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In this new series, Professor Mona Siddiqui, Assistant Principal Religion and Society, chats to members of our community to find out more about them. Each fortnight she’ll be asking, what is the one regret that has shaped their past, and what is their one hope for the future.

Mona Siddiqui: Welcome everyone to the first in this series of one regret, one hope. My first guest is Firas Ibrahim. Firas welcome.

Firas Ibrahim: Thank you very much for inviting me to your first chat. I’m the Regional Director for the Middle East at Edinburgh Global. I originally come from Syria and I came to the UK in 2001. My whole family still lives there.

Jan 19, 2021

New season of Living Gratefully podcast

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The conversation podcast series, Living Gratefully, returns for a second season. Mona Siddiqui, Assistant Principal Religion and Society, explores human relationships, how we form them and what they mean to us, against a background of what it means to feel gratitude.

Back with a host of new guests, Living Gratefully examines how gratitude shapes our relationships with others, and how cultural relationships shape public discourse.

Jan 19, 2021

Edinburgh alumna joins Biden administration

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A University of Edinburgh alumna is set to be a key part of the Joe Biden administration.

Dr Amanda Sloat has been appointed as Biden’s Senior Director for European Affairs within the National Security Council.

Dr Sloat obtained her PhD in Politics from the School of Social & Political Science. She then went on to advise the Scottish Parliament before returning to America. She has served in the United States Government for 10 years.

She currently works at Brookings but has taken a leave of absence to join the Biden campaign.

Jan 19, 2021

Pension sessions available

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After running several successful sessions last year, the University is continuing to work with Tilney, independent financial advisors, to provide a series of presentations and one-to-one sessions around pension awareness. A woman sits in her kitchen while she works on her computer and writes notes on a pad next to her

Jan 19, 2021

Digital coaching available for staff: reflecting on the new platform

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In June Bulletin reported the launch of the new coaching platform available to support staff to navigate the significant changes that the higher education sector is facing. Six months on, 51 colleagues have taken up the offer with those who have completed their programme giving an overall satisfaction score of 9.8 (out of 10). Staff also reported a 25.9 per cent increase in their wellbeing and a 57 per cent increase in their clarity on next steps to achieve their goals.

Dec 15, 2020

SCOPE: Portraits of the pandemic

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The University is proud of the enormous contributions of staff and students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working with Edinburgh-based photographer Laurence Winram, the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (CMVM) commissioned 13 portraits to shine a spotlight on the massive team effort behind this response – from clinical, research, teaching, technical and professional services.

Virtual Christmas Charity Craft Fair

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This year many people have found themselves buying from small, local businesses over larger chains. This Christmas presents another opportunity to shop local and source unusual and bespoke presents for your friends and family.

If you’re still struggling to find gifts, the University’s annual Christmas Charity Craft Fair is a great place to start. You won’t be surprised to hear the Christmas Fair has gone virtual this year. Open until Sunday 20 December, you can visit the online exhibition hall website to browse the gifts on offer and read about the people making them.

It includes a huge range of handmade products where you’re bound to find something for everyone. Choose from jewellery, prints, Scottish-themed gifts and much more. The Fair is supporting the Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation in their work against Covid-19. You can also donate a contribution through their Just Giving webpage.

Dec 15, 2020

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion  support for our students

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The events of this year have highlighted that looking out for each other is more important than ever. From supporting the Black Lives Matter movement to checking in on the wellbeing of isolated students and colleagues, the power of community has had a huge part to play in getting us through 2020.

Throughout Semester 1 colleagues from across the University, including contributions from the Adaptation and Renewal Team, Careers Service, Institute for Academic Development, Digital Skills and Edinburgh University Students’ Association have been working to build on the support available for our students, whether new this September, or returning to continue their studies.

Dec 15, 2020

SCOPE: Pandemic insights – Medical imaging in times of COVID

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The SCOPE series looking at how working lives have changed since the lockdown began continues with a focus on Edinburgh Imaging. Here we see how our radiography teams helped maintain clinical imaging services and supported NHS colleagues through the pandemic.

The radiography team at Edinburgh Imaging Facility at The Queen’s Medical Research Institute (QMRI) in ‘normal times’ provide imaging for research projects covering a diverse range of research interests, primarily cardiovascular, lung and dementia imaging. The facility houses a 3T MRI scanner, 2 PET-CT scanners and a PET-MRI scanner. The team also delivers the NHS clinical PET-CT service for Lothian and beyond, providing crucial imaging for oncology patients.

Dec 1, 2020

New staff benefits portal

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The HR Rewards team have launched a new portal this week. Here Kirsten Partridge, HR Reward Partner, shares what the new mylifestyle portal adds to the University’s staff benefits package.

Mylifestyle is a new benefits hub that gives staff access to brand new retail discounts, the University’s Cycle to Work Scheme and the Childcare Voucher Scheme (existing members only) and these are accessible via a single login.

Staff can access the portal via the mylifestyle quick link on the Pay and Reward SharePoint pages, where you can find more information including how to register.

Dec 1, 2020

University Carol Service

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The University Carol Service is a popular event each December, with members of the University community and the general public coming together to celebrate Christmas.

Although we can’t gather together this year, the service will still be held online, and will be available to watch from Sunday 13 December on the University homepage. The virtual event will include festive carols and readings from the Principal, University Chaplain Reverend Harriet Harris, and a number of students.

The video will also be published in the next bulletin issue on 15 December.

Dec 1, 2020

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