In celebration of Technology Scotland’s 10th Anniversary, we are excited to be holding the inaugural Technology Scotland Awards, set to take place at this year’s Annual Dinner. The awards will recognise outstanding achievements within the enabling technology sector, highlighting individuals and organisations driving innovation, global impact, and collaboration across Scotland.

A distinguished panel of judges has been assembled to oversee a rigorous and transparent selection process. The panel brings together leaders from industry, academia, and the wider enabling technology ecosystem, combining deep expertise in innovation with a strong commitment to supporting the Scotland’s growing enabling technology sector.

“We are delighted to welcome such an esteemed group of judges,” said Ally McInroy, CEO at Technology Scotland “Their knowledge and experience will be crucial in recognising the innovators and organisations making a real difference to Scotland’s enabling technology sector.”

The judging panel is made up of:

Abi Hird 

Abi is the founder and Director of Defankle, an innovation consultancy that helps ambitious engineering and technology businesses design and deliver smarter innovation strategies with real-world impact.

Christopher Leburn 

Christopher is a Professor of Practice at the University of Strathclyde’s Institute of Photonics. Here he has the role of Technology Exploitation Director for the Photonics & Quantum Accelerator (PQA) programme with the specific task of supporting and mentoring academics across the central belt of Scotland, who are interested in developing impact through their research including routes to commercialisation to accelerate the growth of the photonics sector across Scotland.

Claire Ordoyno

Claire Ordoyno is the Executive Director of SPEERI, the Scottish Partnership in Energy and Engineering Research & Innovation – a pan-Scotland Partnership of 14 universities working collaboratively with industry, public sector and government to maximise impact in energy and engineering research and innovation.

Mat Wasley 

Mat is Head of Emerging and Enabling Technologies at Innovate UK Business Connect. The team drives innovation and connections across technologies including photonics, semiconductors, bacteriophage, neuromorphic computing, neurotechnology, quantum, sensors, and more.

Stephen Breslin

Stephen is currently Chief Executive Officer of Glasgow Science Centre and is committed to building confidence and raising aspiration in young people and helping them to discover the pleasure and relevance of science, engineering and technology. Stephen trained and worked as a software engineer and has held two previous roles as Chief Executive Officer with Futurelab Education and The Kelvin Institute Ltd.

Our judging panel will review nominations across our five categories:

  • Technology Scotland Rising Star Award
  • Technology Scotland Excellence in Innovation Award 
  • Technology Scotland International Reach Award
  • Technology Scotland Collaboration Award
  • Technology Scotland Special Recognition Award

culminating in the announcement of winners at the Technology Scotland Annual Dinner on Thursday 13 November at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow.

About the Technology Scotland Annual Dinner 2025

As the largest event in our calendar, the Technology Scotland Annual Dinner welcomes around 250 attendees from across all three of our networks for an evening of networking and celebrations, creating new connections and helping to solidify those already established.

This year will be a very special event as we celebrate ten years of Technology Scotland! You can expect some extra surprises across the evening, more information to come soon.

In addition to our 10th anniversary celebrations and awards, our annual dinner provides a great opportunity to catch up with colleagues old and new from across the sector, enjoy an evening of celebrations with your team, and recognise the great work happening across the Technology Scotland community.