Dr Emma Bolger

The final report for my Carnegie-funded research project,  Gaelic Medium Education: a career advantage for school leavers in Scotland?, is now available on our project website:  https://linktr.ee/gmecareers Over the last couple of weeks, I've been interviewed by both The Scotsman and The National , and I presented the findings for the first time at the leading Gaelic research conference,  Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig . There is more press coverage to come, and I'm also looking forward to speaking with stakeholders  in the weeks and months ahead  about the importance of the research. 

I was honoured to be asked to be the guest speaker at the Bill Law Memorial Award 2026.  My presentation, Valuing practitioner-led research , and the recording of the full event, can be accessed here: Recording Link

The initial findings of our landmark research project exploring the career advantages of Gaelic Medium Education (GME) will be presented for the first time at the Rannsachadh na Gàidhlig conference this week. The project, led by myself and Ann Morrison, and titled Gaelic Medium Education: A career advantage for school leavers in Scotland? , investigates what senior phase pupils perceive as the added value of Gaelic and how equipped they are to capitalise on these advantages. The study also surveyed young adults aged 17–25 who had been through GME, to explore its relevance to their career outcomes. Independently funded by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, the research reveals that immersive Gaelic education delivers positive, long-term impacts. Key Findings Career advantages: Young people believe GME provides clear, tangible benefits that enhance employability, career opportunities and overall wellbeing Impact: Benefits were recorde...

Thank you to the Career Matters editorial team for putting my book forward for review, and in turn for the glowing review from Sally-Ann Monger. It's great to see the book being received exactly how I hoped it would by freelance practitioners. Image of the review below, I can share an accessible version if required. 

From Review to Opportunity: Expanding Interdisciplinary Curricula and Practice in Higher Education Undergraduate Interdisciplinarity is increasingly positioned as essential to addressing complex social, environmental, and economic challenges, yet there remains limited clarity about how interdisciplinary engagement is introduced, sustained, and developed across learners’ educational journeys. This paper examines pathways for interdisciplinary activity through a critical review of interdisciplinary curricula and practice, drawing on an institutional case study of a large, open access university with a longstanding tradition of multidisciplinary provision.  Using secondary data, comparative analysis of UK interdisciplinary programmes, and institutional reflection, the paper explores the distinction between multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary learning, and interdisciplinary practice, arguing that these differences are often blurred in both curriculum design and external discourse. The...

It is Seachdain na Gàidhlig - World Gaelic Week 2026! On Wednesday 25th February, I will be sharing publicly for the first time some of the findings from my research on the impact of Gaelic Medium Education on young people’s careers. As the keynote speaker at the Career Development Institute Conference (Scotland), I will be speaking about the career value of Gaelic Medium Education. The keynote will cover: An overview of Gaelic Medium Education Why there is a need for specific research into Gaelic Medium Education and careers A summary of the research project, Gaelic Medium Education: a career advantage for school leavers in Scotland? funded by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, under the Research Incentive Grant Scheme (Principal Investigator: Dr Emma Bolger, Research Assistant: Ann Morrison) The research findings indicate that Gaelic appears to offer career-long benefits, during education, post-school and into the early stages of adulthood, particularly in enhan...

I'm the Keynote speaker today at the National Research Conference for Career Practitioners. In my keynote I speak about the how we need to shake up our perspectives on how we value research. Good research does one thing: it fulfils its purpose. I believe we need to move away from hierarchies and prescribed structures to better ensure that our research meets the audience it needs to meet. In doing so, we can prioritise ourselves as researchers; conducting and sharing our knowledge in manner that suits us best, to the benefit of all.  And in a possible juxtaposition for a research conference, I also speak about how not wanting to be a visible researcher is also ok.  My slides for my Keynote are available here: Appropriate Outputs For more information about the innovative researcher skills development module YXM830, Advance your independent learning, that I tutor on for the Open University , go to: Advance your independent learning My book, The Career Professional's Guide to Rese...