Double ministerial visit to University

Published: 16 April 2009

The Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander and Lord Drayson, the Minister of State for Science and Innovation both recently visited the University.

The Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander visited the University for discussions on the Faculty of Education’s international activities. Graham Caie, Vivienne Baumfield, Douglas Alexander and Kay Livingston

Vice Principal Professor Graham Caie, Professor Vivienne Baumfield and Professor Kay Livingston welcomed the Secretary of State and gave him an overview of the University’s impact in international development. Among those areas highlighted were: Department for International Development (DFID) funded research projects, Glasgow Centre for International Development, Global Citizenship Education as well as work by Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (CRADALL) and STEM Education.

Douglas Alexander later took part in a joint event hosted by the University and Oxfam which highlighted work by Dr Luis Angeles, Director of the centre for Development Studies and Dr. Alberto Paloni, Head of the Department of Economics.

In a separate visit, Lord Drayson, the Minister of State for Science and Innovation, spent several hours visiting the University on Thursday, 16 April prior to the Cabinet meeting held in the city that afternoon.

The centre piece of his visit was a presentation to 120 or so staff members in which Lord Drayson re-iterated his vision for science, presented earlier this year at http://www.foundation.org.uk/events/videos/20090204.htm. His description, on Twitter, read ‘attended very positive public meeting ahead of first cabinet meeting in Glasgow this afternoon’.

Prior to the presentation Lord Drayson visited the Institute for Gravitational Research in the Faculty of Physical Sciences. Professor Sheila Rowan hosted his visit, showing him around some of the key laboratories in the Kelvin Building. His online view was: ‘Very cool stuff on gravitational wave detection across the Universe.’
http://twitter.com/lorddrayson/status/1532913774

The final stage of the visit centred around knowledge transfer and nanotechnology. Professors Frank Coton, John Chapman and David Cumming, backed up by nine graduate students from Engineering and Physical Sciences, described the extensive University activity in these important fields. In the ensuing discussion all agreed on the importance of university-industry interaction, but all were equally adamant that the encouragement of growth in this area should not lead to a diminution of blue-skies, fundamental research.

First published: 16 April 2009

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