The Inverness Campus is an area in Inverness, Scotland. 5.5 hectares of the site have been designated as an enterprise area for life sciences by the Scottish Government. This designation is intended to encourage research and development in the field of life sciences, by providing incentives to locate at the site. [1]
The enterprise area is part of a larger site, over 200 acres, which will house Inverness College, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), the University of the Highlands and Islands, a health science centre and sports and other community facilities. The purpose built research hub will provide space for up to 30 staff and researchers, allowing better collaboration. [2]
The Highland Science Academy will be located on the site, a collaboration formed by Highland Council, employers and public bodies. The academy will be aimed towards assisting young people to gain the necessary skills to work in the energy, engineering and life sciences sectors. [3]
The site was identified in 2006. [4] Work started to develop the infrastructure on the site in early 2012. A virtual tour was made available in October 2013 to help mark Doors Open Day. [5]
The construction had reached halfway stage in May 2014, meaning that it is on track to open doors to receive its first students in August 2015. [6]
In May 2014, work was due to commence on a building designed to provide office space and laboratories as part of the campus's "life science" sector. [7] Morrison Construction have been appointed to undertake the building work. [8]
Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) will be able to relocate their Inverness-based activities to the Campus. SRUC's research centre for Comparative Epidemiology and Medicine, and Agricultural Business Consultancy services could co-locate with UHI where their activities have complementary themes. [9]
By the start of 2017, there were more than 600 people working at the site. [10]
In June 2021, a new bridge opened connecting Inverness Campus to Inverness Shopping Park. It crosses the Aberdeen–Inverness railway line and is open to pedestrians, cyclists, buses, but not cars. [11]
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Historically it served as the county town of the county of Inverness-shire. Inverness lies near two important battle sites: the 11th-century battle of Blàr nam Fèinne against Norway which took place on the Aird, and the 18th century Battle of Culloden which took place on Culloden Moor. It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom and lies within the Great Glen at its northeastern extremity where the River Ness enters the Beauly Firth. At the latest, a settlement was established by the 6th century with the first royal charter being granted by Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim in the 12th century. The Gaelic king Mac Bethad Mac Findláich (MacBeth) whose 11th-century killing of King Duncan was immortalised in Shakespeare's largely fictionalised play Macbeth, held a castle within the city where he ruled as Mormaer of Moray and Ross. Inverness and Inverness-shire are closely linked to the Clan MacKenzie.
Thurso is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical area of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the British mainland.
Eleanor Roberta Scott is a Scottish politician and physician. She was Scottish Greens Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands 2003–2007, then female co-convener of the party 2008–2011 with Patrick Harvie.
Raigmore Hospital is a health facility located in Inverness, Scotland. It serves patients from the local area as well providing specialist services to patients from across the Highland area. It is a teaching hospital, educating a range of healthcare professionals in association with the Universities of Aberdeen and Stirling. It is managed by NHS Highland.
The University of the Highlands and Islands is a tertiary university composed of Academic Partners which are the 13 colleges and research institutions in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland delivering higher education. Its executive office is in the former Royal Northern Infirmary building in Inverness.
The politics of the Highland council area in Scotland are evident in the deliberations and decisions of the Highland Council, in elections to the council, and in elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster) and the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). In the European Parliament the area was within the Scotland constituency, which covers all of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Inverness College UHI is the largest of the thirteen partners that make up the University of the Highlands and Islands, based in Inverness in the Highland council area of Scotland. A new main building at Inverness Campus was opened in August 2015, with most students and staff now located there. Also part of the college, the Scottish School of Forestry is based near Balloch. The College is a tertiary organisation providing education to school pupils, further education and higher education to post graduate level, together with training for apprentices and a wide range of short courses for business. Student accommodation is currently being built on Inverness Campus and will be available from September 2016.
Blazin' Fiddles are a contemporary Scottish fiddle band from the Highlands and Islands. They formed in 1998 to showcase Scotland's distinct regional fiddle styles. The band have a number of awards, including; the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Live Act of the Year, Album of the Year and Folk Band of the Year. Their records are released on their own indie Blazin' Records label. They have been described as "...the LED Zepplin of the Folk World."
North Highland College provides further education and higher education in the north of Scotland through a network of learning centres and by distance learning. It is a constituent college of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Moray Firth School was an independent school located at Gollanfield, between Inverness and Nairn, Scotland. It was open 2002–2010 and during that period was the only independent school in the Highland council area.
James Mackenzie Fraser is a former university administrator who was the first principal and vice-chancellor of the University of the Highlands and Islands, in the north of Scotland. He held senior management roles in Scottish educational institutions for over 23 years, working at three colleges that went on to achieve University status.
Moray College is a further education college based in Elgin, in Moray, northeastern Scotland. It has 1,500 full-time students and 8,100 part-time students. It employs approximately 370 staff and is a college of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
The Edinburgh BioQuarter is a bioscience community based in the Little France area of Edinburgh. It is Scotland's key initiative in the development of its life sciences industry, which as of August 2020 employs more than 39,000 people in over 750 organisations.
John Bradford Finnie is a Scottish Greens politician. He was the Green Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region from 2016 up until 2021, having previously sat as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member from 2011 to 2012 then as an independent from 2012 to 2016.
The Biocampus is an enterprise area in Midlothian, Scotland. It is part of the larger Edinburgh Science Triangle, which includes the Edinburgh BioQuarter and was the first dedicated national bio-manufacturing campus. Development on the site is supported through financial incentives and business rate reduction through the Scottish Government's enterprise area scheme.
Andrew Egan Henderson Hendry, known as Drew Hendry, is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey since 2015. He was a councillor in Highland from 2007 to 2015 and was Council Leader from 2012 to 2015. He has served as the SNP Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade since 2021 and was the SNP Spokesperson for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2021.
Duncraig Castle is a mansion in Lochalsh, in the west of the Scottish Highlands. A category-C listed building, it is situated in the Highland council area, east of the village of Plockton on the south shore of Loch Carron. It was built in 1866 in the Scottish baronial style, to designs by Alexander Ross, for Scottish Member of Parliament and businessman Alexander Matheson. The castle remained in the Matheson family until the 1920s, when it was sold to Sir Daniel Hamilton and his wife Margaret, who owned the neighbouring estate. The Hamiltons intended to use the castle for educational purposes in the local community, but this never came to fruition and following the outbreak of World War II, the castle was used as a naval hospital. By the end of the war, Daniel Hamilton had died, and Margaret bequeathed the castle to the local council, which converted it for use as a home economics college for girls, operating in this capacity until its closure in 1989.
Inverness Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and gallery on Castle Wynd in Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland. Admission is free. The collection and facilities are managed by High Life Highland on behalf of Highland Council.
The North Coast 500 is a 516-mile (830 km) scenic route around the north coast of Scotland, starting and ending at Inverness Castle. The route is also known as the NC500 and was launched in 2015, linking many features in the north Highlands of Scotland in one touring route.
The Sutherland spaceport, also known as Space Hub Sutherland or UKVL Sutherland, is planned to be the first spaceport of the United Kingdom. It would be operated by a commercial entity and would employ 40 people. The spaceport will host a launch vehicle called Orbex Prime. The spaceport will be located on the A' Mhòine peninsula northwest of Tongue village, Sutherland, Scotland. Construction is set to begin in late 2021, with a first launch as early as 2022.
Coordinates: 57°28′34″N4°10′55″W / 57.476°N 4.182°W