Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey to date?
I’m from Edinburgh, originally. I came to Glasgow to study English and History and loved the city so much that I’ve now been here for 24 years. In that time, I’ve worked freelance as a features journalist, then in events for a film and television festival, before I became a copywriter for the University of Glasgow. I worked in UofG for the next 16 years, moving from copywriting to publication management, to becoming a marketing officer, and finally as a senior recruitment marketing officer in External Relations. I’ve also toured as a professional taiko drummer, but that’s another story.
What is your role at the University of Strathclyde and what are your main responsibilities?
Having joined the Inspire team at Strathclyde in August 2023, my role here is Project Manager for the Entrepreneurship for All approach. It’s my job to ensure that students, staff and alumni can discover the brilliant opportunities we have for them to learn how thinking like an entrepreneur can help them to achieve their ambitions. So I handle the marketing and communications strategies for our Exploring Entrepreneurship Challenge, and for a new entrepreneurship module and MOOC, which will be launching in 2024. I’ll also be reporting on the impact of the Entrepreneurship for All strategy.
Why should University staff, students and alumni work with the team at Strathclyde Inspire?
We want everyone, regardless of their background or subject expertise, to be able to develop valuable skills that will help them towards success – from being resourceful and resiliant, to using creativity and collaboration to solve problems. We really do have something useful for everyone, whether you have no experience or understanding of what an entrepreneurial mindset is, all the way through to those who have studied the topic, or who are already being entrepreneurial through side-hustles, or running their own businesses. Your goal could be more money, a new direction, more freedom to do what you enjoy, or to achieve change towards a more sustainable, ethical or fair future for the planet. Think of us like fertiliser to help your ideas grow bigger, faster, and stronger.
What are you currently excited about in your job?
I’m a creative storyteller at heart, so I’m really excited to share the journeys that are being experienced by those in the Inspire community. There’s so much that people can take away and learn from seeing our students, staff and alumni encounter and overcome hurdles as they reach for their goals. To make sure that all of this is visible, I’m working with the Inspire marketing team to create a new content marketing strategy. It’s a large task that’s involving an overhaul of our webpages, our social channels and our campaigns to make sure they are all working together to give everyone a front row view of what’s going on at Inspire, and offer ways for more participation.
If you could visit one place in the world next week, where would you go and why?
I really like being outdoors. Trees and coastlines are relaxing, so if I could visit one place in the world next week, I’d take a walk in the Ria Formosa nature reserve near Tavira in Portugal, listen to the birds singing and watch the crabs waving their big claws at each other on the marshlands.
If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?
If I could have an unlimited suppy of one thing, it would be sunshine. Or coffee from Grain and Grind on the southside. Seeing as I’ve chosen a life in Glasgow, it’ll have to be the coffee.
