Delivering Scotland’s future: skills, innovation, and opportunity

Join us at The Crichton in Dumfries for a day of expert insights and conversations about the future of rural Scotland.

This one-day conference brings together community voices and organisational stakeholders from across Scotland and Northern England to explore how we can build a stronger rural economy by fostering skills development, innovation, and equal opportunities.

The conference will shine a light on the challenges and opportunities facing rural education, with a focus on tertiary education, reskilling, and upskilling the workforce.

Through the lens of rural experience, we’ll look at how innovation in curriculum and delivery can better support learners – and how we can break down barriers to achieve genuine parity of esteem across all educational pathways.

Programme

09:00 - 09:30 - Registration and refreshments

Welcome and introductions to session one: The needs of the rural economy - Professor Sarah Skerratt, , Chief Executive of the RSE

Talk one: SOSE Youth Advisory Forum

Talk two: Liam Middleton, Deputy Director of Economic Development at the University of Glasgow

Break - tea and coffee

Talk three: Douglas Dickson, Principal and Chief Executive of Dumfries and Galloway College

12:15 – 13:00 Lunch

Welcome and introduction to session two: panel discussions

Panel discussion | Innovating training, apprenticeships, and alternative pathways.

• Angela Cox, Principal & CEO of Ayrshire College
• Mrs Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne FRSE, CEO and Founder, Genius Foods
• SOSE Youth Advisory Forum
• More speakers to follow

Break - tea and coffee

Panel discussion | Achieving parity of esteem: Elevating the value of rural careers.

• Douglas Morrison, Director of Operations and Future Skills at Construction Scotland Innovation Centre.
• David Lowe, Assistant Principal Delivery & Sustainability, Borders College
• John McKendrick, Commissioner for fair access, Strathclyde University
• SOSE Youth Advisory Forum

Reflections with all speakers

Closing remarks from Andrew Walls, Andrew Walls FRCS

Important points to note

• A small number of subsidised places are available, to find out more please email public_engagement@therse.org.uk.
• Accessibility Statement: We aim to make events as accessible as possible. If you have any accessibility requirements or any questions about how we can support this event, please contact the RSE Public Engagement team on public_engagement@theRSE.org.uk