Four QMU innovators in the running for Converge Awards success
Four entrepreneurs from Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh have reached the final of Scotland’s leading university innovation programme, with three QMU innovators making up half of the finalists in the Performing & Production Arts Challenge.
Aisha Josiah, Mirren McIver, Lok Pui Lo and Carolyn Kent are among 34 finalists selected from 123 participants in this year’s Converge programme. They will now compete for top prizes at the Converge Awards on 1 October, with a total prize fund of £410,000 at stake.
The four finalists represent the breadth of entrepreneurial activity emerging from QMU, spanning data and technology, theatre, cultural inclusion, sport and community development.
Aisha Josiah is the founder of Stage Analytics, a data intelligence platform for the performing arts that transforms box office, review and audience data into real-time insights to help artists and producers make smarter decisions around scheduling, marketing and pricing.
Mirren McIver is behind Four Door Theatre, a Glasgow-based creative hub providing accessible workshops, supported study and opportunities across theatre-making, while creating space for underrepresented voices and removing barriers to participation.
Lok Pui Lo’s ESEA Creatives is a Community Interest Company creating opportunities for East and Southeast Asian artists to present work, collaborate and connect with audiences through curated events, interdisciplinary productions and partnerships with cultural organisations.
Carolyn Kent’s Women’s Football Hub CIC empowers women and girls through football, combining participation opportunities with research-backed resources, expert podcasts and community initiatives focused on health and wellbeing.
QMU originally had 11 entrepreneurs selected for the 2026 Converge programme, with staff, students and graduates progressing across three of the programme’s Challenges: Performing & Production Arts, KickStart and Create Change. Four have now progressed through the programme to the final stage.
The success marks a particularly strong showing for QMU in the Performing & Production Arts Challenge, where three of the six finalists are from the University.
This year’s Converge finalists were selected following a rigorous process overseen by a panel of university enterprise experts. The 34 finalists represent 15 of the 18 universities participating in the programme, the widest pool of institutions represented in Converge’s 15-year history.
It’s an extraordinarily diverse group of finalists this year. Not only do we have the largest number of universities represented in the group of finalists, but we are seeing the non-traditional institutions strongly represented. Innovation, research commercialisation and entrepreneurship are now strongly embedded in our universities’ culture across the board and we are seeing the results of that coming through.
The four QMU finalists will compete for top prizes at the Converge Awards on 1 October at the Barony Hall in Glasgow. We wish them all the best of luck.
Find out more about the Converge Challenges and how you can apply, regardless of your background and entrepreneurial readiness, on the Converge Challenge website.
For further media information contact Emma Reekie, Media and Content Officer, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, E: ereekie@qmu.ac.uk (copy to E: pressoffice@qmu.ac.uk).
