University of Dundee: At The Forefront of the City’s Growth Ambitions

Alongside Dundee City Council we’re hosting a free to attend virtual event – Invest in Dundee; Key Sectors for Economic Recovery – and one of the key players in the future economic success of the region is the University of Dundee. We’ve been speaking exclusively with Prof Sir Mike Ferguson on the importance of the University to the city – and their ambitious plans to be at the forefront of this for years to come.

Q. How important is the University of Dundee to the city?

I like to think very important for a whole host of reasons. With an annual turnover of about £250 million, and employing about one in twelve people in the City, the university is major component of the regional economy. Add in the supply chains and service industries that support the university and you can see what a major economic driver the University of Dundee is. Of course, universities are about training the next generation of doctors, nurses, dentists, scientists, accountants, architects, economists, artists, linguists, historians.…you name it. Much of this talent stays in the region which further drives the economy and fuels our key services. Last and not least, the university is a key component of local culture and brings reputation and international reach for the City of Dundee. 

Q. Over the past 5-10 years there has been some major development activity across Dundee, and its image has been boosted by this – is this helping the University attract more students?

Yes, most certainly. The university was delighted to be a part of the V&A project, for example. The V&A and the whole waterfront vision makes Dundee a much more attractive location for students and it augments Dundee’s terrific reputation for being a friendly and fun place, as well as academically a great place, to study.

Q. How important is the estate and facilities for attracting such talent – and is there any potential new development plans or expansions in the pipeline? [emaillocker id=”71749″]

Yes, ongoing development is crucial. A successful university must be fit-for-purpose, current and relevant – otherwise it will fail in its mission and the talent will go elsewhere. Major projects on the cards are our Tay Cities Deal-supported Innovation Hub, to accommodate high-growth Life Sciences and MedTech companies, and the JustTech collaboration and innovation centre for forensic science, led by Professor Niamh Nic Daed. Of course, colleagues in the university are also working hard with Dundee City Council on the possibility of creating an Eden Centre here – something that would bridge tourism, education and scientific research in an exciting way.

Q. You specifically work within the Life Sciences area of the University – and the University is seen as one of the leading higher educational institutions in the world for research in this space. How did Dundee become such a haven for this type of research?

Hard work and attention to active recruitment, which is hard work in itself. You can’t have a world-class research environment without world-class scientists. To get them you have to have outstanding research facilities, an outstanding research culture – supportive and collaborative – and a high quality of life from the living environment. The latter is provided by the great City of Dundee and its environs, of course. But the outstanding facilities have been driven by the life scientists themselves raising the bulk of the capital to build and equip our research complex. So, it’s a bootstrapping effect; great recruitment leads to quality and growth and the next generation of champions.

Q. Being home to world-leading life science research I’m guessing your operations have been massively impacted as the world looks to combat the coronavirus pandemic. How has the University and its team of experts been involved in this?

Yes indeed, the university rose vigorously to the COVID-19 challenge. For example, and apologies for not listing everything: At the clinical end, colleagues in the School of Medicine and NHS Tayside have, as well as brilliantly looking after patients, been engaged in key national and international COVID-19 research projects and clinical trials. At the clinical/molecular science interface Professors James Chalmers and Doreen Cantrell have been looking at how patient’s immune systems react to the infection. At the drug discovery end our Medical Research Council Unit, directed by Professor Dario Alessi, has been making all the different component parts of the virus to provide to the national research community and our Drug Discovery Unit, lead by Professor Paul Wyatt, was chosen to develop new medicines for treating coronavirus infections. At the diagnostics end, Professor David Gray has been central to setting up and running the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab that performs 50,000 tests a day. I have also been providing a bit of advice to the UK Government on COVID-19 antibody testing and national core studies.

Q. Student retention must be incredibly important to both the University and the city – how are you working collaboratively with those in the city region to ensure high quality jobs are available for those completing their education at the University of Dundee?

The Tay Cities deal support will boost our MedTech capabilities and build our Innovation Hub to nurture and grow our all our life sciences spin-out companies. This is crucial but it is just a part of Growing the Tay Cities Biomedical Cluster through a wider ‘Life Sciences Innovation District’ vision for the region. This will encompass the whole life sciences sector, in partnership with the local authorities, and make sure all our industrial, academic and professional strengths and capabilities are coordinated and mutually supportive. It will include business and entrepreneurial support and really put Dundee on the map as a preferred destination for life sciences investment now and for the future. Investment and company growth means quality, sustainable jobs for our graduates, post-graduates and school-leavers. It means training and re-training opportunities, with quality jobs at the end, through Dundee & Angus College and other HEIs. It means more jobs through associated supply chains and service industries. It means inclusive growth for our citizens, old and new.

Q. What support do you need to make the Biomedical Cluster a reality?

One key component that we are actively seeking is a fund to convert great innovations into investible assets. So often, discoveries and innovations based on years and millions of pounds-worth of painstaking public- and charity-funded research need a comparatively tiny amount of additional support (to do some key experiments and/or market research) to get them ‘investment-ready’. Weirdly, this is the hardest money to find! The public sector thinks it is the private sector’s job and vice versa. When we fix this, and we will, it will give us a massive advantage in fulfilling our commitments to the wellbeing of the community that we proudly serve.

You can register for the Invest in Dundee webinar for free here: https://www.built-environment-networking.com/event/future-development-plans-dundee/

[/emaillocker]