Interface connects ambitious and scaling businesses with Scotland’s academic expertise, fostering collaborations that drive innovation and growth. By linking businesses with universities, colleges, and research institutes, it enables access to knowledge, skills, specialist facilities, and funding opportunities.

Scaleups benefit from access to laboratory space, workshops, cutting-edge equipment, and academic insight. Interface also signposts businesses to accelerators, hubs, and the wider support ecosystem, strengthening their innovation journey. Collaborative projects provide scaleups with direct engagement from students, graduates, and researchers, helping to address key business challenges.

Through its range of targeted funds, Interface continues to expand opportunities for business–academic collaboration. The Inward Investment Catalyst Fund, supported by the Scottish Government, helps scaling businesses outside Scotland to partner with Scottish academic institutions, offering up to £10,000 per project in key areas such as net zero, health, and energy transition. The Standard and Student Innovation Voucher (up to £7,500) and Advanced Innovation Voucher (up to £20,000) programmes, funded by the Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Enterprise are managed by Interface to provide match funding for collaborative projects that develop new products, processes, and services. In 2025, an additional £200,000 was made available from Scottish Enterprise for the Advanced Innovation Voucher scheme to strengthen longer-term partnerships, while the Scottish Government announced £100,000 to boost inward investment support. Sector-focused grants also continue to drive innovation in priority industries, including food and drink.

Marking its 20th anniversary, Interface secured a new three-year funding agreement with the Scottish Funding Council, running to July 2028, alongside continued support for the Standard and Student Placement Innovation Voucher programmes. These initiatives enable SMEs, universities, and colleges to collaborate on projects that drive innovation, productivity, and growth.

Complementing these funding programmes, Interface delivers the Entrepreneur in Residence scheme in partnership with Connect-Ed Network, Colleges Scotland, and the College Development Network, embedding enterprise and innovation across the college sector. It has also supported a new innovation accelerator for college students, linking participants to mentors, funding, and partners across the ecosystem. The 10th Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards, hosted at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, celebrated transformative collaborations between businesses, academia, and communities that continue to advance Scotland’s innovation ambitions.

Since its launch, Interface has initiated 3,861 business–academic collaborations, including 191 in the past year, supporting 179 businesses to access academic expertise and facilities. Since 2018, these partnerships have produced 1,901 new or improved products, processes, and services through 2,085 collaborations. From August 2024 to July 2025, over £977,000 in funding was delivered to drive collaboration, while companies previously supported by Interface secured around £31 million in new investment. Notably, 87% of projects advanced responsible business goals such as environmental sustainability (48%), social inclusion (72%), and equality and diversity (64%). Interface’s reach extends across all regions of Scotland, supporting businesses from a wide range of communities and economic backgrounds.

Interface website