Scotland’s first National Innovation Week will take place later this year, Business Minister Richard Lochhead has announced today.

Taking place from Monday 22 September to Friday 26 September, it will celebrate Scotland’s proud legacy of innovation while showcasing the country’s global leadership in pioneering the transformative technologies and industries of the future.

The week will highlight events and roundtables happening all over the country, celebrating the very best Scotland’s technology ecosystem has to offer – from groundbreaking work in AI and fintech to leading innovations in health tech and climate tech. ScotlandIS have reached out to their partners to offer opportunities for schools to take part in live lessons to spark innovation in learners and in the classroom!

Join In – LIVE LESSONS – 23rd September 2025

Join one or more of the live lessons for innovation week with your class on Tuesday 23rd September

10am Design a Pet Supplies App

In this interactive workshop, Mark Rodger from Telefonica Tech will work with students to understand some of the roles and methods used in designing an app, inviting the students to brainstorm and come up with some great ideas for their very own pet supplies app. This workshop is based on identifying the concepts and considerations for an app and does not include any technical coding or actual creation of the app itself. This makes it easy for anyone to get involved and only requires the following resources:

A4 Paper (one or two sheets per student)
Flipchart/A1 sheet of paper (one per team)
Coloured pens/pencils
Blu-tac or Sellotape

This workshop is best targeted at P6/P7/S1/S2 students. Please note that students should be split into teams of 3 or 4 where possible and that teacher interaction will be required during the workshop, to support the students as they will be asked to perform some activities in the classroom as part of the workshop.

This session will be interactive and pupils will need:

A4 paper and pens to support a class discussion and writing their answers to the career quiz.
A paper copy of the quiz will be available for teachers to support the pupils locally.

11am Tech In Finance

Join Mags Moore from Sopra Steria for this informative session (aimed at P5 and up) pupils on Tech In Finance. In this session pupils will learn:

What FinTech is and discuss where technology is used to save, move and manage money
Explore potential careers and via a fun quiz learn which career they might enjoy
Learn about the use of AI in FinTech
Have the chance to ask questions

This session will be interactive and pupils will need:

A4 paper and pens to support a class discussion and writing their answers to the career quiz.
A paper copy of the quiz will be available for teachers to support the pupils locally.

2pm Tech In Finance

Step into the world of coding with a fun, hands-on session designed especially for curious minds aged 8–12. In just 30 minutes, you’ll learn how to turn simple ideas into real mini-apps that run on your phone or computer. No heavy setup, no boring theory — just creativity, play, and instant results!

We’ll build exciting projects like a Drawing Pad where you can sketch with your finger and save your artwork, and an Emoji Story Generator that sparks your imagination with random emoji prompts. By the end of the session, you’ll not only have your own apps to share with friends but also the confidence to see coding as a tool for creativity and fun.

✨ No prior coding experience needed — just bring your imagination and a sense of play!

More Events for Innovation Week

The centrepiece will be a Summit taking place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Thursday 25th September, in parallel with ScotlandIS’ ScotSoft Conference, and bring together industry and academia to drive forward shared ambitions and achieve global presence.

As the delivery partner for the Summit and Innovation Week, ScotlandIS CEO Karen Meechan stated: “Scotland has all the ingredients to be a global technology leader – a rich heritage of innovation, a culture that embraces bold thinking, and academic firsts in cyber and technology-related university degrees. We’re not always the best at shouting about how good we are but Scotland’s first Innovation Week and Summit is a chance to change that, to shine a much-needed spotlight on our world-class ideas and capabilities, and to attract the investment and talent that will power our digital future.”

Scotland’s National Innovation Strategy sets out four key areas to capitalise on competitive advantage:

advanced manufacturing
energy transition
health and life sciences
data and digital technologies

The Business Minister visited ONE BioHub in Aberdeen, which aims to double the number of life sciences businesses in the north east by 2028.

Mr Lochhead said:

“Scotland is a nation of inventors, creators and problem solvers. We invented the steam engine and the television, and discovered penicillin. Today we stand at the forefront of the next wave of transformative technologies which not only offer immense potential for economic growth but also powerful tools to tackle the global challenges of our time – from healthcare and energy to climate change.

“Companies across Scotland are speeding up the development of new drugs and medicines through automation, pioneering the energy systems of the future and developing the space and satellite technology to help tackle climate change – to give just a few examples.

“It is essential that we seize these opportunities to benefit both our economy and society. Scotland’s first National Innovation Week marks a pivotal moment to turn ambition into action and cement our place as a truly global innovation nation.”

More details via the National Innovation Week website coming soon. Find out more about ScotSoft 2025 here