Innovation should be Scotland’s ‘greatest export’, according to business minister Richard Lochhead, who has urged businesses to use the country’s inaugural National Innovation Week as a springboard for success.

Billed as a national showcase of Scotland’s ‘global leadership in technological advancement’, the minister said that the event would help cement the nation’s reputation for ingenuity and invention, and act as a catalyst for future collaboration across industry.

More than eighty events are set to take place as part of the festivities, with more than 200 delegates expected to attend an Innovation Summit in Edinburgh this Thursday (25th September).

Running from 22nd to 26th September, activity across the week will focus on four key areas of Scotland’s National Innovation Strategy, namely advanced manufacturing, energy transition, health and life sciences, as well as data and digital technologies.

Events include a business funding showcase with networking opportunities, sessions on AI fundamentals for growing businesses, and the annual Fintech Summit, hosted by DIGIT on 24th September. 

To mark the start of National Innovation Week, the business minister is also expected to announce a multi-million package for advanced manufacturing.

“Across the country, Scottish businesses and academia are at the vanguard of many of the world’s greatest products and solutions,” said Lochhead.

“I want Innovation Week to be an opportunity not just to celebrate these incredible achievements, but to make sure that the compelling story that we have to tell is amplified. We must ensure innovation remains Scotland’s greatest export.

“I also want to build greater collaboration – across business, across academia, across the private and public sectors – to ensure the bedrock of our economy flourishes.  My goal is clear: to position Scotland as one of the most innovative small nations in the world.”

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While hopes are high that the National Innovation Week will spark ideas across Scotland’s diverse industries, others have warned that the momentum must translate into meaningful, sustained action.

NHS Scotland partner InnoScot Health said that though the week is ‘potentially transformative’ for Scottish inward investment, the showcase of events should be “just the start of a committed, systematic approach” to attracting global interest in Scotland.

The National Innovation Week is a further step in the Scottish Government’s ambitions laid out earlier this year in its Programme for Government.

Aimed at positioning Scotland as a global tech leader, the 2025 Programme for Government included funding for AI, university spinouts, women in business, and regional innovation hubs, outlining the Government’s intention to grow critical sectors that position Scotland as a ‘modern, high-growth economy’, particularly in tech and innovation.