UHI North, West and Hebrides Board Heads to Stornoway for Two-Day Visit
The UHI North, West and Hebrides Board of Management recently made the journey to the Western Isles for their quarterly meeting. Over two days, members had the chance to experience first-hand the communities, businesses, and transformative projects that sit at the heart of what UHI North, West and Hebrides is here to do.
The board convened at the Stornoway campus for their quarterly meeting, with members travelling from across the region to take part. It was a welcome opportunity for the board, led by Chair Derek Lewis, to meet in one of the institution's most vibrant island communities, and a reminder of the geography our institution spans every single day. Members had the chance to experience the campus and its facilities in person.
One of the highlights of the visit was an engagement breakfast with local business leaders and employers from across Lewis and Harris. Hearing directly from local employers about their workforce needs, their ambitions, and their challenges. The energy in the room reflected a Western Isles business community that is doing anything but standing still, with the islands very much at the centre of Scotland's clean energy story.
After the breakfast, the board visited the Creed Hydrogen Skills and Innovation Centre at Creed Enterprise Business Park, just south of Stornoway.
The centre, a partnership between UHI North, West and Hebrides, PlusZero Ltd, and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, is an exciting development that our institution is involved in. Plans include a green hydrogen production, storage, and training facility for immersive learning.
UHI North, West and Hebrides offers the only dedicated Hydrogen PDA in Scotland, enabling learners to achieve the SQA-recognised PDA Hydrogen: An Introduction for Technicians (SCQF Level 7) qualification.
The visit gave board members the opportunity to see the scale of the ambition: a facility that is attracting students from across Scotland to Stornoway, putting the Western Isles firmly on the map as a national leader in clean energy skills.
The Arnish Industrial Complex and Deep Water Terminal are at the centre of a significant wave of investment, closely connected to the offshore wind ambitions that are reshaping the Highlands and Islands economy. A £7.2 million project is currently upgrading the Arnish Moor Road to improve access to the site, while HIE has been working on expanding the estate's fabrication and manufacturing capacity to support Scotland's net zero ambitions.
Our board members give their time voluntarily, and visits like this are a vital part of how they remain connected to the communities and campuses they serve. We're grateful to everyone who made the two days possible, from colleagues at the Stornoway campus who hosted the visit, to the local businesses who joined us for breakfast, and to the project teams at Creed who opened their doors.
If you'd like to find out more about the board and its members, visit the Board Members page.