The University of Edinburgh

Edinburgh BioQuarter: Being good neighbours

Edinburgh BioQuarter is a leading location for healthcare delivery, groundbreaking medical research and health innovation. Over the next decade BioQuarter will transition into Edinburgh’s Health Innovation District – a new mixed use, urban neighbourhood of Edinburgh, centred around a world leading community of health innovators and companies.

Connections with the neighbouring communities are important to the partner organisations and individuals at Edinburgh BioQuarter with community impact a key strategic objective to achieve inclusive growth. BioQuarter is located in the South of Edinburgh, including communities with voices less heard in science and innovation.

Our engagement programme for neighbouring communities has been developed in collaboration with these communities, led by three guiding principles: co-development, partnership working, and evidence based. The aim of our community engagement is for these areas to benefit directly from our location, with access to top researchers, clinicians, students, scientists and entrepreneurs, ensuring local young people receive transformational experiences in the field of STEM and to build science capital.

What the Judges Thought

Great community science engagement with schools and students, opening the university up to those who felt "this is not a place for us"; integration with the curriculum with school lesson design as an assessment activity. However the judges did feel that many universities would not have the funding available to build a dedicated science park. Despite this it was felt that there were opportunities for others to follow the ideas behind the project. This is a great initiative to introduce STEM careers in to schools and also engage those in deprived areas, who may not have thought about a career in science.  The level of commitment is commendable.

What it Means to Win

“Our mission is to deliver positive impact for society, by discovering, developing and sharing knowledge. The University is committed to supporting a lower-carbon, healthier, more sustainable and equitable future. The Green Gown Awards provide an opportunity to recognise the efforts of our staff and students to help us achieve this.”
 
Professor Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor

Top 3 Learnings

1. Community Centred approaches are most impactful.
2. Consider all approaches and projects through a long-term lens rather than short term gain.
3. Rewards are mutual for communities and university staff and students.