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The 8th year of the Scottish Crucible Leadership Programme is underway!
Opened by Professor Alan Miller FRSE, CEO of Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), the Scottish Crucible 2016 launch event at the Royal Society of Edinburgh brought together senior figures from academia, policy and business with the 30 researchers competitively selected to take part in this year’s programme. Among the guests were 12 current or former University Principals and Vice Principals, with Prof. Andrea Nolan, Principal of Edinburgh Napier University giving the welcome address.
The launch was also attended by Dr Stuart Fancey, Director of Research & Innovation, Scottish Funding Council; Sir Paul Grice, Chief Executive of the Scottish Parliament; Dr William Duncan, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; Mr Simon Andrews, Executive Director, Fraunhofer UK; Prof Nick Fyfe, Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research; and Prof Lee Innes, Principal Scientist and Director of Communications, Moredun Research Institute, demonstrating the value placed on Scottish Crucible by the academic sector and government.
The 30 applicants were selected by a high-level panel from the 108 applications received, with a wide variety of research specialities and backgrounds. Over 2500 unqiue users visited the Scottish Crucible website, showing the wide interest in the programme.
The Launch
After their first day at the RSE, the participants met a selection of high profile guests, who shared their experiences and views on the research challenges of the future. After dinner speakers addressed the four key themes of the Crucible Programme. Dr Hermione Cockburn, Scientific Director of Dynamic Earth reflected on the importance of collaboration in research, while Prof Sheila Rowan, Director, Institute for Gravitational Research at University of Glasgow, addressed how interdisplinarity can help us all to succeed in our research goals.
Prof David Milne used his experiences as Founding Chief Executive of Wolfson Microelectronics plc to explore the challenges of innovation, and finally Prof Steve Reicher, Wardlaw Professor at the University of St Andrews, gave his own thoughts on what being a leader means, and how the Crucible programme can help participants become ‘Research Leaders of the Future’
Enhancing Impact
Following three two-day ‘labs’, participants return to work armed with a greater understanding of how science can benefit society and how thinking creatively can really make a difference to their work and their career. The first Crucible lab was hosted by Edinburgh Napier University at the RSE, and at the Scottish Parliament, exploring ways to engage with those beyond academia, including the media, the public and policymakers.
The second Crucible Lab will by hosted at the University of St Andrews, with the third lab at the University of Strathclyde. At the end of the programme, interdisciplinary cohorts created during the programme have the opportunity to pitch their collaborative research project ideas to a high-level panel in a Dragon’s Den-esque manner.
Further information
Scottish Crucible is supported by multiple funders, which in 2016 include the Scottish Funding Council, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, the University of St Andrews and the University of Strathclyde. For further information, contact ScottishCrucible@hw.ac.uk.
