GTG Training Edinburgh is excited to announce that we will be running a special Health & Safety week at our Training and Conferencing centre here in Sighthill, Edinburgh. Book any five courses for £500 (just mix and match from the 1 day and the ½ day courses below):
1 day courses:
BSC COSHH
Emergency First Aid
IOSH Working Safely*
NEBOSH Environmental Awareness*
BSC Fire Risk Assessment*
½ day courses:
Fire Warden
Manual Handling
Plus you can book IOSH Managing Safely (5 day course) for only £500*
*Registration fees will be charged if applicable
More information is available on this brochure: GTG Training – Health & Safety Week
Over 20 students from Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, are celebrating this week after showcasing their 2014 scholarship and awards success at a special event in the Capital.
Hosted by Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios, the celebratory occasion showcased the QMU scholars and award winners of 2014, including students who were supported by Santander Universities, the Ryder Cup bursary scheme, the Princess Alice Award and the University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Fund and Student Development Fund.
The award-winning students were joined by the companies and individuals whose generous support has helped boost their academic experience, personal development and made special student projects possible.
Professor Petra Wend, Principal & Vice Chancellor of Queen Margaret University, said: “The University is grateful for the continued support of organisations, individuals and QMU graduates, which greatly enhances the experience of those students who receive scholarships and awards.
“Awards and scholarships like this enrich students’ academic experience, broaden their horizons and allow them make a real contribution to their field or to serving society’s needs.”
Santander Universities
Santander Universities supports QMU through a variety of scholarships and awards.
The Vice-Chancellor’s Award
Professor Petra Wend, QMU Principal, created the Vice Chancellor’s Award for the specific purpose of broadening students’ horizons, providing the means for students to travel abroad to study or take part in exchanges.
The Princess Alice Award
The Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, Scholarship, is an annual award which aims to fund, either wholly or in part (to a maximum of £1000), overseas research-related initiatives which are likely to advance knowledge and/or have a positive impact on people’s lives.
The Student Development Fund
The Student Development Fund is an opportunities fund supported by donations from QMU graduates, friends and supporters. It is designed to help students fund worthwhile projects that couldn’t happen otherwise. The Student Development Fund can also help students make the most of their time at QMU and all students are eligible to apply. The awards are open to individuals, clubs and societies or other groups made up of QMU students.
Ryder Cup bursary scheme
Ryder Cup Europe has made a commitment to QMU to fund five tourism, hospitality and event student bursaries per year for a total of four years. The bursary scheme means that a total of twenty QMU students will benefit by receiving £1000 each . The bursaries will help the students pay for their travel and accommodation costs and ensure they can access courses relevant to The 2014 Ryder Cup.
More information is availble here: http://www.qmu.ac.uk/marketing/press_releases/QMU-students-celebrate-2014-Scholarship-&-Awards.htm
The robust quantitative easing program put in place by the European Central Bank (ECB) recently will be instrumental in pushing the euro lower, thus stimulating the export side of the euro zone economy. Growth in other parts of the globe will also help cheaper imports from the currency bloc find a home.
Calls for a dramatic drop in the currency have made headlines recently, but strike me as wishful thinking. To be sure, money printing that suppresses interest rates weighs on the currency, and the euro should be lower to provide cover for a program of reforms. But, unless the ECB opts to target a level for the euro – akin to what the Swiss National Bank did for the franc/euro rate – it’s hard to see how such a drop would occur.
Even in the midst of its existential crisis in 2012, the euro only fell to 1.20 relative to the US dollar. A decline again to this level would represent nearly a 14% drop from its 1.39 peak this year. German policymakers will not be willing participants in a currency that infuses inflationary pressures into its economy. Weak growth and higher inflation are a recipe for short careers.
The investment implications for the current state of play are clear, in our view, although you should bear in mind that you could still lose out. We are overweight euro zone equities based on two fundamental ideas: first, we believe their equity valuations are attractive especially when compared to their US counterparts. Second, the catalyst that would make the market rise is a more proactive stance from the ECB.
This is the policy we have been calling and hoping for, and it has finally arrived. It’s late in coming, but it’s here. The market has taken note, as shown by the EuroStoxx 50 Index which has advanced significantly since early August. So far, so good.
ecoConnect CIC is asking businesses and individuals to debate and contribute to the discussions around how Scotland is going to decarbonise its heat – a key challenge in meeting the Government’s climate targets & a key challenge for companies trying to achieve cost savings.
Combined heat and power (CHP) technology is a recognised tool for energy efficiency across a multiplicity of commercial and industrial end-users: by integrating & combining the production of usable heat & electricity, reductions in carbon emissions of up to 30% can be achieved compared to the separate means of conventional generation & potential cost savings of 15%-40% over electricity sourced from the grid & heat generated by on-site boilers.
It has real potential to improve business bottom-line butthere are real barriers to take up, not least that CHP plants are capital intensive.
Join ecoConnect to debate the issues surrounding this topic with an expert panel:
Gregor Paterson-Jones, Managing Director – Energy Efficiency, Green Investment Bank; Dr David Kane, Systems Development Manager, IE-CHP; Jonathan Graham, Policy Manager, Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA); Kate Turner, Legal Director, Pinsent Masons; Dave Pearson, Director, Star Renewable Energy.
The event will begin with a panel and audience discussion and finish with a networking reception and takes place at the Edinburgh offices of Pinsent Masons, Princes Exchange
1 Earl Grey Street, Edinburgh EH3 9AQ from 5-8pm.
Please use discount code ecco5324 to get a 20% discount against the event price at http://www.cvent.com/d/44qrr2 or at http://www.ecoconnect.org.uk/ecoconnect-events/or contact lakvinder.dhillon@ecoconnect.org.uk for more information.
Founded by Mel Young from Scotland and Harald Schmied from Austria, The Homeless World Cup uses the power of football to energise homeless people, enabling them to change their own lives.
The Homeless World Cup is an Edinburgh based charity that supports grass-roots football programmes and social enterprise development via a network of 70 national partners. To celebrate this hard work, the charity organise an annual football tournament that unites teams of homeless people from countries all around the globe.
The 12th edition of the Homeless World Cup takes place from 19-26 October 2014 at Plaza de la Constitución, Santiago, Chile. Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce Events Manager Sian Downes was luckily selected as one the volunteers. Working hard on her fundraising she says “I am delighted to have been chosen as a HWC volunteer, it is a very special honour and I look forward to heading out to Santiago to meet up with the rest of the volunteers. I want to thank all ECC members that have helped with my fundraising efforts and I look forward to reporting back.”
Craig Campbell, Homeless World Cup CEO also commented stating “Football is a great leveller; it connects people and is a universal sport for everyone. The Homeless World Cup is able to change the scenery, challenge stereotyping and people who have been excluded and isolated from society are cheered by thousands and treated as soccer heroes during the tournament. The feeling of belonging, challenge of working in a team, regaining a health- oriented attitude towards life, self esteem and last but not least the experience of fun is a powerful combination to change a person’s life.”
It is expected that over 100,000 spectators will watch the action unfold at the specially constructed stadia and pitches in front of La Moneda, with millions more following online
The tournament hosts homeless and socially disadvantaged men and women from 49 countries with 63 teams that will participate in the 350 matches that will be played at Chile 2014.
The iconic Falkirk Wheel hosted the rebranded launch of local accountancy and business advisory firm, A9 Partnership.
The evening’s highlight, alongside the Wheel being floodlit in the corporate blue, was an inspirational talk by Craig Mathieson, Scotland’s Greatest Living Explorer who was recently appointed “Explorer in Residence” by The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. A9 chose to support Craig and the launch of his new charity, The Polar Academy, to mark the occasion (http://www.thepolaracademy.org)
As part of the rebranding, A9 carried out surveys with both staff and clients, to gain valuable insight. One of the new initiatives, that came out of the surveys, is the introduction of a Workshop Series, with topical subjects covering Cloud Accountancy, IHT Planning, Branding and much more. If you are interested in attending one of the Workshop Series, please contact abercorn@a9partnership.co.uk.
Property 2014
, hosted by Shepherd and Wedderburn
takes place on 4th November at the EICC, Edinburgh and includes a stellar line up of speakers who will share their unique insights and experience with you. They will provide an account of how they themselves have weathered the changing regulatory landscape, offering practical advice on how industry professionals can face future challenges
The Role of Cities Post-Recession is the theme of this year’s conference which takes place at the EICC on 4 November 2014.
Colin Innes, Partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn and conference chair commented:
“There are undoubtedly many opportunities in Scottish cities ripe for development in the post-recession era. I look forward to participating in this major event, sharing my own insights and perspectives and learning from our eminent speakers about the possible approaches to seizing the emerging opportunities”.
Who should attend:
| • Property developers | • Occupiers |
| • Surveyors | • Lenders and service providers in Scotland |
| • Investors | • Property agents |
| • Asset managers | • Architects |
| • Consultants and funders |
Property 2014 benefits from the continued support of; the Scottish Property Federation and media sponsors Property Week as well as past sponsors including Invest in Fife, Click-let and JC Rathbone Associates Ltd , City of Edinburgh Council
Speakers include:
- Sir Howard Bernstein, CEO of Manchester City Council
- John Rathbone, Executive Chairman, JC Rathbone Associates Ltd
- Richard Cook, Head of Residential Development, Lend Lease
- Professor Sean Smith, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Construction and Professor of Innovation, Edinburgh Napier University
- Sue Bruce, Chief Executive, City of Edinburgh Council
For full programme and to find out more and to register for the event, go to:
www.propertyconferencescotland.co.uk
The Consumer Insight Centre at Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, has launched the world’s first postgraduate degree for professional complaint handlers.
The new MSc Dispute Resolution is an accredited qualification for professionals in the workplace who deal with disputes between consumers and businesses and between citizens and the state.
Complaints about public services and private industry are big business. The UK central government alone spends around £1.5 billion a year on professional dispute resolution.
The private sector also spends a significant amount on customer care and complaint handling activities. The Financial Ombudsman Service received a whopping 2,357,374 complaints and enquiries last year.
QMU’s Consumer Insight Centre has been collaborating with colleagues from the ombudsman and complaint handling world to develop accredited qualifications for professional complaint handlers. The University has a long standing relationship with the Ombudsman Association and the International Ombudsman Institute and regularly delivers courses to dispute resolution for professionals across the UK and beyond.
QMU is aiming to raise standards across the complaint handling industry by drawing on insights from its research and consultancy work. This includes the development of the University’s new MSc Dispute Resolution.
Chris Gill, MSc Dispute Resolution Course Leader at Queen Margaret University’s Consumer Insight Centre, said: “There is clearly work to be done to improve standards across the complaint handling industry and the provision of professional education is only one piece in an undoubtedly complex puzzle.
“We feel that it’s now the right time to speed up effort to develop professionalism in the complaints sector. Ultimately, good complaint handling provides better public services and fair consumer markets. It’s a crucial activity, which affects the everyday lives of consumers and citizens.
“It’s in everyone’s interest to ensure that – in years to come – a consumer can expect the same level of publicly assured professionalism when dealing with a complaint handler as they can when dealing with a lawyer, doctor or accountant. It is time to make this aspiration a reality.”
QMU will welcome its first MSc Dispute Resolution students in January 2015. The unique course is available as a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or MSc according to each student’s preferred outcome. The Postgraduate Certificate is available entirely online, while the Postgraduate Diploma and MSc are available by a mix of online and campus-based modules.
The MSc Dispute Resolution will provide students with a qualification which is relevant to the workplace and will maximise students’ potential to develop within their existing or new careers, including public health services, housing associations and banking.
QMU’s business and consumer experts have expertise in Ombudsman training, Complaint Handling, Dispute Resolution and Consumer Affairs.
Dispute resolution falls within the work of QMU’s Consumer Insight Centre and the University’s Division of Business, Enterprise and Management. The aim of the Centre is to be a nationally and internationally recognised leader in dynamic and innovative learning, knowledge exchange and research in consumer insight.
With an established reputation for high quality accredited training for ombudsman and complaint handling organisations, the Centre has provided accredited training for over 1000 ombudsman colleagues and CPD training for 700 regulatory staff during the last three years.
As the first academic institution to be licensed and approved for the provision of the Ombudsman Association case handler training courses, QMU holds a unique position in the university sector to run effective programmes for this sector and for organisations within the jurisdiction of ombudsman and complaint handling organisations.
For more information, visit: http://www.qmu.ac.uk/be/Research/cic.htm or email Chris Gill, MSc Dispute Resolution Course Leader at Queen Margaret University E: cgill@qmu.ac.uk
Boxes. There seems to be a plethora of boxes everywhere, particularly when it comes to health. Fill in this form, tick these boxes, oh and those boxes, and in order for us to really understand your condition, best you tick the boxes that best describe you…!!!
Go to http://www.whitetreechiro.co.uk/boxes/ for the full article
The Scottish Continuity Resilient Scotland Conference is widely regarded as Scotland’s leading conference that brings Business Continuity and Resilience practitioners together providing an opportunity to gain valuable education, training and best practice to assist, organise, prepare, respond and recover from emergencies and disasters.
Tickets available at: http://www.scottishcontinuity.com/2014_resilient_community_registration
