Dr. Joe Marshall, 24 May 2013 National Centre for Universities and Business: Opportunities for Scotland.

Dr. Joe Marshall, 24 May 2013

National Centre for Universities and Business: Opportunities for Scotland

Overview

• Establishing the National Centre

• Supporting quality placements

• Opportunities for Scotland

Establishing the National Centre

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“Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) should be invited to develop its structure to become an independent subscription based charity that becomes ‐the focus for information on business–university collaboration”.

“It will gather and maintain a comprehensive repository of good practice, undertake commissioned studies and provide a reliable information source for future substantive reviews”.

Establishing the National CentreThe Wilson Review (Feb, 2012)

BIS will support the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) to create a National Centre for Universities and Business.

The centre will focus on strengthening the strategic partnership between universities and business with a view to driving economic growth and recovery.

Establishing the National CentreBIS response(June, 2012)

CIHE 1

CIHE 2

NCUB Vision & Mission

• Vision Increasing the prosperity and wellbeing of the UK through world-leading university and business collaboration.

• MissionBy effective collaboration nurture the right talent, innovation and expertise for the UK’s future growth.

UK Wide Organisation

Core partners:• HEFCW• HEFCE• SFC• DELNI• TSB• 36 Major Companies at Chair/CEO level• 33 Universities and Higher Educations at Vice Chancellor

Level

Areas of Focus

Three areas of focus:

• Brokering and facilitating world class collaboration

• Working together to build the high-level talent base for the UK’s future prosperity and well-being.

• Translating inventiveness into innovation

Summary of OperationsInventiveness into

innovation and prosperity

Talent, Expertise and Attributes

SMEs Universities

International & Inward Investment

CorporatesGovernment &

Devolved administrations

Analysis(measure

performance)

Inspiration(best practice &

case studies)

Brokerage(IP &

internships)

Action(Practical projects)

Areas of operation

Types of operation

Target Audience

and Partners

What we will do - Year 1• Talent -

– Skills Survey exploring, what talent does business really need? – particularly in specific areas such as design and software engineering?

– What does a quality placement look like and can we create a national scheme working with others?

• Brokerage & networking -– Range of things from high level ministerial meetings to broader working groups

around key programmes for change.– Exploring social networking solutions for working with TSB and RCUK - potential

pilot projects around university-business-Catalyst networks• Task Forces –

– Growing Value Project will continue to explore how to make the most of the UK’s public research base.

• Share best practice and celebrate success– Case studies, blogs, events.

Quality Placement Project

Quality Placement Project

• Placement (in the broadest sense) represent an important interface:

Student

BusinessUniversity

Preaching to the converted

• Wilson Reviewed extolled the virtues of all forms work-based learning from sandwich programmes, placements and internships

• Universities Scotland ‘Taking Pride in the Job’ praises the work of ‘Learning to Work 2 initiative

• From student employability to strategic engagement with businesses benefits are profound

Yet...

• Provision of placement opportunities not universal (within or across different institutes)

• Challenges of nomenclature, credit bearing, student readiness and business engagement (e.g. SMEs)

• Variability in quality of experience and relevancy to the student experience

Quality Placement Project

• Recognised important interface for university-business collaboration but with:– Limited metrics on level and type of provision across

the UK– Limited understanding of the characteristics of a

quality experience across the UK

• Collaborating with the HEA– Embarked on a 4 part research project

Phase 1.1: Desktop ResearchAttempting to not reinvent the wheel

PurposeCollate existing information on the extent and nature of placements across the HE sector

– Meta-analysis of existing reports and data sets– Grounded in policy frameworks from each DA

Iterative process – building up the baseline data

Phase 1.1: Desktop ResearchUnknown unknowns

Includes data from:AGR annual surveys, ASET, PlaceNet, Futuretrack, Real Prospects survey, Royal Society surveys...

Call for Help 1: many unknown unknownsAnything we have missed surveys, reports, data sets

Phase 1.2: Institutional AuditDigging deeper

PurposeDeeper, more accurate data on realities of placement provision, type and take up

– Selecting a mix of institutions (type, size, specialism, location)

– Seeking to develop a workable tool to enable institutional capture of placement provision

Call for Help 2: Institutional support

Phase 2.1: Online Survey

PurposeNext phase of the project was to better understand what defines and makes for a quality placement experience

– Developed an online survey tool to survey universities and businesses on their views and experiences with placements

Phase 2.1: Online Survey

Early findingsUniversities highlighting benefits for employability Businesses highlighting benefits for recruitmentImportance of pre, during and post support notedSubject discipline less important to success of opp.

Call for Help 3: completing and distributing survey

Survey details:

http://www.cfe.org.uk/surveys/NCUB_quality_placements/index.htm

Phase 2.2: Success StoriesDigging deeper

PurposeDeeper, more in-depth understanding of what makes for a quality placement experience

– Searching for innovative and interesting examples– Emphasis is on HOW as much as WHAT – Seeking to understand where it fits strategically

Call for Help 4: Exemplars of best practice

What’s Next

• Complete the survey and dissemination events in Autumn (incl. back to Scotland)

• Develop the repository of success stories

• As required, develop practical tools and guides to further support placement activities (especially for small businesses)

Thank you!

We need your help

Contact us on

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