Hello
CDN Update

I hope you had a lovely summer and are settling into the new term.

We kicked off the term with a hugely successful Virtual College Expo, which took place on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 August. It was lovely to e-meet so many of you, and we really do hope you got the most out of the two days. Discover more about this exciting event below.
 
The judging for this year's College Awards is now complete. A special thank you to the judges for their dedicated time and hard work in creating this year's shortlist. With a record-breaking 160 submissions - of extremely high calibre - the judges had a very difficult job.
The shortlist will be announced at the end of next week, watch this space!

The Pathways from Poverty Symposium will take place on 8 September. The Symposium will consider the themes in the Pathways from Poverty report and the learning from this further work as the basis for thinking about how we support our learners, their families and communities over the next five years and beyond. Discover more below.

Join us on 15 September for event CDN Workforce Survey 2022 – What did we find out?, where we will explore key findings from the recent Workforce Survey. Discover more below.

We continue to offer a wide range of impactful Courses, Events and Research to support your professional development. Take a moment and have a look at what's on offer below and on CDN’s website.
  
As ever, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like to talk about any aspect of our work, if you'd like to suggest new ways that we can support you, or share experiences and great practice that colleagues in the sector would find useful. You can email me at: jim.metcalfe@cdn.ac.uk
Jim Metcalfe, Chief Executive, CDN
Virtual College Expo22


The Virtual College Expo22 took place on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 August, with the theme: Rewrite the College Story: Learning Experiences, Skills Development, Anchoring Communities.

Thanks to the hundreds of attendees who made the two days of College Expo such an incredible success!
 
The College Expo offered inspirational keynotes, workshops, seminars, Expo Movies, and panel debates.

With over 100 speakers, the Expo showcased the many and varied great work taking place across the college sector every day!
College Hall of Fame

At College Expo we celebrated three new inductees to the College Hall of Fame. The College Hall of Fame highlights and recognises the outstanding contribution that college graduates and staff make to society and the economy; and demonstrates the variety of pathways to success from college.

Congratulations to College Hall of Fame inductees:

  • Danielle Frame, professional actor and graduate at North East Scotland College - read full story here
  • Kayleigh Haggo, European Paralympic Youth Games medallist and graduate at Ayrshire College - read full story here
  • John Frace, founder and owner of Travelling Tabby and graduate at UHI Argyll - read full story here
New Online Sustainability Course

During College Expo, we welcomed the launch of new online course ‘Introducing Action for Sustainability’. This course was developed for CDN by Learning for Sustainability Scotland (LfSS) and the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges (EAUC Scotland).

The self-guided online course is designed as a first step in supporting everyone working in Scotland’s colleges to understand the importance of sustainability and consider how they can play their part in making it a reality.

The online course takes approximately 45 minutes to complete and is now available on CDN LearnOnline here.
Did you miss the event or want to catch up on any sessions? 
Recordings will be available soon... watch this space!
Pathways from Poverty Symposium -
The Role of Colleges in Leaving No-One Behind
Thursday 8 September


Earlier this year, CDN published the Pathways from Poverty report. The report considers the key transitions facing Scotland, the UK and the world during the current ‘decade of disruption’, their impact on those coping with poverty, inequality and economic injustice, and how colleges can help to address these challenges for individuals and communities.

Since publishing the report, the CDN team has been working on in-depth case studies of specific poverty-related work being undertaken by our colleges, and this symposium will consider the themes in the report and the learning from this further work as the basis for thinking about how we support our learners, their families and communities over the next five years and beyond.
CDN Workforce Survey 2022 – What did we find out?
Thursday 15 September


This event will share the findings of the CDN Workforce Survey that was delivered in February/March 2022. The survey, co-designed with the sector and delivered by CDN sought the views of the Scottish College Workforce and explored a whole host of topics including Professional Learning, Digital Capability, Equality Diversity and Inclusion and Sustainability.

This event will explore the key findings from across the college workforce, and outline some key considerations for future professional learning planning, at both college and sector level.
New Research Report: Higher Education in Scotland’s Colleges


This new report researched and written by CDN Research Associate Patrick O’Donnell of Perth College UHI, looks at the development of higher education delivery in colleges in the UK and in Scotland specifically.

In a detailed survey of the college landscape and its historical development, Patrick identifies the main drivers of higher education provision and how they are continuing to evolve. This is a valuable report for anyone interested in how our colleges have developed their unique provision and what will influence the next stage of their development.
CDN Leadership Programmes
Take the next step in your career
CDN’s Leadership Programmes aim to support you to lead with confidence and take the next step in your career.

We offer programmes for aspiring managers through to executive senior leadership development, alongside excellent coaching opportunities.
CDN Professional Learning Communities
Share Good Practice
We currently offer a range of Professional Learning Communities (PLC), allowing practitioners from across Scottish colleges to come together and speak to colleagues who are involved with the delivery of the same subject.

PLC's are focussed across a wide range of subject areas and are designed to allow lecturers and other colleagues to share good practice within their subject specialism.
Partner News:
Public Consultation on proposed merger
UHI North Highland, UHI Outer Hebrides and UHI West Highland have launched a 10-week public consultation on a new strategic development, which would see all three colleges merge into one single organisation, creating an anchor institution of scale and impact within UHI, and the region, supporting 9,000 students and 600 staff across 19 rural and island locations.
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