Scotland's former Enterprise Minister, Jim Mather, has been appointed as a Visiting Professor at Strathclyde University.
Mr Mather will become an ambassador for the Strathclyde Institute of Operations Management, run jointly by Strathclyde Business School and the Faculty of Engineering which provides research, training and consultancy for businesses. His role will include teaching postgraduate students, and helping engage small and medium enterprises across Europe in a €6 million EU-funded research project, looking at how they can stay competitive in world markets.
He will also support the development of the University's £89 million Technology and Innovation Centre – a leading research hub that will transform the way universities, business and industry collaborate to bring global competitive advantage to Scotland.
Mr Mather gave his first lecture as a Visiting Professor at a high profile research seminar on Thursday night (October 27), exploring how organisations can enhance performance through staff engagement. He was joined by John Neil CBE, Group Chief Executive of the Unipart Group.
Mr Mather said: "I am delighted to be involved with Strathclyde, and I'm particularly pleased that my first lecture as a Visiting Professor will bring together academia and members of the business community – an important link for which Strathclyde is well known.
"Improving the operations of our private and public sectors will play an important role in Scotland's future prospects. The ideas, initiatives and people at the University are highly compatible with this objective and have convinced me there is much we can do together."
The news marks the third in a series of high-profile appointments at the University, following the appointment of Dame Elish Angiolini, the former Lord Advocate, last month, and Dr Andrew Goudie, Scotland's former Chief Economic Adviser, in July.
Professor Jim McDonald, Principal of the University, said: "I am delighted to welcome Jim Mather to Strathclyde. He has a wealth of experience in working with business and industry through his public and private sector experience, and he will make a valuable contribution to our vision as a leading international technological university.
"In addition to his work as an ambassador for the University, Mr Mather will also teach at the Strathclyde Institute of Operations Management – a major thought-leader in the sector in the UK and overseas. He will bring a new voice to business education and be an inspiring figure to our business leaders of tomorrow."
Mr Mather became the MSP for Argyll and Bute at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election and was appointed Minister for Enterprise, Energy & Tourism the same year.
He began his career as a chartered accountant before going on to work in the computer industry. He ran his own successful computer business before moving in to politics, serving as a Highlands and Islands MSP from 2003.
Since leaving Holyrood earlier this year, Mr Mather has taken up the chairmanship of Gael Software, which supplies and supports Quality Management Systems, and become a non-executive director of web and email content filtering company Bloxx.
The Research Seminar on Thursday 27 October, 'Performance through Engagement', will be given to an invited audience of members of the business community, and will discuss how organisations can engage their workforces. Mr Mather will explore Systems Thinking – a method of transforming the way organisations work to help them solve challenges – and how it can be used in Scotland.
The keynote lecture will be given by John Neill, who led the buyout of what is now the Unipart Group of Companies, which today is a widely diversified logistics company with a strong and fast-growing consultancy helping companies achieve operational excellence.