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.

Princess Royal opens £9.5 million innovation centre in Inverness

Facility will support the development of new products, processes and services to improve healthcare.

The Princess Royal meets staff at the new innovation centre
The Princess Royal meets staff at the new innovation centre

A £9.5 million facility “of international significance” has been opened on Inverness Campus.

The Life Sciences Innovation Centre was formally opened by the Princess Royal and could bring new jobs to the Highlands.

It is a collaboration between Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).

What will the innovation centre do?

The centre will attract more life science companies to the region. It will also encourage collaboration between academic researchers, industry and the health sector.

It will also support the development of new products, processes and services to improve healthcare.

The building forms part of a wider project with the NHS National Treatment Centre – Highland on Inverness Campus, which opened to patients this week.

Between them, the developments are forecast to support more than 200 jobs.

Later this year the Rural and Veterinary Innovation Centre, part of Scotland’s Rural College, is due to open on the campus.

The Prince Royal chats with Provost Glynis Sinclair, Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam and HIE chief executive Staurt Black.

The Princess Royal arrived by helicopter in the campus grounds and was piped into the centre by Donald John MacIntyre, UHI’s Gaelic officer.

She was greeted by Col Douglas Young, vice Lord Lieutenant of Inverness, and Inverness Provost Glynis Sinclair. The Princess Royal toured the new facilities and learned about some of the ground-breaking research taking place.

She unveiled a plaque, officially opening the building. She said it was a pleasure to see it become occupied, fulfilling the ideals that people had in the early days.

“It shows what can happen when you get the right partners together and the right levels of collaboration.”

She noticed the centre has space left to develop and joked: “It’s an excuse for me to come back.”

Strengthening partnership with industry and NHS

Vicki Nairn, UHI principal and vice-chancellor, said the centre is a “game-changer” whose opening marks the start of a new era for life sciences across the area.

“In partnership with HIE, we will be working to establish this new centre as a facility of international significance.

“It will strengthen partnerships with industry and the NHS to develop technologies which will have a positive and possibly life-changing impact on our communities and wider society.”

Ms Nairn said the centre will increase research in fields such as medical nanotechnology and active health.

“It also represents a significant investment in the future and will generate economic benefits for our communities through innovation, commercialisation, company and job creation and by attracting and retaining talent.”

The Princess Royal formally opens the new centre.

HIE chief executive Stuart Black said the innovation centre will support commercial enterprises. That includes start-ups and organisations looking to establish a presence in the north.

“The benefits will extend across the region and support the continued growth of the life sciences sector. All of this will help to attract and retain talent for the region.”

A new tenant with links

The Princess Royal spoke with many of the 100 guests attending the ceremony. She was said to be extremely well informed about medical research.

The first tenant in the new building was medical device consultancy iDE8. The company’s managing director has a personal connection to the project.

The new Life Sciences Innovation Centre. Image Gillian Frampton, HIE.

David Howarth’s father, Dr Jeff Howarth, who died in 2022, was a key member of the team which developed the concept and oversaw its construction.

The firm is testing new-design medical equipment and hopes to expand its research capability in future.

Are you interested in all the latest news and updates from Inverness? If so, why not join our new Facebook group.

Conversation