Edinburgh Innovations are hosting a webinar showcasing research expertise in AI Frontiers on 24 October at 2.00pm- 3.00pm (GMT+1/UK time).

Prof Themis Prodromakis, Director of the Centre for Electronics Frontiers will deliver a talk on “Innovations across AI and Semiconductors”, while Emily Lekkas, Program Director in AI at Edinburgh Innovations will introduce the latest research and expertise at the University. There will also be an opportunity to hear from an industry partner who participated in AIMday Digital Frontiers 2023.

Explore Digital Frontiers is a series of webinars showcasing research expertise in AI, data science, quantum computing, robotics and more from our leading researchers.

Our next webinar in December will focus on Data Science Frontiers. Details and registration will be available soon!

Perhaps these webinars inspire you with questions?

Are you looking to collaborate with our leading experts on Digital Frontiers? You can explore answers with experts from the University of Edinburgh by registering your challenges for our AIMday Digital Frontiers event! Participate in this hybrid event on the 26 February 2025 by submitting your questions by the 13 December 2024!

Building on the last two years of success, this year’s Meet the Funders will help you connect with national and local funders and discover the latest funding opportunities.

This year, participants are invited to hear presentations on:

• Celebrity influencing in the Fundraising Mix, with Steve Sloan and charity, Mikeysline.
• Expanding your Types of fundraising with Beyond Profit UK and local organisations who have had success in diversifying funding streams.
• Make sure not to miss ‘What Funders are Looking for in an Application’, with SCVO’s Laura Cameron and Evaluation Support Scotland’s, Gary Walsh.
• Take a closer look at corporate fundraising/donations/trusts with Jo O’Sullivan from Institute of Fundraising as well as Outfit Moray and Walkers Shortbread.

The day is designed to help you better understand funding eligibility, connect with funders and groups, and create opportunities for partnership and collaboration.

There will be over 15 stallholders including: Interface, Foundation Scotland, Gordon & Ena Baxter Foundation, National Lottery, Independent Living Fund Scotland, Inspiring Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, AHF Transforming Heritage, REAP Scotland, Scotmid, DTAS/Community Shares Scotland, National Churches Trust, Sport Scotland and the Moray Community Foundation.

Carol-Ann Adams of Interface will be exhibiting at this event come along and say hello and find out how Interface can help you.

Without innovation, the world would be a very different place – quite simply, it would never change. It’s at the forefront of everything we do as a society and is integral to businesses.

Such innovation often comes from research carried out by academics and research professionals in universities and businesses across the world. That research allows organisations to create positive impact on our communities and environment, saves lives and empowers people to have a greater quality of life.

Join the 4 Innovation Centres as well as other Innovation Support Institutions at Walter Bower House at the University of St Andrews to allow the academic research community and businesses to connect and learn more about the support they offer. This event is hosted by the University of St Andrews but open to colleagues at Abertay University and the University of Dundee.

Who is the event for:

• Academics
• PhD students
• Postdocs
• Research fellows
• Regional businesses
• All those interested in innovation support!

Schedule:

1.00pm – Networking Lunch and Arrivals (Entrepreneurship Centre)
2.00pm – Welcome and Introductions by: Innovation Centres, Interface, EoS KTP Centre, IUK Business Connect (Cathedral Room)
3:15pm – Exhibitions and networking (Cathedral Room)
4.00pm – Exhibition Close
4.00pm – Eden Campus tours

Shelley Breckenridge of Interface will be presenting at this event so come along and hear how Interface can support you.

Have you got an idea for your business that you’d like to develop? Join Highlands and Islands Enterprise Isle of Skye Candle Co. Visitor Centre for a workshop on how to develop your ideas into reality.

• Realities of growth – what does it take to grow your idea?
• Sources of ideas – the inspiration for ideas and the chance to apply this to your business
• Too many ideas? Learn how to prioritise them
• Developing your idea – finding the inspiration to build on and strengthen your idea
• Finalise your idea – identify the strongest component of your idea, and how to take it forward
• Find out how how innovation support can help

Carol-Ann Adams of Interface will be attending this event. Come along and hear how Interface can support innovation in Skye.

CeeD’s Net Zero Trading Zone

“An event to help convert ideas into real, commercially viable products through the power of collaboration.”

CeeD is running a unique day event on 21st of November, the aim of which is to create new business opportunities by working with another partner(s). With each party able to concentrate on their core competences, we believe that organisations can significantly increase the chance of successfully realising new products, innovations and business ideas.

This Trading Zone will focus on Net Zero and sustainability pursuits. Around the Trading Zone, we will be sharing stories of the innovative ways the CeeD network are overcoming their sustainability barriers.

“No matter what your skill or technology there is sure to be an opportunity that needs it!”

This event will provide a forum for using the power of collaborating to overcome common business problems such as obtaining funding, design issues, effective supply chain management and market intelligence. Or you may just be looking for new ideas to be a part of.  

How will it work on the day?

The format will be professionally facilitated using interactive activities and discussions designed to bring together small teams of potential collaborators around a business opportunity. The underlying theme is ‘Innovation’ and the day will bring together Start-ups, SMEs, Multinationals, Commercialisation partners, Academia, Funders & Investors. 

A select few of the audience will be pitching while others will be supporting and involved in the discussions and break-out sessions afterwards. Come along with an open mind and a willingness to participate.

How do I join in?

Do you have something to offer or something to ask?

• Do you have a unique or innovative skill, capability or service to offer?
• Are you looking for help, or a partner to get an idea off the ground? 
• Do you have a specific challenge you’d like to solve?
  

Do you have a great story to share about the innovative ways you overcame your carbon reduction problems?

On Wednesday, 2nd October 2024, Heriot-Watt University is staging the Health Ageing Showcase an afternoon dedicated to research that promotes health and wellbeing as we age.

The Healthy Ageing Showcase offers an opportunity to hear from the people leading and participating in a range of research projects. These include developing and trialling new and innovative technologies that support and enhance healthy lifestyles, to the ways our homes and urban environments can be designed to encourage opportunities for healthy ageing, to robotic and assistive devices enabling people with different needs to live independently for longer.

The event will be opened by Professor Linda Bauld (Chief Social Policy Advisor to the Scottish Government), followed by researchers representing the breadth and depth of activities in healthy ageing at Heriot-Watt. The event will also include a special session led by Katherine Crawford (Chief Executive Officer of Age Scotland) celebrating the involvement of people in shaping research.

Event Schedule: Main Programme Commences: 14:00 in the James Watt Auditorium

During the event, there will be an extended break to allow participants to engage with interactive demonstrations and stands. These will cover research from Heriot-Watt as well as opportunities to meet with our community and charity partners. Refreshments will be provided during the break.

The event is being hosted by Heriot-Watt’s Health and Care Technologies Global Research Institute. The institute’s goal is to deliver innovative, sustainable, and user-inspired solutions through a co-creative approach. To learn more about Health and Care Technologies at Heriot-Watt, visit https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/research/health-and-care-technology.htm.

Join the Centre for Innovation Leadership at City of Glasgow College for a morning of networking and insights on how innovation culture & leadership can unlock growth for your business.

Wed 25 Sep 2024 (09.00 – 11.30)

City of Glasgow College,
Riverside Campus,
21 Thistle Street,
G5 9XB

The 12-month College Local Innovation Centres (CLIC) pilot project, funded by Innovate UK, will help businesses across the Glasgow City Region gain access to comprehensive support and guidance, dedicated to driving digital innovation and productivity.

You’ll also be able to hear from Amazon Web Services, who will be sharing their unique culture and how they drive innovation through four distinct elements: Culture, Mechanisms, Architecture, and Organization. Glasgow-based AWS Senior Customer Solutions Manager Naminder Dhami will talk about Amazon’s Culture of Innovation, and how any organisation can adopt similar ways of working.

The Centre for Innovation Leadership, hosted by City of Glasgow College, can help businesses navigate uncertainty and inspire innovation by leveraging the latest best practices.

We provide support on both innovation strategy development as well as using sector-leading tools and techniques, enabling your team to build successful innovation programmes and interventions.

This event will give you the chance to find out about the fully funded support and guidance you can access to drive productivity in your business.

Agenda

09:00 – 09:05 – Introduction
09:05 – 09:10 – The CLIC project
09:10 – 09:15 – The Centre for Innovation Leadership
09:15 – 10:45 – Uncovering Amazon’s culture of innovation
10:45 – 10:55 – Q&A
10:55 – 11:30 – Networking

University of Aberdeen in conjunction with Skillfluence are launching their new Connect to Collaborate programme at an in-person event on 11th September.

Connect to Collaborate is an output-focused programme designed for university academics and research staff from all disciplines who want to develop a collaborative R&D project with external organisations, but don’t have a partner.

Many academics and research staff don’t have the contacts, skills or confidence to engage with organisations in a way that leads to collaborative R&D projects. Connect to Collaborate guides academic and research staff from any discipline through a structured process to help them identify, connect with, and collaborate with companies, not-for-profits, NGOs or third-party/public sector partners.

The main challenges the programme works to address are:
• A lack of relevant partner organisation contacts
• Not sure where to start
• Connecting-the-dots between an organisations needs and your research
• Struggle to translate academic language for non-academic settings
• A lack of time to dedicate to engaging with organisations

Participants will realise a measurable change in their knowledge and confidence in critical areas that correlate to applying the innovation process to:

1. Personal Industry engagement & action plan.
2. Increased number of contacts.
3. Initial meetings with partners.
4. Increased confidence in your ability to engage with potential partners.
5. Better understanding of how to move from interest to grant funded project.

Gillian Hambley, Business Engagement Executive at Interface will be attending this event.

Join Heriot-Watt University and Interface on 9th October for this Industry-Collaborative Research Breakfast.

With connections into all Scotland’s universities, colleges and research institutes, Interface is based regionally to support businesses by building collaborations with academia.

Louise Arnold and Howell Davies of Interface will share how the Interface team works with Scotland’s universities, colleges and research institutes to encourage and support academics to undertake knowledge exchange activities with businesses.

Interface can help you navigate the business landscape, find business connections and enable access to industry and sector groups. In addition, the team manage funding calls on behalf of Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Government and can identify funding in support of new and sustained academic and business innovation collaborations.

If you are seeking to progress your research by applying it to important social, commercial, and environmental challenges, looking for industry partners for collaborative R&D or seeking insights about industry needs and challenges, need support in finding opportunities to engage your students or help identify collaborative funding programmes Interface can support you.