Karen Tocher, business tourism manager at Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau, looks at the educational innovations and initiatives taking place in Dundee and Angus to create a breeding ground for the legends of the future…
In business, collaboration is key. To borrow an old cliché, the whole is worth far greater than the sum of its parts. And so too is it true in education: the ability to bring together teachings from a number of sources is invaluable when nurturing and training the innovators of the future, especially as we enter Scotland Year of the Young People in 2018.
In Dundee and Angus, collaboration is already a priority.
The James Hutton Institute works together with the University of Dundee and Abertay University – along with others around the world – to offer PhD programmes like no other; allowing researchers to study an incredible field of topics. And for proof of success, we need look no further than Shumei Wang, who was globally recognised when she was named Young Plant Scientist 2018 for her discovery of a new pathway involved in infection in the pathogen responsible for potato late blight.
Elsewhere in the region, educators are working hard to provide a stimulating environment for students of all ages, encouraging new thought and discussion to inspire the legends of tomorrow.
Abertay University has introduced a collaborative learning suite, filled with new technologies. Writeable walls and shared computing facilities allow students to collaborate on documents and projects in real time, and afford educators a new way of interacting with those they teach.
The University of Dundee – which received a gold award in the inaugural Teaching Excellence Framework in 2017 – has recently launched a pioneering new training programme for teachers, combining the existing PGDE qualification and the probationary year, to address the country’s shortage of STEM teachers.
And recently, two Dundonian teachers – Kelly MacDonald and Jill Sim – were recognised by the Scotland Women in Technology Awards for their work in encouraging young people in Dundee and Angus to embrace digital technology, providing the building blocks for legends of the future.
In education – as in business – it is incredibly important to look towards the future. And in Dundee and Angus, the emphasis is firmly on securing that future; on inspiring the innovators of tomorrow and providing them with the tools they require to achieve greatness, so that the ideas they have today really do become legend.
