Managing the shift from an independent higher educational institution to a University Faculty is the job of Acting Dean Cathy Macaslan. She admits that it may be seen as a daunting prospect, but is looking forward to achieving a period of stability and progress.

"This will be the second merger for the Northern College since Aberdeen College of education merged with Dundee College of Education 15 years ago. In that time, there has been a history of co-operation, dialogue and very hard work on the part of all those concerned," she said.

"The past 15 years has been a very dynamic period and we have learned how to negotiate and move forward whilst solving complex problems. We have become very good at that, so this merger will really be an opportunity for us at last to 'embed' as it were and grow with the University."

Ms Macaslan believes her new role, which will involve the incorporation and strategic development of the Faculty, will give her the opportunity to enhance the profile of teacher education within the University and more importantly the wider community.

The Faculty enjoys a broad portfolio of degree programmes with an international reputation with the full-time B.Ed (Hons) Primary, B.Ed (Hons) Music and the Postgraduate Certificates in both Primary and Secondary Education. It also supports teachers and other professionals with a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes delivered by distance learning. The Faculty attracts students from England, Ireland and increasingly, mainland Europe. The traditional postgraduate markets outwith Scotland are North America and Canada, with many students also coming from Africa to participate in their CPD Programmes. This neatly dovetails into the University's global strategy, which has seen an expansion of international recruitment.

However, one of the main benefits of the merger, according to Ms Macaslan, is the fact that student teachers will now learn alongside other professionals, such as lawyers and doctors.

"At the moment, our students can be physically isolated from other students, but this merger will allow them to benefit from a wider range of opportunities on offer from a much larger institution," she said.

"For example, the evolving agenda of schools is the integration of services for children and families around schools, and teachers are now expected to work with social workers, health professionals and community workers. This policy of inter-professional collaboration can only be enhanced by cross-disciplinary access to students and researchers of other professions.

"The fact that the University has a strong portfolio of Government-related research will help to inform our thinking on the development of our own curriculum and priorities for teacher education."

An experienced teaching professional, Ms Macaslan's background is firmly rooted in professional practice. Born in Troon, Ayrshire, she was educated at St Joseph's Academy in Kilmarnock before graduating from the University of Aberdeen with a BSc in 1975. She undertook primary teacher training at Aberdeen College of Education at a time when there was a teacher surplus, and she found herself back in Strathclyde, where she spent the next four years teaching at Hillend Primary School in Greenock. This was followed by a move back to the North-east, where her career snowballed as she moved from Boddam Primary School to Southpark in Fraserburgh, before taking up the post of Assistant Head Teacher at Meethill Primary School in Peterhead.

In 1984, Ms Macaslan joined the then Aberdeen College of Education, where she lectured in primary education and special needs for two years before returning to school as Head of Peterhead Central Primary School. Then in 1994, she returned to the College where she has remained ever since, firstly as deputy director of the BEd (Hons) programme and latterly as Director.

Ms Macaslan and her colleagues have a lot of plans for their new role at the University, not least the development of their current portfolio of programmes which are delivered through distance learning in Scotland and beyond, as well as the enhancement of their relationship with schools, professional agencies and the Local Authorities.

"It is also important to make a significant and distinctive contribution to the work already going on at the University of Aberdeen," she said.

"In particular, we want to widen opportunities for all kinds of learners through promoting the principle of inclusion.

"This is a broad principle, which embraces the idea that education, and access to education, is for everyone of all ages, locations and levels of ability and this, of course, is associated with the idea of lifelong learning and helping people access a continuum of relevant educational provision."