The delegates on Cross Creative, a training and development programme for senior digital technology and creative professionals in Scotland, have been announced.
The six month programme comprises five monthly training sessions in Glasgow, covering themes ranging from negotiation to finance and investment, and scaling-up. It concludes with an international business trip, giving participants the unparalleled opportunity to gain access to some of the best digital companies in the world.
Previous delegates of the programme, now in its tenth year, have visited world-beating companies in Silicon Valley including Facebook, Twitter and IDEO. This year, for the first time, delegates will visit Canada’s vibrant Toronto-Waterloo Innovation Corridor- the largest technology cluster in North America outside of San Francisco.
This 2017 delegates are: Robert Fyfe, design team lead, CitNOW, Stu Thomson, director, Cut Media, David Buchan, managing director, Innovation Digital, Nadeem Sarwar, founder and chief exeutive, Organised Health, Ali King, data engineer, Spiritus , Angela Prentner-Smith, managing director, This is Milk, Daniel Rae, co-owner and strategy director, We are Hydrogen, and Charlie Bell, creative director, Whitespace
Claire Scally and Margaret Scott, joint managing directors of TRCmedia said: “Cross Creative is one of our most successful training programmes with an excellent track record of supporting Scottish digital companies. We’re very excited to launch this year’s programme and to enter new territory in Canada’s renowned Toronto-Waterloo Region Corridor. “
Cross Creative is being delivered as part of the wider Digital Economy Expansion Programme; three years of business development and skills support, targeting individuals and companies working in the screen and digital sub-sectors of the creative industries. The initiative is being developed alongside and financially supported by Channel 4, BBC, Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.
“Scotland’s creative industries are thriving, but in order to build on that growth we need to give the industry’s future leaders the chance to develop their business skills and widen their horizons,” said Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop. “Cross Creative provides that opportunity for the digital sector, and I’d like to congratulate all the successful candidates.”
David Smith, sector director at Scottish Enterprise said: “We are delighted to support this varied programme and the exciting international opportunities it offers. We’ve been actively working with TRCmedia to ensure that participating companies also tap into wider business support opportunities available which can further accelerate their growth and see Scotland’s creative industries gain a competitive edge.”