Adrian Cutler FRSA

A very important report by Reform Scotland today, on both the importance and vulnerability of Computing Science Education at school level. Any tech economy is a function of the supply of talent into it. Reform Scotland's research: 66 schools have no CS provision, that's over 32,500 pupils. 25 schools with >1000 pupils have only one CS teacher. CS teacher numbers down 25% since 2008 against a stable school role, and falling recruitment. It should no longer be a point of debate as to whether this amounts to a crisis for Scotland's tech sector of the near future. This decline is fully reversible, if our education authorities and local authorities act together now, with renewed urgency and a sense of ownership of the problem. I discussed these issues with Parliament's Education Committee this morning, link in the comments section. https://lnkd.in/esSAeUrg

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I often talk about how it’s #statistics and #maths that drives social change - those statistics, values and numbers that “kick you in the guts” and make people want to create a better world. The Royal Statistical Society has published a manifesto on how the next UK government can harness #data and copies are going to all parties. Take a look and tell us what you think

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AI is transforming the business world, yet many companies in the UK still stand on the sidelines—unsure of how to adopt it or skeptical of its value. In my latest blog, I dive deep into the barriers holding companies back from AI adoption, explore the incredible benefits, and shed light on the risks of ignoring this game-changing technology. ✍️ The AI Adoption Dilemma in UK Businesses for 2024-2025 -https://lnkd.in/ecxm_T5w #AIinBusiness #UKBusiness #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #FutureReady

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We had an interactive Webinar on financial freedom yesterday with NUST UK Alumni, followed by a very engaging Q&A session. A shout out to Haroon Sadiq for organising it and inviting me to it. I'll be holding a few more of these sessions. If you are interested in attending one of these sessions, please message me. Thanks #alihshah #alishahreinvent #ASCommunity #ASWebinar #financialfreedom #entrepreneurship #investments #sidehustle #NUST #UK #NUSTAlumni

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🚀 Exciting news alert! Durham University Business School is launching an exclusive SME Leaders Masterclass! Dive into Strategic Thinking, Leadership Styles, and Organisational Change on 13th and 14th September 2024 - for FREE! Don't miss this opportunity to level up your leadership skills. Comment below if you're ready to empower your SME! #LeadershipDevelopment #SMEs #DurhamUniversityBusinessSchool 🌟📈💼 Original article: https://lnkd.in/eCU5tfUe

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Right now, in the Technology Revolution, we have a chance to create something different. We have a chance to make an impact on the industry. We have a chance to make massive amounts of money for our businesses. And in 3-5 years we can look back and say – Gosh, we were a part of that. Most businesses want to stand out on air, on stage, online - unless you are in the personal security business. In the times of the AI revolution it’s important more than ever that we remain wholesome, likable and humble. Do you want to be the one who is shaping your story? Or do you want AI to be doing it for you?

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Adam, Thanks to recent experience with a child parentally-encouraged to take IT seriously, like many here I'm sure, who hated how it was taught, I can tell you straight. The UK syllabus is BORING as hell. 1. Some Python, which can be fun, if you can stack the modules in a game-like way, like the online courses do. Not with classroom lessons and home study just repeating rote-style commands. As he might say "Dull AF" 2. Ole Skool terms like 'MAN' which you are supposed to remember and spit out in an exam. Think I have heard that term once in decades of working in IT. Garbage in, garbage out. 3. Way under-paid generalist teachers who would be doing even basic IT roles if they could. So we can do all the inspiration and up-levelling and without using modern, gamified coaching, we may as well cede the new IT workforce to countries who mandate pupils learn like back in the grammar school era. It works for them and we all pay less for IT talent, even if very little of it is home-grown. Growing our UK tech talent pool is not going to happen, no matter who gets in without teaching it differently. Sorry to sound so defeatist on such an important topic Tech is magnificent. The way it is taught to school children sucks.

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I was delighted to join Martin Betts Arlene Stewart, Andrew Proctor and Professor Osama Khan at the GFCC conference at Aston University as we discussed the role of AI and collaborative partnerships within universities for innovation and socio-economic growth.   Adobe sits firmly at the heart of this discussion: 🏫 With over 100 Adobe Creative Campus globally, 28 of which are in the UK, we are directly enabling and empowering students and staff through responsible software to unlock creativity 🎨 Creativity is more than a ‘nice to have’, it underpins productivity and wellbeing with GenAI as an enabler and providing the empowerment that democratises creativity for all 📈 The 2023 WEF Jobs Report shows 74% of hiring managers agree that candidates with credentials deserve higher compensation; providing education, training and support is a key factor for innovation and socio-economic growth.   #CreativityForAll #CreativeCampus #GFCC #AstonUniversity #Adobe

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🎉 Opportunity alert 🎉 Our ecosystem partners over at OneTech have launched Amplify Venture, a groundbreaking two-year program designed for ambitious entrepreneurs ready to go on a journey towards expansion and success. Powered by Capital Enterprise, OneTech, Foundervine, and Startup Discovery School, Amplify Venture has secured funding from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and aims to uplift 120 businesses through the planned programmes. Zebra Growth have been appointed to deliver the sales and marketing module over a 5 week period and we have been busy planning some valuable content for the cohort. If you fit the criteria you can apply for a funded place now ⬇ 💥 Applications Open: Sales and Marketing Techniques for Founders ⚡ Turn Your Start-up From a 5-figure Business to a Market Leader 📅 Starting on the 15th of May 🌍 Led by Amplify Ventures: a partnership between Foundervine, Startup Discovery School, Capital Enterprise and OneTech 👉 Apply: https://lnkd.in/ez2bYDG3

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techUK recently asked me to share views on #scaleup #investment challenges, which are condensed into a 3 minute blog post below. Hopefully an interesting read for UK tech entrepreneurs, VCs and policy makers... The opportunity to improve the landscape is clear. 🇬🇧

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Day One | Helping You Hire Better at #VivaTech! A great first day with the techUK delegation where we met with different regional business growth hubs as well as visiting exhibitors who are leading in AI and Deeptech. Looking forward to day two and hopefully catching some of the talks around skills, early tech talent and business growth today- especially the discussions on ‘founders stories’ which are focusing on the ‘day one’ stories of different business owners #ai #vivatech #investment #deeptech #hirebetter #mydayone

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Sorry - establishing a regional investment fund is fixing the wrong problem. I spend my days out and about in the Manchester tech eco-system; meeting founders, teams, investors etc. There is no dearth of capital. In fact, we probably have too much of it. Praetura Ventures have just been handed a £100m fund to deploy; we have high net-worths (hello Manchester Angels), VCs, debt-funders and other entities actively investing. Very often businesses are not getting funded because they will never deliver venture-level returns. They're simply not ambitious enough, not disrupting large-enough markets and not articulating how to capture decent market share to deliver power-law type returns. Investing in skills is super important; but so is leverage expertise of exited founders and operators. Founders need to know *how* to build large, scalable and repeatable sales playbooks. They get that through clustering effects; exited and experienced founders and operators who have been there, done it before and want to help others do it again. If we want to fix this - let's fix the transport that makes it a pain in the neck to get to London and back. Let's fix this attitude of only raising locally. And let's support the true buildings such as Baltic Ventures Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester and others who are leveraging the right types of support. Let's #unlockambition.

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Bridging the gap in artificial intelligence Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds enormous potential for businesses, enhancing productivity and competitiveness. However, adopting AI technology can be challenging. That’s where Innovate UK BridgeAI comes in. Our mission is to help businesses in high growth potential sectors such as agriculture and food processing, construction, creative and transport, logistics and warehousing industries, to harness the power of AI and unlock their full potential. Innovate UK How BridgeAI can help you Delivered by Innovate UK and strategic partners, BridgeAI offer funding and support opportunities to help innovators assess and implement trusted AI solutions, connect with AI experts, and elevate their AI leadership skills. Connecting Connecting businesses in priority sectors with AI experts - Building an innovation community to help businesses adopt AI through collaboration with developers. Expertise Developing new trusted AI services and technologies - Supporting the development of cutting-edge AI technologies through co-creation between both the supply and demand side of the AI ecosystem. Up-skilling Elevating high growth potential sectors - Building new capabilities in businesses through training and up-skilling in AI providing access to scientific expertise https://lnkd.in/dYaE6vYq If you are a SME in the Black Country contact [email protected] we can support you on your AI journey!

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The new UK government must innovate in this one area to stay ahead of global competition... 🌍 Thank you Comment Central for allowing me to pen my views on the importance of AI in higher education. 🖋️ UK universities are essential to driving economic growth in the AI era. So, the new Minister for Higher Education should prioritise creating top AI talent. Some competitors are nipping at the UK's heels on this front... ⭐ The UAE has founded a whole university to power its AI sector. ⭐ Chinese universities have already integrated compulsory AI modules. In my opinion, the new UK government needs to act now to keep up. ❌ And it's NOT enough to offer one-off AI courses. 👉 Instead, AI must form the foundation for the entire higher education system. Read the full article below for my recommendations on how this can be done: https://lnkd.in/dcBpgB4J

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🚀 Exciting developments at GOV.UK! We're evolving with emerging technologies to make accessing government services even easier. Our latest endeavor? The experimental GOV.UK Chat, a generative AI chatbot designed to provide a conversational experience while keeping the GOV.UK brand strong. We're focused on user trust, iterating the design through extensive testing to ensure reliability and friendliness. One standout feature is the 'Check this answer' component, providing users with authoritative links to validate AI responses. We understand that managing trust expectations is key, and we've refined our onboarding process to educate users about potential inaccuracies, ensuring informed interactions. As we dive into the private beta phase, we're eager to learn how GOV.UK Chat can simplify navigation and summarize complex information. A massive thanks to our dedicated team, government partners, and research participants. If you're involved in the public sector with AI insights, join our conversation on GitHub. 🔗 Source: https://lnkd.in/eTgWTJyg 🚀 Spannende Entwicklungen bei GOV.UK! Wir nutzen aufkommende Technologien, um den Zugang zu Regierungsdiensten noch einfacher zu gestalten. Unser neuestes Projekt? Der experimentelle GOV.U (von ChatGPT erstellt)

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Are there any public sector PMs, Service Designers or Delivery folks within my network? Keen to get a coffee ☕ Photo: the view from techUK conference earlier this week. Brilliant day with lots of insight from Government Digital Service, Ministry of Justice UK, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and many more. #publicsector #productmanagement #servicedesign

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Module 9 complete ✅ Innovation and Strategic Entrepreneurship 🧪🥼 Another banger of a module delivered by Christos Kolympiris at University of Warwick - Warwick Business School 🏫 We explored frameworks, skills, practical tools and ways of thinking to innovate in today's rapidly changing business environment. #innovation #entrepreneurship #mba #mbalife #wbs #business #businessschool #learning #CPD

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Political change is almost here but what does the future hold for UK startups? No one knows for sure, but startups must be a crucial part of any new government's agenda. Thankfully, Dom Hallas and the team at the Startup Coalition have produced a comprehensive Startup Manifesto to guide our new leaders on what needs to be done. With the UK ranking third globally for VC investment, our AI sector valued at £72bn and our ClimateTech sector worth over £26bn, there’s plenty to suggest we're on the right path. But there's so much more to address – across talent, funding, regulation, and innovation. 📈 So that British startups can remain competitive at the forefront of the global tech revolution. 🌍 Have a read of the full manifesto below and do your bit to promote it, so that whoever is in charge on Friday hears about it too. 📢

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