Director's Blog

Wednesday 2nd February 2011

 

HISTORIC DAY FOR SHETLAND COLLEGE UHI AND NAFC MARINE CENTRE UHI AS UNIVERSITY OF THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS BECOMES SCOTLAND'S NEWEST UNIVERSITY

Today (2 February) is a historic day for Shetland College UHI and NAFC Marine Centre UHI as UHI Millennium Institute becomes the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). 

The University of the Highlands and Islands is the only university based in the region.  As well as providing local people with the choice of university study close to home, this innovative and energetic institution will be a magnet for attracting students, researchers and staff into the area; helping to stimulate economic, social and cultural development.

Director of Shetland College UHI, George Smith, explained what the achievement of university title by UHI will mean to Shetland as a whole, as well as to the college.  He said: “Shetland College UHI is a founding academic partner of UHI and, as such, we are extremely pleased that after many years of hard work university status has been achieved for the Highlands and Islands.

“It is tremendously important for Shetland College UHI and for Shetland as a whole that students can now study for qualifications to degree level and beyond without having to leave the islands. This will allow industry to access a broad range of qualifications relevant to the economic and social development of Shetland on their doorstep."

The NAFC Marine Centre UHI has been, and continues to be, a proud academic partner in the UHI family.  We are delighted that university title has been awarded to UHI; a deserving recognition of the high standard of education being delivered throughout the Highlands and Islands.

UHI comprises thirteen colleges, specialist institutions and research centres spread across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland; an area twice the size of Wales.  It uses information technologies to link together students and staff to bring access to higher education to dispersed communities.  The achievement of university title by UHI is the realisation of a long-time ambition for the region to have its own university to support economic development and to help sustain rural and island communities.

Shetland College UHI exists to provide high quality further and higher education and training, which meets the needs of the population and employers, and contributes to economic growth.

NAFC Marine Centre UHI offers high quality accredited and bespoke training, as well as research, development and knowledge exchange provision to clients including the nautical, fisheries, engineering, aquaculture and scientific sectors and other emerging industries that may contribute to sustainable development.

 

 

Wednesday 2nd February 2011

For all those of you who have emailed me regarding the Gaelic on the flag and wanting to know where the Shetland Dialect and/or Orcadian version is...

Here is The University of The Highlands and Islands Mission...

In Orcadian:
Tae be wur very own peedie university workan right whar hid should be  in the hert o' wur communities, providan the learning that suits wursels  but that's good enough tae learn uncan folk fae all ower the world forbye.

In Shetland Dialect:
Ta be a bröd-brakkin university unlaek ony idder, een at fokk recognises at hame an abrod: a university o central importance athin da educational, economic, social, cultural an environmental infrastructure o its ain hame grund, an een at rekks oot, trow its research an teachin, ta da fokk ida Highlands an Islands an ta aa da airts benon.

 

Monday 7th February 2011

AN ENGLISH crabbing boat broke free of its moorings in hurricane force winds gusting to more than 100mph while berthed in Scalloway harbour, in Shetland, during the early hours of Friday.

A group of sea cadets from Scalloway’s NAFC Marine Centre raised the alarm around 2am when they saw the Teignmouth registered Amadeus (TH7) breaking onto the Blacksness pier.

The Lerwick coastguard rescue team joined local harbour staff to help the six crewmen re-secure the vessel at a more sheltered berth within one hour of the alarm.

Their task was made more difficult because the ropes on board Amadeus were not strong enough to hold the boat in such strong winds, and new ropes had to be found.

The rescue team, including the Aith lifeboat, which was on standby, were then stood down.

Shetland Islands Council harbour master Roger Moore praised the “quick and professional response” of his staff in Scalloway, the coastguard and the NAFC cadets, saying they had undoubtedly saved the boat from ending up on the rocks.

Assistant pier master at Scalloway harbour, Ross Maclennan, who was at the scene throughout the night, said conditions had been horrendous.

 

 

Friday 18th February 2011

Its been a busy couple of weeks...and the wind hasn't really let up at all.

At the Shetland Island Council meeting on Wednesday (16 February 2011), the joint management arrangements between The NAFC Marine Centre and Shetland College were approved. These arrangements will mean that I will now be Director of both organisations with immediate effect.

I'm currently making arrangements to meet with staff and students from Shetland College to introduce myself.

More details will follow, by way of a Press Release.

Wednesday 23rd February 2011

As you may have gathered from the press release on our website we have now entered formally into "joint management arrangements" with the other main tertiary education provider in Shetland, Shetland College.

The agreement is for an initial period of 3 years with a formal review and evaluation after the first 12 months against clear and agreed "success criteria". In simple terms there is now a service level agreement between The NAFC Marine Centre and Shetland Islands Council to "buy" 50% of The Directors time to lead and manage Shetland College.

This is certainly an innovative approach and not one that I am aware as having been tried anywhere else in the country but does raise some very interesting opportunities and possibilities for the 2 institutions to work more closely together and play to their respective strengths.

Those of you who heard my interview on the BBC Radio last night will be aware of some of the questions being asked: Is this the first step to a merger of the 2 institutions? How are you possibly going to run 2 separate organisations that are based in Lerwick and Scalloway? Does this mean significant change?

If I can deal with the "merger" question first...no it doesn't mean that a merger is on the cards. This is an arrangement which allows the 2 institutions to explore ways of working together and looking at possible efficiencies of scale etc without losing the unique identity and culture that each organisation has.

The second question is an interesting one and I suppose I don't view it as two separate jobs, each taking up half of my time...I see it as a fulltime job which just happens to be on two sites main sites (with outreach centres) across Shetland.

To finish answering that question I need to go back to my previous Job at The University of Derby where I was Dean of Faculty of the University Faculty based in Buxton (40 miles from the main campus in Derby) and had 8 outreach centres and students based in both Israel and Switzerland...kind of makes the 6 miles between Lerwick and Scalloway pale into insignificance...and when I worked at The University in Cape Town we had campus buildings which were more than 6 miles apart throughout the city.

Is it going to be a challenge? Sure it is...but then most worthwhile things in life are challenging and the potential benefits substantially outweigh any possible hurdles that will arise. Staff from both organisations seem up for this too which is great because without them it'll never work.

Friday 25th February 2011

After having to postpone our Student Award Presentations back in December due to "severe weather" (i.e. we had about 3 foot of snow on the ground and it was blowing a blizzard) today finally saw our students receiving their awards and prizes.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...student award ceremonies and prize giving events are my favourite times of the year as it is the culmination of hard work and dedication on behalf of both the students and staff and is a celebration of achievement! It also signals a beginning of a journey for many of our students on a career path which will require continual learning and upskilling throughout their working lives.

The event didn't disappoint with the students receiving their awards and prizes in front of a packed lecture theatre here at The Marine Centre followed by a buffet.

For those of you who are interested in finding out more about the event and prize winners then please look for the press release under our "news" section.