Professor Helen Hastie

Professor Helen Hastie is the Head of School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, overseeing one of the largest Schools globally dedicated to researching and teaching AI and Computer Science for over 60 years. She is a distinguished professor of human-robot interaction, focusing her research on trustworthy AI and autonomous systems. Helen was recognised by Women in Robotics, a global community supporting women in the field, as one of the top 50 women in robotics in 2022. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and was a founding member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Young Academy. Prior to her current role, Helen worked at Heriot-Watt University, where she served as the academic co-lead for the National Robotarium and as the Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Robotics and Autonomous Systems. She has spearheaded various research initiatives, including leading the UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Node on Trust and serving as the Coordinator of the EU project PARLANCE. With over 120 publications to her name, Helen has also contributed her expertise to numerous scientific committees and advisory boards.

Scotland's Got Talent: From the Enlightenment to the Present Day, How Does a Small Nation Constantly Find Itself at the Forefront of Technological and Creative Industries

Scotland has been a global reference on education since the Middle Ages, with major pushes for education in the XV century and the Scottish Reformation, and with Scottish universities being critical contributors to the Enlightenment. Today, Scotland has more top ranked universities per capita than anywhere else in the world, 5 in the top 200 (Edinburgh, St Andrews, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen). It continues being a reference in innovation and education, with examples like Edinburgh University leading AI research and robotics in the UK through School of Informatics/Bayes centre and Abertay pushing boundaries on games related education. 

In 1997, in the city of Dundee (a city with less than 150,000 people) Abertay University took a chance on a new path and launched the world’s first computing science degree. Today, it is an exemplar of industry collaboration and recognised globally as a top institution educating the next generation of the industry with several courses recognised in the top 10 of Princeton global list of games related university courses.

Scotland has given the world some of the most iconic games in existence. In a global industry that covers from entertainment to education and is at the forefront of technology, it is Scotland’s talent (we can say something about density of innovation or something like that) that really sets it apart.