Rain forces switch to ‘Plan Bee’!
It’s been a year since the magnificent Ross Fountain was restored and it is becoming a favourite meeting place for the public and the perfect photo opportunity, under the backdrop of Castle Rock. Continue reading It’s wet, wet, wet … but Happy Bee-Day for the Ross Fountain!
Strictly Come Dancing favourite Russell Grant is launching a new charity ‘Dance for Your Life’ in Scotland later this month in conjunction with Brain Awareness week. Continue reading Dance for Your Life!
The Smallpeice Trust has partnered with world leading engineering companies to create a series of engineering experience courses at four locations in the UK. Continue reading Searching for Scotland’s young engineers
They are among the world’s most notorious serial killers but the details of their story are often mis-told … now, experts from the University of Edinburgh’s Anatomical Museum are to share fresh insights into the Burke and Hare case with local tour guides. Guides from city company ‘Viajar por Escocia’ will turn tourist as they are guided around key landmarks linked to the gruesome tale by Janet Philp. Continue reading Experts teach tour guides the real story of Burke and Hare
The University of Edinburgh has met a key Scottish Government objective to attract students from the country’s most economically challenged areas, three years ahead of schedule. Continue reading University hits social diversity recruitment goal three years early
1,000 people are needed for ground-breaking research into an incurable lung condition at the University of Edinburgh. Supported by the British Lung Foundation, Professor Moira Whyte and Dr Gourab Choudhury will conduct research into the very early stages of the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Continue reading Vital research into incurable lung condition affecting millions to take place in Edinburgh
£1.3 Billion boost for local economy
Prime Minister Theresa May and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon joined council, business and academia leaders to formally sign off the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal yesterday.
The £1.3 billion deal will deliver inclusive economic growth across the region through housing, innovation, transport, skills and culture. The Scottish Government and the UK Government will each invest £300 million over the next 15 years.
The Scottish Government’s investment will contribute towards 41,000 new homes, 21,000 jobs and improve the skills of an estimated 14,700 people.
The Scottish Government’s investment in the City Region includes:
• £60 million towards a Data Driven Innovation programme of investment, including the creation of economic infrastructure across the region to ensure that businesses and communities across the region are fully able to engage in the resulting opportunities
• £65 million towards a regional housing programme, including the creation of a new housing company and housing infrastructure funding to enable the delivery of 41,000 new homes
• £120 million for transport improvements to Sheriffhall Roundabout
• £20 million for public transport improvements in West Edinburgh
• £25 million for an Integrated Regional Employability & Skills Programme to reduce skills shortages and gaps and deliver opportunities for people across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders
• £10m towards a new concert venue for the city, providing a home for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and reinforcing Edinburgh’s reputation as a leading centre for music and the performing arts.
In addition, the Scottish Government is also providing Edinburgh Festivals with a £5 million investment over the next five years to fund The Platforms for Creative Excellence (PLaCE) programme which supports new innovative programming and skills development opportunities across the capital’s 11 major festivals between 2018-2023.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Edinburgh and the South East of Scotland is an area of huge importance to the Scottish economy. The region contains over a quarter of Scotland’s population and contributes £33 billion to the Scottish and UK economies.
“The Scottish Government’s £300 million investment in the City Region Deal will contribute towards 41,000 new homes, 21,000 jobs and improve the skills of an estimated 14,700 people across the region. Our investments will ensure businesses and communities from across the region benefit from the opportunities created by this the city region deal.
“Taken together these projects will help the region continue to thrive and grow, fulfilling our ambitions for the region to be one of the fairest and most inclusive areas in the country.”
Prime Minister Theresa May said: “It is fantastic to be here at the University of Edinburgh to sign off on the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal.
“We are in one of the great cities of our United Kingdom, at a time of year when it serves not just as the capital of Scotland but as the cultural capital of the world.
I had the privilege of experiencing first-hand some of the cultural riches that the Edinburgh Festivals have to offer earlier today, and a great pleasure it was to do so. The Festivals are an international calling-card for Edinburgh and the surrounding area and when people come to take part in them they find a city and a region that has huge potential for the future. You see it clearly in the imagination and creativity on display here every August.
“But you see it too in the innovative and ground-breaking work that goes on in this city and area all year round. In great universities and colleges. In high-tech businesses. In financial and legal services hubs.
This is a city and a region that has so much to offer Scotland, the UK and indeed the world.
“The Edinburgh and South East City Deal is all about building on those strengths to open up new opportunities for the future in the creative industries, in research, in housing, in transport and in skills, and it will have a lasting legacy.
The UK and Scottish Governments are both helping to build the IMPACT Concert Hall – a new venue to cement Edinburgh’s place as the world’s Festival City.
The City Deal partners also want to turn Edinburgh into the Data Capital of Europe.
“So we are providing capital investment to develop new data storage and analysis technology here in Edinburgh. This great new facility, the Bayes Centre, will open in the autumn with UK Government investment, and will provide shared working spaces for applied data science and artificial intelligence research teams.
“It is one of five hubs across the city that will use data technology to support research and development activity in sectors of the future, from fin-tech and robotics to bio tech and health sciences. I want the UK to lead the world in these technologies. I want us to have the best regulation, the most advanced research and the most lucrative commercial applications.
“The City Deal will put Edinburgh at the cutting edge of that work and it is exciting to think about the future possibilities that this investment will open up. UK City and Growth Deals are a key part of our Modern Industrial Strategy. The UK Government has already committed over £1 billion to them here in Scotland.
Five have been signed, and three more are being negotiated.
“Just like the Modern Industrial Strategy as a whole, they are a partnership between Government at all levels, business and academia to combine our resources and to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. Because I believe we can achieve far more together than we ever could apart.
“So thank you to all the Deal partners for your work to get us here: The University of Edinburgh, who have hosted us today, as well as Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University, and Queen Margaret University.
“To the local authorities: Edinburgh City Council, Midlothian Council, East Lothian Council, West Lothian Council, Scottish Borders Council and Fife Council. And of course our colleagues in the Scottish Government.
“This is a great day for the south-east of Scotland and an exciting step towards a brighter future for this wonderful part of the UK.”
Communities across Edinburgh and the Lothians are to benefit from a £70,000 project to support groups tackling vital social issues. The University of Edinburgh’s Community Grants Scheme will help to provide support for children with disabilities, tackle the causes of poverty and aid vulnerable women. Continue reading University support backs locals’ vision for a better Edinburgh
A free evening of talks, live music and hands-on science will showcase research at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on the themes of cyber security and DNA. Continue reading Free University of Edinburgh event: Science on a Summer’s Evening
University of Edinburgh research participants needed
Changeworks has partnered with the University of Edinburgh to deliver IDEAL, a cutting edge research project exploring how smart technology can help save energy in the home. They are looking for households in Edinburgh and the Lothians (EH1-55) with gas combi boiler heating to participate.
Continue reading Research participants needed
