As part of a series organised by HEPI with the support of PwC, this roundtable dinner in Edinburgh focuses on the value of higher education to industry and employers, with guest speaker Wendy Alexander, Vice-Principal at the University of Dundee and a member of the Scottish Government’s Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board.
Some of the issues to be explored include:
- Are employer engagement and academic autonomy sometimes in conflict?
- What are the success criteria for engaging with industry & employers in Scotland?
- ‘Crowding out’ or ‘crowding in’ – does public funding of universities help or hinder employer engagement?
- What should employers reasonably expect from graduates – ‘oven-ready’ graduates or softer transferable skills or both?
- How should we measure graduate-ness?
- Blue skies or closer to market? When and on what terms should a university get involved?
- Local, national or international – against the current political and economic backdrop, what particular challenges do Scottish HE institutions face when engaging with employers and industry?