Scottish Education Exchange Programme: - Test and Learn: funded projects

The Scottish Education Exchange Programme's Test and Learn project supports Scottish institutions to develop stronger international partnerships between educational institutions. The following is a list of projects funded under the programme in 2024-2025.

Abertay University

Providing added value to transnational education partners and internationalising through a research and knowledge exchange visit

Abertay University seeks to develop closer relationships and add value to international partners by seeking to send a delegation of teaching staff to its international franchise partner, the Malaysian Policing College, UNIKOP, to foster closer working links and enhance research opportunities between the institutions.

Ayrshire College

Scottish Canadian Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative Learning Project

Focusing on the outcomes and priority areas of the Ayrshire Growth Deal and regional economic strategy, Ayrshire College leads on addressing labour shortages and skills development across the region. The project will look to further develop the ongoing work within the aerospace and advanced manufacturing sectors through collaboration with international partners in Ontario Canada: Centennial College and Durham College. Through two-way staff mobilities the project will look to focus on the sharing of best practice within the key sectors allowing staff from all institutions to understand the delivery models and programmes currently in place to meet employer skills requirements.

Borders College

Retrofit and Heat Decarbonisation Curriculum – Learning Exchange Programme

Borders College and The Verdancy Group are set to visit Mount Lucas to explore the educational and training offerings, particularly focusing on the retrofit and Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) courses. The visit aims to understand the innovative approaches used in training for NZEB compliance, including courses on retrofitting, ventilation, and airtightness, to inform the development of curriculum, training programmes, and awards in Scotland. Insights gained from Mount Lucas's expertise in sustainable building practices will help shape future educational frameworks that support energy efficiency and decarbonisation in Scotland.

Leading Transatlantic Knowledge Exchange

Borders College has established a strong partnership with a Toronto community college over the past three years, enabling student mobilities that foster global citizenship, sustainability, and understanding of indigenous populations. To build on this, this project aims to introduce staff to innovative teaching methods, delivery models, and pedagogy in health, social care, and child care. This will enhance international collaboration, encourage future student exchanges, and deepen understanding of Toronto's health and social care systems, delivery approaches, and funding mechanisms. By doing so, Borders College hope to enrich its educational practices and broaden the experiences available to its students.

City of Glasgow College

Global Entrepreneurship Education Network

The college's Global Entrepreneurship Education Network programme helps enterprising VET further education colleges in Scotland, Asia and Africa who want to improve and expand their knowledge and innovative pedagogical practices in entrepreneurship education. The college will do this by creating a staff mobility project building on the successful outputs and outcomes of the European Network of Networks event. The proposed project will also enhance the strengths of the college's existing international partnerships alongside the world-leading skills of the practitioners and education professionals who have focused on business start-up and company creation in colleges.

Edinburgh College

Strengthening Vocational Learning Partnerships in East Asia (Japan/South Korea)

This project encompasses a scoping visit by two members of Edinburgh College’s International Team to Japan and South Korea. Edinburgh College has existing and prospective partners in both countries and has identified opportunities for vocational partnerships and increasing market demand for international study abroad opportunities for students in vocational education and for the purposes of English language learning. This visit would facilitate in-depth face-to-face discussions with partners, strengthening our relationships and exploring avenues for further collaborative activity, as well as meeting new partners to drive additional business.

Edinburgh Napier University

Sustainability Exploration: A Journey to Indonesia

The project offers a two-week sustainability-focused field trip to Indonesia, in collaboration with a strategic partner, BINUS University. The project presents a unique opportunity for students and staff to engage with sustainability themes at an international level. Combining educational experiences with cultural immersion, students will develop a well-rounded understanding of sustainability practices in an emerging market and be inspired to contribute to these efforts both locally and globally. Staff at both institutions will also use the opportunity to progress with joint research initiatives and to promote Scotland as a study destination.

Glasgow Caledonian University

Social Innovation in Action: Promoting Scotland through Student Perspectives on Solving Global ‘Wicked Problems’

This Social Innovation Project supports GCU Glasgow students, from widening participation backgrounds, to travel to Nepal and collaborate with students studying at transnational education partner, Ace International Business School. Both groups will be exposed to 'wicked problems' impacting both countries, with GCU students bringing a Scottish perspective to possible solutions. With a focus on Active Ageing and Sustainability this initiative fosters knowledge exchange, applied research and community development while enhancing the reputation of Scotland. It also provides a unique opportunity for GCU students to actively engage in the promotion of Scotland as a study destination.

Glasgow Clyde

New Scots, New Skills: learning from German Best Practice

This project explores how Germany supports asylum seekers and refugees in learning German and getting their skills recognised. A visit to German cities will inform strategies to improve Glasgow's ESOL system, reducing waiting lists and aligning with Scotland's New Scots integration goals. By learning from German best practices, the project aims to create a more efficient and inclusive environment for New Scots in Glasgow.

Glasgow Kelvin College

Knowledge Exchange in Social Care

The objective of this project is to build connections between Glasgow Kelvin College and European partners. It will provide support for college staff and students studying health and social care to engage in knowledge exchange through supporting staff and student mobility to partner institutions, Talland college in the Netherlands and Gradia College in Finland.

Glasgow School of Art

International Network for Health, Care and Technology (HECATE)

HECATE extends the European Care network initiated via SEEP funding (2024) to include global partners and address Health and digital/emerging technologies. The project utilises GSA’s reputation (QS Ranking #13), the Digital Health Institute and Scottish approaches to combining Health, Care and Technology through collaborative engagement for global exploration with international peers. HECATE leverages existing networks to prototype an event-based knowledge exchange consortium (innovation platform) of international academic, commercial, third sector and governmental partners. The 2025 event will collate examples of global best practice in Milan utilising a Chinese partner's European campus, and other European institutions (leveraging Erasmus for non-Scottish participants) for “local adaption” by participants.

Heriot-Watt University

Transnational Transition: Sustainable Development, the Energy Transition and transnational education

Aligned to the shared academic expertise of the partners, their institutional and national priorities, the project will investigate potential forms of collaboration focusing on internationalisation of higher education and enabling the establishment of a sustainable partnership and transnational education. particularly in the areas relating to the energy transition and sustainability. The project is designed for participating academic and other staff with an international and/or scientific remit to achieve the overarching project objectives and continuation following the completion of the funding period.

Island Nations, Marine Energy: Internationalisation of Teaching and Research

The project will enable the two universities to increase understanding of each other’s educational and institutional priorities and explore areas of mutual alignment for teaching, research, mobility and transnational education. Parties will investigate how an equitable partnership can be developed through maximising opportunities for academic dialogue, policy exchange, investment in staff development, and through joint projects driving impactful socio-economic benefits locally and globally.

New College Lanarkshire

Rebuilding European collaboration structures and outreach post-Erasmus and post-Covid

This project is aimed at rebuilding and extending structures and relationships with New College Lanarkshire’s European and other international partners. This in turn will: (a) help re-establish international collaborations as a positive component of the College’s curricular provision and enhance its student mobilities programme, (b) identify international markets for New College Lanarkshire's virtual and open learning provision, (c) allow academic and professional services staff within New College Lanarkshire to share with and learn from effective practice in its international partner institutions

Queen Margaret University

“Navigating converging oceans”: A Scottish/South African staff and student mobility project regarding infants, children and young people’s occupational challenges and transitions

Building on the success of last year’s “Where Oceans Converge”, this proposal deepens the partnership formed between Queen Margaret University (QMU), and the University of the Western Cape, South Africa (UWC). It aims to enhance knowledge exchange through staff/student mobility. QMU occupational therapy staff and students will visit UWC to share teaching and learning approaches regarding the occupational challenges of infants, children and young people from the Scottish context. Staff will exchange teaching philosophies and pedagogies, while students will attend classes and undertake relevant placement visits, broadening their education experiences, cultural awareness and perspectives on global occupational therapy.

Robert Gordon University

Beyond Borders:  Academic Staff Mobility and Knowledge Exchange in Six Nations

The purpose of these visits is to expand the university's nternational collaborations and develop opportunities for both students and staff. This project allows for 10 members of academic staff from different disciplines to undertake mobility visits to Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Ireland, Pakistan and the USA. The anticipated outcomes of these visits include: sharing best practice in teaching, learning and student experience; development of outbound and inbound student mobility opportunities; expanding collaborations to include activities just as joint and dual degrees; collaborative research and online programmes; and exploring the development of COIL projects Development Global Health Workshop.

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Finlandia  Brass Project

This project will consist of 13 people from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland travelling to the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland to take part in the Finlandia Brass Project. Students will take part in performance activities with Sibelius Academy students, receive one-to-one teaching, coaching and lectures from the highly regarded Sibelius Academy faculty. The project includes looking historically into brass chamber culture and the influences of folk music from both countries. A new piece based on our collaborative research will be composed for both sets of young musicians together. 

Service Design Academy - Dundee & Angus College

Enhancing Service Design Education through International Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange with Dutch
Institutions

The Service Design Academy (SDA) seeks to enhance its educational offerings by comparing service design education in Scotland against that in the Netherlands. This initiative aims to deepen knowledge and cultural understanding of the teaching, application and implementation of service design in the Netherlands. By engaging and visiting with key partners in academic institutions, service design agencies, and consultancies, SDA staff will incorporate new methodologies into their curriculum. This effort will enhance SDA’s innovative reputation and sustain Scotland’s leadership in design education. Additionally, the project will build international collaborations and disseminate insights through SDA’s learning community and the Service Design Network.

UHI Perth

Scotland-Hunan Industry-based Exchange Programme

To fund an international exchange programme at Hunan Mechanical and Electrical Polytechnic (HMEP) in Changsha, China, for five engineering students based at UHI Perth studying an engineering-related discipline at SCQF level 6,7 or 8 and one UHI Perth staff member to travel to Hunan China for their industry visits, in partnership with HMEP. HMEP is a polytechnic with strong background in vocational training and diploma level study, with excellent resources and a wide network of China’s largest renewable industry.

University of Stirling

Reciprocal exchanges with partners in India to address global challenges for future generations of students

The University of Stirling has recently established a strategic partnership with Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT). These partnerships include the joint development of projects of shared interests particularly for PhD projects and supervision of students. This project will allow staff and students from Biological and Environmental Sciences to visit colleagues at ATREE to develop projects through writing sessions, and in parallel visit ICRISAT to better understand how a research and field course placement programme would work from a student perspective. 

Strategic partnership development for research and student mobility within YERUN (Tallinn University) 

The University of Stirling has established a relationship with Tallinn University, a recent fellow member of the Young European Research Universities Network. The project will support faculty researchers from Arts and Humanities disciplines to visit Tallinn to formalise and develop this relationship through student mobility agreements and research collaboration in the fields of Law, English Studies, and Film and Digital Media.

Pedagogies of Place and Home: A Collaborative Knowledge Exchange to Explore New Modes of Sustainability Education

This project aims to explore the significance of place and home in environmental and sustainability education. A collaboration between the University of Stirling and East China Normal University (ENCU Shanghai), it will bring together groups in a shared online space to explore together different meanings and understandings of place, space across geographical boundaries, and the impact of movement and displacement.

Enhancing student experience in Stirling-Planet One partnership through capacity building and mobility

The University of Stirling has established a TNE campus partnership with Planet One in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The project aims to strengthen the quality of student experience on the campus and enhance the capacity of student facing activities for students taking Stirling degree programmes; promote inter (Stirling-UAE) campus mobility and extend the current scope of Stirling’s Student Union capacities by connecting it with its partner body in the UAE campus.

CFMS/CMC COIL project

The University of Stirling has established strong historical connections with universities in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Uganda. However, collaborations with South African institutions are currently underdeveloped. This project seeks to kickstart a virtual mobility (COIL) initiative and joint learning and research activities between Stirling and the University of Cape Town, linking staff and students to create valuable academic exchanges, joint portfolios, and cross-institutional discussions. By partnering with University of Cape Town, Africa’s leading university in research and teaching, Stirling aims to strengthen connections and align with Scotland's strategic vision for international collaboration.

University of Aberdeen

Supporting and developing the University of Aberdeen’s participation in the North2North Programme

This project aims to maximise the benefits of the University of Aberdeen’s participation in the North2North programme, and by extension, our membership in University of the Arctic. This project will enable academic and administrative staff from the University to visit key North2North partner institutions across Norway and Denmark, to ensure that mobility opportunities are accessible to the widest possible range of our students. These visits will also provide opportunity to promote the academic strengths of the University of Aberdeen as a destination for mobility and for further study.

University of Dundee

Crafted Culture: a Scottish exploration of Indonesian Batik

A six-week project for University of Dundee Textile Design students to explore the traditional crafted culture of Indonesia, including a week-long faculty-led mobility programme to Yogyakarta, Indonesia and guest lectures from specialists from Universitas Gadjah Mada. The project will culminate in a competition to create a University of Dundee Batik pattern that will be judged by representatives from the British Embassy to Indonesia, British Council Indonesia, and the Indonesian Embassy to the UK to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of UK-Indonesian relations.

University of Edinburgh

Delivering Mobility for All Project 2024/25

The project seeks to utilise staff mobility to foster international experiences for widening participation students and those from under-represented backgrounds. By enhancing staff mobility, the project aims to deepen partnerships and create new collaborative teaching and research activities. The initiative focuses on diversifying mobility options, including short-term and semester-long opportunities across strategic partners in Europe and beyond. Key activities include participation in workshops, bilateral discussions, and international conferences to promote inclusivity and develop accessible programmes. This initiative aligns with University of Edinburgh’s strategic goals of enhancing global engagement and employability for its students, enriching their academic and personal development through international exposure.

University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow Staff and Student Mobility Development

The project will offer two staff development opportunities – for research and professional services – designed to enhance collaborations in Europe and upskill colleagues to be better equipped to meet university research and service excellence goals. Additionally, the project will improve student mobility opportunities through two partnership development visits to key regions (Spain and Hong Kong/Taiwan) and a staff visit to learn in-depth about community projects offered by Think Pacific. It will also fund students undertaking remote internships, positively impacting their employability and social consciousness. Lastly, the project will fund an event hosted at the university focussing on alternatives to traditional student exchange.

University of Highlands and Islands

Bridging Waters: A Scotland-Sweden One Health Partnership for Sustainable Pharmaceutical Practices

The project aims to enhance cross-national collaboration between the University of the Highlands and Islands: North, West and Hebrides in Scotland and Uppsala University in Sweden, including its Gotland Campus, to develop sustainable practices in pharmaceutical use and environmental health. By fostering interdisciplinary research and education, this partnership seeks to address pharmaceutical pollution, water quality, and the interconnected health of humans, animals, and ecosystems.

University of St Andrews

Diversifying our global partnerships and opportunities

The project will enhance diversity in the university's global opportunities and partnerships, supporting the University Strategy and in particular Diverse St Andrews. In the project, diversity means enhancing access to global education; enriching language provision; and diversifying the regional spread of partnerships. It aims to deepen existing links, develop new relationships, and facilitate opportunities for students who might not otherwise participate in global education. It aims to establish a European programme for students from lower engagement demographics; to offer Arabic-language destinations which vary our dialectic and geographic options; and, to diversify international collaboration in India and the Asia-Pacific region.

University of Strathclyde

Reaching New Heights: Strengthening the Scotland-Ireland Partnership with Satellite Data

The project explores how satellite data can drive sustainability and climate resilience in Scotland and Ireland. Focusing on net-zero targets, community resilience, and academic collaboration, it will bring together key researchers from the University of Strathclyde and University College Dublin. The project culminates in a workshop where the ideas developed over the course of the project will be pitched to relevant stakeholders. Building on feedback from the workshop, these ideas will be developed into collaborative funding proposals for programmes such as Horizon Europe, strengthening cross-border partnerships and supporting sustainable development in both nations.

University of West of Scotland

Bridging Borders: UWS-Amity Partnership for Global Education and Research

This project involves a strategic visit to Amity University, India, where UWS faculty will present at the International Tourism Studies Association-Amity Regional Conference and initiate discussions for new transnational education (TNE) partnerships. Key outcomes include delivering impactful presentations, establishing a TNE framework, and exploring research collaborations. The project will strengthen UWS’s global presence, foster academic and research partnerships, and align with the university’s strategic goals for international engagement.

INSPIRE II: Fostering International Collaboration and Sports Engagement through Reciprocal Exchange

This project builds on the SEEP-funded INSPIRE VSM development between UWS and University of Alicante in 2024 in the field of sport. It aligns with the UWS Student Mobility Strategy, which aims to provide a mobility pathway: a Virtual Student Mobility experience in year 1, a short physical mobility in year 2, and a longer physical mobility in year 3. Specifically, this project develops the year 2 short physical mobility by part-funding 10 UWS students to visit the University of Alicante for four days. This initiative strengthens staff and student relationships between the universities and offers a valuable mobility opportunity otherwise unavailable.

West College Scotland

Nordic Horizons: Scotland-Denmark College Collaboration

A team of four staff from West College Scotland will embark on an exploratory visit to Aarhus Tech in Denmark, to foster new international collaborations. The visit will aim to establish connections with Danish educational institutions, share best practices, and explore innovative teaching methods. The group will engage in workshops, campus tours, and discussions with local college staff to identify potential areas for partnership. This initiative opens the door for joint projects, staff exchanges, and collaborative curriculum development, strengthening the ties between Scottish and Danish educational communities while promoting global learning opportunities for both institutions.

New Horizons in Southeast Asia: Scotland-Malayasia College Collaboration

Representatives from West College Scotland will visit Malaysia to explore and strengthen educational partnerships with Malaysian institutions, while assessing opportunities across Southeast Asia. The team will participate in workshops, campus tours and discussions with local centres to identify potential areas for collaboration. This initiative aims to foster joint projects, staff exchanges, curriculum development, and showcase Scottish colleges, enhancing connections between Scottish and Malaysian education communities and promoting global learning opportunities.

West Lothian College

Foundations for a Sustainable Future: An Early Years Learning Exchange

The focus of the proposed project is to explore and share best practices in "Learning for Sustainability" in early childhood education (ages 3–7). This student exchange research project aims to foster collaboration between early years educators, students, and researchers from West Lothian, Scotland and Hochsauerlandkreis, Germany. The project will study how sustainability concepts are introduced and developed within early years curriculums and educational practices in both countries. This project will allow partner institutions to build on a recent successful research project and develop a robust education exchange programme.