09 Feb 2026
Following the success of the first GCoSI Deep Dive, we’re excited to invite you to the next session in the series — small, intimate conversations uncovering the real stories behind innovation in the Glasgow City Region.
This time, we’re asking:
How does Glasgow turn invention into enterprise?
Join Dr. Dave Hughes, deep-tech founder and consultant, for an open, story-led conversation on building start-ups in Glasgow — from spinouts and wearables to the realities of turning ideas into companies.
📅 Wed, 25 February 2026
⏰ 15:00 – 17:00 📍 Glasgow Science Centre
🎟️ Free — Very limited tickets
Why this Session?
Glasgow has always been a city of invention — from shipyards on the Clyde to scientific and technological breakthroughs felt around the world. This Deep Dive looks at how that practical, problem-solving mindset still shapes today’s founders, spinouts and deep-tech start-ups.
Together, we’ll explore questions like:
🛠️ What does it really take to turn an idea into a company?
🏗️ How does place shape the way start-ups are built?
🌍 What can today’s founders learn from Glasgow’s long history of invention?
Meet the Speaker
🎤 Dr Dave Hughes
Deep Tech Founder & Consultant,
Wearables & Digital Health
Dave Hughes is a deep tech founder and speaker with a background in academic research and translational science. He began his career in biomedical ultrasound before founding Novosound, leading the business from university spinout through international commercialisation, scientific adoption, and industry partnerships.
His work has been recognised through multiple awards, including WeDO Scotland’s Rising Star in 2019, the IoD Scotland Director of the Year Start up award, and Novosound winning the Institute of Physics Business Start Up Award in 2019, Converge in 2017, and Scottish Edge in 2018.
Following his exit from Novosound, Dave founded Halya, a digital wellbeing company focused on understanding how work patterns affect health using wearable data. He is known for his thought leadership in entrepreneurship for deep tech founders, particularly in spinning scientific research into viable businesses and creating impact beyond the laboratory.
What to Expect?
🎤 Fireside Chat – Dave shares his journey through spinouts, start-ups and building deep-tech and wearable technologies.
💬 Open Conversation – Audience-led questions on funding, product decisions and the realities of building companies.
🛠️ Behind the Build – Insights into wearable technologies, prototypes and the realities of taking ideas to market.
🍻 Social & Networking – Drinks, informal chat and community connections.
This isn’t a lecture — it’s a conversation shaped by you.
About the Deep Dive Series
The Deep Dive Series is a new programme from Glasgow City of Science and Innovation and Glasgow Science Centre, designed to bring audiences closer to the human side of innovation.
Sessions are small, informal and audience-led — no stage, no long slide decks, no corporate pitches. Just honest conversation, personal stories and open exploration of the ideas shaping science, technology and culture in our region.
This event is delivered as part of the CAN DO Innovation Event Programme by Glasgow City of Science and Innovation.
