• Inspire Launch Grow Awards for Enterprise 2016 includes free Innovation Exhibition showcase allowing the public to see ground-breaking ‘alumni’ businesses who make a profound impact through innovation

• Participants include anarkik3d, pureLIFi, Robotical and Skoogmusic

• The University of Edinburgh is among the most successful in the UK at creating high-value knowledge-based companies and consistently produces some of Scotland’s top academic entrepreneurs.

Edinburgh – Thursday 2nd June 2016: Giving the public an opportunity to view, discuss and try out some of the most dynamic and cutting edge technologies ever to emerge from a Scottish university, is to be a centrepiece of the University of Edinburgh’s 2016 Inspire Launch Grow innovation event – one of the flagship events in the Scottish innovation competition calendar.

Organised by Edinburgh Research & Innovation (ERI), the commercialisation arm of the University, through its LAUNCH.ed student entrepreneur programme, ‘Inspire Launch Grow’ showcases the exceptional entrepreneurial talent from students and academic staff at the University of Edinburgh. The event is being held on Thursday 9th June at the University of Edinburgh’s Informatics Forum.

This year, £14,000 worth of prize money has been made available across three key categories – The Innovation Cup, The Enterprise Award and the Entrepreneurial Achiever Award – augmented by additional in-kind support from LAUNCH.ed’s professional and industry partners.

Between the pitching competition and the awards ceremony later in the day, the 2016 Inspire Launch Grow event will host a special Innovation Exhibition – open to the public – which throws the spotlight on a raft of companies that began life at the University of Edinburgh and who have made a significant impact in their chosen field since leaving academia behind.

Those participating in this event will include anarkik3d, pureLIFi, Robotical and Skoogmusic and as Sarah Scace, Enterprise Manager – Marketing Communications at LAUNCH.ed explains, this is an invaluable opportunity for the public to understand the breadth and scope of innovation and dynamic technologies which these businesses have created and how the university gave them the encouragement and access to a variety of enterprise initiatives which led to their success.

“The general public may not be fully aware of the importance, value and impact innovation from the University of Edinburgh brings to the country. So, in this year of Innovation Architecture and Design in Scotland, what better way of celebrating this achievement than by providing access to some of our alumni companies to understand how powerful and pioneering true innovation is?

“pureLiFi will be demonstrating how they are pioneering ‘disruptive’ data communications or visitors can literally try their hand creating and learning music with Skoogmusic, which is a powerful and fun musical interface for iPad that opens up a world of ‘music-play’ to everyone including those with disabilities.

“Most companies taking part in the Innovation Exhibition tend to work with industry partners, so this event gives each of them a chance to demonstrate their transformational technologies. I’m confident the public will be interested to hear about their innovation journey and how the university helped each of them take these first tentative steps to fulfilling their ambitions.”

Details of the finalists in the 2016 Inspire Launch Grow competition can be found here – http://www.launch.ed.ac.uk/inspire-launch-grow-finalists-announced-2