Calling all Scottish tech innovators and entrepreneurs! Attend an event, where the worlds of venture capital and tech startups collide. This event is designed to equip you with the knowledge, inspiration, and connections needed to take your startup to new heights.

A distinguished panel of experts, comprising seasoned venture capitalists and experts, including Chris Neumann, Marvin Liao, Monique Woodard, Casey Lau, and Mike Sigal, will take the stage to share their invaluable insights on what it takes to become investor ready. From securing seed funding to scaling your business, these experts have witnessed and supported countless success stories.

Prepare to be inspired as we dive into dynamic panel discussions featuring local tech founders who have successfully attracted investments and scaled their ventures. Learn from their experiences, challenges, and strategies for achieving investor readiness in the fiercely competitive landscape of Scottish tech startups.

Amidst the thought-provoking discussions, you’ll have the opportunity to network with fellow entrepreneurs, industry experts, and, of course, our esteemed panellists. Forge meaningful connections, foster collaborations, and uncover exciting opportunities during the networking refreshments that conclude the event.

Don’t miss out on this pivotal event that promises to unlock new pathways to success for your tech startup. Secure your spot today and embark on a transformative journey toward investment readiness and accelerated growth in the vibrant Scottish startup ecosystem.

Who is this event for?

This event is specifically designed for Scottish tech innovators and entrepreneurs who are eager to attract investments, scale their startups, and take their businesses to new heights. Whether you’re an early-stage founder seeking seed funding or an established startup looking to secure additional investments for growth, this event offers valuable resources and guidance for tech entrepreneurs at all stages.

The 2023 Creative Informatics Innovation Showcase will explore and celebrate a host of inspiring data-driven projects taking place across the creative industries in Edinburgh and South East Scotland.

Come along to this free event to find out more about the innovative products, services and experiences that have been developed by creative individuals and organisations with funding and support from Creative Informatics.

Early registration is open now! There are 2-day tickets, 1-day tickets and online tickets available. Full programme details will be announced soon.

This one-day event will showcase impact success stories, offer you a chance to find a partner from another Scottish university, and give you the opportunity to access funds for impact collaborations. Inspirational sessions include a keynote speech from Mark Miodownik and skills development and networking facilitated by Skillfluence.

The IAA Impact Festival is organised by the five Scottish universities with EPSRC Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAAs): University of Edinburgh, University of Strathclyde, University of Glasgow, Heriot-Watt University and University of St Andrews.

Plenary sessions

Our keynote speaker is Mark Miodownik, Professor of Materials and Society at UCL. He champions materials science research that links to the arts and humanities, medicine and society. Mark established the Institute of Making, where he is a director and runs the research programme. He also recently set up the Plastic Waste Innovation Hub to carry out research into solving the environmental catastrophe of plastic waste. Mark is a broadcaster and writer on science and engineering issues, and believes passionately that to engineer is human. In 2018 he was awarded an MBE for services to materials science, engineering and broadcasting.

The keynote will be followed by lightning talks from impact leaders from the five leading Scottish universities in science and engineering. The speakers will share their experiences of creating different types of impact from social and policy impact to industry collaboration, commercialisation and company creation. Learn how our speakers have leveraged the support available to them to further their career and translate their research into impact. The speakers are:

• Larissa Naylor, University of Glasgow
• Dan Hodgson, University of Edinburgh, The Physics of Goo: Impact from soft matter and complex fluids
• Laura Wicks, Heriot-Watt University, Lothian Lugs – flipped the model of university engagement
• Charles McLeod, University of Strathclyde, Innovation to impact: Enhancing through-life asset management, from cradle to grave
• Ross Gillanders, University of St Andrews
• Networking sessions
• Skillfluence will facilitate structured networking that will allow you to meet other researchers from across Scotland and creatively explore opportunities to collaborate.

Interface will be exhibiting at this event so come and join us.

The Scotsman Data Conference 2023 is bringing together key decision makers, data sciences business leaders, media and thought provoking influencers – this hybrid conference is a must attend event for those who want to be part of the discussion and influence Scotland’s Data community.

Hosted with the University of Edinburgh, this year the conversation evolves from the 2022 conference and will feature a range of virtual and in person panel discussions and keynote presentations. Join the conference for a day of industry keynote speakers, informative breakouts and panel discussions and extensive networking opportunities.

The rECOver group focuses on identifying and developing robotics as a sustainable technology and their potential contribution to a more sustainable world while identifying and working to overcome the social and economic implications associated with their integration by closing the gap between domestic and international policymakers and industrial partners.

The rECOver group comprises of a unique combination of cross discipline researchers including scientists, lawyers, sociologists and engineers.

This ‘Collider Event’ at the National Robotarium in Edinburgh, will bring together these sectors into a multidisciplinary group of experts to engage in discussions that will identify and draw out key principles and issues that should be addressed when using robotics for sustainability and focus on questions such as:

•Robotics in a sustainable world: are they accelerating or hindering the objectives?

•Can the increased use of robotics for sustainable mining affect the critical material supply?

•How does the contribution of robotic technology affect the transition to a circular economy?

•How can potential negative socio-economic or political impacts of robotics use be mitigated?

Robotic technology is increasingly being used to drive us to a more sustainable world, for example, in the offshore wind sector. However, whether and how robotics themselves can be made more sustainable – socially and environmentally – is emerging as an issue of debate. The development and use of these robots require coherent interdisciplinary analysis suitable to understanding their potential socioeconomic and environmental downsides and to create better regulatory approaches to incentivize innovation while avoiding negative externalities.

Initially, rECOver is seeking to initiate conversation and collaboration among scientists, engineers, policymakers and social scientists to analyse the use of robotics in mineral acquisition for and recycling of sustainable or ‘green’ technologies by combining both techno-economic and socio-political analysis.

Sign up for a day of inspiration, insights, learning and networking. Supply chain resilience, industry 4.0 technologies, leadership & culture, operational excellence and sustainability will all be covered. Find out how the manufacturing sector responded to a global pandemic, how it can recover and how we will reimagine the future.

The conference, previously known as the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) National Manufacturing Conference, will arm manufacturing sector and supply chain businesses with the ambition, vision, knowledge, tools and networks to increase productivity and maintain future competitiveness.

Making Scotland’s Future is a partnership between Scottish Government, public agencies, industry and academia that are collectively taking forward a programme of activity designed to secure a strong, sustainable future for Scotland’s manufacturing sector, aligned to the Scottish Government’s ambitions in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation. The power of Making Scotland’s Future lies in harnessing all of its collective networks, channels and support to help drive productivity, innovation and competitiveness, maintain and create high-quality jobs, and attract and develop talent, while embedding low carbon and sustainable manufacturing as its core. The vision is for Scotland to be a country inventing, designing, developing and manufacturing world-leading products and technologies. Through continuing support and investment, we are making Scotland’s future today.

The Making Scotland’s Future Conference is being led by Scottish Enterprise on behalf of the Making Scotland’s Future partnership.

Interface are exhibiting and we’d love to see you there!

On 27 June CivTech will unveil innovative tech solutions to real-world problems at CivTech 8 Demo Day, and will also launch the biggest CivTech Accelerator to date, CivTech 9.

The in-person event which takes place at the Assembly Roxy in Edinburgh, is an exclusive opportunity to hear about the latest developments and opportunities from the CivTech Accelerator. Attendees of CivTech Demo Day have the opportunity to attend the morning or afternoon session, or both sessions.

At Demo Day you have the chance to hear from the CivTech 8 companies who have created Challenge solutions for: the most vulnerable people facing energy crisis, Scot Gov Agriculture and Rural Economy systems, and protection of Scotland’s marine and land wildlife and environments as part of Innovate for Nature which launched during COP27 last year as part of our ‘Innovate for’ series.

Artificial intelligence, design, biodiversity tech, and photogrammetry all feature across solutions in CivTech 8. Demo Day gives the companies the opportunity to pitch their products to key stakeholders in the public, private and third sectors, and demonstrate their solutions’ potential for wider-scale use and commercialisation.

Not only will there be the opportunity to see the work developed by the CivTech 8 companies, but also hear updates from some of the previous Challenge Sponsors and Companies as well as having the chance to network with key decision makers from across Scotland.

The afternoon session will announce the first Challenges from CivTech 9, the biggest CivTech Accelerator yet with £10million funding from the Scottish Government this year.

Companies can join us to find out about how the CivTech Innovation Flow is creating tech solutions with a positive and practical impact on Scotland, and the lives of people across the country. You will also hear from previous CivTech companies on how their experience in the Accelerator has propelled them to further funding and successes, and what the programme could offer for you.

If you are working in the public or third sector in Scotland and want to know more about how you can bring a brand new Challenge to the CivTech programme, this is a fantastic opportunity to meet with Challenge Sponsors face-to-face and find out how the Accelerator has transformed their services through bespoke tech-for-good solutions.

Social enterprises are considered to be ethical and responsible businesses, but how do you develop a social enterprise that is committed to inclusive governance, diversity, and equality?

Join the next Fine Tune Your Social Enterprise event to hear from experts in these areas and get inspired by social entrepreneurs who are building their businesses with fairness, inclusion, and diversity at their core.

Sessions on the day will be run by professionals who are leading the way in inclusivity and best practice. They’ll be exploring essential topics for social enterprises including Board Diversity and Ethical Supply Chains.

Agenda

9.30am Arrival

10-10.30am Intros

10.30-11.20am Session 1 – Board Diversity Lindsay Wake (SIS)

11.20-11.30am Comfort break

11.30am-12.20pm Session 2 – Ethical Supply Chain Hannah Dent (SES)

12.20-2pm Networking LUNCH

2-3.30pm Panel

• Zara Todd

• Kalpana Ratnam-Roarty

3.30-3.45pm Final remarks

4.00pm Close

Meet the speakers

Lindsay Wake

Lindsay has been Head of Impact at Social Investment Scotland since October 2019. She worked within and alongside businesses, social enterprises, community organisations and charities across Scotland, and London and the South-East for over 20 years.

Hannah Dent

Hannah is Director of Services at Social Enterprise Scotland, the national membership body for Social Enterprise. She is responsible for operational oversight, partnership development, strategic leadership, and a range of corporate support functions.

Zara Todd

Zara Todd is a disability activist, researcher, trainer and facilitator. She is setting up a social enterprise to support disabled people’s leadership in the not-for-profit sector after carrying out a Churchill Fellowship looking at inclusion, disability and leadership, and co-authoring ACEVO‘s hidden leaders report on disability leadership in the third sector.

Kalpana Ratnam-Roarty

Kalpana is the CEO of User and Carer Involvement (UCI) and a Director of Easy Read For CIC, based in Dumfries and Galloway. Over 50% of UCI’s board comprises people with learning disabilities, and Kalpana saved the charity from closure in 2019.

Places are allocated on a first come first served basis so make sure you register early to secure your place.

This event is free to attend with lunch provided.

It promises to be an engaging and reflective day.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships create dynamic connections between businesses and the UK’s world class knowledge bases to deliver strategic innovation projects.

The KTP Roadshow is aimed at businesses, charities, academics and researchers interested in learning more about how Knowledge Transfer Partnerships can create relationships to transfer knowledge by bringing together companies seeking knowledge and academics and researchers with knowledge.

The Building Knowledge Transfer Partnerships roadshow is an opportunity for companies to come to Queen Margaret University to meet academic and research staff and learn more about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.

The roadshow will spotlight and share insights on collaborative research and development opportunities with QMU, as well as share useful guidance on the support available from the East of Scotland KTP Centre for developing bids for government funding.

Interface is presenting at this event.