Activities
Promoting International Competitiveness
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Reviewing the Competitiveness of UK Higher Education
At October 2004's meeting, members approved us embarking on a major project to seek business views on the international competitiveness of UK higher education. Such an analysis had never been done before and the CIHE was uniquely able to undertake this given the wide range and high level international perspective of our business members, and from the actual investment decisions made gathered at working level.
The report of this project was launched on May 4th 2005 at a conference hosted in collaboration with Neil Stewart Associates at the Royal Society, with further national events taking place in Edinburgh on 9th May, and Manchester on the 12th.
Click here for further information. |
Expanding workforce skills
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Encouraging Workforce Development
Following many useful responses to our February Work Based Learning consultation, we have compiled a report on Workforce Development (with support from the DfES). The responses also previously informed a joint conference organised with Neil Stewart on 24th February. The report may be ordered from here..
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Arguing for a coherent Qualifications Framework
Our Policy Forum has discussed our response to the QCA consultation on how they might develop a framework for qualifications and credits in England (these already exist in Scotland and Wales). We want to see greater progress towards a seamless approach that covers all levels of learning from the basic level 1 to PhD. We also value the vocational alongside the academic and want learners of all ages to progress and realise their potential. Our response is on our website. We have also responded to the HE Academy Consultation on their forward plan and stressed the importance of higher education developing employability in students and engaging with employers  both of which were missing from their plan.
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Supporting Foundation Degrees
We continue to support the development of this 2-year higher education award that aims to meet the skills gap at supervisory/technician level. |
Encouraging dialogue on Research and Knowledge Transfer
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Developing IPR Protocols
We have been a member of Richard Lambert's group that has been developing a range of IPR protocols to help smaller companies and non-research intensive universities foster research partnerships. The protocols, with a general overview of the issue, are available from the 'IPR Guidelines' section of our website, as well as that of the DTI and we will also have further examples covering additional issues.
Further information can be found here
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Considering Knowledge Transfer Metrics
Our R&D Group has met with senior DTI officials to discuss possible future metrics for the distribution of Government knowledge transfer funds (HEIF3). The dialogue continues and a further meeting is planned. We want to encourage a wide range of university relationships with business and local communities. We continue to work closely with UUK on this and other issues. |
Developing Employable and Enterprising Graduates |
Entrepreneurship in the Curriculum
The CIHE will be undertaking a project with the National Council on Graduate Entrepreneurship, and others to identify good practice in the development of entrepreneurship in the curriculum. This will involve partners in the USA and the Far East and compare experiences on an international basis. The first meeting of the project advisory group will be at the NCGE office in Birmingham on 3rd October 2005.
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Student Employability Profiles: An Employers Guide
In September we will launch our Student Employability Profiles Guide for Employers. This second version of the Guide covers Discipline Profiles across the 24 Higher Education Academy Subject Centres. Each Discipline Profile identifies a set of work related skills that undergraduates should develop during a course of study to Honours Degree level. The Profiles provide a wealth of information for the employer and should have multiple uses; here are just a few suggestions:
help an employer facing a skills shortage consider applications from a wider range of disciplines
help small organisations with no or little human resourcing capacity framer their recruitments plans professionally
help organisations experienced in graduate recruitment structure their application process and interview questions to better effect.
The Profiles have been developed from the QAA Subject Benchmark Statements in consultation with the Subject Centres. This has been a partnership project with the Higher Education Academy and with support from Graduate Prospects. The Higher Education Academy will simultaneously publish the Profiles for use with their academic communities, and we hope that 2007 will see bespoke guides published for HE and pre-HE students.
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Researching Entrepreneurship and the Creative Industries
Along with a range of partners, we are funding a project that will consider how higher education can help those in the creative industries successfully market their ideas as entrepreneurs. Channel 4 is representing us on the project advisory group. We are also working with the British Venture Capital Association and other organisations in the UK and USA on how entrepreneurship can be encouraged. |
Supporting a Widening of Participation in Higher Education |
Education and Skills Select Committee
This Wednesday, 21 March, our Chief Executive (Richard Brown) and Chairman (Richard Greenhalgh) together with Professor Tim Wilson (VC at the University of Hertfordshire) will be giving formal evidence to the Education and Skills Committee on Higher Education in the UK.
Read the full press release from the Education and Skills Committee here.
Following the CIHE appearance, Professor Alan Gilbert (Council member and President of the University of Manchester) will also be giving evidence.
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Updating The Value of Higher Education
The next edition of this joint guide with UCAS for school children and those who advise them has been circulated to all schools. It notes how salaries vary depending on the subjects studied (for example, those with maths earn more), that it takes time to settle into a career and that employers seek a range of capabilities (including work experience) in the graduates they recruit. We hope this will help better inform potential students. This document is available to download from both our Publications section, and from the UCAS website
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Recruiting for Diversity and Business Advantage
Our joint report with the IES on recruiting for diversity and business advantage was launched in March. This will show how businesses can perhaps unwittingly screen out good potential applicants. It identifies good recruitment practices and how companies can recruit both a more diverse work force and one that will better reflect the needs of the organisation. See our Publications section for information on how to order this report.
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Encouraging the development and values of leadership
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Supporting The National Mentoring Scheme
With the help of our business and academic leaders we have so far identified around 30 mentors to work with aspiring academics on this scheme being run by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. We are sure our mentors will also benefit from the sharing of ideas and we see this as a partnering as much as a mentoring scheme.
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Enabling Academics to be Non-Executive Directors
Businesses have to widen their search for NEDs post-Higgs. But neither they nor executive search firms seem to consider whether senior academics might have the appropriate business experience and skills. A dinner discussion identified the blocks and the representatives from the executive search firms will discuss the opportunities with a few vice-Chancellors in a pilot exercise that we hope can be developed across the sector.
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Bringing business and business schools closer together
Our joint Forum of business leaders and deans of business schools with the Association of Business Schools will report in June on how both businesses and business schools might work closer together to develop the leaders of the future. As part of this project four businesses are piloting the delivery of business case studies to business schools. The aim is to help managers develop their own reflective and presentation skills while putting business schools in touch with the latest business issues.
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Should the Student Experience be about getting more than a degree?
Our consultation at St George's Windsor in 2005 looked at what the student experience of higher education should be. The current emphasis seems to be just on the economic benefits rather than the role of higher education in developing societal values, ethics and the global community. A report of the consultation recommending how the diverse student body might better appreciate the broader experiences characterising higher education was published in mid March and can be ordered or downloaded from our Publications section.
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Developing a Framework on Ethics for Higher Education
October 2005 saw the launch of Ethics Matters: Managing Ethical Issues in Higher Education. The Guide was distributed to all UK universities.
With support from HEFCE, The CIHE has encouraged 5 universities* to develop their own institution-wide Guides. An Ethics website has also been set up on the CIHE site to enable all those considering, or in the process of developing guides, to raise issues and seek advice both from their colleagues across the sector, and from the Institute of Business Ethics. Progress from the 5 Universities has now begun to be posted on the website. Towards the end of the year CIHE will commission a Review to identify the universities outside of the pilot 5 who have responded and taken up the challenge.
*University of Westminster, University of Bristol, York St John University College, Leeds University, Brunel University.
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