Scotland Office Minister Robin Walker was given a tour of Heriot-Watt University’s world leading robotics facilities as he discussed progress on the creation of a National Robotarium yesterday. Continue reading Government Minister for Scotland visits Edinburgh robotics centre
STUDENTS have been encouraged to “push each and every boundary” that makes up a typical home, in a tie up between a leading Scottish university and major UK homebuilder CALA Homes. Continue reading Think Outside the Box: Uni Students Design Homes of the Future
Two scientists from Edinburgh will be presenting their engineering research in Parliament to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges as part of STEM for BRITAIN on Wednesday 13thMarch. Continue reading Edinburgh scientists takes their research to Westminster
EDINBURGH’S universities, colleges and the local authority have joined forces to increase the educational opportunities open to people who have spent time in care. Continue reading Edinburgh Hub to open doors to success in education
Edinburgh Business School – Heriot Watt University
‘Social Enterprise as a Context of Poverty’ project Continue reading Researchers looking to interview self-employed or freelance workers
£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.”
Seven fully funded work based learning programmes will provide an alternative route for students to achieve a degree while in employment
Heriot-Watt University will deliver seven Graduate Apprenticeship programmes, including four new subjects, which are all fully funded by Skills Development Scotland. The flagship courses, which start in September, offer 175 places and bring together academic and practical experience to help meet the changing needs of Scottish organisations. Continue reading Heriot-Watt University announces ambitious Graduate Apprenticeship programme
BIODIVERSITY WORKSHOPS
Thursday 1st February
3pm – 5.30pm or 6pm – 8:30pm
Granton United Church, Boswall Parkway
The Workshop will ask:
Funded by Adaptation Scotland, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh is running this pilot project to consult with communities about solutions to climate change and adaptation.
Following an open application process, the Re-Imagining Your Gardens & Streets project was chosen to be our latest Community Engagement Pioneer Project. Jointly ran by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University, the project will investigate a range of community engagement techniques by running outreach events focused on generating ideas to transform streets in the Granton area into well adapted community spaces.
The design of streets and gardens can significantly influence an areas resilience to climate impacts, with large amounts of paved areas contributing to surface water flooding, reduced biodiversity and urban heat island effect. These spaces are also literally on our doorsteps, and represent a tangible and immediate route in to talking to communities about wider adaptation themes.
However, community improvements are best driven by community aspiration, so this project will focus on first introducing the broad concept of creating well adapted streets and gardens, and then facilitate a community conversation to find the ideal interpretation for this unique area.
We will be working with the creative practitioners from the Museum of Future Now to help community members imagine this aspiration future and the ideas they come up with will be turned into illustrations for display in the community hub.
Alongside this, a neighbourhood adaptation planning tool will be created to help other areas explore the possible routes to creating well adapted gardens and streets. This work will compliment other initiatives ongoing in the city, including Edinburgh Living Landscape and Edinburgh Adapts.
There’s still time to book your workshop place: contact Leone on 0791 873 6481 or email lalexander@rgbe.org.uk
