During the Covid-19 lockdowns, academic integrity cases at the University of the West of Scotland rose dramatically, repeated in many UK and international institutions. Each case required between two and ten hours of administration, placing significant pressure on staff and committees.

For Dr Stephen Langston, Senior Lecturer in Academic Integrity at the School of Business and Creative Industries, the surge revealed something deeper than an operational bottleneck. It exposed a structural weakness in how institutions manage compliance, disciplinary processes and evidence collation. Existing systems were manual, fragmented and time-intensive. With artificial intelligence accelerating the complexity of misconduct detection, the challenge was only set to grow. Stephen responded by building a legally compliant workflow spreadsheet to manage the increased volume. What started as an internal solution quickly revealed wider potential.

From Spreadsheet to Scalable Platform

Initially, Stephen assumed the issue was confined to Higher Education. But an unexpected industry introduction broadened the lens. Corporate compliance teams were facing similar challenges: tracking evidence, managing investigations and ensuring regulatory transparency. Recognising that a scalable digital solution was required, Stephen joined ICURe Discover in February 2024, delivered by The Helix Way.

Through structured customer discovery, assumption testing and mentor-led guidance, he engaged with potential users and stakeholders to validate the problem beyond his own institution. The findings were clear: there was strong demand for a system that could streamline integrity management across education and industry.

Encouraged to explore further, Stephen progressed into ICURe Explore in November 2024, delivered by Midlands Innovation. Over several months, he engaged with more than 200 individuals across international markets, gathering insight into compliance pain points and refining the commercial proposition. At the same time, Stephen taught himself to code, transforming his original spreadsheet into a web-based platform capable of scaling beyond a single institution.

Introducing IntegraGuard

The result was IntegraGuard – a SaaS platform designed to digitise and systemise integrity processes. Built on more than 30 years of experience in academic integrity and disciplinary oversight, the platform enables organisations to:

• Manage referrals and case workflows
• Record decisions and evidence securely
• Analyse trends across faculties or departments
• Identify repeat patterns and systemic risk
• Integrate with existing institutional systems

Designed with flexibility and accessibility at its core, IntegraGuard reduces hours of manual administration to minutes, allowing staff to focus on fair and consistent decision-making. In an era where AI-generated content is reshaping assessment and compliance environments, digital governance tools like IntegraGuard are becoming critical institutional infrastructure.

From Validation to Venture

Following successful progression through Discover and Explore, Cyberhare Solutions entered the ICURe Exploit phase in April 2025. Exploit provided focused commercial support, strengthening the spin-out proposition, refining the investment case and preparing the company for scale. In September 2025, the team secured UKRI Proof of Concept funding, accelerating development and enabling further expansion of the platform’s capabilities.

Since their active ICURe journey in 2024-25, Cyberhare Solutions has gained significant external validation. The company became a semi-finalist in Converge 2024 and a finalist in the Scottish EDGE competition, reflecting growing recognition of its commercial potential. Through UKRI Proof of Concept funding, IntegraGuard is now on trial in ten universities worldwide, with full UK commercial launch scheduled for 1st October 2026.

Beyond a Platform: Building an Integrity Ecosystem

What began as a case-management tool has evolved into something broader. As a direct result of technical development and commercial insights gained during the ICURe journey, IntegraGuard has expanded into a comprehensive academic integrity ecosystem.

Alongside the core platform, five complementary SaaS tools are scheduled for release from October 2026. These additional services will enhance AI-detection capability, evidence collation and collaborative integrity management, positioning Cyberhare Solutions at the forefront of digital compliance innovation.

The next-generation platform, Lochi, acts as an Intrigue Probability Analyser, supporting collaboration oversight and AI-related detection while maintaining human-led review processes. The system is designed to reduce integrity administration by up to 90 percent, combining automation with structured governance.

A Digital Solution for a Changing World

Cyberhare Solutions sits firmly within the UK’s expanding digital and technologies landscape. As artificial intelligence reshapes education, assessment and corporate compliance environments, institutions require scalable digital systems that safeguard credibility while reducing operational burden. Cyberhare’s evolution from internal academic tool to internationally trialled SaaS platform demonstrates how structured early-stage support can de-risk frontier digital ventures and prepare them for sustainable growth.

I would not be where I am today without the Innovate UK ICURe support and the Delivery Partners, Midlands Innovation. They provided support, encouragement and the practical help in recommending an additional commercial support who is now Chairperson in waiting.

Stephen Langston, Founder and CEO of Cyberhare Solutions.

Positioned for Growth in a Digital Economy

Cyberhare Solutions exemplifies how structured market exploration, assumption testing and commercial mentoring can unlock opportunities beyond a researcher’s immediate environment.

Through ICURe Discover, Explore and Exploit, Stephen validated cross-sector demand, built a scalable platform, secured follow-on funding and positioned the company for international launch. What began as a response to rising plagiarism cases has become a digitally enabled compliance ecosystem with global reach.

As the UK continues to invest in frontier digital technologies and support high-growth start-ups, spin-outs like Cyberhare demonstrate the role early-stage innovation programmes can play in building the infrastructure of tomorrow’s knowledge economy.