Strengths

Scotland’s strong tradition in optoelectronics provides a solid foundation for new companies to grow.

Some of the best electronics research facilities in the UK are based in Scotland. A pool of highly skilled individuals benefit from the world-class education system and contribute to ground-breaking research and development in the country.

Scotland has excellent investment opportunities for businesses involved in optoelectronics and the wider electronics industry. Read some of our success stories for examples of companies who have successfully located here.

Skills and expertise

  • Eight Scottish universities are engaged in optoelectronics, with more than 450 world-class researchers and 50 per cent of all UK optoelectronics graduates coming from Scottish universities
  • Three of the eight universities active in optoelectronics featured in the top 20 of ‘The Times Good Universities Guide 2010’ - scoring particularly high in R&D
  • Dedicated Scottish workforce - around 90 companies employ 4200 people in the sector
  • 54 venture-backed companies per million of population mean that Scotland is the most entrepreneurial region in the UK

High-quality support infrastructure

  • Industry support thanks to the 15 science parks located in the area dubbed ‘Silicon Glen’
  • A developed supply chain built over years of experience in the commercial application of electronics technologies
  • Several excellent optoelectronics research bases are located in Scotland, with eight of the country’s universities housing dedicated optoelectronic research departments and individuals
  • Scotland attracts 30 per cent of the UK Government's optoelectronics research budget
  • Funding available to assist companies to set-up and relocate, as well as funding available for aftercare, research and development, and growth initiatives – see ‘How we can help’ for  more information on this

Collaboration

  • Cross-organisational collaboration between private and public sectors supports research, product development and commercialisation
  • Strong ties between academia and industry through active technology transfer programmes and grant systems

Cost-competitive

  • Competitive costs for property and low cost wage structure for highly qualified staff
  • A wide range of public sector funding can be made available to companies interested in relocaitng here