Scotland is recognised as a world-leading centre for innovation. Spin-outs from Scottish universities generate more than £300m for the economy every year. Perhaps even more impressive, Scotland has produced 20% of all new UK spin-outs in the last decade, despite having an overall population share of below 9%.
Such success thrives on Scotland’s strong culture for nurturing commercial talent through schemes such as Converge Challenge, a business prize which demonstrates what can be achieved when organisation come together - in this case eight of the nation’s leading universities - around a common goal.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is proud to play its part in Scotland’s verdant entrepreneurial ecosystem via its Enterprise Fellowship scheme, which provides support to researchers and innovators who have promising science or technology business ideas that they would like to commercialise.
With funding from Scottish Enterprise, the BBSRC and STFC, we offer awardees the opportunity to develop the potential of their idea, whilst receiving one year’s salary, expert training in entrepreneurship, and access to mentorship from business Fellows of the RSE and other successful individuals in the commercial community.
Since 1997, the scheme has helped to create more than 100 companies across a huge range of sectors, covering everything from tidal energy generation and safety systems for the oil and gas industry, to communication systems for sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease.
Fellows funded by Scottish Enterprise alone have gone on to create over 60 companies, which have collectively raised in excess of £51m follow-on funding, with more than £42m coming from the private sector.
RSE Enterprise Fellowships and Converge Challenge have a strong history of cross-pollination. In 2013, for example, three Converge participants were successful in applying for RSE Enterprise Fellowships: David Hunter, Shot Scope Technologies; Silvana Palacios, Kalitasha Ltd; and Efthymios Klampaftis, Lumo PV.
Two other entrepreneurs who set up their companies through RSE Enterprise Fellowships - Kanika Bansal, founder of Medicen Devise Ltd, and Christopher Leburn, Director of Chromacity - also completed the Converge Challenge. They are now featured in a new video which has just been launched to show others what can be achieved through the RSE Enterprise Fellowship scheme.
There has never been a better time to spin-out a company in Scotland, and with such a strong record of success, Converge Challenge and RSE Enterprise Fellowships can let you take those important first steps toward building a thriving business and becoming a budding entrepreneur.
More information is available on the RSE website.
