Professional Development Funding Opportunities
There are three different sources of funds for staff who wish to develop their professional skills.
1. Professional Development events related to your role
You can apply to CAPOD for part-funding to attend professional development events related to your role. For example, this may be a conference relevant to the work you do or a short technical course of the kind that CAPOD doesn’t offer in-house. Previously funded events have included day-courses in senior strategic leadership, finance for non-finance directors, specific IT software packages or HEaTED courses for technicians.
Check back here for examples from staff who have benefited from CAPOD funding support, and to read their reports.
2. Professional Qualifications related to your role
Examples of the types of applications CAPOD receives include postgraduate courses, open university short courses, qualifications offered by various professional bodies, and distance learning courses.
You can apply to CAPOD for part-funding in order to study for a professional qualification that’s relevant to your University role. In the past, awards have been made for staff undertaking an MBA, MSc, Postgraduate certificates, National Diplomas, or ECDL certificates. For qualifications that last more than one year, you must reapply for funding support each year. There is no guarantee that funding will be awarded each year.
Check back here for examples of staff who have benefited from CAPOD funding support, and to read their reports.
3. Universities Scotland Events
Universities Scotland is a consortium of Scottish Higher Education Institutions. A Management and Professional Development sub-group exists to provide collaborative professional development opportunities for staff across Scottish HEIs. The group runs regular events which will be posted on our online course booking system, PDMS: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/pdms
In cases where we don’t have similar courses running in-house CAPOD will fund the course fees of University of St Andrews support staff attending Universities Scotland events.
One course of particular value to new colleagues joining the HE Sector is the Introduction to HE course which runs every May in the Stirling Management Centre.
Check back here for examples of staff who have benefited from CAPOD funding support to attend Universities Scotland events, and to read their reports.
