News

Data-driven programme designed to tackle global challenges
A flexible new postgraduate programme designed to tackle global challenges through genetics and data skills will launch in September 2025, supported by a dedicated e-learning team and aimed at training the next generation of experts in a range of industries and academic fields.

Scottish biotech start-ups are struggling to commercialise
The MRI scanner. Insulin. Football dugouts. All cultivated in Aberdeen.
All having a global impact, providing inspiration for further innovation – and all a small snapshot of what just one Scottish city has given the world.
Source: Business Insider

Approval for project creating tropical seafood using AI in a shipping container
Scientists are set to use a shipping container to help them develop tropical seafood using artificial intelligence on land in Midlothian.
Midlothian Council planners have given the go ahead for the container to be placed on Dryden Farm, Roslin, which is owned by the University of Edinburgh.
Source: Business Insider

Heriot-Watt aims to raise £35 million for new brewing and distilling centre
Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University is seeking to raise £35m in order to realise its vision of building a new Centre for Sustainable Brewing and Distilling (CSBD).
Source: Business Insider

Scotland chosen to create 'circular construction hub'
Scotland is set to pioneer a new initiative that aims to increase uptake and accessibility of reused construction materials and showcase the sector as an investment opportunity.
It is one of four in Europe selected to model a Circular Construction Hub – a second-hand marketplace for materials used in building and infrastructure projects.
Source: Business Insider

Clean energy start-up wins £50,000 prize
A clean energy start-up developing an low-cost carbon capture system for heavy industry has won a £50,000 award from the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC).
Remedium was named winner of the Climate Impact Prize at the organisation's annual TechX Demo Day in Aberdeen.
Source: Business Insider

Scotland’s business angels 'hold steady in turbulent times'
Despite uncertainty during the financial year to March 2025, Scotland’s angel investors maintained their support for emerging businesses, according to the latest annual data from Angel Capital Scotland.
Source: Business Insider

New test uses oyster poo to track devastating parasite
A Heriot-Watt scientist has worked with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute to develop a groundbreaking method to detect a deadly oyster parasite without harming the shellfish.
The European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) has seen its numbers plummet over the past two centuries due to overfishing, habitat loss and disease. They are now rare and protected in the wild.

SRUC appoints new Board members
Outgoing MSP Oliver Mundell is among five new non-executive directors to have been appointed to the SRUC Board.
Mr Mundell, who will stand down as MSP for Dumfriesshire at next year’s Scottish Parliament election, will join four other new Board members as SRUC builds on its journey as a degree-awarding power institution at the heart of the natural economy.

Supporting Business Growth in Midlothian
Midlothian Science Zone Business Forum took place on Tuesday 6th May led by Robbie Broomfield, Business Growth Advisor for Business Gateway Midlothian, who provided an overview of key business support mechanisms available in Scotland through Business Gateway and the broader enterprise agency landscape.