To celebrate its 10th anniversary, The Data Lab is today launching a programme of activities and events to mark the significant milestone—while looking ahead to the next 10 years of driving innovation, building community, and skills in data and AI across Scotland.
A series of events in Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, and Edinburgh will take place across October and November. From forensic scientist Professor Niamh Nic Daéid in Dundee to 2024 Iron Viz champion Chris Westlake in Edinburgh, the events will celebrate local industry experts and look ahead to the future of AI and data innovation in entrepreneurship, data visualisation, energy, and more.
The celebrations will also culminate in The Data Lab’s flagship conference, DataFest—the eighth edition of the event—held from May 12th to 13th 2025 at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh, where the conference began in 2017.
The Data Lab has recently transitioned to become part of Scotland’s Innovation Infrastructure, a long-term investment in the national innovation centres programme funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
It is one of four SFC-funded Innovation Centres alongside IBioIC, Built Environment — Smarter Transformation, and Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, connecting Scotland’s universities and colleges with industry and with public and third-sector organisations to create economic and societal benefits.
Heather Thomson, who serves as interim chief executive of The Data Lab, said: “Over the past decade, The Data Lab has helped 1,500 organisations harness the power of data and AI to solve real-world challenges, boost business growth, and develop the next generation of data talent. We’re excited to celebrate our achievement with our community through an exciting programme of activities and events over the coming months.
“Looking ahead to the next ten years, we will continue in our role of facilitating connections across tertiary education, industry and the public sector supporting Scotland to become a global leader in data and AI innovation, building the talent pipeline through skills development, to create economic and societal impact.”
The Data Lab Community events have attracted over 2,500 attendees in 2024 so far, with over 150 events organised since launching three years ago.
Meanwhile, the international DataFest conference has been attended by over 6,000 delegates since launching seven years ago.
Source: DIGIT