The top 60 finalists for the SFC-funded Converge Challenge have been announced.
This year the company creation competition and entrepreneurial development programme for staff, students and recent graduates of Scottish universities and research institutes had 212 entries from 19 institutions.
There’s also been a leap in the number of female finalists which now account for 43% of the “Challengers”.
There are three award categories: Converge Challenge - for established ideas; KickStart - for early stage ideas; Social Enterprise - for ideas that will have a positive impact on social and environmental issues.
Some of this year’s shortlisted businesses ideas include tools for brain cancer diagnostics; the world’s first automated, small-scale food waste digester to generate biogas; garden design toolkits for adults with dementia and an online platform to help people self-manage diabetes.
The full list of shortlisted business ideas is on the Converge Challenge website.