Principal's Report

Academics have always maintained that their activities were of fundamental importance for the economic, cultural and moral well-being of society. Despite this, Higher Education has in the past seldom featured high up on the political agenda. The year under review was in marked contrast. Student fees became the central issue in the Scottish Parliamentary elections, while the contribution of Universities was recognised as critical to developing the concept of the "Knowledge Economy". By the time this report is published, the outcome of the Committee of Inquiry into Student Finance chaired by Andrew Cubie (and the political response to it) will be known. Whatever is decided, it is fervently to be hoped that the three critical interlinked issues underlying the inquiry will be positively addressed: student hardship, maintaining the quality of Higher Education, and social inclusion. Widening participation in Higher Education by under-represented groups is certainly a common goal of all concerned. The University of Dundee has a proud record in this connection, with our Access Summer School and ASPIRE programmes acknowledged as examples of best practice in the sector. Recent evidence confirms that those who enter by the Access Summer School route without the traditional formal qualifications perform as well in degree results as those following more conventional pathways to Higher Education. Contributing to the economy has also been a notable feature of our endeavours. As one of the most research intensive Universities in the UK, we have long had a substantial Research and Innovation Services Unit which has commercialisation of research findings as an important part of its responsibilities. To protect its Intellectual Property, the University has an active portfolio of over 70 patents. In the past, licensing and royalty arrangements have been the principal method of exploitation, but more recently greater emphasis has been given to spin-out and start up companies and to joint research agreements. Shield Diagnostics and Cyclacel are examples of well established spin-out companies; Cypex and Argonex are among the latest exciting developments which demonstrate the quickening pace of development and the increasing attraction of Dundee as a place to locate. There are many more in the pipeline. We strongly encourage such a clustering of commercial ventures around the University, believing that this helps to create a dynamic intellectual climate to the benefit of all. Given this background, we are particularly delighted to have been successful in the Science Enterprise Challenge Competition in a consortium with the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde. The award of £4 million will be divided among the partners and will be applied to strengthen both the capability for commercialisation and the teaching of "entrepreneurship". Professor Malcolm Horner has been appointed as Director of Enterprise to spearhead this development in collaboration with the Research and Innovation Services Unit. Academics have always maintained that their activities were of fundamental importance for the economic, cultural and moral well-being of society. Despite this, Higher Education has in the past seldom featured high up on the political agenda. The year under review was in marked contrast. Along with the increasing public and political profile of Higher Education has come greater interest in published performance indicators. We may decry the league table culture which often obscures as much as it informs undoubtedly the quality of the ranking process in the unofficial tables can vary widely. But we are told that potential students (our customers) both in the UK and overseas as well as employers pay attention to them. If so, we hope that they will get a good impression of the lively, progressive and successful institution which is the University of Dundee. A ranking of top in the UK in one subject, in the top 5 in four others in one league table, a position of tenth (out of 97) in the UK in the official statistics for graduate employment, third in Scotland for research earnings and to have two of our leading scientists (Professors Sir David Lane and Sir Philip Cohen) in the top three of the "Citation Superstars" league of the world’s most frequently quoted life scientists should at least encourage students and research workers to take a closer and more measured look at what we have to offer. They would find that the University had many other notable achievements last year. The award of a coveted Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace should take pride of place and was a cause of great celebration. The award was in recognition of the pioneering and world renowned work in keyhole surgery by Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri and his team.

A seminal development in a very different field was the opening of Dundee Contemporary Arts which includes the University’s Visual Research Centre where the public can have access to research in practice. There is a further link here with the theme of commercialisation and the economy, particularly in relation to the vital small and medium sized enterprise (SME) sector, in that the Visual Research Centre includes a rapid prototyping facility available to companies so that they can take advantage of the skills in our top-rated School of Design. Alongside Dundee Contemporary Arts, the spectacular new building of the Dundee Science Centre, devoted to the Public Appreciation of Science and in which the University has a strong interest, is taking shape. Such developments are important not only because of their academic dimensions but also because they make Dundee and Tayside an increasingly attractive place to live and work. This must be good for students, for staff and their families and for companies and businesses locating in the area. Our report therefore demonstrates initiatives and achievements across the whole spectrum of our activities. It is one of the strengths of this broadly based University that while these successes depend on individual drive and ability many have also gained enormously from collaboration and team work. An outstanding example of the potential synergy from such collaboration is the formation of the Department of Molecular and Surgical Oncology bringing together our internationally renowned biochemical research led by Professor Sir David Lane and the surgical expertise of Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri and his colleagues creating the possibility of delivering novel therapeutic agents for cancer treatment direct to the diseased tissue. This unique partnership offers real hope of major advances in patient care. The teamwork, of course, extends well beyond collaboration between individual academics, vitally important though that is. In the increasingly demanding world of higher education, embracing teaching, scholarship, research and commercialisation, success depends more and more on communication and co-operation between academic staff and a whole range of support services which have to be increasingly professional in their approach from Student Recruitment and Admissions, to the Careers service; from IT services to Personnel. We have recognised the need to bring such administrative and support services more fully into the strategic planning and policy making of the University and are taking steps to ensure this. Reference to these services serves to underline the great diversity and complexity of modern Universities and the interdependence of all its components. It is a pleasure once again to pay tribute to staff in all these myriad activities who collectively have ensured that we have had another exhilarating and rewarding year, despite the ever increasing pressures and challenges to do more and more with less and less. The future holds much promise. There are many good things being fashioned within the University and our collaborations further afield are also gathering momentum. For example we have agreed to establish a "preferred partnership" with the University of St Andrews which offers great rewards to both parties. We are arranging to transfer Management and Consumer Studies to our neighbours in the University of Abertay Dundee in a rationalisation which will benefit both institutions and proposals for our merger with the Dundee campus of Northern College have been formally submitted to the appropriate authority. Even further afield, on the international front we have recently signed a far-reaching agreement with Zhejiang Wanli University in China which will lead to collaboration and articulation arrangements with very significant potential. We are delighted to have established such a positive relationship with this dynamic new institution in such an important and rapidly developing part of the world. Altogether then, we can look forward with keen interest to a lively time ahead. Dr Ian Graham-Bryce Principal and Vice-Chancellor

University Home | Search | Links | Disclaimer

Web Pages maintained by Press Office
University of Dundee, Press Office,
Dundee DD1 4HN
Tel: 01382 344021 Fax: 01382 345515