Glasgow Caledonian University’s future leaders in the Crucible career development programme met a host of top politicians during a visit to the Scottish Parliament.
Twelve early career researchers from the School of Health and Life Sciences’ Research Centre for Health (ReaCH) and the Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health shared their research interests and expertise with Jenni Minto, Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, and Graeme Dey, Minister for Higher and Further Education and Minister for Veterans.
The group was kindly hosted by Bob Doris MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn and his team, and they spent time chatting with Paul Sweeney MSP and Dr Julie Simpson, Chief Scientist Office Research Manager (Capacity Building and Information).
As well as a tour around the Parliament building and a trip to First Minister’s Questions, the team also met with representatives from the Clerk’s Office and from SPICe, the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, where they received invaluable information on how to approach policymakers and their teams.
The Crucible participants are Drs Melanie Dembinsky, Diane Dickson, Linda Fenocchi, Kirsteen Goodman, Emma Green, Timothy Humpton, Karen Maxwell, Bryan McCann, Boatemaa Ofori-Frimpong, Jack Rendall, Dave Whiteley and Kathryn Wilson.
Crucible Lead and Co-Director of ReaCH Professor Carol Emslie said: “It was wonderful to visit the Scottish Parliament with our early career researchers, and learn more about how our research can influence policy. It was a great opportunity for our researchers to observe First Minister’s Questions and discuss their research with Ministers and MSPs, and for policymakers to hear more about our world-leading applied health research.
“We met Anas Sarwar, the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, in the lift, so had an opportunity to try out the elevator pitches we had been practicing as part of the Crucible programme! We are extremely grateful to Bob Doris and his team for their generosity in hosting us at the Parliament.”
The researchers really enjoyed their day at the Scottish Parliament and gave some great feedback on their experiences.
Dr Ofori-Frimpong said: “A great experience for me as a researcher. It was very insightful to know how research is used to inform policy and solve everyday problems.”
Dr Fenocchi said: “We had an excellent and informative visit to the Scottish Parliament as part of the Crucible programme for GCU researchers, meeting with elected officials, parliamentary and government staff, to understand the synergies and points of connection that are available to us.
“Our discussions focused on ways to bring our research at GCU together with a range of policy and political players to inform and influence in areas that are important for Scotland.”
Co-Director of ReaCH Professor van Wijck also attended to show her support for the Crucible programme, along with the University’s Community and Public Engagement Officer Kerry O’Neil and Research Impact Officer Dr Chiara Cipollari.
The three-day Crucible Research Leaders of the Future programme is open to post-doctoral early career researchers in the School of Health and Life Sciences and the Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health.
On days one and two the programme participants honed their skills on effectively communicating their research and were able to put it to the test at parliament – making connections and exploring future opportunities to work with policymakers.
Find out more about the Crucible training programme – https://www.gcu.ac.uk/aboutgcu/academicschools/hls/research/crucibletraining
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