Seven University Transformation Projects Backed

Photo: Queen Margaret University

Seven university-led projects designed to drive innovation, collaboration and long-term sustainability across Scotland’s tertiary education sector have been approved for support through the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) University Transformation Framework (UTF). 

In response to the increasingly challenging operating environment, SFC established the framework, which has enabled the redirection of some core funding to give universities greater flexibility in developing innovative approaches to transformation, strengthen partnerships across the tertiary sector and support financial sustainability. 

The approved projects span a range of priorities, including enhanced pathways between colleges and universities, shared services, digital transformation, medical education partnerships, infrastructure planning and research collaboration. 

At Abertay University, the project will focus on creating stronger access routes for students through jointly delivered and recognised provision with Dundee & Angus College and Fife College. The initiative will also modernise systems and processes to improve transitions from further to higher education and explore the use of artificial intelligence to support forecasting and the student experience. 

Edinburgh Napier University, working with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and Queen Margaret University (QMU), will develop a blueprint for a strategic tertiary education alliance. The project will explore shared services, procurement, qualifications design and improved systems to enable smoother student transitions. 

The University of Glasgow will modernise its ethics review processes and, in partnership with the University of Edinburgh, establish governance, operational structures and shared systems to support the Scottish Health and Biomedical Institute (SHBI). The work is expected to benefit researchers across Scotland and the UK through stronger collaboration underpinned by more efficient processes. 

The Open University in Scotland will expand its Catalyst Centre partnerships with five colleges, creating more accessible learning opportunities and clearer progression routes to degree-level study. 

Queen Margaret University will advance a three-year transformation programme focused on reforming QMU’s operating model and academic delivery reform.  

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland will undertake a comprehensive review of operations and estates infrastructure including opportunities for campus redevelopment, as well as assessing RCS’s wider economic impact. 

Meanwhile, the University of St Andrews will work with the University of Dundee to develop a future-facing partnership for medical education and innovation, laying the foundations for shared curriculum development, research infrastructure and clinical academic pathways. 

Helen Cross, Director of Investment and Research at SFC said, 

“These projects demonstrate the ambition, innovation and collaboration that exist across Scotland’s university sector. The projects showcase universities working together, and in many cases alongside colleges, to develop new approaches that will strengthen student pathways, improve efficiency, support innovation and enhance long-term sustainability. They reflect the sector’s commitment to adapting to a challenging financial environment while continuing to deliver for learners, communities and Scotland’s economy. 

 

“The University Transformation Framework is a fantastic example of SFC responding to the needs of the sector.  By introducing flexibility in our funding approach, we’ve been able to target monies already allocated to the sector to projects that will support meaningful transformation.”