The Data Lab Academy Innovation Challenge 2025

(September 2025) The Data Lab Innovation Challenge 2025 celebrated the power of data-driven creativity and cross-sector collaboration, spotlighting how inclusive innovation is shaping Scotland’s future in design and technology.

In May 2025, the University of Stirling hosted a transformative event that brought together data science, design thinking and civic innovation: the Data Lab Innovation Challenge. This three-day immersive programme invited MSc data students to apply their skills to real-world problems. We set a challenge, in partnership with the Scottish Government, focused on tackling the regeneration of vacant and derelict land in Scottish town centres through a data-led approach.

Why it mattered

Vacant and derelict sites across Scotland represent missed opportunities for development and investment. The Innovation Challenge aimed to explore how data and design could unlock the potential of these spaces. Students were tasked with developing solutions that addressed community needs, infrastructure gaps, and barriers to redevelopment, using the tools and technologies they’ve honed throughout their academic journey.

From Stirling to Edinburgh: showcasing innovation

Following the event in Stirling, the two best-placed student teams were invited to present their work at a seminar hosted at the University of Edinburgh on 2 September 2025. This provided a platform to further explore and refine their ideas in collaboration with experts from The Data Lab and the Scottish Government Digital Directorate.

Mentorship and insight

As mentors and judges, Tom Sharples (Senior Geospatial Data Analyst at Scottish Government), Steve Malone (Director of Design at Architecture and Design Scotland) and Ian Gilzean (Head of Digital and Place at Architecture and Design Scotland) engaged with the students throughout the challenge. Our team were consistently impressed by their focus on liveability, health and wellbeing, and their creative use of data analytics alongside established tools like the Place Standard.

Standout ideas from the Data Lab Innovation Challenge

The two teams that were invited to present stood out with their impressive and well-researched presentations.

Famous for Lemons emphasised the importance of stakeholder engagement and proposed structuring vacant and derelict land data using Place Standard categories to support community action and attract investment. Their approach highlighted connectivity and liveability as key themes.

Lex Machina, a team of law students, identified a gap in the vacant and derelict land register: sites under 1 hectare are not recorded. Their solution proposed a community-driven platform where locals could upload data and images to suggest new uses for these smaller sites. Their presentation sparked a valuable discussion on the ethics of public data and AI.

The potential ahead

Ideas emerging from the presentations include using the Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Register more proactively to regenerate sites and inspire new redevelopment strategies. The Stalled Spaces programme was cited as a successful model of community engagement, and the challenge raised exciting possibilities for co-produced solutions powered by data analytics. 

What’s next?

We are continuing our collaboration with The Data Lab Academy and exploring how the students’ proposals might evolve with support from the Digital Directorate. Through our partnership with the University of Bristol we will be co-hosting a public forum on ‘AI and the City’ at the Edinburgh Futures Institute on 30th of October – look out for further details on our website. 

The Data Lab Innovation Challenge 2025 showcased the power of creative data use to generate new solutions and services. It also highlighted the value of collaboration between students, government, public bodies and design professionals. Events like this are essential for shaping the future of data and design in Scotland, fostering innovation that is both inclusive and impactful.

Header image Data Innovation Lab Challenge 2025 mentors at Stirling University, credited to The Data Lab Academy.