Cash paves way for cyber Scots

The Scottish Executive wants to see the Scottish higher and further education funding councils use their financial muscle to boost "information and communications technology (ICT) pervasiveness" throughout colleges and universities north of the border.

Wendy Alexander, Scotland's minister for enterprise and lifelong learning, has announced £15 million to beef up ICT. The move follows a report published by first minister Henry McLeish on making Scotland a leader in the knowledge economy.

The report on the knowledge economy cross-cutting initiative says many students have ready access to PCs and support. But the Scottish Executive wants "to create a culture where accessing and using new technologies is as familiar and comfortable to students, and their teachers and lecturers, as the use of blackboards/whiteboards and books."

This means that whenever possible, courses should involve the practical use of ICT, the report says, as should institutional administration and "everyday campus and social facilities".

The 15 member taskforce behind the report included: John Sizer, chief executive of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and the Scottish Further Education Funding Council; John Archer, principal of Heriot-Watt University; Cathy Garner, director of research and enterprise at Glasgow University; Rae Angus, principal of Aberdeen College; and Stephen Molyneux, Microsoft professor of advanced learning technology at Wolverhampton University.

The Scottish Executive said it would encourage Shefc and the Sfefc to use funding levers to speed up the use of ICT, and would discuss with them whether each institution's strategic plan should include how it intends to promote ICT skills.

The £15 million is aimed at helping to roll out broadband networks over the next three years and give Scottish students better IT training and equipment. It is part of a £40 million funding package to overhaul Scotland's approach to technological change.

"It marks the next step in ensuring that every Scot is ready for tomorrow's jobs - better training for graduates in IT and support to companies on the softer business skills like leadership, digital and language skills," she said.

The Scottish Executive is also contemplating public support for an "e-institute" capitalising on expertise in Scottish higher education institutions and abroad. It could offer research, education and training, technology transfer and consultancy, the report says.

"We see no reason why, given the quality of work in Scotland's universities in computer science, informatics and knowledge management, communications and software systems, Scotland should not be blazing new trails," the report says.