The Scottish government has promised to ¡°carefully consider¡± any further requests to provide emergency funding for the University of Dundee, amid an ongoing financial crisis at the institution.

Jenny Gilruth, the education secretary in the Holyrood administration, made the comments as an external task force charged with advising on Dundee¡¯s turnaround plan held its first meeting in the city.

Ministers have already provided ?22 million of bailout funding via the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to Dundee, where up to 700 jobs are set to go in a bid to close a ?35 million shortfall.

In addition to the task force, it has emerged that the Scottish deputy first minister, Kate Forbes, is chairing a cross-ministerial group to consider what further action Holyrood may be able to take to support Dundee.

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The developments indicate continuing concern for the future of the university. Appearing before MSPs last month, Dundee¡¯s leaders admitted that insolvency remained a ¡°real possibility¡± despite the bailout funding to date.

But ministers considering providing additional direct funding to Dundee have been advised to tread carefully, amid warnings that increased government funding and direction of the institution could see it in effect become part of the public sector ¨C a move that would push the university¡¯s liabilities on to taxpayers.

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The Scottish government said that the advisory group ¨C chaired by former Dundee principal Alan Langlands ¨C had ¡°agreed on the urgency of action required to advise and support the university to address its current financial difficulties¡±.

Alongside Langlands, a former University of Leeds vice-chancellor and ex-chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the advisory group includes representatives of Dundee City Council, business leaders, trade unions, students and government, as well as the university itself.

Gilruth, the education secretary since 2023, said that she was ¡°determined¡± that Dundee should ¡°thrive long into the future¡±.

¡°The Scottish Funding Council has already provided ?22 million to University of Dundee as support for liquidity, which is giving them the space and time to work through a plan for financial stability. Ministers have been clear we will carefully consider any further asks made to the government,¡± the minister said.

¡°Students should accept their offers from the university and can be confident in its future.¡±

The task force also includes the principals of the neighbouring Abertay University and University of St Andrews, as well as Dundee & Angus College, although whether any of these institutions would be prepared to underwrite any of Dundee¡¯s activities was unclear.

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Alongside the task force, the SFC is conducting an independent investigation into how Dundee¡¯s financial position went so wrong, so quickly, overseen by Pamela Gillies, the former principal of Glasgow Caledonian University. This will examine issues including governance, information flow, scrutiny and culture.

In a separate development, Dundee staff who are members of the Unite union have voted in favour of strike action in protest at planned job cuts. Members of the University and College Union have already walked out for three weeks, and have threatened further action.

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Langlands said the advisory group had expressed ¡°a collective commitment to support the university in ensuring its short-, medium- and long-term sustainability¡±, and that members ¡°respect[ed] the autonomy of the university¡±.

¡°Our discussion focused on the context in which it is operating, and the urgent need to tackle its financial difficulties, build on its strengths, and set out a clear plan for the medium- and long-term future¡­We hope that the support and advice we provide will be considered by the decision-makers in a timely manner,¡± Langlands said.

Dundee announced plans to cut 632 jobs early last month, blaming a drop in international student recruitment but also long-running underfunding, particularly of its research activities. It also blamed ¡°inadequate financial discipline and control; poor capital planning and investment decisions; [and] weak compliance in financial control policies and lack of accountability¡±.

Former principal Iain Gillespie, who stepped down in December, had faced criticism of his expenses, including a ?7,000 business-class trip to Hong Kong, as the university¡¯s problems mounted.

Shane O¡¯Neill, Dundee¡¯s interim principal, said: ¡°We welcome the support of Sir Alan and all parties involved with the advisory task force, which reflects the importance of the university to Dundee, the Tay Cities region and beyond, and the collective will to establish a more sustainable and successful future for the university.

¡°We will work with the task force, the Scottish government, the Scottish Funding Council and others to ensure we achieve that goal.¡±

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Details of the task force¡¯s activities emerged as the University of Edinburgh confirmed that about 350 staff were set to leave as it seeks to save ?140 million to stave off years of forecasted deficits.

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com