Scotland’s Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science visited Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus on Monday 29 August.
FVC Principal Dr Ken Thomson and the College’s Associate Principal for Curriculum and Quality Fiona Brown welcomed Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP and held an informative discussion on further education colleges and articulation, before leading her on a tour of the stunning facilities.
Special points of interest on the tour included FVC’s BA Heritage and Tourism class, the applied science lab, the Creative Industries Department including the state-of-the-art recording studios, the innovative Historic Environment Scotland workshops and the sector leading Gallery Training Restaurant and kitchens.
FVC Principal Dr Ken Thomson, said:
“It was a pleasure to meet the new Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science and welcome her to our Stirling Campus. We had a very positive talk on the Scottish Further Education sector as a whole, before we proudly showed her round our Stirling Campus, where she met students from a variety of subject areas. She was complementary of our facilities and seemed to be impressed by the dynamic and innovative way we teach and train our students, how we prepare them to enter the workplace and how we promote our ‘Making Learning Work’ ethos.”
Minister for Further, Higher Education and Science, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said:
“Delivering more than 750 programmes across its three main campuses at Falkirk, Stirling and Alloa, Forth Valley College is an excellent example of how successful Scotland’s colleges really are, with state of the art facilities, an excellent student experience and some very innovative and interesting courses on offer. The college have been rightly recognised with a UK wide Times Education Supplement (TES) Further Education 2016 award for ‘Best Teaching and Learning Initiative’.
“I was delighted to meet students and staff at the Stirling Campus and experience first-hand all of the remarkable work that goes on. The college are doing a fantastic job of working closely with schools, universities and employers, with extremely well established partnerships in these areas. As well as offering forward-thinking articulation arrangements with universities, they are also one of the largest college MA providers in the country and their provision directly supports key sectors including; Process and Engineering, Science, Construction and Hospitality. It is a shining example of how Scotland’s colleges are supporting people into work and helping us build a stronger economy.”