Staff at Dundee University have blasted principal Iain Gillespie for “obscene” spending on international trips — including stays at a luxury Hong Kong hotel.
The Courier understands thousands of pounds worth of flights and hotels have been arranged for the university chief in the past 12 months.
They include a visit to Asia last November when more than £7,000 was spent on flights for Mr Gillespie and another unidentified staff member.
Return business-class flights between Edinburgh and Hong Kong were booked for the professor at a cost of £4,723.
The Courier found economy class tickets on the same route, at today’s prices, for under £500.
The second member of staff, identified as “LN”, travelled on a cheaper air fare, with their ticket costing £1,067.
‘Culture of waste’
We can also reveal Mr Gillespie was booked on business-class flights, worth more than £8,300, for a trip to China and Dubai next month before a university U-turn.
The City of Discovery institution insists significant savings have now been made on the jaunt, with the original flights re-booked on a premium economy fare.
But angry staff claim the initial decision, made just days before the principal told staff of “inevitable” job losses, highlights a culture of waste.
University policy is that economy tickets should be booked as standard but a spokesman said an agreement was reached, when Mr Gillespie took on the role, that he could travel premium economy or business class for long-haul travel.
Staff criticise ‘obscene’ spending
One insider said: “That they even thought it was OK to splash out like this when they knew the financial situation shows their disregard for staff on the ground.”
Another source said the spending on trips abroad was “obscene”.
Mr Gillespie, who we revealed this week earns more than £300,000, is due to visit China and Dubai in early December.
It comes just over a year after a Hong Kong trip that included a two-night stay for Mr Gillespie and the second member of staff at the five-star Grand Hyatt Hotel, costing £682 each.
The hotel boasts that it celebrates the “glamour of luxury travel”, offering facilities to “meet your every need”.
A University of Dundee spokesman insists the cost of the trip must be weighed against the value of global partnerships to the institution.
He said: “The principal is travelling to China where we have significant partnerships, including the Dundee International Institute of Central South University, and also opportunities to develop further collaboration.
“Our activity in China is a major part of our global strategy which brings in millions of pounds to the University every year, through student recruitment and in-country education and collaboration.
“That income is vital in considering our future sustainability.”
He added: “On Professor Gillespie’s appointment the chair of court provided authorisation that as principal he was permitted to travel premier economy or business class for long haul flights.”
In 2022-23, international students’ tuition fees were worth £78 million to the University of Dundee, around 24% of the institution’s income.
Scots students do not pay tuition fees but universities are free to charge their foreign counterparts.
Foreign students represent ‘crucial’ funding source
It represents a crucial funding stream – but the number of applicants has reduced significantly in recent years.
Critics say the sector is “over reliant” on international students, particularly those from China.
Kate Ogden, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: “A fall in the number of international postgraduate students, together with rising staff costs as a result of upcoming increases in employers’ National Insurance, represents something of a perfect storm for Scottish universities’ finances.
She continued: “With tuition free for Scottish students in Scotland, if the Scottish Government wants to provide more funding to universities it will need to look to its own budget.
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