Laura is Associate Director, Innovation Engagement at Interface. She has been with Interface since 2014 as Head of Business Engagement and held the position of Interim Director in 2022.
With over 20 years’ experience in knowledge exchange and business development Laura is passionate about knowledge exchange and inclusivity. She brings a wealth of experience in developing and implementing strategies to engage with businesses and organisations across Scotland, the UK and Internationally.
Interface plays a unique role bringing businesses and Scotland’s world class academic community together. These partnerships stimulate innovation and drive economic, social and environmental activity and Laura has been a driving force of this activity.
Prior to joining Interface Laura worked at Edinburgh Innovations Ltd (formally Edinburgh Research and Innovation) and before that held positions in oil and gas and financial services.
Laura is a graduate of Edinburgh Napier University with a BA in Business Information Management.
Laura joined the team in January 2012 as a Project Administrator and is now Funding & Systems Lead. Laura can support on any funding related matters for the SFC Innovation Voucher Scheme (Standard, Student, Advanced Vouchers) and any additional funding schemes administered by Interface.
Lesley is co-founder of the Traveltech for Scotland cluster where she built and grew a highly active community of traveltech start-ups and SME’s, driving innovative business-academic collaborations for digital transformation, including Traveltech collectives and Interface projects funded by the Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund. She is experienced in delivering knowledge exchange events to highlight the benefits of digital technologies and data for industry sectors, including visitor management and cultural heritage; and has worked extensively with the private and public sector, helping businesses to grow through training, knowledge transfer, and digital skills development. A graduate of Glasgow University, Lesley has an MSC in Marketing Management from Edinburgh Napier University, where she later completed the first Destination Leaders Programme, a tourism leadership network of 100+ industry professionals. Lesley sits on the Board of Women in Tourism and chairs the Visitor Management Digital Group, a sub-group of Scotland’s National Visitor Management Strategy Steering group, chaired by VisitScotland.
Lorna Watson is Interface’s Innovation Engagement Lead covering the Tayside and Forth Valley regions. Since joining the organisation in 2013, she’s been instrumental in promoting Interface’s matchmaking service—connecting businesses and third-sector organisations with Scotland’s academic expertise to support innovation, growth, and sustainability.
A graduate of Heriot-Watt University with a BA in Business Management, Lorna brings a rich background in business support. Her previous role as a Business Adviser with Business Gateway involved guiding start-ups and growth businesses, as well as facilitating Women into Business initiatives across the Scottish Borders.
Outside of work, Lorna lives in the heart of the Tayside countryside. She’s bagged a few Munros, loves holidaying both abroad and across Scotland, is an avid reader of crime novels, and enjoys spending time with her three grandchildren. When it’s time to unwind, she turns to a good Netflix binge—her favourite way to relax after a busy day.
Lorraine joined Interface from VisitScotland where she worked for 25 years. With experience as their London Office Manager, Operations Manager for their world renowned Quality Assurance Schemes and latterly working within EventScotland on Year of Food and Drink; Lorraine brings a wealth of Tourism and Food & Drink experience to the Interface Highlands and Islands (H&I) Team.
Lorraine aims to spread the word about Interface more widely across the H&I, showing how we can help businesses achieve their ambitions no matter the size or scope. Interface can open up a whole new world of possibilities by introducing business owners to resources they never knew were available to them. Lorraine works to help businesses understand that Interface can save them time, money and effort by matching them to the right expertise across Scotland’s renowned universities and colleges.
In short, if you’ve got an idea, give it a kick-start by getting academics to do the research and development work for you!
Lorraine is based at An Lochran, the fabulous Enterprise and Research Centre in Inverness where Highlands and Islands Enterprise is located with key research and education departments from the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and research and consultancy divisions from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).
Louise has over 20 years business development experience in creating sales and marketing strategies to generate leads, in both business to business and academic to business environments. She has been with Interface for over 15 years, providing a free and impartial matchmaking service, connecting businesses across all sectors quickly and easily, to the world class knowledge and expertise within Scotland’s universities and research institutes. There is a vast diversity of expertise within academia, from students to researchers to specialist facilities, all of which both small and large companies can benefit. Working closely with her client companies, she helps them define their technical problems or requirements, and connects them to the appropriate academic partners ensuring the best possible solution for the business. Her knowledge of funding and network of support organisations ensures she provides a holistic service to client companies to drive innovation and the delivery of new products, processes and services. Prior to working at Interface, her career includes experience in the technology and aerospace sectors working for organisations such as NCR and Raytheon Systems. Out of work Louise enjoys yoga, walking her dog and socialising.
As Innovation Project Officer, Nicola works across the teams to deliver Interface’s mission which is to connect businesses and academics. Her role involves HR, Office Management, Funding delivery, as well as providing support for the marketing, and systems and finance teams. Having grown up in Kenya she graduated with a degree in Media, Society and Culture from Northumbria University. Since then, Nicola has gained international experience in a variety of roles from events management, retail and administration. Nicola is one of Interface’s qualified Mental Health First Aiders, is a University of Edinburgh Sustainability Champion and is part of the Responsible Business group. In her free time Nicola enjoys travel, reading, and exploring the Edinburgh food scene.
Shelley is a knowledge exchange professional brokering award winning collaborative R&D projects between Scottish businesses and academia for over a decade. A senior member of the team her focus is on raising awareness of the value of our world class academic base, building relationships and identifying opportunities to support university, college and research institutes priorities and their role in delivering prosperity for Scotland.
Shelley is also a co-opted Committee Member of City of Glasgow College’s Board of Management where she provides insight and analysis to the Management Board on commercial and international activities, assessing and managing risks and opportunities.
Shelley graduated from the University of Strathclyde with a BA Honours degree in International Business and Modern Languages. Following a stint spent working and travelling around North America she moved back to the UK to start her career in sales and business support.
Outside of work Shelley is passionate about fitness and is most often found at CrossFit or having a swim in the North Sea!
Suzy has been with Interface since 2015 as PR and Communications Executive, following 17 years working in public relations both in-house and agency.
Prior to that she was a journalist with a variety of daily and weekly newspapers.
Suzy’s main role at Interface is the creation and implementation of the PR and Communications strategy, letting the world know of the amazing work that Interface does, the impacts that this has on Scotland’s economy and society and supporting small businesses by spreading their success stories.
In 2023, Suzy became accredited by the Carbon Literacy Project.