This afternoon (Tuesday 2 May), Principals of Scotland’s universities were informed by the Scottish Funding Council that the £20 million of additional resource funding allocated to the sector in December’s budget by the Scottish Government is now “not available for distribution and has been identified as a necessary saving”. Universities were told that Scottish Government…
News
April
28
2023
Ensuring good governance in higher education remains fit for purpose
Universities Scotland has welcomed the updated Scottish Code of Good HE Governance following a scheduled review undertaken on behalf of the Committee of Scottish Chairs in consultation with stakeholders. The review fulfils the commitment of the Committee of Scottish Chairs to achieve continual enhancement of good governance, together with transparency, inclusion and accountability. This is…
April
25
2023
AI in higher education – friend or foe?
The topic of Artifical Intelligence has been of huge interest in the early months of 2023. Our latest blog sees Abertay University Principal, Professor Liz Bacon, discuss the role AI could have in higher education reflecting on her decades of work in this area. With the disruption navigated by our universities during Covid-19 thankfully beginning to…
April
20
2023
Students’ hopes, uncertainties and university support revealed to Minister on visit to Queen Margaret University
Students attending universities from across Edinburgh met the Minister for Higher and Further Education; and Minister for Veterans, Graeme Dey MSP, to share the range of challenges and opportunities they face as undergraduates, in a visit to Queen Margaret University Edinburgh on Thursday 20 April. Universities across Scotland offer active support to their students in…
Horizon membership: a deal that works for Scotland, the UK and EU
Professor Iain Gillespie is the Convener of our Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee and Principal at the University of Dundee. In an opinion piece for The Herald which ran in its Monday 17 April 2023 edition, he outlines why it’s imperative a deal to secure Horizon membership for the UK is vital. Last month week…
April
13
2023
Response to Scottish Funding Council indicative allocations
This afternoon (Thursday 13 April), the Scottish Funding Council published their Indicative university funding allocations AY 2023-24. This follows the passing of the Scottish Government Budget for 2023-24. Today’s indicative allocations set out the funding available to specific university grants for teaching, research and innovation and clarify the specific funding available to individual institutions for…
April
10
2023
New innovation record set for universities’ work with business
New official statistics have been published that demonstrate the importance of innovation links between the business and higher education as Scotland’s universities continue to play their part in the economic recovery from the pandemic. The HE business and community interaction survey (HE-BCI) published by The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that Scottish universities in…
March
30
2023
Students and skills: Doing Things Different and Better
Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland has shared his thoughts on the skills landscape and the importance of the skills students learn while at university. Let’s re-set the skills policy agenda by appreciating students’ diversity and ambitions, and the breadth of universities’ contribution to that. I get huge inspiration from meeting students as I visit…
March
29
2023
Twinning funds sees Ukrainian-Scottish research links strengthened
Six Scottish universities have been awarded funds made available through Universities UK International’s (UUKi) twinning initiative to support joint research with universities in Ukraine. The funding will support deeper collaborations between academia in both nations, through a series of twinning partnerships which was first created in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion in 2022. UK International…
March
08
2023
Time to lose the labels
Words are so important: they can motivate, inspire and explain. Yet words can also build barriers. In our latest blog, Claudia Cavalluzzo, Executive Director of Converge, argues that the label ‘entrepreneur’ is one such barrier and that it’s time for an update. Every government – including Scotland – wants more entrepreneurs in their economy. They…