Education – WEST | Alumni Blog

Alumni Join the Tartan Army Ranks in Boston

18Jun

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Alumni Stories

Alumni Join the Tartan Army Ranks in Boston

With World Cup fever well underway, we reached out to some alumni that have made Boston their home to find out what the locals make of the famous Tartan Army! Modern Languages Teacher Chris Hegarty, who graduated with a PGDE in 2023 and moved to Boston in 2025, was at Scotland’s first game against Haiti and has tickets for Scotland’s next opponents Morocco on Friday 19th June. “The Tartan Army have been completely infectious here and Bostonians are falling in love with them. Here at the British International School of Boston, we had members of the SFA in this week giving an assembly to our lower and middle school students, teaching them songs like "Ye Canny Shove Yer Granny Aff A Bus" and "Yes Sir I Can Boogie". It was an incredible assembly, and it left a big mark on our young stude...

14Nov

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Profiles

Alumni Interview: ES David

In this interview we speak to alumnus and author E.S. David, who is releasing his debut novel - The Trials of Aqouril – a coming-of-age story that delivers heart and high stakes when a teen discovers hidden powers. When she is suddenly transported to the enthralling world of Aqouril, sixteen-year-old Erica discovers an extraordinary ability to control water - an ancient power that marks her for something far greater than she ever imagined. To master her gift and uncover the secrets of Aqouril, Erica must face a series of harrowing trials that test her courage, strain her friendships, and push her to her limits. Ewen David with his novel The Trials of Aqouril Ewen, 31, who hails from Lanarkshire and graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Careers Guidance at UWS, has a passion for...

New Book Inspired by Tam o’ Shanter Released by Alumnus

3Nov

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Alumni Stories

New Book Inspired by Tam o’ Shanter Released by Alumnus

A new version of a Scottish classic for the ears and eyes and hearts of today has been released by Carnegie-nominated author and University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate Simon Lamb. Tam o' Shanter is one of the world's most famous poems. Written by Robert Burns in 1790, the narrative epic continues to enchant audiences the world over more than two hundred years after its composition. “Whereas the original poem was set mostly in Alloway where Burns grew up, my version is set in Prestwick where I grew up,” said Simon. “The book predominantly presents a long-form poem inspired by the narrative beats of the original, alongside an introduction to the original poem and poet, a glossary, and an author’s note in which I explore growing up on the west coast of Scotland and struggling...

International Higher Education Leader Recognised at UWS Graduation

10Jul

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Honorary Graduates, News

International Higher Education Leader Recognised at UWS Graduation

An international leader in higher education has been celebrated as part of UWS's summer graduations. Professor Colin Riordan CBE, who is the Secretary General and Chief Executive of The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), was celebrated as part of a ceremony that took place at Paisley Abbey on Thursday 10 July 2025. Colin began his career in education teaching English as a foreign language at Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg in Germany. He became Professor of German at Newcastle University in 1998, later being appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in August 2005. In October 2007, he took up the post of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Essex and then in September 2012, he became President and Vice-Cha...

25Apr

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Profiles

Alumni Interview: Hannah Cochrane

In this alumni interview we hear from 2017 graduate Hannah Cochrane who is Sales & Business Development Manager at Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow. Tell us about your time at the University and your initial career plans. When exploring career options as a young adult I found myself gravitating towards Education, following my mum into the industry that she has loved for over 25 years. As a young person, I found it difficult to decide on my career path. At 16, I had part-time jobs in local hospitality venues, which I absolutely loved. However, I noticed that hospitality as a profession at that time, wasn’t as well represented as other industries at careers fayres. With my interests lying in Communication, English, and Creativity, I chose to pursue Early Education, with t...

Mastermind Host Amongst UWS Honorary Doctorates Awarded at Winter Graduations

15Nov

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Honorary Graduates, News

Mastermind Host Amongst UWS Honorary Doctorates Awarded at Winter Graduations

A sextet of influential figures, including journalist and broadcaster Clive Myrie, were celebrated at UWS's winter graduations in November. Education qualifications leader, Aileen Ponton, and social entrepreneur and CEO of Dare2Lead, John Loughton, were recognised on Tuesday 12 November. On Thursday 14 November, author Alex Gray received her Honorary Doctorate in the morning ceremony, with UWS alumni and Chief Scientist of The Alan Turing Institute Professor Mark Girolami receiving his award in the afternoon. On Friday morning, another UWS alumni, Angela Noon OBE, Chief Financial Offier at Spectris received her Honorary Doctorate. The week of awardees concluded with journalist, broadcaster and writer, Clive Myrie receiving his degree at the afternoon ceremony. Aileen ...

New Professional Practice postgraduate programme introduced at UWS

17Oct

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News

New Professional Practice postgraduate programme introduced at UWS

Representing a first in Scotland, the Master’s in Professional Practice (MProf) offers the opportunity for participants to design a postgraduate programme that is fully tailored to their professional and personal development needs – providing the ability to select a range of modules from across UWS’s vast portfolio. The MProf has been introduced to provide a flexible approach to meeting the lifelong learning needs of graduates and professionals looking to engage in personalised, accelerated, and impactful professional development which can be managed alongside their existing commitments. Although available as a full-time option, this new framework is designed to help those who wish to gain a postgraduate degree but may not be able to commit to a full-time programme of study, due to ...

UWS Graduate the New Scriever at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum

24Jan

By uwsalumni1 Comment

Alumni Stories

UWS Graduate the New Scriever at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum

University of the West of Scotland graduate Simon Lamb has taken over the role of Scriever (the writer-in-residence) at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Ayrshire. Simon’s first poem as Scriever was Sonnet: Brig o’ Doon. His second was Wintersang, a versioning into Scots of a song lyric from Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost. As Burns Season is in full swing, Simon has been busy as with a tour of primary schools to share his popular “Lamb o’ Shanter” experience: a workshop based on Burns’s Tam o’ Shanter — as you’ve never seen it before. Simon Lamb at Alloway Primary School Simon commented: “I’m so happy to be back on the road with this explosion of poetry and passion. And even more special this year now that I’m writer-in-residence at the Rob...

On this month: March 1992 Craigie College and Paisley College merge

2Mar

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Alumni Stories

On this month: March 1992 Craigie College and Paisley College merge

30 years ago at a press conference in March 1992, just weeks before university status was achieved, Principal Richard Shaw of Paisley College of Technology and Principal Gordon Wilson of Craigie College of Education announced a merger between their two Colleges under the name of the University of Paisley. Craigie College of Education had opened its doors as an all-female college, training primary education teachers on the 1st of October 1964. Work had begun only in February of the same year on the new campus in the former Craigie Estate in Ayr, such was the need to train primary teachers in Scotland. Craigie College students enrolling in October 1964 The new College campus sat alongside the eighteenth century mansion Craigie House, had halls of residence, playing fields and superb...

UWS graduate launches second mystery novel

18Nov

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News

UWS graduate launches second mystery novel

Renfrewshire author and University of the West of Scotland graduate (UWS) Victoria Gemmell has just launched her second Young Adult (YA) mystery novel, Promise Me. The story centres around 17-year-old Darcy who starts to write to a local convicted teen, convinced witch-hunt style social media coverage on the run-up to his trial led to a miscarriage of justice. When Darcy starts to uncover secrets from the night of the murder threats begin and she doesn’t know who to believe. Victoria’s debut YA mystery, Follow Me, was published in 2015 and won the Scottish Association of Writers TC Farries Award, and is on the Scottish Book Trust list of ‘Thrilling Books for Teen Readers.’ Victoria who completed her postgraduate diploma in careers guidance at the Paisley Campus in 2006, i...