Court meeting: 29 April 2019
The University Court held its most recent meeting on 29 April.
We publish regular updates on matters discussed at all Court meetings, during which members consider matters of strategic importance to the University.
Meetings of the Court are held five times a year.
Governing body
The Court is the University’s governing body and its legal persona.
With a focus on strategic direction, it takes the final decisions on issues of fundamental concern to the wellbeing of the University.
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Detailed information on University Court
Summary of Court meeting: 29 April 2019
The following reports are summaries of a selection of items discussed and agreed at Court on 29 April.
Student Experience Action Plan
Court considered an update on the proposed multi-strand programme of work intended to address student experience, noting this had been developed further following the last Court seminar, with six priority areas underpinned by 70 individual strands of work, with a programme management methodology used to plan, cost, evaluate and prioritise these. Taking this forward amounted to an additional £15.3m commitment over three years and the Senior Leadership Team had identified this as a priority area in the planning round discussions. The Senior-Vice Principal drew members’ attention to the next steps, emphasised the importance of communication and measurement and noted this was intended as a holistic plan that recognised the intersection between student and staff experience and mediated between detailed activity and larger cultural change.
City Region Deal Data Driven Innovation Skills Gateway
Proposals for a Data Driven Innovation (DDI) Skills Gateway had been developed in collaboration with regional and national partners, as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal Integrated Regional Employability and Skills (IRES) activity funded by Scottish Government. The activity brings together industry, universities, colleges, schools and other partners to provide an integrated pipeline of skills development and progression routes into data careers. The activities are overseen by a DDI Skills Gateway Advisory Board that will look for opportunities to align with activities being developed as part of the wider DDI Programme, and help facilitate the sharing of expertise, content and experience across the delivery partners. Court approved the University continuing to take a lead throughout the eight year programme delivery.
King’s Buildings Nucleus
Court approved a major new £48m development at the heart of the King’s Buildings Campus. The King’s Buildings Masterplan was endorsed by Estates Committee in May 2015. Core to delivery of the masterplan vision is the creation of a hub with modern learning and teaching accommodation adjacent to support activities such as study spaces, library, student services, catering, sport and social facilities, to be known as the King’s Buildings Nucleus. Its proposed completion in 2022 will allow the majority of undergraduate teaching and learning for College of Science and Engineering students to take place at King’s Buildings campus from the beginning of the 2022/23 academic year.
Planning Round 2019-22
Court approved the financial plans for the next rolling 3 year cycle 2019-22. The plans encompass the impact of the City Region Deal and assume a series of management actions to address short term cost pressures while the Service Excellence Programme supports improvement in service delivery and sustainable release of resource through improved process design.
Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) and Edinburgh University Sports Union (EUSU) Planning Round Submission
The proposed University budget allocations to the Edinburgh University Students’ Association and Edinburgh University Sports Union for 2019-20 were approved.
Outcome Agreement 2019/20
The draft Outcome Agreement for 2019/20 was approved and authority delegated to the Deputy Secretary, Strategic Planning, to finalise and submit the Outcome Agreement to the Scottish Funding Council by 30 April 2019.
Equality, Diversity Monitoring & Research Committee (EDMARC) Staff and Student Reports 2018
The EDMARC staff and student reports 2018 were approved for publication.
Other items
Regular reports from the Director of Finance and Students’ Association President and from Court’s committees on activities being undertaken in support of Court were received. This included approval by Exception Committee for phase 1 of the Core Systems Procurement Programme and developing responses to Universities UK consultations on the Universities Superannuation Scheme.
Further information on the remit and work of Court and its Committees can be found online.