A unique partnership has been forged between nine Scottish universities to ensure social workers are trained to meet the 21st century demands of their profession.
The Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education was launched on July 30 by Deputy Education and Young People Minister Euan Robson at the Scottish Social Services Council headquarters in Dundee. Supported by £2.4 million of funding from the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC), with additional funding from the universities involved, the Institute will develop and promote best practice between the nine universities offering the new social work honours degree. The Institute will be based at the University of Dundee.
The Institute aims to help bring about radical changes in social work education to meet the new demanding standards and prepare social workers for rapidly changing and demanding practice. It is strongly committed to working closely with a range of stakeholders - service users and their carers and employers in all sectors - and will also work in close collaboration with the Scottish Social Services Council.
Professor Bryan Williams, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Dundee is the Institute's first director. He said, "I am delighted that the University of Dundee is hosting such an important development in collaborative higher education. The Institute is unique in Scotland in that it brings together all the HEIs teaching a particular subject.
"The social work sector will benefit hugely from the progress that will emerge from this new collaborative approach. With its strong record of professional education, the University of Dundee is well placed to support the Institute's objectives. The University's commitment to innovative teaching will be harnessed to build on existing links between social workers, educationalists and health professionals in delivering the Institute's ambitious objectives."
The nine member universities are the University of Dundee, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University, The Open University in Scotland, Robert Gordon University, University of Paisley, University of Stirling, University of Strathclyde.
Left-Right Bryan Williams, the Institute's first director; Carol Wilkinson, director of the Scottish Social Services Council; Sandy Cameron, independent chair of the Institute; Euan Robson, minister