Our vision
We believe that entrepreneurial skills can be taught and that everyone – regardless of their background, race or gender – should have the chance to realise their full potential.
That’s why our achievements go far beyond economic impact and include improved gender and BAME representation in the university entrepreneurial community.
Each year through our outreach programme, we engage with thousands of students, graduates and researchers to cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets, instil ambition and educate would-be university founders on the essentials of business.
Our Team
Say hello to our experienced, approachable team.
Adam Kosterka
Interim Executive DirectorAdam Kosterka is Interim Director of Converge, Scotland’s springboard for university innovators, helping staff, students and recent graduates of all Scottish Universities and Research Institutes turn their ideas, creativity and research into commercially viable and sustainable businesses.
Prior to joining Converge in 2017, Adam held a number of business advisor roles with Business Gateway and Scottish Enterprise. He became Converge Deputy Director in 2021 and Interim Director in August 2024. As part of his remit, Adam oversees all aspects of Converge operations including finance and programme delivery and leads the organisation’s overall strategic development.
Adam holds a Masters Degree in Business Management from Edinburgh Napier University and recently completed an MBA in Global Leadership Training at Heriot-Watt University.
Maria Blanco-Alvarez
Senior Admin AssistantMaria is the newest member of the team, supporting the delivery of our programme and responsible for financial processing, reporting, co-ordination, administration and logistics support.
Maria is no stranger to Heriot-Watt having studied Translation and Interpreting at the School of Languages. She also has extensive work experience in Higher Education administration including the University of Edinburgh.
Dr. Lissa Herron
Enterprise Manager - EastEnterprise Manager
Lissa is our Enterprise Manager, responsible for the delivery of our outreach and training programme. As a Converge alumna, she has invaluable knowledge and expertise of the journey that our participants undertake, leveraging this insight to optimise alumni relations.
Before joining Converge, Lissa commercialised a research project from The Roslin Institute into a business unit at Roslin Technologies Limited and has in-depth experience of working with spin-outs and commercialisation of research.
Richard Cormack Corrigan
Enterprise Executive - NE/H&IRichard supports university enterprise development teams in the North East of Scotland and is based at the University of Aberdeen.
Before joining Converge, Richard worked for Young Enterprise Scotland's Elevator UK programme promoting enterprise and entrepreneurship in education and designing and delivering a range of accelerator programmes.
Sheik Abdul Malik
Enterprise Executive - WestMalik recently joined the Enterprise team at Converge to provide support in the West of Scotland region.
Malik is a Doctoral researcher at the University of Strathclyde with a background in Aeronautical engineering. He has been active in the startup ecosystem having established his own airsports company. He also organises the international TEDx annual ideas conference at Strathclyde and is the founder of Strathclyde Hot Air Balloons.
Georgia Goodall
Marketing & Communications ManagerMarketing & Communications Manager
With 20 years’ marketing experience under her belt, Georgia brings a blend of practical, hands-on skills and strategic focus to our small but perfectly formed Marketing Department.
With a background in design, film production, event production and publishing including eight years working in London, Georgia’s remit includes marketing strategy, PR and communications.
Kathryn Slater
Events & Marketing ManagerKathryn is an experienced marketing and events professional with a strong track record in PR, communications and event production. During her career she has held senior roles in major communications agencies and event production companies, latterly running her own successful event management business.
Jennifer Black
Brand Marketing ManagerBrand Marketing Manager
Part miracle worker, part magician, Jen is our longest serving team member having worked at the Converge coalface since 2013.
Multi-skilled, focused and adept at rolling her sleeves up, Jen oversees a wide range of marketing activities including brand, social media and event management and delivery.
Strategic Advisory Board
Our dynamic and experienced Strategic Advisory Board provide advice and guidance on our strategic direction. Their experience is exceptionally broad covering everything from private sector and start-up activities; international business; policy and funding; investment; and university commercialisation.
Dr Liz Rattray
Director of Research and Innovation, University of Aberdeen
Dr Rattray has extensive experience of research administration, project and contract management together with commercialisation of research (from collaborating with industry, knowledge exchange, licensing to new company formation). She has held board positions with a number of companies, and previously been a member of the Scottish Funding Council’s research committee.
The Research and Innovation section plays a key role in supporting the University to deliver upon strategic priorities for research and knowledge exchange in line with the Institutional Strategic Plan. The section provides support for research development, commercialisation, knowledge exchange, enterprise activities and provides administrative support for research policy and the newly formed Graduate School for post graduate research students. Research and Innovation is the first point of contact for business - facilitating access to the University’s researchers, services and technologies and offering a wide range of commercial opportunities arising from the University’s research activities.
Joanna Goddard FCMI
Growth Specialist, Business Resilience International Management
Joanna is a multi-award-winning business growth consultant and specialist Partner at BRIM, advising UK law enforcement, supported by Home Office on the national Cybercrime programme.
Certified in Business Analytics by Judge Business School at Cambridge University, and one of the first forty consultants in the UK trained in ISO20700 by ICMCI, The International Council of Management Consulting Institutes, she is also a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Prior to consulting she successfully founded her own niche business, delivering internationally, and became recognised as a ‘go to’ expert, advising a Channel 4 TV series from inception for over four years. As a former director of a law firm, Joanna also has a good grasp of coordinating governance and legal implications across different jurisdictions with legal advisory teams.
Joanna is passionate about the importance of positive culture and wellbeing within the tech community and is also former Chair of the Board of Trustees at the ground-breaking Arctic exploration charity, The Polar Academy.
Polly Purvis OBE
Converge Chair
Highly regarded within Scotland's technology community, Polly headed up ScotlandIS, the trade body for digital technologies, helping to establish the digital skills academy, CodeClan, in 2015. Committed to raising the profile of Scotland's tech sector, promoting small and medium sized business and tackling the skills shortage and the gender gap within Scotland's digital technology sector, Polly was awarded an OBE for her services to industry.
In 2019 she spent two years working with leading agritech business Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS), a leading vertical farming company based at The James Hutton Institute, as Scotland Director, and is now Chair of Digital Xtra and a board member of Edinburgh Science. She holds an honorary doctorate of technology from the University of Abertay.
Professor Richard Williams
Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University
Professor Richard A Williams OBE FREng FTSE is the Principal and Vice Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University. He is Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering. His background is an academic and entrepreneur working in mineral, energy storage systems and environmental technologies. He has founded several business including two plcs and previously served as an elected member on Council of CBI in Yorkshire and the West Midlands. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK) and a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (Australia). He is a trustee of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland and Advisory Board member of the Lloyds Register Foundation.
Paul Atkinson
Paul is a Professional Investor, Venture Capitalist and Board Advisor with a track record of creating value for companies and investors in the technology and business services sector. He is highly active as an angel investor, having personally invested in over 30 fast growing technology companies, including Rocela Group, which was acquired by Version 1 of Ireland and Mobiqa, which was acquired by NYSE listed NCR Corporation.
Dr Neil Clelland
Commercial Director, Fixed Phage
Neil is Commercial Director at Fixed Phage a Biotech company in Glasgow tasked with expanding the company’s commercial activity, generating sustainable revenue, while accelerating market access through licencing and strategic partnerships. Neil is an accomplished commercial professional with experience in business development, deal structure and company creation from scientific research output, having established a strong track record in identifying and developing innovative commercial opportunities within complex scientific output and environments during his previous roles in the Biotech industry and as Head of Commercialisation and Innovation at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).
He holds a PhD in quantitative genetics and a degree in agricultural science. Various roles across business and academia have equipped him with a wide-ranging skillset, enabling him to gain considerable experience in building long-lasting relationships with partner companies and key stakeholders at national and international level.
Neil has a passion for supporting the vibrant and innovative life sciences ecosystem, entrepreneurs, and businesses, and actively does this through non-executive director roles and has a particular interest in supporting and developing future leaders.
David Brown
Director of Strategic Partnerships
David is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the University of Edinburgh, having retired from being a Partner at PwC, where he was the Lead Partner in Scotland for Government and Public Sector. David has extensive advisory experience in the public sector and financial services industries specialising in strategy and large-scale transformations. He has been extensively in involved in pension reform and paying for Long Term Care; he was a member of the Dilnot Implementation Working Group and the Extended Working Lives Working Group.
David has a number of external roles including: Trustee Board member for NCUB, member of the CBI Scotland advisory panel and Board Member of the Converge Challenge.
Kerry Sharp
Director of Entrepreneurship & Investment, Scottish Enterprise
Kerry is responsible for Scottish Enterprise's start to scale services and commercial investment activities working in partnership with Highland and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise.
The Entrepreneurship & Investment directorate supports businesses to start up and scale, providing tailored advice, funding and commercial investment to early-stage businesses with high growth and exporting potential, working in partnership with the entrepreneurial eco-system and private sector investors.
Professor Neil Simco
Deputy Principal Academic and Research
Neil is UHI’s Deputy Principal Academic and Research and holds corporate leadership responsibility for all aspects of tertiary education, including both further and higher education, together with research and knowledge exchange activity in the university. This includes the development and implementation of the university’s research and tertiary education strategies and executive oversight of a wide range of academic functions across the university.
Professor James Miller
Principal and Vice-Chancellor of University of the West of Scotland
Beginning his career as a clinical nurse in Edinburgh, Professor Miller is the first nurse to be appointed as a University Principal and Vice-Chancellor in Scotland – bringing a wealth of experience, values and vision closely aligned with that of UWS.
Professor Miller was Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University from August 2015 to November 2022 and previously held a range of other senior roles, including Director of the Open University in Scotland and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.
He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, a member of the Institute of Directors, a member of the International Advisory Board for the Amity University Group in India, and was a founder member of the British Council’s Digital Advisory Board.
Margaret Morton
Director of Strategy and Development, Enable Scotland
Margaret has held a variety of executive, non-executive and advisory roles across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors over 30 years. She enjoyed successful careers in law, latterly as a partner of a Scottish law firm, in philanthropy, as Head of Fundraising at Barnardo’s Scotland, and in venture philanthropy, as Head of Investor Relations at Inspiring Scotland, before joining the University of Glasgow, initially as Chief of Staff in the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences and then as XPRIZE Lead for the University, and is currently Director of Strategy and Development at Enable. Margaret is passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation and the translation of research into real world impact.