Comment: Degrees that work

At Robert Gordon University, we see graduation not as an end point, but as a milestone in a journey that is already moving forward. Our students don’t leave asking “what next?”- they leave ready to step into the workplace, contribute from day one, and build their careers.

At a time when many graduates across the UK feel unprepared for employment, we have taken a different approach. We have for many years been focused on closing the gap between education and work by making them part of the same experience.

Our belief is simple: university should prepare you for life, not just exams.

Learning with purpose

At RGU, work‑integrated learning is not an add‑on - it is how we operate.

That includes placements, apprenticeships, live projects with employers, and realistic simulations that reflect the pressures and expectations of professional life.  Students build not only knowledge, but confidence, judgement and experience while they study.

The result is clear. RGU is ranked 1st in Scotland and 5th in the UK for graduate prospects.  More importantly, our graduates leave with the skills that employers are looking for - and the ability to use them. 

For a region like ours, that matters.

The North East depends on a steady flow of skilled people across healthcare, energy, business, the creative industries and beyond. Universities are a key part of that picture - not just educating students, but helping to strengthen the workforce and support economic growth.

Real-world impact, here at home

This year’s graduation week will bring that connection to life in a powerful and highly visible way.

Alongside ceremonies, students from RGU’s School of Health - including paramedicine and nursing students - will take part in a major incident exercise, on campus, simulating a gas explosion. Delivered in partnership with Police Scotland, the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, it will recreate the complexity, urgency and coordination required in a real emergency.

This is not a classroom scenario. It is a full-scale, multi-agency response exercise - the first of its kind at this scale for the University.

Students will work side by side with emergency professionals, responding to evolving conditions, making critical decisions under pressure and supporting casualties in real time. They will experience first-hand the pace, uncertainty and teamwork that define frontline care.

The value of this kind of learning cannot be overstated.

It develops not only clinical skills, but the judgement, communication and resilience needed when lives are at stake. It prepares students for the realities they will face from their very first shift.

And crucially, it strengthens the systems they are about to join.

Exercises like this build closer working relationships between future and current professionals, improve coordination across services, and contribute to a more resilient emergency response network for the North East.

Quite simply, this learning will save lives.

It is a powerful example of what happens when a university works in true partnership with public services - preparing students not just to enter the workforce, but to make an immediate and meaningful impact within it.

National recognition

That distinctive approach has not gone unnoticed.

This year, RGU was named Higher Education Institution of the Year - a recognition of the way we connect education with real-world outcomes and opportunities.

It reflects the strength of a model that is practical, collaborative and focused on delivering for students and for the wider economy.

Looking ahead

The world of work is changing quickly. Graduates need more than technical knowledge—they need resilience, adaptability and the confidence to apply what they know in unfamiliar situations.

That is what work‑integrated learning provides.

It ensures our students are not only ready for their first job, but are prepared for the changes and challenges that will follow.

A shared sense of pride

Graduation is, of course, a personal achievement for every student and their family. But it is also a moment for the wider community.

It is a chance to recognise what we, as a region, are producing: talented, capable people who are ready to contribute.

As we celebrate this year’s graduates, we do so with a strong sense of civic pride - not just in what they have achieved, but in what they will go on to do here in the North East and beyond.

Because at RGU, graduation is not a step into the unknown.

It is a step forward - into careers already taking shape, and into a future that this region can help build.

By Professor Lynn Kilbride, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Robert Gordon University