News in brief, 24 June, 2019
Published: 23 June 2019
A roundup of news across the University
The University of Glasgow has unveiled its own branded gin, created by a former Arts student
Helen Stewart from Badvo Distillery near Pitlochry has worked with the University to create the exclusive branded version of her gin which is called 1451 – commemorating the year the institution was founded.
It was launched last week for the Summer Graduations 2019.
Ms Stewart, an English Literature and Linguistics graduate, created the new gin which has been distilled with 100% hand-foraged botanicals from the Perthshire hill farm which has been in her family since 1599. The taste of the gin is predominantly sweet apple with a wild mint finish.
The farmer, forager and founder of Badvo Distillery, said: “I have been so lucky to have had great support from the University of Glasgow when I began setting up my business.
“I am delighted to now be back and working with the University to create a great Scottish gin for a great Scottish institution.”
The Stewart family established Badvo Hill Farm on the 7 July 1599. The site of Helen’s Badvo Gill Distillery was previously used for small batch distilling as detailed in a family handbook.
Matthew Williams, General Manager at University of Glasgow Retail, said: “We had first thought about creating our own whisky. But I came across Helen and learned about her story - it felt right especially as Scottish Gin has seen such a resurgence in recent years. We are absolutely delighted to partner with Badvo to create 1451.”
Cancellation of City Bus 15 Milngavie/City service
City Bus has confirmed it is cancelling its Milngavie/City service with effect from the end of this month. The last day of the service will be Saturday, 29 June.
The route is being taken over by McGill's from the 1 July but the replacement service, as currently configured, is not expected to connect Garscube and the main Gilmorehill campus. The new McGills service will operate a limited hourly timetable from Milngavie Station to Anniesland Cross.
The University plans to hold further meetings with SPT and will keep staff and students updated with any further information.
Updated travel information can be found here.
Professional Services (non-academic) staff position on University Court (governing body)
A position for a member of Professional Services staff on the University Court (governing body) is available. It is open to candidates from all the University’s Professional Services staff (i.e. those on Management, Professional and Administrative (MPA), Operational, or Technical and Specialist grades). Subject to external approval of a formal governance document, the position will be available on 1 August 2019, or from October 2019 if this approval is delayed over the summer.
If you wish to stand for the position, you will need to be nominated, with support from at least 25 members of the electorate. The electorate is all full-time and part-time MPA, Operational, and Technical and Specialist staff on the University payroll in June 2019. The nomination must be accompanied by the candidate's signed acceptance of the nomination. Further details, including the nomination form and information that is requested from candidates, are available from the link at the Court Office website at https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/courtoffice/
The website also gives some more information about the University Court and its work.
The deadline for nominations and provision of information from candidates is 5pm on Friday 12th July 2019. An electronic ballot will be held if there is more than one eligible candidate. The ballot will be run in mid to late July.
If you have any questions, please contact the Court Office Deborah.Maddern@glasgow.ac.uk
EU award for Childsmile campaign
The national oral health improvement programme in Scotland, Childsmile, which is funded by the Scottish Government and was developed and evaluated by UofG researchers, has received a certificate of "best practice" from the European Commission.
Professor Lorna Macpherson, Professor of Dental Health at the Glasgow Dental School and Co-Director and Evaluation Lead for Childsmile, accepted the award on behalf of the programme and will also present Childsmile "best practice" to EU Member State Representatives to enable them to make well-informed decisions about whether a given best practice, such as Childsmile, could be of interest for transfer/implementation to their country.
She said: "I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of all those involved in the Childsmile programme across Scotland. It is good to see the approach we have taken recognised as public health 'best practice' and we are always pleased to share our experiences of developing and evaluating the programme with others, with a number of countries already adopting the Childsmile approach.”
The methods used to develop Childsmile have been described as well-grounded and the establishment of a continuous solid evaluation is commended, with the research and evaluation methodologies described as valid, rigorous and clearly articulated.
Since the programme commenced, there have been major improvements in the oral health of children in Scotland with the percentage of "decay-free" five-year-olds increasing from 45% in 2003 to 71% in 2018.
UofG crowdfunding pilot Spark Funder
This year we have launched a pilot crowdfunding platform which we have named Spark Funder. Spark Funder is the University of Glasgow’s online fundraising platform which aims to fund projects and spark endless possibilities, writes Michaela Mitchell, Regular Giving Manager & Clerk to the Chancellor's Fund.
Spark Funder works with the Chancellor’s Fund to ensure all projects promoted boost the aims and strategic values of the University whilst having the biggest impact on Glasgow and global community. Our Chancellor’s Fund Board, made up of staff, donors, alumni and members of the community, will carefully select projects put forward by the Heads of Colleges and University Services to ensure all projects have the widest reach.
Spark Funder works alongside the Chancellor’s Fund; from now on all applications received will have the potential to be funded by the Chancellor’s Fund and/or receive additional funds by using this platform or make up any outstanding costs the fund was not able to cover.
We decided to undertake crowdfunding at the University to boost the Chancellor’s Fund as this funding relies on a loyal base of donors, which is fantastic; however, it can mean that the funding available remains around the same or even less. Crowdfunding allows us to showcase a few specific, fantastic projects and create a real buzz and excitement around an immediate project raising the funds needed to cover higher-valued projects or projects that might not normally get funding.
The projects selected for Spark Funder will be published twice a year, once in April and once in October. We will select four projects each round to promote. We will try to make these as diverse as possible and attempt to represents all four Colleges, so please do encourage as many applicants to select crowdfunding as possible.
Find out more about Spark Funder projects.
Congratulations from the Principal
Principal and Vice-Chancellor Sir Anton Muscatelli has given his personal congratulations to Dr Theodore Koutmeridis, Senior Lecturer in Economics, who last year received an early career prize - the RSE/Henry Duncan Medal - for his work.
The Principal said: “I would like to offer my warmest congratulations to Dr Koutmeridis. It is a fantastic honour to be recognised by the RSE and this early career prize is a testament to Theodore’s excellent scholarship and research on economic inequality and crime."
Double Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes visited the University last week
Double Olympic Champion Dame Kelly Holmes delivered a motivational seminar to University staff last week.
One of the UK’s most popular athletes, respected throughout the world as a role model and an inspiration, Dame Kelly told the packed audience of the highs and lows in her running career and what inspired her to continue in her goal of achieving Olympic gold. Soon after her Olympic win, she set up the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. The charity helps guide disadvantaged young people, getting their lives back on track.
Dame Kelly is also active in Malawi, running the Orbis Challenge which is the ultimate Malawi challenge: running Mulanje mountain, cycling across Zomba Plateau. and kayaking on Lake Malawi.
The University of Glasgow and its institutes have many research links and ongoing projects with Malawian institutions, the largest of these being the Blantyre-Blantyre project and the MalDent project: both seek to improve health provision, dental teaching and health policy across Malawi.
Institutes across the College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences worked together to stage this successful event; hosting Dame Kelly were Professor Iain McInnes, Director, Institute Infection, Immunity & Inflammation; Professor Andy Waters, Director, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology: Professor Jeremy Bagg, Head of the Glasgow Dental School; and Professor Naveed Sattar, Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences.
Professor McInnes said: “This was a truly remarkable event - an inspired exemplar of what is possible when beliefs meet a strong sense of purpose."
First published: 23 June 2019