Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland, takes the long view and sets out our ambition for Scotland’s higher education sector in 2030: Graduation season is the perfect time to launch our Vision for Scottish higher education in 2030 because graduations represent a springboard into the future and a time full of optimism and energy. That’s…
Tag: Research and innovation
Universities Scotland submission on future frameworks for international collaboration on research and innovation
Universities Scotland responded to a call for evidence on future UK funding schemes for international collaboration and innovation. Professor Sir Adrian Smith has been commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to provide independent advice on what future frameworks on research and innovation could look like. You can read our full…
Connected Scotland and Scottish universities Going Global in Germany
Connected Scotland partners, Scottish higher education leaders and the Scottish Government Minister for Further Education, Higher Education & Science Richard Lochhead are in Germany this week to promote Scotland and develop strong partnerships with institutions and business in Europe and Germany as part of the British Council’s Going Global conference. A delegation from twelve Scottish…
Submission to Funding of EU Structural Fund Priorities in Scotland, post-Brexit
Universities Scotland have submitted evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee’s inquiry into the Funding of EU Structural Fund Priorities in Scotland, post-Brexit. Structural funds from the European Union have been important for universities in Scotland. After Brexit, there will be a need to replace structural funds. The UK Government is due to…
Life-changing research at Scottish universities could be days away from stalling
Universities Scotland and Universities UK are calling on the government to take urgent steps to prevent Scotland from losing out on hundreds of millions of pounds worth of research grants if there is a no-deal Brexit. Academics across the country are set to find out whether they have been awarded funding from the latest round…
Universities Scotland responds to Knowledge Exchange Framework consultation
Universities Scotland has responded to a consultation on the Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF). Research England consulted on the proposed design and implementation of the first iteration of the KEF, focused on metrics. This particularly focuses on the clustering of institutions for fair comparison, the metrics used to underpin the assessment and how the metrics are…
Universities Scotland welcomes Scottish Science Advisory Council report
Universities Scotland has welcomed a new report from the Scottish Science Advisory Council which assesses Scotland’s Science Landscape . Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland: “The report demonstrates that Scotland is a world leader in research. Examples of this are the fact that Scottish publications are on average 88% more cited than the global average…
Independent Review of Scottish Funding Council’s Research Pooling Initiative
The SFC’s pooling initiative was developed to support Scottish HEIs to establish collaborative research pools with the aim of growing critical mass of excellent research in Scotland. The pooling initiative will be reviewed by an independent panel. Universities Scotland responded to the call for evidence to highlight support for the pools amongst the sector and…
Briefing for Scottish Government Debate: Safeguarding Scotland’s International Research Collaborations and Reputation for Scientific Excellence from the Threat of Brexit
On 7 November 2018, the Scottish Parliament held a Scottish Government Debate on Safeguarding Scotland’s International Research Collaborations and Reputation for Scientific Excellence from the Threat of Brexit. Higher education is one of several sectors that will be impacted highly by changes brought about after Brexit. Staff from within the EU make a tremendous contribution to…
REF 2021 consultation on the draft guidance and criteria
The four UK funding bodies are consulting on the detailed arrangements for the next Research Excellence Framework (REF), as set out in the draft guidance and criteria. Universities Scotland has responded to this consultation to: flag our concerns that the approach to staff circumstances could have negative equality and diversity implications; highlight the challenging timeframes…