Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 17-21), is a good moment to pause and look at how Scotland is building the next generation of entrepreneurs. This year’s theme highlights the idea that we build stronger ecosystems when we work together which fits well with Scotland’s own direction of travel.

The recent Scaling Scotland report made it clear that if we want a more resilient economy, we need a broader and more diverse pipeline of people with the confidence and support to turn ideas into impact.

At Interface, this has been a major focus for us over the past year. For more than two decades we’ve been bringing business and academic expertise together, and we’ve also been working with partners to support the earliest stages of the entrepreneurial journey.  Colleges, in particular, hold huge potential and a pool of talent that hasn’t always been part of Scotland’s innovation story.

One example is the ScotCol Accelerator, developed with Boutique Innovation. Through this programme, college students across Scotland can access mentoring, funding routes and practical support to develop and test their ideas. Following a successful pilot, we’re now working with a new cohort of students. The pilot has already shown how powerful it can be when college students are given a direct route into Scotland’s innovation ecosystem. You can learn more in our blog.

We’ve also helped develop and now deliver the Entrepreneur in Residence programme, part of the Scottish Government’s Entrepreneurial Campus Blueprint.  Delivered in partnership with Connect-Ed Network, the programme brings five entrepreneurial champions into colleges to build confidence, nurture ideas and strengthen links to the wider support landscape. It  was co-designed with Connect-Ed Network, Colleges Scotland, the College Development Network (CDN) which shows the value of a joined-up approach. Find out more about the five college initiatives benefiting from this collaborative approach in our recent press release.

Another Entrepreneurship Campus Blueprint programme we are collaborating closely with is SEEN (Scottish Entrepreneurial Educators Network), led by Edinburgh Napier University and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). SEEN connects and supports educators who want to embed entrepreneurial mindsets and methods into teaching and learning at every level of Scotland’s tertiary education system. Our respective teams are working in parallel sharing learning, supporting each other’s events and promotional activities, and staying in regular contact to ensure our aims and outputs are aligned.

And adding to the celebratory spirit of Global Entrepreneurship Week, we are preparing for one of our annual highlights: the  Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards in 2026. This will be the 11th year of the awards, and we have introduced two new categories: Trailblazing AI Collaborations and Research and Innovation in Digital Health and Social Care, developed in partnership with The Data Lab, and The Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) respectively.  Both areas are growing rapidly and will play an important role in Scotland’s future economy.

If you’re marking Global Entrepreneurship Week, it might be the perfect time to put forward a collaboration you’re proud of. Entries are free and open until 5pm on the 11^thof December.

The awards shine a light on partnerships across colleges, universities and business communities, helping drive the next generation of innovators.

If you would like to find out more about any of this work, get in touch at info@interface-online.org.uk.