I wrote some time ago about the 3Es of employability, enterprise and entrepreneurism. That drew some interesting responses so time for another of my favourite alliterations, this time three words beginning with `I’ which are similarly controversial and frequently misunderstood within universities. From my perspective innovation is a set of processes and insights which …
Overseas students and the UKBA: Last Saturday I attended the Scottish Liberal Democrats Spring Conference, held at the West Park Centre in Dundee. As the Convener of Universities Scotland I was speaking at a lunch time fringe meeting on the value of overseas students to Scottish universities, alongside Vince Cable and one of our own …
As the UK coalition government’s popularity slips into the twilight zone you may think my choice of heading, and its association with the policy of austerity-driven deficit reduction, somewhat risky. But it is a phrase which can just as well be applied to success as to dealing with hard times. When I go out and …
This time last week I was speaking to MSPs at Holyrood who have an education brief regarding concerns about the Post 16 Education (Scotland) Bill which is currently in phase 1 of its passage through the Parliament. Briefly, we are seeking specific amendments to the Bill to avoid the prospect of its legitimate policy intent …
The New Year kicked off as it has done since 2004 with a celebration of excellence at Discovery Day 2013. A quick calculation will tell you that this was therefore the 10th annual Discovery Day programme featuring short presentations by our newly appointed or promoted professors to a broad audience from within and beyond the …
Last year at the start of January, rather foolishly perhaps, I made a New Year resolution stating three things I intended to do. Time therefore to take stock and make plans for 2013! Firstly, I said it was high time we made a commitment to rewarding teachers by clearly stating the criteria on which assessment …
I am just returning from my third visit to China, currently our most important overseas recruitment territory with more than 200 Chinese students studying in Dundee. I had hoped to get away for a few days from the hype of the pre-Christmas period which seems to start earlier and earlier in Scotland. And so I …
‘Making a difference’ is one of five values that underpin our University’s core purpose and vision for the future. It is about being part of a University that is fully engaged with the needs of society and which contributes to cultural, social and economic development. It goes back through our history to the first Principal …
I am returning from the briefest of visits to Delhi. It is my third visit to India in the last two years, reflecting the scale of opportunities that exist there for educational and research partnerships. Although India’s meteoric economic growth in recent years has stalled somewhat as the West reels in recession, its plans to …
Several years ago I was part of a working group the Senate had set up to examine the question of how teaching was valued within the University. After several weeks and many meetings our group concluded that academic staff should be rewarded in terms of career development and promotion for excellence in teaching independently of …