Donella Beaton

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change presented their Synthesis Climate Change 2023 Report last month with the words, “Our choices will reverberate for hundreds, even thousands, of years”.

Although challenging, the report illustrates that, with ambitious and immediate action, change can happen. The challenge is universal, but there are priorities and quicker wins, along with societal obligations to support those who cannot make change happen themselves. This needs bold and decisive leadership, collaborative effort, and significant investment.

Scottish universities are ready to take on these challenges, building on their relationships with the public and private Former Deputy First Minister John Swinney recently announced Scottish Government Just Transition Fund funding towards a new Digital Innovation Lab at Robert Gordon University. The cross-sectoral Lab will use and develop digital techniques and immersive technologies to support different sectors to visualise their plans as they transition to net zero. The focus for the first stage of development will be with local authorities in the North East and Moray as they consider the significant challenge of retrofitting their existing property stock and the smart design of new builds – and all in the hard-as-granite reality of extreme funding pressures and the cost-of-living crisis.

RGU engagement in this area is not new. Expertise to support developments will be drawn from a collaboration between the University’s School of Computing and its Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and the Built Environment. The School of Computing has a track-record in applied computer science research with high industrial and societal impact, focusing on artificial intelligence, computational intelligence, and interactive machine vision. Meanwhile, the Scott Sutherland School includes leading research in design and construction of low energy, affordable housing; visualisation and modelling techniques; the study of value throughout the life cycle of buildings; and innovative approaches to the management of design and construction.

Donella Beaton, RGU's Vice-Principal for Economic Development.

In addition to focusing on reducing energy use, RGU is also leading in developing the technologies and thought leadership required to support energy transition.

At the beginning of the year, the University launched the National Subsea Centre in partnership with the Net Zero Technology Centre, funded through the Aberdeen City and Regional Deal. The National Subsea Centre focuses on developing smart digital and engineering technologies to enable a faster, more cost-effective, and sustainable transition to net zero.

Meanwhile, RGU’s Energy Transition Institute, in collaboration with Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), has developed a new and sector-leading Offshore Energy Supply Chain Visualisation tool which provides detailed insight on future supply spend across the UK’s offshore energy sectors, while highlighting areas for supply chain growth, new investment and for policy interventions.

The work is on the back of RGU’s Making the Switch Report published in May 2023 – a call for investment in activity to support the realisation of the North East of Scotland as a global hub for offshore renewable energies and carbon capture and storage, drawing on the area’s significant oil and gas expertise and assets. This will be critical at a time of fragile energy security, to provide a just transition for the 45,000-plus offshore energy workforce in the North East, and to ensure that the significant contribution made by the region can be sustained and increased to the benefit of Scotland and the wider UK.

Douglas Pritchard, Associate Professor, The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture & Built Environment, former Deputy First MinisterJohn Swinney, Steve Olivier, RGU's Principal and Vice-Chancellor and Donella Beaton, Vice Principal for Economic Development

The choices and investments we make now need to reverberate with opportunity for the good of society today and for that of future generations. Easy said, I know, but it’s that important.

Donella Beaton, RGU's Vice-Principal for Economic Development