Rolling Up Sleeves and Thinking Big: Shetland Innovation Day
After dodging the chaos Storm Amy whipped up at Sumburgh Airport – and obsessively refreshing the arrivals board in Aberdeen – I finally made it home to Shetland. Fresh from hosting a brilliant Ada Lovelace Day event at RGU the day before (and after a much-needed night’s sleep), it was straight into my second event of the week.
On Tuesday 7 October, Shetland’s Innovation Challenge Day kicked off, and the energy in the room was palpable. Alongside my colleagues Naomi MacDonald and Aisha Kasim, we welcomed participants from across the islands - local businesses, community groups, educators, public sector teams, and entrepreneurs - all ready to roll up their sleeves and get creative.
The goal? Simple: show that innovation doesn’t need a big city backdrop – it can happen right here in Shetland. We would do this by sharing our innovation toolkit to support the development of creative solutions for challenges we face in our communities across Shetland.
The day started with hands-on workshops using tools like Rose, Thorn & Bud, giving everyone a practical way to unpack ideas, spot opportunities, and tackle challenges. Teams quickly got to work, bouncing ideas around, scribbling notes, and generally making the kind of noise that says, something exciting is happening here.
The results were inspiring. There were ideas for community-led sustainability projects, new ways to support micro creative businesses, and solutions that felt both practical and ambitious. The room buzzed with creativity, collaboration, and the occasional laugh at a particularly “out-there” idea that somehow worked.
Feedback reflected the energy in the room: an average rating of 4.6 out of 5, and every single participant said they’d recommend the day to others. A huge success! Many left with new skills, new connections, and the reminder that innovation can start small – but still make a real difference in our island communities.
One thing was clear: working alongside people from different sectors sparked conversations and ideas that wouldn’t have happened in isolation. Innovation, it seems, loves company.
And what’s next? We’ll be checking in with each group to help nurture their ideas and explore ways to bring them to life. We can’t wait to see which ones take off next – and the impact they’ll have across our Shetland community.
