Connecting Scotland : Sponsors

BAA Scotland is the owner and operator of Scotland's three largest airports - Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, which together handle over 20 million passengers and 345,000 aircraft movements every year. Our airports support 32,000 jobs across Scotland and collectively contribute nearly £1.5 billion to the Scottish economy every year. We have never been more focused on improving Scotland's connections with the world, with over 130 destinations now served from our airports and new services to Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Croatia, Portugal and Norway due to start during 2009. For more information please visit www.baa.com.

Brodies LLP offers legal advice across its core business areas of corporate and commercial, property, litigation, banking and financial services, employment and trust & tax. Rated top tier in a number of key practice areas in the leading independent legal directories, and home to some of the country's leading experts, the firm has cemented its position as the largest law firm headquartered and solely based in Scotland and the outstanding firm in its region in terms of leading lawyer numbers, focus on core markets, sustained profitable growth and quality client service. www.brodies.co.uk

Determined to Succeed is the Scottish Government’s strategy for enterprise in education. At its heart lies successful partnerships between schools and employers. Getting involved in education enables businesses to connect with Scotland’s young talent and its future workforce. It also enables the companies involved to motivate and develop the skills of their current workforce - introducing employees to new and innovative ideas in a stimulating and inspiring environment and in a cost effective way. For more information visit www.determinedtosucceed.co.uk.

Envirowise is a Scottish Government-funded programme dedicated to putting the sustainable use of resources at the heart of Scottish business practice. Envirowise offers businesses of all sizes and sectors a wide range of free, independent and practical advice designed to increase profit and improve their processes and competitiveness. Contact the Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585794 or register at www.envirowise.gov.uk/scotland for further information.

Learning and Teaching Scotland, an executive NDPB, provides advice, support, resources and professional development to the education community, creating a culture of innovation, ambition and excellence throughout Scottish education. LTS is one of the principle organisations responsible for the development of the new Scottish curriculum - Curriculum for Excellence. The aim of Curriculum for Excellence is to create world class learning experiences for every child and young person from 3 to 18, preparing them for life in the 21st Century. www.ltscotland.org.uk

As one of Scotland’s largest employers, Lloyds TSB Scotland is dedicated to playing its part in strengthening the economic and social base of the country. By adopting socially responsible practices, and actively engaging with all facets of society, we can create economic benefit for ourselves, our people and the communities where we do business. Our commitment to supporting retail and commercial customers across Scotland recognises that people in Scotland undergo different journeys throughout their lives, is demonstrated through the Bank’s strong focus on community regeneration, the arts, sports and of course, charitable giving. www.lloydstsb.co.uk

OPITO – The Oil & Gas Academy is the industry’s focal point for skills, learning and workforce development. The Academy is an industry funded, employer-led organisation committed to developing the oil and gas industry’s workforce capability now and in the future. The industry’s Academy achieves this by working with industry employers, the learning supply chain (training/learning providers, education and academia) and partnership organisations where joint action realises mutual benefit. www.opito.com

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world’s largest enterprise software company, providing database, middleware, and collaboration products; enterprise business applications; application development tools; and professional services that help customers collaborate, grow, measure outcomes, and report results with confidence. For more than 30 years, Oracle has led the industry through continuous innovation and a relentless focus on customer success. For more information, visit www.oracle.com.

Scottish Enterprise is Scotland’s main enterprise, innovation and investment agency. Working in partnership with industry, academia and the public sector, SE aims to help make Scotland a place where business can thrive and key industries can be competitive. Its focus is to help businesses grow, encourage greater innovation and create the right conditions for companies to access property, markets and finance to increase productivity and increase Scotland’s ability to compete internationally. For more information www.scottish-enterprise.com.

Shell U.K. Limited is a leader in the UK sector of the North Sea, operating on behalf of Shell, Esso and other co-venturers. It employs directly and indirectly around 5000 in Scotland (circa 9000 in the UK) with about half of the Scottish total based at the Aberdeen headquarters of the Exploration and Production division. The company also operates gas plants at St. Fergus, near Peterhead, and at Bacton, in Norfolk, along with the Mossmorran NGL (natural gas liquids) plant in Fife. Offshore, the company has interests in 56 oil and gas fields and is operator of 48 of those. www.shell.co.uk

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. SPT is the biggest transport partnership in Scotland and has a strategic duty to improve connections across Strathclyde, to develop the transport network and to change people’s travel habits. A partnership organisation, it is made up of 12 constituent councils represented by elected local councillors on a board. SPT owns and runs the Glasgow Subway, used by 14 million passengers a year, and provides subsidised bus services where no commercial services exist. Every day we transport 47,000 pupils to and from school and are also responsible for bus stations, bus stops, travel centres, three major park and ride sites and other support infrastructure. SPT employs almost 700 people across the west of Scotland. www.spt.co.uk

SQA is an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) sponsored by the Scottish Government Schools Directorate. It is the national body in Scotland responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and certification of qualifications other than degrees. www.sqa.org.uk

T-Mobile is one of the world’s largest mobile operators with more than 125 million customers worldwide. In the UK it is the service provider of choice for over 17 million customers and employs 6,400 people. www.t-mobile.co.uk