WHEN it comes to higher education, Scotland has traditionally punched above its weight, attracting students from both home and abroad to our many respected institutions. News that five Scots universities continue to be ranked among the 200 best in the world is therefore to be warmly welcomed.
Scotland’s ancient institutions – Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Aberdeen – all retained their places in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, alongside Dundee. Glasgow did particularly well, rising eight places to number 80, while Edinburgh retained its position at 27, making it the top Scots performer.
As pointed out by Professor Andrea Nolan, convenor of Universities Scotland, since our institutions find themselves in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, ongoing investment from the Scottish Government will be vital if the high teaching and research standards that attract students and staff to Scotland are to be retained.
How we achieve this during a time of continued austerity, in the new post-Brexit landscape, remains to be seen.
We should be justifiably proud that Scotland continues to offer world class higher education. At the same time, we must ensure universities are adequately funded; a failure to do so would damage not only our reputation, but the economy.
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