UWS Alumni Blog

Month: December 2024

Graduate Goes Prime Time
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Alumni Stories, News

Graduate Goes Prime Time

A recent University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate has been selected to work on a prestigious Amazon Prime production traineeship. Chris Kelly, a recent graduate of UWS’s Broadcast Production: Television and Radio (BPTVR) course, has been selected for the Prime Video Craft Academy Traineeship, starting in January 2025. The 12-month traineeship provides participants with a paid contract and the opportunity to work on high-profile UK-produced Amazon Original Series or productions with Prime Video’s trusted supply partners. Delivered by the National Film and Television School (NFTS), the highly competitive programme offers just 15 places across the UK. During his time at UWS, Chris made valuable contributions to a range of projects, including leading the Ayr Student Film F...
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Graduate’s Christmas Album Delivers the Festive Spirit
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Graduate’s Christmas Album Delivers the Festive Spirit

A Christmas album by a University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate is sure to deliver the festive spirit to those celebrating Christmas this year. MA Music (Songwriting and Performance) graduate Yvonne Lyon’s Christmas album, Songs For Christmas, is an outstanding and engaging collection to herald the festive season. Featuring five original Christmas songs and seven reworked traditional carols, her unique ability to constantly evolve as an artist is evident throughout as she embraces several different genres to weave an elegant and memorable sonic tapestry. Included in the collection is Yvonne’s critically acclaimed gem, ‘I Believe In Christmas’ in which she voices a quiet protest challenging our consumerism with humour and subtlety. A song with charm like no other, it drew con...
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Nondas Pitticas Retires from the University
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Nondas Pitticas Retires from the University

This month we bid a fond farewell to University of the West of Scotland (UWS) lecturer Nondas Pitticas who will retire from UWS on 31 December, almost 41 years to the day when he joined, what was then, Paisley College of Technology.   Nondas started at the Microelectronics Educational & Development Centre (MEDC) at the Paisley Campus on a trial basis in January 1984, taking on the challenge to programme the resident robot ‘HERO’ to talk, which he achieved before going on to install and operate the College’s first weather station, receiving images from the NOAA orbital satellites. In 1986 he moved to the Department of Land Economics to install the local area network (LAN) of BBC computers and once the LAN was up and running, he turned his attention to the Department’s Resources La...
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Former University Staff Group Founding Members Stand Down after 25 Years
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Former University Staff Group Founding Members Stand Down after 25 Years

A former staff group recently saw two of its founding members stand down after 25 years of organising lunches and get togethers for former employees of the university. The Paisley Academic Lunch Society, or PALS as it’s better known, is the name adopted by a group of retired members of staff. The group has origins going back to 1997 when a small number of former staff from the then University of Paisley, including John Wylie MBE, Professor Willie McEwan OBE, Harry Adams, George Haig and Samuel Monaghan, started to meet on a regular basis for lunch. Word spread of the retired staff group lunches and very quickly the membership grew. Most of the members of PALS were former business, engineering and science academic staff but membership was open to any former member of staff. At its pea...
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Alumnus and UWS Lecturer Launches Season 2 of Podcast Series
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Alumnus and UWS Lecturer Launches Season 2 of Podcast Series

A University of the West of Scotland (UWS) alumnus and current lecturer has launched the second season of his acclaimed podcast series One Cap Wonders. Journalism lecturer and postdoctoral researcher Dr James Mahon from the University’s school of BCI has recently launched the second season of his podcast series. Season 1 featured interviews with former Kilmarnock, Rangers and Celtic football stars including Chris Sutton and Mark Wilson both of whom only appeared once for England and Scotland respectively at senior national team level. In season 2 James goes beyond the UK with ex St Mirren favourites Stelios Demetriou and Jim Goodwin along with US soccer player Eddie Robinson and Croatian goalkeeper Dario Kresic. The series launch coincides with Dr Mahon taking over module coord...
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Alumnus and Paralympic Gold Medallist Hometown Christmas Lights Switch On Honour
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Alumnus and Paralympic Gold Medallist Hometown Christmas Lights Switch On Honour

A University of the West of Scotland former student has rounded off an incredible year of achievement by switching on the Christmas lights in his hometown of Hamilton. Alumnus Stephen McGuire told the Daily Record: “What an honour! It’s something I always went to, and it’s a great event. To be asked to go and turn on the lights, is incredible. It’s always busy, my friends and family will all be there, and it will be such a great occasion. “I lived in Hamilton all my days, it means a lot to me, and it’s great that I can come back with a gold medal and share it with everybody.” Stephen who studied at Bell College (now UWS Lanarkshire Campus) won a Paralympic gold medal in individual boccia in Paris in the summer. https://www.instagram.com/p/DDDUfLio-O7/ Read more: Alumnu...
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