I am sure you are all looking forward to the extended weekend break and Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday in honour of Her Majesty The Queen’s 70th anniversary as monarch.
On behalf of the entire University community, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations and best wishes to Her Majesty on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee.
The first British monarch to achieve this milestone, Her Majesty has served the United Kingdom, the Realms and Commonwealth with great dignity and devotion – and has been a steadfast figure throughout most of our lives.
Strathclyde owes its status as the UK’s first Technological University to what was referred to as ‘a humble petition’ presented to Her Majesty that resulted in a Royal Charter being issued in 1964, when the great Sir Sam Curran was Principal.
University status was the springboard that allowed Strathclyde to really make its mark on the world and drive forward our founding ethos as ‘the place of useful learning’ and our mission to make the world better-educated, sustainable, prosperous, healthy, fair and secure.
Her Majesty, alongside His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, visited the Strathclyde campus in July 2015 to formally open our Technology & Innovation Centre – further endorsing our mission to make a positive impact on the world and helping us to become the institution we are today.
Our achievements have also been recognised through the Queen’s Anniversary Prize, the highest national honour conferred on the higher and further education sector. Last year we were awarded our third Queen’s Anniversary Prize, for our work in the field of Advanced Manufacturing – adding to our previous awards for excellence in energy research in 2019 and for our teaching and research in electrical power engineering in 1996. The most recent award was made in recognition of the role we have played in transforming international competitiveness and for our contribution to communities through the establishment of two Innovation Districts.
On this special occasion let me thank you for all that you do for Strathclyde, individually and collectively, that has enabled us to build on our status as a leading international technological university.
Finally, I would like to offer my congratulations to Strath Union for winning the Widening Access category of The Herald Higher Education Awards, and to all of those who were shortlisted which has demonstrated the quality and impact of our education, research and innovation activities.
I hope you enjoy the long weekend with your family and friends.
Best wishes,
Jim