The University of Glasgow has been recognised as a significant contributor to Scotland’s Enabling Technology sector in a Science and Innovation Audit commissioned by  the UK Government.

Science and Innovation audits (SIA) were commissioned by the Department for Business Energy and Industry Strategy to provide valuable and informative evidence that will contribute to the future economic direction in the audit regions.  Led by the Glasgow Economic Leadership and in partnership with Scottish Enterprise and Technology Scotland, the central belt region of Scotland focused its attention on the role of the Enabling Technologies Sectors to underpin productivity in the region.    

Professor Jon Cooper, Vice Principal Knowledge Exchange and Innovation, who represented the University of Glasgow on the Audit steering group, said: “The report identified the strengths of our Enabling Technologies cluster, including its contributions to exports and business investments in Research and Development and its strong links to the University of Glasgow's excellent research base. The audit also emphasised the importance of innovation in driving new products and services as well as the benefits of investment in our strong links to industry including, for example, activities in QuantIC, James Watt Nanofabrication and Centre for Sensor and Imaging Systems.”

The SIA proposed an ambitious vision for the sector in Scotland which included:

  • Doubling the size of our existing enabling technology asset base over 10 years;
  • Creating an internationally-recognised cluster of companies in the Central Belt;
  • Increasing productivity by 3% per annum in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, initially in the Central Belt but with scope to replicate the gains across Scotland and the rest of the UK. 

Recommendations to achieve this vision were:

  • Investing in the creation of a new and large scale systems integration centre, or “virtual foundry”, to facilitate the rapid combination and testing of quantum and photonics technologies;
  • Establishing headquarters and/or nodes of UK Catapult centres (or similar models) within the Central Belt;
  • Co-investment by UK and Scottish Governments in the proposed National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland (NMIS) as part of the UK High Value Manufacturing Network;
  • Training and fostering entrepreneurial leaders;
  • Creating funds specifically to provide access to the range of investment size that is currently problematic.

The audit outlines the University of Glasgow’s significant contribution to the Enabling Technology Sector in Scotland. 

Key highlights include:

  • The University’s performance in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework in areas supporting enabling technologies, including coming top in computing science for Research Impact.
  • The significant role of  QuantIC, the UK Quantum Technology Hub In Quantum Enhanced Imaging, in developing a new UK supply chain for quantum technologies
  • The breadth of the expertise and enabling solutions provided by the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre and Kelvin Nanotechnology Limited.

UK Business Minister Lord Prior said: “Together with our record investment of an additional £4.7 billion for research and development to 2020/21, we are working closely with regional businesses and partners to ensure the ambitions set out in these reports are delivered to maintain our status as a science powerhouse.”

First published: 29 September 2017

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Science and Innovation audits