Art and design qualification confirmed in Uist alongside opportunity for further demand-led creative industries offer

UHI North, West and Hebrides has confirmed its art and design offer will run from Taigh Chearsabhagh Mesuem and Arts Centre next year through an NC Creative Industries qualification, which has the potential to expand into a wider creative industries offer.

Working closely with its staff, students, the Taigh Chearsabhagh and Uist Arts Association, UHI North, West and Hebrides has been considering how it develops an offer for the 2024/2025 academic year that is relevant, sustainable, and provides pathways onto further study or work.

The college welcomed recent feedback from the local community around its art and design offer and hosted various meetings with the community at the end of last year to facilitate further discussion. A group was also formed with Taigh Chearsabhagh and Uist Arts Association to bring together the feedback and discuss ongoing best practice in terms of student experience, marketing, and business-community collaboration.

Following these discussions, UHI North, West and Hebrides has confirmed it will run an NC Creative Industries qualification, which allows it to continue its centre-based art and design offer but also opens up wider creative industries opportunities through short courses or online learning.

Doug Rattray, Head of Department, Care and Creative Industries (Outer Hebrides), UHI North, West and Hebrides, said: “This qualification provides a much more flexible framework for us to offer a centre-based full-time art and design programme but also wider creative industries short courses if there is demand at Taigh Chearsabhagh. This framework also creates a platform for students to progress onto a wider array of undergraduate, postgraduate and research opportunities. I want to publicly thank those who have shared their experiences and insights and for helping the college adapt its offer in a way that continues to be of value to our rural and island communities and hope we can work together to promote our offer and the opportunities on the islands.”