Converge secures record £1.26million funding and announces strategic Scottish Enterprise partnership

Academic enterprise programme Converge has secured its largest-ever multi-year funding package of £1.26 million from the Scottish Funding Council, providing unprecedented stability for supporting university innovators across Scotland over the next three years.

The funding commitment, running from 2026 to 2028, represents the Scottish Funding Council's continued confidence in Converge's role as a catalyst for Scotland's innovation economy. The investment will allow Converge to support more university entrepreneurs and strengthen partnerships between Scotland's universities to drive commercial development.

Alongside this major funding announcement, Converge has also revealed a new strategic partnership with Scottish Enterprise that will help to create smoother pathways for university entrepreneurs to access business support, from initial concept through to business growth. Both organisations will work together to identify promising intellectual property rich ventures and provide a coordinated approach to help academic founders navigate the journey from laboratory to market.

The announcements come as Converge celebrates its 2025 award winners across four main categories, sharing a total prize pot in excess of £400,000. University of Strathclyde's Biosers claimed the top Converge Challenge prize with revolutionary 5-minute food safety testing technology, while University of Dundee's New-Found-Hope won the Create Change category with the world's first patent-pending early-intervention trainer for children with gait challenges.

University of Edinburgh's Aeroflow secured the Net Zero prize, sponsored by SSE, with aerodynamic HGV trailers that reduce drag by 33%, and University of the Highlands and Islands' Gestura won the KickStart category with AI-powered sign language translation technology. This year's cohort demonstrates the continued strength of Scotland's university innovation pipeline, spanning healthcare, environmental technology, accessibility solutions, and sustainable transport.

Adam Kosterka, Executive Director of Converge, said: “This funding commitment and strategic partnership represent a watershed moment for academic entrepreneurship in Scotland. As we celebrate our 2025 award winners, whose groundbreaking work demonstrates the incredible potential within Scotland's universities, we're also securing the foundations for future success.

“The multi-year Scottish Funding Council investment provides the stability we need to plan long-term support for university innovators, while our collaboration with Scottish Enterprise creates enhanced end-to-end connectivity across Scotland's innovation ecosystem. Together, we're building a more coordinated approach to supporting brilliant ideas from Scotland's universities as they develop into globally competitive businesses.”

Francesca Osowska, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said: “We're proud to have been able to support Converge's impact on Scottish innovation and entrepreneurship for the past 14 years. Converge continues to be an integral part of our knowledge exchange and innovation infrastructure and plays an increasingly important role as a catalyst for the thriving and sustainable businesses we need for the future economy.

“The new multi-year funding announced today allows Converge to continue its programme of activities over the coming years, and is an indication of the value of the organisation's work. I look forward to seeing the funding used to help Scotland become a global destination for innovators and entrepreneurs.”

Derek Shaw, Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, said: “This evolution of our partnership with Converge will supercharge innovation and entrepreneurship within Scotland’s higher education landscape. By creating simpler pathways for university entrepreneurs, this collaboration will provide essential business support from the initial concept stage through to international scale up.

“Together, we aim to identify and nurture ambitious innovation driven spinouts and start-ups in our key future industries, ensuring academic founders have all the support they need to successfully navigate the journey from idea to market and create the next generation of high growth companies in Scotland.”

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “Coming hot off the heels of the Scottish Government’s Proof of Concept funding this increased, multi-year backing for the Converge Programme provides a real injection of support for our university researchers, startups and spin-outs. Critically, it also brings added weight to our ambition to convert more of the world-leading innovations being generated in Scotland into successful business.

“To ensure we capitalise on the innovation and ingenuity within our academic institutions, it is vital that we work together across organisations and across sectors to create a supportive environment for our spinouts to start-up and scale-up. I am delighted that a strategic partnership between Converge and Scottish Enterprise is being developed, helping drive the joined-up support required to help our university entrepreneurs thrive.”

Converge is funded by the Scottish Funding Council, a network of seven corporate partners and all 19 of Scotland's universities. Since its launch in 2011, the programme has trained over 830 aspiring founders and supported the creation of over 450 companies that enjoy an above-average three-year survival rate of over 86% (Beauhurst data, as of September 2025).

Open to students, recent graduates, and staff, Converge supports new businesses through intensive business training, networking, 1-2-1 support, generous equity free cash prizes and expert, professional advice from its roster of industry partners.