Stirling’s Growth Sectors

Cross-cutting capabilities: Stirling’s Tech Ecosystem

• A leader in tech entrepreneurship and employment. Stirling has one of the highest concentrations of tech employment anywhere in Scotland, according to Skills Development Scotland. Across Scotland, the number of people working in digital tech has grown by over 30% in the last decade, with further growth forecast in future years.

• Birthplace of the search engine. Stirling has a track record in pioneering innovation. For example, at the University of Stirling in the 1990s, Jonathan Fletcher invented the world’s first web-crawling search engine – the very tech that today powers Google and other major internet search tools.

• Competitive cost base. Stirling offers the benefits of a central location in Scotland’s Central Belt and highly skilled workforce but with lower costs.

• UK’s largest tech incubator. The UK’s largest tech incubator, CodeBase, opened its second site in Stirling in recognition of ambitions to make the city one of the most important centres for digital innovation. CodeBase Stirling houses innovative start-ups – attracting global talent and fostering creative collaborations. As well as delivering local programmes focused on innovation, skills and inclusion, CodeBase Stirling serves as the regional hub for Techscaler across Central Scotland, allowing local businesses to lean into specialist tech growth support.

• Award-winning digital infrastructure. In 2020, Stirling became CityFibre’s first UK Gigabit City – providing cutting edge connectivity to businesses and residents across the city. Building on this, gigabit broadband has been extended beyond the city through Stirling Council’s award-winning rural broadband programme.

• One of the first Augmented Reality cities. Affirming Stirling’s reputation for creative tech, a partnership between Stirling Council, BT and Seymourpowell saw the city become one of the first to introduce an Augmented Reality (AR) visitor experience which allows tourists to explore Stirling’s history and story through a smartphone app.

• Leading education providers. The University of Stirling is ranked 4th in Scotland and Top 20 in the UK for Computer Science and Information Systems (The Guardian University Guide 2025). Meanwhile, Forth Valley College is highly regarded, particularly across STEM disciplines, and offers entry level courses in computing, software and AI.

• Work-ready graduates. Undergraduate degrees at the University of Stirling include Computing Science, Software Engineering and Data Science and AI, with most graduates seeking local employment thereafter. Postgraduate specialisms including Big Data, AI and Advanced Computing with AI attract between 100 and 300 graduates annually.

• Applied Data Science and AI expertise. Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Stirling has a strong focus on Applied Data Science and AI – working closely with industry to secure funding, identify opportunities, design and implement solutions. A programme of placements and company-partnered projects allows students to collaborate with businesses as part of their studies.

• Supporting industry through The Data Lab. The University is a member of The Data Lab, Scotland’s Innovation Centre for Data and AI. The centre connects academia, researchers and students to industry; and the University of Stirling has educated a large number of centre-funded students.

• A top-rated business school. The University of Stirling Business School ranks in the world’s top 6% with AACSB accreditation. Degrees include Accountancy, Business, Economics, Finance, HR, Management and Marketing. The school is rated 3rd in Scotland and top 15 in the UK (The Guardian University Guide 2025), with 80% of its research impact is classed as world leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021).

The University of Stirling

• Significant economic impact. Manufacturing is one of the largest turnover-generating industries for Stirling’s economy, which was forecast by EY to be Scotland’s fastest-growing economy over three years from 2025.

• Innovative Stirling-born businesses. Many local manufacturing businesses are at the forefront of both their respective fields and Stirling’s growth sectors. For example, within the Built Environment, Superglass is one of the UK’s leading glass mineral wool insulation manufacturers with one of Europe’s most advanced manufacturing facilities in Stirling. Meanwhile, within Food and Drink, Peacock Technology is a start-up applying its expertise in AI and robotics to the dairy industry.

• Scaling up. Within Life Sciences, Symbiosis is a world-class fill-finish CMO spanning over 26,000 sqft in Stirling, which offers rapid access to GMP sterile fill-finish manufacturing slots for clinical trial and commercial scale. In 2024, Scottish Enterprise announced a grant worth £4.3 million to support Symbiosis’ ambitious growth plans – doubling the company’s footprint, creating 50 new skilled jobs and safeguarding 130 more. Symbiosis committed to investing over £26 million – including creating a new state-of-the-art, automated sterile manufacturing facility which is now operational. In 2025, the company announced the successful completion of its 1000th sterile drug product batch, received the prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade (the UK’s highest business accolade) and was crowned Manufacturing Export Award winners at the inaugural Insider Media #MadeinScotland Awards

• Attracting significant investment. Within MedTech and Health Innovation, iGii produces a pure, porous, 3D carbon nanostructure called Gii, which offers a highly sensitive, sustainable material for sensors and is currently being used in point-of-care diagnostics. In 2024, KPMG Private Enterprise Venture Pulse report highlighted iGii’s success in securing significant investment to accelerate business growth whilst “solving real world problems”.