The chief executive of the National Robotarium took to LinkedIn this afternoon to announce his shock resignation over a £7.5 million funding row with his university paymasters.
Stewart Miller accused bosses at Heriot-Watt university of a ‘significant own goal’ in failing to apply for Innovate UK funding that would have established the Robotarium as a ‘robotic adoption hub’.
Miller, who was previously chief technology officer at Innovate UK, as well as holding senior roles at major firms including Leonardo and BAE Systems, accused the university of undermining his efforts over the last five years ‘to establish and grow the National Robotarium to the position of respect and prominence it now has in the UK and in Europe.’
Miller wrote: “I HAVE RESIGNED as CEO of The National Robotarium. This is as a direct consequence of Heriot Watt University senior leadership turning their back on an opportunity to bring £7.5M of investment into the Scottish robotic economy.
“By not applying for Innovate UK grant funding for Robotic Adoption Hubs the HWU Senior leadership undermined all of my efforts over 5 years to establish and grow The National Robotarium to the position of respect and prominence it now has in the UK and in Europe.”
He added: “I had been instrumental in gaining support from UK government for the robotics hub initiative and had positioned The National Robotarium to lead an extremely strong bid on behalf of Scotland, with support from Scottish stakeholders and industry partners. For this to be discarded at the eleventh hour was the final straw in a sequence of events over the past 6 months that have made it clear that HWU no longer respected or valued my contribution as CEO of The National Robotarium.”
He said: “I want to apologies [sic] to everyone that will be impacted by this sudden departure, in particular the team at The National Robotarium and the many Scottish stakeholders that supported the proposal and have been a tremendous support for the past 5 years.”
He added: “The need for adoption support for Scottish and wider UK industry has not gone away, nor the need to support new robotics developers and to encourage careers in robotics I hope to continue working on these topics in the future even if HWU leadership does not value them there are many in Scotland and across the UK who do.”
The university defended its position, saying it did not agree with Miller’s ‘characterisation of recent events’, and that it had launched an internal review.
A Heriot-Watt University spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Stewart Miller has submitted his resignation as Chief Executive Officer of the National Robotarium. The University recognises his contribution over the past five years in helping to establish and develop the centre. However, we do not agree with the characterisation of recent events.
“Decisions regarding funding applications and strategic priorities are taken following careful consideration to ensure alignment with requirements and compliance with funding regulations. As this and related matters are subject to an internal review, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.
“Heriot-Watt University remains fully committed to the continued success of the National Robotarium, and to advancing robotics innovation, industry collaboration and skills development across Scotland and the wider UK. We will continue to work closely with partners to build on the strong foundations already in place.”
In a follow-up post on the social networking site, Miller expressed his gratitude to the ‘outstanding individuals’ who have supported him on his mission to establish the National Robotarium as one of the most ‘prominent pillars’ in UK robotics.
He said: “Comprising of outstanding individuals, every one of them, I have had the privilege of watching them grow both individually, but most impressively, as a team, as a group as a community. What they have achieved in the past 5 years has been nothing short of remarkable.
“From nothing they grew The National Robotarium in under 18 months to be a home for anyone vested in robotics for the UK, helping companies adopt robotics, develop new robotic products, creating sector awareness and convening interest groups, driving research, and most importantly engaging young people in robotics. It now stands as one of the most prominent pillars in UK robotics due to their intellect and drive and passion.”