Research from Universities Scotland highlights the value of going to university, including that: 84.5% of Scottish graduates credit their university with helping them gain employment 74% of Scottish graduates found a job reflective of their ambitions in under a year thanks to their degree 75% of business leaders believe going to university enables graduates to…
Tag: Employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship
Universities Scotland responds to the Withers review of skills landscape
Responding to Fit for the Future: developing a post-school learning system to fuel economic transformation, published by the Scottish Government on 7 June 2023, Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland said: “This is a bold report that seeks to tackle long-term challenges in the skills landscape head-on and proposes a major shake-up of Scotland’s structural…
Erasmus+ and the replacement schemes in place across the UK
We were given the opportunity to provide evidence to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on their inquiry into Erasmus+ and the replacement schemes in place across the UK. In our evidence we highlight: Scotland’s students, staff and universities would benefit significantly from the introduction of a two-way mobility scheme in Scotland, that would complement…
£20m cut “extremely disappointing”
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…
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…
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…
Response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on post-school education, research and skills: interim purpose and principles
We have welcomed the opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s post-school education, research and skills: interim purpose and principles exercise. We have engaged with the Scottish Government during the consultation phase, which closed on 24 March 2023, culminating in our formal response to their draft.
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…
Universities role in economic transformation celebrated in Scottish Parliament
The contribution of universities to the economic transformation of Scotland was celebrated by MSPs in the Scottish Parliament on 31 January 2023 as we held our annual Parliamentary reception. MSPs, universities, stakeholders and friends of the higher educatiton sector gathered to hear about the sector’s strong culture of delivery which aligns closely with the Scottish Government’s…
Cuts to international student numbers should be resisted
Commenting on speculation that the UK Government may look to cut international student numbers, Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland said: “Any attempts to cut international student numbers at Scottish universities would be damaging to universities and the Scottish economy. Every year more than 65,000 students from more than 180 countries study in Scotland. This…