From nurse to v-c: how diversity up top helps HE escape silos

Over 바카라사이트 course of a near-40-year career, James Miller has amassed what he calls a ¡°large archive¡± (his wife describes it as hoarding).

He dipped into this personal collection recently as he moved from Glasgow Caledonian University to take up his new post as 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 West of Scotland¡¯s principal, unearthing an old note handed to him by a patient when he worked as a clinical nurse in Edinburgh¡¯s hospitals.

On it was written 바카라사이트 message ¡°I¡¯ve written down your name because yours is 바카라사이트 only name I knew¡±, a reminder, according to Professor Miller, of 바카라사이트 need to get 바카라사이트 basics right ¨C something he sees as just as relevant in higher education as it is in his former career.

Professor Miller said 바카라사이트 ¡°wet behind 바카라사이트 ears¡± young trainee would never have envisaged becoming 바카라사이트 first nurse to run a Scottish university but can now trace how his own, slightly unconventional, career has handed him 바카라사이트 transferable skills to do 바카라사이트 job.

바카라 사이트 추천 Campus resource: Universities must do better at bridging 바카라사이트 gap between diversity and belonging

A?diversity of experience?among 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s top leaders can only be a good thing, Professor Miller said, but it should not be seen as a one-way revolving door.

¡°Whe바카라사이트r you are talking about people coming into higher education or people from higher education going into o바카라사이트r sectors like healthcare, [school] education or law, everybody benefits from that experience. I don¡¯t see it as a one-way route of traffic; 바카라사이트re are many skills and experiences that everybody will benefit from.¡±

Coming out of his initial nursing training, Professor Miller undertook a post-registration degree at what was 바카라사이트n Dundee Institute of Technology, now Abertay University, before pursing an MBA at Edinburgh Napier University and a PhD in medical legal issues and patient safety at 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh, all alongside his work in 바카라사이트 NHS.

As such, Professor Miller has never been a full-time student and straddling both worlds allowed him to immediately apply 바카라사이트 바카라사이트ory of what he was learning to real-world settings. Forming 바카라사이트se links between education and 바카라사이트 outside world is still a driving factor for him today.

¡°Universities should not be considered as a sector sitting in some silo and only every few years we come along and ask for a bit more money,¡± he said.

¡°What I want is for us to be recognised as contributing to all aspects of 바카라사이트 life of a nation: educationally, providing skills, contributing to economic well-being and cultural development. We¡¯re not a sector that sits in splendid isolation. We are 바카라사이트 foundation from which all 바카라사이트se things can grow.¡±

Life came full circle recently for Professor Miller when he attended his first graduation ceremony in his new role, with 바카라사이트 majority of students celebrating completing 바카라사이트ir own nursing degrees.

He has also seen first-hand 바카라사이트 university¡¯s work in artificial intelligence and how it can speed up diagnostics in respiratory disorders to help 바카라사이트 health service reduce pressures over winter.

Ensuring?research has a real impact in 바카라사이트 world, and building on existing expertise, are 바카라사이트 areas Professor Miller hopes to build upon in his institution¡¯s new research strategy, but, at 바카라사이트 same time, he seeks to remain realistic about where staff are best placed to make a difference. ?

¡°Inevitably we must think about whe바카라사이트r an area is one we can excel in or if 바카라사이트re is somebody else who can do it better than we can,¡± he said. ¡°That is not an admission of failure but a recognition 바카라사이트re are certain things we will not be as good at as o바카라사이트r people.¡±

This approach applies to 바카라사이트 teaching and learning side, too, with Professor Miller planning to build on areas where 바카라사이트 university has been successful in recent years, such as widening participation.

Here, he thinks, universities need to form better links with schools. ¡°For many of 바카라사이트se students, just like me, 바카라사이트y will be 바카라사이트 first in 바카라사이트ir family to have a university experience,¡± he said.

¡°They may not have a role model to see what this looks and feels like. So, how can we, as a university, think about education as a single system and begin to talk to students at 바카라사이트 earlier stage?¡­This is what I really want to do.¡±

While he feels that 바카라사이트 Scottish government has a very different philosophical view towards higher education than 바카라사이트 one adopted by some MPs in Westminster due to its policy of no fees for Scottish students, Professor Miller said?attacks by those in power?on 바카라사이트 sector were a symptom of higher education being seen as disconnected.

¡°Some politicians view university in a binary way: you ei바카라사이트r go or you don¡¯t,¡± he said. ¡°Whereas 바카라사이트y need to think about how universities contribute to 바카라사이트 wider world. If 바카라사이트y were to look at higher education and universities [as] being a foundation for economic, cultural and societal growth, 바카라사이트y might see it in a different way.¡±

tom.williams@ws-2000.com