Hansard

I am delighted to have the opportunity to introduce the debate to Parliament this evening, and I am grateful to all those members who supported the motion in my name.

It is no exaggeration to say that the University of Edinburgh is a unique institution without which Scotland and the world would have been very much poorer. Founded in 1583-84 by its own town, it came into its own in the 18th century as the leading creative centre of the Scottish enlightenment. Under the leadership of the Rev William Robertson, its principal for more than 30 years, the university produced students of genius, among them Sir Walter Scott, the founder of the modern historical novel; Adam Ferguson, who founded social anthropology; James Hutton, who founded geology; and John Playfair, who developed mathematics and geology. The university’s medical school became the greatest in the world, holding its place for well over a century.

Edinburgh exemplified the Scottish tradition of the democratic intellect—that education is the right and the duty of every person, unfettered by the restriction it suffered elsewhere in being limited to the ruling class and in forcing its students into narrow orthodoxies, religious and otherwise. In Europe, the enlightenment was opposed by universities; in Edinburgh, followed by other Scottish cities, the university led the way.

Today, the university has demonstrated that it is possible to maintain high standards of academic excellence and, at the same time, to widen access to working-class students from the most deprived neighbourhoods through initiatives such as the Lothians equal access programme for schools, or LEAPS. Widening participation is a strategic priority for the university and it is being pursued vigorously through a number of successful projects including visit campus days, summer schools, mentoring and buddy schemes.

There are more than 9,000 universities in more than 200 countries worldwide and global rankings of various kinds are used to find the best according to a range of criteria. The impact of research contributes 20 per cent to a university’s overall score. The Scottish Government’s global excellence initiative has enabled the University of Edinburgh to invest in high-calibre early career researchers. That has boosted the university’s research profile, which in turn attracts highly talented students and staff from all over the globe.

The most recent research assessment exercise confirmed Edinburgh as a first-class institution for research, as 96 per cent of the university’s departments were found to produce world-leading research. The university was awarded a record £300 million in competitive research grants in 2012-13, which was a 20 per cent rise on the previous year, and it has secured £1.1 billion in competitive research grants during the past five years.

Notable successes, such as the confirmation of the boson particle by Professor Peter Higgs, are testament to why Edinburgh is placed so highly in the QS rankings. For more than 40 years, the University of Edinburgh has successfully commercialised the intellectual property created from its world-leading research, generating intellectual, social and economic benefits to Scotland and the United Kingdom.

The university’s commercialisation arm, Edinburgh Research and Innovation, seeks to promote the university’s IP to potential funders, collaborators, licensees and investors. It has an enviable record in guiding the university to some of its most significant achievements in invention and innovation throughout recent decades.

Those innovations include the first genetically engineered vaccine against hepatitis B in 1980, the licence of which has since generated more than £50 million of income to the university and the Darwin Trust of Edinburgh. The first prototype sensor-assisted smart wheelchair for children with severe and multiple disabilities was developed and manufactured in 1987, transforming the lives of those children. The first miniature digital camera was developed in 1990; the technology for the camera was licensed to spin-out company VLSI Vision Ltd, which in 1995 became the first Scottish university spin-out company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. In the past five years, ERI has supported staff and students in the formation of 171 new spin-out/start-up companies across a wide range of sectors.

Edinburgh is supporting student entrepreneurs to build high-growth businesses in Scotland. All of that activity contributes significantly to the economic footprint of the university and of Scotland.

On top of its academic benefits, that commercialisation of research provides real benefits to the wider economy. The formation of new companies and the licensing of university technology means that ERI’s commercialisation activities generate more than £140 million gross value added per annum in Scotland, supporting more than 2,400 jobs in the process.

As the MSP for Edinburgh Southern, I am fortunate to have two hubs of world-leading projects in my constituency: regenerative medicine at the bioquarter; and energy management and environment protection at King’s buildings.

Edinburgh bioquarter is an academic medical centre that combines outstanding biomedical research from the university with the clinical expertise of NHS Lothian and a seasoned team of industry professionals. Through its translational medical research, it supports 900 hospital beds and 1,200 researchers. That is set to rise significantly in the coming years.

Also located at the bioquarter is the Scottish centre for regenerative medicine, where 230 researchers conduct pivotal work on stem cells and other regenerative therapies for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and motor neurone disease. That clinical excellence is being advanced to deliver the bench-to-bedside approach in addressing the challenges posed by degenerative diseases.

Commercialisation is just as efficient at the bioquarter as it is in the rest of the university, as a team of scientists and businesspeople with more than 150 years’ of commercial experience are engaged in that endeavour. All of that activity is designed to accelerate the development of new treatments for human and animal diseases by working with researchers, industry and investors to create new medicines, diagnostic tools and medical devices.

The Institute for Energy Systems, formed in 2002 and located at King’s buildings, is one of five multidisciplinary research institutes within the school of engineering. Integrated research combines 40 academic and research staff, alongside 50 postgraduate students, and focuses on areas such as marine energy, power systems, and energy and climate. Their work has led to the creation of the FIoWave TT project. A world first, this unique facility simulates combinations of waves and currents to recreate the extreme conditions of European coastlines. It will be a vital tool to help engineers to harness the renewable power of the sea.

All of those examples of research and innovation demonstrate the university’s ability to harness the intellectual power of its academics, researchers, postgraduates and undergraduates. Perhaps the final word should be with one of the university’s finest sons, the historian Owen Dudley Edwards. He states:

“If Edinburgh is internationally recognised today as guarantor of academic excellence tomorrow, it holds that place because of its grounding in the triumphs of yesterday above all in the principles of academic freedom and the knowledge that what its youngest student may write can still inspire its most honoured professor, and that teaching and research remain each other’s partners, not rivals. But it also owes its fortune to the warmth, humour, friendship, and love which sparkle from its history.”

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