The future is coming and soonerthan you think with 100 breakthrough ideas from Scotland’s universities now through to the 2024 semi-finals of Converge, Scotland’s springboard for university-born innovators. Featuring emerging technologies that could change the way we eat, live, and safeguard our planet, this year’s shortlist includes ideas from across the length and breadth of Scotland with 18 Scottish Universities and Research Institutes included in the final cut.
Split across four challenge categories – Converge, Create Change, Net Zero and KickSart – they include PalmAlt, a revolutionary, sustainable alternative to palm oil which could offer a solution to the damaging effects of palm cultivation. Led by Catriona Liddle,
an academic at Queen Margaret University, the new proprietary solution includes
a by-product from the linseed industry, fibre and rapeseed oil which can be
produced locally, at global scale, and is cost-competitive. If adopted by the food industry to replace palm oil, it could significantly lower greenhouse gas
emissions and the deforestation of global rainforests associated with palm
production.
Another ground-breaking project inFood & Drink is Gledfield Distillery which uses oats to craft botanical spirits – reportedly a world-first. Founded by Highlands & Islands
University graduate, Ciara Bow, the recipe is inspired by Ciara’s great, great grandmother who operated an illicit still in her croft in Ardgay.
Other top performing sectors this year include the Life Sciences, Technology and Engineering; Renewable Energy and the Creative Industries with projects showcasing a clearer alignment between profitability and sustainability than ever before. In the Creative Industries, this includes BIO-WOOL, a multifaceted material created by
University of Dundee graduate, Tom Stewart, to provide an innovative application for British wool. Tom, who hails from a farming background, was motivated to start his business after seeing farmers burn their fleeces in the face of collapsing wool prices.
Signalling the global attractiveness of Scotland’s universities, founders from ethnically diverse backgrounds make up 39% of the 2024 Converge cohort with nearly 50% coming from outside of the UK.
Commenting on this year’s cohort announcement, Dr Claudia Cavalluzzo, executive director of Converge said:
“Innovation thrives on theintersection of creativity, curiosity and market needs and nowhere is this more apparent than in our 2024 cohort. Representing the very best academic innovators from across our world-beating university sector, their ideas have
the potential to fundamentally change life as we know it.
It’s this drive to create something new, to make the world a better place and to disrupt the status quo that has always fascinated me. It’s also one of the reasons why I love to spend time with entrepreneurs. I can’t wait to get to know this year’s cohort and look
forward to finding out more about them and their businesses.
Dr Cavalluzzo added: “I’m also encouraged to see such amultitude of projects from diverse backgrounds this year. Scotland has always been a welcoming place, particularly in our universities. It’s great to see that they continue to attract top-tier students and researchers from around the world.”
At Edinburgh Napier we are delighted to have 4 projects represented in the cohort of 100 semi-finalists:
Project: LastingAsset; Name: Nanik Ramchandani; Position: ResearchAssociate/Fellow
Lasting Asset is a solution that addresses a key aspect of impersonation and impostor fraud. Scammers often impersonate representatives of banks, e-commerce companies, IT service providers, and other consumer facing businesses to defraud unsuspecting
victims, primarily via voice and text-based communication with the potential to
spread across other communication channels.
Our solution pioneers a novel approach by authenticating the identities of
individuals and organizations, ensuring only genuine representatives can
communicate with customers. By leveraging public key cryptography, we
effectively combat phone number spoofing and voice-based impersonation without
burdening organisations with new security infrastructure.
Project: TrueDeploy; Name: Pavlos Papadopoulos; Position: Lecturer
TrueDeploy is an innovative platform designed to demystify and streamline software
security, especially for SMEs without dedicated cybersecurity teams. It
revolutionises the identification and management of open-source vulnerabilities
and licensing compliance, with continuous monitoring and actionable insights.
By employing Artificial Intelligence (AI), TrueDeploy offers non-experts a clear
dashboard view to easily comprehend risks and take action. Simultaneously, it
delivers detailed analyses for tech-savvy users, thanks to the TrueDeploy
Vulnerability Database. This adaptable, scalable tool empowers teams with tailored,
AI-driven recommendations, ensuring ongoing compliance and security resilience.
Create Change Challenge
Project: Mude; Name: Kat Pohorecka; Position: Graduate
Mude is an adaptive clothing company thatdelivers fashionable and functional undergarments to people whose health and wellbeing depend on wearing medical devices. Our mission is to empower individuals with practical, stylish solutions, enhancing their comfort and confidence in everyday life.
Through extensive user research andcollaboration, we address the unique needs of our customers, ensuring our products seamlessly integrate into their lifestyles. With a commitment to inclusivity and innovation, Mude sets new standards in the industry, offering a supportive community and a range of products that prioritise functionality,
fashion, and individual expression for everyone.
KickStart Challenge
Project: PiTCH; Name: Cedric English; Position: Senior Lecturer
PiTCH is an online knowledge sharing and training platform, with monitoring and
evaluation capabilities. The applicationaims to support organisations who work with marginalised communities within the Sports for Development sector.
PiTCH aims to support these organisations through providing education, personal
development and training, and health information through the global language of
sport.
All 100 semi-finalists will now be invited to attend in-depth business training with the most advanced projects invited to pitch their ideas live to an invited audience of investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders on 5 June in Edinburgh.