Walk-through testing is now available for people with #coronavirus symptoms at Edinburgh Napier University, Craiglockhart Campus Car Park.
Open 7 days a week – with appointments available from 8am to 8pm
Tests must be booked via http://nhsinform.scot/test-and-protect or by telephone on 0800 028 2816.
AN Edinburgh Napier academic has received a prestigious research award to provide fresh insights into the life of celebrated American novelist and journalist Ernest Hemingway.
Dr Eamonn O’Neill aims to shed new light on the writer’s time in World War Two London after being named as a recipient of the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Foundation’s Ernest Hemingway Research Grant.
The award will give Dr O’Neill access to the famous Boston institution’s Hemingway Collection and cover costs of up to $5000 as he delves into a fascinating period which saw A Farewell to Arms writer Hemingway stay at the Dorchester, drink at The Savoy and hang out with children’s author Roald Dahl.
The first recipient of the award in the UK, Dr O’Neill, 54 – an Associate Professor in Journalism at Edinburgh Napier – aims to produce both scholarly research articles and a book for a wider readership.
He said: “The library has been in lockdown since the pandemic struck and my research has been deferred, but I hope to hit the ground running in Boston as soon as is feasible.
“The grant covers research costs and travel, but for me its real value is in allowing me to gain access to original material from the narrow, previously hidden, period I am covering.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity. Hemingway’s work has influenced and fascinated me since I was an undergraduate. I am a committed member of the US-based Hemingway Society and I have been reading, teaching, and studying him since the beginning of my academic career at Strathclyde University two decades ago.”
Hemingway (1899-1961), whose most popular works include For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Sun Also Rises, is famed for his lean writing style and thirst for adventure, but his time in England is less well-known than his escapades in France, Spain and Cuba.
Dr O’Neill’s research award will give him the chance to scrutinise the writer’s time in Europe between May 1944 and March 1945 via the biggest repository of Hemingway papers, archives and personal belongings in the world.
The former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy secured the collection as part of her late husband’s Presidential Library and Museum directly from Hemingway’s fourth wife Mary Welsh Hemingway as the JFK Library was being established.
The John F Kennedy Library Foundation provides funds to scholars interested in researching the Ernest Hemingway Collection, with grant applications evaluated on the basis of the expected use of the Collection, the proposal’s contribution to Hemingway studies and the applicant’s qualifications.
Dr O’Neill said: “Hemingway was quite a phenomenon in 1944, a one-man global industry, with big-screen Hollywood film adaptations of his books playing in the London cinemas he walked past.
“He literally had the world at his fingertips, yet in the period I am researching he was also a human wrecking-ball, destroying his marriage to fellow journalist Martha Gellhorn, drinking morning, noon, and night, and yet still able to charm anyone who crossed his path. One minute he was staying in the White House with President Roosevelt, the next he was being spied on by the FBI.
“It’s that shadowy world, that nexus of a complex man who lived a very public life but retreated daily into his secret places, often hidden from even those closest to him, that fascinates me and which I hope to reveal in my work.
“There are few academics in the UK doing serious work on Hemingway but if the intense interest, even at this stage, from publishers and documentary and film production companies is anything to go by, it seems there’s already a massive audience ready to step into his world again.”
The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal was signed yesterday, confirming millions of pounds of investment into the Scottish Borders.
Ministers of the UK and Scottish Governments and representatives of the five councils of the Borderlands Partnership signed the deal, which aims to drive inclusive growth and deliver significant and lasting benefits for individuals, businesses and communities, including the creation of up to 5,500 jobs.
For the Scottish Borders, investment will include:
· £19m for an ambitious project to create the world’s first Mountain Bike Innovation Centre, integrated adventure Bike Park and Trail Lab in Innerleithen (further details below)
· £11m Destination Tweed tourism project based around the River Tweed
· Funding to further develop the 7Stanes mountain biking network across the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway
· A share of £20m for town and community improvement projects through a Place Programme in the south of Scotland
· Funding for improved business infrastructure in Hawick and Coldstream
· Funds to support rural innovation and skills
· Projects to tackle gaps in digital and mobile infrastructure
· £10m to deliver the feasibility activity around extending the Borders Railway from Tweedbank to Carlisle
· Funding to support the generation of low carbon energy
· Pilot projects covering woodland, upland and agricultural areas to trial new approaches to valuing and protecting our natural capital to capture the benefits of our environment in a sustainable way
Councillor Mark Rowley, Scottish Borders Council’s Executive Member for Economic Regeneration and Finance, said: “The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal has been worked on by the various partners for a number of years and this level of investment and joined up partnership working has never been more important than it is today, as we look towards our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This deal can transform the Scottish Borders, allowing multiple, large scale projects to be taken forward by the Council and a wide range of partners, delivering new jobs and sustainable growth which will help support the region for decades to come.
“Significant investment into our towns and communities, our tourism infrastructure and our environment means that this deal will see the benefits shared right across the whole of the Scottish Borders.”
A key element of the Borderlands Growth Deal for the Scottish Borders is the development of a new mountain bike innovation centre in Innerleithen that will support Scottish, UK and international businesses to develop innovative products and services within mountain biking and across the cycling sector.
In addition, a Tweed Valley Bike Park and Trail Lab will be created in what is thought to be a global first in terms of combining tourism and innovation. An adventure bike park will deliver infrastructure to attract and sustainably manage visitors to the Scottish Borders.
Borderlands Growth Deal will invest £19million in the project, which is predicted to contribute £141m in Gross Value Added (GVA) and over 400 new jobs in the South of Scotland.
The project partnership includes South of Scotland Enterprise as project sponsors Scottish Borders Council, Edinburgh Napier University and Scottish Cycling, through Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland (DMBinS).
Ed Shoote of DMBinS, the Senior Project Manager of the Mountain Bike Project, said: “It is fantastic news that the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, including the Mountain Bike Project, is pushing ahead.
“The vision is for the south of Scotland to be recognised as the European leader in mountain biking and this is an important step forward.
“There is still a lot of work to do to realise this vision and we will continue to work with the project partners and the local community to deliver the best project for the region.”
Councillor Mark Rowley added: “This project is a fantastic example of how projects funded by the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal can deliver multiple benefits, in this case attracting new businesses and jobs to the area and also attracting tourists from across the UK, Europe and beyond, building on the already well-established reputation of the Tweed Valley as one of the world’s top mountain biking destinations.”
Professor Nick Antonopoulos, Vice Principal for Research and Innovation at Edinburgh Napier University, said: “Today marks another important milestone for Edinburgh Napier and its partners in our journey towards making the South of Scotland the mountain bike capital of Europe.
“The Borderlands Growth Deal will build on the fantastic groundwork of the Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland, hosted by Edinburgh Napier University who have been supporting cycling innovation since 2012.
“This investment will take the work of Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland to the next level, helping to drive innovation and support product research and development, whilst working with local and international companies.
“Together, these projects will power commercial activity, attract inward investment and deliver positive outcomes in terms of public health and supporting carbon neutral products and processes.
“We are also hugely excited by the potential research opportunities for Edinburgh Napier colleagues across a range of academic disciplines, including exercise science, health and wellbeing, engineering, inclusion, product design, artificial intelligence, big data and tourism.”
South of Scotland Enterprise Chair, Russel Griggs OBE, added: “This is a transformational project which could really put the South of Scotland on the map as a global leader in the mountain biking industry.
“The potential wider economic and community benefits for the local area are significant in terms of inward investment and jobs, as well as bringing further UK and international tourism to the region.
“I am delighted the South of Scotland Enterprise will be working with various partners to realise this ambition.”
New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) has announced that Professor Robert Hairstans has joined as Founding Director of its Centre for Advanced Timber Technology (CATT).
His role will be to lead the development and delivery of the CATT, to help establish it as the leading national location in timber education and to work with the broader NMITE academic team to create a sustainable educational portfolio.
Hairstans joins on a two-year secondment from the number one modern university in Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University (ENU), where he is head of the Centre for Offsite Construction + Innovative Structures (COCIS) within the University’s Institute for Sustainable Construction.
Commenting on the appointment, Professor Beverley Gibbs, Chief Academic Officer, NMITE said: “We are thrilled at Professor Hairstans’ arrival and know he has the expertise, experience and passion to develop and deliver the CATT’s vision.”
Professor Hairstans’ specialist expertise is in the fields of timber engineering and technology with a focus on adding value to the timber supply chain with an emphasis on engineered timber products and offsite (modular) construction.
Commenting on his appointment, he said: “I am delighted to be the Founding Director of the CATT. Working with industry I want to accelerate the utilisation of timber, digitisation and factory-based approaches by ensuring an inclusive educational model which generates a value return for the sector via the next generation of built environment professionals.”
Central to this vision is a new learning and teaching building in Hereford’s dynamic enterprise zone – Skylon Park.
NMITE’s building will be a beacon of sustainability and is NMITE’s inaugural advanced campus building that will impact timber technology and advanced manufacturing, sectors that are critical to regional and national growth.
The building will accommodate extensive workshops, studio learning space, breakout/study space and ancillary areas. Planning permission has been submitted with the expectation of starting on site in April 2021 and structural completion by March 2022.
When complete, this facility will complement the research and timber testing infrastructure of ENU and, by extension, the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre which is hosted by ENU. This Centre has a unique Innovation Factory capable of manufacturing advanced timber technologies including a vacuum press for Cross Laminated Timber production.
The appointment has the additional benefit of bringing together two organisations who, having seen the potential of a future partnership, have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
A key focus of the UK wide collaborative framework is the idea of CATT as a ‘living lab’, working with industry to develop projects that prototype solutions with students gaining knowledge from real-life conditions.
Professor Gibbs explains: “NMITE has always shown interest in working in partnership with existing sector leaders who support NMITE’s potential and are open to exploring new educational approaches for the benefit of industry and society.
“Throughout the recruitment process we constantly heard that ENU were the UK players to talk to and work with and ENU also has a better-than-standard gender split on their built environment course which is one of our core values.
“We are therefore excited at the prospect of a partnering relationship with ENU and respect its accomplishments in sustainable built environment.
“Together, we believe we can offer a joined-up UK-wide educational provision for timber technology that extends throughout the supply chain and user base. We believe a NMITE-ENU partnership could provide a clear opportunity to accelerate and leverage CATT’s full potential.”
Hairstans agrees “I look forward to forging a collaboration between NMITE and ENU which will shape the future of construction delivery to more sustainable forms.”
In the longer term NMITE explains its ambition is to catalyse a UK-wide, full-sector skills strategy for timber technology and sustainable built environment, bringing about growth and impact on industry, society and the environment.
NMITE will continue to focus on education and skills and will benefit from ENU’s research and technology transfer. Sited on the England/Wales border, NMITE believes by working with ENU it will be able to look at a UK-wide framework, without competing, for the benefit of all.
NMITE explains that it is looking forward to meeting the needs of its industry partners and furthering its vision to develop and provide a degree apprenticeship in Timber Engineering underpinned by a Timber Technology, Engineering and Design competency framework that supports flexible learning and pathway progression.
Science practicals filmed for Education Scotland and BBC Bitesize offering
Academics from Edinburgh Napier’s teacher education programme have been helping bring science into the home for thousands of secondary school pupils in Scotland.
The University’s Dr Colin McGill (above), Dr Fiona Savage and Dr Eric Easton have worked with Education Scotland and the BBC Bitesize team to film a number of practical experiments to ensure that pupils studying science subjects continue to learn as lockdown restrictions remain in place.
Work with Education Scotland commenced last Autumn, with a selection of practical experiments filmed within the laboratories at Edinburgh Napier’s Sighthill campus.
These films – which saw the team work with Ian Stewart, a Chemistry teacher from Beeslack Community High School in Midlothian – are available via YouTube, West OS and Glow – Scotland’s nationally available digital environment for learning – as part of the National e-Learning Offer (NeLO).
In addition to supporting the development of these films for NeLO, Ian also teaches on the Senior Phase Study Support programme run via e-Sgoil for NeLO.
The content covered in the videos is broad, ranging from general science activities such as making a pH indicator from red cabbage for S1-S3 pupils, to videos to support learning at National 5 and Higher Chemistry such as measuring the average rate of a chemical reaction and testing carbonyl compound.
Dr McGill has also recently completed further filming for the BBC Bitesize platform.
Filmed over three days again at the University’s Sighthill campus, Dr McGill teamed up with Education Scotland and Ian Stewart to devise around 30 – 40 video ideas for Chemistry and the sciences.
This content was aimed at the Broad General Education (BGE) sciences curriculum all the way up to Higher Chemistry and included demonstrations on testing for gases, electrolysis and cracking alkanes. The BBC Bitesize filming was co-ordinated by Education Scotland.
Edinburgh Napier’s Dr McGill was delighted to play a part in supporting teachers through the on-going pandemic. He said: “I think these tools are very important to help pupil learning during the pandemic.
“It’s impossible for many practical activities to be done remotely so this at least gives pupils an opportunity to see the practical activity taking place and to then apply their learning from watching the activity.
“Teachers have been amazing during this pandemic and I would argue that the work they have put in to support their pupils is hugely underestimated, so if these videos have gone some way to help reduce their workload in any way then that is a huge positive for me.
“If and when things start getting closer to normal, these videos will still be very valuable for pupils to go over a practical that they carried out in class, or to support pupils who are absent from school for any reason.
“The technical support from Bill Surrage and Sandra Dunbar has allowed this practical work to take place – I’m really grateful to them for the support they have provided. I’m also really grateful to everyone that has made safe access to the Sighthill campus possible.”
A selection of the Education Scotland videos can be viewed on YouTube here or can be accessed via the NeLO supported resources blog.
Edinburgh Napier’s Professional Diploma in Education (PGDE) courses are designed by teachers, for teachers. The programme specialises in Biology, Chemistry, Maths or Physics, allowing students to become a secondary school teacher.
Each subject is accredited by the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
More information on the programme can be found here.
Road maintenance giants BEAR Scotland have launched a scholarship for civil engineering students at Edinburgh Napier University in memory of former chairman Bill Taylor.
From academic year 2021/22 onwards, the Bill Taylor Scholarship (BEAR Scotland) will provide £3400 to support an undergraduate through the latter years of their degree.
Mr Taylor (above), who passed away in 2016, had been involved in the management and maintenance of the Scottish trunk road network for 20 years.
The scholarship in his name will be open to students pursuing MEng and BEng (Master and Bachelor) civil engineering courses at the University. Students will be eligible to apply during their second year, with the award confirmed upon successful entry into year three.
Applications will be reviewed by a University panel, who will consider each individual’s academic ability, background and financial needs, with BEAR Scotland then interviewing the shortlisted candidates before making the final selection.
As well as financial support, the scholarship will see each year’s successful student offered work placements and a place on BEAR Scotland’s graduate training programme after completion of their degree. BEAR Scotland will also continue to support the University’s careers events and its wider work placement programme.
Mark Godsell, BEAR Scotland Commercial Director, said: “We have longstanding links with Edinburgh Napier University and have a number of its alumni in our ranks.
“It is a good partnership that works well for both parties. Students get practical work experience and also potential to enter and progress within the highways industry. We get a pipeline of strong talent into our teams.
“The new Bill Taylor Scholarship cements that relationship further, allowing us to extend our support to an Edinburgh Napier undergraduate to let them fulfil their potential as they complete their degree programme and transition into their career.
“We are committed to investing in future talent. It will be great to award the first recipient in September and get to know them initially through work experience and then as they join us as a graduate.”
Bradley Doran, Graduate Engineer BEAR Scotland, undertook a work experience summer placement at BEAR Scotland between his third and fourth year while studying at Edinburgh Napier before joining the company and then getting involved in the graduate programme.
He said: “The work experience was great – it was a major reason I applied to BEAR when I graduated. The graduate programme is good because you get to see a project right through from beginning to end – from investigation, through to design and then construction. You get a wide experience and you aren’t pigeon-holed so it stands you in good stead for your Institution of Civil Engineers attributes.”
Dr Andrew Maciver, BEng/MEng Programme Leader at Edinburgh Napier, said: “The Bill Taylor Scholarship offers fantastic opportunities for our Civil and Transportation Engineering students to be supported by BEAR Scotland while studying for their degree and gaining valuable work experience before joining their graduate training programme after graduation.
“We are thrilled to be further strengthening our partnership.”
Bill Taylor had been with BEAR Scotland for 13 years prior to his death following a battle with a long-term illness, holding the positions of operations director, managing director and chairman.
He had earlier served as general manager of the Tay Premium Unit and as unit manager with Amey in the south-east.
The RCN Foundation has funded a history of nursing research project to document the stories of nurses and midwives accused of witchcraft in Scotland, as part of its programme of work to celebrate the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.
The Foundation has awarded a Monica Baly Education Grant to a team of researchers from Edinburgh Napier University to investigate almost 150 witches recorded on the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft as being folk healers and midwives.
The team from the Nursing and Midwifery Subject Groups in the School of Health and Social Care, comprising of Dr Nicola Ring, Nessa McHugh and Rachel Davidson-Welch, will investigate the stories of these individual nurses and midwives, documenting who they were, and reflecting on their practices from today’s healthcare perspective.
Scotland’s Witchcraft Act was introduced in 1563 and remained law until 1736. During that time nearly 4,000 people, mainly women, were accused of witchcraft.
The accused were imprisoned and brutally tortured until they confessed their guilt – often naming other ‘witches’ in their confessions. Most of those accused are thought to have been executed as witches, being strangled and then burned at the stake, leaving no body for burial.
People were accused of being witches for many reasons- some were mentally ill, some had land and money others wanted. However, many of those accused and executed as being ‘witches’ were guilty of nothing more than helping to care for others during sickness and childbirth – they were early practitioners of midwifery and nursing.
Dr Nicola Ring said: “I am delighted we have been awarded funding from the RCN Foundation to investigate this over-looked part of nursing history. Telling the stories of these Scottish women and men cruelly and unfairly accused and punished for helping the sick and women in childbirth highlights the injustices these people faced.
“It supports Claire Mitchell QC and Zoe Venditozzi in their ‘Witches of Scotland’ campaign, which seeks posthumous justice – a pardon for those convicted of witchcraft, an apology for all those accused, and a national memorial dedicated to their memory.”
Deepa Korea, Director of the RCN Foundation, said: “We are very pleased to fund this project as part of our programme of work to mark the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.
“This is an important project which will not only document the experiences of these early nurses and midwives and the injustices they faced but provide a fresh look at the early role and perceptions of nursing and midwifery, prior to the accepted Victorian archetype.”
Claire Mitchell QC said: “Zoe Venditozzi and I (Witches of Scotland) are delighted that this work is being done to investigate and record the history of Scottish women and, in particular, those who were caught up in witchcraft allegations.
“We know from our research that some of the women and men were healers – involved in folk medicine and early midwifery – who were prosecuted for witchcraft and paid with their life. This work shedding a light on this tragic history is important.”
Edinburgh Napier University has announced two Entrepreneur in Residence appointments through The Royal Society-funded programme aimed at helping UK academic institutions turn world-leading research and ideas into commercial impact and success.
The newly appointed Entrepreneurs in Residence will spend 20 per cent of their time over a 12-month period with the university, sharing their experiences and helping to mentor, inspire and support students and academics with entrepreneurial goals and ideas.
The entrepreneurs appointed at Edinburgh Napier are Dr Jamie Graves and Robert Goodfellow. The University of Dundee, with one place, is the only other institution in Scotland represented on the newly published list of 16 entrepreneurs awarded a place on the scheme for 2021.
Dr Jamie Graves, who started his career as a research fellow in Edinburgh Napier’s School of Computing and went on to found and develop multi-award winning cyber security start-up ZoneFox, will bring his experiences of developing intellectual property to commercial impact to the School of Computing.
Jamie said: “The purpose of this EIR project is to aid Edinburgh Napier in its ambitions to replicate existing spin-out and commercialisation success in its Centre of Cyber Systems & Cryptography. The work will promote and emulate this success across the School of Computing.
“The project will aim to build a sustainable pipeline of entrepreneurs across all academic cohorts via a series of awareness and training events in order to increase commercial activity.
“Edinburgh Napier was the launch pad for me and my future successes so to be coming back as an Entrepreneur in Residence is really exciting and a great honour. I’m looking forward to being able to bring back some of the lessons I learned during my journey but also learning more during this new experience.”
Robert Goodfellow, previously Head of Enterprise & Business Development at Heriot-Watt University, will be working closely with the School of Applied Sciences to pass on his knowledge and help with entrepreneurial development.
Robert said: “The Edinburgh Napier Applied Sciences Commercialisation and Entrepreneurism Training project (NASCENT) will identify and commercialise health and wellbeing intellectual property rights, develop new staff and student entrepreneurs and build a lasting ‘commercial culture’ across the three campuses.”
Commenting on the appointments, Fiona Mason, Head of Business Engagement and IP Commercialisation, said: “We are thrilled by the Royal Society’s support for the appointment of these two Entrepreneur in Residence posts.
“They will bring invaluable insight and experience to the university to the benefit of our staff and students.
“We are honoured to work alongside two such stellar and seasoned entrepreneurs and look forward to develop with them a successful programme for the future.”
Nick Fannin, Head of Enterprise at Edinburgh Napier’s Bright Red Triangle, who have helped support over 400 student start-ups, added: “We are really excited to be working with Jamie and Robert as Entrepreneurs in Residence this year.
“Their knowledge and experience will not only energise and inspire entrepreneurial activity across the university but also help our spin-outs and start-ups to take their businesses to the next level.”
Edinburgh Napier University is among the first in the UK to be recognised for its commitment to cyber security education under a new initiative from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – a part of GCHQ.
It is one of eight institutions named an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE) for delivering first-rate cyber security education on campus and promoting cyber skills in the community.
Edinburgh Napier was recognised with the initiative’s Silver award for its ambitious vision in the field.
The University already has NCSC-certified undergraduate and postgraduate programmes – BEng Cybersecurity and Forensics, and MSc Advanced Security and Digital Forensics – which underlines the value of the qualifications, and helps to attract high quality students from around the world.
The newly-announced NCSC accolade will now see cyber security integrated into programmes across the wider university, and greater emphasis on engagement with external stakeholders.
Professor Bill Buchanan, from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Computing, said: “The work of the NCSC is key to the development of excellence in cyber security education and knowledge exchange. These new ACEs will not only work within their own university departments, but also spread cyber security collaboration across their institution.
“Moreover, they will support a core collaborative foundation around cyber security education and knowledge exchange within each of their geographical areas. This includes working with industry, the public sector, government agencies, colleges, and so on.
“It is hoped that the ACEs-CSE will develop as trusted fundamental building blocks for a safe, secure, resilient and enterprising country. The days of silos of knowledge have passed, and we all need to work together and share our knowledge.”
The ACE-CSE programme, led by the NCSC and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, also recognised Abertay, Lancaster, Southampton, South Wales, Surrey, Warwick and the West of England universities in this first round of applications.
Chris Ensor, NCSC Deputy Director for Cyber Growth, said: “I am delighted we can now recognise the first tranche of universities as Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Education, complementing our existing programmes which recognise high quality cyber security research and degree courses.
“It is a testament to the continual efforts of academics, support staff and senior management that cyber security remains high on their agenda.
“We very much look forward to working with them over the coming years and strongly encourage other universities to work towards achieving similar recognition in the future.”
Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said: “The UK has some of the brightest minds in the world working in tech and it’s right we celebrate universities where so many people develop relevant and cutting-edge skills.
“We continue to work closely with academia to nurture the next generation of cyber security talent and I urge interested education institutions to apply for this recognition.”
University’s School of Health & Social Care supports testing programme
Scores of Edinburgh Napier nurses and midwives have again rallied behind the national drive to combat Covid-19 by signing up to assist with the asymptomatic testing programme for students.
Around 100 are working at two testing sites in the city between November 30 and December 9, helping their fellow students in the capital make informed decisions about returning home for Christmas and minimising the risk of spreading the virus.
Covid-19 ‘rapid’ tests, available on a voluntary basis, are taking place at University of Edinburgh sites at The Pleasance Sports Complex and St Leonard’s Land. It is recommended that Edinburgh-based students with no symptoms book themselves in for two tests, between three and five days apart.
Students from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Health & Social Care leapt at the chance to assist with the test programme in a non-clinical role, with more than 400 responding to the call for help.
This was narrowed down to around 100, who are covering various shift patterns across the two sites, talking students through the process and providing support and encouragement.
Many of the same students were among 1000 from the School who earlier took up placements alongside NHS workers in hospitals and care homes at the height of the pandemic in the spring.
Marianne Mearns, 30, a final year BN Child Health Nursing student from Livingston, (above) said: “It is an amazing yet scary time to be a student nurse, but I feel proud to be one of the many supporting the university and the NHS during the pandemic.
“Keeping people safe is paramount, and assisting with the testing is a new challenge I am excited to be part of.
“I also undertook an NHS placement at the height of the pandemic and had to stay in a hotel temporarily to protect my fiance who was shielding at the time. It was very challenging but I feel I coped well and it has made me a more competent and confident student nurse going forward.”
Professor Alison Machin, Dean of the School of Health & Social Care, said: “These are challenging times, but I am very proud of our students’ enthusiasm and willingness to apply their skills and get involved.
“The lessons they learn will stand them in good stead for the rest of their careers.”
Michelle O’Reilly, lecturer in the School of Health & Social Care, said: “This is an experience we are all delighted to be involved in, with our students from across nursing and midwifery demonstrating excellent professional and interpersonal skills in helping to reduce the anxiety of fellow students getting the test.”
Universities and colleges are utilising lateral flow devices (LFDs) – a clinically validated swab antigen test that does not require a laboratory for processing and can produce rapid results within half an hour at the location of the test.
Students will be offered two LFD tests, spaced three days apart which are bookable through their college or university. Those receiving two negative results will be encouraged to safely return home as soon as is practical after the second result.
If either of the lateral flow tests returns a positive result, the student will be asked to self-isolate and undertake a confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test through the usual NHS Test & Protect channels.
