University of the West of Scotland (UWS) celebrated 20 years of the BA Journalism degree programme with an alumni event in Paisley recently.

Former and current staff, alumni and recent graduates got together to mark the 20^th year of the highly successful Journalism degree and to share memories and experiences since graduation.

Dr. Margaret Hughes, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader, commented: “It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces that have become household names in print or on TV and Radio. It has been a huge privilege to have worked with so many successful UWS journalism students and graduates. They inspire me every day and I am enormously proud of their achievements and the role that UWS has played in helping them achieve their dreams and goals.”

Although there was a thriving HND Journalism programme at the University’s Hamilton campus, Margaret, together with colleagues Amanda Geary, Kenneth Pratt and Elizabeth McLaughlin, saw a need for a degree in Journalism and it welcomed its first students in September 2004.

Explaining why the degree was launched, Margaret said: “It seemed like such a great idea, it was a new millennium, the news media was changing, more and more people working in it had degrees and I didn’t want our students to be left behind and neither did they.

“Inspired by our students’ desires to get a qualification that would equip them for a fast-changing news industry, we created a new degree in Journalism we believed would equip them for long careers”.

More than 200 graduates have come through the degree programme from around 20 countries such as Ukraine, Poland, France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, the USA and China.

We spoke to some alumni from the degree to hear their career stories including:

Siobhann Dunn, programme producer of BBC Scotland’s Drivetime show; Andrew Burns, external communications manager for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service; Brandon Cook, former Scottish Television Reporter; Kerri-Ann Docherty communications manager at the Scottish Government; Robert Blair, Editor of The Mill Magazine; Linzi Watson, regional editor for Reach Plc; Eszter Tarnai, digital news reporter at The Glasgow Times; Lewis McKenzie, news reporter at The Sun; Jack Ewing, BBC Scotland.

Dr. James Mahon , UWS Journalism lecturer, added: “The degree in Journalism has constantly evolved over the 20 years and that has kept our graduates’ skills relevant. Coupled with the fact that they are taught by academics that are actively engaged in journalism, this degree prepares graduates intellectually and practically for success in the modern multi-platform world of journalism.”

Reflecting on the 20 years since its launch, Margaret commented: “Looking back over the years and at the successes of the BA Journalism graduates who now populate newsrooms, press offices and media environment across Scotland, the UK, Europe and the world, I think we can say we were right to follow our hunch. Now, more than ever, journalism has an incredibly important role to play in society and we are looking forward to the next 20 years!”

If you would like to know more about the BA Journalism / Sports Journalism programme at UWS visit: https://www.uws.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-course-search/journalism-journalism-sport/