ShaKEs Project Director

Contract: Fixed Term to 31 July 2027

Hours: 35.75 hours (1FTE)

ShaKEs is an exciting new consortium of the six smallest higher education institutions in Scotland - Abertay University, Glasgow School of Art,  Queen Margaret University, Robert Gordon University, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and University of the Highlands and Islands;  plus Edinburgh College, representing the college sector.   

ShaKEs aims to develop, test and evaluate a sustainable model for commercialisation, industry expertise  and KE infrastructure focused on shared legal, contracts and intellectual property (IP) resources and helping to develop alternative routes to commercialisation in our focus areas, many of which have a high proportion of micro enterprises and represent an area of untapped potential in university  commercialisation efforts.  

Our partnership  builds on long-standing collaboration and distinct academic strengths in Scottish Government  priority economic sectors—Food & Drink, Creative Industries, Gaming, Health, Social Care & Wellbeing, Tourism, Built Environment and Service/Public and Third Sector innovation—areas historically underrepresented in R&D but where our collective agility aims to unlock new innovation pathways. 

We are seeking highly motivated professionals who are inspired by the inclusive growth potential of our priority economic sectors. You will bring creativity, tenacity, and a drive for innovation to design and deliver transformative and disruptive approaches. You will play a key role in embedding our shared service ambitions through the development of a fit-for-purpose commercialisation infrastructure — one that is underpinned by specialist expertise, professional acumen, and a deep understanding of stakeholder needs. You will be  relentlessly outcome and user focused, committed to shaping transformation  and passionate in understanding and breaking down barriers, finding novel and creative solutions and driving alternatives.

Our goal is to build a sustainable and adaptable model that supports industry, public sector reform and our academic staff, while thriving within an institutional culture primarily focused on learning and teaching.

Members of the ShaKEs team can be based in any of the six partner institutions.  Together you will be responsible for delivery of the  project objectives whilst supporting the key priorities identified within the partner institutions’  5 Year Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Fund strategies underpinning  the consortium. 

We are committed to the intersection of skills, research, innovation  and place, guided by new Scottish Government Community Wealth Building (CWB) principles to secure social and environmental as well as economic outcomes, and share learning across Scotland’s tertiary sector.

Funded by the Scottish Funding Council,  ShaKEs aims to share and increase access to much needed fit-for-purpose specialist innovation infrastructure, providing an opportunity to further the Scottish Government innovation ambitions as outlined in the National Innovation Strategy, Entrepreneurial Campus Blueprint, National Strategy for Economic Transformation, in addition to the delivery of the wellbeing outcomes in the National Performance Framework. 

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