Stay Ahead. Stay Protected. Stay Competitive.

Wednesday 25 February 2026

In today’s fast-moving markets, innovation isn’t just an advantage, it’s a necessity. Join us for an insightful morning at Scottish Engineering where industry experts will explore how to turn ideas into commercial success and secure your competitive edge through strategic innovation and intellectual property (IP).

What to Expect:

• Why Innovation Matters: Understand the role of innovation in staying ahead of the competition.
• Strategize & Protect: Learn how to safeguard your ideas and create a robust IP strategy.
• Real-World Examples: Hear practical case studies of businesses leveraging innovation for market differentiation.

This event is designed for leaders, innovators, and decision-makers who want to unlock growth and protect their business in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Networking Opportunities: Enjoy refreshments and connect with peers and experts during the event.

Register now

Our Speakers 

Deborah Maxwell – Senior Patent Attorney, Scintilla

With a degree in Product Design Engineering, Deborah combines technical insight with legal expertise to help businesses protect and maximise their innovations. She specialises in IP strategy advice, managing patent and registered design portfolios, and conducting IP due diligence.

Deborah works closely with SMEs, start-ups, and scale-ups, offering a hands-on, approachable service that makes clients feel supported at every stage, from invention spotting and patent searching to IP audits and portfolio management. Her goal is simple: to make IP accessible, strategic, and a powerful tool for business success.

A regular speaker at events across Glasgow and Edinburgh, Deborah hosts workshops for founders and educates investors on IP due diligence.

Abi Hird – Director & Founder, Defankle Innovation Limited 

Abi Hird works with engineering, technology, and manufacturing organisations to help them develop clear, focused strategies for innovation and growth, especially when day-to-day pressures make long-term thinking hard.

With a background in Product Design Engineering and a doctorate in Systems Engineering, Abi understands technical complexity but specialises in making strategic choices clearer and more actionable. Her work helps leadership teams decide where to focus, what kind of advantage they’re building, and how innovation, IP, and capability development fit together.

Abi is known for using design-led and systems-thinking approaches to turn uncertainty into structured decisions that feel practical, not theoretical. She works closely with SMEs and scaling businesses, supporting them to make deliberate choices that reduce risk and unlock sustainable growth.

She is a Design Council Expert, Vice Chair of Product Design Scotland, and has recently been nominated as part of the G42 expert group for a European Commission project exploring the strategic use of design. Above all, Abi is passionate about helping engineering-led organisations use strategy as a tool, not a distraction, and nothing excites her more than seeing clarity transform a business.

Zak Thomson – 2025 Young Engineer of the Year

Zak is a Design Engineer at one of the world’s leading telecom solutions manufacturers and through some major developments not seen before in the industry. He secured the title of Young engineer of the year in 2025 after the support of a dedicated team saw him head up the development of a solution which has revolutionised the Fibre Broadband market. The cable and machine (designed in tandem) allows installation Emtelle companies to install fibre drop-cables distances up to three times longer than previously seen using their own battery drill. The solution is now being rolled out across the world, improving connectivity time and efficiency. The need for fibre-optic connectivity is growing massively across the world. This growing market requires faster and easier fibre-cable installation techniques to ensure cable can be installed with relative ease and limited training.

Register now