Left to right: Dennis Nickson; Ciara Moncur; Rachael Gaughan; Lara Alvarez; Katherine Jans; Daniela Cardenas; Odia Osime; Victoria Watson; and Craig Martin
Left to right: Dennis Nickson; Ciara Moncur; Rachael Gaughan; Lara Alvarez; Katherine Jans; Daniela Cardenas; Odia Osime; Victoria Watson; and Craig Martin
The Department of Human Resource Management recently held its annual Management Research Report (MRR) conference for students on the department's Masters programmes.
The students are taking the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) accredited full-time MSc in Human Resource Management (HRM) and also the MSc in International Human Resource Management (IHRM). Students on the MSc in HRM undertake their research report individually whilst the MSc in IHRM students work in groups.
During the conference the students presented findings from their research reports. These are produced by working within an organisation to investigate a ‘live’ people management issue or problem and students suggest realistic and appropriate recommendations based on costed options.
The highest marked reports were presented to a final plenary session of all of the conference attendees and this work was recognised with the award of the Professor John Gennard Prize for academic excellence. As well as presenting their findings to their peers, the students also presented in front of an audience which included a number of representatives from many of the organisations that provided placements. Attendees at the conference also included a number of CIPD colleagues, including Donald Gordon, Chair of CIPD Scotland; George Galloway, Chair of the West of Scotland CIPD branch; and Connie Hendry, the practitioner external examiner for the research reports.
Following the student presentations there was an address from the guest speaker for the day, Craig Martin, Head of HR at Glasgow Airport. Craig, an alumnus of the University, talked about his experiences in HR since he graduated from Strathclyde in 1992, covering the highs and lows in his career to date. His keynote address also highlighted to students that this was a challenging and exciting time to be going into the HR profession.
Professor Dennis Nickson of the Department of Human Resource Management chaired the conference and was full of praise for the students for their efforts.
He said, "This event showcases the excellent work done by our students in demonstrating their ability to work with an organisation to address often challenging HR issues. We were also delighted to have such a high profile speaker in Craig Martin. His excellent keynote address really challenged the students in considering some of the key issues facing HR professionals, whilst also highlighting the great opportunities to newly graduating students."