Another round of funding of £100,000 has been announced by the Scottish Government and innovation support organisation Interface to encourage businesses outwith Scotland to collaborate/partner with academics, bringing in knowledge, skills and potential jobs.

Scotland’s biotechnology sector is celebrating a major milestone with the launch of the nation’s first open-access 300-litre fermenter – a state-of-the-art piece of equipment that will support early-stage companies to develop bio-based products at scale.

The UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK have today announced £15m funding over the next five years for a National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC), with the remainder of the support coming from partners.

The James Hutton Institute has announced its role in co-leading a new £38m UK-wide centre which could soon see alternatives to animal proteins made from plants, fungi, algae and meat grown in labs.

A refreshed industrial strategy, supporting economic growth and inward investment, is likely to be defined in the coming months, and given its role in the drive for sustainability, the bioeconomy should be a core focus. However, we cannot afford for new leaders to press pause on the progress made so far.

Prozymi Biolabs Ltd and the University of Edinburgh win Innovation of the Year – sponsored by HGF Ltd at the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards for developing a pipeline for identification and characterisation of novel gluten-degrading enzymes.

Regional clusters of innovation across the UK backed by £75 million that will boost local economies and pioneer game-changing solutions from healthcare to net zero.

Now in its ninth year, the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards is the flagship event celebrating the partnerships between business, third sector and public sector organisations and academia (universities, colleges and research institutes).

The L’Oréal-UNESCO UK and Ireland For Women in Science Rising Talent Programme offers awards to promote, enhance and encourage the contribution of women pursuing their research careers in the UK or Ireland.

Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) is looking for companies with a sustainable building material product that reduces embodied carbon to join its newly launched Accelerator programme.

CPI and a consortium of 14 other businesses, universities and others have received a grant towards a project aimed at converting industrial carbon emissions to create more sustainable consumer products. The two-year project, called Flue2Chem, aims to cut around 15-20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year and help the UK reach its net zero goal.

Skilled professionals from displaced backgrounds and their families have started to arrive in Scotland this year as part of the Displaced Talent Pilot, which connects refugees with employers in safe countries who are looking to fill positions across a range of sectors.

The annual celebration of knowledge exchange between business and academia returned to an in-person event on 23 March this year for the first time since 2020 – and if the buzz of the room at the Dundee venue was anything to go by, people were delighted to be celebrating face-to-face once again.

BSI has published a white paper examining the challenges and opportunities around the cultivated meat industry. 

Funded through the Tay Cities Deal Partnership, the Field Centre is part of the £62 million IBH and marks a major milestone in establishing Scotland as a leader in global food security and crop resilience.

In 2022 Scottish EDGE awarded 82 early-stage, startup Scottish businesses with prize funding in excess of £3.1m and the good news is Scottish EDGE is back for Round 21 with more funding on offer for Scotland’s next great startup businesses.

Converge, the premier company creation initiative for Scotland’s universities and research institutes, is dispelling the myth that you need to call yourself an “entrepreneur” to set up a business as it reveals this year’s challenges. 

Scientists from Teesside University’s National Horizons Centre are working with MOMA Foods on cutting-edge research to optimise the company’s oat milk and explore the potential for new product lines.

Professor Jonathan Heddle is set to join Durham University thanks to a £4.8million Leverhulme International Professorship award.

Barclays Eagle Labs have launched their Female Founder Accelerator in partnership with AccelerateHER to support 40 innovative female-led technology businesses.