It takes an ambitious vision to shape the future of enterprise, entrepreneurship and societal impact – the University of Aberdeen has that, and the solid strategy needed to deliver it.
Access to the resources required to help turn business ideas into reality is the cornerstone of driving innovation for Scotland’s future. Through our ‘The Founder’s Journey’ course, we have created a resource for all students to ensure every single one of them, regardless of their discipline or level of study, has an unmistakable entry point into our entrepreneurial curriculum.
We are also normalising and nurturing entrepreneurial mindset among our staff to encourage pursuit of commercialisation of research.
Rooted in our foundational purpose of serving others, our Innovation Strategy, created to support delivery of both the Scottish Government Innovation Strategy and our Regional Economic Strategy, in line with our five-year Knowledge Exchange & Innovation Fund Strategy, is designed to underpin transformation of ideas into real-world solutions that enhance quality of life, drive sustainability, and support economic growth regionally, nationally and globally.
Our strategy is built around five core pillars, which guide our activities and programmes for both students and staff, foster industry collaborations, and provide the infrastructure to support bold, impactful ventures:
People – Empowering students and staff to develop entrepreneurial skills through programmes such as our ESBF-supported ‘Lightbulb’ Ideas Competition, a Student Summer ‘Take-Off’ Accelerator, the Innovate UK ‘ICURe Discover North East’ programme and our Entrepreneurs in Residence.
Place – Aligning our activity with Scotland’s regional economic priorities, being a partner and co-signatory of the North East Scotland Investment Zone and envisioning environments like the King’s Innovation Quarter, a future hub for university-business co-location and collaboration in the heart of our Old Aberdeen campus.
Partnership – Working closely with regional and national organisations to amplify resources, avoid duplication, and accelerate progress in areas of focus, specifically green energy, digital technologies, life sciences, and food, drink and agriculture, aligning with regional priorities and the contributing to the North East Scotland Investment Zone.
Process – Simplifying how new businesses are created from the University by adopting a ‘founder friendly’ approach, including a revised Intellectual Property, Equity and Revenue Sharing Policy that reduces our equity stake in new spinouts to as low as 5%.
Platform – Building the digital, physical, and human infrastructure that supports entrepreneurship, from incubating startups to powering collaborative research, including our monthly breakfasts and ABVentures!
The University is home to inspiring new ventures that showcase Scotland’s innovation strength. Recent examples of spin-outs include Brigid Bio, founded by Professor Carol Munro with Dr Soumya Palliyil and Professor Andy Porter, which is pioneering antibody treatments to fight life-threatening fungal infections; Hychor, founded by Dr Jani Shibuya, is developing groundbreaking technology to produce clean hydrogen directly from seawater; and we have also seen student success with multi-award winning CAnswer BioSolutions Limited, a company led by one of our graduates, Dr Soham Mitra, to develop an innovative portable biopsy kit for community use, and AI based cancer diagnostic software to help the surgeons and pathologists reduce diagnostic waiting times and cut the dependence on operating theatres.
These success stories illustrate the University’s role in supporting and promoting transformative ideas that move from labs to markets, delivering solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges.
By empowering people, building partnerships and fostering a culture of innovation, the University is building on its reputation of helping to shape a future where ideas thrive and impact lasts for generations.
For further information or to discuss potential collaborations, please visit our website or contact directly at h.morgan@abdn.ac.uk.