Collaborative bid success

Dr Calvin Burns (HRM) and Professor John Quigley (ManSci) were successful in their collaborative bid to MEOPAR (Marine Environmental Observation Prediction & Response Network) with academics from University of Dalhousie, University of Calgary and the Centre for Geographic Sciences. This is a multi-discipline project with the purpose of studying evacuations during coastal floods.

Academic joins India Matters panel

Professor Phil Taylor of the Department of Human Resource Management and International Director for SBS was invited by the British Council to be a panellist at their India Matters seminar in Edinburgh on 29 October. His co-panelists were Gavin Reid, Director of the BBC Scotland Symphony Orchestra, and Professor Bashabi Fraser of Napier University. The occasion was the launch of a key report by the British Council entitled 'India Matters'. The publication's subtitle 'How stronger educational and cultural ties can help to unlock the full potential of the UK-India relationship' explicitly indicates the purpose of the report and the focus of the discussion at what was a highly successful event.

Professor Taylor wrote a blog about the panel discussion and you can read it here

Marketing students organised successful blood donation event

Five third year undergraduate students (Marketing) organised one of the biggest student events this year at Glasgow Donor Centre. As part of their Digital Marketing and Convergent Marketing Communications class, Siana Anderson, Rebecca Hay, Ailsa Bartholomew, Catherine Baber and Morven Cameron spent weeks promoting the importance of blood donation through their Facebook page (Revive a Life) and blog. They networked with the National Blood Transfusion Service and received a tremendous amount of publicity, support and appreciation. They brought along 28 students to the donor centre in Glasgow's Nelson Mandela Place to give blood.

Over three quarters of the group were first time donors. "Many students tend to live in cities with Blood Donor Centres in close proximity, yet most don't find the time to go along." said Siana. "Any one of us could need blood one day and we all have the ability to ensure that there is a sufficient supply."

The students have continued to work with blood donor agencies to continue making citizens and particularly their fellow students aware of the rewards of donating blood.

Siana added, "We wanted to create a community of people who could encourage and support each other to get involved in such an important cause. Even just one student going to give blood can have a ripple effect and encourage others to do the same."

More info can be found here

Collaborative doctoral award with Glasgow Life

Dr Derek Bryce and Dr Matthew Alexander (Marketing) were awarded an AHRC collaborative doctoral award (worth £57,597) working with Glasgow Life. The student will be exploring a project entitled "Cultural Heritage and Ancestral Tourism: reclaiming Scottish identity from "'Highlandisation'".

Strathclyde Dialogues focus on innovation

As part of the UAE's Year of Innovation drive, the latest Strathclyde Dialogues event took place on November 25 in Dubai, and focused on "Innovation ecosystems: leading through the power of the collective".

The Strathclyde Dialogues series, now in its fifth year, brings together panels of experts who, by exchanging views and perspectives, promote the sharing of knowledge in various fields of contemporary interest globally, and with particular application to the UAE. The Strathclyde Dialogues are free events for the Strathclyde and wider business community.

Participants included Nader Atout, CEO and Founder, Creative Five; Tanya Albus, Co-Founder, Humans of Health; Tarek Niazi, Group General Manager, Khalifa Juma Al Nabooda Group of Companies; Wesam Haddad, Assistant VP Administration, Dubai International Finance Centre; and the event was hosted by Dr Katerina Nicolopoulou, SBS Senior Lecturer and the academic in charge of The Strathclyde Dialogues.

Presentation to Scottish Government's 'ClimateXChange' annual meeting

Peter McGregor and Grant Allan (Economics and Fraser of Allander) both presented at the annual meeting of 'ClimateXChange' - the Scottish Government's prestigious Centre of Expertise in Climate Change - to an audience of researchers and stakeholders from across the energy policy community on November 10.

Professor McGregor presented on research that applied the Fraser of Allander Institute's energy-economy-environmental modelling framework, with a talk entitled, "Alternative characterisations of learning for renewable technologies: a system-wide approach" while Grant Allan discussed current research activity on local energy projects, entitled, "Exploring the consequences of local energy economics in a multi-sectoral inter-regional framework." The ClimateXChange project began in 2011 and is currently funded until Spring 2016.

Economics Professor appears before Scottish Parliament Committee

Professor Peter McGregor (Emeritus Professor Department of Economics and Director of Fraser of Allander Institute) appeared before the Scottish Parliament's Finance Committee on November 17, to give evidence on the Scottish Fiscal Commission Bill. The Scottish Fiscal Commission is an independent body charged with commenting on the Government's fiscal forecasts.

Professor McGregor's written submission, co-authored with Professor Kim Swales (Emeritus Professor, Fraser of Allander Institute, Department of Economics), argued that the scope of the Fiscal Commission's activities should be widened in part to reflect the Parliament's enhanced fiscal powers implied by full implementation of the Scotland Act 2012, and of the Smith Commission's recommendations. This, together with reinforcement of the conditions intended to ensure the Fiscal Commission's independence would allow a more effective and rigorous assessment of the Scottish Government's fiscal policies, including the likelihood of meeting its fiscal targets.

23rd Oil and Gas Survey finds historic low to sector confidence

Grant Allan (Fraser of Allander Institute and Economics) presented the latest results from the twice-yearly survey of operators and contractors active in the UK Continental Shelf to an industry 'breakfast briefing' in Aberdeen on November 26. The survey - which has been running in its latest form since 2004 - is an important barometer of confidence and activity in the sector, and is produced in collaboration with Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce.

The latest survey revealed a historic low to firms' UKCS and overseas optimism and found that operators and licensees had reduced their UK workforce by 14% and 5% in the last year respectively, and expected to continue to reduce their headcount in the next year, albeit at a significantly reduced rate. With publication following the release of the Oil and Gas Authority's launch of its consultation on its draft "Maximising Economic Recovery" strategy, these results demonstrate the continuing challenges facing the sector.

Study commissioned by Water Industry Commission Scotland completed

Dr Beverly Wagner and Dr Nusa Fain of the Department of Marketing, together with Paul Fletcher of Enabling Innovation, have recently undertaken a scoping study commissioned by the Water Industry Commission Scotland (WICS). The study titled "Collaborative Approaches to Risk: Innovation in a Regulatory Environment" involved the Scottish Government, SEPA, DWQR, CAS and Scottish Water. Recommendations set out in the report are being fully implemented.

Dr Fain and Dr Wagner, with Professor Neil Kay of Napier University, Edinburgh, attended the 2nd World Open Innovation Conference (WOIC) in Santa Clara, California in November, organised by Professor Henry Chesbrough, University of California, Berkeley. They presented a paper "Exploring Inside-In Open Innovation: A Case study." Their KTP associate David Grant participated in the poster session "Open innovation and the view from both sides of the bridge: A case study in NPD."

Marketing DBA student set to publish book on employee participation in social media

Yekemi Otaru joined SBS in August 2015 as a part time Marketing DBA student. She has previously completed engineering and MBA degrees. Through years of research and real life examples of corporate social media use, she has developed a three-step framework to enable businesses to drive participation in social media. The framework is the focus of her upcoming book, "The Smart Sceptic's Guide to Social Media in Organisations" and will enable businesses to:

The book builds on her MBA thesis in 2012 and will be published in print and kindle by Rethink Press in the UK in January 2016.

Marketing professor gives CCA keynote

Professor Susan Hart, Associate Deputy Principal (Marketing) gave a keynote speech at the Customer Contact Convention (CCA) in Glasgow which took place on November 24 and 25. The Convention is for customer contact professionals to share best practice, learn about new trends and participate in debate on the future of customer service.

Professor Hart talked on "Women in Leadership - Overcoming Personal and Corporate Obstacles" as part of the conference's 'women in leadership' track which explored what companies can gain from achieving gender balance within their leadership teams.

In her presentation, Professor Hart put the case for de-gendering of skills. She urged delegates to consider all the attributes which are necessary to lead modern organisations to more sustainable and long term futures. She argued that in an era where customer service quality can elevate or condemn a business, skills such as listening, empathy and responsiveness can no longer be seen as second-class, or the province of women alone - they are instead vital skills which should be valued in leadership positions occupied by either gender.

Mauritius Government commends SME research

Dr Pratima Sambajee, lecturer in the Strategy and Organisation department, has had a paper published with Strathclyde MBA graduate Mehdi Zulficar Azad Dhomun this year which has received great recognition from the government of Mauritius and is currently being used by policy-makers.

The paper is entitled, "Government and SMEs in the Maldives and Mauritius" and in a letter sent from the Government of Mauritius by the Deputy Prime Minister Xavier-Luc Duval, he said, "This first comparative study provides valuable insights and has practical implications through its recommendations for policy making in both countries."

Changing Employment Open Day

Professors Paul Stewart and Dora Scholarios, Marie Curie Changing Employment, Human Resource Management, hosted its end of third year Open Day, organised by Claire Scott, Marie Curie Programme Manager. In addition to a number of students from the departments of journalism and HRM at Strathclyde, the event drew an audience of more than 60 people from a wide range of external and commercial partners including the ILO (Geneva), CAIRDE teo (Armagh City), Glasgow University and Common Weal, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The presentations covered both the individual doctoral work from early stage researchers (ESRs) from Strathclyde, Goteborg, Leuven, ULB-Brussels, Evry-Paris, Oviedo-Spain, LondonMet and CEU-Budapest and their thematic team work. Using both conventional presentations and the medium of film, the work considered the changing character of employment in Europe from the perspectives of employees and employer social partners; migration and new communities; working life including employee well- being.

Paper presented at the Taiwan Accounting Association

Dr Yu-Lin Hsu is pictured with her supervisors, following her recent graduation, Dr Julia Smith (Reader in Accounting & Finance, Strathclyde Business School) and Professor Gavin Reid (Visiting Professor in Accounting & Finance, Strathclyde Business School; Dean of Dundee Business School, Abertay University; and Honorary Professor in Economics & Finance, University of St Andrews).

Dr Yu-Lin Hsu presented a paper co-authored with Dr Julia Smith and Professor Gavin Reid at the Annual Conference of the Taiwan Accounting Association, December 2-4, in Tainan, Taiwan, hosted by the National Cheng Kung University, in collaboration with the International Association for Accounting Education and Research.

The theme of the conference was 'Accounting and Auditing Theory and Practice: Future Developments'. The paper, on 'Choices of Financial Reporting Regimes and Techniques and Underlying Decision-Making Processes: a case study analysis of a port authority', was based on fieldwork undertaken in Scotland and funded by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. The presentation had the benefit of a discussant, whose feedback will be used in preparing the manuscript for publication.

Dr Hsu, a PhD student in the Department of Accounting & Finance, graduated from the University in November. Her thesis was on "A stated preference approach to the choice of financial reporting regimes, using questionnaire data; a two-stage model of choice of financial reporting regime and technique; policy implications of new financial reporting regimes". She was supervised by Dr Julia Smith and Professor Gavin Reid.

Dr Hsu has now taken up a postdoctoral research position in the Department of Accounting at the National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, one of Taiwan's top research intensive universities, and intends to continue her collaboration with Dr Smith and Professor Reid through future joint work.

Dubai alumni annual dinner

The University of Strathclyde Alumni Association Dubai Chapter hosted their annual dinner event for the Strathclyde UAE community on October 30 at the Shangri La Hotel Dubai. With a focus on entrepreneurship and featuring a panel of four local entrepreneurs who are all MBA graduates from Strathclyde Business School's international centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the event attracted around 90 Strathclyde staff, students, alumni and friends.

The evening started off with some networking and the chance to visit the mini exhibition hosted by alumni startups, YallaStay.com and Regate Technologies.

Guests were welcomed by chapter committee member Garth Mitchell who invited the Director of Strathclyde Business School UAE, Dr Ron Bradfield to say a few words. Dr Bradfield provided an update on University news, which included the prestigious opening of the TIC and the excellent result for Strathclyde in the 2015 Financial Times Executive MBA.

The SBS UAE Entrepreneur Panel was moderated by committee member, Wolfgang Sack, and included four panel members: Manal Hamid, founder of Moms Guide Abu Dhabi, Nabil Helou of Amana Pipeline Construction, Nader Atout of Creative Five, and Oliver Matar of APT Facilitators. Covering a range of sectors - technology, construction, media and professional services - the panelists' diverse experience of founding and scaling up their companies made for a compelling and insightful panel discussion.

Local academic, Dr Katerina Nicolopoulou of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, said, "The Entrepreneur Panel participants shared with us their inspiring life stories and entrepreneurial journeys, and the major decisions, challenges and opportunities they faced in working towards turning their vision into reality were most enlightening."

New alumna, Wesam Haddad, said of the event, "The committee did a great job - it was a really interesting and inspiring annual event. As a new graduate from the MBA programme, these events add value beyond the exchange of knowledge and insights they offer by providing opportunities for the Strathclyde community to come together, and it makes me feel part of the Strathclyde family. I also value the continued updates and interaction with the University and the Business School."

UN World Tourism Organisation prize for SBS academic

Emeritus Professor Richard Butler has been named the winner of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Ulysses Prize for 2015. The prize is for Excellence in the Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge and is one of the awards made by UNWTO for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism.

Professor Butler is cited for his "pioneer role in developing tourism studies and disseminating knowledge to the tourism community worldwide". He will receive the award at the UNWTO Awards Forum in Madrid in January 2016 and will be a speaker at the Awards Forum held as part of the International Tourism Trade Fair in Madrid.