Regional Engagement | About | The University of Aberdeen

Regional Engagement

As a civic university, we are deeply committed to working in partnership with our region. Our teaching, research, and innovation are shaped by the needs and aspirations of our local communities, ensuring that our work delivers meaningful impact.

We welcome people from all backgrounds to engage with us - whether by visiting our campuses, attending public events, or collaborating through our teaching and research. Through strategic partnerships and a strong focus on inclusion, we also strive to broaden access to higher education, support regional economic growth, and foster a culture of shared knowledge and civic responsibility.

Highlighted below are just some of the many ways the University is working collaboratively across our region to address local priorities, drive innovation, and create lasting impact.

Business, Enterprise and Innovation

people around a table watching a woman give a presentation

ABVentures

ABVentures is the University's free support program for students, recent graduates (within two years), and staff to explore and launch entrepreneurial ideas, offering 1:1 business advice, funding opportunities, skill-building workshops, and networking within the ABVenture Zone co-working space, which is co-located with our Business School on our King’s College campus.

A group of people standing outside a very modern building

ONE BioHub

The University is a strategic partner in ONE BioHub, a life sciences innovation hub located at the Foresterhill Health Campus. Led by Opportunity North East (ONE) and supported by the UK and Scottish Governments, the BioHub is designed to accelerate the commercialisation of life sciences research.

A large modern building with a curved roof

National Decommissioning Centre

The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) is a partnership between the University and the Net Zero Technology Centre, based in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire. The Centre supports businesses by providing advanced facilities and research expertise to develop cost-effective, low-carbon solutions for energy sector decommissioning.

Education and Skills

Person sitting on barrel of a wind turbine

National Energy Skills Accelerator

The University of Aberdeen is a founding partner of the National Energy Skills Accelerator (NESA), a collaborative initiative aimed at equipping the workforce with the skills needed for the energy transition.

Football player shaking hands with child

Aberdeen FC Community Trust

The University and Aberdeen FC Community Trust (AFCCT) work together in communities throughout the north-east of Scotland, providing support and input to the Trust’s successful school and community engagement programme to encourage pupils to consider coming to university.

Four people standing next to a Project Search banner

DFN Project SEARCH

A one-year internship for young people with learning disabilities and/or autism, hosted on campus and delivered with partners including North East Scotland College and Values Into Action Scotland. It supports employability and workplace inclusion.

STEMovators

The University partners with STEMovators, a project run by Prosper, to bring school pupils and teachers into our state-of-the-art Science Teaching Hub, giving them the skills and confidence to engage with STEM subjects.

Social and Community

Aberdeen Law Project

Aberdeen Law Project is the first student founded, led and operated law project in the United Kingdom. The project has worked to improve access to justice for lower income households in the north-east of Scotland whilst providing practical experience for students under the supervision of legal practitioners.

A researcher in a lab shows a child a piece of equipment

Public Engagement with Research

Through initiatives like Explorathon and CaféSci, which brings science to the public in informal settings, the University connects researchers with communities across Scotland, making academic research accessible and relevant to everyday life.

The Bounds Counselling and Research Centre

The University is a leading training provider for counsellors and works with a range of mental health partners, such as Penumbra and SAMH. The Bounds is a research centre and free community counselling service within our School of Education which supports our counselling and psychotherapy courses.

Parade of soldiers at the university on remembrance sunday

Armed Forces

The University has strong links with the Armed Forces, through the Military Education Committee and the University Officer Training Corps. The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the University to do all it can to ensure that this community is treated fairly and not disadvantaged in their day-to-day lives.

Culture and Heritage

Old Aberdeen Library

The University collaborates with Aberdeen City Council to host a public library service called the Old Aberdeen Library on the ground floor of the Sir Duncan Rice Library building. This restored a council lending library to the Old Aberdeen and surrounding area for the first time since the 1990s.

Chinese dancers in traditional dress giving a performance in the library plaza

Cultural Events & Festivals

The University enriches regional culture through events, exhibitions and assets like the WayWORD Festival, which champions creative expression and inclusion, the Confucius Institute, and the Elphinstone Institute, which preserves and promotes North-East Scotland’s folk traditions and heritage.

Zoology Museum

The Zoology Museum offers free public access to one of the most extensive zoological collections in the north of Scotland, featuring specimens ranging from protozoa to whales. It serves as a valuable educational resource for schools, families, and community groups, with regular student-led tours and interactive exhibits.

Culture North East

The University is a member of Culture North East, a collaborative cultural network for Aberdeen City and North East Scotland which supports creativity, connection, and collective action. This partnership aims to implement a shared vision of enhancing the city-region’s vibrant cultural scene, making it more accessible and engaging for all.

Health, Sport and Wellbeing

Aberdeen Sports Village

The University and Aberdeen City Council are partners in Aberdeen Sports Village (ASV), a premier community sports and leisure facility situated near our historic King’s College campus. ASV offers a wide variety of sporting facilities and activities, along with meeting rooms and cafes.

Sign welcoming people to Foresterhill Health Campus

NHS Grampian

The Foresterhill Health Campus is jointly owned by the University and NHS Grampian, and includes our Medical and Dental Schools, Rowett Institute, Suttie Centre, Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre, and the Institutes of Applied Health Sciences (IAHS) and Medical Sciences (IMS).

Aberdeen Dental Outreach Centre

Aberdeen Dental Outreach Centre is a postgraduate dental training centre which treats unregistered patients within student teaching clinics. Student treatment, provided within NHS Grampian dental clinics, is free of charge, and is supervised by fully qualified and experienced dentists.

Aberdeen Football Club

As we are the club’s Official Education Supporter, Aberdeen Football Club host educational sessions for our business and sports science students throughout the year. Several students also undertake paid work placements at the club.

Environment and Sustainability

North East Scotland Biological Records Centre

NESBReC maintains a database of biodiversity information and the University is represented on an advisory board. Our staff and students are also major contributors as well as users of the data held by the Centre.

Lighthouse Field Station

A 30-year initiative which seeks to understand how natural and man-made environmental changes influence the behaviour and population dynamics of marine mammals and seabirds. Located in Cromarty, on the Moray Firth, the research is ideally placed to inform resource management and energy transition.

North East Scotland Ecology Network (NESEN)

As one of the founding members, the University hosts an annual science day every three years, which is held jointly with the James Hutton Institute, Scotland’s Rural College, Marine Directorate and Joint Nature Conservation Committee. NESEN aims to promote ecological science, improve the sharing of information and support collaborations between ecologists in the region.

Cruickshank Botanic Garden

The Cruickshank Botanic Garden was founded in 1898 following a gift from Miss Anne Cruickshank. The garden has a large variety of trees, plants and flowers and is a valuable educational resource which is open to the public and free of charge. The garden is a partnership between the University, Cruickshank Charitable Trust and Friends of the Cruickshank Botanic Garden.

Supporting Local Government

Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Aberdeen

Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Aberdeen is a five-year initiative funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Led by Aberdeen City Council, and in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen, NHS Grampian and Robert Gordon University, we contribute our research expertise to help build a culture of evidence-based decision-making within local government.

Community Planning Aberdeen

The University is a core partner in Community Planning Aberdeen - a strategic partnership of public, private, and third-sector organisations working together to improve outcomes for people across the city. Through this collaboration, the University contributes to the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) and supports initiatives in education, health, sustainability, and civic empowerment.

Aberdeen City Region

The University is a member of the North East Scotland Regional Economic Partnership, working with local government, industry, and education providers to deliver the region’s economic strategy. We are a delivery partner in the Aberdeen City Region Deal and play a leading role in the North East Scotland Investment Zone, helping drive growth in the region’s green energy and digital sectors.

Visit Aberdeenshire

Our King’s College campus was founded in 1495 during the reign of King James IV of Scotland and sits within the historic burgh of Old Aberdeen. We work with VisitAberdeenshire and the Aberdeen Convention Bureau to enhance the on‑campus visitor experience and support efforts to attract international conferences and exhibitions to our region.