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Abertay turned 25!
To celebrate 25 years since we were awarded university status, Abertay organised a special series of public talks.
The ‘Changing Times’ talks series saw more than a dozen events rolled out across 2019. The talks ranged from presentations from internationally-acclaimed digital artists to debate panels on some of society’s most pressing issues.
Since beginning life as Dundee Technical Institute in 1888, Abertay has always provided first-class education with a particular focus on preparing students for the world of work.
Since achieving University status in 1994, we’ve continued to evolve and grow with the needs of modern industry, launching the world’s first videogames degree and playing a key role in establishing Dundee as an international hub for videogames development.
Part of the Changing Times line-up was ‘Sport Cares – a panel discussion on the past, present and future of welfare in sport’. The panel included Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, former Scotland rugby international John Beattie, CEO of Switch the Play Leon Lloyd, former CEO of the British Athletes Commission Iain Braid, and Dr Rhiannon Lord of Abertay’s Division of Sport and Exercise Sciences.
The free event took place on Thursday 7 February and was chaired by Abertay’s Prof David Lavallee – the world’s first Professor of Duty of Care in Sport – and delved into issues surrounding sport, such as mental health, diversity and injury prevention.
Also on the bill was a unique Pecha Kucha talk in association with Creative Dundee, which saw former students return to Abertay to pass on their collective wisdom through the fun and frantic quick-fire format.
The Pecha Kucha evening showcased a diverse range of alumni, reflecting on their Abertay experiences, careers and thoughts for the future, and launched alongside a Curate the Campus exhibition where artwork from students, staff and alumni was showcased around the University.
A number of professorial lectures also ran over the course of the year, drawing on the expertise and insight of some of Abertay’s newest professors.
The University’s cultural outreach team, Weave by Abertay, fed into the celebrations through their Platform talks with a diverse range of speakers. Florent Maurin, a critically-acclaimed games designer and visual artist from Paris, kicked off the talks.
His reality-inspired game Bury Me, My Love is a mobile interactive fiction, telling the story of a Syrian woman trying to reach Europe and the poignant messages of support sent by her husband.
The Weave team also hosted artist, activist, organiser, teacher, and Iraq War veteran Aaron Hughes, a multimedia creative who works to construct narratives and meaning out of personal and collective traumas.
Speaking about the anniversary, former Abertay University Principal and Vice-Chancellor Nigel Seaton said, ‘Over the past 25 years Abertay has developed and grown in tandem with the needs and outlook of the modern, digital world, as well as the city of Dundee itself.
‘Our commitment to supporting young people into work is at the very heart of what we do and will continue to be our key focus for many years to come.’