New centre to equip young people with digital skills 

A pioneering centre that will equip young people with the digital skills needed to succeed in the future economy has been launched as a partnership between the University of Edinburgh and Midlothian Council.

The centre is based in the recently opened Newbattle Community High School in Dalkeith.

The Centre will work with a wide range of businesses, colleges and universities. Its focus will be on digital industries such as robotics, data science, informatics, digital marketing, graphic design, video and music production.

A key aim is to ensure these important learning opportunities are available to all. Students from other schools in the region will be able to access the specialist resources available through video links and online learning.

Activities within the Centre will also be closely aligned with the Data Driven Innovation Programme, which is being led by the University.

The Programme is a key element of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal and aims to provide the skills needed to support the digital and data economy.

The Centre will help realise the City Region Deal’s ambition to make Edinburgh the data capital of Europe.

“It’s been a great pleasure for me to work with teachers and learners at Newbattle on this excellent project. Everyone involved in delivering the Centre is ambitious and enthusiastic to help pupils achieve their full potential, and the University of Edinburgh is proud to work alongside them. Both the University and Midlothian Council aim to provide excellent digital learning and teaching, and we can learn a lot from each other through collaborations such as this.”

Councillor Jim Muirhead, Midlothian Council’s cabinet member for education, described the Centre as an example of partnership working at its best.

“Our ambition is to create a world class education system for our children and young people that provides them with the real life skills they will need. Pupils will be able to see how digital technology relates to the curriculum, to future jobs and the development of specialist skills.”