The academic institutions around Glasgow continue to build upon their well-earned reputation of growing and nurturing the city’s thirst for innovation and creativity. In this round-up of recent news, we pick out some of the developments from the sector locally that will help ensure internationally-recognised excellence for years to come.

 

Whether we are parents, politicians, business people or just concerned citizens, most of us recognise how crucial a role our education system plays in our country’s future.

When it comes to the creative sector, any examination of the reasons for Glasgow’s success in positioning itself as one of the UK’s most dynamic and innovative cities would show that its academic excellence is a key factor.

With three world-renowned universities, three highly successful colleges and four of Scotland’s national performing arts companies, the sums really do add up for Glasgow.

Across the city, our academic sector is helping to identify and develop the creative talent which will provide the impetus for future success.

And our universities and colleges are continuing to build on their track record of achievement.

  • Strathclyde University recently announced that funding from the UK Space Agency will be used by its Scottish Centre for Satellite Applications (SoXSA) and Glasgow City Council to bring young companies to its Merchant City-based innovation hub, The Tontine.

    Strathclyde is also a partner in the newly-launched Centre for Work-based Learning in Scotland, which will promote learning, influence policy development and develop best practice.

  • Glasgow University has unveiled a £1 billion masterplan which will transform the West End of the city. The first phase of the development will include a new learning and teaching hub, a base for the university’s College of Arts with new performance spaces and a research hub.

    Plans for the second phase include delivery of an Innovation Quarter to improve engagement with local industry and promote creation of new companies.

  • At Glasgow Caledonian University, researchers are developing an app which could revolutionise safety procedures on construction projects across the globe. The app will integrate with existing Building Information Modelling (BIM) software, using video, images and memes to increase awareness of health and safety issues.
  • City of Glasgow College’s twin-site supercampus has benefitted from £228m investment and is the largest in Scotland – its Riverside campus has won eleven architectural awards (and counting!) since opening.

    And its City campus includes everything from a TV studio and radio station to art, design and photography studios as well as specialist workshops with facilities for model making, ceramics, product design and glass production.

  • In January, it was announced that 3D images of the Forth Bridge, created by the Glasgow School of Art’s simulation and visualisation experts and a team from Historic Environment Scotland, are to be used to create educational games for school children.

    Supported by funding from Transport Scotland, the project will deliver learning games, augmented reality apps, interactive models for virtual headset tours and video fly-throughs with the aim of developing STEM skills among pupils in Scottish schools.

  • In March, it was announced that the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has been ranked third in the world for performing arts education in a global review by the prestigious QS World Rankings.

    And, in the same month, RCS unveiled a new archive facility at the Whisky Bond which highlights its role in the UK’s performing arts. It will be home to thousands of interesting, unique and culturally-significant items and collections, from instruments, manuscripts and artworks to photographs and performance ephemera.

Across every strand of the creative and digital landscape, Glasgow’s academic sector makes an invaluable contribution to maintaining and enhancing the city’s profile as a hotbed of talent, innovation and ingenuity.

 

The above blog post has been made possible through the generous support of Creative Clyde and the named contributors.