International education strategy: annual report 2024 to 2025

Theme 3: Progress and Year 2 Priorities

Theme 3: as a world leader in international education, research and knowledge exchange, deepen our global collaborations and engagements.

Horizon Europe/ FP10 (Framework Programme 10)

Work has continued to maximise participation in the current Horizon Europe programme, and to seek to influence its successor Framework Programme 10 (FP10).

Activity has included close work between the Scottish Government and Scottish stakeholders to deliver the Horizon Europe Roadshow event jointly with UK counterparts in June 2024 to raise awareness of support to access the Horizon Europe programme. As part of this engagement, a roundtable discussion with Universities Scotland was held with our Brussels Office and Scotland Europa to explore Scottish priorities for influencing FP10. We also launched our International Collaboration Fund, delivered by the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance. This saw us invest £65k with additional contributions from SFC: £36,000 and SULSA: £13,000, to promote connectivity between Scotland and European research partners to strengthen existing, and seed future, research relationships with a view to supporting Horizon Europe Participation.

Other activity has also included regular attendance at the UKG System’s Group to feed through Scottish priorities for the current and future programme and attendance at the UKG and EU Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes. Scottish Government has also been actively building relationships with senior EU representatives, including Ministerial and sector engagements with the former European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, and the President of the European Innovation Council, providing valuable opportunities to highlight Scotland's sectoral strengths and its alignment with EU principles and values. These events have been complemented with a number of tailored initiatives around calls, led by our own National Contact Point for Scotland. Our Brussels Hub have also been feeding into and supporting Universities Scotland senior delegation and to promote Scottish university participation in Horizon Europe through a series of Scotland Europa/ Surge info days.

International Network Building

A series of networking activities have been undertaken to seek to raise the profile of Scotland’s research sector and build and strengthen partnerships with our key collaborators.

This has included Minister Dey’s attendance at a Networking Initiative hosted by the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA) and the German Research Foundation (DFG), followed by an evening reception. The connections made through our Berlin hub paved the way for Connected Scotland members to build links, one key outcome of which was the DFG, one of Germany’s main research funding bodies, choosing Scotland as its European partner for a networking initiative to support German Universities of Applied Sciences in finding international research partners. They are collaborating with SULSA to deliver this initiative, which has a focus on Health and Environment.

Other activity has included initiatives undertaken to support academic and research links between Scotland and the German region of Lower Saxony, including a refresh of an MoU between Universities Scotland and the Lower Saxony University Association.

In addition, and building on the last two successful joint conferences with the German U15 (Russell Group equivalent) on the theme of Excellence in Digital Teaching held in Mainz (2022) and Edinburgh Napier University (2023), a third joint conference on digital education, and area in which Scotland’s competence is well-recognised, was hosted at the University of Leipzig in September 2024, attended by ca. 50 experts from Scottish and German universities, and focusing on innovative approaches to systematically integrating entrepreneurial skills and digital competencies into university teaching.

SG officials also convened a roundtable of Scottish sector representatives to showcase Scotland’s research strengths to the incoming UK Ambassador to Germany in August. Working with Brand Scotland, we have also developed a suite of research case studies to promote the Scottish research base to international partners, highlighting the breadth and strength of research activity across key areas such as net zero, health and creative industries.

Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, met with the Japan Ambassador to the UK in February 2025 and highlighted our research links with Japan. The Scottish Government will continue to work with the sector to strengthen our relationship with Japan through the upcoming Osaka Expo 2025.

Case Study: Scottish Government International Hub Network: Germany

MoU between the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) and bilateral researcher mobility programme

In 2024 the RSE and the DAAD, Germany’s national organisation for academic mobility, launched a Joint Projects Programme to support bilateral research cooperation and mobility. The RSE is the DAAD’s first UK partner under this programme stream, and the scheme is a significant step in support of cooperation between Scotland and Germany's research sectors. The collaboration is jointly funded by the RSE, the DAAD and the Scottish Government Office in Berlin, and will run as a pilot for an initial period of two years. The collaboration was one of several outcomes achieved following a Connected Scotland workshop in January 2023 with Scottish and German stakeholders to explore opportunities for academic exchange and research collaboration, which was hosted by the RSE in cooperation with the Scottish Government Berlin Office.

Theme 3: Summary

• Horizon Road Show Event in June attended by 200+ stakeholders from across the Scottish R&I sector
• International Collaboration Fund supported:
  • 29 projects across various disciplines (e.g., Education, Data Science, Chemistry, Life Sciences).
  • 11 Scottish institutions and 17 European countries.
  • All awardees identified at least 1 funding stream within Horizon Europe and were working towards an application for submission in 2025.
• Launched 5 research case studies showcasing Scottish research strength

Theme 3: 2025/26 Priorities

Action 8:

We are committed to supporting universities to maintain and strengthen their collaborations domestically and internationally, by continuing our investment into core university research and knowledge exchange to produce positive economic and social outcomes.

• Continue to support our universities to continue world leading research and innovation through our core research and innovation grants delivered by the Scottish Funding Council.
• Work with US, SFC and other stakeholders to build evidence base on the value and real world impacts of research.

Action 9:

We will work with the sector to maximise participation in the Horizon Europe programme, monitor Scottish institutions’ performance and identify areas where further effort is required to amplify Scotland’s access to the programme.

• Continue to influence calls within current programme, and more broadly work with the sector to understand the support required to maximise their participation.
• Gather data and case studies on rates and value of participation. Support sector delegations to Brussels via Scottish Government Hub to promote Scotland as an international partner – SURGE and US in 2025.
• Work with the sector to understand Scottish priorities and to seek to influence the shape of FP10 through engagements with UKG, the European Commission and other stakeholders.

Action 10:

We will work with our networks, including Connected Scotland and our international offices, to increase network building, further international links and maximise the profile of the Scottish research sector, including through events and inward and outward visits.

• Link in with upcoming visits/events such as Osaka Expo 2025, signing of UK/German MoU.
• Supporting sector visits/connections with countries of interest, including via Scottish Government Hubs.
• Raise research profile on international visits by Ministers.