Our Deputy Chair visits Edinburgh and Glasgow 

news 29 Jul 2025

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Last week, our Deputy Chair Rob Wilson and members of the Social Mobility Commission’s secretariat, including colleagues from our Glasgow office, were in Scotland to learn from inspiring organisations driving change.

In Edinburgh, we met the team at CodeBase, which is transforming Scotland’s startup ecosystem by connecting founders with investors, government, academia and more. We also visited the Data-Driven Innovation initiative at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, where we explored how cutting-edge technology and data-led projects are improving lives across Scotland.

In Glasgow, we co-hosted a dynamic roundtable with Councillor Richard Bell, Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council, bringing together voices from local government, business, and the third sector. The discussion focused on Glasgow’s regeneration journey and inward investment success stories.

Afterwards, Rob Wilson sat down with Sir Tom Hunter, one of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs, for a conversation on how to boost opportunities for young people in Scotland to start and grow their own businesses.

We ended our visit at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) to hear about the role of innovation in economic growth and the urgent need to upskill the workforce for the industries of the future.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to meet with us and share their insights during this informative visit.

Reflecting on the visit, Deputy Chair Rob Wilson said: “There’s so much going on, so much good practice, so many clever things being done in and around the Glasgow region and in Edinburgh. And we’ve been fortunate to visit a number of them.”

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