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 Centre The 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 Centre BIS 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. Mission By 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 Operations Inventiveness into innovation and prosperity Talent, Expertise and Attributes SMEs Universities International & Inward Investment Corporates Government & 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

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

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 Research Attempting to not reinvent the wheel Purpose Collate 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 Research Unknown unknowns Includes data from: AGR annual surveys, ASET, PlaceNet, Futuretrack, Real Prospects survey, Royal Society surveys... Call for Help 1: many unknown unknowns Anything we have missed surveys, reports, data sets

Phase 1.2: Institutional Audit Digging deeper Purpose Deeper, 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 Purpose Next 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 findings Universities highlighting benefits for employability Businesses highlighting benefits for recruitment Importance of pre, during and post support noted Subject discipline less important to success of opp. Call for Help 3: completing and distributing survey

Survey details: placements/index.htm

Phase 2.2: Success Stories Digging deeper Purpose Deeper, 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)

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