University of the West of Scotland’s (UWS) long standing Canadian partner, Harris Institute, played host recently to an alumni event at its base in Toronto.

Dr Eric Baumgartner, Dean of School of Education & Social Sciences at UWS and John Harris, President of Harris Institute, welcomed alumni, staff and current students to the event to enjoy an evening of reminiscing, sharing experiences and networking.

In Canada as part of a UWS recruitment event, Dr Baumgartner said: “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting our graduates in Canada and was impressed by their career journeys so far and I can’t wait to see what they do next!

“At UWS we do everything we can to ensure our graduates are work-ready and feel prepared to contribute both locally and globally, and this was evident in the graduates I met in Toronto.”

The alumni who attended were from Scotland, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Canada, and graduated in varied subjects such as accounting, business administration, commercial music, events management, information technology and waste management.

The Harris Institute, an internationally recognised leader in music industry education, and UWS have been proud partners for 20 years, with students experiencing a year at UWS Ayr Campus in Scotland.

John Harris said: “We were delighted to host the alumni event and pleased to see some familiar faces back on campus.

“Since 2004, over 200 Harris graduates have earned degrees at UWS in 8 months on full scholarships. Students can earn a college diploma from Harris and a degree from UWS in a total of 20 months or two diplomas and an MA in a total of 32 months.”

This unique partnership has also included faculty exchanges and students orchestrating Scottish artists touring in Canada and Canadian artists touring in Scotland.

“I finished my BSc Music Technology degree in 2009 at UWS. It was an unforgettable experience for me and I am so glad you have been able to continue this partnership to allow other students to experience this journey!”

Allison Janzen

Find out more about the Creative Industries programmes at UWS.