Funding success for Emily Youngs
Emily Youngs, a Data Engineering graduate from Edinburgh Napier University, has won the Create Change Challenge for WombWise at Scotland’s prestigious Converge Awards, taking home £30,000 to help transform the innovation into a thriving business.
Converge is backed by the Scottish Funding Council, a network of corporate partners and Scotland's universities. Since its 2011 launch, the programme has trained over 1000 aspiring founders and supported the creation of more than 500 companies
Spanning six challenges from early-stage ideas through to established start-ups, the competition is designed to reflect every stage of the entrepreneurial journey. Winners receive equity-free cash prizes, training from experienced entrepreneurs and access to a professional network to help turn their research into commercially viable businesses.
The project, which was designed to tackle the long delays many women face in securing a diagnosis of endometriosis and polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), was awarded for its outstanding innovation and commercial potential.
The awards, held at Barony Hall in Glasgow, celebrated the next generation of Scottish entrepreneurs, recognising ventures with the potential to tackle major societal challenges with a combined prize fund of £410,000.
With 123 participants entering this year’s competition from across Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University is celebrating the outstanding success of its graduate, who secured an award among 34 finalists representing a record 15 Scottish universities, in one of the most competitive and diverse cohorts in the history of the programme.
Adam Kosterka, Executive Director of Converge, said: “This year’s finalists represent one of the strongest and most diverse cohorts in our history, spanning industries from healthcare to climate tech. Being selected among such a competitive field is a testament to the skill, creativity and commercial potential of all our winners.
“This year’s awards are not only a testament to the winners, but also an example of successful collaboration across Scotland’s business landscape, demonstrating the incredible impact of providing young innovators with the business expertise and networks required to help their businesses flourish.”
Businesses taking part in the Converge programme have a three-year survival rate of 86%, significantly above the national average. This reflects both the strength of innovation emerging from universities and the quality, support and rigour of the programme.
Building on that milestone, Converge is preparing to launch Converge 2.0 in 2027, an evolved offering which will broaden its support and introduce more tailored, sector-specific pathways for ventures at an advanced stage of development.
The Converge Awards will remain at the heart of the programme as it enters its next chapter, continuing to provide a national platform for university founders seeking to turn new technologies into ambitious and sustainable businesses.
To find out more about the programme and the projects it supports visit Converge.