Technology Scotland hosts Westminster MPs for critical technologies showcase

On Wednesday 22^nd of October, Technology Scotland were in Westminster to coordinate a drop-in session for MPs.

Hosted by Gordon McKee, MP for Glasgow South, ‘Critical Technologies – Enabling the UK’s Future’ introduced MPs to Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster, a constellation of overlapping and mutually supporting technology sub sectors – photonics, quantum, semiconductors, and wireless and sensing technologies.

Key messages to policy makers included:

• Critical technologies, while often invisible, will play a vital role in supporting future economic prosperity, national security and green transition.
• Critical technologies support delivery of ambitions across the 8 priority industries in the UK industrial strategy.
• Scotland has an aggregation of capability that is unique in the UK.
• There is an opportunity to grow the supercluster significantly in the next decade – but it needs recognition and support!

Supported by fellow supercluster partners, University of Glasgow and Scottish Government, the event saw attendance from MPs across Scotland and the wider UK who heard about the opportunity to grow the supercluster in Scotland beyond £10bn in revenues by 2035.

These growth ambitions require political recognition and support, and supercluster partners emphasised the need for louder support and influence from our Scottish representatives in London.