Tomorrow's world today - Edinburgh Inspiring Capital

The Innovators 

Scotland’s spin-outs change the world 

The Synergies 

Edinburgh’s stunning new BioQuarter 

The Magnificent Seven 

Edinburgh’s science parks – world-class 

centres of excellence and enterprise 

Tomorrow’s 

world today 

An intriguing look at how Edinburgh 

forges our futures 

in association with

Welcome to the Edinburgh Science Triangle 

We hope you enjoy this magazine and finding out why Edinburgh is such 

an inspiring place to build a science or technology business. 

Here are 7 reasons why: 

The Edinburgh Science Triangle recently won the accolade 

✓ of being the most enterprising area in Scotland 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

✓ 

Edinburgh is one of the top 10 research and 

development locations in Europe 

Edinburgh is the number one 

Festival City in the world 

Edinburgh city centre is a World Heritage site with the 

highest concentration of listed buildings in the UK 

Edinburgh is the most visited place in the UK outside London with 

over 13 million visitors per annum and is the “Gateway to Scotland” 

Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital and one of 

Europe’s most important financial centres 

Edinburgh is ranked as the best place to live in the UK based on 

a cross-section of lifestyle, economic and community criteria 

And one more important fact... 

Edinburgh Science Triangle is home to no less than 7 science parks 

offering stunning environments for your people, assisted access to 

Edinburgh’s research expertise and facilities, plus flexible property solutions 

with shared services and unsurpassed innovation support to provide the 

best possible value proposition for your growing business or new start-up. 

To find out more please visit our website: 

www.edinburghsciencetriangle.com

This publication has 

been sponsored by: 

If you would like copies of Inspired please 

contact 0131 535 5504 

Published by Scottish Business Insider 

in association with Edinburgh Science 

Triangle and Partners. 

SCOTTISH BUSINESS INSIDER 

Onesixty, 160 Dundee Street 

Edinburgh EH11 1DQ 

Switchboard: 0131 535 5555 

Fax: 0131 220 1203 

For further information on this 

publication please contact: 

Barry Shafe 

Project Director 

Edinburgh Science Triangle 

0131 200 6303 

David Hughes 

Insider Group 

0131 535 5504 

© Insider Publications Ltd 

No reproduction is permitted in whole 

or part without the express consent of 

Insider Publications Ltd 

Photograph contributors include Peter Tuffy, The 

University of Edinburgh Images copyrighted, all 

rights reserved.No photographic images may be 

reused without the express approval of Insider Group 

All rights reserved. No part of this 

publication may be reproduced or 

transmitted in any form or by any means 

without the prior consent of 

The Insider Group. 

Whilst every effort has been made 

to provide accurate information, neither 

The Insider Group nor its employees 

and agents can accept responsibility 

for inaccuracies, omissions or for 

changes in the detail given. 

www.edinburghsciencetriangle.com 

Welcome 

Innovation is our Legacy 

3 Jim Mather, Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism 

on how Scotland can shape the 21st Century. 

Scientific Breakthroughs 

The foundations for inspiration 

5 Edinburgh’s impressive track record of radical ideas and 

discoveries have helped shape the world for centuries. 

That reputation is as strong today as it has ever been 

with stunning medical and technological breakthroughs 

developed within the Edinburgh Science Triangle 

continuing to change the world we live in for the better. 

Research Capabilities 

So many centres of excellence 

9 Edinburgh’s research capabilities are world class. 

Its institutes are developing tomorrow’s innovations – 

bringing help and hope to millions, whether through 

new ways to combat disease, industrial applications, or 

simply ways to make our lives easier and safer. 

From the BioQuarter’s community of 1200 researchers 

to the Roslin Institute’s famous research into animal 

life sciences, the potential for collaborative 

exchange is phenomenal. 

Inspiring Business 

From hothouse to cold commercial reality 

13 Edinburgh Science Triangle offers not just inspiring 

research and development, but also routes to market. 

There is a whole raft of knowledge, financial backing, 

technological assistance and legal advice to help take 

world-beating ideas towards a commercial future. 

CONTENTS 

Spin-Outs 

Grooming young ideas 

15 Spin-out successes from the University of Edinburgh 

such as Wolfson Microelectronics and MicroEmissive 

Displays, are why the city of Edinburgh has been 

ranked among the best in Europe as a centre of 

excellence for growing innovative companies. Now 

spin-outs like IceRobotics and MTEM are keeping the 

city’s reputation for nurturing the best young companies 

in the headlines. 

INSPIRED 1

CONTENTS 

Research Collaboration 

When two heads are better than one 

19 Whether it’s with blue chip companies, industry bodies, 

or other research institutes, collaboration – local, global, 

multi- or cross-discipline – offers potential for growth that 

would otherwise be hard to achieve. Here we look at 

some of the collaborative opportunities that have enabled 

good ideas to become great working successes. 

Licensing 

Protecting ownership of your work 

22 In the public domain, research ideas are vulnerable to 

being stolen. Enter patents and licences and some very 

useful help from Edinburgh Research and Innovation 

(ERI), and others, who work alongside researchers to 

safeguard their discoveries. 

Consultancy 

Ask the experts 

24 The network of research and consultancy centres within 

the Edinburgh Science Triangle offers advice, knowledge 

transfer, customised technology training programmes, 

services of world-class research laboratories, 

as well as help with funding. 

Incubators 

Preparing for the commercial spotlight 

28 Edinburgh Science Triangle not only pushes the 

boundaries of modern-day research in its institutes and 

centres, it also marries that research with business 

expertise in a series of incubators which are quickly 

producing fledgling companies. Meet the incubators and 

their successes. 

Lifestyle 

There’s no place like it 

35 There are exciting festivals, glamorous entertainments, 

beautiful countryside and some very friendly people. 

This is why Edinburgh and its surrounding areas are often 

rated as one of the best places in the UK to live, work 

and play. 

Science Parks 

Edinburgh’s magnificent seven 

36 Working in a science park in an atmosphere of dynamic 

research and business growth with potential for the crossfertilisation 

of ideas, alongside leading edge, spin-out 

companies makes for an environment which is inspiring, 

creative and encouraging – the best atmosphere for 

successful companies to grow. Meet Edinburgh’s 

magnificent seven. 

Facts & Figures 

46 Edinburgh and region in a nutshell. A digest of the local 

economy, transport connections and achievements. 

2 INSPIRED www.edinburghsciencetriangle.com

Science makes the 

country proud 

SCOTLAND has a proud history 

of scientific research and 

development. From globallyacclaimed 

greats such as 

Alexander Graham Bell, Daniel 

Rutherford and John Logie Baird to 

modern-day innovators like Ian 

Wilmut and David Brock, the Scots’ 

traditions of enterprise and excellence 

remain firmly intact. 

This is clear for all to see in 

Edinburgh and the Lothians, where 

a number of scientific breakthroughs 

– such as Dolly the sheep 

and pioneering tests for spina 

bifida – have captured the attention 

of the world. 

The excellent work of the 

Edinburgh Science Triangle shows 

how academic strengths of our 

world-class universities and developments 

in areas such as life 

science, technology, energy and 

informatics can maintain 

Scotland’s enterprising legacy. 

Consequently, we are only too 

well aware that investment in science 

and research is fundamental 

to the Scottish Government’s aim 

of increased, sustainable economic 

growth. 

Equally, we know that this 

investment is needed to help us 

achieve our goal of establishing 

Scotland as one of the 15 most 

competitive countries in the world 

and match the growth rate of small 

European nations. In addition, I 

believe that our thriving science 

sector can provide inspiration and 

innovation to all industries as we 

strive to achieve these goals. 

In my first few months as 

Scotland’s minister for Enterprise, 

Energy and Tourism, I have spent a 

great deal of time engaging with 

the business community. 

I continue to be impressed by the 

energy, dedication and commitment 

of those I meet – especially 

those working in the science sector. 


It is an area in which we can truly 

go from strength to strength. 

Despite Scotland only having 0.1 

per cent of the world’s population, 

we publish a full one per cent of all 

scientific papers. This level of activity 

in high-quality scientific 

research enables Scotland to attract 

scientists of the highest calibre. 

There is, however, no room for 

complacency and we must both 

attract large-scale investment and 

recognise that the strength and 

quality of our science and research 

impacts positively on teaching, 

which will be critical in maintaining 

and growing the high numbers 

of overseas students studying science 

here in Scotland. 

We aspire to a Scotland where 

science is accessible, regardless of 

your age or background, and 

where science and technological 

knowledge amongst the general 

population is high. 

We want to provide all scientists 

in Scotland with opportunities to 

realise their potential and, in turn, 

make our country a wealthier place 

to live and work in. For example, 

the first £5m Saltire prize is an 

opportunity for scientists to design 

and develop the answers we need 

to exploit our clean energy sources 

and deliver workable commercial 

scale generators around Scotland’s 

shores. 

Harnessing the potential of 

renewable energy to meet our 

future energy needs and tackle climate 

change, is an area I’m 

particularly excited about. A 

vibrant and growing energy sector 

will make a significant contribution 

to Scotland’s prosperity through 

investment and jobs. 

We are fortunate to have the 

technological know-how and the 

natural resources needed to make 

Scotland a world-leader in clean, 

renewable technologies. And from 

“We want 

to provide all 

scientists in 

Scotland with 

opportunities 

to realise their 

potential” 

Jim Mather, 

Minister for 

Enterprise, Energy 

and Tourism 

INTRODUCTION 

a broader perspective, there is now 

a wide acceptance that our future 

depends on science, engineering 

and technology – not just the 

future of our economy, but also our 

future quality of life, health and 

environment. 

From school classrooms, to university 

lecture halls, to science 

laboratories in the Edinburgh 

Science Triangle, I have every confidence 

that Scotland has the 

talent to help shape the 21st century. 

I wish all associated with the 

Edinburgh Science Triangle the 

very best in their continuing drive 

to showcase Scotland as a leading 

force in science across the world. 

Together, we can work to attract 

new jobs and investment into an 

innovative Scotland of which our 

aforementioned, enterprising forefathers 

would be proud. ● 

INSPIRED 3

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

��

The foundations 

for inspiration 

Today’s spin-outs in the ‘Edinburgh 

Science Triangle’ owe so much to the 

city’s own history and the reputations 

laid down by the Universities of 

Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt and Napier 

TO many, Edinburgh means history, 

festivals and home to 

Scotland’s own devolved government. 

But for others, 

Edinburgh represents hundreds of 

years of the best medical training 

and some of the most advanced 

medical breakthroughs of their 

time, from the 18th century to 

today. 

The city’s impressive history of 

discovery in all disciplines of science 

has seen its name equated 

around the world with the pinnacle 

of scientific work. 

The capital’s association with scientific 

and medical breakthrough 

started with the foundation of the 

University of Edinburgh in the late 

16th century and the city’s more 

contemporary academic institutions 

have continued the tradition. 

In the 18th century, Edinburgh’s 

‘Scottish Enlightenment’ saw 

thinkers like philosopher David 

Hume and economist Adam Smith 

blaze a trail for radical new ideas 

across Europe and the New World. 

As early as 1614 Edinburgh was 

making a name for itself. John 

Napier, the brilliant mathematician 

Napier University is named for, 

invented the concept of logarithms. 

Later in the same century Professor 

James Gregory of the University of 

Edinburgh used the transit of 

Venus to measure the distance of 

the earth from the sun, a measure- 


ment eventually adopted as the 

Astronomical Unit. 

In the 18th century James 

Hutton, now regarded as the father 

of geology, studied at the 

University of Edinburgh. Through 

his geological studies he worked 

out that soil was formed from the 

erosion of rocks and consequently 

realised that the world was a lot 

older than was previously believed. 

Hutton’s friend Joseph Black, 

who became Professor of Medicine 

and Chemistry at the Edinburgh of 

Edinburgh, is remembered for his 

identification of carbon dioxide. 

A young Charles Darwin studied 

medicine at the University of 

Edinburgh in 1825 and 1826, but 

quickly realised this was not the 

career for him. He found the lectures 

“dull” and found anatomy 

lessons “disgusting”. 

Only a year later Robert Knox, a 

lecturer in anatomy at Edinburgh, 

began to demonstrate on corpses. 

This gave rise to the activities of 

‘body snatchers’ Burke and Hare, 

two of Edinburgh’s more notorious 

characters associated with the furthering 

of medical knowledge. 

Through the middle of the 19th 

century James Young Simpson, 

Professor of Medicine and 

Midwifery at the University of 

Edinburgh, pioneered the use of 

chloroform, particularly in obstetrics. 

Joseph Lister discovered the 

“The capital 

has been 

synonymous 

with scientific 

and medical 

breakthrough 

for centuries” 

SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH 

healing properties of antiseptics in 

the treatment of wounds in 1867. 

Although teaching at the 

University of Glasgow when he 

started this work, Lister was to 

become Professor of Surgery at the 

University of Edinburgh. 

Through the 20th century 

Edinburgh continued to build on 

its scientific prowess. Starting in 

1904 George Forrest undertook a 

series of heroic expeditions to 

China, bringing back rare botanical 

specimens for the city’s Royal 

Botanic Garden. In the 1960s Peter 

Higgs was working in the field of 

theoretical physics and gave his 

name to a particle acknowledged 

to exist – but which has not yet 

been discovered. 

Heriot-Watt University was 

granted a Royal Charter in 1966, 

although the educational institution 

was founded as the Edinburgh 

School of Arts in 1821, the world’s 

first Mechanics Institute. 

It pioneered from the start, 

accepting female students as early 

as 1869. Its present Chancellor is 

INSPIRED 5 

>>>


>>> 

Susan Greenfield, a prominent figure 

in research into neurodegenerative 

diseases. 

In the last thirty years the 

University of Edinburgh continues 

to push the boundaries of scientific 

research and Heriot-Watt and 

Napier have added their weight. A 

group of research institutes spun 

out from or attached to the universities 

forming the Edinburgh 

Science Triangle are all at the forefront 

of modern scientific, medical 

and technological advancement. 

The most recent breakthrough to 

have grabbed the world’s attention 

was in February 1997, with the 

announcement of the birth seven 

months previously of the world’s 

first successfully cloned mammal, 

Dolly the sheep. Dolly was ‘created’ 

at the Roslin Institute just outside 

Edinburgh by a team of scientists 

led by Professor Ian Wilmut. 

Although she produced several 

lambs, Dolly developed a progressive 

lung disease at the age of six 

and was put down. 

Despite this apparent set-back, 

Wilmut continued working on 

cloned embryos, particularly in 

connection with research into 

motor neurone disease, and in 

June 2007 the Roslin Institute 

announced a breakthrough in stem 

cell research in which new stem 

cells were created from a clinically 

unusable human egg. 

In 1972 Professor David Brock, a 

biochemist at the University of 

Edinburgh, pioneered the use of 

the amniocentesis test in pregnancy 

to identify birth defects such 

as spina bifida or cystic fibrosis. 

This test is now a regular part of 

pregnancy screening. 

In the early 1980s Professor Ken 

Murray, working in the 

Department of Molecular Biology 

at the University of Edinburgh – 

the first department of its kind 

in the UK – discovered a 

means of expressing 

Hepatitis B proteins, 

then went on to 

develop a vaccine to 

combat the Hepatitis 

B virus, one of the 

world’s most widespread 

chronic 

diseases. 

Professor Murray 

was also one of the first 

“In February 

1997 there 

was the 

announcement 

of the birth of 

the world’s 

first cloned 

mammal, 

Dolly the 

sheep” 

to work on DNA sequencing. 

Outside of medicine, Wolfson 

Microelectronics floated on the 

Stock Exchange in 2003, but originated 

in 1985 as a spin-out from 

the University of Edinburgh, building 

a reputation as a leader in the 

design of integrated circuits. 

With the introduction of semiconductors, 

Wolfson moved to 

providing chips for electronic products 

such as games consoles, 

mobile phones, digital cameras and 

MP3 players, including some of the 

world’s best-known names. 

Back in 1971 the first private 

company to be established on a UK 

university research park was 

opened. Edinburgh Instruments, 

based at Heriot-Watt University’s 

campus at Riccarton, has established 

a worldwide reputation for 

innovation and technical expertise 

in lasers, opto-electronics, spectroscopy 

and gas sensing. 

New camera based 

products have benefited 

from research carried out at 

the University of Edinburgh 

which developed into 

another spin-out company. 

VLSI Vision, founded in 

1990 by Professor Peter 

Denyer, invented the 

CMOS (Complementary 

Metal Oxide 

Semiconductor) image 

sensor which was to become the 

mainstream camera technology of 

the future. 

VLSI Vision’s products have featured 

in a wide variety of 

applications from digital cameras, 

phones and video-conferencing to 

biometrics, automotive systems 

and toys. The company was 

acquired by STMicroelectronics in 

1999, while Professor Denyer continued 

to work in microelectronics. 

MicroEmissive Displays, a joint 

spin-out from Edinburgh and 

Napier Universities, developed 

light-emitting polymer-based 

microdisplays for use in digital still 

and video cameras. This technology 

uses less power and standard 

electronic interfaces and became a 

successful competitor to liquid 

crystal displays. 

The company retains close links 

with the University of Edinburgh 

and continues to innovate. In 2004 

its co-founder Dr Ian Underwood 

was named Scotland’s Top 

Innovator. 

Another development from the 

early 1990s has allowed a generation 

of children with severe and 

multiple disabilities to enjoy a 

degree of mobility and communication 

and learning. The Smart 

Wheelchair, developed by the 

University of Edinburgh CALL 


(Communication Aids for 

Language and Learning) Centre in 

conjunction with the university’s 

Bioengineering Centre, was an 

alternative to robot manufacture 

and produced a chair which can be 

driven by switches, a scanning 

direction selector, a joystick, communication 

aid, or laptop 

computer. 

The pace of scientific progress 

has increased with the start of the 

21st century. In 2002 the 

University of Edinburgh opened 

the Advanced Computing Facility 

(AFC) which is helping scientists to 

make breakthroughs in a way unimaginable 

only a generation ago. 

Based at the Edinburgh Technopole, 

part of the Edinburgh Science 

Triangle, research is being carried 

out at the AFC in such crucial areas 

as drug discovery and climate prediction, 

while researchers can use 

its computing power to grapple 

with big scientific questions, such 

as better understanding of the 

earth’s structure or exploring the 

make-up of sub-atomic elementary 

particles. 

In 2005 scientists from the 

University of Edinburgh, led by 

Professor David Porteous, identified 

a new gene associated with 

mental illness which they were 

able to link to a previously discovered 

gene which is known to 


increase the risk of schizophrenia 

and depression. This could lead to 

developing better and more effective 

medicines for these conditions. 

Variant CJD, the human form of 

‘mad cow disease’, is as yet incurable, 

but research carried out at 

the University of Edinburgh 

National CJD Surveillance Unit at 

the Western General Hospital has 

considerably advanced the possibility 

of developing a technique 

which could identify the presence 

of the disease. 

The research, undertaken jointly 

by the University, the Scottish 

National Blood Transfusion Service 

and the Neuropathogenis Unit at 

the Roslin Institute, is as yet 

unlikely to develop a rapid screening 

test for use on blood donors 

but could be used to confirm the 

presence of vCJD. 

Research and development at the 

various institutes and research centres 

in and around Edinburgh will 

continue to expand. 

Over £3.4m has been awarded, 

for example, to develop a Centre 

for Analysis and Nonlinear Partial 

Differential Equations under the 

aegis of the Maxwell Institute for 

Mathematical Sciences. This pulls 

together work in the Mathematics 

departments of the University of 

Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt 

University into such areas as the 

flowing characteristics of fluids, 

the flow of air around a wing, even 

the behaviour of financial markets. 

The departments of Engineering 

in the two universities are equally 

involved and this led to the establishment 

in 2006 of the Edinburgh 

Research Partnership in 

Engineering and Mathematics. This 

will allow new collaborations 

between mathematical sciences 

and engineering and see multidisciplinary 

working in both 

universities. 

With the recognition by the 2020 

Science Group in 2005 that computer 

science will play a major part 

in life science research and discovery 

in the future, informatics and 

bio-informatics will increasingly 

become involved. 

Although each centre of research 

and development may be working 

alone or in collaboration, they will 

all confirm Edinburgh’s place at the 

forefront of scientific discovery. ● 


On the 

front burner 

Several new discoveries over the last five years are now at 

the stage of further development which could become the 

scientific breakthroughs of the future. Some of these are: 

• Anti-cancer compounds 

Professor Peter Sadler’s discovery that ruthenium organometallic 

complexes have anti-cancer properties is now 

being progressed by Oncosense, a subsidiary of Medical 

Marketing International Group (MMI) with funding of 

£500,000 from the Scottish Co-Investment Fund. The 

development of ruthenium anti-cancer compounds is 

being carried out in collaboration with the University of 

Edinburgh. www.mmigroup.co.uk 

• Mobile Image 

Recognition Technology 

Specialist imaging services and products utilising 

development of 3G technology in the mobile phone 

sector. The technology is being developed by Mobile 

Acuity, which was incorporated in January 2006 and 

quickly acquired an exclusive license agreement with the 

University of Edinburgh (patent pending). 

www.mobileacuity.com 

• Medical Imaging Algorithm 

An ultra-efficient algorithm has been developed that can 

provide real time medical image processing. Using MRI 

scans and 3D ultrasound enables surgeons to ascertain 

conditions without having to investigate by surgery. It is 

hoped the ultrasound application will produce 3D 

imaging of the carotid arteries in real time, with evident 

benefits in computer assisted detection of problems. 

The technology is currently being developed as a 

Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept project at 

the University of Edinburgh. 

• Speckled Computing 

Scientists at the Institute for Computing Systems 

Architecture in the School of Informatics at the University 

of Edinburgh are working on speckled computing, where 

miniscule semi-conductors known as Specks can be used 

to gather data. The Specks can be formed into networks 

that can be programmed like ordinary computers. One 

application of the technology could be in diagnosing 

medical conditions by ‘spraying’ a patient with Specks 

and retrieving data to build up a picture of the patient’s 

condition. www.inf.ed.ac.uk 

INSPIRED 7

The location of choice for Life Sciences. 

Office and Lab Facilities from 150sq ft 

For more information visit: www.roslin-biocentre.com 

or call: 0131 200 6400

So many centres 

of excellence 


RESEARCH CAPABILITIES 

The amount of high-quality research being carried out within the Edinburgh Science Triangle 

is enormous and active collaboration is leading to the exchange of ideas and expertise 

Edinburgh is a vibrant centre of 

scientific research and discovery. 

Today’s research in the 

laboratories and research institutes 

in and around the capital 

could be tomorrow’s innovations, 

bringing help and hope to millions 

in the form of new technologies to 

combat disease, cost effective and 

time saving methods for industrial 

applications, or simply ways to 

make our lives easier and safer. 

The amount of high-quality 

research being carried out within 

the Edinburgh Science Triangle is 

enormous. Much of it involves collaboration 

between different parts 

of the Triangle. The research excellence 

of the University of 

Edinburgh, for instance, was confirmed 

by the most recent Research 

Assessment Exercise (RAE2001), 

with Edinburgh ranked 4th overall 

in the UK, clearly delivering internationally 

competitive, cutting 

edge research work. 

One of the main strengths of the 

Edinburgh Science Triangle is the 

level of research being carried out 

in life sciences. Edinburgh 

BioQuarter brings together on one 

site the new state of the art teaching 

hospital – the Edinburgh Royal 

Infirmary – and the University of 

Edinburgh’s world renowned medical 

school as well as bespoke 

biomedical research and development 

facilities. 

Edinburgh BioQuarter is home to 

a community of over 1200 

researchers who are adding to the 

University of Edinburgh’s existing 

reputation for global leadership in 

the fields of cardiovascular science, 

reproductive biology, inflammation, 

infectious disease, neuroscience, 

regenerative medicine and 

advanced imaging. 

The Institute for Stem Cell 

Research at the University of 

Edinburgh is engaged in mammalian 

stem cell biology with a 

view to developing regenerative 

therapies to treat disease and 

injury. 

Professor Ian Wilmut, famous for 

‘creating’ Dolly the Sheep, has been 

appointed head of the Centre for 

“The most 

recent Research 

Assessment 

Exercise ranked 

Edinburgh 

4th overall in 

the UK” 

Regenerative Medicine at 

Edinburgh to continue work on the 

molecular and cellular mechanisms 

that characterise stem cells. 

www.iscr.ed.ac.uk 

The Moredun Research Institute 

is part of the Pentland Science Park 

and has strong links with the 

University of Edinburgh, the Royal 

(Dick) Veterinary School and the 

Scottish Agricultural College. 

Research is carried out here into 

animal life sciences, with particular 

emphasis on infectious diseases 

and those diseases which impair 

animal welfare or threaten public 

health. With strategies for the control 

and prevention of disease, the 

Institute contributes new knowledge 

to biological science and 

maintains special diagnostic and 

disease surveillance services. 

www.mri.sari.ac.uk 

The Roslin Institute also carries 

out research on animals and has 

expertise in genomics, bioinformatics, 

transgenics and 

biotechnology as well as being 

world famous for the research into 

INSPIRED 9 

>>>


>>> 

cloning which produced Dolly the 

Sheep. www.roslin.ac.uk 

Other parts of the Edinburgh 

Science Triangle are engaged in 

research into reproductive biology, 

diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular 

medicine, while at the School of 

Life Sciences at Napier University a 

team led by Professor Vicki Stone 

is working on toxicology and 

immunology with reference to 

inhaled toxic particles. 

The Heriot-Watt Research Park, 

part of the Edinburgh Science 

Triangle, specialises in R&D in 

collaboration with Heriot-Watt 

University which has a high reputation 

for electronics, computing and 

the medical applications of physics. 

The Scottish Manufacturing 

Institute (SMI), the only innovative 

manufacturing research centre in 

Scotland, is based here. Its aim is 

to deliver creative manufacturing 

technology solutions to industry. 

A research partnership between 

the School of Engineering and 

Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt 

University, the Institute of 

Integrated Micro and Nano 

Systems at the University of 

Edinburgh and the UK Astronomy 

Technology Centre at Edinburgh’s 

Royal Observatory, forming the 

Institute of Integrated Systems 

(IIS), is building ‘towers of excellence’, 

working on astronomy and 

space technology, bio-photonic and 

bio-electronic systems, miniaturesystem 

integration and advanced 

photonic devices and systems. 

IIS staff are internationally 

recognised researchers in low- 

power VLSI design and in microelectro-mechanical 

systems 

(MEMS). www.see.ed.ac.uk/IMNS 

Collaboration between the 

University of Edinburgh and 

Heriot-Watt University, along with 

the British Geological Survey, has 

made Edinburgh a centre of excellence 

for research and development 

in carbon capture and subsurface 

storage. 

The Scottish Centre for Carbon 

Storage Research (SCCS) builds on 

and extends the already established 

world class expertise in 

petroleum and hydrocarbon 

geoscience based on geology, 

geophysics, geo-engineering and 

subsurface fluid flow. 

www.geos.ed.ac.uk/sccs 

Research in the semiconductor 

sector is carried out by the Scottish 

Microelectronics Centre at the 

University of Edinburgh, a world 

class centre for incubation, 

research and development that 

links academia and high-tech 

companies. 

The aim is to provide the UK 

with a leading centre of excellence 

in the microelectronics field 

through analytical, processing and 

assembly support. 

www.scotmicrocentre.co.uk 

Heriot-Watt University has 25 

years’ experience in optoelectronics 

and now collaboration between the 

Departments of Computing, 

Electrical Engineering and Physics 

is furthering knowledge which will 

be of vital interest to industry. 

www.hw.ac.uk/research-park, 

www.smi.hw.ac.uk 

“The Scottish 

Manufacturing 

Institute on 

Heriot-Watt 

Research Park is 

the only one of 

its kind in 

Scotland” 

To the east of Heriot-Watt, but 

still within the Edinburgh Science 

Triangle, is the Alba Centre and 

Campus, home to research projects 

supporting Scotland’s electronics 

design community. 

The centre provides a ‘quick 

start’ base with accommodation for 

microelectronics firms as well as 

advice and assistance to companies 

working in the field. 

The Scottish Embedded 

Software Centre at the Alba 

Campus provides first class support 

and advice to small and mediumsized 

companies working with 

embedded processors, tools and 

operating systems. www.scottishenterprise.com/albacentre 

With the implications of climate 

change, concern about the environment 

and the hunt for 

renewable sources of energy, attention 

is focused on making current 

energy technologies more efficient 

as well as finding sources of future 

energy supply. 

The Institute for Energy Systems 

(IES) within the School of 

Engineering and Electronics at the 

University of Edinburgh is engaged 

in research into the operation and 

control of power systems, along 

with marine energy such as wave 

power and tidal energy. New ways 

of generating energy from renewables 

and the overall study of 

climate change are also on the 

agenda. 

IES recently won the leadership 

of the £2.6m Supergen Marine 

Energy Research Consortium, 

which includes Heriot-Watt 

University, to conduct research into 

marine energy conversion and 

delivery. It is also part of the 

Future Network Technologies 

Consortium which is investigating 

solutions to the problems raised by 

too much reliance on renewable 

energy sources. 

Engineering problems, economic 

developments and future scenario 

planning are some of the things 

which may be thrown up if too 

much dependence is placed on 

renewables. 

www.see.ed.ac.uk/research/IES 

The IES is one of five Joint 

Research Institutes forming the 

Edinburgh Research Partnership, 

which gained a sixth member, 

Napier University, in January 

2007. Funding of £22m is enabling 


this exciting research venture to 

assemble a critical mass of world 

leading researchers in engineering 

and mathematics. Energy, subsurface 

science and engineering, 

precision optical, electronic and 

miniature systems are some of the 

areas being addressed. 

Excellence in research can be 

gauged by the Higher Education 

Funding Council’s Research 

Assessment Exercise. This rates 

research activity at Scotland’s universities 

and colleges as a basis for 

its round of research funding. 

The latest RAE was in 2001 with 

the next due in 2008. The 

University of Edinburgh has consistently 

scored highly in terms of 

RAE as has Heriot-Watt University. 

www.erp.ac.uk 

The School of Informatics at the 

University of Edinburgh gained 

very high ratings in the 2001 RAE, 

achieving the only 5*A rating for 

computer science in the UK. The 

school, considered one of 

Scotland’s national assets and one 

of the top five locations in the 

world for computing science and 

information related research, 

brings together expertise in computer 

science, cognitive science, 

computational linguistics and 

artificial intelligence. 


A new centre for the school, 

known as the Informatics Forum, is 

nearing completion next to the university’s 

Appleton Tower and 

should be occupied in 2008. It will 

see the majority of Informatics staff 

under one roof in purpose 

designed, state of the art premises, 

with other colleagues nearby. 

www.inf.ed.ac.uk 

Research into computing technology 

is also carried out at the 

Edinburgh Parallel Computing 

Centre (EPCC) at the University of 

Edinburgh, a leading European 

centre of expertise in advanced 

research, technology transfer and 

the provision of supercomputer 

services to universities. 

The EPCC’s latest project is to 

direct and operate HECToR (High 

End Computing Terascale 

Resources), a £113m Cray super 

computer based at the University 

of Edinburgh’s Advanced Computing 

Facility at the Edinburgh 

Technopole. This super computer 

presents exciting possibilities, as it 

will help UK scientists to undertake 

increasingly complex research 

across a wide variety of projects. 

www.epcc.ed.ac.uk 

In the future, scientific research 

communities will collaborate and 

exchange information much more 

“Researchers at 

the National 

e-Science Centre 

are working 

to develop a 

much more 

powerful web 

infrastructure 

to support 

tomorrow’s 

scientific 

discoveries” 


over the internet, but the present 

web is not able to support such 

activity. At the National e-Science 

Centre, based at the University of 

Edinburgh, researchers are working 

to develop a much more 

powerful infrastructure which can 

support the scientific discoveries of 

tomorrow. 

Bioinformatics marries the new 

sciences of informatics with traditional 

subjects such as chemistry 

and biochemistry to investigate a 

variety of problems encountered in 

biomedicine and genetics. 

The Roslin BioCentre, part of the 

Roslin Institute, was set up to provide 

support facilities for research 

spin-outs from the Institute. It is 

now a thriving science park and 

scientific community furthering the 

Institute’s research into bioinformatics, 

genetics and genomics 

and the investigation of gene function 

in animals. 

www.roslinbiocentre.co.uk 

It is one more part of the jigsaw 

which constitutes the Edinburgh 

Science Triangle, where active collaboration 

between the parks and 

universities leads to the exchange 

of ideas and expertise. The aim of 

everyone is to increase scientific 

development and produce commercial 

benefits of real value. ● 

INSPIRED 11

Edinburgh Technopole 

where businesses excel 

Edinburgh Technopole is a partnership between the University of Edinburgh, 

one of the UK’s top research universities, and Grosvenor, the international 

property group. Edinburgh Technopole offers state-of-the-art laboratory and 

office buildings and provides a stunning parkland environment designed to 

inspire its occupiers. 

Edinburgh Technopole is situated at the heart of a well established cluster 

of world-class research organisations forming part of the Edinburgh Science 

Triangle. It enjoys excellent accessibility to the city centre and to Edinburgh 

International Airport. 

Our latest development, The Fleming Building, has now been 40% let to 

Kendle, a leading clinical trials company. The remaining 21500 sq ft of offi ce/ 

laboratory space is available in whole or in part. A variety of offi ce suites from 

142 sq ft are also available on the park. 

For further information contact: 

Ian Murphy 

Edinburgh Technopole 

Tel: +44 (0)131 440 3510 

ian.murphy@ed.ac.uk 

James Thomson & Peter Fraser 

DTZ 

Tel: +44 (0)131 222 4500 

james.thomson@dtz.com 

peter.fraser@dtz.com 

www.edinburghtechnopole.co.uk

INSPIRING BUSINESS 

From hothouse to cold 

commercial reality 

Edinburgh Science Triangle offers not 

just inspiring research and development, 

but also routes to market 

WHILE academic research 

and scientific breakthroughs 

make headlines, 

it is still a long haul to 

seeing a discovery ‘in action’ and 

applied to our everyday lives. 

Many discoveries will improve 

our way of working, or bring 

untold benefits in terms of health 

and wellbeing, but the breakthrough 

has to be nurtured, 

developed and taken into the commercial 

world before it can start 

providing its beneficial effects. 

There are several ways in which 

scientific techniques, technologies, 

or applications can be taken from 

the hothouse of the laboratory and 

introduced to the often harsh reality 

of the commercial world. 

Because industry and commerce 

are fast moving and impatient, new 

discoveries cannot just be introduced 

to the outside world and left 

to fend for themselves. Help and 

support is needed to see them 

grow and mature and within the 

Edinburgh Science Triangle there is 

a whole raft of knowledge, financial 

backing, technological 

assistance and legal advice which 

can be channelled to individuals or 

businesses to further ideas or take 

discoveries made in research parks 

and laboratories and direct them 

towards a commercial future. 

Some ideas find their way to 

market in the work of spin-out 

companies. 

Well-known spin-outs are 

Wolfson Microelectronics and VSLI 

Vision which grew from small 

acorns into giant oaks with the 

support and encouragement of the 

University of Edinburgh. However, 

many other spin-outs have received 


similar backing to help them to a 

profitable future. 

Research collaborations between 

giants of industry and academics 

are another route to market which 

can benefit both sides. A business 

can have its ideas tested and evaluated 

by experts in research parks 

and centres, while the scientists 

will benefit from adding new 

knowledge to existing projects. 

Lloyds TSB Bank is currently 

engaged in ongoing collaboration 

with the University of Edinburgh in 

a long-term project to improve efficiency 

and customer service which 

is also extending the university’s 

knowledge in that field to be 

applied to other projects. 

Further progress with developing 

ideas can be made through consultancy 

where experts in a particular 

field will work with companies or 

departments to best advantage. 

Some projects are worldwide and 

help the transfer of knowledge to 

areas which would not otherwise 

be able to benefit from such assistance 

but which desperately need 

the detailed information on offer. 

Scientists need to know that 

their discovery is not going to be 

taken by someone else claiming it 

“Research 

collaborations 

between giants 

of industry 

and academics 

are a route 

to market 

which can 

benefit 

both sides” 

as their intellectual property. 

Edinburgh Research and 

Innovation, part of the University 

of Edinburgh, and Technology 

Research Services at Heriot Watt 

can help with licensing and has all 

the legal and technical knowledge 

to hand to protect research. With a 

patent in place it is safe to 

announce a discovery to the rest of 

the scientific community while 

being confident that no one can 

steal the idea. 

Finally, Edinburgh Science 

Triangle has several centres which 

can help young companies eager to 

develop their research-derived 

products. Pre-incubation and incubation 

allows a company to evolve 

in safe surroundings with support 

and funding so that it, too, can 

eventually step out into the commercial 

field with confidence. ● 

INSPIRED 13

Growing your business? 

Think Academia! 

THE academic world may not 

instantly spring to mind as your first 

port of call when faced with growing 

or developing your company. 

However, if your business wants to 

identify ways to enhance profitability 

but in-house resources are stretched 

to capacity, or you are looking to 

further develop your product but are 

restricted by the technology 

available, then a pan-Scottish 

academic initiative might just have 

the answer for you! 

Established in 2005 as a central 

point of access to tap into Scotland’s 

academic and research ‘know-how’, 

Interface - The knowledge 

connection for business, enables 

companies and commercial 

enterprises to gain easier access to 

the world-class technology, skills 

and research that is held within our 

higher education and research 

institutions in Edinburgh and 

across Scotland. 

The Director of Interface, Dr Siobhán 

Jordan and her team have dealt with 

over 570 enquiries from local, 

national and international 

businesses and organisations, and 

as she makes clear, working with 

any of Scotland’s higher education 

and research institutions is no longer 

the ‘foot slog’ it once was. 

“This is no longer about knocking on 

individual university doors. Interface 

overcomes the challenge facing 

companies in understanding what is 

available or who to contact in the 

academic sector for R&D capabilities 

or expertise. 

Interface provides a one-stop-shop 

that identifies and facilitates 

introductions to potential academic 

collaborators across all universities 

and research institutes.” 

With the cooperation of all 28 higher 

education and research institutions 

in Scotland including the wealth of 

expertise from Edinburgh and the 

Lothians, Interface can help 

businesses and entrepreneurs of all 

sizes and across all areas develop 

collaborative and productive 

partnerships. 

Above all, Interface’s free and 

impartial service aims to stimulate 

innovation and wants to encourage 

managers and entrepreneurs to step 

back, think about the needs of their 

business and consider academic 

support to help solve their business 

challenges. 

To find out how Interface can help 

you, visit www.interfaceonline.org.uk 

or contact the team 

on 0131 6514 790 or at 

info@interface-online.org.uk.

Grooming young ideas 

Discoveries can be like uncut diamonds – they need 

professional polishing and presentation to ready them 

for their public debut in the market 

WHILE academic research 

can open doors in our 

knowledge and provide 

innovative ideas and solutions, 

somehow this needs to be 

turned from laboratory notes or 

data into useable applications 

which companies involved in the 

relevant area can take forward. 

Often, however, ideas cannot 

just be taken from the lab or 

research institute and put on the 

market. Considerable work needs 

to be done to develop the ideas, 

find ways to apply them to technology 

and to streamline them into 

something commercially viable. A 

discovery is not likely to get far 

from the laboratory if it cannot be 

implemented without vast expense. 

One way in which new applications, 

technologies or techniques 

can be brought to the commercial 

world is through ‘spin-out’ companies. 

These are small ventures 

supported by a university or research 

institute which take an idea 

and work on it to make it saleable. 

Many spin-outs are started by 

the academics who did the original 

work, such as VLSI Vision founded 

in 1990 by Professor Peter Denyer 

at the University of Edinburgh. He 

invented the CMOS (Complementary 

Metal Oxide Semiconductor) 

image sensor which developed into 

mainstream camera technology. 

The company was highly suc- 


cessful and eventually acquired in 

1999 by the global leader in system-on-chip 

and semiconductor 

solutions, STMicroelectronics, 

while Professor Denyer continued 

to work in his academic field. 

Other spin-out successes from 

the University of Edinburgh have 

been Wolfson Microelectronics and 

MicroEmissive Displays. 

But not all academics are good 

at running businesses. Their 

expertise is in research not in marketing, 

sales and revenue 

generation. In this case a university 

will help a fledgling company to 

develop its idea to the point when 

it can be taken to market. 

The city of Edinburgh has been 

ranked among the best in Europe 

as a centre of excellence for growing 

small, innovative companies. In 

2004 the it won a European 

Commission Award of Excellence 

for Innovative Regions. The 

University of Edinburgh is support- 

“over the last 

24 years the 

University of 

Edinburgh has 

produced 128 

companies - 39 

new ones in the 

past two years 

alone” 

SPIN-OUTS 

ing the formation of new companies 

to develop research 

discoveries into commercial products 

or services and has established 

a network of on-campus business 

incubation centres. 

Spin-out companies can get help 

with premises and equipment and 

retain strong links with the university 

through collaborative research 

and the use of facilities. 

Over the last 25 years the University 

of Edinburgh has produced 

128 companies – 39 new ones in 

the past two years alone. Similar 

support is offered by Heriot-Watt 

and Napier universities on their 

campuses or research parks. 

To help connect potential innovative 

ideas with business people 

interested in taking them further in 

spin-outs, Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt 

and Napier have, along with the 

other universities in Scotland, set 

up a web portal called universitytechnology.com 

to promote the 

best technology transfer and 

licensing opportunities available. 

A searchable database allows 

interested parties to find opportunities 

and users can receive e-mail 

alerts whenever a new technology 

in their area of interest is posted. 

Edinburgh Research and Innovation’s 

Business Support service at 

the University of Edinburgh can 

also direct interested parties to a 

range of spin-out opportunities. ● 

INSPIRED 15 

>>>

SPIN-OUTS 

>>> 

IceRobotics 

Based at the Roslin Biocentre, 

IceRobotics is a privately owned 

design and development company 

pioneering advanced technologies 

to revolutionise dairy farming. It 

supplies its sensors to leading 

animal science institutions and 

milking equipment manufacturers 

worldwide. 

It was formed as the result of a 

merger in 2003 between two startups 

headed by engineers at Heriot- 

Watt University and the University 

of Edinburgh. 

Dr Andrew Peacock spent four 

years developing the technology 

behind Image Fusion Systems, 

which merged with Intelligent 

Compliant Engineering, a company 

founded by Dr Bruce Davies, a 

robotics’ pioneer at Heriot-Watt. 

IceRobotics’ technology enables 

the design and development of 

medium to high-volume 

MTEM made headlines when it 

was bought for $275m by a 

Norwegian company. Its 

technology has attracted the 

attention of the oil majors from 

the day it was launched in 2004 

as one of the largest university 

spin-outs in Scotland. 

It aimed to commercialise 

breakthrough research by 

biomimetic service robot systems. 

Its key features include object 

recognition and tracking in 3D, 

delicate manipulation and low-cost 

manufacture. 

The company’s design team 

includes software, electronic and 

mechanical engineers. They have a 

hands-on approach to engineering, 

involving direct on-farm testing and 

trialing of all concepts and designs. 

With these technologies focused 

intensively on the livestock sector, 

IceRobotics creates purpose built 

products that offer real time 

sensing and control well beyond 

other technologies. 

The company also provides 

special releases of its technologies 

to educational institutions and is 

continually extending the scope of 

its research collaborations 


www.icerobotics.com 

MTEM (Multi-Transient Electro-Magnetic) 

Professor Anton 

Ziolkowski,Professor Bruce 

Hobbs and research student 

David Wright at the University of 

Edinburgh’s School of 

GeoSciences. Their groundbreaking 

work into the use of 

multi-transient electromagnetism 

(EM) in analysing 

subsurface deposits of 

Mobile Acuity Limited 

Mobile Acuity Limited, a spinout 

from the University of 

Edinburgh, is a world leader in 

mobile image recognition. It 

provides innovative mobile 

marketing services to camera 

phones. 

Mobile marketing is a rapidly 

growing sector and is expected 

to represent 25 per cent of all 

advertising and marketing spend 

by the end of the decade. 

Based at the Edinburgh 

Technology Transfer Centre, 

Mobile Acuity was incorporated 

in January 2006 and quickly 

acquired an exclusive licence 

agreement with the University 

for a mobile image recognition 

technology (patent pending). 

The company secured venture 

capital from a London-based 

hydrocarbons had already 

aroused much interest and 

received research funding. 

MTEM’s technology is capable 

of distinguishing between oil, gas 

and water by sending controlled 

pulses of electric current between 

electrodes in the soil. It simply 

determines whether deep 

underground reservoirs contain 

oil or not and could result in 

saving oil companies billions. 

The company started to take 

shape when Edinburgh Research 

and Innovation (ERI) helped the 

founders patent the EM 

technology, establishing 

commercial links, business 

planning, due diligence on 

intellectual property, as well as 

arranging staff secondments and 

access to workshop facilities. 

Assistance was also provided 

to secure a £200k Scottish 

Enterprise Proof of Concept 

award supporting the 

commercial development. 

The recent Norwegian buyer, 

seismic group PGS, says that the 

Scottish group had developed a 

“unique, breakthrough, cablebased 

electromagnetic 

technology which demonstrated 

strong results in commercial 

operations”. 

The integration of MTEM into 

PGS’s global business platform 

will further bolster its commercial 

acumen. 

MTEM currently operates two 

onshore crews and one offshore 

crew. It has retained its 

operational HQ in Edinburgh and 

has 67 employees, with satellite 

offices in Houston, Calgary and 

Aberdeen. www.mtem.com 

16 INSPIRED www.edinburghsciencetriangle.com 

strategic investor with additional 

financial support from SMART: 

Scotland. 

Mobile Acuity’s technical 

team has extensive experience of 

mobile imaging applications and 

specialist knowledge in the 

areas of object recognition, face 

identification, tracking and 

scene reconstruction. 

One of its latest products is 

Snap2Win, an innovative 

mobile marketing service where 

customers take a picture of a 

particular graphic to enter a 

prize game or competition. The 

Snap2Win platform matches 

these picture messages to an 

image database and if a match 

is found a pre-defined response 

is sent back to the handset. 

www.mobileacuity.com

I need... 

to develop my company 

to meet the needs of 

today’s market... 

Allan French 

Engineering Director, 

Blairs of Scotland 

to find an innovative 

solution to help my 

business grow... 

Susan Watson 

Sales & Marketing Manager, 

Charcuterie Continental Ltd 

a scientific, 

analytical approach... 

Mark Laing 

Managing Director, 

Simmers of Edinburgh Ltd 

And that’s what you’ll get! 

access to knowledge 

and expertise... 

Dr Campbell McInnes 

Head of Structure-Based 

Design, Cyclacel Ltd 

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships provide resources and 

expertise to thriving organisations who wish to innovate, 

expand or improve their performance. 

To find out how your business could benefit from a tailor-made Knowledge Transfer 

Partnership visit www.ktponline.org.uk/companies or call 0870 190 2829 

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Accelerating business innovation; a Technology Strategy Board programme

When two 

heads are better 

than one 

When the time comes for academic research 

to go commercial, there are many levels and 

types of collaboration out there 

WITHIN the Edinburgh 

Science Triangle some 

research lends itself to 

development by a spinout 

company that will take it on to 

the stage of commercial application, 

while other projects involve 

collaboration with industry from 

the outset. 

It may be that a project has 

reached the level where the next 

logical step is to continue the work 

jointly with a world class company 

manufacturing or testing in the 

same area. It will have its own inhouse 

research teams and the 

COSMIC 

The University of Edinburgh is 

home to COSMIC – the 

Collaborative Optical Spectroscopy, 

Micromanipulation and 

Imaging Centre. This is a crossdisciplinary 

centre for optical 

characterisation, control and 

imaging of complex materials. 

The centre is committed to 

providing leadership in research, 

services to industry and training 

based on the development and 

use of optical techniques for 

innovative applications in the 

physical and life sciences. 

COSMIC’s mission is threefold: 

• To deliver unique optical 

instrumentation along with 


knowledge and market awareness 

to develop the project into commercial 

viability. 

Sometimes, the collaboration is 

between different university 

researchers. For example, the 

Institute for System Level Integration 

brings together research at 

Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt, Glasgow 

and Strathclyde universities, and is 

the world’s first centre of 

excellence to concentrate on the 

methodology and applications 

of system-on-chip design, system 

level integration and related 

technologies. ● 

resident expertise, thereby 

providing a stimulating 

environment for fundamental and 

applied research that cuts across 

the traditional boundaries 

between the physical and life 

sciences. 

• To encourage interest and 

involvement from industries that 

need to characterise and control 

the properties of complex 

materials, including biological 

systems, at the molecular 

and nanoscale level and to offer 

the highest standards of training 

on state of the art optical systems 

to industrial collaborators as well 

as to postgraduate and 

postdoctoral staff. 

• Through a dedicated visitor 

centre and regular seminars the 

centre will promote public 

understanding of science and will 

host visiting scientists from the 

UK and abroad from industrial 

and academic sectors. 

COSMIC also aims to exploit 

Edinburgh’s position as a leader 

in diffractive optics techniques. 

At Heriot-Watt there is also a long 

tradition in this field with over 25 

years’ experience in optical 

information processing, 

optoelectronics and fibre-based 

optoelectronic systems. Its 

Department of Computing and 

RESEARCH COLLABORATION 

“Sometimes 

collaboration is 

between 

different 

university 

researchers” 

Electrical Engineering is taking 

part in multi-institutional 

research through collaboration 

with the Department of Physics at 

Leeds University in the design of 

software to assess the 

performance of optoelectronic 

links. www.cosmic.ed.ac.uk 

INSPIRED 19 

>>>

RESEARCH COLLABORATION 

>>> 

Lloyds TSB Bank PLC and the CCIR 

Since 1998 Lloyds TSB Bank 

and the University of Edinburgh’s 

Centre for Communication 

Interface Research (CCIR) have 

been collaborating on CCIR’s 

ground breaking work in 

‘Usability Engineering for 

Banking Services’. 

The project has received 

LUX Biotechnology Ltd 

LUX is based at Edinburgh 

Technology Transfer Centre’s 

BioSpace. It is a specialist 

developer of detection 

technologies based on 

fluorescence and luminescence. 

With a track record of 

working with major industry 

players and a strong, 

comprehensive in-house 

research team, the company is 

geared towards efficient codevelopment 

of novel light 

based technological solutions to 

unmet needs in several 

industrial sectors. 

The company has ongoing 

co-development projects in the 

energy, chemical, water quality 

and life science sectors with 

potential application 

development in many more. 

further funding from the bank. 

This research is geared 

towards meeting the banking 

industry’s demand for effectiveness, 

efficiency and customer 

satisfaction through the 

development of new technologies 

and new business processes. 

CCIR is a multi-disciplinary 

LUX wants to hear from 

talented scientists with a degree 

of commercial awareness who 

would relish the chance to 

develop novel solutions which 

meet research goals in a 

collaborative, supportive 

environment. 

LUX has developed a number 

of light standards and research 

tools which it distributes 

globally through partners in 

Europe, the US and Japan. 

It receives funding from 

Archangel Informal Investment 

and the Scottish Co-investment 

Fund. www.luxbiotech.com 

ETTC BioSpace was opened 

in 2005 to accommodate 

increasing demand from 

nascent spin-out and start-up 

companies for lab space. 

research centre based in the 

University of Edinburgh’s School 

of Engineering & Electronics, 

bringing together engineers, 

statisticians, linguists and 

psychologists to research how 

people interact with automated 

systems. 

The programme aims to 

provide empirically motivated 

data from a series of hands-on 

experiments designed by CCIR to 

measure customer attitudes to 

new banking channels and 

technologies. 

The CCIR will conduct 

experiments in various cities, 

each involving up to 250 of the 

bank’s customers. The results 

will measure customers’ 

attitudes to new technologies 

and services and will direct both 

the short-term deployment of 

banking channels and the longerterm 

business strategy of the 

bank. 

Professor Mervyn Jack, 

director of CCIR, sees Usability 

Engineering as a new empirical 

science. 

“There is no easy answer for 

predicting customer attitudes to 

the introduction of new technology 

or how it can impact on 

the portrayal of corporate brands. 

In tomorrow’s banking, 

intelligent, sociable, 

conversational avatars will serve 

to humanise automated services. 

“CCIR’s experiments show 

that customers would be happy 

to use them as a viable future 

banking channel.” 

www.ccir.ed.ac.uk 

Scottish Centre for Carbon 

Storage Research 

The Scottish Centre for Carbon 

Storage Research (SCCS) is a 

partnership between the University 

of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt 

University and the British 

Geological Survey. The centre 

combines world class expertise 

based on petroleum and hydrocarbon 

geoscience in geology, 

geophysics, geo-engineering and 

sub-surface fluid flow. 

The aim of SCCS is to develop 

basic research and enabling 

technologies for sub-surface 

carbon sequestration to reduce 

CO2 in the atmosphere. Industrial 

collaboration with the centre will 

ensure that the research stimulates 

innovation and encourages the 

deployment of CCS technology. 

The CO2 supply chain broadly 

comprises power generators , 

pipeline/network operators and the 

oil and gas sector. 

The relative infancy of CCS 

technology and the interrelatedness 

of the CO2 supply 

chain prompted the SCCS to invite 

industrial organisations to join a 


research consortium. Each 

industry partner subscribes to fund 

a single project and the research 

outcome from each project is 

shared with the consortium. 

Eight organisations have already 

joined the consortium, contributing 

over £400k towards studentships 

and research projects. 

The consortium will fund 

between six and twelve research 

projects over the next three years. 

Research will be transferred to 

partners through discussion at 

twice-yearly meetings involving 

academics, students and the 

industrial partners. Initially, the 

emphasis of research will focus on 

sub-surface aspects. 

Steven Marshall, technology and 

strategy manager, generation, at 

Scottish Power, says: “Through the 

CO2 Consortium, Scottish Power 

can participate in the type of 

industry and university 

collaboration that is essential for 

the successful development of this 

technology.” 

www.geos.ed.ac.uk/sccs

Innovation means the world at Heriot-Watt 

University. We see the bigger picture, 

challenge the norm and provide solutions. 

We believe if we can think it, we can do it. 

No where more so than in Technology 

& Research Services (TRS) – our research 

development and commercialisation arm. 

TRS creates the links that bring our 

academics and the business community 

together to share their expertise – 

achieving this through collaborative 

research, technology licensing, training 

and consultancy services. 

Our track record’s impressive – from 

informing recent genetics policy to 

developing 3D laser painting systems, 

brewing and distilling advances to high 

quality electroformed stencils. We’re also 

at the heart of the Edinburgh Research 

Partnership – supporting advances in 

technology, mathematics and engineering, 

and addressing the challenge of developing 

an international community of leading 

researchers, right here in Scotland. 

Life here is inspirational and fast moving. 

Find out how this perspective can support 

your business or research activities. 

For further information contact: 

Technology & Research Services 

Heriot-Watt University 

Edinburgh Campus EH14 4AS 

Telephone: +44(0) 131 4513192 

Email: trs@hw.ac.uk 

www.trs.hw.ac.uk 

www.hw.ac.uk 

GENERATING KNOWLEDGE

LICENSING 

Protecting ownership 

of your work 

To develop new inventions that have industrial applications and have the potential to 

be commercially significant, safeguard the technology before publication 

THE results of most university 

research are disseminated to a 

wider audience as quickly as 

possible. By publicising the 

technical details anyone who has 

the ability to use that knowledge 

can integrate it into their own 

research and development. 

To develop new inventions with 

industrial applications and the 

potential to be commercially significant 

it is important to safeguard 

the technology before publication. 


Innovation (ERI), the commercialisation 

office for the University of 

Edinburgh, works with academics 

to patent their discoveries. ERI will 

then identify companies with the 

funding and expertise to invest in 

the technology to develop a commercial 

product. 

The University of Edinburgh’s 

license agreement with BioGen 

Idec is an excellent case. 

While working at the University 

of Edinburgh’s Department of 

Molecular Biology in the early 

1970s, Professor Ken Murray discovered 

a means of expressing 

Hepatitis B proteins. Negotiating 

the exclusive licensing rights to this 

patented intellectual property (IP) 

gave BioGen Idec the comfort to 

invest the large sums of money 

required to develop a vaccine. 

BioGen Idec developed the first 

sub-unit vaccine against the virus 

which turned out to be a significant 

medical application of Murray’s discovery. 

For appropriate technologies, 

ERI can work with academics to 

ensure that before an academic 

publishes information they have 

patent protection on it. 

ERI then carries out due diligence 

on the technology including 

a ‘prior art’ search. If all is well the 

University can file a patent application. 

The academic can then 

publish it, go to conferences and 

tell people about it. The knowledge 

he or she has discovered is protected 

The next stage is the commercialisation 

of the new discovery. 

Working with the academic, ERI 

will determine which is the best 

route for commercialising this technology. 

This can be through 

“ ERI can work 

with academics 

to ensure that 

before they 

publish 

information they 

have patent 

protection on it” 

out-licensing to existing companies 

or through the formation of a spinout 

company if the academic 

wants to set up on their own. 

Either way, ERI explores how the 

company wishes to use the technology 

and develops licensing 

terms that give a return to the 

University in proportion to the 

contribution of the licensed IP to 

the overall product developed. 

There are a number of licensing 

parameters to be considered, such 

as how early stage the technology 

is and the investment and time 

required to make a product. 

The company will get a licence 

to utilise the technology for a number 

of years, although it may not 

always be exclusive – depending 

on the technology it could be more 

appropriate to agree a non-exclusive 

deal where the University will 

offer it to other companies. 

ERI will work with the academic 

and the company to negotiate a 

deal which suits everybody and 

ensures the technology is developed 

and commercialised. 

In the case of the BioGen Idec 

deal, it wasn’t strictly a University 

of Edinburgh spin-out, rather a 

university involved company 

where four leading academic 

researchers were asked to become 

founders by the original inventors. 

The University of Edinburgh 

licensed the technology to BioGen 


Idec on an exclusive basis for the 

lifetime of the patents, in exchange 

for royalties for every product sold 

by them or a sub-licensee. 

BioGen Idec developed the technology 

further and then sold the 

vaccine on to another company 

better placed to penetrate the market. 

This deal was very successful 

both in terms of the royalties 

returned to the University – it has 

generated over £40m-worth in the 

last 30 years – and also in terms of 

its significant contribution to public 

health. 

The University of Edinburgh 

recognises that the academic who 

made the discovery in the first 

place should share in the financial 

returns. As a result, the net royalty 

income (after deduction of any 

expenses involved such as patent 

fees) is split with the academic. 

Although academics can do very 

well financially, Professor Ken 

Murray declined his share of the 

royalties from the licence with 

BioGen Idec and instead he put his 

share of the money into a charity 

he set up called the Darwin Trust. 

This trust has created a substantial 

resource which has helped fund 

many students in the life sciences 

area. 

Often with university discoveries 

the science is there and occasionally 

there is a prototype but it is 

not necessarily ready for produc- 


tion so ERI will look for a company 

who will take it under licence and 

develop the technology. 

One such company was 

MicroEmissive Displays PLC which 

took a number of years to get to 

the stage where it was ready to 

produce on an industrial scale. 

There is often a time gap which 

requires funding, so finding the 

right solution depends on the stage 

of development the technology is 

at, the resources the company has 

and how quickly it can fund the 

development of the product. 

Another company that the 

University has developed a good 

licensing relationship with is Stem 

Cell Sciences (SCS). SCS was incorporated 

in 1994 and now has 

offices in the UK, US, Australia and 

Japan. 

SCS has licensed more than 10 

technologies in the field of stem cell 

isolation and propagation from the 

University of Edinburgh. This portfolio 

of technology enabled SCS to 

leverage significant venture capital 

funding when the company was 

listed on AIM in July 2005. 

Since the AIM listing, SCS has 

successfully developed and sublicensed 

several Edinburgh technologies 

to major pharmaceutical 

and biotechnology companies and 

has returned an increased royalty to 

the University. 

In contrast to these early stage 

“The academic 

who made the 

discovery in the 

first place 

should share in 

the financial 

returns” 

i 

LICENSING 

technologies, the University 

licensed a series of compounds for 

enantiomeric separation to 

Hypersil and this technology is now 

used as an international standard 

for packing HPLC columns. 

Additionally, the University 

licensed new and innovative technology 

to find oil reservoirs to a 

spin-out company, MTEM Limited, 

in November 2004 and in less than 

three years the company was 

bought for $275m by Norwegian 

group Petroleum Geo-Services. ● 

For further information visit: 

www.research-innovation.ed.ac.uk 

www.microemissive.com 

www.stemcellsciences.com 

www.mtem.com 

INSPIRED 23

CONSULTANCY 

Ask the experts 

Need expert technological help? Edinburgh’s universities offer a whole range of 

services to help business meet the challenges of a competitive environment 

IF you are running a business 

which is involved in cutting 

edge technology, you may find 

yourself at some point where 

you need expert help. 

This is where the universities like 

Edinburgh can help. Through its 

Consultancy Office run by 


Innov-ation (ER), a whole range of 

services are available for 

companies, from technology 

assessments to gaining access to 

world class experts. 

Companies can get an 

assessment of a new technology or 

an existing process and find out 

where and how improvements can 

be made. 

The University of Edinburgh’s 

academic consultants, drawn from 

over 1600 researchers, are not 

encumbered by some of the 

commercial comstraints which 

restrict manufacturers and are 

therefore able to give an impartial 

and independent assessment or 

very valuable advice. 

Arrayjet Ltd 

Arrayjet is an innovative young 

company in Dalkeith, near 

Edinburgh, specialising in the 

application of inkjet technology 

to microarray manufacturing. 

Instruments use non-contact 

printing of microarrays onto a 

Access can also be arranged to 

laboratories equipped with state of 

the art equipment and to the staff 

who can operate it. 

One example is a project to 

develop software tools for use in 

oilfield survey design in which the 

University of Edinburgh’s School of 

Geosciences is working with Total 

E&P UK plc to improve the quality 

of information on hydro-carbon 

distribution within sub-surface 

geological structures. 

The University of Edinburgh has 

a wide network of research centres 

within the the Edinburgh Science 

Triangle from which academics 

which can offer advice, knowledge 

transfer, customised technology 

training programmes, or the 

services of world class research 

laboratories. 

These centres are keen to work 

with industry in a whole range of 

disciplines from computing, 

biological sciences or physics to 

sports science, health and 

veterinary medicine 

variety of surfaces. 

Three high-profile UK 

microarray facilities have 

purchased Arrayjet spotters 

during the last year and the 

company is now embarking on 

commercial expansion. 

“They offer 

product 

development 

skills, knowledge 

of contemporary 

facades and 

access to the 

latest research” 

Graeme Hadden, 

Watson Stonecraft 

The company was founded in 

2000 by Cambridge physicist Dr 

Howard Manning and the University 

of Edinburgh molecular 

biologists Professor Peter Ghazal 

and Dr Douglas Roy. 

It already had a close and 

productive collaborative 

relationship with the University 

of Edinburgh’s Division of 

Pathway Medicine and was 

seeking expertise to boost 

market impact. 

Arrayjet and the University of 

Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry 

are now in the middle of an 18month 

Knowledge Transfer 

Partnership (KTP) to expand the 

company’s inkjet microarray 

printing technology into the 

rapidly expanding proteomics 

Various government supported 

schemes are also available to 

support knowledge transfer from 

academia to industry. 

One route is through 

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships 

with funding available to enable 

high calibre graduates to be placed 

in industry working on company 

projects and supported by the 

academic base. 

Other programmes such as 

SCORE, funded by the Scottish 

Government, or Small Company 

Innovation Support offer financial 

assistance to companies requiring 

expert advice or specialist 

technical input to product 

development. 

Information about consultancy is 

available from ERI or through the 

Interface website which offers 

similar services with all Scottish 

universities. ● 

www.research-innovation.ed.ac.uk 

www.interface-online.org.uk 

market. 

Consultancy quickly assessed 

that the basis of Arrayjet’s 

patented technology is well 

suited to printing protein 

microarrays. Now, a KTP 

associate is working closely with 

Dr Colin Campbell at the 

University of Edinburgh to 

combine his surface chemistry 

expertise with the company’s 

inkjet robotics technology. 

As a result of this 

collaboration, Arrayjet will be 

well placed to become one of the 

leading players in the protein 

microarray sector as it develops 

over the next three to five years. 

www.arrayjet.co.uk 


>>>

HGF o�ers a full IP service advising on all aspects of 

invention identi�cation, branding, patent and trade 

mark �ling and prosecution. 

The �rm has a team of attorneys specialising in the areas of: 

º Chemistry 

º Electronics 

º Engineering 

º Law 

º Life Sciences 

º Nanotechnologies 

º Pharmaceuticals 

º Trade Marks 

Please contact: Dr Gary Wilson on 0141 228 4735 

or email gwilson@hgf.com 

Intellectual Property: 

Release its potential 

www.hgf.com

Become an Edinburgh Ambassador and 

Welcome the World to Edinburgh 

One of the most beautiful cities in the world, Edinburgh’s blend of 

stunning heritage and dynamic new developments creates a perfect 

conference destination. Delegates appreciate the range of top-class 

venues and excellent accommodation as well as the rich opportunities 

to enjoy the arts, festivals and traditional Scottish culture. 

Moreover, Edinburgh’s international reputation for academic and 

scientific excellence makes it a natural locus for conferences and 

corporate meetings in the field of life science, medicine and technology. 

Scientists and techologists in these fields can have a major influence 

over their international associations’ choice of conference destinations, 

and can help to put their institution on the world stage. 

Edinburgh Ambassador Programme 

Recognising the power of this influence, Edinburgh Convention Bureau – 

the lead agency for marketing the city as a conference destination – 

developed the award-winning Edinburgh Ambassador Programme to work 

with scientists and other professionals, giving them every possible support 

in influencing these decisions and attracting conferences to Edinburgh. 

Edinburgh Convention Bureau 

The ECB is a public-private partnership between the City of Edinburgh 

Council, VisitScotland and the business tourism industry. It also receives 

substantial support from Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh & Lothian. 

It carries out extensive research to identify conferences that match 

Edinburgh’s strengths and it then seeks out a key expert in that field to 

partner them in their strategy. Together with this expert – the Edinburgh 

Ambassador – they develop a bid strategy and work closely together to 

secure the conference and then support its organisation. 

How does Edinburgh Convention Bureau assist you? 

As an Edinburgh Ambassador, you can call upon the professional 

support and experience of the ECB team every step of the way, and all 

their advice and expertise is completely free of charge. 

They will help you with everything from preparing bid materials, advising 

on venues, arranging site inspections, booking accommodation, 

advising on the social programme and providing a range of marketing 

materials to boost delegate attendance. 

Economic benefit 

In 2006-07, ECB support brought over £68 million in economic benefit 

to the city in terms of hotel, catering and other delegate spend. 

Even more significant are the benefits which accrue in terms of 

international profile, the networking resulting in contracts and research 

grants, as well as the influential professional contacts, so critical in 

maintaining Scotland’s leadership in key industries. 

Over 70% of international conferences are won due to the key role played 

by a local Ambassador, and the Edinburgh Ambassador Programme has 

successfully attracted over 200 major conferences since 1996. 

Why become an Edinburgh Ambassador? 

As an Edinburgh Ambassador, you can play a critical role in 

winning a conference bid or influencing the site selection for a 

corporate meeting. To find out more about the Edinburgh 

Ambassador Programme, and how you might get involved, please 

call Ellen Colingsworth, Association Market Manager at the 

Edinburgh Convention Bureau on 0131 473 3669 or 

email e.colingsworth@conventionedinburgh.com 

These conferences showcase Scotland's capital as a modern dynamic 

city that’s continuing to extend its centres of excellence into new fields 

of expertise and ground-breaking research. Be part of this success and 

help us bring the world to Edinburgh! 

It was through the Edinburgh 

Ambassador's Programme that 

I was able to prepare a case to 

bring the symposium of 

Electromachining to Edinburgh 

and I value this aspect of our 

city's organisation. 

Professor Joseph McGeough,School of Engineering 

and Electromachining, University of Edinburgh 

Edinburgh: 

Scotland's inspiring capital 

...where centuries of heritage combine with 

the best of modern, dynamic city life to 

create the perfect conference destination 

Please contact us for free, impartial 

advice on holding your conference 

in this inspiring city 

info@conventionedinburgh.com 

+44 (0)131 473 3666 

www.conventionedinburgh.com 

Edinburgh Convention Bureau 

Inspiring Conferences

Watson Stonecraft Ltd 

The largest stone masonry 

contractor in Scotland, Watson 

Stonecraft, has been providing 

new build, conservation and 

restoration services in masonry 

for public and private sector 

clients for over 100 years. 

The business has grown to 

become one of the leading 

specialist stone contractors in the 

UK by establishing a reputation 

for delivering quality projects. 

They also provide technical 

consultancy and advice on stone 

selection, costings and design. 

The company has been 

working with the University of 

Edinburgh in a Knowledge 

Transfer Partnership (KTP) 

project to develop a new, 

lightweight, stone cladding 

product. 

DEM Solutions 

A spin-out from the University of 

Edinburgh, DEM Solutions is a 

global leader in discrete element 

modelling software. EDEM 

software is used for simulation, 

analysis and visualisation of 

particulate flows, providing highresolution 

information on particle 

kinematics, momentum, heat 

and mass transfer. 

The company’s customers are 

in industries such as 

pharmaceuticals, chemicals, 

mineral and materials 

processing, oil & gas production, 

agricultural, construction and 

geo-technical engineering. 

They use EDEM to design, 

develop and test products and 

processes faster and more 

accurately than was previously 

possible, reducing their development 

costs and time to market. 

DEM Solutions Ltd has 

returned to the University of 

Edinburgh to further develop its 

EDEM software in a Knowledge 

Transfer Partnership (KTP) 

project with the university’s 

School of Engineering & 

Electronics. 

The company has also dev- 


Almost half of the company’s 

business is the cladding of 

commercial buildings, producing 

a non-load bearing external skin 

that protects the structure from 

weather. 

It has developed and launched 

a new cladding system, ‘Panash’, 

which involves the on-site 

hanging of thin stone panels on 

an aluminium sub-frame. 

Working with Professor Remo 

Pedreschi in the University of 

Edinburgh’s Architecture Unit, 

the company aims to develop this 

concept further and to create a 

new off-site, pre-fabricated stone 

cladding product. 

“The University of Edinburgh 

has the knowledge and expertise 

to support this project,” says 

Graeme Hadden, joint managing 

eloped the EDEM-CFD Coupling 

for FLUENT, a unique tool that 

allows for the simulation of 

particle-fluid systems. EDEM is 

the first DEM software that can 

couple directly with CFD software 

to model solid-fluid phase 

systems at the particle scale. 

This lets customers tackle 

previously impossible simulations, 

including dense phase 

pneumatic transport of particles, 

director of Watson Stonecraft Ltd. 

“They offer product 

development skills, a detailed 

knowledge of contemporary 

facades, access to the latest 

research and to experts in the 

field of stone cladding.” 

The project will provide 

Watson Stonecraft with the 

fluidised beds, slurry handling 

and separation processes. 

Working with Dr Martin 

Crapper in the School of 

Engineering & Electronics, KTP 

associate Dr Wai Sam Wong is 

reviewing the CAE tools market, 

examining existing discrete 

element modelling and 

computational fluid dynamics 

technology and exploring the 

range of fluid/particle 

CONSULTANCY 

capacity to design and develop a 

stone cladding system which 

responds to the construction 

industry’s demand for off-site, 

prefabricated building solutions, 

as well as environmental drivers 

for lower waste and reduced 

transport. 

www.watsonstonecraft.co.uk 

applications to be accommodated 

in the improved EDEM- 

CFD Coupling for FLUENT. 

Dr John Favier, chief executive 

and founder of DEM Solutions, 

believes that the relationship 

with the academic team at the 

university will stimulate further 

research opportunities and a 

four-fold increase in sales of the 

stand-alone coupling module. 

www.dem-solutions.com 

INSPIRED 27

INCUBATORS 

Preparing for the 

commercial spotlight 

How does research make the transition into a viable product? The University of 

Edinburgh can help boffins who want to be entrepreneurs 

ACADEMIC research has 

always pushed the boundaries 

of scientific and technical 

knowledge. Each piece of 

research, added to previous discoveries, 

helps expand our horizons. 

Research can also be turned to 

commercial advantage, used as the 

foundation for a business, or to 

add value to existing applications 

or manufacturing techniques. 

Research today is more than 

likely to be part of a spin-out company 

or a business enterprise with 

one foot in the research community 

and one in the commercial world. 

How does research get converted 

into a commercial proposition? 

Can boffins turn their hands to 

business? 

The University of Edinburgh has 

a company creation and development 

strategy which aims to help 

entrepreneurs set up companies 

and move ideas and innovations 

out of the research lab and into 

revenue generation and wealth creation. 

The Edinburgh Technology 

Transfer Centre (ETTC) was set up 

in 1987 at King’s Buildings and 

helps students and staff to take an 

idea into the business world. 

Grant Wheeler is head of 

Company Formation and Incubation 

and works for Edinburgh 

Research and Innovation (ERI), a 

University of Edinburgh subsidiary 

which manages the University’s 

commercialisation activities. 

“We help entrepreneurs within 

the university who have a good 

idea or potential product to set up 

a company to develop it,” says 

Wheeler. “Staff, of course, or students, 

who have an academic 

background and no experience of 

running a business, need help to 

make the transition. 

“Many of the staff don’t actually 

want to leave the university. We 

have a number of ‘serial entrepreneurs’ 

within the staff base who 

constantly come up with commercially 

relevant technology. Some of 

our academics have several spinouts 

to their name, but they tend 

to take roles as technological advisors 

and stay within the university. 

Our job, essentially, is to find management 

for the company. 

“In some cases we look for experienced 

management and put them 

alongside staff and students who 

need that commercial experience. 

On other occasions we try to help 

with training courses and seminars 

run within the university by various 

organisations to create an 

awareness of entrepreneurship and 

company formation. 

“They provide some of the commercial 

skills that a relatively 

‘green’ technologically focused person 

will need to run a company. 

“In fact, most of our companies 

“We help 

entrepreneurs 

within the 

university who 

have a good 

idea or 

potential 

product to set 

up a company 

to develop it” 

Grant Wheeler, 

ERI 

are run by experienced managers 

who we have sourced and introduced 

to the entrepreneurs. They 

must like and get on with who we 

introduce them to, of course. But 

we have a good network of people 

that we can introduce and who are 

keen to take prospects forward.” 

This stage of providing support 

to help a company start up is 

called pre-incubation after which 

the company will be invited to 

move onto the incubation stage. 

“The incubator is a real affair,” 

says Wheeler. “We have flexible, 

low-cost office accommodation 

equipped to a high standard and 

integrated into the university as a 

whole. And we have labs, meeting 

rooms, AV equipment and catering 

facilities as well as links to the university’s 

research labs.” 

The provision of services at 

ETTC is included in the rent which 

is kept low to allow entrepreneurs 

to focus their limited resources on 

core activities. 

“The ideal for us, once companies 

move into incubation, is that 

they then move out after one, two, 

or three years into the science 

parks,” says Wheeler. “The obvious 

one right now is the Edinburgh 

Technopole, though in future we 

will also have facilities available at 

Edinburgh BioQuarter.” 

ETTC currently handles three 

incubation areas: ETTC and ETTC 


>>>

Life 

Sciences: 

Excellence 

through 

leadership 

Going Global 

The decision for a life sciences 

company to expand overseas can 

present both opportunities and risks. 

Expanding operations into different 

countries comprises a range of tax 

implications which companies must be 

aware of, therefore the value of expert 

and proactive advice in relation to this 

should not be underestimated. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has 

experience in assisting companies 

to manage overseas expansion 

and is currently working with one 

of Scotland’s leading life sciences 

firms aiming to establish sales 

operations throughout Europe 

and Scandinavia. From a tax 

perspective such expansions can be 

challenging, particularly because tax 

positions differ between countries. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers provides the 

expert advice and guidance on the 

practices which the local sales team 

pwc.co.uk/scotland 

*connectedthinking 

can and cannot undertake if a taxable 

presence in the overseas country is 

to be managed, and offer advice on 

whether a local VAT registration – 

or a local VAT representative – will 

be required, as well as supporting 

the interaction of local and UK 

payroll obligations. 

Enhancing the client experience 

Working in partnership with our client, 

PricewaterhouseCoopers ensures that 

overseas expansion is undertaken in 

the most tax efficient manner while 

embracing the client’s commercial 

plans. Through our global network 

of experts and working with each 

country’s tax specialists we talk the 

client through local requirements from 

a practical perspective including the 

translation of legal documents into 

English or other languages with the 

appropriate specialist input obtained. 

The biggest challenge which we 

helped our client overcome is whether 

having a sales team operating in 

a country is sufficient to create a 

“taxable presence” there, such that 

the UK company can be liable to tax 

in the country in which the sales team 

operate. Creating a taxable presence 

overseas not only potentially results 

in additional tax liabilities, but also 

administrative costs in complying 

with local tax filing obligations. It is 

entirely possible to situate a sales 

team in certain countries without 

creating a taxable presence, but the 

activities which the local sales team 

can physically carry out, such as 

negotiating with potential customers, 

may be limited. As a result, the 

commercial issues around the client’s 

plans must be balanced out to ensure 

that the sales operations are structured 

in both a tax efficient and commercially 

The firms of the PricewaterhouseCoopers global network (www.pwc.com) provide industry-focused assurance, tax and 

advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for clients and their stakeholders. More than 140,000 people 

in 149 countries across our network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and 

practical advice. 

© 2007 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. ‘PricewaterhouseCoopers’ refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers 

LLP (a limited liability partnership in the United Kingdom) or, as the context requires, the PricewaterhouseCoopers 

global network or other member firms of the network, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity. 

attractive manner. This is where 

PricewaterhouseCoopers provides 

value and where it is vital for clients 

to receive quality input and a strong 

understanding of a local tax regime 

from their professional advisers. 

Most life sciences organisations have 

limited finance staff resource therefore 

PricewaterhouseCoopers has taken 

on as much project management as 

possible in relation to the expansion. 

Our client benefits as this ensures their 

staff are free to focus on other matters, 

but with the reassurance that the 

appropriate procedures to assist their 

growth are being complied with. 

Unfortunately, it is rare to find a “one 

size fits all” approach to overseas 

expansion, as our client has found with 

their current plans. Undertaking the 

expansion with a clear understanding 

of the tax implications can, however, 

avoid headaches which can arise 

through not seeking professional 

advice when in negotiations with 

potential investors, for example – 

that tax liabilities exist which the 

company were not aware of, or 

could have managed better through 

proactive tax planning. 

Contact: 

Martin McEwen 

Senior Manager, Tax 

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 

martin.mcewen@uk.pwc.com 

0141 260 4110

Alba Innovation Centre - 

the premier incubation 

facility for the next 

generation of high growth 

potential, innovative, 

start-up technology 

companies. 

One of the leading business incubators for innovative 

technology businesses in Scotland, the Centre 

provides a unique combination of specialist business 

innovation support and flexible incubation space, 

with critical connections to people who can make 

a real difference. 

Tailored incubation solutions include: 

Innovation Advisory Support – delivered by the 

Centre's in-house team of experienced advisors and 

complemented by a network of external specialists 

and entrepreneurs, our specialist advice is tailored 

to help young technology businesses launch and 

grow their business 

Accommodation – offering high quality, modern, 

office accommodation, on flexible terms under a 

single monthly licence fee. Virtual Office 

Packages are also available. 

Facilities and Services – state-of-the-art facilities 

and services including high speed internet access, 

a wireless network, full reception services (including 

a 9am-5pm manned telephone answering service) 

and conference and meeting room facilities. 

Alba Innovation Centre is operated by 

Innovation Centres Scotland Ltd. 

For further details contact: 

Alba Innovation Centre, 

Alba Campus, Livingston EH54 7GA 

Tel: 01506 592 100 

Email: alba@innovationcentre.org 

Web: www.innovationcentre.org/alba

BioSpace, which provide office and 

biotechnology/biomedical laboratory 

units respectively; and ETTC 

Campus which offers incubation 

services to companies requiring 

specialist facilities only available 

within the university’s College of 

Science and Engineering. 

Not all incubation is of ‘home 

grown’ entrepreneurs, ‘bred’ in the 

university. The Edinburgh Pre- 

Incubator Scheme (EPIS), a joint 

project between the University of 

Edinburgh, Scottish Enterprise 

Edinburgh and Lothian and the 

European Regional Development 

Fund, supports entrepreneurs from 

outside academia. 

Finding people to take advantage 

of the help and support on 

offer is not always straightforward. 

“We market our services nationally 

and internationally and 

advertise in various publications,” 

explains Adrian Smith of EPIS. 

“Often the people we are looking 

for are looking for us at the same 

time. 

“Most people, though, come to 

us by personal referral through our 

own entrepreneur network. It’s a 

slightly chaotic process and it 

would be great to simplify it, but in 

my experience if you tell 5000 people 

that you can make their dreams 

as an entrepreneur come true, only 

one will be interested.” 

What EPIS provides is much simpler 

to categorise. 

“Basically, we take people, usually 

with no money and very few 

mates,” says Smith. “We give them 

money, find them mates and give 


them a home. Companies start as 

pre-incubation, that is, they are not 

yet trading. Usually they are people 

with a plan or technology for 

which they are seeking the best 

commercial application and we 

help them find their way round 

their marketplace and choose the 

best path to wealth. 

“We introduce them to all sorts 

of capital - debt, equity, mezzanine, 

whatever is required and we introduce 

them to a wider group of 

people from whom they can select 

their team, whether it is for their 

board or recruiting their staff. 

“We also lend them facilities. 

Some people come here to do quite 

technical work which might be in 

chemistry or life sciences, so they 

need equipment and lab space.” 

Smith says the average entrepreneur 

who beats a path to EPIS is 

41, with a first degree, a second 

research degree and up to ten 

years’ commercial experience. 

“They want to make a break and 

will usually have had some kind of 

disruption in their career, having 

returned to university, left work for 

some reason, or having moved – 

we get people regularly who have 

relocated from around the world 

and want to start something.” 

EPIS identifies an internal academic 

partner to host the proposed 

work and helps with a detailed 

plan of the project. Placements are 

arranged and the entrepreneur is 

introduced to potential business 

mentors who can offer support. 

“Most people have experience of 

business of some kind and are con- 

The ideal for 

us, once 

companies 

move into 

incubation, is 

that they then 

move out 

after one, 

two, or three 

years into the 

science 

parks” 

Grant Wheeler, 

ERI 

INCUBATORS 

fident their idea will take off,” says 

Smith. “The role of the business 

mentors we provide is to challenge 

unproductive strategies, should 

there be any, but most people will 

come to their own conclusions 

about whether something is worth 

doing or not and whether they will 

get a good return on investment.” 

Pre-incubation companies are 

fed into the ETTC system and 

move into the incubation stage 

before moving out to a more independent 

setting on a science park 

or in other appropriate premises. 

“We’ve started about 23 companies 

since 2003,” says Smith. “We 

aim to start about a dozen a year. 

There has never been so much help 

available for entrepreneurs as there 

is now and we have 31 places to 

award in the next two years. So 

we’re looking for 31 really clever 

people who we want to help!” 

Elsewhere in the Edinburgh 

Science Triangle are other incubator 

services linked with the 

University of Edinburgh. The Scottish 

Microelectronics Centre (SMC) 

at King’s Buildings provides business 

and technology incubation 

facilities for companies looking to 

establish themselves in the siliconbased 

semiconductor industry. 

From providing office, lab, or 

clean room space for rent to opening 

up networking opportunities, 

access to the centre’s alliance partners 

network, or training 

programmes, along with technical 

expertise and experience and business 

support services, SMC can 

help take ideas to market quickly 

and cost effectively. 

Next to Edinburgh’s new Royal 

Infirmary and the university’s 

medical school, Edinburgh 

BioQuarter also offers incubation 

facilities. The biomedical research 

centre, which is continually expanding, 

hopes to entice world 

class life science companies and 

encourage commercialisation of 

innovations. 

Edinburgh Science Triangle not 

only pushes the boundaries of 

modern-day research in its institutes 

and centres, but also marries 

that research with business expertise 

in a series of incubators which 

are quickly producing fledgling 

companies. ● 

www.ettc.co.uk 

www.epis.org.uk 

www.scotmicrocentre.co.uk 

INSPIRED 31 

>>>

INCUBATORS 

>>> 

Artemis 

One of the companies that has 

benefited from ETTC’s incubation 

service is Artemis Intelligent 

Power, which was originally spun 

out of fluid power research at the 

University of Edinburgh in 1994. 

Its main product which the 

company has successfully 

developed and marketed is 

Digital Displacement (DD) 

technology. The core component 

of DD is a hydraulic piston pump 

or motor with actively controlled 

poppet valves which rectify the 

flow into and out of each 

cylinder. Banks of cylinders can 

be assembled along a common 

crankshaft so that a multiplicity 

of independent services can all 

Ingenza 

Ingenza is a dynamic biotechnology 

and bioprocess 

company that designs and 

manufactures methods or ‘routes’ 

for high-value pharmaceutical 

chemicals using biotech 

processes. These are much 

‘greener’ processes than those 

used by traditional chemical 

industries, being cleaner, more 

cost effective and 

environmentally friendly. 

The company was incorporated 

in September 2002 as a 

spin-out from the University of 

Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry, 

and rapidly established a broad 

customer base and a platform for 

the commercial application of its 

proprietary biocatalysis 

technology. 

Until 2004 Ingenza rented lab 

space at King’s Buildings, coming 

under ETTC’s auspices for the 

last six months. The company 

32 INSPIRED 

be used at one time. The valves 

are operated electronically which 

allows them to control any flow 

at infinitely variable rates. 

The applications of this 

technology are many, but 

Artemis has found the 

automotive industry particularly 

receptive as a customer. DD can 

be used for traction control as 

well as simultaneously providing 

for auxiliary hydraulic services 

and is especially useful in offroad 

vehicles. It is also easily 

integrated into drive by wire 

systems. 

Other applications are in 

renewable energy conversion 

devices and in short-term energy 

then relocated in 2006 to new 

improved facilities at the Roslin 

Biocentre as part of its development 

and growth programme. 

Roslin provides incubation 

services with greatly enhanced 

bioprocess research and development 

facilities which enable 

Ingenza to accelerate its proprietary 

bioprocess development. 

The company has an experienced 

scientific and commercial 

team with a background in 

applied biocatalysis, which 

involves using natural catalysts 

called enzymes to chemically 

transform organic compounds. 

One way of using such 

‘technology’ is brewing beer but 

Ingenza also develops technology 

and products for the fine chemical, 

food and pharmaceutical 

industries and can offer tailored 

biocatalysis solutions. 

www.ingenza.com 

storage systems. In wave and 

tidal energy, for instance, DD is 

used to convert irregular slow 

motions and high forces into high 

speed and stable rotation 

suitable for electrical generation. 

The company has developed 

MicroEmissive Displays (MED) is 

an example of a start-up aided by 

the Scottish Microelectronics 

Centre. A joint spin-out from 

Edinburgh and Napier 

universities, MED has developed 

light-emitting polymer-based 

microdisplays for use in portable 

consumer products such as 

digital still and video cameras. 

MED has quickly established 

itself as the world’s leading 

developer of polymer organic 

light emitting diode (P-OLED) 

based microdisplays, thanks to 

incubation support from SMC 

where the company is still based. 

through long-term projects with 

market-leading industrial 

partners and is now a diverse, 

multidisciplinary team of 

engineers and technicians with 

an international flavour. 

www.artemisip.com 

MicroEmissive Displays 

Its products combine superb 

TV quality moving video images 

that are free from flicker and have 

ultra-low power consumption, 

ideal for personal TV, headmounted 

displays and electronic 

viewfinders. 

The company was named 

European Semiconductor Startup 

of the Year in 2004 and, later 

the same year, joined the 

Alternative Investment Market of 

the London Stock Exchange. Its 

co-founder, Dr Ian Underwood, 

was named Scotland’s Top 

Innovator 2004. 

www.microemissive.com 


WANT TO BOOST YOUR 

PROFITS AND CASH FLOW? 

Hugely experienced Part-Time Financial Directors from 

The FD Centre can show Scottish businesses the way! 

Increasingly, owners of small and medium-sized 

Scottish businesses use a part-time �nance 

director to provide solutions to �nancial issues, 

fuel company pro�tability and improve cash �ow. 

A part-time FD with big company experience, 

often with relevant business sector experience, 

will deliver the business bene�ts you need at a 

fraction of the cost of an in-house FD. 

With the FD Centre, there are no ongoing �xed 

costs or liability, just excellent advice, perceptive 

insight and hands-on support - when it’s needed. 

Colin Mills, Managing Director of the FD Centre in 

Scotland says, “While growth isthe goal formany businesses, pro�t, cash �ow and security remain 

critical measures. To achieve the right balance 

you need a �nancial expertise that can be hard to 

�nd.” 

To �nd out how a part-time FD can help you, 

call the FD Centre on 0870 011 1499 

or email our Scottish Regional Director 

scott.hutcheson@thefdcentre.co.uk 

Call 0870 011 1499 

Regional Of�ces in: 

London, Reading, Southampton, 

Swindon, Cheltenham, Birmingham, 

Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow 

and Edinburgh 

“The FD Centre brings the 

excellence of organisational 

bene�ts to our business 

�nances that we offer to other 

businesses”. 

Donald Maciver, Managing Director &Chairman, 

Gael Limited - Creators of Q-Pulse & MindGenius 

“From turnover of £6M to £24M 

in four years - we simply could 

not have achieved this without 

the FD Centre’s support”. 

Matthew Byrne, Group CEO, 

DBI Group 

(Industrial and drain and sewer cleaning group) 

www.thefdcentre.co.uk 

“Scott Hutcheson of the FD 

Centre has given me total 

con�dence that the �nances of 

the business are being properly 

looked after, allowing me to 

concentrate on growing the 

business”. 

Roy Hiddleston, Managing Director, 

Solway Recycling Limited

A work/life balance 

that inspires all 

The city captures the heads and hearts of those who 

live, work and visit it. Its talent base, the area’s quality 

of life and environment are key attractions for both 

employers and employees 

SCOTLAND’S capital is a 

unique place to live and work. 

It combines the best of city living 

with easy access to some 

of the most stunning scenery in the 

world. The UK’s strongest city economy 

outside of London and home 

to several world leading companies, 

Edinburgh offers an 

unbeatable work/life balance. 

Known for its spectacular year 

round events, Edinburgh has 

become known as the world’s 

‘Festival City’. Every August, millions 

of visitors arrive to enjoy not 

just the Edinburgh International 

Festival, but the vibrant Edinburgh 

Festival Fringe, plus a host of others 

including the Book, Film, Jazz & 

Blues and Children’s Festivals. 

The capital is also of great historical 

significance. Its Old and New 

Towns collectively form a UNESCO 

World Heritage site and six of 

Scotland’s top ten visitor attractions 

are based there. 

Edinburgh has consistently been 

voted Favourite UK City by 

Observer, Guardian and Conde 

Naste readers. Its residents certainly 

attest to this, awarding the 

quality of life in Edinburgh a 92 per 

cent satisfaction rate, the highest of 

any city surveyed, in a 2006 MORI 

poll. 

Part of the Edinburgh lifestyle is 

eating and drinking in some of the 

UK’s finest pubs, bars, restaurants 

and cafés. With local access to 

mouthwatering Scottish delicacies 

such as seafood, venison, beef and 

game, organic farm fresh vegetables 

and, of course, whisky, there’s 

something to tantalise all tastes. 

And according to a recent 


Amstel/Virgin Radio poll, 

Edinburgh is the UK’s “place to 

visit” for a perfect night out. On all 

nights of the week the city’s venues 

are host to musicians from all over 

the world – whether you’re looking 

forpop, folk, jazz, a West End musical, 

or a concert in the handsome 

surroundings of the Usher Hall. 

If shopping is your passion, the 

city offers an excellent mix of 

national chains, independents, 

large shops and small boutiques. It 

could be argued that Princes Street, 

at the foot of Edinburgh Castle, has 

one of the best views of any high 

street in the world, while George 

Street and Multrees Walk are home 

to leading quality brands such as 

Harvey Nichols, Calvin Klein, 

Armani and Louis Vuitton. 

The long winter nights are lit up 

with what has been described as 

the best New Year – the Scots call it 

Hogmanay – celebration in the 

world. Each year the capital puts 

on four days of celebrations including 

one of Europe’s biggest street 

parties and a massive fireworks display. 

The capital’s many lifestyle benefits 

complement its growing 

reputation as a hub for many globally 

significant companies, such as 

the Royal Bank of Scotland and 

Stem Cell Sciences. 

“Edinburgh offers a high quality 

of life, with all the benefits of a village 

in a big city,” says Peter 

Mountford, director, Stem Cell 

Sciences. 

“It is one of the most beautiful 

cities in the world and it is a powerhouse 

in terms of the talent and 

integrity of its people. The Scots are 

“Edinburgh was 

awarded the 

accolade of best 

place to live in 

the UK by 

Channel 4’s 

Location, 

Location, 

Location 

programme” 

QUALITY OF LIFE 

fun and the food here is great. 

Edinburgh has got everything.” 

More than 1.5 million people live 

in the Edinburgh city region and 

the capital boasts one of the UK’s 

most qualified workforces, with 

more than a third holding a degree 

level or professional qualification. 

This talent base, the area’s quality 

of life and its environment are key 

attractions for employers and 

employees. 

More people are moving into the 

area than out from the rest of 

Scotland, the UK and overseas, 

with the East of Scotland ranked 

the most popular area in the EU for 

people to settle. 

Edinburgh businesses also benefit 

from being located in one of 

Scotland’s best-connected areas, 

with a sophisticated transport network 

linking it with the rest of the 

UK, Europe and the world. London 

is an hour by air and 4.5 hours by 

rail. Edinburgh International Airport 

serves more than 80 destinations 

with 40 airlines, including direct 

connections with 10 EU 

capitals. 

The city’s reinstated tram network 

will link the growing areas of 

the Waterfront, city centre, west 

Edinburgh and the airport. 

Edinburgh is a city which continues 

to inspire the heads and hearts 

of those who live, work and visit it. ● 

INSPIRED 35

SCIENCE PARKS 

Edinburgh’s 

magnificent seven 

WHAT is a science park? 

For over 35 years science 

parks have been home to 

high-growth technology 

or knowledge based companies. 

They provide: 

● A vital link between commercial 

business and academic research 

activity, providing access to 

knowledge and expertise, facilities 

and cutting-edge technologies and 

opportunities for joint projects in 

research and innovation. 

● Flexible property accommodation 

in outstanding locations – 

critical to attracting and retaining 

the best talent. 

● Shared services saving time and 

cost leading to greater “time on 

project”. 

● Assisted access to the best avail- 

able business support, funding programmes 

and networks. 

What makes Edinburgh’s science 

parks special? 

● The Edinburgh Science Triangle 

is the collaborative partnership 

behind the seven science parks that 

was judged the most enterprising 

area in Scotland in May 2007. 

● Fantastic rural locations, all 

within 30 minutes of the city centre, 

the universities, the airport and 

of each other. 

● Culture of continuous development 

and improvement in terms of 

buildings, environment, services, 

access to universities and business 

support and networks. 

What’s new? 

● Edinburgh BioQuarter. Co-location 

of a major teaching hospital, 

Barry Shafe, Project Director of the Edinburgh 

Science Triangle, explains what science parks 

are and what they do 

“The Edinburgh 

Science 

Triangle was 

judged the 

most enterprising 

area in 

Scotland in 

May 2007” 

medical school, university and 

NHS medical research centres with 

substantial space for research 

based businesses backed by 

Scottish Enterprise and the world’s 

leading life sciences location developer, 

Alexandria Real Estate 

Equities, Inc. 

● EBRC. New research location for 

basic and translational science in 

animal health and welfare, and 

implications for the food chain and 

human health, to include the 

Roslin Institute and adjacent to 

Pentlands Science Park and 

Edinburgh Technopole. 

● Alba Innovation Centre. Now 

approaching its first birthday, it has 

already made its mark in helping 

new businesses to start and grow 

with its acclaimed intensive 

innovation advisory support. ● 


Access 

all areas 

In attractive parkland nestles a 

cluster of internationally recognised 

research institutions with world 

class status in life sciences, 

medicine, electronics and 

informatics 

EDINBURGH Technopole is a 

world class science park blending 

cutting edge science and 

research facilities with an outstanding 

natural environment. 

It is a joint venture combining 

the research strengths of the 

University of Edinburgh – 

Scotland’s top university – with the 

property expertise of Grosvenor, 

the UK’s premier developer. 

It has world class status across 

multi-sectors: life sciences, medicine, 

electronics and informatics. 

Specialist facilities are on hand, 

including state of the art monitoring 

and testing equipment in 

well-stocked laboratories and 

undergraduate and postgraduate 

students are available to work on 

business or technology research 

projects. 

It is also home to HECToR, one 

of the most powerful computers in 

the world, giving researchers the 

means to undertake complex computational 

simulations across a 

range of scientific disciplines. 

Edinburgh Technopole aims to create 

an optimised environment and 

infrastructure designed to stimulate 

the growth of organisations 

using technology, particularly 

those with the potential for interaction 

with the University. 

Set in 126 acres of rolling parkland, 

Edinburgh Technopole is 

located at the heart of a cluster of 

internationally recognised research 

institutions including the Pentlands 

Science Park, BioCampus 

and Roslin BioCentre (just 1km 

away). 

It is adjacent to the Moredun 

Institute on Pentlands Science 


“Technopole’s 

research and 

development 

environment 

is a natural 

fit with 

Kendle’s focus, 

bringing new 

life-saving and 

life-enhancing 

drugs to 

market 

worldwide” 

Ed Richards, 

Kendle 

SCIENCE PARKS/EDINBURGH TECHNOPOLE 

Park, the new Edinburgh 

Bioscience Research Centre to 

include Roslin Institute and the 

University of Edinburgh’s Royal 

(Dick) School of Veterinary 

Studies, the Scottish Agricultural 

College and a unit of the Natural 

Environmental Research Council. 

It is also within 30 minutes of 

the capital’s centre, all of its universities, 

Edinburgh BioQuarter, 

the airport and is five minutes to 

the major bypass road network. 

The property offers up to 

500,000 sq ft/46,450 sq m of highquality 

research and development 

or office space for knowledgebased 

companies; serviced suites of 

150-2550 sq ft; office and lab 

space from 2000 sq ft upwards in 

multi-occupancy buildings; capacity 

to accommodate the most 

substantial facilities, with high-profile 

sites set aside for bespoke 

development to suit particular 

company needs. 

All have access to meeting and 

conference and event facilities in 

the18th century Bush House. 

Edinburgh Technopole is the 

University of Edinburgh’s first sci- 

ence park and is the preferred destination 

for its own spin-out 

companies for any sector, complementing 

the new dedicated facility 

for Life Sciences at Edinburgh 

BioQuarter. 

Grosvenor manages the site and 

services while the university’s 

knowledge transfer and technology 

commercialisation arm, Edinburgh 

Research and Innovation, has its 

own staff on site to develop links 

to research expertise and facilities 

Kendle, one of the world’s leading 

clinical research organisations, 

is one of the newest tenants to 

locate at Edinburgh Technopole. 

Ed Richards, Kendle’s vice-president, 

global clinical development - 

Europe and Africa, says: 

“Technopole’s research and development 

orientated environment is 

a natural fit with Kendle’s focus, 

which is bringing new life-saving 

and life-enhancing drugs to market 


“The fact that it is the University 

of Edinburgh’s science park means 

that we will also have access to a 

natural recruitment pool for graduates 

and other technical staff.” ● 

INSPIRED 37

SCIENCE PARKS/HERIOT-WATT RESEARCH PARK 

Still first, 

still pioneering 

The emphasis here is on research, development, design, 

engineering, training and prototyping leading to manufacture 

THE Heriot-Watt Research Park, 

established in 1971, was the 

first science park in Europe. 

The emphasis here is on 

research, development, design, 

engineering, training and prototyping 

activities leading to 

manufacture, giving companies the 

chance to establish their own 

research and development groups 

within the heart of the university 

campus. 

The objective is to provide the 

best possible location for established 

and new companies to 

undertake the development of new 

products, processes and services, 

through immediate access to all of 

the university’s staff and facilities. 

There are currently more than 40 

companies on site, including a 

number of internationally 

renowned companies, either 

spinning out from the university, 

or established on the research 

park itself. 

The businesses operating on the 

park, though multi-sectoral, illustrate 

Heriot-Watt’s strengths in the 

field of electronics, computing, life 

sciences, energy and convergent 

and crossover technologies, most 

apparent in the medical application 

of physics. 

Co-located on the same campus 

as Heriot-Watt , it is ideal for working 

with university staff and 

facilities and tenants have use of 

university labs and workshops. 

All companies on the park must 

be able to display the potential for 

interaction with one of Heriot- 

Watt’s Schools. This encourages 

communication, reinforces the 

strengths of the university and 

helps with the recruitment of a 

well-educated suitably skilled 

workforce, leading to clusters of 

excellence. 

The research park is based at 

Riccarton, near Balerno, just off 

the City bypass and just 15 minutes 

“The advantages 

of a 

campus 

research park 

include the 

ease of setting 

up special 

projects and 

access to the 

facilities of the 

university” 

from the airport. 

The property offers accommodation 

available for start-ups, 

semi-mature or mature companies 

in multi-occupancy or dedicated 

buildings. Companies may either 

lease advance laboratory space, or 

individual sites for the erection of 

their own custom buildings in a 

landscaped setting. 

The advantages of a campus 

research park are many including 

the ease of setting up special 

projects and access to the facilities 

of the university, such as large 

scientific libraries, computers and 

specialised items of laboratory 

equipment. 

Tenants have the added benefit 

of being able to access the 

university library and sports 

facilities and discounted on-site 

hotel and catering facilities. 

The park is run by Heriot-Watt 

University itself. ● 


Be part of the 

community 

An impressive array of world leading R&D companies is 

already located here, offering the chance to be part of an 

inclusive, dynamic scientific community 

Roslin BioCentre is the centre 

of excellence for life sciences 

built around the Roslin 

Insititute, with world ranking 

expertise in stem cells, genetics, 

genomics and bioinformatics. 

The Roslin Institute’s name is 

known globally as the birthplace of 

Dolly the Sheep, the world’s first 

cloned large mammal. More 

recently the institute has achieved 

significant breakthroughs with 

cloning and cell regeneration. 

The Roslin Institute has a long 

tradition of excellence in animal 

biosciences and is now building on 

this to create a world class institute 

in the context of closer collaboration 

with partner organisations in 

the Edinburgh area. 

An impressive array of world 

leading research and development 

companies is already located at 

Roslin Biocentre, offering the 

chance to be part of an inclusive, 

dynamic scientific community. 

It is focused on providing fully 

serviced, ready to use laboratory 

space, supported by an extensive 

range of laboratory services avail- 


able on a pay per use basis. 

It is located in the cluster of four 

science parks including the Edinburgh 

Technopole, Pentlands 

Science Park and BioCampus and is 

adjacent to Moredun Institute (on 

Pentlands), the new Edinburgh 

Bioscience Research Centre (EBRC) 

which includes the Roslin Institute 


Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary 

Studies and the Scottish Agricultural 

College, and a unit of the 

Natural Environmental Research 

Council. 

It is within 30 minutes of the 

capital’s centre, all universities, the 

Edinburgh BioQuarter, the airport 

and five minutes to the major 

roads network. It sits on the edge 

of the Midlothian village of Roslin, 

home to the world famous Rosslyn 

Chapel. 

Roslin BioCentre is focused on 

providing practical property solutions 

for energetic and vibrant new 

businesses that may experience 

rapid growth in the life sciences 

sector. Flexible property opportunities 

and favourable lease terms, 

SCIENCE PARKS/ROSLIN BIOCENTRE 

“We like this 

location, not 

just for the 

beautiful 

scenery but for 

the synergies 

of working 

alongside 

other companies 

in the life 

science 

sector” 

Jane McCracken, 

Nexus Oncology 

with units from 150 sq ft/14 sq m, 

ensure that companies can increase 

their floor space in line with their 

growing business demands. 

These usiness accelerator 

facilities provide fully serviced 

suites in a supported environment. 

They are designed for 

organisations that have moved 

beyond incubation but still 

require a comprehensive level of 

service support. 

Accommodation costs include 

comprehensive shared facilities 

and services for both office and lab 

based tenants for whom a wide 

range of general and specialised 

services and advice is available. 

All tenants have access to the 

on-site nursery which provides a 

level of childcare unrivalled in the 

local area. 

Jane McCracken, chief executive, 

Nexus Oncology, based at Roslin 

BioCentre since 2004, says: “We 

like this location very much, not 

just for the beautiful scenery but 

for the synergies of working alongside 

other companies in the life 

science sector at the BioCentre.” ● 

INSPIRED 39

SCIENCE PARKS/PENTLANDS SCIENCE PARK 

For all creatures 

great and small 

This is a centre of excellence in animal health and well-being 

PENTLANDS Science Park is 

focused on veterinary science, 

and, situated in beautifully 

landscaped grounds, is in an 

ideal location to carry out research 

work into animal health and wellbeing. 

The park is home to the 

Moredun Research Institute, which 

leads the field in animal disease 

research and veterinary science. It 

has strong links with the University 

of Edinburgh (Moredun and the 

university have a joint laboratory 

at the park), the Royal Dick 

Veterinary School and the Scottish 

Agricultural College. The close 

proximity of these bodies and the 

other research parks in the area, 

such as Roslin Biocentre and the 

new Edinburgh Bioscience 

Research Centre (EBRC) site, provides 

a critical mass of scientists 

and organisations, offering unparalleled 

opportunities for 

collaboration on the doorstep. 

Pentlands Science Park boasts 

world class animal clinical facilities 

which are exclusive to Scotland 

and complements the laboratory 

based research. 

The park’s tenants have access 

to added services such as security, 

library, refectory, IT support, engineering, 

meeting rooms and 

conference facilities. 

Located in the cluster of the four 

science parks including the 

Edinburgh Technopole, 

BioCampus, Roslin BioCentre, as 

well as the new EBRC to include 

Roslin Institute and the University 

of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School 

of Veterinary Studies, the Scottish 

Agricultural College and a unit of 

the Natural Environmental 

Research Council. 

It is located within 30 mins of 

the capital’s centre, all universities, 

the Edinburgh BioQuarter, the airport 

and is five minutes away from 

the city bypass road network. 

Set in beautifully landscaped 

grounds within a parkland location 

“Its world 

class animal 

clinical 

facilities are 

exclusive to 

Scotland and 

complement 

the lab based 

research” 

of 22 acres, it offers 160,000 sq ft 

of high-quality offices and labs 

which are all less than ten years 

old. 

Tenants have access to shared 

general and specialised services 

and facilities, on-site refectory, 

stores and library. Excellent meeting 

and conference facilities 

including a lecture theatre for hire 

There are 23 organisations based 

at the park including the Moredun 

Foundation and its subsidiary companies 

as well as a number of 

diagnostic and biotechnology companies. 

Pentlands Science Park is run by 

the Moredun Institute. Close links 

with Midlothian Council and 

Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh & 

Lothian also facilitates companies 

wishing to establish themselves on 

the park. 

Pentlands Science Park is 

extremely successful and is near to 

fully occupied, boasting 450 

employees who are mostly 

researchers. Consultants have been 

appointed to look at expansion 

options to ensure future availability 

for growth businesses keen to 

locate at the heart of a global centre 

for animal health ● 


ALBA INNOVATION CENTRE 

Innovation package 

awaits the right taker 

Have you got what it takes to ‘graduate’ 

from the Alba Innovation Centre? 

Then they want to hear from you 

SUCH was the response from 

start-up companies looking 

for help to get on the road to 

market that the Alba 

Innovation Centre (AIC) on the 

Alba Campus at Livingston moved 

to bigger new premises in 

December 2006. 

The centre has been run for the 

last two years on behalf of Scottish 

Enterprise, Edinburgh and Lothian, 

by Innovation Centres (Scotland) 

Ltd who also run the Hillington 

Innovation Centre outside Glasgow. 

In that time the centre at 

Livingston has helped to create 

over 90 jobs in 20 companies 

thanks to its highly successful advisory 

team which works with young 

companies to help them on the 

path to success. 

“We are not just about property,” 

says Ross Clark, centre manager. 

“We offer a complete package, 

including property with good 

quality furnished offices, internet 

connections, shared management 

services and reception services. 

“But on top of that we have our 

own in-house innovation business 

advisory team who work pretty 

intensively with companies to 

analyse their particular issues, help 

them overcome any barriers and 

accelerate their growth. We also 

work with our own networks of 

entrepreneurs and other experts as 

required to help those new companies. 

” 

Clark explains that the AIC is 

looking for innovative technology 

companies. 

“We’re looking for companies 

that are developing new technologies 

for which both they and we 

think there might be good sustain- 


able market opportunities. It doesn’t 

necessarily have to be ground 

breaking as long as it’s the appliction 

of technology or the merging 

of technologies being cleverly 

applied in the marketplace. So it’s 

also about commercialisation and 

that’s very important. 

“Historically the AIC dealt with 

micro and optoelectronics, but now 

we deal with a wide range of technologies. 

The bulk of the 

companies tend to be software orientated, 

but we’re quite heavily 

involved in the mobile and wireless 

sector, the games sector, and web 

applications as well as micro and 

optoelectronics.” 

The centre had a number of 

early successes, companies with 

positive growth outcomes like 

Elonics, a semiconductor company 

specialising in radio-frequency 

wireless silicon devices. 

Oligon, which integrates microphones 

into silicon chips, was 

incubated at the AIC and then 

acquired by Wolfson 

Microelectronics, one of Scotland’s 

leading electronics companies. 

“Most of the companies we are 

working with are at start-up stage,” 

says Clark. “But we are already seeing 

some successes, such as 

Catalise which developed a joint 

venture with SMG to produce 

smart cards. It has now graduated 

from the centre.” 

Enviroliance came into the AIC 

largely as a consultancy company 

in environmental services, but 

Clark and his colleagues recognised 

that there was an opportunity to 

help them develop the application 

of their own technology to what 

they did. 

“We are not 

just about 

property… 

on top of that 

we have our 

own in-house 

innovation 

business 

advisory 

team” 

Ross Clark, 

Alba Innovation 

Centre 

“That’s often a good situation, 

when you get a services orientated 

company developing their own 

product,” says Clark. “We went 

back to the business innovation 

advisory team and said now it’s 

not just about developing the technology, 

it’s about helping them 

with intellectual property, funding 

and routes to market.We were able 

to throw all these things together 

for them and they are really growing 

now.” 

Once the team at the centre 

feels that a company is doing well, 

it will consider it as having ‘graduated’. 

However, the team ensures 

that there is still somebody from 

the Scottish Enterprise network 

attached to the company to provide 

advisory support after they 

move out. 

The bulk of the companies who 

come to the AIC are start-up or 

early-stage companies. Clark and 

his team also talk to pre-revenue 

companies and there is an incubation 

suite that they can use to do 

some hot desking and get used to 

working in the centre, and working 

with the advisors, prior to 

having their own office space. ● 

INSPIRED 41

Innovation & enterprise are at our core 

Heriot-Watt is recognised internationally as 

a centre for high calibre research in science, 

engineering, business management, languages 

and textile design. The University aims to deliver 

research of international standing, encompassing 

both fundamental research and strategic 

and applied research, providing innovative 

and problem-solving capacity for business, 

industry and society, and exploiting novel 

multi-disciplinary approaches. 

Partnerships with companies have been crucial 

to developments in research at Heriot-Watt 

and a range of new multi-disciplinary 

partnerships will help to bring critical mass 

to engineering and mathematics, physics 

and chemistry, with Heriot-Watt taking key roles. 

Our partnership activity includes: The Edinburgh 

Research Partnership (ERP), The Scottish Universities 

Physics Alliance (SUPA), and ScotCHEM. 

To find out more about working in partnership 

with Heriot-Watt University, and how we can 

help you to develop solutions for your business 

needs and to turn your ideas into reality, contact: 

Technology & Research Services 

Tel: +44(0)131 451 3192, 

Email: trs@hw.ac.uk 

Web: www.trs.hw.ac.uk 

www.hw.ac.uk 

NEW PERSPECTIVES

Designed for 

special delivery 

Scotland’s first dedicated national biomanufacturing campus 

is designed to to meet the needs of specialist manufacture of 

next-generation biotechnology related products 

BIOCAMPUS is a flagship 

development, custom 

designed as Scotland’s first 

dedicated national biomanufacturing 

campus to meet the 

needs of companies involved in the 

specialist manufacture of next-generation 

biotechnology related 

products. 

Scotland is home to over 450 life 

science companies and has a strong 

cGMP biomanufacturing community. 

Supported by an established 

high-quality infrastructure of professional, 

supplier and service 

organisations, BioCampus provides 

an integrated environment that is 

fully equipped for advanced cGMP 

biomanufacturing. Three of the 


world’s top five cell culture media 

manufacturers are all within a 

three-hour drive of BioCampus. 

The first phase of development 

provides a £4m 25,000 sq ft 

advanced cGMP manufacturing 

facility now available and suitable 

for single or multi-occupancy. 

The second phase of development 

will consist of a 15,000 sq ft 

unit with 100 per cent expansion 

capability, the design of which is 

now complete. The 25 acre 

Biocampus site also offers various 

development plots for bespoke 

build. 

It is located within the cluster of 

science parks including Edinburgh 

Technopole, Pentlands Science 

SCIENCE PARKS/BIOCAMPUS/BIOQUARTER 

“Three of the 

world’s top 

five cell culture 

media 

manufacturers 

are all within a 

three-hour drive 

of BioCampus” 

The magnet at the heart of the Triangle 

Park and Roslin BioCentre. 

Adjacent to Moredun Institute (on 

Pentlands), the new Edinburgh 

Bioscience Research Centre 

(EBRC) to include Roslin Institute 


Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary 

Studies, the Scottish Agricultural 

College and a unit of the Natural 

Environmental Research Council. 

BioCampus is situated just 30 

mins from the city centre, all universities, 

Edinburgh BioQuarter, 

the airport and five minutes from 

the city bypass and major roads 

network. 

BioCampus is run by Scottish 

Enterprise and co-owned with 

Midlothian Council. ● 

The establishment of the BioQuarter puts Edinburgh and Scotland among the world’s top 

ten centres for biomedical commercialisation 

EDINBURGH BioQuarter is 

the only location in the UK 

and one of only a few in 

Europe to offer a large state 

of the art teaching hospital, a 

world renowned medical school 

(at the University of Edinburgh) 

and bespoke biomedical 

research and development facilities 

all on one site. 

It sits at the heart of the 

Edinburgh Science Triangle and 

is set to consolidate Scotland’s 

existing ranking in the top five 

regions in the world for research 

and development in biosciences. 

Alexandria Real Estate 

Equities Inc, the world’s leading 

life sciences property 

specialist,and a global leader in 

building life sciences clusters, 

was appointed the development 

partner of Edinburgh BioQuarter 

– a £600m collaboration 

between Scottish Enterprise, the 

University of Edinburgh and 

NHS Lothian. 

Alexandria Real Estate’s 

investment was a significant 

announcement, given that this is 

the first time it has invested anywhere 

outside of North America. 

Alexandria is not just a property 

developer but actively engages in 

helping identify innovations and 

assisting new company formation 

with its proprietary business 

incubation products. 

What makes Edinburgh 

BioQuarter so special? It combines 

an internationally 

renowned university and medical 

school, a 900-bed hospital with 

a world class clinical trials centre 

and a commercial research 

campus that will house some of 

INSPIRED 43 

>>>

SCIENCE PARKS/EDINBURGH BIOQUARTER 

the world’s leading biotech companies – 

all on a single 100-acre site in 

Scotland’s capital city. 

The commercial research campus 

will eventually offer almost 1.5 million 

sq ft of accommodation for life sciences 

companies and academia and the 

development is expected to create up to 

6500 jobs over the next 15 years. The 

site is already home to 1200 dedicated 

researchers even before the commercial 

park opens. 

The unparalleled combination of 

research institutions includes the NHS 

as well as the University of Edinburgh’s 

Queen’s Medical Research Institute 

(QMRI). It is home to the Division of 

Pathway Medicine headed by Professor 

Peter Ghazal; and one of the next buildings 

to open will be the £59m Scottish 

Centre for Regenerative Medicine which 

will be led by Professor Ian Wilmut (creator 

of Dolly the Sheep). 

By co-locating a teaching hospital, 

research university and commercial 

facilities, Edinburgh BioQuarter represents 

a superior proposition for research 

into translational medicine and offers 

optimal access to Scotland’s multi-centre 

clinical trials capabilities. Over 40 

contract research organisations operate 

from bases in or near Edinburgh. 

“Alexandria’s 

reputation will 

act as a magnet 

for some of the 

world’s leading 

scientists 

Andrew 

Henderson, 

Edinburgh BioQuarter 

The University of Edinburgh also 

has an international reputation for 

research excellence and global leadership 

in the fields of cardiovascular 

science, reproductive biology, inflammation, 

infectious disease, 

neuroscience, regenerative medicine 

and advanced imaging. 

Seventeen of the world’s top 

twenty global pharmaceutical companies 

are engaged in collaborations 

with Edinburgh scientists. 

Counting the Roslin and Moredun 

Research Institutes, Edinburgh 

Technopole and Heriot-Watt Research 

Park as its neighbours, Edinburgh 

BioQuarter sits at the heart of the 

Edinburgh Science Triangle. The 

extension of the Royal Dick Veterinary 

School adds to its life science 

research and development proposition. 

Alexandria’s involvement is also 

expected to generate significant interest 

from the international life sciences 

community, given its impressive track 

record of developing world class life 

sciences locations such as Mission 

Bay in San Francisco and Technology 

Square at MIT in Cambridge, 

Massachussets. 

Alexandria’s business model is to 

create and grow life science clusters 

in markets where there are strong 

academic, medical and research institutions, 

as well as a first class talent 

pool and strong capital base. Its decision 

to invest in Scotland reflects the 

strength of the existing life sciences 

community. 

Andrew Henderson, project manager 

for Edinburgh BioQuarter, says: 

“The combination of academia, 

industry and clinical practice on one 

site will ensure that Edinburgh 

BioQuarter becomes one of the 

world’s top ten locations for biomedical 

research and development. 

“Alexandria’s reputation for outstanding 

life science cluster 

development combined with 

Scotland’s reputation for producing 

outstanding science will act as a 

magnet for some of the world’s leading 

scientists, researchers and 

companies to locate here and is a key 

part of Scottish Enterprise’s strategy 

to ensure that Scotland competes 

with the best in Europe and around 

the world for new investment and 

new jobs.” ● 


>>>

inspiring 

life science 

Edinburgh BioQuarter is a landmark life science real estate development which 

will establish Edinburgh and Scotland as one of the world’s top ten centres for 

biomedical commercialisation. 

Located alongside the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, BioQuarter is a major 

public and private sector collaboration. 

Unique in the UK, Edinburgh BioQuarter is the only location to offer a large 

state-of-the-art teaching hospital, the University of Edinburgh’s world-renowned 

medical school and bespoke biomedical research and development facilities all 

on one site. 

· $1.2 billion public/private investment project 

· 1.4 million square feet of flexible development 

· A 100-acre biomedical research park 

· A magnet for the best scientists, clinicians and researchers 

Find out more at www.edinburghbioquarter.com 

Project partners : Supporting:

FACTS & FIGURES 

Edinburgh 

Demographics 

• Edinburgh population: 448,624 (up 3% since 1991 though Scotland as a whole is decreasing) 

• Student population: 13.3% (Scottish average is 9.9%) 

• GDP growth of 2.7% pa in Edinburgh since 1999 compared to Scottish average of 2% 

Edinburgh’s Economic Growth 

• Has the strongest economic growth of any UK city between 2002 and 2005 

• Has the highest GDP per capital of any UK city outside London 

• Is predicted to continue outperforming most of the UK with growth of 3.3% a year until 

2010 

• Productivity across Edinburgh City Region growing faster than both the European and UK 

averages (1.9% in June 2007) 

• Unemployment in the city is at its lowest level for 15 years 

• Edinburgh City Region accounts for almost a third (£21bn) of Scotland’s GDP and has 

created at least 28,000 new jobs since 2000 

• The number of VAT registered businesses in the city increased by 13% in the eight years 

to 2004, while the wider city region is home to roughly half of Scotland’s fastest-growing 

technology companies 

• Many public and private sector employers are working together in collaborative 

partnerships to develop and grow Edinburgh’s economy 

• Has formed a pioneering collaboration with Glasgow designed to help both city regions 

attract investment and compete internationally by harnessing their shared critical mass 

and labour pool 

• Over £700m invested by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh & Lothian in economic 

development activity to support more than 21,000 new companies start up in the region 

Edinburgh Transport 

Edinburgh’s transport highlights: 

• 60 flights a day to London and a further 20 domestic routes 

• More than 50 international destinations including New York 

• Two mainline rail stations. Waverley Station carries 23m passengers a year 

• 80 trains a day to Glasgow and 20 a day to London 

• Britain’s sixth most car-friendly city 

• Scotland’s largest enclosed deepwater port and new cruise liner terminal 

• 150km of off- and on-road cycle lanes 

• The highest bus use per head of population of any UK city outside London 

• A network of city centre off-street car parks and dedicated permitted zones 

for resident and visitor parking 

Edinburgh & Lothians 

- New Initiatives 

• The Alba Innovation Centre, Livingston, to 

support the electronic design community 

• Capital Streets: An estimated £17.3 million 

is being spent between 2003 and 2009 

improving streets and public spaces in 

Edinburgh city centre. 

• Waterfront Edinburgh to promote the 

development and regeneration of Leith and 

Granton Waterfronts and transform derelict, 

contaminated land into a world-class living 

and working environment 

• Public transport improvements including the 

Edinburgh Tram Network, Borders Rail Link 

and Airdrie to Bathgate Rail link. 

• The “Inspiring Capital” brand established 

with the aim of attracting more investment 

to the area - along with students, 

professional workers and tourists. 

• The Edinburgh Science triangle. 


�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

Just £450 

could stop 

the new age 

discrimination 

laws from 

ageing you. 

The new age discrimination legislation and 

retirement procedures are complex. Getting 

things wrong could be a nightmare for your 

organisation and costly. 

For just £450+VAT we can provide you with 

a package that will put your mind at rest. 

It contains: 

• a unique product to guide you through 

the new notification procedures and 

requests from your staff to work beyond 

retirement age. All you have to do is enter 

staff dates of birth. 

• a new retirement procedure for your 

staff handbooks. 

• style letters to issue when following 

the procedure. 

• an updated equal opportunities policy. 

• guidance notes tailored to the needs of 

Senior & HR Managers. 

Don’t fall foul of age discrimination, 

visit www.macroberts.com/age 

straight-to-the-point employment law

1. Alba Campus & Alba 

Innovation Centre 

2. BioCampus 

3. Edinburgh BioQuarter 

includes: 

• Royal Infirmary 

• Queen’s Medical 

Research Centre 

• University of Edinburgh 

Medical School 

• Scottish Centre for 

Regenerative Medicine 

SCIENCE PARK UNIVERSITY 

4. University of Edinburgh 

School of Informatics 

5. Edinburgh Technopole 

6. Heriot-Watt University and 

Heriot-Watt Science Park 

7. Napier University 

8. Pentlands Science Park 

9. Queen Margaret University 

10. Roslin BioCentre 

and Institute 


City Centre Campus 


King’s Buildings - Science & Engineering 

13. Scottish Agricultural 

College and new EBRC 


FROM HIGH 

CULTURE TO 

HIGH TECH 

The UK’s second strongest and most 

prosperous economy. More FT 100 companies 

than any other area outside London. A world 

influencer in science, technology and finance. 

A diverse array of exciting and competitively 

priced commercial and residential space. A 

highly talented workforce enjoying awardwinning 

quality of life. One of the best cities 

in which to live, work and invest. Grow your 

business within the Edinburgh City Region! 

Contact us at info@investinedinburgh.com 

or telephone + 44 131 529 4446 

www.investinedinburgh.com 

EdBrand GolfOpen Ad.indd 1 8/10/07 9:28:51 am

FACTS & FIGURES 

Edinburgh Science 

Triangle 

Edinburgh Science Triangle is a unique collaboration of 

seven science and technology parks recently recognised 

as Scotland’s most enterprising area, with the aim of 

promoting Edinburgh city region’s science capability and 

quality infrastructure to attract research and technology 

companies to the area. 

Smart Companies 

The SMART:Scotland awards recognise 

Scottish businesses that have developed new, 

highly innovative and commercially viable 

products or processes. 

2006/7 SMART award winners 

in Edinburgh 

AIRCRAFT MEDICAL LTD 

ANARKIK3D LTD 

CALNEX SOLUTIONS LTD 

CALSCIENCE INTERNATIONAL LTD 

CALTON HILL LTD 

CODEPLAY SOFTWARE LTD 

CODESTUFF LTD 

DEM SOLUTIONS LTD 

EDINBURGH DESIGNS LTD 

ELONICS LTD 

EOLOGIC LTD 

GIGLE SEMICONDUCTOR LTD 

IMMUNOSOLV LTD 

LEVEL E LTD 

MISTRAL LTD 

MOBILE ACUITY LTD 

MOBILE HEALTHCARE NETWORKS LTD 

MTEM LTD 

PLENOPTICS LTD 

POINT 35 MICROSTRUCTURES LTD 

POINT-2-POINT GENOMICS LTD 

PUFFERFISH LTD 

REACTEC LTD 

THINKTANK MATHEMATICS LTD 

2005-2006 Award Winners 

CONVERSATEC LTD 

EDINBURGH ROBOTICS LTD 

INGENZA LTD 

LUX BIOTECHNOLOGY LTD 

MOBILE ACUITY LTD 

CEREPROC LTD 

ICE ROBOTICS LTD 

PROFESSIONAL SCIENTIFIC LTD 

PUFFERFISH LTD 

University of Edinburgh (2005-2006) 

Funding Source £m % 

Research Councils 56.3 40.4 

Charities 39.4 28.2 

Gov. & public sector 14.7 0.5 

UK Industry & commerce 7.6 5.4 

Overseas Government 16.7 12.0 

Overseas industry 0.8 0.6 

Other sources 4.0 2.9 

Total 139.5 100.0 

Heriot-Watt University (2002-2003) 

Funding Source £m % 

Research Councils & 

Charities 6.1 42.1 

Gov. & public sector 1.7 12.0 

UK Industry & commerce 3.6 25.2 

EU Commission 1.5 10.5 

Other sources 1.5 10.2 

Total 14.4 100.0 

Scottish Higher Education 

Funding Council 

Grants 2006-7 Research Knowledge 

Transfer 

(£) (£) 

Edinburgh College of Art 1,128,000 70,000 

University of Edinburgh 56,717,000 2,926,000 

Heriot-Watt University 9,759,000 782,000 

Napier University 2,354,000 777,000 

Queen Margaret University 651,000 180,000 

University of Edinburgh – Recent spin outs 

• ALIVOX LTD 

• ANKUR LTD 

• BLOOTAG LTD 

• CEREPROC LTD 

• CONVERSATEC LTD 

• CYTHERA TECHNOLOGIES LTD 

• DUNEDIN ARTS 

• EDINBURGH ROBOTICS LTD 

• IMMUNOSOLV LTD 

• LEVEL E LTD 

• LINGUIT LTD 

• MOBILE ACUITY LTD 

• MOBILE HEALTHCARE NETWORKS LTD 

• PROFESSIONAL SCIENTIFIC LTD 

• SEVEN THINGS I DAREN’T EXPRESS LTD 

• SYNA-G LTD 

• TAN DELTA MICROWAVES LTD 

• TEEGENIUS LTD 

• THINK TANK MATHEMATICS LTD 

• TMRI LTD 

• TRAAK SYSTEMS LTD 

• VIRTUAL VISIT 

• XEROSHIELD LTD 

Heriot-Watt University – Recent spin outs 

• 2EI LTD 

• AFFECTIVE MEDIA LTD 

• ANITEC LTD 

• AQUAPHARM BIODISCOVERY LTD 

• COMPUTER APPLICATION SERVICES LTD 

• CONJUNCT LTD 

• EDINBURGH INSTRUMENTS LTD 

• HELIA PHOTONICS LTD 

• INTERACTIVE UNIVERSITY LTD 

• MICROSTENCIL LTD 

• NANDI BIOTECHNOLOGY LTD 

• NITECH LTD 

• PAVEMENT TECHNOLOGY LTD 

• POWERPHOTONICS LTD 

• SCOTWEAVE LTD 

• SEEBYTE LTD 

• SISTECH LTD 

• VERBALIS LTD 

Napier University – recent spin outs 

• CARDIODIGITAL LTD 

• FREELIGHT SUSTEMS LTD 

• INTERNATIONAL TELEDEMOCRACY CENTRE 

• MICROEMISSIVE DISPLAYS LTD 

(with the University of Edinburgh) 

• SHOWSTREAMS PRODUCTIONS LTD 

• SURFACTANT SOLUTIONS LTD 

• TOPOSPHERE LTD

Tomorrow's world today - Edinburgh Inspiring Capital

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?