Latest News From South of Scotland Innovation project

Linking Entrepreneurs...the next generation

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

"Good to look at my business from new angles. "

"Enjoy meeting new businesses and hearing about help that is available"

"Opportunity to talk to other businesses. Good use of my time and highly cost-effective"

"a very worthwhile project"

Just some of the comments from the 300+ businesses who have been through the doors of the 65 Linking Entrepreneurs meetings or either of the two conferences we have held over the last 3 years. We have helped business make over 320 linkages, facilitated 80 collaborations and seen 20 new products and services go on the market. Not bad from a standing start of zero.

So what makes the project so popular? Well, you told us it was the informality - no Powerpoint, and no long speeches. You also told us that you liked learning from other businesses - all of themes come from you and we find a company who has that expertise so you can hear their story. You also told that the meetings build your confidence - the informal discussions and networking help give our companies the confidence to start doing new things.

And the good news is Linking Entrepreneurs is continuing with the support of South of Scotland Business Solutions, Scottish Borders Chamber and Dumfries & Galloway Chamber ,with the support of Scottish Enterprise. We have already had our first two meetings in Borders and Dumfries & Galloway looking at how to use media in your business and get the most from your PR. Both meetings were over-subscribed and the feedback has so far been very positive. Same format (informal), same objectives (get businesses collaborating), but a whole new range of businesses for you to network with. So if you want to be kept in touch with our New Year programme then contact Sally at Borders Chamber (sally.scottaiton@borderschamber.org.uk) or Amanda and Dumfries & Galloway Chamber (admin@dgchamber.co.uk) to go on the mailing list.

�1m turnover.....just the start.....

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Matchmaking businesses with the right academic partner and managing the projects has been both challenging and enjoyable for all of the Klinks project team. Here we celebrate our achievements and maybe we might tempt you (if we haven't already!) to think about how you might use Scotland's our forgotten buslnsess development resources - our universities and colleges. So what have we been doing for three years? Well, for starters we have:

Worked with over 300 businesses - 138 of them intensively.
Helped 121 companies undertake searches for academic partners
Helped 54 companies through their research projects, a further 22 are still underway.
Watched 45 companies develop new products and processes, and as an indirect result 16 are now trading in new markets.
10 of the companies alone are anticipating over £1m of turnover growth in the next 2 years
And we are proud to report that 14 new jobs have been created directly attributable to the project.

But don't just take it from us. Here's what some of our customers had to say....

Amanda, Active Gate – “Without KLinks I would not have developed these ideas for my business….the main benefit is having other people believe in my ideas and help me…”

Richard, Deeside Marine – "Klinks has provided excellent referrals and helped when problems arose.”

Wanda, Flavours of Galloway – “It has been tremendous as it has helped elevate the business to the next level”.

Ian, Panton McLeod – “Excellent service. Look forward to working with them again in the future”.

John, W Turnbull Excavator Hire – “The service has been excellent both from the university who have been easy to work with an very supportive and the KLinks team”.

Dean, Propellor Multimedia – “The UoE project is a very high profile research project and being involved as a small Borders based company is a success story”

Moving Forward…..

Knowledge Links has gone but you can still access Scotland’s wealth of resources and other innovation support services. So if this has inspired you to move that project forward, look at that new market, address that barrier to growth then why not get in touch? To take the first step why not send us an email moira.forsyth@scotent.co.uk or come along to our next event to hear from the businesses themselves. What have you got to lose?

Tackling Trail Decay in Mountain Biking

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The International Mountain Biking Association UK (2011) estimate that the cost of building a trail can vary from £3-£30 per metre and protecting this investment is key. There are growing concerns regarding trail maintenance especially given the particularly harsh winters that have engulfed Scotland over the past two years.

Common problems include soil erosion leading to trails crumbling, wood rot due to weathering and waterlogging from poort drainage. Scotland’s Universities are home to a range of experts who can help develop new solutions to these common problems, e.g. how to apply the latest methods of sustainable building practice to improve the drainage and lessen the damage.

This article summaries some solutions to common problems and how to access support to implement changes.

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John M Henderson & Co Limited Win Best Knoweldge Transfer Partnership Award with Dundee University

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A small Arbroath-based engineering firm has won the 2010 best KTP award in conjunction with Dundee University. The project, to develop a global marketing information system for the company, took two years to complete and was supported financially by the Knowledge Transfer Partnership programme (KTP).

KTPs are are excellent way to bring resoruce into your company to undertake longer term projects that are beyond your current reach. your company will benefit from the full-time dedicated services of a graduate of your choice with the full back-up support of the university. Read more by following these links and if you are interested then contact one of the Knowledge Links team for an exploratory discussion.

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/econman/events/ktp.htm

http://www.ktpws.org.uk/

Food & Drink Companies Meet the Experts in Stranraer

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Food and Drink businesses in the West of the region benefitted from attending a Meet the Expert on the 10th February. The event, which was held at Stranraer College was the first National Food & Drink Forum South event and was attended by a range of businesses from the Wigtownshire area.

The food and drink experts were able to offer advice on a range of subjects from extending the shelf life of products, developing new products, brand design to ICT and accessing funding to undertake projects. A video cast of the experts speaking will be available soon on the Knowledge Links website.