Tech Events at COSLA Conference Centre, Edinburgh

A full-day industry conference on Scotland's solar and battery storage pipeline, covering domestic rooftops and home batteries through commercial and industrial installations to utility-scale projects, with the policy and investment conditions attached to each. Run by Solar Energy UK and hosted by its Solar Energy Scotland arm, 09:00 to 17:00 at the COSLA Conference Centre in Haymarket. The organisers are assembling industry leaders, policymakers, investors and local authorities. The speaker list was not published at the time of writing and ticket prices are not shown on the registration page. Why go: this is where Scottish solar and storage deployment gets negotiated — grid connections, planning, procurement — rather than discussed in the abstract. Best for cleantech founders, energy developers and investors who need the policy side and the buyer side in one day. Less useful if you came for technical depth.

A full-day in-person masterclass from Scottish Enterprise at the COSLA Conference Centre, aimed at SME leaders who have to make decisions about AI investment and governance rather than build models. The day is built around frameworks and peer work, not technology: establishing AI governance, drafting usable policies, and getting from scattered pilots to a strategy with measurable value. You work on your own business through the day and leave with a draft AI strategy, a prioritised list of AI opportunities and an outline governance and policy framework. Aimed at senior decision-makers and functional leads in digital, operations, innovation, technology and HR. Runs 09:30 to 16:30. Free, and currently sold out with a waitlist. Why go: most AI sessions for leaders stop at awareness; this one makes you produce the documents your board will ask for. Best for SME leaders already running AI pilots who need to make them official.

The Scottish Social Services Council's day-long symposium at the COSLA Conference Centre on using AI responsibly in social work, social care and children's services. The SSSC launches its new guidance for workers and employers here, putting into practice the five principles it published earlier this year. Presentations, workshops and a panel across 10:00 to 16:15, covering where AI is already used in social services, how ready an organisation is to adopt it safely, what research says about AI's effect on professional judgement, and a human-rights approach that keeps dignity and choice central. Deliberately interactive — what the room says shapes how the SSSC supports the sector next. Free with lunch, and currently sold out. Why go: this is applied AI where getting it wrong harms people, discussed by the people accountable for it. Best for anyone leading AI adoption in a public-service or care setting.

Data Day Edinburgh 2026 brings Scotland's public-sector and civic data community together at the COSLA Conference Centre for a full day on what is actually being built with data here. The emphasis is on delivered work rather than strategy — services, pipelines and analysis running inside councils, health boards, government bodies and the organisations that work with them. The audience is a mix of analysts, data engineers, service designers and policy staff, which shapes the questions asked after each session. Free. Doors open at 08:30 for registration and the programme starts at 09:00, finishing at 17:00. Lunch and refreshments are included with the ticket, with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal options; the organisers ask that specific allergies be flagged to info@datadayedinburgh.co.uk in advance. The venue is 19 Haymarket Yards, EH12 5BH, a few minutes from Haymarket station, and the schedule is published in the event app on the day. Why go: civic data work rarely gets written up, so a day of people describing what they shipped inside a public body is unusually concrete. Best for anyone building or buying data services in Scottish government, local authorities or health.