Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE

Really interesting report published today by the Institute For Fiscal Studies highlighting funding pressures on 16 to 19 and the upcoming growth in the cohort. Layer on top the uncertainty of qualification reform and significant operational challenges with maths and English changes to conditions of funding and this is becoming a really tough part of the market. Sadly the report doesn’t mention independent training providers who now deliver nearly £200m of 16-19 classroom based provision to the most disadvantaged & disengaged young people. Many of our AELP members already have demand which outstrips funding allocations with more capping this year that I can remember. This critical 16 to 19 provision delivered by ITPs still seems to me to be FE’s best kept secret. About time we shouted more about it. Without ITPs the appalling NEET numbers would be sadly even more significant.

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Only 3 days to go before applications close for this post.

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In this article, you can see some of the work of the Buckingham Enterprise and Innovation Unit, with other colleagues, in the University of Buckingham

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Innovate UK, Opportunity North East Limited and University of Aberdeen are inviting applications to the ICURe Discover North East Scotland programme. This eight-week programme will enable you to explore the commercial potential of your research and innovation and is open to researchers, clinicians and early stage start-ups. Applications are encouraged from individuals and teams within the life sciences and digital sectors and innovation-driven technologies. The programme focus is on market awareness and customer discovery to enable participants to understand whether there is a commercial demand for their science or technology. Past participants have reported that having eight weeks of support and time for customer discovery significantly transformed their perspective on their innovation. Programme participants will work in teams to refine their commercial proposal. The programme is delivered via a one-day in-person and one-day virtual bootcamp followed by eight weeks of early-stage market engagement and customer discovery (total eight weeks part-time). What's included?  - £2,500 support for testing assumptions and market discovery activities  - Two-day training boot camp with part-time market discovery spanning eight-weeks  - Gather market feedback that indicates the next steps, such as entering ICURe - Explore with a team - Access to our team of experts who will proactively connect you to our network of entrepreneurs, investors and funders  - Outline the commercial viability using tools such as the Business Model Canvas (BMC) - Develop an understanding of existing market offerings and the competitive landscape for your sector Applications close on Friday 19th April, with the programme starting on Wednesday 8th May. https://lnkd.in/e9VnXWrj

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Are you a business looking to innovate, boost productivity, and gain a competitive edge? Join us at the UWS KTP Associate Seminar 2024 and discover how Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) with University of the West of Scotland can transform your business! 📅 Date: Monday, 1st July 2024 🕒 Time: 0900 – 1300 (including lunch and networking 📍 Location: UWS Paisley Campus, Paisley, PA1 2BE https://lnkd.in/eCRUH5BV ✅ Learn from successful KTP projects: Hear from businesses that have thrived through their partnerships with UWS. ✅ Network with industry leaders and academic experts: Build connections that can propel your business forward. ✅ Discover how to secure funding to support your innovation journey. ✅ Meet talented KTP Associates: Find the right expertise to drive your projects. The KTP program bridges the gap between academia and business, enabling access to emerging knowledge, cutting-edge research and development resources. Whether you're a startup or a well-established company, there's immense potential for growth and development through KTP. Don't miss this chance to see how a partnership with UWS can benefit your business. #Innovation #BusinessGrowth #KTP #UWS #KnowledgeTransfer #Networking #IndustryPartnerships #ResearchAndDevelopment #BusinessEvent UWS KTP Centre

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TNE or not to TNE Delighted to see the piece by Piers Wall and Shannon Stowers in Wonkhe yesterday. Having been involved in helping to create QAA’s Quality Evaluation and Enhancement of UK Transnational Higher Education Scheme (QE-TNE) it is so good to know that it has delivered and flourished. The UK’s TNE is one of our less sung export successes. In purely financial terms it is significant and I have written before about its importance in building trust, understanding and collaboration across borders and TNE’s role in the ‘soft power’ impact of the UK. The figures show how important TNE is to the UK, to the university sector and to all those hundreds of thousands of students undertaking UK awards through TNE. In working on the proposal, I sought to create a scheme that was ambitious, that put a focus on our TNE students, on partners, on TNE host nations and on mutual learning. The figures in the mid-point review I hope illustrate that it has met the goals we had for it. UK TNE provision in nine countries across three continents has been evaluated to date. Its important that the QE-TNE scheme is flexible. It showed itself able to work effectively as we all adapted to the impact of a global pandemic with Covid-19.  At a country specific level, the scheme showed it could respond to the circumstances in Sri Lanka, in the face of its 2022 financial crisis, using the opportunity to explore questions about how to support TNE provision through change and upheaval. I would still like to see greater use of TNE to enable students to learn with other students in different nations, to explore differing cultural perspectives and insights into their discipline. There are outstanding examples of how UK institutions have embedded TNE for the enrichment of students and staff at different locations, often benefitting research as well as learning. I think we all learn most when we collaborate for mutual benefit and look to learn all we can from that process of engaged collaboration. I would like to support and emphasise the conclusion to the mid-point review, which I summarise here: We do not know how the UK higher education TNE landscape will change over the two years before the current, successful, QE-TNE scheme comes to an end in 2026, but the need for UK-wide, coherent, enhancement-focused oversight of UK-TNE provision will remain. The success of UK TNE is contingent on its reputation for delivering high-quality provision. With the ongoing growth of TNE, quality must not only be maintained but also continuously improved. “The need to maintain and develop this mechanism, with its core principles of enhancement-led, context-sensitive, student-focused, UK-wide oversight of TNE, is clear”. It is in the best interests of UK TNE and of our students around the world.

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Cranfield Key Account Management Forum KAM RESEARCH and PRACTICE We are delighted to have a world-class panel Peter Kerr, Prof. dr. Nick Lee, Vasilios Theoharakis, Nicolaas Smit, Andrew Hough FF.ISP,Cranfield Lecturer addressing key questions for KAM research and practice WHAT AREAS OF KAM DO WE NEED NEW RESEARCH ON? - The predictors of sales performance are well known, but not so much those of KA Managers' - Career progression, addressing appropriate career paths for key account managers (don't just promote start sales people into key account management roles) - KAM is a process thus, a better understanding how to align and integrate sales, marketing and KAM - KAM enablement investigating further the ingredients of successful KAM programmes including tools, systems and processes for SMEs (not just global firms) - How to enhance the organizational trust on key account managers so they are seen both by external and internal customers as trusted advisors. We will continue to reflect on these and other areas to push forward, simultaneously, KAM research and practice.

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Pleased to share an initial Birkbeck, University of London response to the Universities UK 'blueprint for change' Priority asks which we'll be pushing - - Government must look at the potential of a graduate contribution as opposed to a loan system. - The growing regulatory burden is in danger of stifling innovation, and time and thought is needed to ensure that the Office for Students operates in a proportionate manner informed by risk. - There is also a need to build funding and regulatory arrangements that support, rather than penalise, flexibility and lifelong learning. It is imperative that gaps that impede progression between different funding and regulatory regimes under which adults can access education and skills are eradicated.

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As strategic restructuring of UK HE becomes increasingly urgent with policy and funding solutions looking some way off - enthusiastically embracing #TNE is a crucial part of the solution, so fantastic that innovative University of Southampton is leading the way in developing new models with #India through public-private sector partnership. As we navigate these exciting new opportunities in this dynamic and rapidly developing country, join our incredibly impressive panel as we explore together how to build an a novel and effective collaborative ecosystem at Universities UK International Transnational Education Conference (#TNE2024) on 8-9 October 2024! Hear unique insights from the people "walking the walk" in a world where it seems many are expert only at "talking the talk" - Andrew Atherton (University of Southampton), Alison Barrett MBE (British Council), Aarushi Jain (Head of Education at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas) and Delia Heneghan (Oxford International Education Group) and myself.  with thanks also to Sanam Arora and National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK The Indian National Education Policy 2020 provides an opportunity for leading UK universities to develop innovative socially, culturally and economically impactful, models as part of a “new and forward looking vision for India’s Higher Education System”.  Collaborative approaches partnerships offer students the globally recognised excellence and highly attractive features of a UK degree combined with the very best of the Indian educational system and deep connections to the social, economic and cultural infrastructure of an emerging global powerhouse.  Public-private sector partnership are an essential part of enabling these new models.   This session is led by sector experts engaged in delivering a public-private sector partnership that will demonstrate how to accelerate implementation, enhance outcomes, mitigate risks and enable high quality developments can be delivered to the demanding timetable and objectives set by Viksit Bharat@2047. Essential to this are affordable high quality, market-orientated, research-led courses delivered in world class and specialist facilities, opportunities for study abroad, industrial placements and professional accreditation to ensure a high quality student experience leading to premium placement upon graduation with students equipped to be personally and organisationally enterprising. Particular focus is placed on showing how wrapping this development into the social and economic infrastructure of the region through reach-out and reach-in activities will amplify and extend impact.  See the full agenda 👉 Transnational education conference 2024 (universitiesuk.ac.uk

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At Sheffield Hallam University we make a difference everyday to individuals, organisations and communities through our teaching and our research and innovation. We stand ready to deliver more in partnership with other anchor institutions and employers. Universities are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between policy ambitions and practical implementation of the Invest 2035 strategy. By aligning curriculum development with the needs of these priority sectors, universities can ensure a steady pipeline of talented graduates ready to contribute to these growing industries including renewable energy engineering, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing technologies. Additionally, universities' research infrastructure can be leveraged to accelerate innovation in these sectors. Our laboratories, testing facilities, and research centres can serve as crucial resources for businesses, particularly SMEs that may not have access to such facilities, helping to translate academic research into commercial applications more effectively.

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We're going on tour! if you'd like to join our SME masterclass this year, see below 👇

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Will be interesting to see how the government responds to Universities UK's blueprint for higher education; I will be checking the detail of the autumn budget! There is a lot of potential if, as the report says, 'stable and effective incentives for universities to collaborate' are put in place.

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🔬 New Science Advisory Council Alert! The UK’s Department for Education is stepping up to address key challenges in education, spearheaded by the DofE's Chief Scientific Advisor Russell Viner. This 12-person expert-led council aims to tackle: ✔ Early identification and support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) 🧩 ✔ Enhanced mental health support in schools 🧠 ✔ Mitigating online harms 🛡️ ✔ Promoting sustainable, secure school infrastructure 🏫 ✔ Leveraging AI and edtech for better learning outcomes 🤖 With urgent needs across these areas, the council has a real opportunity to drive impactful change. 💯 My take? As my expertise so far falls mostly within the realm of T&L, I know, from experience, that every student can reach a point where the thought of entering your classroom brings enough mental health relief. 💙 They can end up feeling so secure in your environment that they wouldn’t even seek out an expert because they can discover themselves and confront their challenges with you, within your classroom - all while not taking away from curriculum/lesson plan execution! 🌟 The power of indirect support—subtle techniques, strong teacher-student connections and even personal growth that foster a safe and understanding atmosphere—is undervalued even in research. Real progress means equipping educators to master these skills, not just relying on standardized policies and procedures. 📚 Schools and even FE/HE institutions need to consider putting an end to sidelining the infinite benefits of care/authentic pedagogy in favor of standardized structures and policies/tech development; not enough research covers the science of mental health support at the pedagogical level IMO! 🔍 Either way I'm excited to see what comes next, good luck council! 👍 Full article: https://lnkd.in/eZNadyae

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Great article on digital upskilling with end users at the heart of this 'sharing is caring' approach. University of Exeter thanks for the article and the focus on co-creation, tangible milestones and transparency. Looking forward to seeing how your journey progresses.

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Read our latest case study showing how government funding can enable businesses to partner with the University of Exeter to work on projects which change the world around us. With Imetrum Ltd Exeter Blog Machine learning set to make bridges safer – and cheaper to maintain (https://lnkd.in/eKRyNXy8) Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships Exeter Innovation

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Worth reading to get a sense of engagement with the Green Paper and some nice graphics - but limited additional insight tbh? Industrial strategy depends on the right targeting for government support, skills development, regulatory reforms, and coordinated (regional?) efforts to align/manage public and private sector collaboration ..... etc.

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If you are interested to know about fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, and could not attend my recent webinars on fsQCA, you can watch the recoded video of the webinar organised by Dr Shiva Ilkhanizadeh, Bournemouth University, in my YouTube channel. #fsQCA, #researchmethodology #edithcowanuniversity #ecusbl

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Please take time to read this valuable insight report

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