Since 1796, we have been at the forefront of many of the world’s most impactful innovations, from fingerprinting to same-day cancer diagnoses and from wind energy turbines to satellite technology. Leveraging our rich heritage as a “Place of Useful Learning”, we will build on our inaugural entrepreneurship strategy - the first of its kind in Scotland - to create a new standard for entrepreneurship in the university sector. For us, entrepreneurship is not a peripheral activity. Accordingly, this strategy demonstrates an unprecedented institutional commitment to embed it in every aspect of campus life.

Our current times demand that universities demonstrate their relevance beyond traditional boundaries. Responding to this imperative, this strategy will use our entrepreneurial excellence to expand our transformational power from institutional to societal level, reaching far beyond our walls.

Our ambition to redefine what it means to be an entrepreneurial university will lead the way for Scotland to become a more prosperous, productive, and internationally competitive small nation.

This transformative approach represents more than an institutional strategy; it is a blueprint for universities in the 21st century. As powerful engines of innovation, economic development, and societal transformation, we will forge a path towards a sustainable, inclusive future.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald GBE
Principal and Vice-Chancellor