The City of Glasgow College is the very first to be awarded Best Practice in all six of the framework’s categories, putting it ahead of multinational organisations in the private sector.

Paul Little, Principal and Chief Executive at City of Glasgow College, said: “This represents an important milestone in our innovation journey and I’m extremely pleased that the hard work of Team City has been recognised in this way.

“As the first educational institute in Scotland to be awarded the Investors in Innovation Standard, and as host for the Scottish Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange, we are delighted to achieve this prestigious accolade.

“Innovation is essential to our college as we embark on an ambitious period of sustainable growth, and ensure our offer is responsive and aligned to the future needs, expectations and aspirations of students, industry and wider stakeholders.”

The validation process benchmarks the college’s approach to innovation. It has a demonstrable track record for creating social and economic value, implementing innovative products, services, processes and business models. It has moved towards an ambitious growth strategy engaging businesses, research and development activities and largescale sector transformation programmes.”

Investors in Innovations® offers a 360-degree view of an organisation’s innovation position through the eyes of its customers and stakeholders. It uses a well-defined six-category framework: Strategy and Alignment; Organisational Readiness; Core Capabilities, Technologies and IP; Industry Foresight; Customer Awareness; and Impact and Value.

It is used by multinational private sector companies, such as BAE Systems, Panasonic and Thales, as well as other educational institutions, government departments and agencies, to measure innovation capability and potential, and assess the health of innovation portfolios.