Public Engagement Lead Role and Development to Date
Claire Biggar (C.Biggar@napier.ac.uk) is based within the Student Wellbeing & Inclusion Team as the Staff Health and Wellbeing Consultant. Claire has taken on the role of Military Public Engagement Lead. Claire was instrumental in encouraging the Principal and Vice Chancellor to sign the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant. We received the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award in 2017 and we were the first Scottish University to receive the Gold Award in November 2019 allowing us to be a member of the MoD Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Alumni Association (GAA). The Defence Employer Recognition Scheme highlights the good work and commitment organisations demonstrate to support the Armed Forces Community.
Over the years, Claire has built up an influential external network within the Armed Forces Community in Scotland which includes the Scottish Veterans Commissioner, Veterans and Armed Forces Personnel Unit with the Scottish Government, Veterans Scotland, Forces Children Scotland, Army Personal Recovery Unit, Career Transition Partnership, Commanding Officer with Army HQ at 51 Brigade and the Commanding Officer with the Edinburgh Garrison. Claire sits on several external working groups and committees to represent the HE sectors to the Armed Forces Community along with a colleague from Glasgow Caledonian University.
In 2018 the HE: FE Veterans Champions Network was established by Jim Castle (Glasgow Caledonian University) and Claire ensuring there is a representative from each Scottish university and many of the Colleges on the network. The network has now rebranded to ADVANCE with the aim of the network to allow us all to work together to explore opportunities for how education can be a viable option to those in active service, transitioning from service and veterans. We continue to explore opportunities and present them to the Talent, Skills, Learning and Development Unit (formerly Training, Education, Skills, Recruiting and Resettlement) within the MoD to help inform mindset that education is an asset to the service and ex-service community and their families. Claire was involved in introducing the need for military qualification mapping into the Scottish education system. This project was picked up by the Scottish Credit Qualification Framework Partnership who have done a vast amount for work with TSLD and Skills Development Scotland to map the qualifications for the benefit of serving personnel, ex personnel, employers and education institutions.
Internally within the university, Claire has introduced an Armed Forces Champions Network to ensure there are colleagues in various departments who can be a point of contact for the Armed Forces community.
Claire currently sits on the following working groups and committees:
• Co-Chair of the SFC Armed Forces and Veterans Community Group
• Vice- Chair of ADVANCE
• Firm Base Steering Group Scotland (hosted by the MoD)
• Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on The Armed Forces and Veterans Community
• Advisory Board for Military Transition Research Project
• Edinburgh Armed Forces Covenant Group (Chaired by Lord Provost)
• Lowland Reserve Forces & Cadets Association
• Secretary for the Edinburgh Military Education Committee
In the past we have engaged with Colinton Primary School on an outreach programme. A high percentage of the pupils from Colinton Primary School have a family member in service in the local Barracks and we wish to highlight to the children that they can aspire to a university education through various routes (via college for example). We hosted half day visits to the university for P6 and P7 pupils in the form of various outreach activities and we introduced new activities for the lower school classes. Please contact Mairi Taggart for information.
We also work with the Personnel Recovery Centre by hosting ambition sessions with their clients who are using the service of the recovery unit to help reengage with active service or prepare them for transition from service. We are pleased the PRC has collaborated with our School of Arts and Creative Industries to host student placement opportunities benefiting both the PRC clients and the students. Please contact Claire Biggar for further information.
Public Engagement Links
The SCQF Partnership (SCQFP) work with colleagues at Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to develop an online skills profiling tool specifically for service leavers, to support them in understanding the skills they have gained in the military. Please see the section under Education for further details of the Military Skills & Qualifications Discovery Tool.
We are pleased the work of TCMREPE has been acknowledged in Scottish Parliament during Chamber and Committees Questions.