PTAS Projects 2025-2026

What are the post-graduation destinations and experiences of those who commuted to the University of Edinburgh?

Team: Rachael King, Professor Sheila Riddell, Professor Lyn Tett and Kirsten Roche

School: Centre for Open Learning and Moray House School of Education and Sport

Abstract: This project aims to: Analyse former commuter students’ employment outcomes compared with those of non commuting students using university administrative data and findings from the Graduate Outcomes Survey; Understand the reasons behind differences in the labour market outcomes of commuter and non-commuter students, using survey and interview data; Inform university policy and practice with regard to addressing inequalities in labour market outcomes between commuters and non-commuters.

This study builds upon previous work by analysing: (i) commuter students’ post graduate destinations, which may be in employment or in further study; (ii) their feelings about their  post-graduate destinations and (iii) their views of current and previous university support.  

Campus wellbeing mile

Team: Professor Sam Fawkner, Dr Heidi Smith, Lucy Smith, Georgia Law, Dr Hannah McNeilly, Kim Chapman and Dr Morgan Ludington

School: Moray House School of Education and Sport

Abstract: The aim of this project is to bring together multiple stakeholders from across the University of Edinburgh (UoE) to develop, install, and test the value of a Campus Wellbeing Mile. This is a signed route, and associated app and web pages, connecting the Holyrood and central campuses via its green spaces. It will be designed to encourage users (staff, students and community) to move more and connect with nature and our urban green spaces, whilst also providing impetus for transdisciplinary outdoor pedagogies. The project team will work with an external provider of a nature-wellness app, finalise the route, signage and web spaces, and develop interdisciplinary teaching materials. We will monitor use and adopt a mixed methods approach to understanding user experience. The Campus Wellbeing Mile will showcase a multistakeholder project that addresses several of UoE priorities, whilst advancing practice and knowledge around active campuses and nature connection. Ultimately, it will provide opportunity for staff, students and the wider community to enhance their wellbeing and connect with their community and our campus green spaces. 

Enhanced Engagement Support

Team: Susie Feest, Dr Colin Brough, Rosie Edwards, Dr Deborah Holt, Dr Susanna Macdonald-Mulvihill and Dr Neil Speirs

School: Edinburgh Law School and Moray House School of Education and Sport

Abstract: This research project aims to develop insights into the undergraduate student population within Edinburgh Law School who demonstrate persistently low levels of attendance. These students may experience not only increased academic risk, but also (and of vital importance) a decreased sense of inclusion and belonging within the university. Widening access to university is to be celebrated and is a strategic priority here at Edinburgh. However, attention needs to be paid to those students who, for contextual or personal reasons, feel unable to meaningfully engage with university life. The environmental conditions for all students to feel valued and have their voices heard is a key part of the third strand of the Widening Participation strategy and aligns with what we want to achieve in Edinburgh Law School. Quantitative and qualitative research data will be used to build a picture of the personal biographies and demographics of students with low levels of attendance, and the challenges and barriers to attendance and full engagement with their programme of study they may be facing. Building on this context and drawing on the diverse expertise of a cross disciplinary team and consultation with student participants, we hope to identify specific sub-groups of students who would benefit from targeted strategies for support. We will also report on any policy or practice that leads to the feeling of dislocation that our students can experience and recommend changes. We will provide findings and recommendations, which will be shared more widely across the University. 

Empowering Teachers and Supporting Learners through Online Coaching

Team: Dr Wei En Tan, Dr Hui-Chuan Li and Dr Francesca Iezzi

School: School of Mathematics and Moray House School of Education and Sport

Abstract: This innovation project establishes a partnership between the PGDE Secondary Mathematics programme at Moray House School of Education and Sport (MHSES) and Maths Coach Scotland, run by the School of Mathematics, an online platform that supports school learners in mathematics. The project provides PGDE students with the opportunity to build confidence in teaching within digital environments while gaining deeper insight into the challenges young people face in learning mathematics. Simultaneously, it strengthens the support available to schools through Maths Coach Scotland. The project aligns closely with the aims of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence and the Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy by equipping future teachers with the skills to integrate digital approaches into their practice, fostering collaboration across educational sectors, and broadening learners’ access to high-quality online support. Beyond the PGDE programme, this initiative contributes to the University’s wider mission by promoting cross-school collaboration, extending the impact of university-led digital learning initiatives, and demonstrating scalable models for integrating teacher education with community-facing educational platforms. An evaluation will also examine the potential for a sustainable long-term partnership between MHSES and Maths Coach Scotland, enhancing both the professional learning of PGDE students and the University’s contribution to national priorities in digital education. 

Closing the net: Aligning University Curricula with Net Zero Skills

Team: Dr Andrew Cross, Tara Morrison, Lucy Patterson, Mhairi Cochrane, Ruth Donnelly, Matthew Lawson, Dr Jenny Scoles and Dr Imi Dencer-Brown

School: School of GeoSciences

Abstract: The project will explore how universities can better equip students with the skills for supporting the attainment of a net zero economy, focusing on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The project seeks to identify barriers within university curricula and propose strategies to better integrate net zero principles, ensuring that graduates possess the competencies and skills needed by businesses transitioning to net zero. Key stakeholders include university staff, students, and SMEs involved in the Climate Springboard programme based at the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute. Adopting methodological pluralism, the research will employ a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods, including a literature review, survey, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. These will gather insights from both universities and industry to understand the challenges in aligning university education with business needs. The study will engage university staff and SMEs to explore barriers and develop practical solutions for improving curriculum integration which links to preparedness for the workplace. SMEs will be particularly valuable for providing feedback on the skills students need to support decarbonisation efforts. The project will provide practical recommendations for universities on how to better integrate and embed net zero-related skills into their curricula. By incorporating feedback from both university and SMEs’ the research will highlight the necessary skills for students to adapt in a volatile climate which aims towards net zero, and propose strategies for aligning student development with industry needs. These will be packaged in a series of case studies, linked to an online toolbox that will include step-by-step learning activities structured around the key skills and competencies highlighted in the research. This toolbox will link to existing IAD course and Programme design resources. The learning activities will include relevant authentic assessments and resources that can be tailored to suit a range of learning and teaching needs and SCQF levels. 

Meaningful evaluation in arts, culture and health

Team: Dr Olivia Turner, Dr Katey Warran, Professor Heather Wilkinson, Professor Sarah Kettley, Professor Katie Overy, Dr Tom Russ, Amy Dover, Ruthanne Baxter and Dr Jane Dudman

School: School of Health in Social Science

Abstract: Evaluation is vital for understanding effectiveness and impact, informing decision-making, and mobilising knowledge across arts, culture and health. However, most existing evaluation guidance, including toolkits, courses and guidelines, focuses primarily on cause-and-effect processes. This approach fails to capture and evidence the complex relational, creative, and tacit elements of experience. This project addresses this critical gap by co-designing, producing and disseminating a novel Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that empowers learners to understand the value, skills and potential of meaningful evaluation across arts, culture and health contexts. MOOCs are an accessible, inclusive and sustainable online education format, playing an important role in education equity and lifelong learning. Our co-designed course content includes: contextualising the role of meaning in evaluation in arts, culture and health; novel creative, ethnographic, qualitative and reflexive methods; case studies of practice; and guidance on mobilising findings for reporting to funders and policymakers. The project brings together an interdisciplinary and cross-college team of staff and students from the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, College of Science & Engineering, and College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine. It uses an inclusive coproduced methodology, underpinned by a social justice agenda, and highlights the value of this approach in pedagogic contexts. The contribution to digital education and increasing global demand for online learning supports the University’s Strategy 2030. This project offers far-reaching impact through a unique approach, addressing a critical gap in the field of evaluation, and fostering innovative teaching and learning practices at the University of Edinburgh and beyond. 

Understanding and Addressing the Reduction in Student Engagement in Higher Education

Team: Dr George Kinnear, Dr Wei En Tan and Professor Richard Blythe

School: School of Mathematics and School of Physics and Astronomy

Abstract: This 21 month project will address one of the most pressing issues in higher education: the recent drop in student attendance and engagement. In phase 1, we will investigate Mathematics and Physics students’ experiences of studying at the University of Edinburgh through a diary-based approach This will give us a detailed understanding of the ways in which students interact with their course and the decisions they make about attendance and engagement, focussing particularly on first year students and the transition from school to university. In phase 2, informed by the findings in phase 1, we will develop and evaluate a programme of interventions to support sustained engagement and attendance. We will use a participatory action research (PAR) approach, in which key stakeholders – students and teaching staff – work in partnership with researchers. 

Immersive, Intensive, Hybrid: The Future of Higher Education? Stakeholder Perspectives on an Innovative Model for Postgraduate Education

Team: Emma McAllister, Dr Joe Noteboom and Dr James Lamb

School: Edinburgh Futures Institute and Moray House School of Education and Sport

Abstract: The Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) has pioneered a distinctive model of postgraduate education, combining hybrid delivery with intensive block teaching across its PGT portfolio. This approach is unique in the UK higher education sector and offers the opportunity to examine the benefits and challenges of delivering hybrid intensive-block teaching at scale. At a time when our University is reckoning with its responsibility to environmentally sustainable provision, and facing other sectoral challenges, hybrid education carries heightened strategic and pedagogical importance. This project aims to gather in-depth data on stakeholder experiences of EFI’s hybrid intensive-block model over the past three years and to generate evidence-based insights for the University and the wider sector. The study will focus on four groups: students, academic staff, teaching assistants and professional services staff. Data will be collected through a two-stage design: initial focus groups with each stakeholder group to capture a broad range of perspectives, followed by in-depth semi-structured interviews with a smaller number of participants to explore emerging themes in greater depth. Transcripts will be analysed thematically to identify recurring patterns, benefits, challenges, and divergences across stakeholder groups, with particular attention to pedagogy, workload, accessibility, and institutional logistics. The anticipated outcomes include a robust analysis of stakeholder experiences and actionable recommendations, informing pedagogical practice in parts of the University where there is an existing desire to exploit the potentialities of hybrid education, including (but not limited to) Edinburgh College or Art, Moray House School of Education, and Edinburgh Medical School. By highlighting both the opportunities and the challenges of this novel model, the study will contribute directly to conversations already happening within the University (and wider sector) about the future of flexible, inclusive, and sustainable postgraduate education. 

Enabling Productive Vulnerability in the University Curriculum: building a skills framework for critical and open discussion

Team: Rowan Christopher Jackson, Andrew Cross and Alfy Gathorne-Hardy

School: Royal Dick Veterinary School and School of GeoSciences

Abstract: The University of Edinburgh’s Strategy 2030 document states an ambition to deliver ‘a foundation for [students’] lives, enriched with the skills and knowledge to be ethical citizens of the world, well prepared for their future career[s]’ (UoE Strategy 2030, 2024). The process, which has since ended, focused on co-design between staff, students and other relevant stakeholders to create a new curriculum and embed skills. This has since shaped ‘challenge courses’, the ‘skills for success framework’, which promises to better prepare students from a wide range of disciplines for major societal challenges and the new landscape of careers. While this ambition is driving a new curriculum, with significant resources and sharing of good practice, a prevailing challenge that remains for many classes is how to promote productive and open discussions, in what we term productive vulnerability. There are three dimensions to this: (1) including a diversity of voices and perspectives in each classroom; (2) promote dialogue and freedom of expression withing spaces that students and staff feel safe; and (3) developing opportunities for students to shape deep, dialogical and critical thinking skills within their curriculum. Each of these dimensions, we believe, speaks to the challenge of transforming higher education environments from rote and passive norms of the 20th century towards responsive and active participation in fast-changing, information saturated and technologically mediated world—and the following research question: How do we best prepare students for critical and open discussion during their academic studies and future career pathways?