0131 603 5040 | info@thebusinesspartnership.co.uk

MELCC

Untitled Document
Chamber News page banner image

News & Blog

News stories from the Chamber and related news are listed in the table below

Winners of the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards announced

22nd February 2017

A Fife fruit and vegetable wholesaler who had a “eureka moment” in the middle of the night has picked up the coveted Innovation of the Year award at the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards 2017.

New legislation preventing fast food outlets from disposing of food and starch waste in public drains prompted Malcolm Wood to come up with an affordable, compact starch filtration system, PeelTech.

Malcolm, of Ivan Wood and Sons, worked with Abertay University to develop his idea after business-academic matchmakers, Interface connected the two partners.

The judges noted the significant innovation behind the product in meeting environmental and regulatory needs, while demonstrating a clear commercial opportunity in the UK and overseas.  

Meanwhile, a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate from Abertay University who worked with Ivan Wood & Sons to improve the PeelTech filtration system triumphed in the Building Skills through Knowledge Exchange category.

Lee-Anne McGee redesigned and validated the filtration system, reducing waste materials and generating sales within the UK and Europe. Lee-Anne implemented a Food Quality Management System, which resulted in significant cost savings to both the company wages and packaging. She also impressed the judges by developing a high quality vegetable stock from the recovered starch to be sold as a new product to the food service industry.

Other winners were:

Sustained Partnership, sponsored by SCI, an international forum where science meets business:

MacTaggart Scott and Heriot Watt University celebrate their relationship which started in 2011 with an undergraduate mechanical engineering design project and expanded to electrical and mechanical projects, including a Knowledge Transfer Partnership and studentships. The sustained partnership, which continues today, spanned several schools at the university including the Institute of Sensors, Signals and Systems.

Vaskutek and the University of Strathclyde received a special commendation in this category. The collaboration between the medical device manufacturer and the university has included research and development through three PhDs and two Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and has resulted in improved product design and new knowledge embedded in the company.

Both partnerships are role models of how academia and industry can work together over the longer term to benefit teaching and research within Universities and profitability within the businesses.

Outstanding Contribution to Knowledge Exchange

Professor Lee Innes of the Moredun Research Institute took away the Outstanding Contribution to Knowledge Exchange award to celebrate her career which has been built around knowledge exchange between scientific researchers and a broad range of stakeholders, including the livestock industry, Scottish Government and primary schools.

Multiparty Collaboration

Flow Assurance and Scale Team (FAST): A collaboration between NALCO Champion, Shell UK and Heriot Watt University who came together in 2015 to improve SQUEEZE, a game-changing software technology used extensively by the oil & gas industry all over the world to prevent scale from forming in wells.

Interface Director, Siobhán Jordan, said: 

“We have had some truly inspirational individuals and collaborations celebrated at today’s awards ceremony. The day has been a fantastic showcase of what can be achieved when business and academia come together. The standard of entries was incredibly high and the judges had some tough decisions to make. Each of the finalists really demonstrated how collaborations can boost innovation, drive company growth to support the economy and position Scotland as a CAN DO nation.”

Paul Wheelhouse, Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, said: “I would like to congratulate all the nominees and winners who have been recognised for their outstanding work at the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards.   

“Today’s awards celebrate the knowledge exchange activities and projects that happen all over Scotland, bringing people together to further forge new partnerships and collaborations.  These are truly innovative projects between our businesses and academia from all disciplines and are crucial for improving productivity and creating sustainable economic growth, whilst playing a vital role in shaping Scotland’s future.”

Go to top of page