People & Excellence
Celebrating Achievements in Knowledge Exchange & Innovation 2024
Celebrating Achievements in Knowledge Exchange and Innovation 2024
The 2024 People and Excellence celebration of achievements in knowledge exchange and innovation at University of Glasgow took place on 21st November. This sold-out event, sponsored by Uzma Khan, Vice-Principal Innovation & Economic Development, and Professor Chris Pearce, Vice-Principal Research & Knowledge Exchange, provided a valuable opportunity to recognise impactful people and projects at University of Glasgow.
The Advanced Research Centre hosted a showcase to celebrate the contributions to knowledge exchange, innovation, and impact that all members of the University community make. We highlighted achievements by staff and students from all four Colleges, presented our expert support system across the Research and Innovation Services, and celebrated the University’s links to place through a programme of activities including lightning talks, videos, tabletop and freestanding displays and more, all around a 'town square' theme that celebrated Glasgow.
Recognition of Staff Champions
Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Champions
The event provided opportunity to celebrate the professional staff who support University researchers in their knowledge exchange, engagement, innovation and impact endeavours.
Researchers across the University contributed to a short video and a digital Wall of Celebration by sharing how colleagues from professional services have made a difference to their knowledge exchange and innovation journeys.
Award Winners
LIFETIME INNOVATOR
Professor Marian Scott
Marian Scott, OBE, FRSE has been a Professor of Environmental Statistics at the University of Glasgow since 2000. She was awarded the Lifetime Innovator award in recognition of her significant track record of delivering meaningful innovation across the impact spectrum. Professor Scott’s work has influenced national and international policy and transformed the application of statistical methods across different disciplines, including environmental science, radiocarbon dating, veterinary science and quantitative archaeology.
SPIN-OUT OF THE YEAR
This award recognises high-performing commercial or social enterprise spin-outs from University of Glasgow research that have been active in the past year.
Chemify Ltd
Chemify Ltd, a University of Glasgow spin-out led by Professor Lee Cronin and Dr Greig Chisolm is revolutionising the discovery of new drug compounds by leveraging AI and robotics to increase efficiency in drug discovery. The company was founded in 2019 and in the past 2.5 years Chemify has grown from a small core to a workforce of 100+ talented individuals, with further expansion on the horizon as the company invests in new facilities and opportunities in the city.
Shortlisted nominees
Judges Commendation: KEPsoft Collaborative CIC
KEPsoft Collaborative CIC is a social enterprise that allows a kidney recipient with a willing but incompatible donor to “swap” with another recipient in a similar situation to improve survival prospects by using a configurable state of the art optimisation module to match donors and recipients. Algorithms developed at UofG have led to 2,000 transplants since 2008.
Glox Therapeutics
Glox Therapeutics is a company founded in 2023 that aims to address the antimicrobial resistance public health crisis through the development of novel precision antibiotic therapies from naturally occurring bacteriocins which eradicate drug resistant pathogens without damaging the human microbiome.
Nebu~Flow
Nebu~Flow is a medical device company, developing a new category of nebulisers for inhalation delivery of RNA formulations and other hard to nebulise drugs. Nebu~Flow® technology enables deep lung deposition of high value therapeutics, addressing an unmet need in treatment of respiratory disorders like asthma and cystic fibrosis.
STUDENT START-UP OF THE YEAR
This award recognises commercial or social enterprises established by University of Glasgow students, celebrating the creativity, courage, and tenacity that setting up a new business requires.
Arc Studio
ARC Studio, founded by Mechanical Engineering Alumni Joe Diamond, provides design and prototyping consultancy services within the MedTech space. Their work focuses on helping and enabling projects that have a positive impact for humanity, utilising in-house precision manufacturing to quickly progress concepts and bespoke designs.
Shortlisted nominees
MyFarm
MyFarm Ltd is a green tech robotic company focused on developing and selling smart plant pots that make gardening easier and more efficient for people of all skill levels and living spaces. As a green tech robotic company, MyFarm Ltd is committed to integrating cutting-edge robotics with sustainable practices.
Theria Games
Theria is pioneering a new frontier in the mobile gaming industry as a centralised marketplace for buying in-game items. Its unique combination of technological innovation, strategic community building, and commitment to customer satisfaction sets it apart.
Vocabua
Vocabua is an AI-powered language learning platform designed to provide personalised reading material tailored to learners at all proficiency levels. The platform utilises its proprietary language model, VocabuaLM, to generate content that aligns with each learner’s vocabulary and study requirements.
POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION TO PLACE-MAKING
Sponsored by the Glasgow Riverside Innovation District.
This prize category recognises Community-University partnership activities that are rooted in a placemaking ethos and demonstrate a positive impact.
Dumfries and Galloway Local Authority Partnership
The longstanding partnership between the School of Environmental Sustainability, led by Karen Boese, Anna Beck and Elle Scott, and Dumfries & Galloway Local Authority is being celebrated for the difference it has been making for learners, teachers and the wider community in the region since it started in 2008. Through the partnership School of Education students are placed in Dumfries & Galloway schools, and innovative programmes have been developed to support struggling readers, consult and co-create future school estates strategies, and profile career aspirations of cared-for children.
Shortlisted nominees
Ellisland
The project, Ellisland, concerns the renovation of Robert Burns’ farm in Dumfriesshire, where he wrote and edited many of his songs including ‘Auld Lang Syne’, as a visitor centre and community hub designed to make a major contribution to the culture of the town and region.
Transforming Govan
Transforming Govan is a collaborative partnership involving three community-controlled housing associations, Glasgow City Council, and the University of Glasgow. The partnership aims to address Govan’s housing need and development potential at a critical point in the area’s history. A recently published study explores how strategic housing and infrastructure investments can revitalise the area.
GLASGOW CHANGING FUTURES AWARD
The winning, and shortlisted, projects and teams have been selected because they embody the spirit of Glasgow Changing Futures; through a collaborative approach they make meaningful contributions in areas of sustainability and net zero, societal and health inequalities, or other global/societal challenges.
Byres Hub
Byres Community Hub is a unique space for research and community collaboration. The Hub was developed to forge and sustain meaningful engagement with our civic partners and local communities and includes grassroots voluntary organisations, charities, community interest companies, and statutory services – all with an interest in improving health and wellbeing in Glasgow and beyond.
Monitoring Worldwide use of polluting household energy
A team led by Dr Oliver Stoner (University of Glasgow) and Heather Adair-Rohani (World Health Organization) has been developing new statistical methods to monitor and support the development of strategies for reducing the global use of polluting fuels and technologies for household energy, which contribute to over 3.2 million deaths annually.
Shortlisted nominees
NIHR Global Health Research Group on estimating the prevalence, quality of life, economic and societal impact of arthritis in Tanzania
In a bid to improve outcomes for those with musculoskeletal disorders in Tanzania (and wider Africa) our NIHR Global Health group made up of researchers from University of Glasgow, Newcastle, and Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Centre (Tanzania) set out an ambitious plan to improve understanding of the prevalence, quality of life, economic and societal impact of arthritis in Tanzania.
Find out more about this project
SPEEDIER
SPEEDIER comprises an interdisciplinary team from Glasgow and the Philippines working with practitioners from their local and national government to develop a One Health approach to the control and elimination of rabies in the Philippines, a fatal but preventable disease which kills hundreds of people ever year in the country.
RISING STARS
These Rising Stars are being celebrated for their outstanding achievements and contributions in engagement, knowledge exchange, communication, and collaboration beyond the University. They are an inspiration for future project leads and are expected to continue growing in their knowledge exchange and impact journeys.
College of Arts and Humanities
Dr Tim Peacock, Lecturer in History
Tim is founder and Co-Director of the University of Glasgow Games & Gaming Lab, a driver of cross-College collaboration. He has led on knowledge exchange and innovation projects which have gained recognition and awards, ranging from the creation of tabletop wargames with policymakers to educational video games with heritage organisations.
College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences
Kirstyn’s work underpins capacity building in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, including the development of an impressive toolbox, together with training, and technical support, for operationalising genomic surveillance platforms. The ethos of her work has been to make cutting-edge technologies accessible and affordable through open sharing of low-cost protocols and computational resources for in-country analyses and interpretation.
College of Science & Engineering
Dr Joy Farnaby, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry
Joy has worked extensively on actinide chemistry to address scientific and future challenges of the UK’s civil plutonium inventory, in collaboration with nuclear industry partners including the National Nuclear Lab, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Sellafield. This has culminated in a £1.25M UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship in 2024.
College of Social Sciences
Eamon Keane, Lecturer in Evidence and Criminal Procedure
Eamon is quickly establishing himself as a leading authority in the field of criminal justice, working at the intersection of the academic study of law, and its practice. As the Principal Solicitor, Eamon has been integral to establishing and running the University’s Emma Ritch pro bono Law Clinic, providing legal advice and representation to complainers in sexual offence cases.
Shortlisted Finalists
College of Arts and Humanities
Dr Pauline Gray Mackay, Senior Lecturer in Scottish Literature
Pauline is Senior Lecturer in Robert Burns Studies, Director of the Centre for Robert Burns Studies, and Chair of Burns Scotland. Pauline’s work has been key to maximising the economic and cultural value of Robert Burns through a range of engaging and innovative projects including the first Robert Burns virtual reality experience.
College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences
Dr David Blane, Senior Clinical Lecturer in General Practice & Primary Care
David is influencing primary care policy and practice across Scotland through his work as the academic lead for the Scottish Deep End Project, a Royal College of General Practitioners Health Inequalities Standing Group member, Co-chair and founder of a Special Interest Group in Inclusion Health/Deep End research for the Society for Academic Primary Care, and work on long Covid.
College of Science and Engineering
Dr David Mahon, Lecturer in Nuclear & Hadron Physics
David’s work addressed the challenge of safely assessing nuclear waste containers, through the use of muons, naturally occurring subatomic particles. David has been the Business Development Director of University of Glasgow spin-outs Lynkeos Technology, the first UK company to specialise in muography technology, since 2017, and AevaSpec since 2021.
College of Social Sciences
Josephine’s work on the Scotland African Voices seeks to raise awareness and address the reasons why racialised communities are often disengaged from public service delivery and messaging. A key element of the project was the co-production of a well-received documentary addressing the myths, risks, benefits, and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines.
Showcase: People and Projects
College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences
- Arthritis in Tanzania
- Byres Community Hub
- Clyde Biosciences
- Dr David Blane, Senior Clinical Lecturer in General Practice & Primary Care
- Glox Therapeutics
- Professor Graeme Milligan, Gardiner Chair of Biochemistry
- Professor Jill Pell, Henry Mechan Chair / Professor of Public Health
- Dr Kirstyn Brunker, Research Fellow in Infectious Disease Ecology and Affiliate at School of Infection & Immunity
- Research for Everyone
- Professor Sarah Cleaveland, Professor of Comparative Epidemiology
- Snap-AMR in Tanzania
- Speedier
- The Annexe Communities
- Unexplained Hepatitis
College of Science and Engineering
- Aevaspec
- Cutting through subglacial rock with P-RAID
- Dynamic Coast Downscaling
- Lynkeos
- Nami Surgical
- OpenFlexure microscope
- Opening Up Photonics
- QuantIC IndiPiX
- Statistical patterns in river water chemistry to inform Environment Agency Monitoring review
- Tackling pollution with the WHO
- The Science Show with Dr Dada
- Vector Photonics
- Work with the Scotland 5G Testbed
College of Arts and Humanities
- Beyond the Tartan Tin
- Build St Giles Cathedral
- CAMERA (Creative Approaches to Memory and Emotions through Research and Art)
- Comic Invention
- Critical Heritage Walk: Kelvingrove Park
- Demon Drink
- Fantasy: Realms of Imagination
- Gaming Lab
- Glasgow's Gaelic Placenames
- Glasgow University Knits
- Imprints of the New Modernist Editing
- The Oak Tree: a Tribute to Eternity
- Kappalile (In the Boat)
- Knitting in the Round
- Listen to the Universe: a pop-up book about gravitational waves
- Museums in the Metaverse
- Phonoautobothy
- Scottish Literature
- Screen Carbon Test
- Spheres of Singing
- Stitching Memory: Commemorating 50 years of Solidarity in Scotland
- Sustainable Screens Scotland
- The Tenementals
- Translating Pirandello in Agrigento
- Walking Publics/Walking Arts: walking, wellbeing and community during COVID-19
- Who Owns the Clyde
- Власними словами: In Our Own Words
College of Social Sciences
- Festival of Social Sciences 2023
- JUST TOUR Tourism (In)Justice
- Kufunda Hakuperi
- Ríos Solidarios / Rivers in Solidarity
- Scotland African Voices
- Transforming Govan: A Local Housing Systems Analysis
- Waterproofing Data Project
- Find out more about social science research at the University of Glasgow on the Glasgow Social Sciences Hub