Enterprising fellows

Society invests in the energy and creative ideas that will change the world we live in , says Edward Cunningham

THE Royal Society of Edinburgh recently announced £4 million in awards for research, the majority of which will be carried out by academics and innovators based in Scotland.

A significant portion of this funding has been granted to individuals seeking to commercialise their technology under the RSE’s enterprise fellowship scheme, which is designed to help innovators become successful entrepreneurs.

The RSE currently supports 16 enterprise fellows, whose awards consist of funding and training to develop their business potential as they work to mould their proposals into viable commercial companies.

The range of businesses being supported illustrates the scope of Scotland’s current environment for new technology companies. They include Lonely Mountain Skis, a company based at the University of Dundee, specialising in sustainable skis for the free-ride market; and Kalitasha Ltd, a company headed by Liita-Iyaloo Naukushu at the University of Edinburgh which is developing innovative solutions for the global market for menstrual hygiene products

With funding from Scottish Enterprise, the BBSRC and STFC, our scheme allows awardees to focus solely on developing their proposals, whilst receiving one year’s salary, expert training in entrepreneurship, business development funding, and access to mentorship from the RSE’s business Fellows, and other successful individuals in the commercial community.

Our scheme operates within a thriving wider support network for aspiring entrepreneurs. We have enjoyed a successful history of interaction with the Converge Challenge, Scotland’s business competition for ambitious thinkers from academia, the research and business worlds.

Two recent entrepreneurs who set up companies through RSE enterprise fellowships – Kanika Bansal, founder of Medicen Devise Ltd, and Christopher Leburn, Director of Chromacity – also completed the Converge Challenge. They are now featured in a new video we launched to show others what can be achieved through our scheme.

While our Fellowships last for one year, the benefits have a much longer impact. We hold an Entrepreneurs’ Club twice each year, a prestigious grouping which includes investors, past awardees, business experts, professional advisers and RSE Fellows.

Earlier this month, the club met for a special event which brought together around 100 individuals from startup and knowledge transfer organisations, the RSE, the Young Academy of Scotland and the Saltire Foundation. Attendees took part in an evening session of timed elevator pitching sessions, designed to stimulate and encourage interaction, and to connect and raise awareness of Scotland’s entrepreneurial network.

Some recent and current Enterprise Fellows won prizes for delivering the best pitch on the night. They included Margot McBride of Solutions for Tomorrow, a mobile X-ray equipment firm; David Hunter of golf data-tracking business ShotScope Technologies, which is being developed at the University of Edinburgh; and University of Strathclyde- based David Heath of the skin-care technology company Cutitronics.

Taking a wider view, our scheme demonstrates how the research community contributes to the country’s economic development and wellbeing. Since 1997, we have helped launch more than 130 companies across the UK, covering a broad range of sectors, from tidal energy generation and safety systems for the oil and gas industry, to