New City of Glasgow College Merger Research and Partnership Centre officially launched
Published by Anne Marie Hughes on Sat 09 Jun 12 @ 22:14
(L-R) City of Glasgow College Principal, Paul Little, City of Glasgow College Student President, Emma Iwanow, HND Practical Journalism student, Daniel Clarke, Chairman of the Board of Management of City of Glasgow College, Henry McLeish.
The new Merger Research and Partnership Centre at the City of Glasgow College has been officially opened.
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Michael Russell, MSP, visited the city-based centre to perform the ribbon-cutting ceremony and to acknowledge the pathfinder status of the new merger.
The centre was developed following the resounding success of Scotland's first ever three-way college merger that formed City of Glasgow College on September 1, 2010.
Mr Russell said at the official launch: "Last year I was delighted to kick off a new dawn for City of Glasgow College with up to £193 million being provided by the Scottish Funding Council to redevelop its campus.
"However, not content with a physical transformation, the
college is continuing to evolve academically and the new centre
will provide a valuable resource to those exploring mergers.
"This is a welcome move, particularly against the backdrop of
post-16 reform, and with City of Glasgow already having provided a
successful example of institutions coming together, I expect the
centre to be well-used by private and public organisations
alike."
Having built up considerable experience and expertise through its own merger and partnership working, the college is keen to share this with partner colleges and the wider public sector in Scotland.
The Merger Research and Partnership Centre will offer a range of on-line and hard-copy services including:
- Access to merger documentation (some 300 plus documents)
- Access to specialist merger change and partnership books and periodicals,
- Consultancy and mentoring services
- Leadership and change academy
City of Glasgow College Principal, Paul Little, said: "This is yet another important milestone for us. The creation of the Merger Research and Partnership Centre will allow partners in the public sector to access a wealth of relevant information across the area of merger planning, implementation, interpretation and partnership working.
"Our experience in this area led to the creation of this centre. In addition to colleges within our sector, the public and private sectors will also benefit from using the centre as the current economic climate is forcing more and more companies to merge and make more efficiencies within their business."
