From University, Business and Sustainability to Space: A Short Look Back at My Journey So Far and the Start to Life at STFC

Hello, I am Euan Harvey, the new(ish) Business Development and Innovation Manager based at the beautiful Royal Observatory Edinburgh (ROE) site (once you walk up that hill, if you know, you know). In terms of what I do up on the hill, my primary focus is to manage the ROE technical facility access, which includes the use of high specification analytical and testing equipment. In simple terms I help provide companies of all ranges and sizes the capability to get their products/ hardware tested to survive the volatile environment of space! These testing capabilities include testing the structural impact of hardware on launch through our vibration and shock testing, as well as surviving the harsh temperatures of space, through our thermal and environmental testing. I sit within the team at the Higgs Centre for Innovation, a business-focused facility which aims to support startups and SMEs in the space, technology and data-intensive sectors.

In terms of me personally, I am a long-term (suffering) Falkirk fan, which if you have heard of the club (a lot of you may not have) means you will know I am used to disappointment and just not quite making it! Which to be honest has put me in good stead, and is exactly how my career started… I was turned down by the University I desperately wanted to attend in the profession I wanted to do since a young kid. However, now I am extremely glad how fortunes have played out, I now work in the brilliant and exciting space and technologies industry. Without going into too much detail my setback led me down a different path - business and sustainability within the space industry and inspired me to undertake further research. I now work with some brilliant people working on enhancing space sustainability, upstream and downstream across the UK and globally. As part of this work, I sit on the board of the ‘Environmental Task Force’ (ETF), an action led group which works tirelessly to try enhancing sustainability within the Scottish Space Sector and wider afield! The group pulls together key stakeholders within the space industry to make a difference, one of these achievements was the creation of the ‘Space Sustainability: A Roadmap for Scotland, which I was very fortunate to be a part of. Something we believe was a world first and something which now attracts a lot of attention including other nations wanting to follow in Scotland’s footsteps!

I am also an avid cyclist (yes up the ROE hill) and often cannot resist the temptation to jump on a train and explore somewhere I have never been before. Anyway, back to life at the Higgs and STFC, I also support the great work at the UK Astronomy Technological Centre (UK-ATC), the national centre of excellence for the development of scientific instrumentation and facilities. The ATC excels in the development of scientific instrumentation and research such as helping to develop Mid InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) one of one of four scientific instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope.

I further support on the business incubation centres (BIC) and innovation side of things at the Higgs, I help support our two incubation programmes, ESA BIC UK and Higgs BIC. These programmes support high-tech companies aiming to expand their businesses in technology areas related to space, particle physics, or other STFC disciplines. I help BIC companies gain access to STFC’s world-class research facilities and technical expertise. Simply, companies come to me with their testing needs and I connect them with STFC’S extensive testing capabilities, not just in Edinburgh but across our UK facilities, including our sites at Harwell Campus (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory) and Sci-Tech Daresbury (Daresbury Laboratory). If you would like to know more about the Higgs/ESA programmes you can here - Support for start-ups | Higgs Centre for Innovation

However, my role does not just involve giving access to the facilities that STFC offer, I also look at supporting the wider start-up community and development of space testing within the UK. One of the ways in which I try to support SME’s is through the newly formed ‘Scottish Space and Technologies Business Incubation and Accelerator Working Group’. This group made up of business accelerators and incubators looks at supporting start-ups around the Edinburgh region to gain access to funding and innovation opportunities. I also sit on the Space Scotland ‘Infrastructure and Facilities (IF’s) group, a working group being led by STFC that brings facilitators of the Scottish Space and testing facilities community together to support companies who are using or looking to access testing facilities and infrastructure within Scotland. I believe there is great value in stakeholders working together within the space and technologies community to help identify common problems or implications and work together to help facilitate solutions.

That is all from me! If you would like more information you can find it via the Higgs Centre for Innovation website - https://www.higgscentre.org/

Also, I am always keen to discuss different opportunities at the Higgs or any testing needs as well as a general discussion about sustainability or football! – Euan.harvey@stfc.ac.uk