A pioneering use of AI that could prevent falls among older people is among a number of bright ideas set to be supercharged by the Venture Builder Incubator (VBI) programme, now Scotland-wide.
Thirty-six aspiring tech entrepreneurs will be supported by VBI, which provides a bridge between academic research and business, empowering university researchers to turn their digital innovations into thriving startups.
Since 2021, the Venture Builder Incubator, working with Cancer Research Horizons, has supported more than 130 academics at the University of Edinburgh, with past cohorts raising more than £55 million in grants and investments.
This year, for the first time, the scheme is open to all of Scotland’s universities and will provide founders with access to funding, office space, and mentorship at the Bayes Centre, the University of Edinburgh’s innovation hub for AI and data science, supported by Edinburgh Innovations.
Among this year’s innovations from across 10 universities are an AI system to detect fake alcohol (University of St Andrews), an app offering support for young people with brain tumours (Strathclyde University), and an award-winning AI approach to streamlining admin tasks for lawyers (University of Dundee).
Nazia Gillani, a PhD graduate researcher at the University of Edinburgh's School of Engineering, is developing a smart home system to help older people avoid falls, working with 60 older adults, carers and clinicians to hone its design. The device will aim to sense subtle signs of frailty and use AI to predict an individual’s decline, sending timely warning alerts to help prevent falls.
Dr Gillani said: “One third to half of older adults experience a gradual mobility decline, impacting around five million unpaid carers. This slow deterioration means that it can go unnoticed until a serious event happens, such as a fall, which can be devastating. Support from the Venture Builder this year will be invaluable to helping my idea become a reality and tackle this major issue.”
The Venture Builder Incubator is delivered for Scottish Universities in partnership with the Scottish Government’s Techscaler and the University of Edinburgh. A cancer-specific UK-wide cohort of the Incubator is enabled by a partnership with Cancer Research Horizons.
Charlotte Waugh, Head of Enterprise and Economic Development at Edinburgh Innovations, said:
Supporting researchers to transform their ideas into businesses is vital for driving Scotland’s innovation economy. Programmes like the Venture Builder Incubator supports our researchers to innovate alongside their research.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said:
Scotland’s universities are the engine rooms of Scottish innovation and invention. They are home to a conveyor belt of ideas, innovations and inventions that not only present enormous economic potential, but real solutions to global challenges.
In line with the Entrepreneurial Campus blueprint, the Scottish Government is working with our universities to create the right support and conditions to deliver on this potential. The University of Edinburgh’s partnership with Techscaler has helped turn the Venture Builder Incubator into a nationwide initiative, a major step forward in expanding support for transformative projects across the country’s universities.”
Professor Kim Graham, Provost of the University of Edinburgh, said, "It is fantastic to welcome such a range of creative and inspiring founders from across Scotland, with projects that could make huge improvements to people’s lives. This programme provides a transformational opportunity for the participants themselves and for the Scottish economy and is a fantastic example of the positive impact our universities have on the world."
Steven Drost, Vice Chairman, CodeBase, the delivery partner for Techscaler, said, “Techscaler is proud to support Scotland’s national university incubator. We need many more start-ups in Scotland - and universities are a fertile ground to find and educate new founders and new and innovative ideas. We are committed to empowering founders from academic institutions to create and scale world-class deep tech companies, while inviting local and global investors to be part of their growth journey.”
