Partnerships

We have a number of partnerships with organisations from across the world that contribute to our work. Read about some of these below.

Oxfam partnership

The UWS-Oxfam Partnership is an innovative model of research and knowledge exchange between University of the West of Scotland, Oxfam Scotland and a range of civil society organisations.

The Partnership was launched in 2012 after years of successful collaborations between the University and Oxfam Scotland. The development of Oxfam’s UK Poverty Programme in Scotland and its Our Economy report with input from UWS researchers were significant milestones for the establishment of the Partnership.

The campaigning around Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum provided further impetus to the Partnership’s activities as it saw long-standing issues of inequality, poverty, social justice and sustainability come to the fore of the public debate in Scotland. The Partnership has contributed to this debate on the development of a practical vision of a different Scotland and continues to do so.

Since its launch, the Partnership has brought together the academic expertise from UWS, the social justice and anti-poverty advocacy strengths of Oxfam Scotland, and a wide range of civil society organisations linked to Oxfam’s UK Poverty Programme in Scotland.

Under the umbrella of the Partnership, the impact of public policies on equality, sustainability and poverty in Scotland have been critically examined. The overarching aim of the Partnership’s diverse activities has been to inform the public debate about the future of Scotland.

The Partnership’s agenda is led by its Policy Forum which regularly invites stakeholders to discuss and challenge existing ideas and policies. These discussions also feed into Oxfam Scotland’s work.

Over the past years, the Partnership has created opportunities for UWS students to work with Oxfam Scotland and a wide range of civil society organisations.

Vision Schools Scotland

Launched in 2017, Vision Schools Scotland is delivered by the School of Education and Social Sciences at UWS, in partnership with the Holocaust Educational Trust.

Its aims are to create a national schools’ network of good practice in Holocaust education and to support primary and secondary teachers in their teaching and learning about the Holocaust. It acknowledges schools that embed Holocaust education and that demonstrate how Holocaust education contributes to responsible citizenship in their school.

A Vision School is a school committed to the view that learning about the Holocaust is a vital part of young people’s education. To become a Vision School, schools demonstrate a sustainable commitment to the importance of Holocaust education and to continued professional development in the Holocaust and its related issues. There are currently 30 Vision Schools in Scotland.