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The latest
round of funding from the SEEKIT scheme will further enhance the
competitiveness of Scottish businesses.
Building better university and business links is a key
priority and the SEEKIT scheme has so far provided £6.1m towards helping
Scottish Industry improve its knowledge, innovation and
research capacity.
 The
bond between Scotland’s universities and businesses was further strengthened
today with the announcement of significant funding for four innovative
projects.
Among the awards was £474,964 for the University of Edinburgh to help
businesses in the Environmental services sector develop new and better
products.
A joint project between Napier University and Queen Margaret University
College will receive funding, as will the University of Dundee and the
Scottish Crop Research Institute to assist local businesses.
Deputy Minister for Enterprise Allan Wilson said:
“The latest round of funding from the SEEKIT scheme will further enhance the
competitiveness of Scottish businesses by giving them better access to our
world class science base.
“Building better university and business links is a key priority and the
SEEKIT scheme has so far provided £6.1m towards helping Scottish Industry
improve its knowledge, innovation and research capacity.
“This is by far the largest round of funding from SEEKIT and I am pleased to
see a broad environmental theme emerging.
“The additional grant for Strathclyde will assist the construction industry
in better sustainable building design practice, while the Edinburgh project
will boost the environmental technology sector.
“All four projects will help companies to improve their competitiveness and
further strengthen the Scottish economy.”
NOTES:
1. The full list of awards is:
The Scottish Energy Systems Group at University of Strathclyde has been
awarded an additional grant of £41,470 (original grant award was £265,247)
to expand its existing project to help SMEs design better energy efficient
building systems. Such systems, in the form of integrated building
assessment tools, provide an apt means to address the issues and challenges
underlying sustainable development in the construction industry.
University of Dundee’s SME Innovation Portal will receive grant funding of
£406,077 to provide a dedicated knowledge transfer and innovation facility
located at Dundee University Incubator. The Portal will help local
businesses access technology and expertise residing in both of Dundee’s
universities and the Scottish Crop Research Institute.
The University of Edinburgh’s Scottish Environmental Technology Network
(SETN) will receive a grant of £474,964 for a three year project to help
businesses in the Environmental services sector develop new and better
products and processes. It gives them access to the latest technology,
expertise and regulatory information and will help them take on new ideas in
a supportive one stop shop environment.
Napier University, in partnership with Queen Margaret University College,
will receive a grant of £555,065 to become the first Scottish integrated
inter-Higher Education Institution commercialisation service. It will give
both institutions a strong internal commercialisation facility that will
enable them to help local businesses to make better use of the technology
and services each institution has to offer.
2. SEEKIT is the Scottish Executive Enterprise, Knowledge & Innovation
Transfer grant scheme. It was launched in December 2003 and is designed to
support projects that promote co-operation in research and development and
knowledge transfer between the Scottish public sector science base and
Scottish small and medium sized enterprises.
3. SEEKIT grants are awarded to eligible public sector organisations such as
universities and research institutes. For further information, go to:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/innovationgrants
Contact: Stuart Lewis: 0131 244 2682
Internet:
www.scotland.gov.uk
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