SSE And The University Of The Highlands And Islands Announce Partnership Aimed At Benefiting The Region

11th December 2023

SSE and the University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) have officially announced a partnership which could help people across the Highlands and Islands.

The strategic partnership sets out UHI and SSE's common aspiration to work closely, built on the delivery research, education, and employability initiatives which are to be targeted across the region.

The overall objective of the formal agreement is to ensure that as many of the job and economic opportunities in the Highlands and Islands as possible will benefit its people and communities, supporting environmentally sustainable economic development, whilst protecting some of the most important, globally significant ecosystems.

With the Highlands and Islands at the heart of an accelerated transition to net zero, it plays a key role in delivering a cleaner, secure, and more homegrown energy system for Scotland, the UK, and beyond.

Rachel McEwen, Chief Sustainability Officer for SSE PLC, explained: "'The scale of the coming investments in the Highlands and Islands is enormous. Upgrading existing and building new electricity infrastructure, delivering on renewable energy projects, and building on a legacy of hydro schemes all bring with them great opportunities and challenges."

"The success of green energy projects depends not only on access to natural resources, but on access to skills, directly and through the supply chain."

"As such, there is a natural fit for SSE and UHI to identify common ground and the ways in which we can work together, and we're delighted to be partnering with UHI to ensure that our investments create a positive legacy for people, nature, and local economies.

Alison Wilson, Director of Economic Development and Advancement for UHI, said: “It is vital that UHI works in partnership with and understands the needs of industry, and we are delighted to be entering this strategic partnership with SSE, formalising a long-standing relationship between us, built on a history of collaboration and support."

“Right now, UHI has 36,000 students enrolled on courses with us. We have a further 36,000 graduates who make up our alumni community and an additional 3,000 higher education students graduated from UHI in the past few months alone. With around two thirds of our students coming from within our regions, that's a significant potential labour pool available to support the renewable energy sector here in the north of Scotland.”

“Our shared ambition of harnessing the potential of renewable energy to provide the opportunities that will allow the next generation to choose to build their lives here, is vital to the future sustainability of our regions.”

Photo - Dr Stephanie Strother, Energy Knowledge Exchange Coordinator (UHI), Dr Gianna Huhn, Academic Partnerships Manager (SSE), Alison Wilson, Director of Economic Development and Advancement (UHI), Rachel McEwan, Chief Sustainability Officer (SSE), Gillian O'Reilly, Head of Heritage (SSE), Georgina Wardrop, Head of Hydro Stakeholder Engagement (SSE)

Through SSE's Net Zero Acceleration Plan Plus (NZAP+), the Perth headquartered company is planning on investing £40 billion into the energy transition over the next decade until 2031/32. £20 billion of this planned investment will be in Scotland, with much of that coming across the Highlands and Islands in renewable energy generation and the electricity networks to integrate it into the energy system.

UHI, a unique university in Scotland with a place-based tertiary approach, exists to have a transformational impact on the people, communities, and economy of its regions. UHI’s founders recognised that having a university of and for the Highlands and Islands, creating choice and opportunity for young people to stay and contribute to vibrant businesses and communities, and supporting them to do so, is vital to the future economic, societal and environmental sustainability of the region.