The Club Talk will be delivered in collaboration with the Digital Boost and Digital Development programmes. We will hear from two businesses who, with the help of funding from the Digital Development Loan and Digital Boost Grants have improved productivity in their organisations through the adoption of digital technology to either improve a process, add value for their customers or innovate.

Attendees at the club will also have the opportunity to ask representatives of the two funding programmes what funding is available, how to apply, eligibility, and where to get support.

Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time for networking! You will be able to meet like-minded professionals and to mingle with new and old contacts. We are responding to member feedback and keeping the club on-line for now but will be bringing back in person events later this year.

Join the Club and make the first step into your digital transformation journey.

The UK’s dedicated SME cyber event, helping you better protect your business.

The past year has seen dramatic change in the way we do business, interact with each other and operate as a society on a daily basis. However, rising from the ashes of a post-pandemic world, an opportunity is presented to re-imagine inclusivity – and we would love for you to join us.

In Atos’ 5th Annual Diversity & Inclusion Expo, we consider whether viewpoints on D&I have changed in the past year and discuss what action still needs to be taken. This year’s event is an opportunity for us to come together and spark conversation for an inclusive future!

We are delighted to be co-hosting the 2021 event with SAP – who place a large focus on inclusion and play a key role in our data-led approach to diversity.

Agenda content includes:

• Rising from the ashes: diversity post covid
• Igniting diversity of thought
• How the pandemic has proven the social model of disability
• Gender balance: a marathon not a sprint
• Data led diversity and inclusion
• Navigating gender identity as a parent
• A sustainability led approach to inclusion
• Women in tech: melting the glass ceiling
• Balancing heritage and cultural identity

The Club Talk will be delivered in collaboration with the Digital Boost and Digital Development programmes. We will hear from two businesses who, with the help of funding from the Digital Development Loan and Digital Boost Grants have improved productivity in their organisations through the adoption of digital technology to either improve a process, add value for their customers or innovate.

Attendees at the club will also have the opportunity to ask representatives of the two funding programmes what funding is available, how to apply, eligibility, and where to get support.

Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time for networking! You will be able to meet like-minded professionals and to mingle with new and old contacts. We are responding to member feedback and keeping the club on-line for now but will be bringing back in person events later this year.

Join the Club and make the first step into your digital transformation journey.

The Scottish Informatics & Computer Science Alliance (SICSA) Conference has been an annual event since SICSA began in 2008. This year the focus will be on Sustainability & Resilience. We have a full schedule of Keynote Talks, PhD/ECR Skills & Education Sessions, Panel Sessions, a showcase of cutting edge-research from Scotland’s Centres for Doctoral Training. Our colleagues from the Research Innovation Scotland (RIS) will be joining us for an interesting interdisciplinary panel discussion between the Scottish Research Pools and Innovation Centres.

This year we have introduced prizes (Amazon Vouchers) for the Poster Competition Winners – 1^st place, £200; 2^nd place, £100 and 3^rd place, £50.  Please encourage your PhD students to submit a poster here.

Following the success of last year’s SICSA Best Dissertation Award we are delighted to confirm that Amazon Development Centre Scotland will be supporting us again this year for the 2021 Award.

The event is free to attend and you can register via the ‘Learn more’ link below.

The annual SICSA Conference is the showcase event for the Scottish Informatics and Computing Science Alliance, attended by academics, early career researchers and postgraduate research students from across Scotland. 

This year, the conference will take place online using the ohyay platform, running from lunchtime on the 13th of September through to the following afternoon. The conference will comprise an exciting mix of keynotes from leading researchers, showcases of cutting-edge research from Scotland’s Centres for Doctoral Training, as well as tutorials and skills sessions for our participants. 

We are also running the SICSA Best Dissertation Award for the second year which is being sponsored by Amazon Development Centre Scotland. 

 This year the conference will also feature a virtual Careers Fair and we are inviting tech recruiters from across the public and private sector to participate, gaining access to postgraduate computing research talent from across the fourteen Scottish universities. 

The opportunity to participate is aimed at technology focused recruiters seeking to recruit graduates and interns into their organization. Our research students offer a unique perspective, equipped with a research mindset and key technical skills from the wide range of rapidly advancing fields in computing, including robotics, augmented reality, cloud computing and virtualization, next generation networks, machine learning, AI and data science. 

The changing landscape of the public sector will require intelligent use of cloud services.

The pandemic has demanded the public sector adapt to the use of cloud services. With pressures now beginning to ease, we have an opportunity to turn our focus to long-term transformation and fully unlock the power of the cloud.

The 2021 edition of Holyrood Connect’s highly successful Cloud Services in the Public Sector series is your opportunity to join our experts, share experiences and learn about the latest developments and best practice from across the globe.

Discuss how we can build on the foundations laid the past year to fully unlock the
power of cloud services for the public sector:

• Ross Lyon, Transformation Manager – Cloud 1st, Scottish Government
• Nia Lewis, Cloud Service Manager – Cloud 1st, Scottish Government
• Albert King, Chief Data Officer, Scottish Government

Optimising the Design of Cloud Services

• Neill Smith, Head of Infrastructure (ARE Division), Scottish Government
• Learn lessons from abroad
• Barry Lowry, Chief Information Officer, Government of Ireland

Review how the cloud can used to empower data-driven innovation

• Steven Flockhart, Director of Cloud Engineering & Digital Operations, NHS NSS

We’ll also be looking at driving collaboration through flexible cloud services, the role of data centres and how to keep your organisations protected with cloud security. The agenda is updated regularly, so please visit the website to see the latest line-up.

Does having a truly secure cyber solution for your organisation automatically mean using high levels of energy and leaving a large carbon footprint?

Or can the cyber security sector work as effectively sustainably, hand in hand with green targets?

Join ScotlandIS on 15th September to be part of the debate on whether there is a conflict or complementary element to cyber security and sustainability.

We’ll be joined by:

– Freha Arshad, Senior Manager at Accenture (Security)
– James King, International Connectivity, Datacentre and Internet Exchange Leader at Scottish Futures Trust
– Vicky Brock, CEO of Vistalworks

The panel will provide their insights into this topic followed by QA and the opportunity for wider discussion.

Click the ‘Learn More’ link below to book your place.

These workshops from Pragmatic Leadership and Decode Cyber Solutions develop leaders to create a cyber secure culture within organisations. In today’s world, leaders must understand cyber risk and be equipped to lead and embed a cyber secure culture across organisations.

Cyber security is poorly understood and often seen as ‘IT’s job’. As a result, businesses are vulnerable and face significant financial exposure. The workshops focus on raising leaders awareness of those cyber risks, while also developing strategies for use within their organisations. These strategies enable leaders to embed a culture where a collective responsibility for cyber security is achieved.

The aim of the workshops are to equip leaders with the tools to embed a ‘business as usual’ approach to cyber security. Building a metaphoric ‘ring of steal’ around the business is the responsibility of all employees – but few businesses understand this. Every day, employees should adopt habits that are part of the ‘safety routine’ – much like those who may work in sectors where Health and Safety practices are part of the normal routine of work. The workshops focus on the role of all leaders and how to embed a cyber secure culture – forming habits that become second nature for everyone within the business, leaving their businesses less vulnerable to attack and losses.

This is a series of workshops running over four consecutive weeks, starting Thursday 16th September. The total cost for all four workshops is £160 +VAT

The Club Talk will be delivered in collaboration with the Digital Boost and Digital Development programmes. We will hear from two businesses who, with the help of funding from the Digital Development Loan and Digital Boost Grants have improved productivity in their organisations through the adoption of digital technology to either improve a process, add value for their customers or innovate.

Attendees at the club will also have the opportunity to ask representatives of the two funding programmes what funding is available, how to apply, eligibility, and where to get support.

Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time for networking! You will be able to meet like-minded professionals and to mingle with new and old contacts. We are responding to member feedback and keeping the club on-line for now but will be bringing back in person events later this year.

Join the Club and make the first step into your digital transformation journey.

There is no denying the immense impact the pandemic has had on Public Sector organisations and their ability to deliver services. However, through this experience an opportunity for innovation and positive change in the industry has flourished. One of the most exciting and transformative solutions available for Public Sector organisations is the Microsoft Platform.

The adoption of low-code/no-code development with Power Apps and Power Automate has been an exciting area of growth for the industry as the potential to revolutionise processes is limitless.

Join Incremental’s Damien Bird (Office 365 Consultant), Cheryl Deveney (Senior Dynamics Consultant), and Microsoft’s Steven Grier (Country & Regional Manager), as they discuss the opportunities and real-life use-cases of Power Apps transforming processes in the Public Sector.

The lunch-time session covers:

• Common challenges for Public Sector organisations
• Looking to the future – opportunities for the industry
• Process improvement with the Power Platform
• Real-life use-cases of Power Apps in action
• Q&A – get your questions answered by our experts.

Please feel free to share this invitation with your colleagues.

Fyne Conf is back for another installment in 2021. We are holding a half-day virtual event to discuss all topics about the Fyne toolkit, its community and the applications built around it. The event is taking place on 17th September 2021, starting at 1pm UTC.

This event is a chance to learn more about Fyne and how it can be used to easily build robust and performant cross platform applications. We will showcase useful techniques, best practices, new features and existing applications from around the community. Novice to expert – coder, tester or designer – we will have something for everyone.

The first of a series of industry engagement events to boost awareness of the opportunities within the Scottish public sector for Scotland’s growing, talented and dynamic digital industry.

This event is organised by the Scottish Government’s Digital Commercial Service in collaboration with ScotlandIS, and will have the Scottish Digital Academy show-casing their upcoming digital learning and training needs, and how they are looking to tap into the capability and expertise that the Scottish technology sector has to offer.

More information on the Scottish Digital Academy can be found here.

If you are interested in hearing more about what the Scottish Digital Academy is looking for, or if you believe your organisation can meet the procurement needs of the SDA, then please sign-up to the event on Tuesday, 21st September 2021, hosted digitally by the trade body ScotlandIS.

You can register by clicking the ‘Learn More’ link below.