March 2009 SCOTLAND'S CHEMICALS SECTOR 9
Chemical Sciences:
SMEs and universities
The quality of chemistry research in
Scotland's universities is among the
best and most innovative in the UK.
The recent nationwide Research
Assessment Exercise (RAE) recognised
that four of the UK's top 10 depart-
ments are in Scotland.
The RAE gave EastCHEM, a col-
laboration between the universities of
Edinburgh and St Andrews, the best
power rating of any chemistry unit
in Britain. WestCHEM, which brings
together Glasgow and Strathclyde
universities, was ranked 8th.
A major reason for their success is
that they pool resources and expertise
to maximise their research potential.
EastCHEM and WestCHEM, along
with the chemistry departments at the
Universities of Dundee and Aberdeen
and Heriot-Watt, also have a close
relationship through the umbrella
organisation ScotCHEM.
Professor Chris Gilmore, director
of ScotCHEM, says:"Chemistry in
Scotland's universities is a tremendous
success and a lot of that is because we
have led the way in pooling.
"EastCHEM and WestCHEM have
attracted people of the highest calibre
because of the resources and expertise
they make available."
This level of excellence means the
universities are well-placed to attract
funding for future research.
That's good news for the Scottish
economy as this research is the basis
for the new products and technologies
our companies need to maintain and
build a competitive advantage.
According to Gilmore the universi-
ties could, given the funding, achieve
much more."We are very positive
about the future, but there is so much
more we could do.
"I don't think that people always re-
alise how much the chemical sciences
underpin our economy and lifestyle.
"It's an area where we simply must
maintain our leadership."
Scottish universities and industry are
working more closely than ever thanks
to a pioneering initiative creating 31
PhD studentships in the chemical sci-
ences sector.
The studentships will generate re-
search focused on opportunities iden-
tified by the industry that can enhance
Scotland's global competitiveness.
One aim is to develop technologies
which can be exploited by Scottish-
based companies.
The �1.8m three-year project is
a partnership between the Scottish
Funding Council, ScotCHEM (the
chemistry departments of Aberdeen,
Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-
Watt, St Andrews and Strathclyde
universities) and Chemical Sciences
Scotland.
It has been welcomed by Fiona
Hyslop, Scottish Government Cabinet
Secretary for Education and Lifelong
Learning:"This exciting initiative will
help businesses prosper and give
students real insights into the needs of
the chemical industry."
Students will split their time
between their departments and
industry placements, sometimes with
companies that have had no previous
university input.Professor Chris Gilmore,
director of ScotCHEM
NiTech is working with several of the top 10
pharmaceutical companies and sees few limits
to the scale of production its technology can
achieve or the number of potential customers
who can take advantage of it.
Eric Stewart, sales and marketing manager,
says: "We are already operating across Europe
and much of North America.
"This is a highly innovative company and we
are very well placed to take on the challenges
of the future."
A handful of other Scottish companies
making world-beating contributions to the
chemical sciences sector are:
� Edinburgh Pharmaceutical Processes Ltd
at Pentlands Science Park, which specialises in
process research leading to the manufacture of
pharmaceuticals
� Fibre Photonics in Livingston, which
manufactures and supplies fibre optic probe
technologies for chemical analysis
� LUX Innovate Ltd in Edinburgh, a
technology development business which uses
light-based technologies to develop and com-
mercialise novel detection solutions
� St Andrews ChemTech International Ltd
in Cupar, which provides a non-cGMP custom
synthesis service at any scale from grams to
hundreds of kilograms
� Scotchem Ltd in Kirkcaldy, a pharmaceu-
tical supplier operating throughout Europe
which was founded in 2002 and now has a
�40m turnover and 700 accounts, and
� Solid Form Solutions in Roslin, which
provides polymorph, salt and
co-crystallisation screening services to the
pharmaceutical industry. n
Leading the way in chemistry research
Pioneering new PhD studentships

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