Aberdeen University plans to open new campus in India
The new venture would initially offer courses in subjects including computing and data science, AI, business, and economics. The target launch date for the plans is September next year.
Prof Siladitya Bhattacharya, vice-principal of global engagement at the university, said India had long been a "priority area" for its strategy.This includes student recruitment and research opportunities.He added: "We are looking forward to collaborating with our Indian partners to bring this vision to life and further bolster ties between Scotland and India through education and research".Aberdeen is currently one of a number of Scottish universities looking at ways of tackling financial pressures.
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Times
27 minutes ago
- Times
Conrad Singapore Marina Bay hotel review: a family-friendly hotel in the bay area
In-the-know visitors to Singapore tend to base themselves in one of two districts: Orchard Road, favoured by the retail enthusiasts, or the Marina Bay area, with its rich history and thriving business district (as well as plenty of shopping and food). In the latter, you will find Conrad Singapore Marina Bay, one of Singapore's most trusted luxury stays. This smart but unfussy 512-room hotel, which has been around for almost 30 years, continues to appeal to leisure and business travellers alike, with its ultra-friendly vibe, comfortable accommodation, excellent dining options and comparatively affordable rates — at least by Singapore standards. Service is personal and warm and, perhaps most surprisingly for a hotel of this calibre, never snooty. Become a subscriber and, along with unlimited digital access to The Times and The Sunday Times, you can enjoy a collection of travel offers and competitions curated by our trusted travel partners, especially for Times+ members This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue Score 7/10Spacious and comfortable, the rooms at Conrad Singapore Marina Bay range from the more-than-adequate 40 square-metre Deluxe rooms — which have sofas, city views and marble bathrooms with separate baths and showers — to the plush 143 square-metre Conrad Suite with its separate bedroom, living and dining areas, as well as a walk-in wardrobe and powder room, and an indulgent marble bathroom with a large tub and glass shower. Not the most tech-forward in terms of nifty switches or gadgets, but oh-so comfortable, all rooms come with a choice of king or twin beds, double vanities and a pillow menu featuring no fewer than 14 options (from anti-allergy or buckwheat to Japanese tatami, famous for its natural cooling and circulation-promoting properties). Depending on how high up you are, the views can be anything from adequate to jaw-dropping, overlooking the city, Marina Bay or the Suntec City Fountain of Wealth. Families will appreciate the adjoining Deluxe Family Rooms and Two-Bedroom Family Suites. Score 9/10If you live for an expansive breakfast buffet, then prepare to be blown away by the endless cold and hot, healthy and less healthy, western and Asian options on offer at Oscar's. The dinner buffet here is even more formidable, featuring a seafood-on-ice section with crab legs and freshly shucked oysters, as well as on-demand noodles, tandoori and carving stations. For guests staying in suites or executive rooms, a less capacious, more relaxing breakfast is served in the 31st-floor executive lounge, followed by afternoon tea and evening drinks. Lovers of Hong Kong-style Chinese fine dining should steer their course for the fantastic Golden Peony, specialising in dim sum and dishes such as abalone and double-boiled bird's nest, while those with a sweet tooth can tuck into the sumptuous afternoon tea in the Lobby Lounge. • Best things to do in Singapore• Best hotels in Singapore Score 8/10The first thing you will notice on entering the lobby is the striking red Turbulence sculpture by Venezuelan artist Rafael Barrios, a bold introduction to the hotel's contemporary art collection that features some 3,400 bespoke works. The principles of feng shui are present throughout the building, from the lobby representing the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, to the rooms designed to promote balance and serenity. There is even more of that in the family-friendly Conrad Spa, which offers Asian-inspired massages, facials and body treatments. Fitness enthusiasts will appreciate the bright, 24-hour fitness centre, kitted out with Technogym equipment, which also offers complimentary HIIT and yoga classes, as well as guided runs along the bay, while families may prefer to seek counteract the sweltering heat in the sizeable, lap-friendly outdoor swimming pool. Score 9/10Conrad Singapore Marina Bay is within easy striking distance of all Singapore has to offer. For those who enjoy exploring the city on foot, the Waterfront Promenade and Esplanade Park are a short stroll away. Alternatively, for some of that sweet air-conditioning, the hotel has two shopping centres — Millenia Walk and Suntec City — on its doorstep. The vibrant, historic and food-loving neighbourhoods around Jalan Besar and Haji Lane are less than ten minutes away by taxi, while the closest MRT (Mass Rapid Transit, or Underground) station is a three-minute walk away at Promenade, with easy connections to Chinatown, Little India and the Botanic Gardens. Price room-only doubles from £210Restaurant mains from £15Family-friendly YAccessible Y Isabelle Kliger was a guest of Conrad Singapore Marina Bay ( • Best affordable hotels in Singapore• Best serviced apartments in Singapore Sign up to the Times Travel newsletter for weekly inspiration, advice and deals here
BBC News
32 minutes ago
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Aberdeen 'feverishly working' on new recruits, says Cormack
Aberdeen are "feverishly working" through various recruitment processes to identify players who can "fit the key roles" in Jimmy Thelin's side, says chairman Dave Scottish Cup winners have added forwards Nicolas Milanovic and Kusini Yengi, defender Emmanuel Gyamfi and goalkeeper Nick Suman to their insists "patience" is required as the Dons remain "disciplined" in their pursuit of more incomings, but he expects "another three or four" to come in this summer."The important thing for us is to be disciplined in the decisions we make in bringing players in," the chairman said in a wide-ranging interview, external. "There's a lot of competition for the same players, particularly young players in Scotland. "We just need to be disciplined because with this player trading approach we have, we're making a decision to lose £3m or £4m operationally a year as a club."To do that, you need to balance out with, if we're going to spend that more on wages, which will help us - for example, on transfer fees - then the player training model is important for the club."At the forefront of that model is head of recruitment Nuno de Almeida, who worked with manager Thelin at Elfsborg."We've probably doubled our scouting [with the team in place]," added Cormack. "We've got full-time scouts in Scandinavia and in southern Europe working with Nuno and they are feverishly working through groups of players we believe can fit the key roles Jimmy's still looking to fill."It really is a case of trying to be patient and allowing these guys to get on with their work."
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
Starmer's approach to welfare reform 'appalling'
First Minister John Swinney has accused the UK government of taking an "absolutely appalling" approach to welfare reform. MPs have backed changes to the social security system, but only after Labour ministers made major concessions to rebels that removed the bulk of the proposals for reforming disability benefits. Swinney said his own administration had taken "hard decisions", including tax rises, to fund a more generous system north of the border. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the bill still made the welfare system "better for individuals, better for the taxpayer and better for the economy". The Labour government's original reforms included changes to Universal Credit and tightened rules for those applying for the Personal Independence Payment (Pip).But ministers were forced to strip their bill of most of its significant measures under the threat of a backbench rebellion, despite having already watered down the changes to Pip would not have directly applied in Scotland, where the benefit is being phased out for a devolved alternative. Swinney described the handling of the reforms as "shocking".He told BBC Scotland News the proposals had "essentially preyed on some of those vulnerable within our society". The first minister said the UK government had now "essentially deserted their proposals".He said: "But what we've got to recognise in Scotland is that we must take our decisions and act in a completely different fashion to the process being taken by Westminster."The Scottish government has used its devolved powers over social security to set up a more generous system than in the rest of the UK - but that comes at a cost. According to the Scottish Fiscal Commission, social security spending reached £6.1bn in 2024-25. It is forecast to rise to £7.7bn next year and to more than £9bn by on social security in Scotland is already £1.2bn higher than the block grant funding it receives from the Treasury. The gap is forecast to grow to £2bn by the end of the decade. 'Hard decisions' To continue to fund the more generous system, Holyrood ministers will have to find £2bn from elsewhere in the budget, or from an increase in taxation. Scotland already has different income tax rates than in the rest of the UK. Those earning less than £30,300 pay slightly less in income tax than they would south of the border, while higher earners pay said: "That's the hard decisions we've taken on tax as a government to ask those who earn higher levels of salary within Scotland, to contribute more to our public finances, to make sure that we can run a fair social security system within Scotland."He accused the UK government of "ducking" the issue of income said there were a "range" of options the UK government could use to better "protect the vulnerable", citing taxation or a change to the Treasury's self-imposed fiscal UK government's original welfare bill was expected to save £5bn a year by 2030. The last-minute concessions to Labour rebels are expected to have significantly reduced any savings. Cabinet minister Pat McFadden told the BBC that his government would stick to Labour's pre-election pledge that it would not raise income tax. Pressed at Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir declined to repeat that guarantee. The prime minister said the bill would end mandatory reassessment of those with severe disabilities, "re-balance" Universal Credit and set out "a pathway to reform" of added: "It's consistent with the principles I set out throughout. If you can work, you should work. If you need help into work, the state should provide the help."The UK government had initially planned to limit eligibility for Pip, the main disability benefit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and freeze the health-related element of Universal is being replaced by a devolved benefit, the Adult Disability Payment, in Scotland. However, any cuts to funding for Pip would have had a knock-on effect to the Scottish government's Credit is paid to Scottish claimants by the UK government, meaning any reforms would directly affect people north of the to the Labour administration's own impact assessment, the reforms would have pushed an extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into relative poverty by 2030. But ministers said that figure did not take into account a £1bn package of support to help disabled people and those with long-term conditions into work. The UK government argued Treasury spending on working-age benefits, forecast to rise by £27bn to £75.7bn by 2030, was unsustainable. But ministers were forced to water down the plans after more than 120 Labour rebels threatened to vote down the bill, with Scottish Labour MP Brian Leishman calling the reforms "horrific" for disabled the government's revised proposals, an estimated 150,000 people would have been pushed into poverty by 2030. Almost a third of Scottish Labour's cohort at Westminster joined the initial rebellion against the proposed welfare changes. However, most voted in favour of the bill on Tuesday after the government, in effect, removed some of the most significant reforms at the last minute to stave off Scottish Labour MPs – Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth), Irene Campbell (North Ayrshire and Arran), Tracey Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) and Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) – voted against the bill. The government has now promised that it will not change Pip rules until after a review of the benefit. Labour rebels have warned that if the government does not follow through on its pledge, the bill could still be defeated when it returns to the Commons next week.
