JOINT FUTURE THINKING TASKFORCE ON UNIVERSITIES
MEETING 2: FEBRUARY 4-5, 2008, HOUSTOUN HOUSE HOTEL, UPHALL
AGENDA
MONDAY 4 FEBRUARY
From 14.15 Arrivals, tea and coffee
14.45 to 15.00 Welcome and introductions from joint chairs Fiona Hyslop and Sir Muir Russell
Part 1 - Scotland in the world?
15.00 to 16.30 Lesley Fraser, Julie Hoey and Richard Rollison, Scottish Government Strategy Unit
16.30 to 16.45 Tea and coffee
Part 2 - Higher education's role in ensuring Scotland's economic competitiveness
16.45 to 17.30 Sir Muir Russell (see paper)
19.00 Pre-dinner drinks
19.30 Dinner in library
TUESDAY 5 FEBRUARY
Part 2 - Higher education's role in ensuring Scotland's economic competitiveness (continued)
09.15 to 10.15 John Ireland, Scottish Government and Patrick Watt, Futureskills Scotland
10.15 to 10.30 Tea and coffee
Part 3 - International comparisons
10.30 to 11.15 Professor Tariq Durrani, Professor David Gani and Laurence Howells of Scottish Funding Council
(see paper)
Review and conclusions
11.15 to 11.55 Discussion
11.55 to 12.00 Closing comments and thanks by joint chairs
12.00 Depart
NOTES OF MEETING
ATTENDEES FROM TASKFORCE
Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
Sir Muir Russell, Convener of Universities Scotland and Principal of University of Glasgow
Sir Tim O'Shea, Principal of University of Edinburgh
Bernard King, Principal of University of Abertay Dundee
Pamela Gillies, Principal of Glasgow Caledonian University
Seona Reid, Director of Glasgow School of Art
David Caldwell, Director of Universities Scotland
Mark Batho, Director of Lifelong Learning, Scottish Government
Stephen Kerr, Head of Higher Education and Learner Support Division, Scottish Government
Stephen Noon, Special Adviser
Apologies - John McClelland, Chair of Scottish Funding Council
Secretariat - Claire Woodward-Nutt, Head of HE Futures and Research, Scottish Government
OTHER ATTENDEES
Lesley Fraser, Head of Strategy Unit, Scottish Government
Julie Hoey, Policy Adviser, Strategy Unit, Scottish Government
Richard Rollison, Policy Adviser, Strategy Unit, Scottish Government
John Ireland, Senior Economic Adviser, Scottish Government
Patrick Watt, Futureskills Scotland
Professor Tariq Durrani, Scottish Funding Council member
Professor David Gani, Director of Research Policy and Strategy, Scottish Funding Council
Laurence Howells, Director of Learning Policy and Strategy, Scottish Funding Council
Part 1 - Scotland in the world?
Lesley Fraser, Julie Hoey and Richard Rollison of the Scottish Government Strategy Unit described what the world looked like 20 years ago as context for looking forward to 2028. They described recent trends in flows of information and people, economic growth, employment and poverty. They also described three key trends which are likely to have a major impact in future:
· Expectation economy
· Rise of China and India
· Generation U and information glut
The key topics discussed following the presentation were:
- Marketing, branding and product
- Customers
- Teaching and learning
- International
- IT
- Research
Part 2 - Higher education's role in ensuring Scotland's economic competitiveness
Sir Muir Russell described Universities Scotland's paper covering population, skills, and innovation. The key topics discussed following the presentation were:
- System and structures
- Research
- Translating success into economy and knowledge transfer
- Funding
Action: Stephen Noon to share information on the Finnish approach
Part 2 - Higher education's role in ensuring Scotland's economic competitiveness (continued)
John Ireland, Scottish Government and Patrick Watt, Futureskills Scotland described the Government's Economic Strategy, Skills for Scotland and the role of HE as a major sector in itself. The key topics discussed following the presentation were:
- Demand for graduates
- Skills
- Translating success into economy and knowledge transfer
- Productivity and the utilisation of skills
- Place
Actions - SG and FSS to provide briefing note on graduate demand; US to explore opportunities to integrate work-related activity into degree programmes to support employability of graduates; SG to provide briefing note on business interaction; and SG and FSS to provide briefing on productivity issues and explore research issues with partners
Part 3 - International comparisons
Professor Tariq Durrani, Professor David Gani and Laurence Howells of Scottish Funding Council presented their paper comparing Scotland with a range of other countries. The key topics discussed following the presentation were:
- Competition
- Research
- International students
- Accessibility and participation
Action: Tariq Durrani to provide taskforce members with copy of report on Future of Science & Technology in Europe - Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Ireland worth examining.
Papers