Heriot-Watt offers clout for academic spin-outs

Published on Friday 8 April 2011 23:21

HERIOT-WATT University has put £25,000 up for an "X-Factor meets Dragons' Den" funding scheme for academics who want to start a business.

The successful applicant will be eligible for a Smart Scotland grant from Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government.

An additional package of support worth 18,000 - including legal and financial advice, business mentorship and coaching as well as branding and marketing services - is also on offer.

Olga Kozlova, Heriot-Watt's enterprise creation manager, said: "From my own experiences of starting a spin-out company, one of the key questions raised by potential investors was whether you had obtained a Smart award.

"It was because of this that the decision was taken to match the funding required for the winner to submit for Scottish Enterprise funding."

Last year, the university's funding package went to Paul Henderson from Heriot-Watt's school of engineering and physical sciences, whose company, DrugCo, is developing a saliva-based application for on-the-spot drug testing.

Staff and students at Edinburgh-based Heriot-Watt are eligible to apply for the funding, along with academics from institutions that work in partnership with the university.