Creating connections in Scotland 2023

The Royal Society is investigating how data and data-driven technologies can contribute to the lives of people with disabilities and functional limitations. Over one billion people live with a disability, and most people will experience a temporary or gradual decline in ability throughout their lives. Data and data-driven technologies (from enhanced voice recognition technology to robotic ‘care-bots’) offer novel solutions to these challenges. However, disabilities are near-unique conditions, making solutions difficult to generalise and scale. Further, the global nature of technological innovations requires an inclusive approach to avoid widening the accessibility gap. This session will elucidate the technological, methodological and socioeconomic barriers for the science of assistive technologies—for example, understanding the potential of data (such as new uses of AI and ‘small data’), identifying market issues and research challenges in ‘intelligent assistive technology’. The session will inform the Society’s work in this space through identifying ways to overcome these barriers and maximise the use of assistive technologies for the benefit of humanity.

This event will allow members of the Young Academy of Scotland (YAS) to showcase examples of work and projects they have initiated, the challenges they have faced and the lessons they have learned in the process. It will also provide a chance for members of the UK Young Academy to talk with their YAS counterparts about ways in which the two organisations could collaborate or support one another in initiatives relating to Scotland.

This session will reflect on research and innovation in Scotland, with a particular focus on skills development to support and enable Scotland to achieve its ambition as a place where innovation is an intrinsic part of its culture, society, and economy. Innovation has been a key priority in Scottish policymaking since devolution. The Scottish Government’s Innovation Strategy is expected to support the national aspirations for achieving economic development, a just transition, and net-zero, while supporting the well-being of people. Research and development represents an essential component of the innovation ecosystem and this session will bring together a wide range of stakeholders (eg college and academic representatives, funders, industry representatives, and other third sector parties) to reflect on the changes needed to fully realise Scotland’s research and innovation potential in a national, UK-wide, and international context.

This is a joint networking session for members of the Royal Society Industry College network and Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellows. There will be presentations from past and present award holders based in Scotland, before the group is split into breakout groups. Discussion topics will focus on a range of subjects relevant to industry scientists and entrepreneurs working in Scotland.

The many benefits of international scientific collaboration (including the higher quality of internationally collaborative science as measured by citations and other bibliometric data), the efficiency of pooling shared resources into infrastructure such as CERN, and the necessity of working together to tackle critical global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss are generally well understood and supported by policy-makers. International scientific collaboration has also been a rare source of positive and inspiring news in troubled times. At a time when UK and international politics have become increasingly polarised, the discoveries of the James Webb Telescope, DeepMind's ability to predict protein structures from amino acid sequences, and the invention and rapid deployment of the covid-19 vaccine have captured public imagination, enabled new insights into some of the deepest questions and helped address some of the most pressing problems facing humanity. The covid-19 pandemic, and the measures taken to address it, have also driven new and innovative ways of working, including the widespread adoption of new technologies and practices, which have in some cases made collaboration easier and more inclusive.

Yet, despite these obvious benefits, including its potential to support economic development and capacity strengthening, international collaboration has been hampered or threatened by many recent geopolitical developments, including a long period of uncertainty over Horizon Europe resulting from Brexit, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and interference in research security by authoritarian states. How can an even more resilient and robust system of international research and collaboration be forged which can withstand these and future challenges and ensure that the benefits of such collaboration continue to be delivered, and can be shared in an equitable way.

This event forms part of the Science and the Law programme on which the two Royal Societies collaborate. The programme brings together scientists and members of the judiciary to discuss and debate key areas of common interest and to ensure that the best scientific guidance is available to the courts.

This particular event will provide an overview of the series of Primers for Courts, which are designed to assist the judiciary when handling scientific evidence. It will also offer the opportunity to explore possibilities for future collaborative engagement between the judiciary and the scientific community within Scotland. 

The session will run from 6–7pm at the RSE, with some drinks and canapés served from 5.30pm. Talks from Lady Dorrian, Lord Justice Clerk, and Professor Niamh Nic Daéid, Director of the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science will be followed by a discussion chaired by Dame Anne Rafferty, former Lady Justice of Appeal.