The University of Glasgow is to lead a new Robotics Training Centre Scotland, backed by £525,000 from Innovate UK, to give businesses the skills they need to adopt robots. Innovate UK announced the centre, known as RTC Scotland, on Friday 9 October 2026.
The money comes through Innovate UK’s Robotics Adoption programme, under which 12 projects are sharing £2.5 million to develop course content and training materials for robotics skills. That competition is part of the wider £52 million Robotics Adoption programme and is designed to feed into a new network of Robotics Adoption Hubs. It targets a shortage of workers able to specify, procure, integrate, operate and maintain robotic systems, a gap that is stopping many firms from making full use of the technology.
RTC Scotland will be based in the university’s Intelligent Robotics Group, part of the James Watt Autonomous Systems and Connectivity division within the James Watt School of Engineering. The group’s facilities, infrastructure and industry links will support both theory and practical training. Over three years the centre will run short courses for engineers, technicians and managers, giving participants hands-on time with real robotic systems in settings designed to mimic modern industrial sites. The aim is for learners to come away able to specify, procure, integrate and maintain robotic systems as well as operate them day to day.
The centre will concentrate on manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, logistics and energy infrastructure, sectors where businesses could gain from robotics but may lack the skills to adopt it at scale. Dr Olaoluwa Popoola, who leads the university’s contribution, thanked Innovate UK for its support and said robotic technologies are advancing rapidly and can give businesses significant advantages. The co-investigators are Professor David Flynn, Dr Euan McGookin and Dr Kevin Worrall of the James Watt School, with Dr Liyuan Qi as research assistant. Pomo Robotics is the industry partner on the project.
Professor Muhammad Imran, head of the James Watt School of Engineering, will act as strategic adviser to the centre. He said RTC Scotland “will help turn our strengths in robotics into practical skills for industry”. The centre brings together partners from academia and industry, and its courses are intended to help companies across Scotland move from interest in robotics to real deployment by closing the skills gap that currently holds them back.
