CAMPUS CONVERSATION: latest column from Moray UHI principal
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And so it all begins again! After just a few weeks of relative quiet to refresh our buildings and our people, the new college year is already upon us.
And this one feels a bit different. We know that the pandemic is not fully over yet, but for this new year we are daring to plan for much more ‘normality’, and all the courses that used to be on campus will be back there again, where they belong.
Most of our campus conversations will be in-person too.
On Monday last week I was able to meet many of our local employers face-to-face at an event we organised with DYW Moray to look at how we best address our current challenges, and how we prepare our community in Moray for the opportunities that the next few years will bring.
We were able to discuss the different ways in which we are all working to support schools to ensure that pupils and parents are sighted on the pathways that can lead to high quality jobs in the future.
We talked about enhancing the role that employers already play in the design, delivery, and review of our college courses, and we looked at how we can understand and prepare for future skills needs, particularly those relating to the transition to a ‘greener’ net-zero carbon economy.
On Wednesday and Thursday last week I was able to meet face-to-face with all our staff in two sessions during our staff conference programme. I was able to thank everyone in person for the way we have safely navigated the college and its students through the pandemic period and discuss how we can work best in a new era with tight constraints on public funding and changed experiences and expectations of learning.
In the next two weeks I plan to meet with all our students – new and returning – to welcome them in-person to the college and to emphasise their role too in challenging us to be the best we can be.
It’s been so refreshing to be able to have these robust, constructive discussions on multi-dimensional issues with three-dimensional people, not just disembodied faces on a screen.
It’s been a great in-person summer across Moray this year with the return of so many of our community ‘Fests’. We’ve had the chance to mingle with neighbours and friends, marvel at the range of arts and crafts on offer, and watch local groups demonstrating everything from tap-dancing to Taekwondo.
If you weren’t on campus at our own Blue Light Festival recently, then you’re probably the only person in Elgin who wasn’t! It was great to see so many families there, enjoying the sunshine and joining long queues to take turns sounding a siren. It also wasn’t surprising to hear that many people were taking the opportunity to ask about courses too, and discuss their own plans for the new year.
UHI Moray is here to help get your life back on-track, or to totally change tracks, before you need to summon any ‘Blue Lights’. So if you’re not sure about your next step, feel free to come and talk to us now in person.
