With Digital Xtra Fund, Incremental is set to inspire over 7,000 young people into digital tech.
Digital Xtra Fund, a Scottish charity that is backed by both the public and corporate sectors, has selected 22 initiatives to help drive digital skills for young people aged 16 and under in Scotland. The funding ranges from delivering coding clubs at four schools across Angus, a ‘Games for Good’ initiative for teens at Heart of Midlothian FC’s Innovation Centre, introducing hundreds of young people to cyber security at Aberdeen Science Centre, and a COP26-related collaboration around climate tech with The Scottish Council for Development and Industry’s (SCDI)Young Engineers and Science Clubs.
Kraig Brown, Digital Xtra Fund’s Partnerships and Development Manager said the Fund’s goal is “for every young person in Scotland to have access to innovative and digitally creative activities, regardless of their gender, background, or where they live. This year’s grant awards are valued at over £100,000 and will now help around 7,250 young people across the country learn about the vast opportunities with tech.”
Since being launched in 2016, Digital Xtra Fund has awarded £725,000 of funding to digital skills initiatives across Scotland, helping schools and organisations engage over 35,000 young people. “Our model is very simple – we work with our industry partners to identify, finance, and assist tech initiatives across the country. The more industry backing we have, the more initiatives we can support, and the more young people we can engage with tech.”
Incremental is proud to be supporting the fund for another year. Along with Incremental Group, other major partners include AWS, JP Morgan, Accenture, BT, Fujitsu, ScotlandIS and Skyscanner.
Neil Logan, Chief Executive Officer, Incremental Group, said, “It is vital that young people gain the digital tech skills that are required to power the Scottish economy. The Digital Xtra Fund is a great initiative and one that I am proud Incremental can support as a Megabyte Partner. We are delighted to be helping to inspire the next generation of Scottish technologists.”
Commenting on Mark Logan’s Scottish Government-commissioned Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review in 2020, Kraig Brown said, “Mark Logan spelt things out again recently when he described the state of computing science in our schools as an educational emergency. It really is that important and we want to be one of the key parts in the ecosystem that brings about real and effective change. On the plus side, it feels like we’re at a watershed moment and things are starting to move in the right direction.”
To find out more about Digital Xtra Fund or to get involved, visit https://www.digitalxtrafund.scot/