Are you a resident in Edinburgh? Would you like to take part in a project by telling us about your experience of the Covid-19 pandemic?
Researchers at the University are looking for participants to take part in their project Lothian Lockdown Diaries, which aims to find out how Covid-19 has impacted people living in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
Food delivery companies such as Deliveroo should be forced to investigate accidents and address risks facing their Scottish couriers, say campaigners.
The call comes as the Workers’ Observatory – an Edinburgh project supporting fast food couriers – prepares to launch a manifesto in response to rider safety concerns such as traffic hazards.
Developed with the support of the STUC and Edinburgh University, the manifesto calls for riders to have better protections at work, and asks councils to step into gaps left by legislation by monitoring riders’ road accidents.
Riders – who are still considered by many companies to be self-employed despite a ruling by the UK Supreme Court that Uber drivers should be classified as workers – fall outside of UK health and safety laws.
The Workers’ Observatory collective, working with Edinburgh University sociologist Karen Gregory, claims that company policy of pay-per-delivery “incentivises risk taking”.
The group has gathered examples of traffic accidents and “near misses” experienced by Edinburgh food delivery couriers. Riders have told researchers they feel “pressurised” to take jobs in areas that feel unsafe because they worry refusing an order will affect the allocation of jobs.
Karen Gregory, who published a study on related safety issues last December, said: “The structure of paying riders “per drop” incentivises workers to deliver quickly, so that they are ready for the next delivery assignment.
“This can mean pushing it on city streets or racing through the city on a bicycle or scooter to minimise your delivery time.”
Cailean Gallagher, coordinator of the Workers’ Observatory, said: “Just like in other workplaces, when gig workers have accidents or injuries at work, these should be reported and monitored.
“Councils should be able to receive accident reports and then share the information with riders so that they can monitor the risks and hazards of their work and develop appropriate demands.”
The hard work and commitment of Edinburgh’s tennis community has been acknowledged by the sport’s national governing body which has selected a local university, club and residents as finalists for four of the most coveted awards in Scottish tennis.
Heather Hooker has been shortlisted for the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award which honours individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to tennis for more than 30 years.
Heather’s (above, right) involvement in tennis began at secondary school and continued when she joined the WRAF aged 17 where she played in inter-station competitions.
Heather subsequently joined Craigmillar Park TC in 1983 and has since become an asset to the club. Throughout 2020, she took the opportunity to revamp the clubhouse and surrounding grounds to provide a welcoming environment as tennis returned to the community.
Meanwhile, Heather’s club Craigmillar Park TC has earned a place on the Club of the Year shortlist as a result of demonstrating outstanding community links and growth in 2020.
Clive Minshull, member of fellow Edinburgh club Meadows City TC, has been shortlisted for the Volunteer of the Year Award which recognises an outstanding voluntary contribution made to inspire others to participate in the sport.
Acknowledging innovative attempts to ensure students of all abilities could continue to develop throughout lockdown in 2020, the University of Edinburgh received shortlisting for the highly desired Education Award.
The shortlist for the Tennis Scotland Awards 2021 has been unveiled to recognise the contribution of individuals, clubs, programmes and competitions which played a key role in helping tennis to thrive last year as participation continued to grow across the nation.
Blane Dodds, Tennis Scotland chief executive, said: “The response of the tennis community played a pivotal role in enabling the safe resumption of tennis in 2020. This year, more than ever before, it feels important to acknowledge exceptional contributions which are being made within our sport.”
“The Tennis Scotland Awards provide the perfect platform to celebrate the success stories of the year. With nominations of a particularly high standard, each shortlisted nominee should be very proud of their achievement.”
In total, 27 nominees have been announced across 10 separate categories, with the eventual winners subsequently securing a place at the LTA British Tennis Awards. Winners of the Tennis Scotland Awards will be announced online on the 23rd of April, with a ceremony to be held at a later date.
Among the winners last year was Yvonne Birnie who received the Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding services to Rothiemurchus and Aviemore Tennis Club.
Elsewhere, Scotland’s number-one ranked women’s player, Maia Lumsden, earned the International Player of the Year Award, whilst the 12U Boys North County Cup Team received recognition for magnificent performances and team spirit which secured their title of Team of the Year.
The full shortlist of finalists can be viewed here:
For learn more about the Tennis Scotland Awards, please visit
or follow @TennisScotland on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Three members of Scottish Hockey’s Lead the Way initiative who have been involved in the mental health work undertaken by the University of Edinburgh Women’s Hockey Club have produced a case study to help others.
Eilidh Campbell, Emma Lambert and Hana Nasser from the 2020-21 Lead the Way cohort, alongside club Welfare Officer Iona Grant, developed it to share with hockey and sports clubs across Scotland as a means of promoting and supporting mental health initiatives within clubs.
Eilidh explained: “Emma and I are both on the Lead the Way programme. During one of our discussions, we talked about mental health in hockey, especially over the lockdowns, and about what our clubs had done to help members and support people.
“Edinburgh University has done a really good job, so we talked about everything we had done as well as what worked well for us personally and for the people we know.
“Then Scottish Hockey got in contact and asked if we would be interested in putting a case study together on the things we had done and its impact.”
Eilidh and Emma approached Iona Grant and Hana Nasser to help with the case study as they had both played a role in the club’s approach to mental health.
Hana had come up with the idea of having the club post anonymous stories on its social media pages detailing members’ personal mental health experiences. People could submit their stories via an anonymous online form to shine a light on mental health while tackling stigma.
Hana said, “I was doing a masters degree at Edinburgh University and had always been intrigued by athletes’ mental health. I saw that people did not really talk about their mental health, especially if they are athletes, so I put forward an idea to the hockey club then watched it grow arms and legs.
“Iona, as Welfare and Inclusivity Officer, took it on, with Eilidh and Emma getting involved. I had got the idea from the Humans of New York Instagram page – it is run by a New York photographer who takes photographs of random New Yorkers then asks them to tell him their stories. I thought it would be interesting to do that from the angle of mental health in sport.”
Emma, then Publicity Secretary for Edinburgh University, said: “Reaction from the first post was great, and because it was an anonymous submission everyone got on board because they saw it as a positive step.
“It was good to hear what other people were going through. We may all think we know what is going on in our club and team, but then you realise that you do not. So, to hear what was really going on was a positive step.
“We operated through a Google form, and the link is in every post and on the bio of our Instagram and Facebook. Anyone can post. You do not have to be anonymous, and a lot of people have chosen not to be. It is your call whether or not you self-identify.”
One of the main findings was that the Welfare and Inclusivity Officer role at the club has been vitally important in supporting members with mental health issues and promoting inclusivity within the club.
Iona explained, “Welfare and Inclusivity is a big role; mental health problems are so common. We all have our own mental health awareness and the stigma that continues to be attached to mental health issues is highly detrimental.
“As a club, we believed it was important to start tackling the stigma surrounding mental health. What we saw was a gap between people coping with their mental health on an individual level and opting to seek professional help.
“My role sought to help bridge that gap. I promote all the services that are available in Edinburgh, many that people do not even know exist, but I am also a face that people in the club recognise and one that is there to help and support them throughout whatever they are going through.
“I am not there to solve people’s problems, I’m not a councillor or a healthcare professional, but I’m there to lend an ear and promote the services that are available.”
Edinburgh University has been working on expanding the welfare officer role across its entire sports offering, highlighting especially the success of the position at the hockey club.
Recent graduate Hana is now also using her experience to work with her new committee at Watsonians Hockey Club to establish an Inclusivity and Diversity Officer role and to showcase the importance of such roles across Scottish sport.
The Lead the Way: University of Edinburgh Mental Health Initiatives Case Study is attached or can be found here:
Over the past year, up and down the UK, thousands of research and innovation projects have been publicly funded to tackle the pandemic.
Researchers and businesses in Scotland are playing a key role in how the UK is combatting COVID-19. Their work forms part of a £550 million COVID-19 rapid investment programme by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – the largest public funder of research and development in the UK.
The diversity of UKRI-funded projects is vast – from the world’s first COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, to projects that help us understand and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our economy, environment, education, arts sector and mental health. This funding builds on decades of public investment and research expertise which have provided the backbone to our national COVID-19 response.
Scotland’s biggest universities have received significant UKRI funding for a number of projects.
The Universities of Edinburgh, Strathclyde and Aberdeen have come together to track COVID-19’s progression across Scotland in real-time by using patient data, which allows them to rapidly assess the impact of new treatments and vaccines.
The University of Edinburgh is also working on a separate project that looks to answer key questions about the characteristics of new diseases such as COVID-19.
The University is collecting data and samples to create a bank available to researchers and industry and an open-access platform to evaluate treatments and diagnostics. The project has already led to the recent identification of a key protein found in the blood of patients with severe COVID-19.
The University of Glasgow has also been awarded UKRI funding to develop a new interactive tool to evaluate the risk of infection by COVID-19 indoors. Adapting their unique expertise and using state-of-the-art AI, they are modelling what happens to droplets and aerosols when people breathe, talk, cough and sneeze in indoor spaces, as well as how face masks, ventilation or room size affect infection risk.
Dr Andrea Cammarano from the University of Glasgow said: “Our funding from UKRI was integral to the development of our project.
“Thanks to our engineers a new intelligent tool using state-of-the-art AI will enable government, industry and business to find ways to safely manage people in indoor spaces during the pandemic and post-lockdown.”
Another project at the University of Stirling aims to gain a greater understanding of attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines by surveying 5,000 people. Findings will be shared with key people involved in vaccine policy in the UK to help shape campaigns and interventions that are trusted and support high uptake.
Professor Charlotte Deane, COVID-19-Response Director at UKRI said: “Looking back over the past year, it’s clear that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on so many aspects of our lives, but I take more than a glimmer of hope from the extraordinary work being undertaken by researchers and businesses across the UK.
“These projects are just the tip of the iceberg. They show the tenacity and creativty of our research and innovation communities in Scotland and beyond, who have stepped up in the most challenging of times to come together and fight back against this devastating disease.”
These projects are among 3,600 new COVID-19 projects, totalling over £554 million, being funded by UKRI across the country in response to Covid-19.
The University of Edinburgh’s Community Grants scheme is now open!
The scheme helps the development of projects, community activities and sustainable local action through funding and collaboration.
Applications are welcome for projects which could benefit people living in the City of Edinburgh and/or the neighbouring local authority areas, and should show how they could grow relationships between local communities and the University.
If you’re thinking of applying and don’t currently have a relationship with the University, the University’s Community Team is happy to try and put you in touch with members of the University who might be interested in your work.
The deadline for application is 5pm on Friday 9th April.
Find out more and apply at https://www.ed.ac.uk/local/community-grants
A catering team from the University of Edinburgh has been awarded its 8th sustainable food recognition award.
The Accommodation, Catering and Events team from the university has picked up another bronze ‘Food For Life Served Here’ award, branding its consistent effort from 2013 towards providing healthy and sustainable menus.
Catering to 2,000 students in catered halls daily and producing over 100,000 meals a year, the award is a testament to the continuous efforts made towards serving ethically sourced ingredients and produce.
Soil Association, the charity behind the Food For Life Served Here programme, recognise a bronze award when catering teams guarantee three key quality standards; the environment, the local economy, and the health benefits for pupils and students.
This includes a pledge that a minimum of 75% of dishes are prepared from unprocessed ingredients and that cultural and dietary needs are catered for. While also making the most of seasonal produce, as well as ingredients being sustainably sourced and free from trans fats and additives.
Sue Howlett, Inspector – Food for Life Scotland, said: “We’re thrilled to certify the University of Edinburgh to the Bronze Food for Life Served Here award.
“During my inspection, I was impressed to find that the catering team source local produce via reputable, direct Scottish suppliers, with high standards – providing a positive boost to the local economy.
“They also serve a wide range of sustainable fish on the menu, and an excellent range of seasonal veg – again, sourced locally where possible. Sustainable choices are a key part of the Food for Life Served Here certification – and the University of Edinburgh has strongly demonstrated this ethos in practice.
“Congratulations to the University of Edinburgh – we’re pleased to be working with you!”
Ian Macaulay, Director of Catering at the University of Edinburgh said: “The team is absolutely delighted to have met the standard again in our annual renewal of the Food For Life Served Here award for all meals served to students in catered halls”
“It’s been a really difficult year and this achievement shows that we are still fully committed to keeping our accreditations and awards as part of the Good Food Policy and providing students with healthy, sustainable, and quality food.
“University managed accommodation creates a sense of reassurance for new students, and we are taking that extra step in being transparent about where our ingredients come from and what produce we use, thus helping our students trust our team, and feel at ease.”
The catering team assure that no endangered fish are served, and genetically modified ingredients are not used, ensuring that all the meals served meet UK welfare standards and Scottish Government Nutritional Requirements.
The University of Edinburgh Accommodation, Catering and Events team support the residential welfare of 10,000 students.
One University managed accommodation, Pollock Halls, provides students the option of picking catered accommodation, making a stressful transition that bit easier.
With round-the-clock student support, through its Residence Life welfare initiative and flexible leases, the university is working towards helping students amidst these uncertain times.
For more information on The University of Edinburgh Accommodation, Catering and Events, please visit the website https://www.accom.ed.ac.uk/ or follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
National ‘pop up’ blood donation centres launched to help ground-breaking COVID study
– ‘pop up’ blood donation sites for COVID research study begins nationwide roll out
– urgent appeal for volunteers to help researchers identify new virus treatments
– project open to anyone who caught COVID but experienced mild or no symptoms
– local Muslim leaders enthusiastically back scheme
A scheme to roll out ‘pop up’ blood donation centres across Scotland to help support a unique COVID-19 research study has been launched – and the plan has already won the enthusiastic support of the country’s Muslim leaders.
From Friday (March 5th), eligible volunteers will be able to donate a blood sample at temporary, COVID-secure centres at Mercure Glasgow City Hotel in Ingram Street – participants in Edinburgh can donate at the Hilton Edinburgh Carlton Hotel on North Bridge.
If they don’t wish to travel, the scheme also offers volunteers the option of making an appointment for a nurse to visit their home.
Local Muslim communities have enthusiastically backed the scheme, with leaders in both cities helping distribute thousands of information leaflets and posters – translated into Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, and Punjabi – to its members.
They took the decision to get involved after researchers in the ground-breaking medical study issued an urgent cry for help to the country’s ethnic and minority communities.
“Tragically, the pandemic’s effect has been more widely felt among all ethnic communities – including some who worship here – so it’s important we help those who are making such an important contribution in the fight against COVID,” said Irfan Razzaq, General Secretary at Glasgow Central Mosque.
“The results from the study will not only help us here in Scotland, they’ll be shared internationally and offer more protection to some of the most vulnerable groups of people around the world.”
The unique GenOMICC COVID-19 Study analyses the genes of people who have had the virus to discover why some experienced no symptoms while others became extremely ill.
The study is already contributing to the fight again COVID, with preliminary results helping identify possible new treatments.
However, for the study to continue to make progress and generate meaningful results, the scientists urgently need to recruit more people from all backgrounds across Scotland – but are especially seeking the help of members of Scotland’s South Asian and Pakistani communities.
“We’re issuing an urgent appeal for more volunteers from all walks of life – and in particular for people from South Asian and Pakistani communities – to come forward and register as soon as possible,” explains Dr Kenneth Baillie, the study’s Chief Investigator.
“We need to find people who tested positive for COVID but experienced either mild or no symptoms and didn’t require hospital treatment. For comparison purposes, it’s important that these volunteers are similar in age, gender and ethnicity of those people who were severely affected and hospitalised.
“Through my work as a consultant in intensive care in Edinburgh, I’ve met many patients and their families who have agreed to participate in this research to help others, at one of the most difficult times in their lives. Many of these patients were from South Asian and Pakistani backgrounds – that’s why we urgently need suitable people from these communities to join the study to provide a comparison.”
“The quicker this research can be completed, the faster we can solve the COVID puzzle and protect vulnerable people,” said Professor Sir Mark Caulfied, Chief Scientist at Genomics England. “Genetic research into COVID-19 is now playing an increasingly important role in our fight against the virus, enabling us to identify new forms of the virus and develop treatments.
“The findings from the GenOMICC COVID-19 Study will improve the treatment, care and outcome for those most at risk, as well as helping to prioritise future vaccinations and lower the number of deaths.”
The research project is open to anyone who tested positive to COVID but experienced mild or no symptoms and didn’t require hospital treatment – volunteers can register online here.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival, which takes place this year from Saturday 14 to Monday 30 August, will do so in the beautiful indoor and open, grassy outdoor spaces of the University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh College of Art on Lauriston Place.
Full programme details will be announced in June, but Book Festival fans can expect a range of live online author talks, workshops and readings as well as, if circumstances permit, some events for live socially-distanced audiences.
This new strategic partnership with the University of Edinburgh gives us use of the ECA’s buildings and grounds in August. The University will operate catering and bar provisions if permitted by the Government’s Covid19 guidelines during the Festival.
EIBF Director, Nick Barley, explains this important move: “While we are now experiencing a full lockdown in Scotland which is challenging for so many people on so many levels, we very much hope that the combination of this, together with the ongoing vaccination programme, will bring the virus under control by August.
“While 2020 proved extremely challenging for the Book Festival it also opened up some extraordinarily exciting opportunities. Building on the success of our online Book Festival we can now announce that we will be entering into a new strategic partnership with the University of Edinburgh that will enable us to inhabit this innovative space in 2021 with facilities to create events for both digital and, if circumstances permit, physical audiences.
“Covid19 has created a huge tectonic shift in the way that live events, ourselves included, can reach their audiences. With in-person ticket sales impossible to forecast this August, we simply can’t justify incurring the costs of the tents and infrastructure we’d normally put into Charlotte Square Gardens. It is highly probable that most events will take place online, and the need for broadcast studios is more likely than large venues for an audience.
“In the grassy courtyard of Edinburgh College of Art we will, if rules allow, recreate the elements of the Book Festival that our audiences love – bookshops, cafes and open spaces in which to come together safely offering the ‘oasis of calm’ for which the Book Festival is renowned. The College offers excellent studio and theatre facilities for both online broadcasting and potential events with a socially distanced audience.
“We intend that this strategic partnership with the University will be a long-term arrangement, and the Book Festival will continue to occupy their spaces when a Covid-free Festival, with audiences able to enjoy live events in person, can be staged.
“However digital events will continue to be a key part of future Book Festivals, enabling us to reach truly global audiences as well as those closer to home who face barriers to attending the event. We are excited that our hybrid festivals of the future will engage with authors and audiences around the world in a more environmentally responsible way.”
It’s a new chapter for the Book Festival. Look out for more announcements in the coming months, with full programme details to be revealed at the end of June.
BOY ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH ASSAULT NEAR UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Inspector Norman Towler of St Leonards Police Station said: “Officers have arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with a racial assault which happened in George Square on Friday, 11 December.
“A 21-year-old man was approached by a group of youths, who spoke to him and subjected him to racial abuse before he was assaulted. The victim was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
“The teenager will be reported and enquiries continue to trace others involved in the incident.
“I would like to thank those who have assisted with our enquiries so far, any form of hate crime is completely unacceptable and I would ask anyone with any further information to contact officers as soon as possible.
“Those with information should report this to 101, quoting incident number 2927 of 11 December.”
The Iniversity issued the following statement following the attack:
On Friday 11 December 2020, one of our students was the victim of a racist attack outside the Main Library. This was an appalling incident, which we wholeheartedly condemn.
All of our University community should feel safe on campus, and we will not tolerate violence, racism or any other form of discrimination.
We are working closely with Police Scotland to support their investigations into the incident, and to increase the presence of security and police in the area. We have conducted a swift review into our response on the night and continue to work with the student community to address their concerns.
A range of help has been offered to the victim to support them after their ordeal. However, this will of course be upsetting and concerning for our whole community. We want to reassure our students and staff that we will do everything in our power to ensure that people have a safe and happy experience on campus.
Anyone affected by the incident should contact our Advice Place on advice@eusa.ed.ac.uk, or visit the following links to access support:
