Launch of Digital Hub

THE South of Scotland Skills and Learning
Network Digital Hub at
Dumfries and Galloway
College has been launched.
The hub is part of a £6.6m investment in southern
Scotland and comes as part of the South of Scotland
Economic Partnership and widens access to learning opportunities.
John Swinney, deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for education and skills, officially launched the programme during a visit to the college.
Mr Swinney was given a tour of the state-of-the-art Digital Care Centre and met staff and students.
He took part in a live link with Dumfries and Galloway College’s partners at Borders College, during which he connected with Angela Cox, principal, and Jamie Hepburn, minister for business, fair work and skills.
In another demonstration of the cutting-edge technology available at the hub Mr
Swinney linked up and interacted with a childcare class at the college’s campus in
Stranraer.
To round off the visit he met the college’s social enterprise partners from The Usual Place Social Enterprise which gives opportunities to young people with additional support needs and served some
delicious canapes.
The innovative partnership between the two colleges
allows for knowledge and
expertise to be shared via digital platforms and further enables students to receive remote training, while broadening southern Scotland’s training offer from foundation to degree level.
Working with partners from all sectors is key to Dumfries and Galloway College’s
ambition to support southern Scotland by ensuring it has the education, resources and innovative thinking it needs to thrive.
Mr Swinney said: “The shared ambition for this
exciting new digital and physical network is quite simply to widen access to learning opportunities for students and learners of all ages, irrespective of location.
“The latest technology
installed here allows sessions to be live-streamed, recorded and reviewed, while letting users at other locations interact and collaborate.
“This is a major capital
investment project funded by the government through the South of Scotland Economic Partnership and the network is already considered to be cutting-edge by those in the industry.”
Joanna Campbell, principal, said: “Working in partnership with schools, our local
authority and all the stakeholders involved in the partnership allows us to multiply and maximise the knowledge, skills, talents and resources.
“Our Digital Learning and Skills Network gives us a framework to further boost existing potential and to show that healthcare training can be delivered with cutting-edge technology.
“It’s a forward-looking and industry-leading development, of which we’re all immensely proud.”