Glasgow City Innovation District (GCID): Located in the heart of Glasgow City Centre and launched in 2019 with the University of Strathclyde at its heart, GCID stands as a beacon of global entrepreneurship, innovation, and synergy. Within its dynamic confines, individuals, progessive enterprises, and academic institutions, converge. They are invited not just to work, but to thrive, fostering a rich tapestry of expertise and capabilities that resonates with Glasgow’s industrial focal points and research prowess. GCID contains the highest concentration of Scottish Innovation Centres and co-located Catapults in the UK, the District offers support and access to funding and markets for companies seeking to grow and invest across areas that include advanced communications, fintech, healthtech, industrial informatics and quantum.

Glasgow Riverside Innovation District (GRID): Anchored by the University of Glasgow, is home to the world-leading Clinical Innovation Zone based around the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, one of the largest teaching hospitals in Europe, an emerging cultural quarter based around Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, the Scottish Events Campus and the media hub at Pacific Quay, including STV and BBC national broadcasters.

Advanced Manufacturing District Scotland (AMIDS): Recognized globally for innovation, research, and manufacturing, AMIDS is strategically located near Glasgow International Airport. Led by Renfrewshire Council, Scottish Enterprise, and the Scottish Government, with the University of Strathclyde as a key academic partner, AMIDS is home to The National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland (NMIS) and The Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC).

Glasgow City Region is known for being friendly and open. We’re proud of our young, educated population and our world-class educational institutions, including four major universities, six modern colleges and two top-ten institutions in the Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

The following represents GCoSI partners:

University of Strathclyde: Strathclyde is a multi-award-winning university, and the only University to have won the Times Higher Education University of the Year award twice (2012 and 2019). Alumni include John Logie Baird, Henry Faulds and Thomas Graham.

University of Glasgow: The University of Glasgow has been changing the world since 1451. They are a world top 100 university and a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK research universities. Their people have always been at the forefront of innovation, including eight Nobel Laureates, two UK Prime Ministers, three First Ministers of Scotland, 10 Fellows of the Royal Society and 11 Fellows of the British Academy.

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU): Glasgow Caledonian – the largest and leading modern university in Scotland – is a vibrant, values-led university with it’s campus in the heart of Glasgow. GCU has been instrumental in the social innovation field, integrating it into its ‘Common Good’ mission. GCU is the EU’s appointed centre for Social Innovation in the UK, hosting six research centres that impact policy both domestically and internationally.

University of the West of Scotland (UWS): UWS was recently named Higher Educational Institution of the Year, at the 2022 Herald Higher Education Awards and is one of Scotland’s largest modern universities. Their reach across the south and west of Scotland means that UWS is a significant force in global knowledge creation, innovation, and a leading provider of undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree education.

Glasgow School of Art (GSA): GSA is internationally recognised as one of Europe’s top university-level institutions in the visual creative disciplines. Based in the heart of Glasgow with connections across the globe, their studio-based teaching and world-leading research spans art, design, architecture, innovation and technology, making a significant difference to contemporary society.

City of Glasgow College: City of Glasgow College is Scotland’s largest technical and professional skills college. Its award winning twin-site super campus in the heart of Glasgow offers outstanding resources and opportunities for students to gain essential skills for their future careers. Innovative approaches to teaching and learning enable personalised development across a range of subjects on campus and online. Up to 8,000 graduates leave the college each year ready for the world of work.

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland: Located in the heart of Glasgow City Centre, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is a national and international centre of excellence for performing arts education. Building on their roots in 1847 as a national academy of music, they are now one of the world’s most multi-disciplinary conservatoires, offering specialised and intensive teaching in dance, drama, music, production and film.

Other education establishments include: Glasgow Kelvin College, Glasgow Clyde College, and West College Scotland.

Catapults are physical centres with cutting-edge R&D infrastructures including hubs, laboratories, testbeds, factories and offices, as well as technical experts that prove and adopt breakthrough products, processes, services and technologies.

By bridging the gap between research and industry, catapults are taking an active role in removing industry-wide barriers to innovation and commercialisation. They manage innovation risks through the provision of R&D infrastructure, specialist knowledge and expertise, partnership and collaboration-building capabilities, and business support.

There are nine Catapults with centres covering more than 50 locations across the UK, four of which are within Glasgow City Region:

Two out of the Catapult’s seven HVM centres have a presence in the Glasgow City Region through NMIS and the CPI which represents another major partnership investment of national partners into regional infrastructure.

High Value Manufacturing Catapult: Glasgow: The Scottish Government’s commitment to manufacturing support drove the investment of £75m leading to the establishment of National Manufacturing Institute Scotland’s (NMIS) world-class flagship facility which opened in June 2023 in Renfrewshire. During the 5-year period finishing in March 2023 the Advanced Forming Research Centre- a specialist centre within NMIS received over £95m in core funding from Innovate UK to support the development of national capability and the delivery of innovation support activities in Scotland.

High Value Manufacturing Catapult: CPI Glasgow: Centre for Process Innovation’s (CPI) £88m Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre is accelerating state-of-the-art solutions to some of the biggest challenges in medicines development and manufacturing. The centre is forecast to generate £200m in advanced technologies over the first five years and create over 100 high-value jobs.

Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult: Glasgow: The CSA Catapult Scotland office, working in partnership with the University of Strathclyde and NMIS, will offer an improved design optimisation and manufacturing process for power electronics and packaging, with a specific focus on high power industries such as transport and energy. The work undertaken will focus on power module design and manufacturing scale-up processes, enabling seamless transitions from research to design to development and reducing the time for products and innovations to reach market.

Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult: Glasgow: The ORE Catapult chose Glasgow City Region for its headquarters in 2013 due to its formidable offshore energy resources, industrial capability and academic power. Located in the University of Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC), it provides a base for over 100 engineers, analysts and technical specialists working across a rich portfolio of collaborative projects, together with the majority of ORE Catapult’s leadership team. ORE Catapult has an annual investment in Glasgow City Region’s economy of £8.5 million, while their collaboration with the University of Strathclyde on cutting-edge research has delivered a further £500,000 over the past five years. Their engagement with universities extends to the provision of mentoring, internships, and graduate opportunities, whilst their wide-ranging initiatives across schools encourage hundreds of young people to consider STEM careers.

Innovation Centres connect Scotland’s academic expertise with industry and with public and third sector organisations to create economic and societal benefits. They also support skills and training to develop the next generation of researchers and knowledge exchange practitioners through masters and post-doctoral level provision.

Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) Innovation Centre): BE-ST is the launchpad to a zero carbon built environment. It provides the connections, infrastructure and culture to solve the sector’s most pressing challenges.

The Data Lab: The Data Lab changes lives and makes Scotland a more productive and sustainable place by transforming the way organisations use data and artificial intelligence. Its aim is to turn Scotland into a thriving, data-driven economy.

Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI): DHI has a vision that innovation in digital health and care will help the people of Scotland live longer, healthier lives and provide sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBIOIC): The IBIOIC is the national networking and support organisation helping to bring Scottish biotechnology processes and products to the global market.