Tag: network

Scotland’s first female graduate network launched 

Scotland’s first female graduate network launches as fully structured organisation with support from Business Gateway

An Edinburgh University graduate has launched Scotland’s first female graduate and young professional network as a fully structured organisation after accessing support from Business Gateway.  

Annabel Blackwood first launched Girl Grads as Girl Grads Run in September 2023, aiming to create a running community for female graduates and young professionals living in the capital.  

Met with an extremely positive reception, and having secured over 15 run club volunteers, it rapidly evolved into a vibrant community. Thanks to this, Annabel decided to rebrand to Girl Grads in July 2024 to broaden the organisation’s mission: to connect and support women through wellness, social and community engagement.   

Annabel has been operating Girl Grads as a passion project whilst training to be a solicitor. In September last year, Annabel made use of Business Gateway’s Planning To Start tool to see about the best structure for the community group.   

She was then connected with a local business adviser, Lee Briggs, who provided support with mentoring, and how to develop a business plan for Girl Grads. Lee was also able to introduce Annabel to relevant partner organisations.  

With support from Business Gateway, Annabel has now decided on a clear legal structure for Girl Grads. She has also identified opportunities for growth in 2025 thanks to careful planning of promotion and awareness events.   

Annabel now plans to also support her Girl Grads community of over 2,000 women with professional, skills and advice-based events, tailored to graduates and young professionals. In 2024, she collaborated with brands such as ASICS and Graham’s The Family Dairy to promote Girl Grads’ activities and is now looking forward to continuing collaborating with brands and businesses who support her mission. 

Annabel Blackwood, founder and owner, Girl Grads, said: “After graduating from Edinburgh University in 2023, I found that I missed the social network that being a student provided. I decided to set up a social, pace-inclusive run club to meet like-minded people and to have a group of friends to run with on dark evenings.   

“I really couldn’t have imagined what Girl Grads has evolved into since we first launched. I’ve loved building a female community in Edinburgh and helping each other to navigate life in our 20s.  

“I’d like to thank Business Gateway for their fantastic support over the last few months. It’s been so rewarding to work with Lee, who really understood my vision for Girl Grads. I can’t wait for what’s to come this year.” 

Lee Briggs, Business Gateway adviser, said: “It’s great to work with someone like Annabel who is so passionate about making a difference and supporting women in the community.

“Girl Grads has proved to be extremely popular and I’ve no doubt it will continue to grow in the months ahead.” 

To find out how Business Gateway can help your business, visit https://bgateway.com.  

New capability network will help businesses in Edinburgh and the Lothians access support and unlock innovation

The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) has announced the formation of a new network that brings together leading Scottish research and innovation, education, and training providers to help unlock manufacturing innovation and drive growth in the sector across the country.  

Spanning the length and breadth of Scotland, the network is led by NMIS and includes Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland (MTBCOS), Scotland’s national centre for mountain biking innovation and excellence, based just outside Edinburgh, as a lead partner. Other partners include Energy Skills Partnership (ESP), and Tay Cities Engineering Partnership (TCEP).

The network will offer an easy means for manufacturing companies that work with individual partner organisations, to tap into the vast expertise across the entire network. Companies will also be able to access the capability partners’ own networks including the renowned High Value Manufacturing Catapult through NMIS.

Providing an open channel to share knowledge, capability, and ideas, the network is accessible to all organisations across the country that can contribute to creating a sustainable and vibrant future for the Scottish manufacturing and engineering community.

Expanding upon the ability of NMIS to address national and global manufacturing challenges and support the goal of making Scotland a global leader in advanced manufacturing, the announcement comes at a critical time as manufacturers across Scotland are recovering from the impact of COVID-19. 

John Reid, National Manufacturing Institute Scotland CEO said: “The NMIS Capability Network makes it easier for companies in the Edinburgh and Lothians manufacturing and engineering community to tap into and benefit from world-class expertise and capability.

“This is a crucial moment in time as manufacturers seek to navigate complex situations such as the climate emergency and post pandemic recovery. Now is a time to refocus, embrace innovation and seize the opportunities that so often emerge from challenging times.

“Sitting at the cutting edge of manufacturing innovation, the network partners each have a fundamental part to play in developing tomorrow’s manufacturing workforce, improving productivity, and helping companies, and people, in our community prosper.”

Business Minister for Scottish Government, Ivan McKee said: “As we begin to make our way out of the Covid-19 pandemic and look to rebuild and grow Scotland’s economy, a vibrant and diverse manufacturing sector has never been more critical to long-term recovery and success.

“Our £75m investment in NMIS continues to deliver strong outcomes even during the challenging times we are facing now – from supporting the initial response to the pandemic to playing a key role in developing and delivering our Manufacturing Recovery Plan. 

“We must utilise the experience, expertise and ingenuity of all of Scotland’s manufacturing industry to create the best conditions for the sector to thrive.

“The network is an essential part of our support across industry, academia and the public sector working to deliver greater, greener and fairer prosperity for manufacturers across all of Scotland.”

Professor Geraint Florida-James, lead academic at MTBCOS, added: “I am delighted that MTBCOS will be part of the NMIS Collaboration Network. 

“MTBCOS has been supporting companies in the cycling industry since 2014. MTBCOS is a centre for open innovation and has an extensive partnerships network which allows companies access to national and international markets.

“The relationship with NMIS will allow MTBCOS access to an expanded repertoire of expertise and resources, which will be of huge benefit to the businesses we work with. We look forward to being an active member of this exciting network.” 

Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal & Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde, said: “The University of Strathclyde is committed to applying its research, expertise and sector-leading approach to partnership working with business, industry and government to help Scotland recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Manufacturing will play a central role in that recovery and through our participation in this new capability network we look forward to helping companies across Scotland to innovate, develop their workforces and to drive economic growth.”

The NMIS Capability Network includes CENSIS, Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, Energy Skills Partnership, Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland, the Scottish Institute for Remanufacturing, Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering, SeedPod, and Tay Cities Engineering Partnership.

To find out more about the NMIS capability network or to enquire about joining visit NMIS Capability Network | National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS).

New national project provides exercise equipment and ongoing contact for older people at home

As we return to stricter lockdown regulations or to shielding, charity Sporting Memories rolls out its latest national resource: the Sporting Memories #KITbag. Delivered to people’s homes, the KITbag pack includes exercise equipment, a DVD, reminiscence resources and personalised record books. However, the KITbag is about so much more than what arrives in the post.

Since the start of the pandemic, Sporting Memories – the charity which in ‘normal’ times brings together older people across Scotland at over 130 Clubs for companionship and physical exercise – has reacted quickly. They have developed ways of keeping in touch and a wide range of physical, online and radio resources. 

Through their #TalkAboutSport campaign, they encourage everyone to use the power of sporting memories to tackle loneliness and depression, and spark positive memories for people living with dementia. The campaign has attracted practical support from many well-known personalities from the world of sport.

Their latest national project is the Sporting Memories KITbag, which in Scotland has received funding from the ScottishPower Foundation,  the National Lottery Community Fund, the CORRA Foundation and Spirit of 2012.

Delivered to people’s homes, the KITbag pack contains inclusive equipment for helping with being active, a DVD with magazine programmes, an exercise guide, Sporting Memories sports articles and quizzes, and a personal record book.  

Donna Mackey, Sporting Memories Partnership Manager, is one of the team behind the KITbag. “Recipients receive either regular keep-in-touch (KIT) phone calls or participate in weekly online or telephone Sporting Memories Clubs where we offer motivation and general conversation.

“Our Club members tell us how Sporting Memories Clubs bring them enjoyment and something that often becomes the highlight of their week. We spark conversations and fond memories. That is exactly what we will also be doing with those who receive our KITbag when we keep in touch each week.” 

Melanie Hill, Executive Officer and Trustee at the ScottishPower Foundation, said: “The ScottishPower Foundation is passionate about supporting projects that help bring people together to create deep and lasting connections.

“During these challenging times, this has never been so important and it’s brilliant to see the way the Sporting Memories Foundation is adapting to provide vital support despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic. The KITbag helps tackle loneliness and isolation so we’re proud that our funding has been able to support such an amazing project that brings joy for so many people.”

Chris Wilkins, Sporting Memories Co-Founder, says: “As a team and working with partners, Sporting Memories Club members, our volunteers and carers, we have been working on our own, longer-term solutions, just like the health sector has been working on COVID treatments and vaccines. 

“We are delighted to have received ScottishPower Foundation and National Lottery Community funding, along with funding from the CORRA Foundation and Spirit of 2012, meaning that this service has been made possible and we will be able to support even more people to be active at home.

“We have been conscious throughout the pandemic that many of our Club members either could not engage with online activities or their conditions meant that these were not suitable. At the same time, so many of our members were not getting out of their homes, some through those early and now current months of shielding, and others through fear and inactivity. For some, reduced mobility has really taken hold.” 

The charity accepts that the Sporting Memories KITbag is no panacea – but it is a project that brings long-term and ongoing benefits, both physical and in terms of companionship.

For organisations who would like to find out more about the #KITBag services and how to become involved, there is further information on the Sporting Memories website, at thesmf.co.uk 

ONLINE LINK TO: www.sportingmemoriesnetwork.com/kitbag

Nationwide apprentice network “will inspire next generation”

Pupils in every high school across Scotland will benefit from a new national network of apprentices, helping to inspire future generations to benefit from apprenticeship opportunities.

Scotland’s Apprentice Network is open to current and former apprentices who want to encourage young people to follow in their footsteps, with every school in Scotland to be linked with an ambassador from the network.

The network was launched by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at Forth Valley College, where she met engineering apprentices as part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week.

The First Minister said: “Creating this network of apprentices, who can share their experiences with others, will help inspire the next generation.

“We know that work-based learning delivers for individuals, employers, and the Scottish economy. Through the network, apprentices are going to have the chance to inspire young people to follow their example and become the apprentices of tomorrow.

“Their success stories are the best way to show pupils that work-based learning offers fantastic career opportunities.”

Director of National Training Programmes at Skills Development Scotland, Katie Hutton, said: “We know that the best people to showcase the benefits of apprenticeships are successful apprentices.

“Through the network, apprentices will have a unique opportunity to talk directly to school pupils who are making their career choices and encourage others to follow in their footsteps.”

Scotland’s Apprentice Network is facilitated by Skills Development Scotland (SDS). SDS will ensure the inclusive recruitment of network members, from across the whole of Scotland, different sectors, industries and disciplines.

Network members will use their own first-hand experiences to communicate the benefits of Foundation, Modern and Graduate apprenticeships to young people, employers, parents, schools and other stakeholders at a local level, ensuring employers and schools can benefit from the national network.

Current and former apprentices are being encouraged to sign up and join the network – www.apprenticeships.scot/network

 

 

Charities partnership launches homelessness initative

Cyrenians are excited to launch a new venture in partnership with the St Martin-in-the-Fields charity. The St Martin’s Frontline Network is designed to bring together workers on the frontline of homelessness in Edinburgh and will provide a space for mutual support, sharing best practice, and engaging with public policy.  In time, the Frontline Network will nurture an innovative and collective response to tackling homelessness in the city. Continue reading Charities partnership launches homelessness initative