Opening doors to innovation

The University of St Andrews together with the Fife Economy Partnership (FEP) organised the ‘Opening Doors to Innovation’ event on the 24^th of January, 2012. The highly successful event was held as part of the University’s business outreach activities through its Business Innovation Exchange (BIE) initiative and FEP’s regional innovation strategy in line with the Scottish national strategy for innovation in the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector and showcased expertise within the University and from Sasol UK, Ltd. Talks centred around leading academics’ work in some of the most current topics, their relevance to businesses and the benefits that these could bring to the SMEs. Additional talks covered the need for innovation in Scotland to sustain economic growth, and how expertise and facilities available within the University have helped Sasol develop competitive advantage and sustainability.

Event presentations were:

• Strategic Responses to Global Climate Change – Prof. Jan Bebbington, School of Management
• Creative Industries – Ms Melinda Grewar, School of Management
• Taking Business to the Clouds – Prof. Ian Sommerville, School of Computer Science
• Sasol – Prof. Robert Tooze, Sasol UK, Ltd
• Innovation & Diffusion – Prof. Huw Davies, School of Management
• Photonics & Electronics – Prof. Thomas Krauss, School of Physics & Astronomy
• Paths to Knowledge Exchange – Dr Ewan Chirnside, KnowledgeTransfer Centre

Presentations can be downloaded from the University web pages.

Iain Stewart launches GeoBus

GeoBus will be launched today, 18 January, by TV presenter Professor Iain Stewart at Buckhaven High School. The GeoBus is an educational outreach project developed by Dr Ruth Robinson of the Department of Earth Sciences which will travel to schools across Scotland and northern England to visit rural and urban areas in all council regions. The GeoBus aims to:

1. Support the teaching of Earth science in secondary schools by providing teaching resources that are not readily available to educators;
2. Inspire young learners by introducing new Earth science research outcomes presented by researchers;
3. Provide a bridge between industry, HEIs, Research Councils, and schools in order to highlight career opportunities in geology specifically, and Earth sciences and STEM areas more broadly.

Members of the University of St Andrews and GeoBus industrial sponsors will be present at the launch.

The GeoBus is supported by the Natural Environmental Research Council, EPSRC, The Scottish Government, Maersk, Shell, Centrica, The Mineralogical Society, The Geological Society and the University of St Andrews.

Please contact Kathryn Roper (geobus@st-andrews.ac.uk) for information about the timing of visits.