Tag: Edinburgh College

On the moo-ve!

Edinburgh vet nursing students moving to top new facilities at Scotland’s Rural College

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Edinburgh College’s Veterinary Nursing courses are transferring to new custom-built facilities at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), giving students an improved learning experience to get the best possible start to their careers. Students and staff will get access to excellent new facilities and resources, including working more with live animals to boost their skills and knowledge.

From August 2016, SRUC will run the two full-time courses at its Oatridge Campus in West Lothian, in a building newly converted into a specialist veterinary nursing facility.

At SRUC Oatridge, the students will get to work regularly with live animals. Currently, students only get to work with animals when they go on placements outside the college, and use simulations of animals on the campus.

SRUC will take on up to 170 students on the two-and-a-half year Level 3 Diploma Veterinary Nursing and the one-year Level 2 Diploma Veterinary Care Assistant. Veterinary Nursing students transferring partway through their course will continue their studies as normal.

It is proposed that all nine Edinburgh College staff members on the programmes – including lecturers and support staff – will transfer to SRUC Oatridge.

Arrangements are being made to make the transition for staff and students as smooth as possible, including transport laid on for students and compensation for staff travel costs.

To ensure staff, students and partners are closely involved in the process and the new facilities meet their needs, Edinburgh College is carrying out a consultation with them.
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Edinburgh College’s vice principal for curriculum and quality, Ray McCowan, said: “Our veterinary courses at Edinburgh College are really successful, with excellent completion and employment rates, and they’re oversubscribed. But with our partners at SRUC we identified an opportunity to give students an even better learning experience than they receive at the moment.

“Working with live animals more regularly in great facilities at the college itself will give them greater insight and practical skills, which will make sure the veterinary industry is supported to deliver what it needs to our communities.

“We appreciate that this is a change but we’re doing everything we can to make it as seamless as possible, and we believe the significant improvement in training makes the switch a really positive move.”

SRUC acting chief executive Janet Swadling said: “Bringing together the veterinary nursing provision from Edinburgh College and SRUC is a key part of the Scottish Strategy for Land-based Education, which aims to encourage greater engagement with industry to ensure employment needs are met. The enhanced provision run by SRUC as Scotland’s specialist land-based higher and further education provider, will help meet that need.

“SRUC is delighted to be working with our partner Edinburgh College, in the transfer of students and staff, and we look forward to welcoming them for the next academic year.”

Edinburgh College develops young workforce

Apprenticeships point the way ahead in Lothian

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Edinburgh College hosted an employer’s engagement event to advance their curriculum strategy around vocational and work based learning last week. Employers, partners, local councils and apprentices joined college leadership to put their heads together and share best practice. Continue reading Edinburgh College develops young workforce

Trust us: students design branding for new charity building

Edinburgh College students produce logo for Gorebridge Beacon

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One of Scotland’s newest and most striking buildings has taken the latest step from drawing board to a reality with the help of two young trainee graphic designers from Edinburgh College.

The Gorebridge Community Development Trust, a volunteer-led charity that supports local economic and social regeneration, is creating a new £2.2m centre (above) and enlisted students Rhys McGeary and Liam Henderson to create its new brand identity.

The designers took the name suggested through a competition, the Gorebridge Beacon, and worked it up into a new logo that symbolises the point of the new centre, which opens next year (below). The new centre will provide affordable, subsidised business space for rental with meeting rooms, flexible conferencing and learning space, a community cafe, a Sure Start nursery and a youth space, giving the town of Gorebridge a major boost.

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Stephanie Walker, co-chair of the Gorebridge Community Development Trust, said: “The Gorebridge Beacon is all about giving people a new start and making their lives better. Graphic design is a fiercely competitive career and getting started on your career can be extremely challenging. By working together, we’ve got a really professional product and the two designers have got something really solid and impressive in their portfolios which will hopefully give them a head start in establishing themselves as excellent creative designers.”

The designers, Rhys and Liam, both from Musselburgh, volunteered to help the trust through their course tutor Chris Hughes at Edinburgh College, where they are in the final year of the HND Visual Communication: Graphic Design course.

Rhys, Liam and the trust narrowed four approaches down to one final design, and this brand identity will now be used across the centre’s website, social media presence, signage and promotional material.  It reflects the aspirations of the trust for the contribution the new complex will make in terms of improving lives in the community. The centre has to pay its own way in terms of attracting tenants for the centre’s office spaces and ensuring as many people as possible come in to use the centre’s cafe, performance spaces, youth rooms, nursery and meeting rooms.

Chris Hughes said: “This partnership worked really well for everyone – the development trust got access to highly skilled design professionals and our students got the chance to work on live commissions and see their work being put into place in a real world commercial setting.”

Rhys said: “The client brief was really interesting but challenging. In terms of the people the centre has to attract, because it offers so many different things – from the cafe to conference venues and offices for hire – the audiences are all ages, from school pupils, to teenagers right up to older people, from charities to professional businesses.

“The trust were also clear that they wanted something that reflected both the building, its name, and its ambitious social purpose.”

Liam said: “Getting a design right involves a lot of discussion while ensuring that the end product has purpose and meaning. It will help the client achieve their purpose such as summarising quickly the point of something  to helping people get more familiar with the centre and more likely to use it.”

Stephanie Walker added: “Given all the Trust is doing, making this centre work is and continues to be a challenge for our small volunteer-led trust and that won’t get any easier when we open our doors as we will have difficult targets to reach.  That’s where a good brand identity and excellent promotional work will pay off and we’ve been grateful to our supporters for their assistance, in particular Midlothian Council which has seconded Stephen Fraser to us part-time.”

“Stephen brought Edinburgh College in and we’re really grateful for their help. Rhys and Liam have listened carefully to our views and worked with board members to come up with a logo and other materials that neatly summarises our hopes for what the centre will provide for Gorebridge when it opens.”

The actual building of the £2.2m centre, known as capital development, has been funded from grants provided by the Big Lottery Fund, Social Investment Scotland and Midlothian Council, with the trust having to repay a loan once the centre is up and running, making it vital that the development is embraced by the Gorebridge community and used fully.

Taste of success: College cookery students share their wares instore

Cookery students help make Aldi opening event taste great

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Edinburgh College Professional Cookery students gave customers at the new Aldi store in Tranent a taste of the skills they have picked up on their course at the shop’s opening day event.

The students braved the cold October weather to prepare tasters of recipes they had prepared using Aldi products. Customers were delighted to sample butternut squash soup, chocolate tarts, tandoori salmon with naan bread, and beef tagliata, and snapped up recipe cards to use at home.

The students demonstrated their preparation techniques when dishing the recipes and walked around the store to serve tasters to customers. This is the second store opening the students have attended, following the opening of the Cowdenbeath store last month, and gave them great practical experience and the chance to engage directly with customers and hear their positive feedback.

The five students are all studying SVQ Level 2 Professional Cookery at the college. Their course prepares them for working in the professional cookery industry by pairing training in food preparation and restaurant service. Students use these skills working in the college’s Granton Campus canteen and the two training restaurants, The Apprentice and eh15.

Student Kerry Robertson said: “This has been a really great opportunity to work and show off what we’ve learned on our course. I don’t have a job in the catering industry yet, so events like these give me the experience I need to take to future employers. I’ve been serving the samples to the customers today and had some really nice comments.”

Lecturers Chris Cockburn and George Baker accompanied the students. George said “We’re really grateful to Aldi for giving us the opportunity to help out with their store opening. It’s valuable for us as a college and for the students, as it lets people know just how high quality our students and teaching are.”

Pictured: Professional Cookery students James Baigan, Alastair MacKay, Alannah Ramsay, Douglas McGovern and Kerry Robertson outside the new Aldi store.

Hair today … College staff and students get the chop to support children with cancer

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Edinburgh College Rapunzels have let down their hair for a good cause and donated their locks to make wigs for child cancer patients who have lost theirs.

Students from HN Sport Therapy and Fitness, Health and Exercise courses joined their lecturers to have the chop to help children’s charity the Little Princess Trust, which makes wigs for children undergoing chemotherapy.

Lecturers Laura Craig and Louise Ball, Louise’s sister Denise Farrell, and five students went under the scissors to donate at least eight inches of their hair each. Altogether, they gave two metres of hair to the charity.

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Laura Craig said: “Donating their hair was a scary thing for most of my students because they have had long hair all of their lives. I think everyone looks great with their new haircuts, especially Louise, whose hair hasn’t been this short since she was a teenager. We are now trying to raise money to help pay for the wigs to be made.”

Students from the Level 3 Hairdressing course provided the haircuts under the watchful eye of their lecturer Rosemary Martin, and also styled the newly shorn hair at the Granton Campus training salons. This follows a great run of community engagement by hair and beauty students last year, which included last year’s Level 3 students helping George Watson’s College pupils with their own Little Princess Trust donations.

Each Little Princess Trust wig costs £350 to make, and the charity relies on donations to help make these. To make a donation in support, visit Laura’s fundraising page www.justgiving.com/laura-craig4 or the Little Princess Trust.

Pictured: 

(Top) Edinburgh College lecturer Louise Ball and her sister Denise Farrell show off their donations.

Hairdressing students Gillian Muir (right) and Amy Lothian (left) gave haircuts to sports and fitness students Kelsie Boyle and Shannon Leishmann (centre).

University Open Days at Edinburgh College

University advice at Granton Campus tomorrow

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Edinburgh College will be hosting a series of university open days to give students, school pupils and members of the public the opportunity to find out which routes to university would be best for them.

Representatives from universities across Scotland will be on hand to provide advice on the courses they have to offer. The Scottish Institute of Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland will also be there to talk about the support they provide for students. There will also be a chance to talk to SAAS about funding options.

The university open days will take place at 11am-2pm at Edinburgh College’s Granton Campus (20 October), Milton Road Campus (21 October) and Sighthill Campus (22 October).

Attendees:

Granton: Tuesday 20 October. 11am-2pm.

University of Edinburgh, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University, Queen Margaret University, University of Stirling, University of Dundee, Glasgow Caledonian University, SAAS, Scottish Institute of Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland.

Milton Road: Wednesday 21 October. 11am-2pm.

University of Edinburgh, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University, Queen Margaret University, SAAS, Scottish Institute for Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland.

Sighthill: Thursday 22 October. 11am-2pm.

University of Edinburgh, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University, Queen Margaret University, University of Stirling, University of Dundee, Glasgow Caledonian, Glasgow School of Art, Robert Gordon University, Abertay Dundee University, University of Aberdeen, SAAS, Scottish Institute for Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland.

Pleased as punch: plumbing apprentices pick up industry awards

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Plumbing apprentices from Edinburgh College proved they have bright careers in the pipeline by winning prizes at the trade’s professional body annual awards.

Four apprentices received awards from the Scottish & Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation (SNIPEF) for excellent performance in college and the workplace. The students are each completing four-year modern apprenticeships with the college’s Construction department.

SNIPEF’s Edinburgh and District Branch gave awards to the best student in each of the first three years of the modern apprenticeship, and to the best improved apprentice. The event celebrated the achievements of apprentices from Edinburgh, Borders and Forth Valley colleges.

The awards for Edinburgh College apprentices were:

  • Best 1st Year apprentice        Kyle Rodger, T Clarke
  • Best 2nd Year apprentice       James Redpath, JSB
  • Best 3rd Year apprentice        Rory Watt, H&C Mechanical Services Ltd
  • Best Improved apprentice      Graeme McKenzie, CHC Group Ltd

Rory Watt was also runner up for the David More Trophy, which is awarded to the best over-all apprentice in the region and went to Martyn Smith from Forth Valley College.

Andrew Golightly, decorating, plastering and plumbing lecturer at Edinburgh College, said: “These apprentices represent the best we have at the college. They have proven to be excellent in their training, shown their commitment and become great plumbers and we are delighted that they are being recognised for that by SNIPEF Edinburgh and District Branch.

“Two of the award winners originally came to the college to complete a pre-apprenticeship course, and their awards tonight prove their commitment to learning and hard work.”

The 19 week pre-apprenticeship course provides a grounding in basic installation and servicing principles, an insight into the working environment, and a head start on the competition when applying for fulltime modern apprenticeship schemes. Plumbing students at Edinburgh College are able to use state of the art training facilities at the college’s Granton and Midlothian campuses to learn the essential skills they need to progress in the workplace.

The awards ceremony took place at Edinburgh College’s Granton Campus training restaurant, The Apprentice, with catering provided by professional cookery students.

PICTURE: Standing: Lecturer Andrew Golightly, Head of Construction John Laing, apprentices Kyle Rodger and Rory Watt, and curriculum manager Juliet Harkin. Front row:  apprentices James Redpath and Graeme McKenzie.

Student events raise £20,000 for charities

Edinburgh College Events students are commended at top industry awards

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Edinburgh College students who raised thousands of pounds for charity have been honoured at the Scottish events industry’s top awards ceremony for showing they can stage events of professional standard.

Two teams each picked up commendations in the Best Student Event Award category at the Scottish Event Awards in Glasgow on Wednesday. The students received their commendations for the fundraising events they organised as part of their course work for BA (Hons) Events Management.

Along with other student groups from Edinburgh College’s Events Management courses, they helped raised a total of £20,000 for a range of charities last year.

One of the commended teams organised a fashion show featuring people with dementia as models to raise funds for Alzheimer Scotland. Service users, carers, staff and volunteers at the charity’s Fife Dementia Resource Centre in Kirkcaldy took to the catwalk as models at the event, which raised more than £700 for the charity.

The second team organised a sell-out mini fringe festival at the Voodoo Rooms, featuring musical acts and a magician. The team raised £2,200 for Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland.

The students learned of their success at the Scottish Event Awards ceremony at Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel.

Edinburgh College principal Annette Bruton said: “The students on our Events Management courses make a fantastic contribution to charities and raised more than £20,000 altogether last year. These commendations are testament to the hard work and professionalism the students put into organising their events, as well as the support they receive from their lecturers. I’m sure that this recognition is just the first step towards successful careers in the events industry.”

The Edinburgh College Events team and College Community department were also shortlisted in the Best Educational Event category for an event held to engage local schools, particularly head teachers, and increase opportunities for young people.

The college won in this category last year for its Graphic Design Industry Night, a one-night event that showcased graduates’ award winning design work, and celebrated the college’s close ties with industry.

The Scottish Event Awards honour the best events of various types across a range of sectors. They are run by magazine and marketing website The Drum.

My ears are alight: College recording studio revamped

Former students helps shine some starlight on Edinburgh College recording studio

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Edinburgh College’s newly star-spangled recording studio is giving up-and-coming local bands and musicians the chance to use their rehearsal space to unleash the power of music free of charge.

The studio at the college’s Milton Road Campus has been given a sparkling revamp thanks to the generosity of a generous former student and local musicians, and is ready to continue to support students, graduates and musicians from the community to create high quality music videos and recordings to rival the output of professional studios. Bands who have used the studio have gone on to get national radio airplay and perform at major music festivals.

Former HND Sound Production student Gerry Callahan presented course tutor Richie Harrison and the college’s sound department with a starlight curtain to use as a background to music videos. This adjustable stage backdrop of black cloth is peppered with LED lights ‘stars’ and is a welcome addition to the already state of the art studios. The curtain will act as an improved setting for the music videos filmed in the studio.

Gerry raised the funds for the curtain through sales of an album he recorded as part of his graded unit for his course. Gerry brought eight singer songwriters together to record his album to help raise the profile of the Listening Room, the second longest running open music night in Edinburgh. Listening Room organisers James Igoe and James Whyte also held a launch event to help raise more funds, and the album is still available to buy through the Listening Room website.

a look inside the recording studio with the musicians and students

Local musicians Norman Lamont (above), Fiona Thom, John Farrell and Jason Pillay came into the studio on Friday to help launch the newly revamped studio and celebrate Gerry’s donation by recording music videos in the new space. These were filmed by another former sound production student, Darren Knox, who now helps run Edinburgh Undersound, an independent music organisation.  Current students from Richie’s course were also on hand to handle the sound production.

Gerry said: “I wanted to make this donation as an expression of gratitude for everything that Richie and the sound department did for me while I studied here. I’m a bit above the usual student age bracket, but they were really good to me and made me feel extremely welcome on the course. I knew that Richie always wanted to decorate the space to make it a better location for filming music videos and I was happy to help.”

Richie Harrison said: “Gerry’s donation will allow us to continue improve upon the quality of the music videos we produce in the studio to show off the emerging talent from the college and surrounding communities. The recording studios already have cutting edge equipment, with consoles made by Solid State Logic and Toft, the same as is used in the world’s top recording studios including Abbey Road and New York’s Electric Lady Studios. Local musicians are very welcome to get involved and can contact me via my college Richard.harrison@edinburghcollege.ac.uk email address.”

The college offers the studios at its Milton Road Campus for free as a place for local bands and young musicians to develop their skills, make recordings and film music videos. The studios are home to Feast, the college record label. Set up as a sustainable business giving past and present students invaluable experience for future employment, Feast brings managers, musicians, bands, engineers and filming students together to create original music and videos.

Bands who have used the studio have gone on to national radio play on BBC radio stations, including Radio 1, Radio 6 Extra, and Radio Scotland, and some have played T in the Park’s Introducing Stage. Fatherson, Ded Rabbit, Vukovi, Tijuana Bibles and Man of Moon have all used the studio for videos and recordings. These bands are well on their way to breaking through in the music scene. The Scottish Alternative Music Awards have also shot videos with artists in the studios.

Pictured (top): Listening Room organisers James Igoe, James Whyte; musicians Jason Pillay, John Farrell, Fiona Thom, Norman Lamont; former student Gerry Callahan and Edinburgh College Sound Production lecturer Richie Harrison.