The principal of Abertay University has said he has ”a spirit of optimism” about its future.
Professor Nigel Seaton took up his post this summer in the wake of a troubled time for the institution. Disputes at senior management level resulted in the suspension and then retirement of his predecessor and Abertay then had to endure an abortive attempt to merge it with Dundee University.
But ahead of taking part today in his first graduation ceremony, Prof Seaton made it clear he believes the university has weathered the storm and can now build on its academic strengths.
The chemical engineer rose through the ranks at Edinburgh, Cambridge and Surrey universities before applying to become only the second person to take charge of Abertay since it received university status.
He said: ”What I have enjoyed about university life, particularly university leadership, is to work with good people with a strong sense of mission and that’s what I saw in Abertay.
”It has a particularly strong set of values it’s about giving people life chances, and it’s great to be working at a place where people have such a strong commitment to the university’s mission.”
He spoke to friends and colleagues who knew Abertay well before deciding to seek the post.
”What came across was the university has a very high level of confidence about the future. That’s what I have sensed since I have been here and, of course, I am looking towards the future rather than looking backwards.”
Last week Abertay announced it would wind down its general nursing course to concentrate on mental health nursing.
”I think that’s an interesting example of what I see for the university in the future, to play to our strengths and reinforce areas of excellence,” the principal said.
”It’s a very Abertay thing. What I mean by that is that is a strong focus on producing good programmes for the students, a focus particularly on preparing students for the world of work.”
He reckons Scottish higher education is benefiting from a stable funding environment, but would like to see the university attract more research funding.
”It’s a question of finding the Abertay route to success in research, which means modest amounts of high-quality research with a global impact. It doesn’t mean generating the kind of research income that Dundee or St Andrews have because they have very different missions.”
The principal made it clear he is also keen to see Abertay continue to attract students from all over the world.
”We have a quota from the Scottish Funding Council for the number of students we can admit from Scotland and the EU and it gives us more flexibility if we can increase income from unrestricted sources.”
He said the university would always recruit up to its quota for Scots, who have their tuition fees met by the taxpayer.
The Scottish Government is keen on widening access to universities, encouraging people from poorer backgrounds to go into higher education. Abertay’s record on this is a good one, but Prof Seaton said: ”We should never assume we are doing all we can; particularly for a university with our values, there is a very strong reason why we always test ourselves to think of better ways of supporting students.
”I have been made very welcome by people in Dundee. It appears to me that both the universities have a very prominent place in the hearts of the people of Dundee and as a new kid on the block, it’s wonderful feeling to be welcomed in this way.”