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Edinburgh College Development Trust

The Edinburgh College Development Trust exists to support students of Edinburgh College across all campuses and all subjects by distributing funds given by donors. It is a separate entity from the College and a charity in its own right.

Our donors believe in the power of further education and the potential of the College's 25,000 students across four campuses in Edinburgh and Midlothian.  The Trust provides the governance needed to maximise income and effectively distribute grants for the benefit of students. Since its foundation in 2014, the Trust has secured funds from corporate, individual and trust sources for a range of scholarships, student-led initiatives, projects and campus improvements.

Trustees

The Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees who volunteer their time to reach out to donors and partner organisations and oversee the disbursement of donor funds through scholarships, student project grants and major projects grants in partnership with the College and Edinburgh College Students' Association (ECSA). 

The current Trustees are:

  • Fiona Gray - Chair
  • David McDougall - Vice Chair
  • Gwen Raez - College Board of Management member
  • Ross Laird - College Board of Management member
  • Stuart Douglas
  • Srishti Bakshi
  • Rachele Robinson

The Board is supported by two Edinburgh College members of staff who are:

  • Sarah Louise Nandadasa – Company Secretary
  • Nick Croft – Board Secretary

You can see an overview of the charity and accounts on the OSCR website.

Projects

The Trustees work with donors to steer funds to student-focused projects.  Recently this has included:

  • Ukrainian Support – 10 Ukrainian refugees on the MS Victoria in Edinburgh were trained in the IELT qualification, and they are now running their own ESOL classes to other refugees in the City.
  • Free Breakfast Club – 800 student visits per week for free breakfast provision on all four college campuses. Very positive student feedback.
  • Edinburgh College Motor Sport – C1 Cup, sponsorship of the successful EC Motor Sport Club.
  • Edinburgh College Art and Design Show 2023 – Held at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh in May 2023, to showcase art and design student work. 100s of visitors and very positive feedback from the students.
  • ECSA Sustainability Support – Funds allocated to support student association ‘green hub’  at the Granton campus, which offers free food, clothes and books swap.
  • Cookery Students Italy Study Trip – 15 professional catering students visited Turin from 6 - 9 June 2023 to experience Italian cuisine, food production and hospitality customs and practices. Very positive learning outcomes for students and staff.
  • Friends of Edinburgh College + Historical Research and Archiving Project – Project to document and showcase the rich history of Edinburgh College and its legacy institutions going back over 100 years. You can also follow the History of Edinburgh College Twitter account. The project also helped grow the Friends of Edinburgh College Network.
  • North Edinburgh Community Fair – Took place on Saturday 13 May 2023. An all- day event that attracted over 8000 local residents, with the College and Trust  running information and recruitment stalls, and providing student acts to perform on the main stage.
  • Research Scholarships – Ongoing funding programme for staff and/or student research activity at the College. Research projects funded to date include the role of colleges in tackling socio economic inequality, innovation capacity in local SMEs, addressing fear and anxiety in college learners, integrating creative thinking in college courses, and exploring student use and perceptions of Tiktok and snapchat.
  • Music and Sound Production Project –  A relatively new project to establish a social enterprise organisation comprised of college students who can DJ, play live music, perform and to host income generating student event nights.

Details of the grants made in recent years are listed in our annual accounts (see OSCR website).

Our Donors and Alumni

We are very grateful to everyone who has supported the Trust and we hope to grow our network of supporters.  We welcome news from our alumni to inspire today's students, and partnerships with businesses wishing to prepare the workforce of tomorrow. 

We are delighted to have individuals make contributions to our funds including those who choose to make a gift in their will to the Edinburgh College Development Trust.

Get in Touch

To learn more about the work of the Trust and how you might get involved, please contact:

Fiona Gray (Chair)
info@fiona-gray.co.uk

Edinburgh College Development Trust is a Scottish Charity, No. SC044657.  Company No. SC469307