Research at Edinburgh College
Edinburgh College has a history of engaging in a broad range of research activities aimed at better understanding the College’s local context, measuring its impact, enhancing its practice, and improving outcomes for students.
Reflecting this, Edinburgh College’s Strategic Plan, published in 2023, identifies research and innovation activity as a critical success factor in the delivery of ambitions identified in the framework. In addition, several national and regional policy objectives also place importance on enhancing the breadth, quality and impact of research activity across Scotland, and the rest of the UK.
The Edinburgh College Research Plan has been developed in response to the above strategic ambitions, and identifies three aims, to improve the breadth, quality and impact of research activity at Edinburgh College.
Recent Research Publications
Our Capital, Our College
This report gives an overview of Edinburgh College’s reach, an insight into its social and economic impact, and a snapshot of the crucial role it plays not just as a place of social sanctuary and cultural diversity, but of economic innovation, for the Edinburgh city-region. It will be the first of a series of upcoming reports examining the college’s social and economic impact.
Our Capital, Our College Report Our Capital, Our College Report (Accessible Version)
Edinburgh College 10th Anniversary: A Decade and more of Educating Edinburgh and the Lothians
To mark the 10th anniversary of Edinburgh College, a project was undertaken to collate and catalogue the history and archives of Edinburgh College and its legacy institutions. This report describes the work undertaken as part of that project and gives an insight into the College’s origins and its impact in the region over many decades.
Read the report
Our Capital, Our Workforce
This report explores employer perspectives on the region’s labour market and skills system and examines the College’s own role in supporting employers with the ongoing recruitment and upskilling challenges they face. The report draws on the results of a 30-question survey carried out with employers across the region, as well as in-depth interviews with a smaller group of employers that explored issues around recruitment, retention and skills policy in more detail.
Read the full report Read the summary report