Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ann McKechin
Education seminar
Kolkata
6 February 09
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to spend some time with you all at this important seminar.
I can assure you that the warmth of the Bengali weather is equal to the warmth of the welcome I've had. I'd love to say the same about my homeland ¿ warm Scottish welcomes you'll find aplenty anytime but I'm afraid I can't say the same thing about the weather back home as we experience the coldest winter in over a decade.
As I'm sure many of you know the aim of today's event is to strengthen the collaboration between Scotland's colleges and the Government, education and business partners here in the Kolkata area. Scottish Colleges International was established in 2006 to enable Scotland's Colleges to operate more effectively and collaboratively in international markets by increasing capacity, improving clarity, coherence and quality of delivery. The Scottish Colleges here today are all members of SCI.
Much of the work in building closer connections already goes on quietly week to week, month to month. But it is a real pleasure for me to acknowledge this regular public diplomacy and business dialogue and say a few things today to record my firm support.
Relations between Scotland and India go back over many hundreds of years - our peoples have learnt much from one another and will take great joy and reward in continuing to learn so much more in future.
Scotland, with a population of some 5 million is, of course, much smaller than India. But one of the great strengths of Scotland has been a longstanding belief in education. It was the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century which embarked on nothing less than a massive re-ordering of human knowledge as it sought to transform every branch of learning into a series of organised disciplines that could be taught and passed on to posterity. Its overarching philosophy that the advancement of human understanding is an essential part of the ascent of man remains with us to this day.
Since that time, Scottish Higher education has firmly placed the study of science, medicine and engineering as at least as important as the study of literature, philosophy, history and the arts. That legacy has led us to develop a system of vocational education which is admired throughout the world.
We have a network of 43 colleges, small and large, some of whom specialise in areas such as farming and hospitality, but most offer a wide range of subjects.
College students are drawn from all ages - indeed most are not school leavers. The emphasis, therefore, is on life-long learning. We recognise that in a fast-changing economy it is not enough to have the skills at the start of a career, but skills will need to be constantly refreshed and changed. Never more is this the case than at a time of economic difficulty and realignment where employment demands can change rapidly.
The Scottish system has, moreover, developed to smoothly connect the qualifications that are available at school, college and university. In the jargon we have a well-developed and integrated credit accumulation and transfer system, largely built around modules. The Colleges have an enviable record of success - 94% of their graduates, either continue into Higher Education or a career. And 44% of degree students in Scotland are from the college sector.
The flexible and competence based approach to vocational education makes, I hope, our colleges very attractive to students from India and elsewhere. As a consequence, India is Scotland's biggest international market for college students, with some 1,400 Indian students studying in Scotland in 2007.
Many of these students will go on to take advantage of the ease of transition to University, where in 2007 there were some 3,000 Indian students studying - making India Scotland's second biggest international market for both further and higher education students.
Important as these educational links are, they are not of course the only ways in which Scotland's colleges can collaborate with stakeholders in Kolkata. There is considerable scope for partnerships between colleges and businesses in helping deliver training and skills. Scottish colleges have a long experience of tailoring skills training specifically to the needs of employers, quickly and flexibly.
Let me given an example, Scotland is often called the home of golf - although I was interested to learn that the second oldest golf club in the world outside Scotland is in Kolkata. Golf is now a global sport and is expanding as people have more leisure time. Elmwood College, near St Andrews in Scotland, has an 18 hole golf course and is developing a strong commercial focus in the Asian market as a centre of excellence in greens keeping expertise.
Time does not allow me to mention all of the Scottish colleges who are part of this delegation to Kolkata but I would like to mention North Glasgow College, which serves my constituency in Glasgow. This College has particular strengths in the creative industries, fashion and construction.
As well as construction, one of the strengths of tertiary education in Scotland is in the built environment generally. Scotland, like India, has a rich heritage of fine buildings. Indeed, one of Scotland's most famous architects and town planners, Patrick Geddes, lived for a time in India. And I was intrigued to learn that Scottish skills in historic building restoration have been called upon to help save an historic grave yard - the Scottish cemetery in Kolkata, which I will be visiting tomorrow.
A more modern example of Scotland and India collaboration in the building environment is the work of the architects RMJM, who have their headquarters in Edinburgh, and were involved in designing the new Scottish Parliament building. In India, RMJM is working on 38 different projects with a special focus on Kolkata. Their work includes a new world-class terminal for Kolkata airport and the design of the new Convention Centre, due for completion in 2010. The boom in construction in India provides scope for collaboration in upskilling in the sector.
I was interested to learn that the West Bengal Government have identified biotechnology and information technology as potential growth industries to capitalise on the State's pool of skilled people. Scotland has strengths in both sectors. In biotechnology the Roslin Institute is one of the world's leading centres for studies relating to animal genetics and development. It was there that Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal was cloned from an adult cell. In information technology, Scotland has a dynamic and fast growing design and development sector, based around Universities and companies such as Wolfson. I am sure there is much potential for collaboration in these areas.
I have mentioned the growth of leisure and how it is giving rise to a growing demand for more golf courses. Rising prosperity and bigger disposable incomes are also stimulating a demand for luxury brands. And Scotland is known throughout the world for high quality whisky.
Total exports of Scottish whisky worldwide are 1.1 billion bottles, worth £2.8 billion. Of that some 11.6 million bottles are consumed in India, worth £33 million. I am sure that in the hotel and catering sectors there is again scope for collaboration between Scotland's colleges and stakeholders in Kolkata.
So Scotland, I am very proud to say, has plenty to offer our Indian friends. World-class education providers, a rich heritage and iconic brands.
This year we are celebrating the Year of Homecoming - to mark the 250 years since the birth of Scotland's national poet Robert Burns. Over 300 events are taking place throughout Scotland and we want as many visitors as possible to come to see us.
India is ranked 25th among the world's markets in terms of expenditure on tourism. Some 19,000 Indians visit Scotland each year, staying an average of 29 nights.
We want to continue to work together for our mutual benefit. And I say this on behalf of government but I think very much also on behalf of Scottish business and industry.
In our conversations with you today I hope to highlight some potential new areas for collaboration. And I trust this visiting delegation and the contribution they make will be a sustained one and lead to a new exciting chapter in the long relationship between Scotland and India.
Thank You.
Date: 06 Feb 2009