Here’s your Campfire for Monday, 14th September
📣 Asks, Offers, Updates, & Deadlines
📊 Glasgow City Region Tech Ecosystem Report 2026 Glasgow’s tech ecosystem is now valued at £5.6bn, up 2.4x since 2020, with more than £300m in venture capital investment secured since 2025. The region now has 112 active university spinouts valued collectively at £1.1bn, with health leading investment and startup activity and AI and deep tech continuing to grow. Read the report here
🏆 Scottish EDGE Round 28 received 355 applications Round 28 closed with the second-highest number of applications in Scottish EDGE’s 12-year history. 71% came from first-time applicants, with Wild Card the largest category for the first time and digital technology remaining the leading sector. First-stage assessments run from 7–18 September, ahead of the Scottish EDGE Pitching Day Final on 19 November at RBS Gogarburn in Edinburgh.
🛠️ Makerteers applications open A fully funded six-month programme for people in Glasgow and Edinburgh developing physical products with “ambitions to scale”. Running from October to March, Makerteers will support cohorts of 20 makers in each city through “practical workshops, specialist support, expert surgeries, peer learning and resources”. Launch events take place in Glasgow on 17 September and Edinburgh on 24 September, with applications closing at 12 noon on 1 October 2026. Apply here
👭 Interested in connecting with possible co-founders? Fill in your listing on Cofounder Curious today! Connect with others for possible cofounder matching here.
👷Are you hiring? Send us a blurb and we’ll include it in the next newsletter!
✍️ Want to write something for or share something with Campfire? Get in touch!
📅 Events
💻 14/09, 18:30 🗺️ Inverness: TechMeetup Inverness September 2026 A friendly meetup for Scotland’s tech community featuring networking, pizza and drinks, plus a practical talk on quantum security and what it means for teams using modern encryption. MORE INFO
🌍 14/09, 18:00 🗺️ Dundee: People Planet Pint™: Sustainability Meetup A relaxed meetup bringing Dundee’s sustainability community together to connect, share ideas and chat about climate action over a drink. MORE INFO
🎤 15/09, 13:00 🌐 Online: The Visionary Pitch | Storytelling for Ideation Learn how to turn early-stage ideas into compelling stories and articulate your “why” with a pitch that gets people excited, even before you have a product. MORE INFO
🎮 15/09, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: GameDevEd Social Meetup A casual meetup for Edinburgh’s game development community to meet, chat and connect, welcoming everyone from students and hobbyists to experienced developers across all disciplines. MORE INFO
🔐 15/09 🗺️ Edinburgh: Keeping Research & Innovation Secure – Briefing & Workshop Learn how to better protect valuable research, intellectual property and innovation, with practical guidance for startups, spinouts and organisations working with emerging technologies. MORE INFO
🌱 15/09, 09:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Greentech Meetup – September Hear from a Greentech specialist and connect with Edinburgh’s green community at this monthly meetup hosted by Barclays Eagle Labs at CodeBase. MORE INFO
🏭 16/09, 12:00 🗺️ Paisley: Design-led Innovation in Scotland – Make it right, make it here, make it now Discover how design-led innovation can de-risk ideas, improve manufacturing and help businesses turn new concepts into scalable, manufacturable products. MORE INFO
🚀 16/09 🗺️ Dundee: Founders Hub Dundee – by ScotlandIS and Cyber Quarter Work alongside fellow founders and tech entrepreneurs, share challenges and ideas, make useful connections and tap into support from Dundee’s startup and innovation community. MORE INFO
💻 16/09, 12:00 🌐 Online: Women in Tech Aberdeen - September 2026 Webinar Join Women in Tech Aberdeen and founder Sarah Leigh for a lunchtime session on refocusing, resetting priorities and getting your mind back on track for the rest of the year. MORE INFO
💷 17/09, 09:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: YCF Conference 2026: Valuations Explore how businesses, assets and ideas are valued from pre-seed through to exit, with expert speakers covering everything from patents and people to investment and growth. MORE INFO
🎨 17/09, 12:00 🗺️ Lockerbie: Advanced Canva - for Marketing Assets and Reels: Build. Brand. Batch. Take your Canva skills further and learn how to create branded marketing assets, short-form video and a content system designed to save you time. MORE INFO
📊 17/09, 17:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Data Science September Meetup Join Edinburgh’s data science and AI community for talks exploring probability models and the journey towards AGI, plus pizza, drinks and plenty of time to connect. MORE INFO
🔮 17/09, 17:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Back to the Future(s) Connect with Edinburgh’s innovation community at Venture Café’s Thursday Gathering, featuring ARIA, The Robotarium and founder Tim Rowe, with big ideas, conversation and networking. MORE INFO
🚀 18/09, 09:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Founders Hub Edinburgh - by Bayes and ScotlandIS Work alongside fellow founders building scalable tech businesses, share challenges and ideas, make connections and get support from Edinburgh’s startup community at this regular co-working session. MORE INFO
⛓️ 21/09, 17:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Blockchain Scotland Meetup Connect with Scotland’s blockchain community at the Bayes Centre for an evening of tech discussion, networking, food and drinks. MORE INFO
🚀 22/09, 16:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Bootstrappers meetup (prototype) Meet fellow founders building without investors to share the ups and downs of startup life, swap ideas, hear what’s working and make new connections in a relaxed, pitch-free meetup. MORE INFO
🔐 22/09, 18:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: September Meetup – Software Security in the Age of AI Explore software security in the age of AI, from coding assistants and supply-chain risks to authentication mistakes and real-world failures, plus an introduction to Software Bills of Materials. MORE INFO
🏃 22/09, 17:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Traveltech Meet Up – Sports, Wellness & TravelTech: The Future of Active Travel Explore how technology is shaping sports travel, wellness tourism and active holidays, with discussion on AI, personalisation, major sporting events and opportunities for innovation. MORE INFO
🔐 22/09, 17:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: ScotlandIS Cyber Cluster Fireside Chat Join business leaders, cyber specialists and policymakers to explore why cyber resilience belongs in the boardroom, with practical discussion around governance, accountability and leadership. MORE INFO
💷 23/09, 18:00 🌐 Online: Business Expenses: What can you claim? Learn which business expenses you can legitimately claim, how to maximise tax relief and stay compliant with HMRC requirements, with practical examples covering common expenses and record keeping. MORE INFO
🌍 23/09, 19:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: People Planet Pint: Sustainability Meetup Meet people interested in sustainability and climate action over a relaxed drink, with space to connect, share ideas and chat about building a better future locally. MORE INFO
♻️ 24/09, 18:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: People Planet Pint x HappyPorch Radio – Circular Economy Connect with Edinburgh’s sustainability community for an evening focused on the circular economy, hosted in collaboration with HappyPorch Radio. MORE INFO
🛠️ 17/09, 18:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Makerteers Glasgow Launch Event Meet the team behind Scotland's new fully funded six-month programme supporting makers, designers, inventors and physical product entrepreneurs with practical workshops, expert support, tools and a peer network. MORE INFO
🤝 24/09, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: ProductTank Edinburgh Networking + Social Meet Edinburgh’s product community for a relaxed evening of drinks, conversation and networking, with plenty of time to catch up with familiar faces and meet new people. MORE INFO
🛠️ 24/09, 18:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Makerteers Edinburgh Launch Event Meet the team behind Makerteers and learn about its fully funded six-month programme supporting makers and physical product entrepreneurs with workshops, specialist support, tools and connections. MORE INFO
🤝 30/09, 17:30 🗺️ Glasgow: Focus on Founders Live 2026 An evening for founders and business owners to make meaningful connections and have honest conversations about the realities of building a business, with curated introductions to people who can help with the challenges they’re facing. MORE INFO
🎮 24/10, 10:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: PlayAway for a Day A one-day gathering exploring where creative technology, games and interactive media meet arts, education and community work, with talks, panels, practical demos, exhibitions and plenty of opportunities to connect. MORE INFO
📊 24/09, 16:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Five Slides Only: Innovating in Financial Services Hear quick-fire talks from data and AI professionals exploring innovation in financial services, followed by networking with speakers, peers and Scotland’s data community.
☕ 06/10, 09:00 🗺️ Inverness: Unfiltered Inverness Connect with Inverness’s tech community over coffee, cake and informal conversation at this relaxed morning meetup from CodeBase and Techscaler. MORE INFO
☕ 07/10, 08:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Unfiltered Edinburgh Start the day with coffee, cake and informal conversation with Edinburgh’s tech community at this relaxed morning meetup from CodeBase and Techscaler. MORE INFO
☕ 07/10, 09:00 🗺️ Aberdeen: Unfiltered Aberdeen Connect with Aberdeen’s tech community over coffee, cake and informal conversation at this relaxed morning meetup from CodeBase and Techscaler. MORE INFO
☕ 08/10, 09:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Unfiltered Glasgow Connect with Glasgow’s tech community over coffee, cake and informal conversation at this relaxed morning meetup from CodeBase and Techscaler. MORE INFO
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That’s all for this week - have a great one!
Team 🔥 Campfire