SRUC is being granted degree-awarding powers, becoming the first institution in Scotland to do so in nearly twenty years. How have degree awards worked up until now, and why is this change important for SRUC?

SRUC has developed and delivered degree courses for many years but, as we didn’t previously have taught degree awarding powers, these degrees were validated by the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and, up until 2008, the University of Aberdeen.

We have always had a strong, co-operative relationship with these universities and we have been able to design and develop degrees in subjects that support our mission and expertise across a wide range of subjects. This includes animal science, agriculture, environmental protection and management, business management, horticulture and veterinary nursing.

However, having taught degree awarding powers of our own will give SRUC more control over the degrees we develop, an excellent example being the development of our new degree in Veterinary Science. As a tertiary provider of both Further and Higher Education, the new powers will allow us to continue to support student journeys, especially those that start in Further Education, Modern Apprenticeships and HNC and HNDs to help support students reach their maximum potential.

It will allow us to design a future education system that’s aligned to what a future workforce needs, with a strong focus on tackling global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and food security. This is the moment to choose SRUC. It’s an organisation that knows where it’s going and give students a chance to make a real impact on the world around them, at local, national and global levels.

 

You are launching the first new vet course at your Aberdeen campus, which I believe is the first of these in Scotland for a very long time. Why is SRUC offering this degree, and is there a particular reason it is being offered at the Aberdeen campus?

SRUC has a remit to support our natural economy. Vets, among other professionals, are key to this. It is widely recognised that the UK veterinary profession is failing to achieve self-sufficiency in generating and retaining homegrown talent. This has serious ramifications for the wider sector, but particularly for Scotland’s rural, farming and food sectors. We are seeking to address this by training the vets that are so essential for our food sector and mixed, rural practices and are keen to reach into our rural communities to identify suitable applicants.

Our Aberdeen Campus has the facilities, including our own farm, large and small animal clinical skills labs which will enable students to receive training and put that training into practice within an educational setting. Further, Aberdeen is more accessible to students from rural backgrounds and offers ready work experience and clinical training within established mixed practices.

 

Will the SRUC vet degree be similar to those on offer at Glasgow and Edinburgh or will it have more of an agricultural and/or rural focus?

The Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSci) programme will be similar to those on offer at other universities, in training vets to work in all areas of the profession, but with a definite focus on training UK-domiciled students in the priority areas of veterinary medicine which include rural practice.  The other key difference is that SRUC is trying to attract those students who come from a rural background and who understand the challenges posed by life in the more remote regions of Scotland. 

 

I’ve been told that the FE courses offered by SRUC mean that there will be a new and potentially more accessible route into vet medicine now. Can you explain a little bit about this for me?

Many of our potential students, growing up in remote and rural places, may not have access to the full range of educational resources that their peers in urban settings have and so, through no fault of their own, they’re not able to meet the demanding entry requirements of other vet schools.  In addition, there may be those who have the aptitude and drive to succeed but just not quite the academic achievement. Our FE courses provide a ‘gateway’ for such students, although it does of course lengthen their study time overall.   

 

You’re about to launch a new five-year strategy for SRUC. Can you give us an idea of where you expect the institution to be in five years’ time, and what sort of developments you hope to have seen in that period?

We have a very clear mission – ‘working with nature to develop a sustainable future’ with a strong sense of identity. Degree awarding powers will enable us to better prepare our students for a world where vocational, technical and academic learning have equal esteem and are all contributing to our country’s future prosperity. Our research is focussed on tackling real-world, practical problems through collaboration with business and governments,  delivering  impact in Scotland, the rest of the UK and globally. We already provide more business support to SMEs than any other college or university in the UK and we shall build on that by harnessing our new investments in place-based innovation centres. Finally, we are an outstanding place to work and study with a strong connection and sense of belonging to roots and heritage in rural Scotland.