Research & Innovation Services

This call is open to staff members at the University of Glasgow who have salary support in place until 31 July 2026, with proposed projects meeting one or more of the following criteria:

• Demonstrate ambition to commercialise an idea or product offering / create spin out venture that has a positive change in the medical technology / healthcare market
• Some evidence of collaboration within or between colleges
• An unmet healthcare need / customer demand
• Protection of Intellectual Property (unpublished data / filing know how)
• Some evidence of a large market opportunity and potential for a sustainable competitive advantage
• Some form of early prototype with preliminary proof of concept data

Please note that associate/honorary staff are not permitted as budget holder – in these cases a UofG staff member (e.g., Co-PI, collaborator) can be named as budget holder/ main PI. PhD students are eligible if they have a Principal Investigator (UofG staff member) as budget holder to provide support. To be eligible for the MedTech Innovation Fund, PhD students must assign any and all intellectual property rights arising from their project to the University. Further, should students’ fees or stipend be paid for by a third party, students must obtain approval from that third party to participate.

 The following areas of innovation are in scope for this fund:

• Medical devices
• Digital health
• Healthcare technologies
• Advanced therapeutic devices, also known as advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP’s)
• AI with healthcare applications
• Any health technology that is a benefit to human populations
• Any health technology that is a benefit to animal populations

The following areas are out of Scope:

• Biotechnology
• Pure therapeutics
• Drug discovery

We welcome applicants to contact the MedTech Innovation Fund team via the  innovationandenterprise@glasgow.ac.uk mailbox to discuss any outstanding questions they have in advance of starting an application.

The funds can be used for a range of different purposes, depending on the technologies / innovation readiness and how close the solutions or offerings are to the market and welcome applications of up to a maximum of £75,000.

Please note we may not fund 100% of the requested costs and may suggest some alternative (or additionally funded) activities based on your commercialisation progress and plans and the expert panel’s review. The MedTech Innovation team may discuss this with successful applicants.

Examples that would be eligible for funding include:

• Buy-out of staff time of existing staff to generate evidence and validate the scale of the market for the innovation proposed via engagements with clinicians, investors, corporates, healthcare providers and other stakeholders
• Funding a consultant to evolve a development and / or regulatory plan including timescales and costs to take an innovation to its first clinical or user trial or preparation for investment
• Funding for a commercial champion to develop a business plan, financial model and investor pitch deck targeting potential investors and corporates
• Up to six months of salary costs for new temporary staff are eligible for inclusion (direct appointments only) where it can be demonstrated that appropriate staff can be recruited in the timescale and/or that contractual arrangements for current staff on temporary contracts can be reasonably altered.

The fund will not support the following costs for any partner:

• Shortfalls from research funded by other grants
• For internal staffing costs: estates and indirect costs are not included (as per costing template)
• PhD fees/ living expenses
• Publisher costs associated with Open Access
• Costs associated with academic conference attendance
• Costs of undertaking experimental proof-of-concept studies

MedTech project outcomes can include:

• Demonstrate opportunity is a viable spin-out or licensing model
• Evidence opportunity is technically viable
• Validation of market opportunity and / or new market segments
• Assisting in plugging investor readiness gaps
• Commercial champion / CEO Designate on the team
• Business plan including financial model and investor pitch deck

If you are unsure about any aspect of this process, please contact innovationandenterprise@glasgow.ac.uk  and ask. We want your application to be as strong and competitive as possible, and our team can advise where appropriate. We will also host virtual/in-person Q&A sessions, where you will have a chance to ask questions.

In-person Q&A: August 21, 1:30pm-2:30pm at ARC, room 225 – book your free ticket here.

Online Q&A: August 28, 10:30am-11:30am – book your free ticket here.

• The deadline for applications for all calls is 12 noon on September 22, 2025. Late applications will not be considered.
• All applications must describe clear requirements defined to achieve next commercial milestone (and these are agreed with the IP and Commercialisation Team).
• Applications should include a clear delivery plan describing the project can be delivered in the spend period.
• All applications must include a completed and signed MedTech Application form 25. If applicable, please fill out the MedTech Costing Template 25 to assist with costings for new University of Glasgow staff appointments and attach this to your application. Your college research support office can assist with salary costing for already existing UofG staff members. For detailed costings for NHS staff, please contact NHS R&D Finance (r&d.finance@ggc.scot.nhs.uk). For all other external costing (e.g., consultant, product designer, CEO designate etc) please attach relevant quotes to your application if applicable. Please note, almost all external services including consultancy are VAT applicable. Please clearly state VAT status of the supplier in the quote and include VAT into your overall costings.
• Please include a 2-page CV and list of relevant publications (max. 2 pages) – pdf format.
• Please include any relevant quotes as a separate document to your application (pdf).
• All application materials: Application forms (in Microsoft Word format), CV/publication list (pdf), and if applicable Costing Template for University of Glasgow staff costings (in Microsoft Excel format) as well as relevant quotes must be submitted electronically to innovationandenterprise@glasgow.ac.uk.  

All applications will be checked for eligibility before being assessed by an expert panel comprising internal commercialisation expertise from the University, and external industry experts from across the MedTech sector. Applications will be shared in full with the panel members and subject to appropriate NDA arrangements. The panel will assess and prioritise applications with respect to:

• Evidence of an unmet healthcare need being addressed and the potential impact of the proposed solution on patients or healthcare systems
• The intellectual property position of the project
• The stage of prototype development and proof of concept data
• Evidence of any clinical or healthcare provider endorsement for the solution
• The market/impact opportunity
• The potential for repeatable / scalable offering

Successful applicants will be notified of the outcome by mid of October 2025. Projects will normally commence around beginning of November 2025 but can start earlier if all financial/administrative arrangements are in place. Projects should plan for around eight months of activity. All projects must spent budgets by July 24, 2026. We will not be able to extend projects beyond this date and any expenditure incurred after that date will not be eligible for reimbursement.

• Successful applicants should provide one interim report at the midway point of project delivery phase.
• Award recipients will be required to submit a succinct summary report detailing expenditure and project outcomes by July 30, 2026.
• Applicants are required to attend a project closing event to present main outcomes to the panel. Details will be confirmed with successful applicants.