Reporting back from the EAUC Scotland Conference: The Next Generation

17th March 2014

The 20 February 2014 was a big day for the EAUC-Scotland team as their second bi-annual national Scotland conference got underway. The theme of the day was on ‘the next generation’. The Conference was designed to inspire institutions and students to work together on the challenges of today, for the positive solutions of tomorrow.

Chaired by Dave Gorman (Director for Social Responsibility & Sustainability at the University of Edinburgh), the Conference kicked off a word from EAUC-Scotland convenor David Somervell and continued to include speakers such as Angus Allan, Prof. Sir Jim McDonald, Victoria Barby from Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group and Colin Webster from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Even students presented on some award winning projects such as St AndRe-use at the University of Andrews and work on ESD at Dumfries & Galloway College.

For more information on all speakers from the conference, and for the full programme please go to the Conference webpage.

The workshops spanned topics from enterprise and employability with Change Agents UK, to making the business case for energy efficient projects with the Scottish Futures Trust. Topics for the workshops covered some of the most relevant and challenging issues in the Scottish HE & FE sector today, allowing for representatives from institutions to share ideas and discuss potential for new approaches.

Closing the day was Don McIntyre, Programme Director for the Institute of Design Innovation at Glasgow School of Art, who gave some inspiring models and approaches to more creative thinking and problem solving techniques. A key outcome of the conference was the reinforced notion of the importance of working together as a sector, being creative about finding new solutions and continuing to use inter-disciplinary thinking. Staff and students at educational institutions have an equally important role to play in creating a positive future. It is hoped that this conference gave staff and students alike, some inspiration as to how to do it. For more information on key messages from the conference, please see Dave Gorman’s recent blog entry to the EAUC Scotland Blog.

In final celebration of the day, and as part of the EAUC-Scotland ESD programme for Colleges, delegates gathered at the City of Glasgow College for the ‘Eco-Master Chef Dinner’. The entire dinner was designed, cooked and served by Food & Hospitality Students at the College, as part of a competition to find a menu that best showcased Scottish cuisine and sustainable food. The food was exceptional, and was a real demonstration of the talent and ability of students in Scotland’s Colleges.

It is hoped that this kind of competition could be rolled out at other Colleges across Scotland. Please see here for more information on the dinner and the competition.

For more information on the Conference, its programme and for all presentations, please go to the EAUC-Scotland Conference web pages.