Episode 37: From Scotland to the world and back again

In this edition of the podcast I talk to Wendy Alexander, Vice-Principal International at the University of Dundee, about her remarkable career, her university's international activities, student life after the pandemic and the future direction of higher education in Scotland and the UK.

Wendy's career has taken her around many parts of the world both as a student and in work but it has always had a connection with higher education one way or another. That consistent thread of HE has run through a period of international consultancy, 12 years in and around the Scottish Parliament including a period as Leader of Scottish Labour and more recently as a Higher Education trade envoy for the Scottish Government.

Exploring her current role at Dundee we learn about the development of the university's international activities over the past decade, the growth in student numbers, partnerships in a range of disciplines with universities in Singapore and China (including a visit to Wuhan in early 2020) and a strong and comprehensive programme of humanitarian scholarships for students from the most challenged of circumstances around the world.

Considering the need for that humanitarian approach, especially with the potential for welcoming students from Ukraine, we consider the importance of laying the foundations for those recruits, recognising that sorting out all the details can take time, visa arrangements in particular.

We discuss the changed nature of the student experience and their expectations in a post-pandemic world and the importance of students' unions and related activities to create sense of belonging and note that unions and universities need to work together to provide the right support and resources.

Finally we explore the potential for further divergence of higher education policies across the nations of the UK and Wendy suggests there will be more points of connection as well as perhaps divergence given that HE is one of Britain's few global assets.