Day: May 18, 2025

Edinburgh University Formula Student team revved up for Silverstone thanks to Greenwheel Electric sponsorship

Edinburgh University’s Formula team will race at Silverstone this year as part of the Formula Student global engineering competition thanks in part to a valuable Gold-level sponsorship by Greenwheel Electric.

Greenwheel Electric is the innovative and ambitious new provider of much-needed electric vehicle charging facilities. Their unique proposition combines 100% green energy at industry-leading prices direct from the point of generation, ultra high-speed charging facilities, and integrated sites providing a high quality traveller experience built on local produce and refreshments. It is a division of Muirhall Energy, Scotland’s largest independent renewables business.

The renewable energy charging facility firm, which launched in 2024, is providing the Formula team with a gold level of sponsorship. The funding will enable the team to test their theories for improving the car and to buy additional required parts.

Jason McCall, Managing Director at Greenwheel Electric, said: “We share the passion of Edinburgh University’s Formula Student team as they continue to push the boundaries of innovation in motorsport.

“EUFS has consistently demonstrated excellence in engineering and automation, setting a high standard for the future of driverless technology. 

“Our sponsorship is not just about providing funding; it’s about fostering the next generation STEM professionals who share our passion to lead the way in sustainable and renewable energy solutions. We look forward to seeing the team race at Silverstone and are proud to be part of their journey.”

EUFS has set the benchmark for driverless teams in the UK, winning the inaugural FS-AI class in 2018 and maintaining an unprecedented seven-year winning streak ever since. In 2024, the team achieved another milestone, becoming the first in the British competition to pass both technical and safety scrutiny with its cutting-edge ADS (automated driving system) car.

Leia Wilson, Sponsorship Lead at EUFS, said: “Edinburgh University Formula Student (EUFS) is a multidisciplinary team of students from various cultural and academic backgrounds.

“EUFS comes together each year to construct an F1-style race car and we participate in Formula Student UK at Silverstone with teams from all around the globe.

“We offer students the ability to put their knowledge to practice, to be part of a model company and for some – to achieve a dream.”

Scottish Opera’s Breath Cycle wins prestigious international award

Berlin, Germany

Scottish Opera has won the prestigious Classical:NEXT Innovation Award for its ground-breaking project Breath Cycle.

Started in 2012, it helps those with lung conditions, such as Long Covid, using breathing techniques in singing and songwriting workshops. It beat competition from across the world to pick up the award at a ceremony in Berlin on Wednesday (14 May).

The Classical:NEXT Innovation Award is decided by nominations from renowned international journalists and leaders in the arts and is selected by the Classical:NEXT community. It recognises organisations and projects that ‘push the boundaries of classical music through innovative approaches, audience engagement, and artistic excellence’.

Breath Cycle was praised for its pioneering work supporting people with respiratory conditions, which included its innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic by bringing the project back to life through the lens of Long COVID. 

Since then, the project has relaunched to include new video and audio resources, one-to-one song writing sessions exploring the participants’ experiences of living with Long COVID – resulting in The Covid Composers Songbook – and a series of intimate performances showcasing these heartfelt and emotive songs in 2023 and 2025, including A Story of Healing:Breath Cycle on Stage.

Jane Davidson MBE, Director of Outreach & Education at Scottish Opera, and composer Gareth Williams, travelled to Germany for the award ceremony.

Jane Davidson said: ‘Voice is such an integral part of what makes us human. Your voice is yours and yours alone, and to lose control over it can be devastating. We’ve learnt so much about how loss of voice through lung conditions of all types, attacks the very core of one’s identity, often leading to profound loneliness and isolation.

“So, from the beginning, the challenge for us was twofold: to help alleviate the physical symptoms of their illness, and to help participants regain their self-worth through the song-writing programme. Hearing these authentic voices ‘singing’ out is an artistic and a human experience that speaks to us all.’

Breath Cycle began in 2012 as a partnership between Scottish Opera and Gartnavel General Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Service in Glasgow. The programme has since worked with nearly 2,500 people, with participants reporting improvements in mental and physical health and wellbeing.

The 2025 Breath Cycle sessions have shown remarkable results, with participants reporting significant improvements in their wellbeing, physical and mental health, as well as reductions in stress levels and increases in energy and motivation.

Classical:NEXT 2025, the world’s largest networking event for classical music professionals, featured over 220 contributors and delegates from 54 countries.

Scottish Opera shared the Innovation Award spotlight with two other recipients: OPERA APERTA (Ukraine) and Clásica No Convencional (Chile).

Scottish Opera’s Outreach & Education department is the oldest outreach and education unit of any opera company in Europe, forming in 1971 under the leadership of Scottish Opera’s founder Sir Alexander Gibson.

Breath Cycle will continue throughout Scottish Opera’s 2025-2026 Season with support from The Scottish Government, Cruach Trust, The Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust, WM Mann Foundation, Souter Charitable Trust, and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.

For more information about Breath Cycle, visit Breath Cycle | Scottish Opera

For full details about Classical:NEXT, visit Innovation Award – Classical:NEXT

First Minister urges Prime Minister to drop EU red lines

Scotland’s interests ‘cannot be an afterthought in negotiations’

First Minister John Swinney has urged the UK Government to reflect Scotland’s interests by dropping its EU red lines on the single market, customs union and freedom of movement.

Ahead of tomorrow’s summit between the UK and EU, the First Minister has reiterated his calls for the closest possible co-operation with Europe and said the best future for Scotland is as an independent nation within the European Union.

The Scottish Government has previously called for the UK Government to negotiate with the EU on a number of key areas including removing barriers to food and drink exports, closer energy and climate co-operation, a youth mobility agreement, and rejoining the Erasmus+ and Creative Europe programmes.

The First Minister said: “Scotland’s best future lies as an independent country within the European Union. More than ever, the current uncertain economic and geopolitical environment reinforces the importance of Scotland having the security, stability and opportunity that comes with EU membership. 

“Right now, the Prime Minister must negotiate the closest possible working relationship with the EU, in the interests of people and businesses across Scotland. To do that he must drop his ideological red lines on the single market, customs union and freedom of movement.

“This would remove significant trade barriers and red tape for Scottish businesses and give a much-needed boost to the Scottish economy which is still being badly impacted by Brexit.

“If the UK Government wants to get serious about economic growth, it should recognise that the EU is one of our most important economic and security partners. At the very least we need to see a reduction in red tape for our food and drink exports, closer co-operation on energy and climate issues and greater freedom of movement for our young people. These areas and others can bring benefits both for us and our European partners.

“The Scottish Government stands ready to work with the UK and the EU towards stability and progress but the UK Government must reflect the interests of Scotland in the upcoming talks. Given the appalling economic, social and cultural damage of Brexit, Scotland cannot be treated as an afterthought by the UK Government in these discussions.”

The Scottish Government has published papers on some of our key priorities for closer cooperation:

The Scottish Government has also published a number of reports on the impact of Brexit on Scotland and Scotland’s economy, including:

In 2023, the Scottish Government published a paper setting out the Scottish Government’s vision for an independent Scotland in the EU:

Building a New Scotland: an independent Scotland in the EU – gov.scot

UK-EU Summit: Starmer set to deliver deal ‘good for growth, good for jobs, good for bills and good for our borders’

  • This week, the Prime Minister will strike ‘yet another deal that will deliver in the national interest of this country. It will be good for growth, good for jobs, good for bills, and good for our borders’, says the UK government.
  • In the last two weeks alone, the government has delivered trade deals with India and the United States. Jobs saved, faster growth, wages rising.
  • These deals are a huge vote of confidence in the United Kingdom. They show that, even though times have been tough, the decisions the government have taken to stabilise the economy and lead the way internationally have made this a country people want to do business with again.
  • Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will set out how a strengthened, forward-looking partnership with the European Union will deliver for working people and lead to more money in pockets as part of our Plan for Change – and sticking to the red lines set out in our manifesto. 
  • Because the British public deserve better than the deal reached under the previous government, which isn’t working for anyone.  
  • It will be better for UK producers – who face red tape and checks just to export to our nearest and biggest trading partner. Or sometimes can’t export at all. 
  • It will be better for British supermarkets, who have to pass these costs onto consumers and reduce the availability of products on shelves. 
  • And it will be better for British families who face higher bills, queues on holiday and whose safety and security is harmed by a lack of cooperation between neighbouring countries facing the same global challenges. 
  • First India, then the US, now the European Union. This is what outward-looking, independent sovereign nations do – we look at the problems facing our country and we work hard, alongside our allies, to find solutions that deliver for our people (says the UK Government). 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “In this time of great uncertainty and volatility, the UK will not respond by turning inwards, but by proudly taking our place on the world stage – strengthening our alliances and closing deals in the interests of British people. 

“First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising. More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses. 

“Tomorrow, we take another step forwards, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union. It will be good for our jobs, good for our bills and good for our borders. 

“That’s what the British people voted for last year, and it’s what my government will deliver.”