Quantcast
Channel: caledonianmercury.com
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2160

Innovative business solutions at the Scottish Technology Showcase

$
0
0
Today sees the annual Scottish Technology Showcase at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow. Around 120 firms will have their latest products or research on display, and up to 1,500 business people are expected to attend to learn, network and share ideas. It’s all about innovative and practical technology solutions that address real business challenges.
This year’s theme focuses on technology as an enabler for business growth in a fast-changing world. The aim is to help companies become faster, leaner, better and greener. By doing all of these things, firms can improve their productivity and competiveness, increasing the opportunities for company growth and employment. That is badly needed. Historically, Scotland has been well down the international league when it comes to business expenditure in research and development (R&D). According to OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) figures, Scotland's investment levels are amongst the lowest of its member countries – a mere 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product, though the latest statistics show this slowly rising. Encouraging more private sector investment in research and development is largely seen as a key way Scotland can increase productivity and stimulate economic growth. It is a key part of the Scottish government's Economic Recovery Plan. Scottish Enterprise chose today’s event to reveal that investment in new R&D projects with companies in Scotland totalled £74 million in the last year. Scottish Enterprise itself invested £20 million through the R&D, WATERS and SMART: SCOTLAND grants in 179 separate projects with companies in Scotland. This helped to leverage a further £54 million investment in the projects by the companies themselves. It is helping sustain and create employment and is building on Scottish strengths such as renewables and life sciences. In his keynote speech, Paul Lewis, the organisation’s managing director of sectors and commercialisation, called them “very encouraging results". "Over the past twelve months," he said, "we’ve supported more projects through our R&D funds and leveraged significant investment from the private sector. “This is helping companies to sharpen their competitive edge and encouraging them to exploit new technology to improve their business. It’s supporting growth in those sectors where Scotland can compete internationally. This is vitally important, especially when you consider that independent research has shown that companies which continually innovate grow twice as fast as those that don’t. “If we are to accelerate Scotland’s economy and boost long term growth and employment, we need to help more Scottish companies adopt this innovative mindset and our R&D funds are one of the ways we’re doing that.” One of the largest grants awarded in the past year was to Toshiba Medical Visualisation Systems (TMVS). It received £3 million towards the development of new medical imaging technology that will make it easier for clinicians to diagnose and plan treatment for patients in areas such as heart disease and cancer. Companies operating in the energy sector secured the highest number of grants, with 49 projects receiving £8.6 million. This reflects an increased focus on supporting the growth of the renewables sector and supporting the development of low-carbon technologies. Other grants, however, have been awarded to a diverse range of projects. Gigle in Edinburgh has developed a cutting-edge chip technology for multi-media home networking. In Dundee, Dynamo Games has produced award-winning games working within the social, smartphone and tablet gaming sectors. And while some 60 per cent of the projects supported were with companies operating in the central belt, the number in Aberdeen doubled compared to the previous year. Among them was Antoxis, developers of drug compounds to lead the fight against cell-damaging free-radicals, associated with conditions such as Alzheimer’s and diabetes. In Paul Lewis’s view, “our goal at Scottish Enterprise is to help create a culture of innovation within all companies and all sectors across all parts of Scotland. Our R&D funds are one way we’re addressing this but so too is our wider innovation support and specific programmes for key sectors such as the Food and Health Innovation Service, Interactive Scotland and our Tourism Innovation Fund. In his speech, John Swinney, MSP and cabinet secretary for finance and sustainable growth, argues that “Scotland is recognised internationally for innovation and our role in shaping our modern world. As a nation, we have a long tradition of research and development excellence and this is demonstrated through the 300 companies exhibiting their business solutions at the Scottish Technology Showcase. “This government’s future economic vision for Scotland has a renewed focus on our growth companies, our growth sectors and growth markets. This includes doing all we can to capitalising on Scotland’s valuable knowledge and research base to encourage new economic opportunities and growth.”

Donate to us: support independent, intelligent, in-depth Scottish journalism from just 3p a day

Related posts:

  1. Scottish business confidence ‘highest in UK’
  2. CBI plea on business rates
  3. Mitsubishi unveils £100m wind power research centre in Scotland

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2160

Trending Articles