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Photo: Abertay University
The positive impact of Scottish university research on the country’s business and innovation system is revealed in a new report published today.
The report was commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to add to a wider understanding of the economic return of university research. It was compiled by independent experts at Frontier Economics, one of Europe’s largest economic consultancies.
Amongst the report’s key findings is that, outside London, Scottish research is more actively linked to industry than in any other area of the UK when measured by joint authorship of academic papers.
There is evidence too of strong collaboration between Scottish universities and business. In 2023-24 Scottish universities had 7,000-plus external research grants and contracts, half of which were with Scottish small and medium-sized enterprises. In the same period there were over 12,000 consultancy interactions and over 6,000 instances of university involvement in business career development.
The report also shows that Scottish businesses are much more likely than other businesses in the UK overall to report information from universities as being highly important for their innovation activities.
Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education Minister Ben Macpherson said:
“This report confirms what we already know – our universities are world class, they punch above their weight and make a real difference to our economy by working closely with businesses to drive innovation.
“We increased funding for university research by 8.1% to £355 million to support institutions to foster expertise, including through university-business partnerships as demonstrated by the impressive work of Xplore Intelligence with Edinburgh Napier University.
“Our National Innovation Strategy sets out how we will build on these strengths to create jobs and opportunities for people across Scotland. This includes our investment in Innovation Centres, growth sectors like Space, Life Sciences and AI, and our work with Interface who help facilitate connections between business and academia to drive innovation.”
Helen Cross, SFC’s Director of Investment and Research, said:
“There are widely recognised connections between university research and broader benefits such as regional economic growth, company productivity and social well-being.
“Today’s report shows how Scotland is harnessing these connections in ways that are making a real difference to businesses and communities.
“It also adds to our understanding of the economic return to university research. Previous reports have indicated strong performance in this area including a £400 million contribution to the economy in 2029 from SFC-funded research.”
Laura Goodfellow, the Director of Interface, said:
“Interface has helped over 2,000 businesses and organisations, supporting their research and innovation needs by making connections into Scotland’s world-class academic communities.
“Once the connections are made, there is a strong chance that the business continues to work with the university or college partner or goes on to work with other institutes, leading to positive contributions to employment, the economy and society.”
Alex Shkrebelo, the co-Founder and CEO of Xplore Intelligence, added:
“Working with Interface allowed us to fast-track rigorous, science-led validation of our technology with Edinburgh Napier – cutting months off our development timeline.
“Backed by SFC funding, this helped us not just keep pace with a fast-moving market, but move ahead of it – building globally relevant, UK-leading AI technology and earning a place in Tech Nation’s Breakout 50 – the UK’s top 50 most promising tech startups.”
The Frontier Economics report The Impact of Scottish University Research on Scotland’s Economy is now available on the SFC website.
