The Shott Scale Up Accelerator, provided by the Royal Academy of Engineering, empowers leaders of high-growth engineering and tech businesses by equipping them with the leadership skills, networks, and resources and insights needed to scale up successfully.

The 12-month programme provides leadership training, coaching, and business mentoring, backed by a £10k grant for participant-led training. A dedicated relationship manager supports each participant with tailored introductions to investors, corporates, and experts, leveraging the Academy’s network of more than 1,700 Fellows. This flexible support enables them to tailor their experience to their specific scaling priorities. The programme also provides fully funded access to Culture+, a dedicated platform designed to embed inclusive workplace practices within scaling businesses. To ensure accessibility, travel and accommodation costs are covered for the six in-person training modules in London, with flexibility built in to accommodate parents and caregivers.

Graduates become lifelong members of the Enterprise Hub, gaining access to an exclusive alumni Slack Hub and the EXPLORE programme, which supports international market entry and investor engagement. They benefit from a dynamic peer network, sector-specific roundtables, further tailored support, and investor introductions.

Over the past year, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub has strengthened its role in high-growth entrepreneurship, ranking 9th in the Financial Times’ Leading Startup Hubs in Europe (2024) for its impact on scaling deep-tech ventures. To enhance support, the team expanded from two to three relationship managers, allowing for more dedicated time with participants, tailored introductions, and hands-on guidance. The programme has deepened investor engagement, improving funding access for scaling businesses, while sector-specific roundtables and peer networking events have fostered collaboration. The onboarding process now includes midway and final surveys for better monitoring and impact assessment. Meanwhile, the Culture+ initiative has evolved to offer more tailored EDI support for scaleups. To assess long-term impact, RAEng has commissioned an economic evaluation of the programme since its 2021 rebrand, following HM Treasury Magenta Book guidance, with findings due in November 2024.

Since 2016, the programme has supported 179 scaleup leaders, with participants achieving a 42% average headcount increase and creating 3,989 new jobs. The last two cohorts reported a 93 Net Promoter Score, reflecting the programme’s value. Participants have secured £1.46bn in follow-on equity investment and £280m in grants, while connections continue to strengthen through 82 significant introductions for the latest cohort, two investor showcase events, and peer roundtables across MedTech, Climate, and CTO/CSO networks. Leadership development remains central, with all the participants of the latest cohort reporting improved skills, 86% increasing confidence, and 57% mentoring others. Seven businesses also supported underrepresented engineering students through the Academy’s GEEP programme. The programme continues to broaden its reach and foster diversity, with 40% of participants based outside the Golden Triangle, 31% female entrepreneurs, and 24% from ethnic minority backgrounds

“This programme has helped me develop as a product leader in a scaling technology business. Transitioning from finding product-market fit, to scaling, presented new challenges; I tackled them with confidence thanks to the programme’s workshops, coaching, network, and funding — and as a result our business is in a better place.”  – Tim Elder, Multiply AI

“Any leader of a young, fast-growing technical company would benefit from applying to the Shott Scale Up Accelerator. The training provided is an excellent way to improve knowledge of topics essential to company leadership. There are also huge benefits to joining a community of individuals in similar positions, to share and learn from our joint experiences and problems.” – Chris Bullock, CEO, QV Bioelectronics

Shott Scale Up Accelerator website