Scotland’s universities already work together, now we must harness that strength

Joint announcement

Kate Symons - 29/09/26

Scotland’s universities compete for students, talent, funding and reputation. Financial pressures facing higher education are making that competition increasingly visible.

But this obscures an important truth: Scotland’s universities have a long history of working together, and that collective strength can help address some of the country’s most pressing challenges.

The Scottish Government has set priorities for economic growth, climate action and stronger public services, while the UK Government is placing renewed emphasis on regional growth and reindustrialisation. Delivering these ambitions will require Scotland to combine capabilities that are distributed across sectors and institutions.

Two national partnerships demonstrate how Scotland’s universities are already combining their strengths around shared challenges. Scotland Beyond Net Zero (SBNZ) draws on climate and sustainability expertise from 13 universities, while the Scottish Partnership in Energy and Engineering Research and Innovation (SPEERI) mobilises energy and engineering expertise from across its 14 university partners.

Working with industry, government, public bodies and communities, the partnerships help Scotland draw on energy and engineering expertise alongside capabilities spanning climate, nature, finance, policy and society. Drawing on this full range of expertise can produce solutions that are technically sound, economically viable, environmentally responsible and capable of delivering tangible benefits to communities across Scotland.

Scotland’s challenges do not fit neatly within the boundaries of individual universities, government portfolios or industries. Technological expertise is essential, but it must be combined with an understanding of people, places, policy, finance and implementation.

As Chair of both partnerships, I see what that collective capability can offer Scotland. Collaborative projects have tested low-carbon heating in social housing, demonstrated how non-recyclable plastic can be converted into hydrogen, and linked doctoral researchers with the practical needs of industry. This is not collaboration for its own sake. It brings together knowledge otherwise dispersed across institutions and sectors, helping to inform policy and investment decisions, support Scottish companies and develop the skills needed for change.

SBNZ and SPEERI provide established national networks through which Scotland can mobilise expertise at scale. They connect researchers across disciplines and institutions who may not otherwise work together, strengthen links with industry and policymakers, and give businesses, public bodies and communities a clearer route to expertise across Scotland. By building these connections, they enable ideas to move more quickly from research into action.

Competition has its place. But in a small country, purposeful university collaboration is not an act of institutional generosity. It is a source of national competitive advantage.

Scotland does not need to invent this collective capability. It already exists. Government, industry and public bodies should make fuller use of it, involving these partnerships early enough to shape priorities, programmes and investment decisions. Universities, in turn, must make our collective expertise easier to access and demonstrate what our collaboration delivers for Scotland.

Scotland’s universities have already shown they can work together. The task now is to put that collective strength to work in the decisions shaping Scotland’s future.

Professor Chris Pearce is Vice Principal for Research and Knowledge Exchange at the University of Glasgow, co-Chair of Scotland Beyond Net Zero and Chair of the Scottish Partnership in Energy and Engineering Research and Innovation.

This article was first published the Thunderer column of The Scottish Times on 29th September 2026.