The UK Government announced on 27 June 2020 a package to support universities to continue research and innovation activities. The key points are as follows:
- Around £280 million government funding will be made available to universities and research organisations impacted by coronavirus for grant extensions. This funding includes supporting researchers’ salaries and other research costs such as laboratory equipment and fieldwork. UKRI will contact universities and research organisations with details of their grant extension allocation shortly.
- From the Autumn, the UK Government will provide a package of support to research-active universities, consisting of low-interest loans with long pay-back periods, supplemented by a small amount of government grant. The government will cover up to 80% of a university’s income losses from international students for the academic year 2020-21, up to the value of non-publicly funded research activity in that university.
Further details can be found on the UK Government website.
Two projects backed by Scottish universities have been successful in a UK wide competition for research and innovation funding. The investments are designed to support economic impact and regional growth.
Following today’s funding announcement, the University of Glasgow will receive £38million to create the Precision Medicine Living Lab, bringing cutting-edge science and innovation into a real-world medical environment. And in Edinburgh the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence has been awarded £22.5 million. The concept was developed into a winning bid by the University of Edinburgh, FinTech Scotland and the Financial Data and Technology Association.
The money will come from UK Research and Innovation’s £186 million Strength in Places Fund which recognises the importance of science, research, innovation and skills in creating jobs and prosperity for the future. Twenty three UK projects were scrutinised by the panel before the funding allocation was announced. In selecting seven successful bids, the assessment panel looked for proposals with benefits across the whole of society.
Led by the scientists who recently set up the Lighthouse Lab COVID-19 testing facility, the Precision Medicine Living Lab will be located close to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Campus in Govan. It is projected to provide 446 jobs and £136 million of added economic value to the region in the next eight years. Its work will be concerned with tailoring medical treatments to individual characteristics and will focus on precise diagnostics, imaging, genomics and artificial intelligence.
Once established, the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence will support technological innovation in financial services and provide research to help policymakers understand the economic and social impact of future financial decisions.
Dr Stuart Fancey, Director of Research and Innovation at the Scottish Funding Council, said:
“Scottish universities responded creatively and energetically to the opportunity presented by the Strength in Places Fund. It’s excellent news that two Scottish projects have been successful in their bids. Both projects have been developed to create benefits that will reach far beyond their host universities and into regional economies and wider society.”
UK Research and Innovation Chief Executive, Professor Sir Mark Walport, said:
“UK Research and Innovation funding through the Strength in Places Fund will bring researchers, industry and local leadership together in outstanding collaborative programmes that will catalyse regional excellence and economic growth across the UK.”
The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has today (Monday 22 June) welcomed publication of the report from the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery.
Towards a Robust, Resilient Wellbeing Economy for Scotland has put education firmly at the heart of economic recovery, recognising that the “central importance of the role of education in the reconstruction of the economy is unarguable”.
The report sets out the following overarching challenges for universities and colleges:
- To design learning to match the skills need in Scotland in future.
- To focus on reskilling and lifelong learning.
- To transform acknowledged world-class research into comparable levels of development, and, in turn, large-scale commercialisation.
Welcoming the report, SFC Chief Executive, Karen Watt said:
“We welcome the Advisory Group’s report and are committed to working with partners to make sure our education, skills, research and innovation systems address the challenges of a Covid-19 environment and the needs of learners, business, institutions and economic recovery.”
Universities across the UK have received a letter today confirming midday on 31 March 2021 as the revised deadline for submissions to the Research Excellence Framework (REF). This follows a survey asking for views on a timescale for REF 2021, which was postponed because of the COVID-19 crisis.
The exercise is scheduled to resume on 31 July 2020, eight months ahead of the revised submission deadline. Updated guidance on any revisions to the exercise will be published by then, following a further period of engagement with universities and other partners. The staff census date of 31 July 2020 remains unchanged.
In recognition of ongoing uncertainty about the effects of COVID-19, the UK funding bodies which manage the REF have set a review date in November 2020. The review will consider the level of disruption being experienced, and whether further contingency arrangements for the REF may be necessary.
The letter also confirms an extension to the period in which examples of impact may occur in order to be eligible for submission. The extended assessment period for impact will run from 1 August 2013 to 31 December 2020, an extension from the previous end date of 31 July 2020.
Commenting on the decisions, Dr Steven Hill, Director of Research at Research England and Chair of the REF Steering Group, said:
“We received an excellent response to the survey, from a wide range of organisations, groups and individuals.
“This has been incredibly valuable to our decision-making process. We carefully considered the arguments that were set out, alongside the clear preferences shown for the March deadline and impact extension in terms of numbers alone, and were persuaded that these options best met our criteria for revisions to the exercise.”
With the revised submission deadline now in place, amended timings for the REF panel nominations process are expected to be confirmed shortly.
Further information can be found on the REF 2021 website.
The project will see a training hub developed in the premises of the Brown’s Bank-based company and will be part of a major refit of the current premises.
Known for servicing the fishing and commercial fleets of the North Sea and the leisure craft sector, as well as the development of the offshore wind sector in the future, Eyemouth Marine has long offered commercial repairs, servicing, welding and painting projects to the marine industry.
Once established, the training hub will offer the SVQ Boat Building and Repair qualification from the Eyemouth premises, and in addition, will become a digital spoke connected to the South of Scotland Learning Network. As part of this exciting project, a suite of online training materials will be developed in relevant boat building and repair topics.
By providing very specific and specialised training to the needs of local businesses in the marine sector, this new development looks to both support the local economy and ensure that the future workforce is developed to help address an ageing population within the industry.
The project will be finished by September 2020, with the first students completing their qualification by 2023.
Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said:
“Colleges play an increasingly important role in Scotland’s innovation economy. I am delighted that the College Innovation Fund is supporting projects of the quality and ambition of this one. This project demonstrates colleges’ ability to respond to the needs of local economies. It has the potential to make a real difference to the Eyemouth area.”
Commenting on the development, Davie Lowe, Borders College Assistant Principal, said:
“One of the aims of the project is to minimise students travelling from the Eyemouth area to College in Galashiels to undertake the Modern Apprenticeship, and at the same time make learning even more accessible in the local area.”
Boats have been built at Brown’s Bank for over 190 years, and Eyemouth Marine Manager Graham Perrins said:
“As ‘A Garage for the Sea’ we specialise in the repair and servicing of vessels. Whatever is required our experienced team of Craftsmen and Engineers can find a solution. For these reasons we are delighted to be involved in this exciting new project with Borders College in training the next generation of Modern Apprentices.”
The funding for this project has been provided by the Scottish Government to support colleges to work innovatively with businesses and address challenges in critical strategic areas.
Further information is available on the Borders College website.
Forth Valley College’s new Digital Skills Transforming Care Course was officially launched at a special online event today (Tuesday 16 June) – and is set to become an essential qualification for key workers across Scotland.
An investment of £64,744 from Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) Innovation Fund has helped to support the development of the project and course coordinators hope the Digital Skills Transforming Care course will establish digital health and care as a key learning priority for staff, with the potential to reach 3,200 care at home staff who are currently employed across the Forth Valley region.
The new online course aims to deal with the ‘new normal’ for healthcare which has evolved from the Coronavirus epidemic and lockdown. The course ensures that digital skills are integrated into the training of care staff across the Forth Valley area to meet the demands of a changing sector.
The project – a joint partnership between FVC, Time for You Care, Able Health Care, Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership and Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership – was selected following a highly competitive Scotland-wide bidding process run by the Scottish Funding Council, led by SFC’s Policy Analysis Officer Morven Pritchard.
Forth Valley College staff have been at the forefront of the new course which was soft launched on Wednesday 18 March at Dundee and Angus College, by Ivan McKee MSP, Scotland’s Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation.
Jane Muir, Project Manager said:
“The collaborative nature of this project has brought employers together with Forth Valley College and work will continue to utilise opportunities and share aspirations for workforce and sector development in the future”.
Detailed update blogs for the innovative new digital health care course are now available on the Scottish Funding Council website and will bring those interested in the new Digital Skills Transforming Care online course up to speed with the latest developments, and provide information on how applying for and being accepted on the course can enhance professional best practice.
Employer validation of the new course was completed in May with employers feeling that this course represents exactly where they want staff to be in terms of digital skills development. The online enrolment form for the course can now be accessed via the flexible learning page of Forth Valley College website.
The blogs can be found on the SFC website.
Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said:
“Colleges are fantastic at adapting and responding rapidly to Scotland’s changing needs – for students, employers, and health and social care providers. I am delighted our College Innovation Fund is supporting projects of the quality and ambition of this new digital health course – helping our key care workers with the vital training and skills they need at this challenging time.”
Sarah Higgins, Curriculum Manager the Department of Care, Sport and Construction, said:
“We are very excited about the launch of this new course which will help train the next generation of care providers and furnish them with the latest skills needed to provide health care in the digital age.
“The introduction of this new course will also increase the opportunities for care service users to engage with digital technologies, which could support them in living more independently in their own home for longer.”
Students facing hardship this summer due to Covid-19 can now receive financial support, within a package of new measures.
The First Minister announced today that the Scottish Government has brought forward early access to £11.4 million of discretionary funds – higher education students should apply to their colleges or universities for access to this financial support.
Unlike continuing higher education students, most former further education students can receive benefits if they are unemployed. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) will also give colleges flexibility to offer FE discretionary funds to bridge the timing gap between bursary payments ending in June and Universal Credit payments starting.
The Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) has suspended until September all new debt recovery actions in respect to grants and bursaries, for students whose circumstances have changed and therefore may have to return overpayments. Students are encouraged to contact SAAS to discuss what help is available.
In addition, Scottish students studying in Europe as part of EU Portability or historically arranged schemes will be able to access a £100,000 emergency fund administered by SAAS.
Minister for Further, Higher Education and Science Richard Lochhead said:
“Given the economic impact of Covid-19, many continuing students who rely on seasonal and part-time jobs in summer could find it difficult to cover their basic housing or cost of living costs. No student should face financial hardship as a result, so these new measures will support students until the start of the next academic year when bursary, grant and loan payments will begin again.
“This package builds on our £5 million support plan for FE and HE students announced in April. The UK Government package announced on 4th May for Higher Education Providers and Students was disappointing and fell short of recognising the full scale of the challenge.”
New social media materials have been produced to help universities and colleges across Scotland support staff and students who might be experiencing gender-based violence (GBV) and abuse while social distancing measures are in place due to Covid-19.
Social distancing and self-isolation measures can be particularly challenging for those experiencing GBV. The website and social media materials seek to highlight the specialist support services available to victims, but also to perpetrators in order to put the responsibility onto them to address their behaviour.
The production of the materials was led by education charity Advance HE in partnership with the charity #EmilyTest, CDN and Universities Scotland. The project was funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). This initiative builds on the partnership approach to tackling gender based violence built in Scotland’s colleges and universities over recent years.
In addition the website has been updated to reinforce the message that there is help available.
Whilst colleges and universities made a rapid transition away from face to face learning in March in the interests of public health, support services for students have remained open throughout the pandemic with institutions adapting their means of delivery. Any student or member of staff in need of support can contact their institution or reach out for specialist services.
SFC’s Dr Donna MacKinnon, Director of Access, Learning and Outcomes said:
“Lockdown measures have made it much harder when home is not a safe place. Colleges and universities have a responsibility to help protect their students and staff from harassment and abuse and that duty of care is made more important in these difficult circumstances.
“I’m confident these social media materials and the refreshed website will help our colleges and universities to reach out to students and staff and encourage them to seek help.”
Advance HE’s Dr Nel Whiting, said:
“Lockdown does not cause gender based violence but it increases the risks faced by victims and this means these new resources are of vital importance. Everyone should feel safe in their homes, and hopefully this initiative will mean some victims will become more aware of the support that is available to them. We also believe that perpetrators of gender-based violence must take responsibility for their behaviour and seek to address it.
“Advance HE condemns all forms of abuse and violence and we are committed to supporting all students and staff in the tertiary education sector who suffer from abuse.”
Founder and CEO of EmilyTest, Fiona Drouet said:
“EmilyTest are delighted to work on this important piece of work with our valued partners. Tackling Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Colleges and Universities is of paramount importance and we must not become complacent during lockdown. Domestic violence, intimate partner violence, cyberbullying/stalking and revenge pornography are all prevalent in this environment.”
At the start of April, EmilyTest released a letter of recommendations to the education sector, highlighting areas of concern and good practice.
“We hope our letter, combined with these new resources, will ensure staff and students reach the support they need. This is a fast-moving and busy time for violence against women services, but we hope these assets will be a timely reminder that help and support are still there and just one phone call, text or click away.”
NUS Scotland President, Liam McCabe said:
“All students deserve to be able to live and study in a safe and secure environment and this has never been more important than during the current pandemic. It is vital that students at risk of gender-based violence during social-distancing and after, are aware that there is support available to them.
“We welcome this important resource and will continue to work with the wider sector to ensure that students know where and how to access the support and guidance they may need.”
Andrea Nolan, Convener of Universities Scotland and Principal, Edinburgh Napier University:
“For our students the message is clear: our student support services are equipped to help and support you regardless of your circumstances. The restrictions caused by COVID-19 have been very difficult for many people, but especially for those who are sharing space with others who can do them physical and mental harm. The HE sector in Scotland is dedicated to build on our work to prevent gender based violence and will work with partners to ensure that students know they can receive the help, advice and support they need.”
Scotland’s universities have developed a new suite of standard agreements to help make business-academic partnerships quicker and easier to set up and manage from a legal perspective.
The agreements can now be downloaded for free from the Interface website. They provide a clear starting point for reaching rapid mutual understanding between businesses and their academic partners about areas like confidentiality and intellectual property rights. They are also designed to prompt useful discussions at the initial stages of project scoping and to help remove some of the perceived barriers of business-academic engagement.
Different types of collaboration, from research to studentship agreements are covered by the documents, which also take into account a range of scenarios determined by the company’s contribution to the partnership.
One business that has already benefited from using the legal agreements is Middle Way Ltd, which has worked on innovation projects with both Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Glasgow.
Catriona Monson, who co-founded the company, said:
“Having the standard documentation has made the legal and administrative side of collaborating really quick and easy for us and meant that we could focus our time on the important part of getting started with the research.”
Dr Mike Smith, Executive and Policy Manager at SRUC, who convened the Scottish Universities group responsible for developing the standard legal agreements, said:
“Getting all the 19 Scottish Universities to agree on commonly used legal templates will help smooth the pathway to collaborations with a diversity of organisations in both the public and private sectors.
“It helps to underscore how much the universities value the importance of collaborating with businesses and other organisations to help promote innovation and enterprise and is a practical demonstration of Scottish universities being very much open for business.”
The Scottish Government has announced a one-off £75 million increase in funding for Scotland’s universities to ensure they can protect their world-leading research programmes against the financial impact of COVID-19.
The significant intervention will help secure the jobs and training needed to support ongoing and future research work, meaning institutions can concentrate fully on planning the long-term future of a sector so vital to the Scottish economy.
Universities will also be expected to adapt and use their own resources, as well as the packages of support for businesses provided by the UK Government, to counter the effects of the pandemic on research operations.
The new funding will replace lost research income, protect research jobs, and help universities focus more effort on the high priority research needed to fight the outbreak and to support society and the economy, post COVID-19.
Richard Lochhead, Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, has now written to his UK Government counterpart Michelle Donelan, Minister of State for Universities, calling for a UK investment and support package for Higher Education, including additional financial support for universities, to ensure they and their graduates can continue to play a key role in the UK’s economic and social recovery from the pandemic.
Scottish university income has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, most notably by a loss of international student income, cancelled conference bookings, and returned accommodation fees. Recent Scottish Funding Council analysis has indicated that Scottish universities face a loss of around £72 million due to COVID-19 this academic year alone, with a collective operating deficit of between £384 million and £651 million forecast for next academic year.
The Scottish Government is working with Scottish Funding Council and the sector to mitigate the current issues across the range of university activities including research, supporting teaching excellence and student well-being.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said:
“Our world-renowned university research activities is under threat from COVID-19, from the loss of university income and the risk to jobs and investment. That research is critical to Scotland’s future public health and prosperity. So we are investing now to protect our research sector’s excellence, with £75 million of additional funding, as we plan together for the future sustainability of Scotland’s society and economy as a whole.
“We are taking a partnership approach, talking to the universities and staff unions, as we build up our response. For the universities part, they are stepping up with a willingness to use part of this investment to support PhD students whose studies have been impacted by COVID-19.
“Now we need the UK Government to join those efforts. So far, their main interventions have been focussed on the HE sector south of the border. We need the UK Government to take a UK approach and join with Scottish universities and the Scottish Government to build a support package that will protect the sector from the impact of this virus.”
The additional funding will be administered by the Scottish Funding Council. Its Chief Executive, Karen Watt said:
“This is very welcome additional funding for research in Scotland. We will work closely with the sector to ensure it helps universities continue with vital research, including our response to COVID-19, and contributes to our subsequent recovery.”
Universities Scotland convenor, Professor Andrea Nolan said:
“We welcome the Scottish Government’s recognition of the role research and innovation will play in supporting business and industry and strengthening our post COVID-19 economy and society.
“The pace of this commitment, and the injection of confidence it will give the research community within the sector, is very welcome.
“We will work closely with Government and the Scottish Funding Council to ensure this resource has the most impact, including support for our PhD students, who are our pipeline of talent for future research and who have been adversely affected by the instability created by the pandemic.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, the Scottish Funding Council is continuing to update its
Should you have any questions that are not currently addressed in the FAQ, or if there are any issues you would like to raise, please email policy@sfc.ac.uk.
The Innovation for Games and Media Enterprise (InGAME) project has started to help the first projects from its R&D voucher scheme. Led by Abertay University, in partnership with the Universities of Dundee and St Andrews, the £11.5m InGAME R&D collaboration aims to deliver innovative research and R&D support for the Dundee games industry.
Companies pitch projects for the InGAME team to work on while the results of the research are 100% owned by the company.
InGAME is jointly funded by an investment of £5.25m, from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and an additional investment of £500,000 from the Scottish Funding Council.
Last year, the project launched the InGAME R&D Voucher Scheme, allowing games companies, businesses and non-profit organisations to pitch for blocks of academic expertise, resources and support worth up to a maximum of £5,000 per project.
This model allows voucher holders to quickly develop and test new ideas without the risk of financial and time limitations. Developers can prove concepts and assess the feasibility of creative and commercial opportunities.
Project Director of InGAME Sean Taylor said:
“I’m delighted that these projects have been awarded funding and it’s really pleasing to see such a diverse range of collaborations getting underway.
“We had a fantastic response to the first round of our R&D Voucher Scheme and we are now actively encouraging both games studios and other businesses to make pitches for the next phase.”
Five of Scotland’s universities appear in the recently published Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.
Now in their second year, the rankings assess the world’s universities against each of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. The rankings take into account a university’s research, outreach and stewardship activities. The 2020 edition includes 766 universities from 85 different countries.
UN member states adopted the 17 goals for sustainable development in 2015 and they are described as “an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership”. The goals recognise that the ending of poverty and other types of deprivation must go hand-in-hand with strategies to improve education and health, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth.
All five Scottish universities in the 2020 rankings – Edinburgh, Glasgow Caledonian, Dundee, Strathclyde and Aberdeen – scored highly under the UN’s goal for strengthening global partnerships.
The Scottish Funding Council supports universities’ global research activities through its Global Research Challenge Fund which has supported over 400 projects in Scottish universities and involved more than 70 developing countries.
See the full results of the 2020 Higher Education Impact Rankings.The Scottish Government has today (8 April 2020) announced a £5 million package of emergency financial support to help students facing hardship as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
As part of this package the Scottish Funding Council has brought forward £2m of advance funding to help students on Further Education courses at Scotland’s colleges. In addition, SFC has asked colleges to redirect any unallocated travel or childcare costs to discretionary funds which can be used to address COVID-19 related hardships.
The SFC funding supplements an additional £2.2m for Scotland’s Higher Education (HE) Discretionary Fund as well as advance funding of £800,000 from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).
This package of funding will be available to colleges and universities immediately.
Other details of the emergency package include:
- £100,000 available to support around 1,000 students studying with private providers, administered by SAAS and paid directly to affected students.
- A suspension in all ‘new’ student debt recovery actions for three months, which will benefit around 600 individuals; any students with existing debts experiencing problems as a result of the crisis, are encouraged to get in contact with SAAS to discuss what help could be available.
- an extension of the Care-Experienced Accommodation Grant, allowing eligible students to access support of a non-repayable grant of up to £105 per week, from early April – eight weeks earlier than usual – benefiting around 200 students worth an estimated £200,000.
Further and Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead said:
“We are ensuring all students studying in Scotland should have access to emergency support should they be facing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19, or the social distancing and isolation measures that have been introduced.
“All bursaries, grants and loans are continuing to be paid as planned – but the current unprecedented situation has resulted in increased hardship. That is why we are making extra funding immediately available for students most in need, to help alleviate concerns around accommodation costs, mental health issues, general living costs and wellbeing.
“Institutions will be provided with specific guidance on the discretionary funding related to COVID-19, to explain all relevant details while students can access the latest information on COVID-19 on the Student Information Scotland website.”
Students in Further and Higher education can access the latest information on COVID-19 on the Student Information Scotland (SIS) website
The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has today (7 April 2020) published funding allocations to Scotland’s colleges and universities for the academic year 2020-21.
This year’s announcement comes at a time of unprecedented challenges for further and higher education. SFC has already committed to ensuring stability and continuity by maintaining existing payment processes to ensure funds continue to flow to institutions. The publication of funding allocations for the coming academic year will assist colleges and universities with their forward financial planning at this very difficult time.
Key highlights for the university sector are as follows:
- Teaching funding has increased by 3.1% (£20.3 million).
- Research and Innovation budgets have received an inflationary increase of 1.8% (£5.2 million).
- Funding for other national investments has increased by £8.8 million.
- Capital maintenance funding has been broadly maintained, in cash terms, at the same level as last year.
Key highlights for the college sector are as follows:
- Teaching funding has been increased by 5% (£23 million).
- We are providing funding (£17.3 million) towards pension costs over the 16 month period April 2020 to July 2021.
- Student Support funding has increased by 12.4% (£15.2 million).
- We have maintained support for the Flexible Workforce Development Fund and our match-funding for our European Social Fund programme and will continue to support ongoing commitments to other non-core programmes, which include national sector-wide services and strategic projects.
- The capital funding budget has decreased by £11.9 million, however due to the recent completion of Forth Valley College’s new Falkirk campus funds have been freed up to allow an increase of £10.2 million for sector-wide capital maintenance.
Full details are available in the announcements on university and college funding.
The Scottish Funding Council’s latest report on widening access shows that almost 5,000 entrants to first degree courses in 2018-19 came from Scotland’s most deprived areas.
The report focuses on the socio-economic status of students and on protected characteristics such as gender, race and disability as well as those having experience of care. It measures how many are setting out on degree courses, how many remained in higher education after a year, and their achievements at the end of their studies.
According to the report, 4,900 students from the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland started at a Scottish university in 2018-19, representing 15.9% of Scottish-domiciled full-time first degree entrants. This brings the proportion of disadvantaged students to within just over 4% of the Commission on Widening Access’s target for 2030.
Despite a 2.6% drop in the first year retention rate overall for disadvantaged students, more students from care experience backgrounds continued with their university studies beyond the first year with the retention figure rising by 5.6%.
We are pleased to announce that the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has approved the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges’ (EAUC) bid for funding for the next phase of its work. EAUC will deliver its new outcome agreement ‘Accelerating action and leadership in Scotland’s colleges and universities to respond to the climate emergency’ from 1 April 2020 up to March 2023.
The success of the bid comes as a result of work undertaken with SFC over the past six months to develop new ideas about further accelerating the sector’s response to the climate emergency. This process was informed by feedback from EAUC members through events, surveys and through the Office Bearers Group. It also referred to the results of SFC’S sector survey in 2019 and reflected EAUS’s own understanding of the higher and further education sector’s sustainability journey, community motivations and the Scottish Government’s national priorities.
At the end of March, EAUC officially reached the end of the Catalysing transformative leadership for sustainability programme. This 3-year outcome agreement, again funded by SFC, has enabled EAUC-Scotland to collaborate with and support the Higher and Further Education sector in its sustainability journey. Since April 2017, EAUC has delivered 109 events, training sessions and webinars reaching over 1,500 people. Evidenced through the Sustainability Committee Enhancement Project, the percentage of institutions with a formal sustainability committee has risen from 64% to 82% in the past 18 months; and the sector has reduced its carbon emissions by 15% over the past 3 reporting years (2015/16 – 2018/19). EAUC is confident that this programme has helped create a culture of understanding of the significant roles the sector has in responding to the climate emergency.
The new SFC-funded programme is designed to create opportunities for colleges and universities to form new collaborations and develop innovative approaches in their response to the climate emergency. The programme will focus on supporting transformative leadership and the empowerment of sector communities, building capacity in institutional structures across the sectors, developing a place-based response to the climate emergency and further strengthening the collaborative sector voice. EAUC will also work with SFC and key partners to progress Learning for Sustainability in learning, teaching and research and support SFC on its own strategic framework and the national framework through harnessing the ‘Team Scotland’ approach.
Responding to the confirmation of funding, Iain Patton, CEO of EAUC-UK, said:
“I would like to thank our members and the Scottish Funding Council for their on-going support of EAUC-Scotland and for their work in co-developing this new and exciting programme. If we are to limit global warming to 1.5oC in line with the Paris Agreement then 2020 marks the start of a critical decade of climate action.
“Our universities and colleges can develop the research, knowledge and skills needed to inspire and create sustainable communities, empowering staff and students to be the agents of change today and tomorrow. We’re excited to lead on this challenge and support the Scottish HFE sector.”
In light of significant changes across our institutions and of EAUC as an organisation due to the COVID-19 outbreak, EAUC-Scotland has reviewed the planned actions within their new Outcome Agreement. The new Outcome Agreement will be published by EAUC for viewing shortly with further details.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the umbrella body for the nine UK research councils, is looking to fund a number of short-term COVID-19 research projects.
The organisation has issued a call for proposals for projects that will address and mitigate the health, social, economic and environmental impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to information issued this week, UKRI will fund up to 18 months’ of research activity that can make a significant contribution to the UK’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Projects that support the manufacture or uptake of innovations with the potential to fight the virus and its effects will also be considered for support. The research and innovation funded through this new initiative will have to deliver benefits to public health in the next twelve months.
UKRI has also put in place special arrangements to allow researchers to use existing UKRI funding to address COVID-19 research priorities.
More information can be found on the UKRI’s website.
The Oil & Gas Innovation Centre activity becomes part
of the Oil & Gas Technology Centre
- Providing one academic and industry focal point for driving low carbon innovation.
- Focused on strengthening fundamental research for developing early stage technology.
- £3 million funding to support industry projects delivered in collaboration with Scottish universities.
A single academic and industry focal point for strengthening low carbon technology was confirmed today, supported by £3 million funding from the Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise.
From 1 April 2020, the activity undertaken by the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) has transferred to the Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC), and the funding provided will be used to develop net zero projects in partnership with industry and Scottish Universities.
With fundamental research and academic collaboration critical to unlocking the potential of key technologies, the academic network and early-stage technology innovation developed by OGIC will strengthen the OGTC’s existing capability. Over the past five years OGIC has supported over 100 projects, from innovative well plug and abandonment barriers, through to transformational subsea systems.
Some of these have progressed through to the OGTC for co-funding and support, therefore the transfer of activities provides an opportunity to align industry and academic innovation, which will now be delivered through the OGTC.
Launched in February 2017, the OGTC has already co-funded £130 million in over 130 projects, working in close partnership with industry, government and academia to accelerate new technology solutions to market. Following its launch of a new Net Zero Solution Centre, the organisation is focused on accelerating technologies that will decarbonise offshore operations and help the UK to become the first net zero basin globally.
Both teams have been working closely together to ensure a smooth integration, with the OGTC focused on developing new projects that address key areas in its technology roadmaps, specifically early stage TRL 3-6.
Commenting on the additional funding, Dr Stuart Fancey, Director of Research and Innovation at the Scottish Funding Council, said:
“The Scottish Funding Council, together with its partners in Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government, is delighted to invest in bringing OGIC activity into OGTC to help the oil and gas industry towards reaching the ambitious net zero target. Aligning the successes of OGIC, and in particular its strong academic and business links, with OGTC’s Net Zero Solutions Centre, will give the oil and gas sector the best chance of transitioning to a net zero economy.”
Commenting on the announcement, Colette Cohen OBE, Chief Executive Officer of the OGTC, said:
“We’re delighted to welcome the OGIC team, harnessing their academic and SME connections to expand our focus on early stage technology develop for the net zero future. We look forward to developing new collaborative early technology readiness level (TRL) projects that will help to bolster our capability and deliver the required energy transition at pace.”
A record number of students (302,660) were enrolled on higher education courses at Scotland’s Universities and Colleges in 2018-19 according to a new report from the Scottish Funding Council. This represents a 2% increase (5,965 students) on the 2017-18 figure.
There has also been a 1.5% increase in the number of entrants to Higher Education courses at Scotland’s Universities and Colleges since 2017-18, bringing the total number to 143,915 in 2018-19. That is an increase in entrants of 2,095.
The highest level of qualifiers from Scottish institutions in the last 10 years was also reached with 110,150, which is a 5.8% (5,990 qualifiers) increase on the previous academic year.
In another report on students’ eligibility for funding out today there has been an increase of 7,325 students eligible for funding up by 5.1% since the 2015-16 academic year.
Since the 2015-2016 academic year the number of undergraduate students eligible for funding increased by 4.2%. For taught postgraduates this increased by 16.2% while for research postgraduates the number increased by 5.1%.
In a third report from SFC today full-time staffing numbers at Scotland’s colleges have roughly stayed the same, with roughly half of all staff teaching and the other half working in support.
Women continue to account for 61% of all staff headcount in 2018-19 and account for 54% of teaching and 69% of non-teaching staff.