Engage with Strathclyde is the University of Strathclyde’s flagship events programme, which ran from May 3 to 13. The events programme is designed to provide multiple opportunities for industry, the public and third sectors to find out more about the University’s world-leading research, innovation and technologies, as well as how to benefit from our research, consultancy, CPD and collaborative knowledge exchange. This year’s Engage with Strathclyde ran three different event formats - online, hybrid and face to face events.
Strathclyde Business School contributed a number of events to the programme throughout the two week period.
Professor Ian Cunningham’s event - Benchmarking Pay and Conditions in Social Care - was the very first 2022 Engage with Strathclyde event, delivered in partnership with the Coalition of Care Support Provider in Scotland. The event outlined the results of a recent pay and conditions benchmarking exercise, involving voluntary sector employers in social care. They were delighted to be joined by Ian Turner, Deputy Director, Adult Social Care Workforce & Fair Work Division, Scottish Government as well as Victoria Knox, Director of People & Organisational Development, Ark, and Andy Kerr, Chair of the Fair Work in Social Care Group. Here is the executive summary: Benchmarking Pay and Conditions in Social Care Executive Summary - May 2022.pdf
Dr Juliette Wilson and Dr Matthew Alexander were joined by organisations from across the central belt to look at the challenge of food waste at their event - Food Waste Matters - on May 5. Food waste is a complex, systemic issue requiring changes in policy, supply chain, consumption and attitudes. The aim of this event was to create an agenda for research around Food Waste. The event included an expert panel with colleagues from Strathclyde alongside local food suppliers and food waste organisations.
The pandemic has dominated our lives over the last two years. It brought together many in the university community as researchers and scientists made contributions to the national effort. The University of Strathclyde accelerated innovation and collaborative working in many areas to drive new technology, products and processes. Strathclyde and the Pandemic took place on May 9 and looked at the range of activities which took place across the university during the pandemic, and highlighted the university’s role in certain areas. Dr Alec Morton joined the panel which discussed how these innovations could be harnessed for future working and policy-making.
Professor Iain Black only recently joined Strathclyde Business School but managed to deliver a fantastic online event - Turning NetZero targets into Action - on May 10 which looked at how transformation of businesses to achieve net zero goals is now a critical task for managers and directors. This event highlighted the central role that solutions-focussed education and network support play in this journey. Delegates were introduced to the Climate Solutions Progamme, a collaboration with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and the IOD, which is designed to help organisations achieve goals and targets set in response to the climate emergency. You can find the recording here: https://youtu.be/tu6lGuAks9g
Strathclyde’s Devraj Basu and Nicole Anderson CEO of Fintech Scotland started the interactive online event T -he Future of Financial Regulation Innovation - on May 10 off with an introduction to the recently published ‘UK Fintech Research & Innovation Roadmap’ which highlighted financial regulation as one of four priority themes to boost economic recovery, drive growth and create jobs over the next ten years. Strathclyde is a key contributor to this Roadmap, and the event discussed the future of financial regulation and key initiatives that will accelerate research and enable innovation in RegTech.
Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal & Vice-Chancellor, University of Strathclyde and Professor Mairi Spowage, Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute were delighted to host the first in a series of events happening across the UK launching the new Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy. Formulating an effective trade policy that delivers something for all parts of society requires an evidence-based interdisciplinary approach. The Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy is the first centre dedicated to trade policy to be funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and is built on the precept that trade policy should be inclusive in terms of both policy formulation and outcome. It focuses on four dimensions of inclusiveness: geography, political domains, society, and generations. Martin Bell, Deputy Director of Trade at the Scotch Whisky Association; Alan Winter, CITP Co-director; Martin Rhodes, Chief Executive at Scottish Fair Trade Forum; and Katie Gallogly-Swan, Policy Coordinator, GDP Center & UNCTAD, all joined the panel session to discuss the meaning of “Inclusive Trade” to different stakeholders which brought the event to a close. You can watch a recording here. The CITP website is now live, you can read their latest blogs and sign up to the CITP newsletter. The centre also has a Twitter account which you can follow.
Developing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Scotland - focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation - took place on May 12. Innovation and entrepreneurship are of national importance for achieving a more inclusive and equitable society, combatting inequality, and achieving environmental and sustainability targets such as NetZero. The event saw a diverse group of actors from the Scottish entrepreneurial ecosystem come together and work towards strategies and actions for more inclusive, sustainable, and efficient ecosystem(s).
SDGZero also took place on May 12. This event’s premise is that the problem solvers for environmental and human issues are already out there, they just need to be empowered and trained. If they are given the skills in innovation and entrepreneurship, they can be the solution providers to the world's current social and ecological problems and co-create a sustainable world. Rajesh Nair, Founder of EnCube Labs; Neville Gaunt, Chairman of YP2G; Claudia Akel, Founder of Social Impact Movement; and Strathclyde Business School's Sreevas Sahasranamam discussed how a bottom-up approach, equipping local communities with training, and establishing an ecosystem, can develop solutions. If you would like to find out more about this movement, please visit their webpages: www.sdgzero.org You can also watch the recording of this event online: https://youtu.be/LOOuxBsuSlU