Campaign puts world-changing ideas into action
A campaign has been launched to help ensure that College-based research has even greater real-world impact.
The Future Proof initiative will highlight the relevance of the College’s expertise and promote its excellent track record in innovation.
The venture by Edinburgh Innovations – the University’s commercialisation service – will seek to encourage collaborations with external partners and enable research ideas to become reality.
This new approach builds on a highly successful 12 months when innovation within the College has rocketed and CAHSS has tripled its income from collaborations with external partners.
Significant new projects have been secured by the College through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which focuses on healthy working lives and reducing barriers to employment for older people.
Key success
The Creative Informatics programme has been another key success. For every £1 R&D investment in cluster companies, around £1.74 is generated in additional investment, grants and in-kind value.
Across the College, students have created 65 start-ups in the past year – another significant increase and a clear demonstration of entrepreneurial activity within CAHSS.
Professor Louise Jackson, Associate Dean of Knowledge Exchange and Impact at CAHSS, said: “Our world-class researchers are motivated by making a positive contribution both locally and globally.
“We want organisations to find out how they can use our extraordinary research to co-create data-driven solutions that have real world impact.”
Regular updates
Future Proof will provide regular updates on collaborative research that seeks to improve the quality of people’s lives – particularly in the creative industries as they rebuild after lockdown.
Research that seeks to enhance people’s digital skills and improve data infrastructure, protocols and innovation will be a key priority in this area.
Aileen Appleyard, Head of Business Development for CAHSS at Edinburgh Innovations, said: “All sectors have been profoundly by the past 18 months – none more so than the creative industries.
“Future Proof will show how data-driven expertise within the College can help organisations understand, adapt and thrive in the new normal.”
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