News in brief, 23 September 2019

Published: 23 September 2019

A round-up of news across the University

Applications for a parking permit open on 1 October

The annual application window to apply for a parking permit for either Gilmorehill, Garscube or Tay House for the period 1st January 2020 until 31st December 2020 will be live online from Tuesday 1st October 2019.

You will have the full month of October to apply up until midnight on Thursday 31st October 2019. Applications received after this date will not be considered unless covered under the criteria set against ‘applying outwith the annual application window’.

We would strongly encourage all applicants to familiarise themselves with the terms and conditions, information on permit types, costs and FAQs on the web site www.gla.ac.uk/parking prior to applying.

To apply for a permit from Tuesday 1st October 2019, please visit www.gla.ac.uk/parking and click ‘Apply for a Parking Permit’.

Permits under the new scheme will be assessed against set criteria which allocate points according to these criteria; there will be an appeal process against decisions as last year.

All queries relating to the application process please contact carparking@glasgow.ac.uk who will be happy to assist.

New Heads of School announced

College of Arts

School of Humanities - Professor Michael Brady
School of Critical Studies - Professor Alice Jenkins
School of Culture and Creative Arts - Professor Kate Oakley
School of Modern Languages & Cultures - Professor Vicente Perez De Leon

College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences 

School of Life Sciences - Professor Simon Guild
School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing - Professor Matthew Walters
Deputy head - Professor Jeremy Bagg
School of Veterinary Medicine - Professor Ewan Cameron

Research Institutes 

Institute for Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine - Professor Dan Haydon
Institute for Cancer Sciences - Professor Owen Sansom
Institute for Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences - Professor Rhian Touyz
Institute for Infection, Immunity & Inflammation - Professor Iain McInnes
Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology (IMCSB) - Professor Neil Bulleid
Institute for Neuroscience & Psychology (with College of Science & Engineering) - Professor Philippe Schyns 
Institute for Health and Wellbeing (with Social Sciences) - Professor Jill Pell

College of Science and Engineering

School of Chemistry - Professor Graeme Cooke
School of Computing Science - Professor Chris Johnson
School of Engineering - Professor David Cumming
School of Geographical and Earth Sciences - Professor Martin Lee
School of Mathematics and Statistics - Professor Ian Strachan
School of Physics and Astronomy - Professor Martin Hendry
School of Psychology - Professor Philippe Schyns
Research Institute
Institute for Neuroscience & Psychology (with College of MVLS) - Professor Philippe Schyns

College of Social Sciences

Business School (Adam Smith Business School) Professor John Finch
School of Education Prof Margery McMahon - 
School of Interdisciplinary Studies - Professor Carol Hill
School of Law - Professor Jane Mair
School of Social and Political Sciences - Professor Anne Kerr (Professor Michele Burman will continue in post until Professor Kerr joins at the start of November)
Institute for Health and Wellbeing (with MVLS) - Professor Jill Pell

 

Glasgow is one of 15 institutions to receive Wellcome funding for PhD programmes

The University of Glasgow is one of 15 institutions to receive Wellcome Trust funding worth £127m overall to support 23 PhD programmes in science.

The University's successful four-year programme is  "Integrative infection biology: mechanisms and control of disease", which is delivered by the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation.

Anne-Marie Coriat, Head of UK and Europe Research Landscape, Wellcome, said: "The new PhD programmes in science that we’re funding combine scientific excellence with a commitment to improving the working environment for trainees."

She added: "Excellence in science and culture can exist side by side. Each of the funded programmes is built on high-quality research training that will explore a wide range of exciting topics, from understanding the inner workings of distinct cell types to public health economics, from plant-based nutrition to health data science."

For more information: 4 ways that PhD programmes are improving their training culture

 

Graduate entrepeneur wins £400k seed funding

Graduate entrepreneur Joan Kangro has won a £400,000 funding injection to develop a smart lawnmower which uses artificial intelligence to trim golf courses.Joan Kangro 650

Kingdom Technologies Ltd was founded by the young Estonian who graduated MEng with a 1st class Honours in Mechatronics. His company is based in the Business Hatchery at the University of Glasgow.

Kingdom Technologies Ltd has developed a next-generation robot mower using Artificial Intelligence and patent-pending mapping technology which, it is claimed, will outperform existing products.

Joan is a third-time founder having started his first business - a student-tutoring business which is still active today - while in high school in Estonia. This is where his entrepreneurial ambitions were sparked; his secpnd business, GymDiary, was founded in his second year at University. This was a fitness app that helped the user to build a fitness plan, determine the most appropriate exercises to do to achieve the results they wanted and to track their progress.

Joan was lucky enough to be offered an internship at a robotics company in Italy for two consecutive summers. The experience he gained there changed his focus and led him to pursue the development of a robotic lawnmower for large terrains.

He took part in the Summer Company Programme , which runs from June until the end of August every year, in 2018, where he received £2500 in funding, 12 weeks’ incubation space, mentorship and access to the Student Enterprise Summer Workshop Programme. He also won the Jay Smith Innovation Award, which was set up by a local businessman in 2016, which gave him additional funding of £575.

On completion of the Summer Programme and after graduation, Joan was awarded a place on the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Unlocking Ambition Enterprise Fellowship Programme. HeJoan received £45K to take his business forward and was able to access additional support from the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Scotland. The University has continued to support Joan’s fellowship by providing office and laboratory space to enable his business to progress.

Joan has just closed a £400K seed funding round to take his business to the next level.

Funding has come from European early-stage investment firms Superangel and United Angels as well as a number of Scottish and Estonian investors.

When asked what advice he would give to someone about to start up Joan said: “To start up. I think that’s the main thing. There are so many unknowns that it’s hard to predict everything. Some people overthink it and say ‘Oh, it’s not the perfect idea’, or ‘I’m not sure it’s going to work’. You know, you can always pivot and try again later. We have pivoted a lot - from our market to our business model. We’ve pivoted everything there is. So I think the main thing is really just to start off and be willing to make changes. But at the end of the day, it comes down to being accepting and willing to put effort and make sacrifices. There are so many people who want to build a successful business but, in my opinion, the only way to achieve it is by working really hard.”

 

Japanese Guests Arrive in Glasgow for Henry Dyer Memorial Event

The University is hosting guests from Japan today (Monday, 23 September) as colleagues from the James Watt School of Engineering held the Henry Dyer Memorial Event.

The year 2023 marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Imperial School of Engineering in Tokyo by Henry Dyer, a graduate of both Anderson's College (now University of Strathclyde) and The University of Glasgow.

Henry Dyer was the founder of the Imperial School of Engineering in Tokyo - now part of the University of Tokyo. Dyer was a protégé of William Rankine, one of the fathers of engineering in Scotland, and was also a student of Natural Philosophy under Lord Kelvin. Dyer first enrolled at the University in 1868 aged 20 and succeeded in winning many academic prizes and scholarships for his work on natural philosophy, experimental physics, mathematics and civil and mechanical engineering. He went on to become Principal of the Imperial College of Engineering, Tokyo, a new institution created to educate generations of engineers who would contribute to the modernisation of Japan. For his efforts, the Japanese government appointed Dyer to the Order of the Rising Sun for his contribution to engineering education.

On his return to Glasgow, Dyer remained a proponent of, and friend to, the many Japanese students who would continue to train at the University of Glasgow. Additionally, in 1901, at Dyer's request, the University Court decreed that Japanese was to be an entry subject in the preliminary examination for aspiring students.

During today's event, the Principal and colleagues from the School of Engineering and beyond welcomed Ms Masami Fujimoto, Deputy Consul General of Japan and Mr Toshinori Sano, First Secretary (Education & Support), from the Embassy of Japan in the UK. The event also hosted presentations from Professors at the University of Tokyo as well as representatives from the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). This was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the legacy of Henry Dyer and the resulting long-standing links.

The University’s Archives Services also showed a collection of portraits, letters and records from Henry Dyer’s time as a student at the University of Glasgow. A document showing that Dyer won £10 for his essay on Newtonian’s principles in 1873 - equivalent to over £1000 nowadays - was particularly popular with guests.

 

 


First published: 23 September 2019