to 150,000 by 2021. Increasing digital participation and preparing young people for the future by improving digital skills levels is an integral component of this strategy. Career opportunities are significant, with an estimated 12,800 job opportunities available in Scotland annually.

Kraig Brown, Partnerships and Development Manager for Digital Xtra Fund, said: “Our aim is to drive innovation and engagement through a large network of digital skills providers across Scotland, including teachers running clubs outside school hours, as well as helping create links between industry and skills providers.

“Most importantly, we want to improve digital skills among young people by supporting high-quality extracurricular activities; thereby preparing them better for a digital future and inspiring them to consider a career in digital tech.

“Projects funded by Digital Xtra Fund have done fantastic work that has reached thousands of young people across the country already. This is our first new fund since we received official charitable status so we’d like to thank everyone who has supported us to get here.”

Digital Xtra Fund was originally established with funding from the Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership before being spun out as an independent charity in March 2017.

£400,000 was already awarded to 22 projects in 2016, reaching an impressive 15,000 young people across the country. Past projects include the Little Lighthouse project, which used the context of lighthouses to introduce ‘little engineers’ to STEM concepts, as well as ComputerXplorers who delivered Micro:bit Workshops to S1 pupils in a selection of high schools in East Lothian as well as providing CPD (Continuing Professional Development) sessions for teachers.

Supporters in the private and public sector include BT Scotland, Be Positive, Edge Testing, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, ScotlandIS, Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Government.

The closing date for applications is 1 September and awardees will be chosen by a panel of experts made up of key players in Scotland’s tech industry. Funding will be awarded to the successful projects in mid-October 2017.

24 Feb 2017

Over 100 school children set for Apps for Good inaugural Scottish Event

On Wednesday 15th March, students from schools across Scotland will travel to Edinburgh’s Quincentenary Conference Centre to participate in the first ever Scottish event organised by Apps for Good, which will celebrate the future generation of digital makers.

This inaugural Scottish event has been made possible after being awarded a grant from Digital Xtra, funded by the Scottish Government Digital Skills Business Excellence Partnership, who have provided Apps for Good with support to help us grow our after-school activities in Scotland.

Phil Worms says, “Digital Xtra is delighted to be able to support the first Apps for Good event to be held in Scotland. It is a fantastic initiative that focuses our young people’s minds on becoming creators rather than consumers of technology and better prepares them for their future whatever career path they might take. Young Scottish students who have this creative capacity coupled with
technical ability will become the next generation of entrepreneurs and are therefore vital to Scotland’s long term economic success.”

The event will bring together some of Scotland’s brightest young digital makers and entrepreneurs under one roof in the heart of Edinburgh’s city centre for a day of networking and skill development workshops. The teams of young people have been working to create apps to tackle the problems and issues that matter most to them. At the event, the students will be showcasing their products, participating in workshops to hone their skills and getting feedback from top industry experts in Scotland.

Representatives from Scottish technology companies have volunteered to deliver four master-class workshops to attendees. Jamie Sutherland from Mallzee will speak about the importance of getting feedback from customers. Carole Logan from digital agency Equator will show the young entrepreneurs how to build digital prototypes. Katie Lyne from CivTech will share real world examples of product development and creation, including the triumphs and failures. Phil Worms from Digital Xtra will speak about putting together a perfect pitch.

These workshops mean the young people will get a great insight into what it takes to make it in tech in Scotland from those already working in the industry.

The invited industry guests have been chosen to reflect the diversity of Scotland’s burgeoning and dynamic tech community, and students will have the opportunity to pitch their app idea and gain advice and feedback from the invited guests during the Marketplace part of the event. The event will culminate with the invited guests casting their vote in our People’s Choice Awards which will recognise the top three teams.

Apps for Good’s journey in Scotland began back in 2012/13 when its app development course was delivered in 5 centres including, Wick High School, Wick (Highlands); Calderglen High School, East Kilbride (Glasgow); and, Fife College, Kirkcaldy (Fife). In the years that followed, Apps for Good is proud to say that it has gone from strength to strength in Scotland. During the 2015/16 academic year 133 schools and learning centres delivered our app development course across Scotland.

Heather Picov, the Apps for Good UK Managing Director says “We are delighted and proud to be hosting this event in partnership with Digital Xtra, established by the Scottish Government Digital Skills Business Excellence Partnership to celebrate the next generation of Scotland’s tech entrepreneurs. Since our launch in Scotland in 2012, we have seen schools and students here go from strength to strength with the quality and creativity of their product ideas and the depth of their digital skills, supported by a thriving technology community. We know the future of tech isn’t just in
London or San Francisco, but in Edinburgh, Fife and Wick – and places like them all over Scotland, and this event will help showcase that potential to the nation.”

About Apps for Good
Apps for Good aims to unlock the confidence and talent of the next generation of problem solvers and digital makers: young people who are ready to tackle the 21st century workplace and are inspired to create real technology products that can change their world for good. Since launching in 2010/11 Apps for Good has been delivered in over 1,500 schools to more than 75,000 students. Apps for Good is a registered charity and is supported by partnerships with companies and foundations who share their vision of improving technology education. Corporate partners include technology leaders Thomson Reuters, Salesforce.org, Nominet Trust and Samsung to name but a few.

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