Climate change was a strong theme among the winners of this year’s 2019 Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards, hosted by Interface. Funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Interface connects organisations from a range of industries to universities, research institutes and colleges.
Now in their fourth year, the Scottish Knowledge Exchange awards recognise, reward and celebrate impacts achieved through collaborative business and academic partnerships. Included among the winners was a smart irrigation system, developed in partnership between Scene Connect Ltd and Heriot- Watt University. Water-Hand uses data to provide “right-volume, right-time” irrigation, reducing the water and energy used by 70%, increasing crop yield by 30% and reducing labour by 10%.
Scottish Natural Heritage and the University of Glasgow were recognised with the inaugural Spotlight award for Dynamic Coast, a project aimed at improving coastal planning with over 130 years of data on 21,000km of coastline collected into a series of public web-based maps, reports and videos. A partnership between Sunamp Ltd and the University of Edinburgh to develop high performance heat storage solutions was also recognised with the Powerful Partnership award. The partners have been successful in joint bids for millions of pounds of funding, new business and research opportunities.
Awards were presented by Trade, Investment and Innovation Minister Ivan McKee MSP, who said that the Scottish Government had increased the grant for university research and innovation via SFC by 6.4% to £296 million for 2018-19, with the aim of strengthening Scotland’s status as a key player in research, innovation and technology.
Karen Watt, SFC Chief Executive said: “It’s fantastic to see world leading Scottish research expertise at the heart of climate change solutions, and business benefiting from the innovative connections between industry and academia, many brokered by Interface. SFC is proud to support Interface as part of our ambition to make Scotland the best place to educate, research and innovate.”
Dr Siobhán Jordan, Director of Interface, added: “Businesses and academics are discovering new and innovative ways to tackle issues created by climate change by reducing energy and water consumption or charting coastal erosion to aid better planning.
“The Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards winners showcase ground-breaking collaborations which will make a difference to our environment.”
This article appeared in The Herald's weekly Climate for Change editorial section on the 28th February 2019.
The Herald’s Climate for Change initiative supports efforts being made by the Scottish Government with key organisations and campaign partners. Throughout the year we will provide a forum in The Herald newspaper, online at herald.scotland.com and in Business HQ magazine, covering news and significant developments in this increasingly crucial area.
If you are interested in contributing editorially or interested in becoming a Climate for Change partner, please contact Stephen McTaggart on 0141 302 6137 or email stephen.mctaggart@heraldandtimes.co.uk
THE SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY (SEPA)
A non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government oversees environmental regulation, monitors and reports on the state of the environment, raises awareness of environmental issues, and resolves environmental harms.
SCOTTISH FUNDING COUNCIL
The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is helping make Scotland the best place in the world to educate, to research and to innovate. Investing around £1.8 billion of public money each year, SFC’s funding enables Scotland’s colleges and universities to provide life-changing opportunities for over half a million people.
NEWTON PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
A Scottish Property Factor with nationwide coverage. Newton have ambitious plans to help future proof their customers’ properties, making them greener, cleaner and more energy efficient resulting in significant savings in running costs.
The Conferderation of Passenger Transport - Scotland
The Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) is recognised by Government as the voice of the bus and coach industry, and the focus for consultation on national and international legislation, local regulations, operational practices and engineering standards.
LOW CARBON SCOTLAND
Organiser of conferences and events aimed at addressing the current carbon reduction position, enabling those leading and driving policies and proposals to share their vision, and highlighting Scotland as the best place in which to invest in low-carbon businesses.
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