21 Jun 2019

Rowing legend backs Dundee students to leave Henley rivals in their wake

One of Britain’s greatest Olympians is backing University of Dundee rowers to make a splash at the country’s most prestigious women’s regatta this weekend. Dame Katherine Grainger, a five-time medal-winning rower with Team GB, said she’ll be keeping ‘fingers, toes and everything else crossed’ in support of members of Dundee University Boat Club, who will be competing at this weekend’s Henley Women’s Regatta. The Dundee crew, who affectionately refer to the stretch of the River Tay where they train as ‘the swamp’, are taking part at Henley for th...

21 Jun 2019

Graduate proves dogs are a pupil’s best friend

Well known for sniffing out crime and aiding the disabled, dogs might soon find themselves a spot in school, according to a Headteacher from a remote school in the Highlands who will graduate from the University of Dundee this week. Miss Islean Gibson, Principal at Kinloch Rannoch Primary School, will graduate on Friday 21 June with a Masters in Leading Learning and Teaching. She says her school’s recent study into the self-efficacy of students when surrounded by canine classmates shows marked improvement in both the academic skills and wellbeing of pupils, as well as the pups. Working with two of...

21 Jun 2019

Wimberley Award 2019 won by activist Rachel

A student who reported to the European Parliament on the effect that conditions at the Calais refugee camp were having on the mental health of residents has won the University of Dundee’s most prestigious undergraduate award. Rachel Natanson received this year’s Wimberley Award, given to the student or students who have made the most distinguished contribution to university life, as she graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Social Work this morning. Rachel (38), from Kirriemuir, was a founding member of the Dundee branch of Social Work Action Network and has been heavily involved in ...

21 Jun 2019

Graduate takes centre stage at film festival

A University of Dundee graduate will receive the red carpet treatment when her latest movie is showcased at the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF). Scottish-Chinese filmmaker Sophia Shek says that hosting the international premiere of her latest release, Go Back to China, in the capital is the culmination of a lifelong dream. Having graduated from Dundee’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in 1999, Sophia has gone on to work on some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises and said that her University experience has played a huge role in setting the scene for her film industr...

20 Jun 2019

Mark Beaumont announced as Entrepreneurship Ambassador

World record-breaking adventurer and University Rector Mark Beaumont has been announced as the inaugural Ambassador for the Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Dundee. The new position was announced today at the University’s summer graduations, which Mark is attending in his role as Rector, a position he has held for the past three years and will step down from at the end of July. He has now agreed to become Ambassador for the Centre for Entrepreneurship, a partnership between the University and Elevator, Scotland’s leading private provider of enterprise, employment and entrepren...