About Edinburgh Innovations

We make ideas work for a better world

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Edinburgh Innovations is the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service.

We bring world-leading research to industry, working to identify ideas with value, and facilitating the process of bringing them to life in real-world applications.

We make ideas work for a better world

The University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s top research-intensive universities*, ranked 1st in the world for industry, innovation and infrastructure**, 4th in the UK for quality and breadth of research, and is Scotland’s top-ranked institution***.

The University is recognised as a leading socially responsible and sustainable institution in the UK’s HEI sector. We support the University's Social Responsibility and Sustainability commitments through our business practices as demonstrated by the University’s Sustainability silver offices award.

We provide access to world-leading sustainability expertise at the University and are committed to working with partners to develop new solutions to help address the global climate crisis and deliver long-term sustainability for business.

* QS World University Rankings 2027,

** THE Impact Rankings 2026, ***REF 2021

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Our Impact

in numbers

Knowledge exchange activities contributed a total of £350m 
to the UK economy in 2021-22, supporting almost 4,000 jobs 
across the UK.

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£113M

Investment into UoE assocaiated compines ( of which £11.8m in student companies )

Inspire_Launch_Grow_2019.jpg

£15m

processed for consultancy projects

£101m

invested in staff spinouts

65%

of new companies harnessing data, digital and AI for public good

18

months on average to TRL4

Professor Steve Pollard.jpg

64

companies launched

Body-on-chip-device-edit_d7072de6483cd8cb2c2640d9d1ff78fd.jpeg

£113M

Investment into UoE assocaiated compines ( of which £11.8m in student companies )

Inspire_Launch_Grow_2019.jpg

£15m

processed for consultancy projects

£101m

invested in staff spinouts

65%

of new companies harnessing data, digital and AI for public good

18

months on average to TRL4

Professor Steve Pollard.jpg

64

companies launched

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Our Research Missions

Transforming the world since 1583

The future of health and care

The future of health and care

Mission one

We are empowering people to enjoy healthier, longer and more fulfilling lives, through innovation in physical and mental health and care. We bring together biomedical and life sciences, physical sciences, and humanities, arts and social sciences, to address challenges of health, disease, ageing, health inequalities and health systems locally and globally. Our research applies cutting-edge methods, techniques and data, informed by an ethical and people-centred approach.

The climate and environmental crisis

The climate and environmental crisis

Mission two

We are helping tackle the climate emergency, marshalling our research to understand the causes and effects of climate change, and to help communities adapt to and mitigate its impact. We integrate pioneering research in areas as diverse as earth systems, biodiversity, farming and food, energy and manufacturing, space and satellites, health and inequalities, the circular economy, climate finance and corporate responsibility, public attitudes and environmental politics.

Digital, data and AI
 for public good

Digital, data and AI
 for public good

Mission three

We are marshalling cutting edge data, digital and AI technologies to unlock solutions to a range of environmental, social and economic challenges. As part of our ambitious Data-Driven Innovation programme we have committed to making Edinburgh the data capital of Europe. Our advanced computing capacity and world-leading informatics enable us to harness data and computational methods across all of our disciplines to address key challenges in a responsible and ethical way.

what drives us

Our values

How we work

Our values are core to what makes us Edinburgh Innovations, they represent who we are and how we work together to make ideas work for a better world.

Collaborative

Working together we all play our part as one EI team. With a shared vision and a clear set of goals, we work collaboratively.

Progressive

We understand our shared ambition and our individual roles to achieve it.

Innovative

We are forward-thinking and operate with flexibility and agility to unlock innovation.

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Maximising impact

Ideas that drive positive change

Research and knowledge exchange

In 2021-22, our 9,200 academics generated a massive £3.2bn impact from research and knowledge 
exchange activities. £350m of this is innovation impact, driven by our collaborations to improve patient care, digital services and sustainable energies.

Startup, spinout spin up companies

And through supporting University startup and spinout companies, we have helped our entrepreneurs generate an impact of £162m and support 1,830 jobs.

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And through supporting University startup and spinout companies, we have helped our entrepreneurs generate an impact of £162m and support 1,830 jobs.

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And through supporting University startup and spinout companies, we have helped our entrepreneurs generate an impact of £162m and support 1,830 jobs.

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Edinburgh Innovations