Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

One’s projects tailor-made to drive forward north-east economy

Hotdesk working in the One Tech Hub.
One Tech Hub is home to a vibrant digital technology community in the heart of Aberdeen. Image: Opportunity North East

Innovative industry hubs across the north-east are becoming the focal points for action and investment to diversify the region’s economy.

They are all aimed at growing both established and emerging sectors.

Private sector economic development catalyst Opportunity North East (One) is leading their creation and delivery.

Specialist facilities and “entrepreneurial ecosystems” are being developed, with One working with public and private partners as part of investments expected to be “transformational”.

One Tech Hub is flourishing, BioHub will open this year, we are investing in adventure tourism and SeedPod will move into construction.”

Jennifer Craw, chief executive, Opportunity North East.

One Tech Hub, BioHub and SeedPod are where industry ambition and practical space and support will combine to drive economic growth across the region, according to One.

These projects are aimed at allowing businesses to scale up, while also supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs and founders to create high-value, innovation-driven enterprises.

Funding secured by One is also delivering new facilities and infrastructure to make the region a “destination of choice” in the fast-growing adventure tourism market.

This is being done through the North East Adventure Tourism project.

‘Nationally significant’

Each of the One projects is tailored to specific sector needs, is nationally significant and will deliver long-term value, explained Jennifer Craw, the Aberdeen-based organisation’s chief executive.

She added: “Our region is vital to the future economy. The breadth, experience and quality of our sectors and businesses are inspiring.

One Tech Hub on Schoolhill, Aberdeen. Image: Opportunity North East

“From developing digital solutions for productivity and treatments for modern health epidemics to producing the nutritious and sustainable foods of the future that consumers demand, One is working to create the places, spaces and entrepreneurial environment to enable businesses at all stages to achieve their ambitions, create high-value jobs and increase productivity and prosperity.

“One Tech Hub is flourishing, BioHub will open this year, we are investing in adventure tourism and SeedPod will move into construction.

“This region is confident, has a clear purpose in diversification, is investing in its strengths and is committed to being a world-class entrepreneurial location. We are entering a new delivery phase, and I’m excited about how much more we can achieve.”

Opportunity North East chief executive Jennifer Craw.

Digital technology businesses are driving solutions of the future through blockchain, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and 5G technology.

The anchor point for north-east growth activity in this sector is One Tech Hub on Schoolhill, Aberdeen.

It is home to businesses and partner organisations including TechScaler – the new Scottish Government programme for creating and scaling technlogy start-ups.

Delivered nationally by CodeBase, TechScaler has One as its regional partner in the north-east and One Tech Hub is its local host.

Attracting tech talent

Energy technology firm Fennex moved into One Tech Hub last August.

Adrian Brown, co-founder and managing director at the firm, said this was an important part of the company’s growth plan.

He added: “It’s great to be in the hive of digital and technology excellence. We’ve hired seven new graduates this year alone, with plans for more.

“Being in One Tech Hub is certainly a key factor in attracting the best technology talent and immersing them in a dynamic start-up community.”

It’s great to be in the hive of digital and technology excellence.”

Adrian Brown, managing director, Fennex.

In life sciences, Aberdeen is home to innovative businesses tackling global health challenges.

Opening in spring at Foresterhill Health Campus in Aberdeen, BioHub will bring together commercial, healthcare and research interests. It will provide laboratories, incubation and collaboration space and customisable accommodation over five floors, as well as specialist business support and access to expert networks and investors.

The food and agriculture industry-focused SeedPod is among new projects aimed at helping the north-east economy grow. Image: Opportunity North East

Meanwhile, One is also leading and co-funding a £40 million project to grow the life sciences company cluster in the north-east.

The UK and Scottish governments, Scottish Enterprise, NHS Grampian and Aberdeen University are on board as partners for this project, supported by the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Food and drink manufacturing is the region’s most significant industry after energy.

£20m-plus investment

The SeedPod centre of excellence aims to put the sector’s businesses at the forefront of product and process innovation, low-carbon high-value manufacturing and premium market development.

Focused on “consumer-led foods of the future”, SeedPod represents an investment of more than £20m.

It is co-funded and led by One in partnership with the UK and Scottish governments, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), Scottish Enterprise, Just Transition Fund and Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Offering bespoke programmes and specialist facilities, it will include incubator, commercial-grade manufacturing units, development kitchens, full-service managed production, and co-working and collaboration space.

Construction is scheduled to start on SRUC’s Craibstone campus in Aberdeen in late spring.

‘Vote of confidence’ in north-east economy

Ms Craw said: “Through these projects, businesses across the region increasingly have access to an unprecedented range of specialist facilities and entrepreneurial support.

“That is a real vote of confidence by One and all the partners in their potential, our economy and our future.”


North-east adventure tourism projects take ‘fantastic’ step

Conversation