| Mr Brian Wilson MP, Minister for Education and Industry at The Scottish Office, today paid tribute to Scottish innovators who have followed in footsteps of John Logie Baird. Speaking at the John Logie Baird Awards ceremony at the Cameron House Hotel, Loch Lomond, Mr Wilson said: "I am pleased to say that Scotland's record for innovation continues to grow and flourish. The quality and range of projects here today demonstrate that clearly. "All of this year's winners have exciting projects: they have developed new ways of doing things, breaking down barriers and pushing back frontiers they represent the future and I wish them every success in the commercial exploitation of their projects. "That is a vital part of the innovation process because bright ideas are of no use unless they are put into action. Innovation isn't just about developing new ideas, it's about successfully exploiting these ideas by creating and meeting customer demand. That is why the Government, through The Scottish Office and Scottish Enterprise, continues to encourage the process of innovation by providing financial assistance through the SMART and SPUR awards to innovative projects of national significance." BACKGROUND 1. Mr Wilson MP, was guest speaker at the 1997 John Logie Baird Awards ceremony at the Cameron House Hotel, Loch Lomond. He presented three prizes: in the University Spin-out category to GRANIT, a University of Aberdeen spin-out company, for non-destructive testing of ground anchorage systems; to Vibration Technology Limited in the Young Companies and Entrepreneurs category for a seismic recording system; and to Stockscan in the Established Companies category for a back-fat scanning system for sheep. 2. The annual John Logie Baird awards are organised by Scottish Innovation and sponsored by Deloitte & Touche Scotland, and Scottish Enterprise. The aim is to help ensure that the best Scottish innovative ideas are developed as businesses in Scotland. Previous award winners who now compete in world markets and provide quality jobs in Scotland include Award plc, Rocep Lusal, Euro Biosystems and Shield Diagnostics. 3. SMART awards give small companies the opportunity to develop highly innovative products and processes by giving them grants of up to £45,000 to undertake feasibility studies. Companies can apply for additional assistance to develop a pre-production prototype under the SPUR scheme. |