Rachel Small
Co-Founder of INNOVAscope
Top Three Finalist, WE Innovate
A Journey Rooted in Care and Curiosity
Rachel’s path into innovation began long before INNOVAscope existed. With over twenty years of experience as a nurse, most of it in critical care, she has always been driven by a commitment to improve patient outcomes and support learners entering clinical practice. Five years ago, when she moved into education, she discovered a new passion: simulation-based learning. For Rachel, simulation offered a powerful, safe way to build skills, confidence, and readiness for real-world healthcare challenges.
Innovation has always been woven into nursing, she says, even if it isn’t always recognised as such. Nurses adapt, create, and problem-solve instinctively. So, when her co-founder, Conor Hamilton, shared the original concept behind INNOVAscope during a chance conversation, it felt natural for her to step in and help explore its wider potential.
A Clear Need in Clinical Training
INNOVAscope focuses on transforming endoscopy education through realistic, structured, and repeatable simulation. Endoscopy is a complex skillset - one that requires exposure to diverse scenarios that clinical environments cannot always predictably provide. Post-pandemic, training opportunities have only become more limited, while patient waiting lists have grown.
Rachel and Conor recognised that students needed a safer, more reliable way to build competence. Simulation-based education, grounded in evidence and widely used across healthcare, offered a promising solution. INNOVAscope was created to enhance that training, providing a space where learners can build mastery without risk to patients.
Stepping into the World of Innovation
When Rachel first saw the WE Innovate programme advertised, she was already in discussions with the university’s Commercialisation team and preparing for the ICURe Discover programme. Although she had decades of clinical experience, she had no business background at all. The idea of commercialisation felt worlds away from nursing. Still, she sensed that developing INNOVAscope could make a meaningful difference - and that belief motivated her to apply.
Facing Early Barriers
Entering the programme, Rachel found herself navigating unfamiliar territory. Concepts like pitching, funding routes, commercial pathways, and revenue models were entirely new. She describes her early steps as naïve, but driven: she didn’t have the business vocabulary yet, but she had clarity that INNOVAscope was needed and determination to champion it.
Her nursing and teaching backgrounds shaped her approach. Nurses innovate daily, often without naming it as such. They respond to real needs, work under pressure, and find creative solutions. We Innovate helped Rachel recognise that this instinctive problem-solving was, in fact, an entrepreneurial strength.
Growth Through Structure, Coaching, and Community
Throughout WE Innovate, Rachel found herself seeing the world differently. The coaching she received played a significant role in that shift. Her KTH coach, Josh Watt, provided much-needed clarity, helping her define her responsibilities and prioritise what mattered most. She also experienced pivotal moments of informal coaching, including a transformative conversation in London with programme lead Karishma Kusurkar, whose thoughtful questions helped her reflect before taking crucial steps forward.
The workshops offered a safe, inclusive environment where Rachel could ask questions freely - a refreshing contrast to the more formal settings she was used to. The combination of We Innovate and ICURe Discover gave her a rounded understanding of innovation, but it was WE Innovate’s nurturing delivery that helped her grow with confidence.
Through the applications required at each stage, she gained a clearer picture of INNOVAscope’s commercial potential. Conversations with programme staff helped her break down concepts like revenue streams and business models, illuminating ideas she hadn’t encountered before.
Discovering Her Leadership Style
Rachel learned a great deal about herself during the programme. As a female founder, and not the original creator of the idea, she had to navigate imposter syndrome. She found that courage often had to come before confidence and that leading a team required resilience, alignment with her values, and a sense of purpose strong enough to guide others through ambiguity.
Over the months, her identity as a founder evolved. She became more comfortable holding the vision, articulating the direction, and championing the project even in its early, uncertain stages.
Momentum and Milestones After London
Finishing in the top three nationally was a major milestone - and one that accelerated progress. Shortly after returning from London, an unexpected opportunity emerged: the suggestion to launch a spin-out company. Although she paused briefly to complete her MSc dissertation, Rachel has now taken a year-long secondment dedicated to advancing the business. Incorporating INNOVAscope came sooner than she’d anticipated, fuelled in part by the visibility and validation the programme brought.
The connections she formed through WE Innovate continue to have a lasting impact, providing her with guidance, expert support, and a much wider network than she ever imagined when she first applied.
Shaping a Broader Perspective
Rachel’s involvement with INNOVAscope has profoundly shaped her work at Queen’s. Throughout the project, she has consistently highlighted that Conor is the true innovator behind the invention, with his insight and creativity driving the original concept. Her own ability to move the work forward depended heavily on the support and guidance of senior leadership, whose backing was essential in turning the idea into reality.
This journey has broadened her perspective, revealing even greater potential for real-world impact across the School of Nursing and Midwifery. It has reinforced the value of collaboration, showing her how powerful it can be when those closest to a challenge are encouraged to share their ideas and are given the opportunity, guidance, and support to drive them forward.
A Programme That Leaves a Mark
For Rachel, what distinguishes WE Innovate is its combination of community, clarity, and care. It is a programme that meets women where they are, offering space for vulnerability, learning, and growth. She describes the environment as supportive, holistic, and intentionally crafted to empower women founders. The friendships, networks, and encouragement she found there remain a meaningful part of her journey.
She believes programmes like We Innovate are essential in helping universities unlock the entrepreneurial potential of women researchers, particularly those who may not yet see themselves as innovators.
Looking Ahead
Rachel is excited about the future, both for INNOVAscope and for the wider community of innovators at Queen’s. She hopes that sharing stories like hers will inspire more nurses, educators, and researchers to recognise the power of their ideas.
Rachel describes her WE Innovate experience as being shaped by a warm, inclusive community of strong women. She reflects on how the welcoming, supportive, and empowering environment enabled the cohort to navigate challenges together, celebrate each milestone, and create an experience that was both inspiring and memorable.