University formed 35 firms over last year

EDINBURGH University created 35 companies over the last 12 months amid signs that entrepreneurial attitudes are becoming more heavily embedded among students and researchers.

Although the figure was down on last year's record haul of 40 companies, the university's commercialisation arm, Edinburgh Research and Innovation (ERI), pointed out that the slightly lower tally reflected the end of the highly regarded Edinburgh Pre-Incubator Scheme (Epis).

Scottish Enterprise pulled funding for the programme last September, but despite this, ERI said levels of activity were still encouraging.

Removing firms that participated in Epis from the equation, 28 companies were created in the 12 months to the end of July 2010, which means that the latest figure of 35, which covers the year to July 2011, is in fact an improvement.

Grant Wheeler, head of company formation and incubation, called the result "pleasing, particularly given the state of the economy and potentially how difficult it is to raise money".

Among the successes was Speech Graphics, a company offering high-quality lip-sync technology to games developers.

Wheeler said although ERI has become better at spotting research that could be commercialised, more students and staff are approaching the unit with ideas. "The pressure to find entrepreneurs isn't so great any more because they are coming forward."

Both he and Derek Waddell, chief executive of ERI, dismissed the findings of a recent report which claimed young Scots were showing less interest in entrepreneurship than peers in the rest of the UK.

"It just isn't our experience," said Waddell.