School of
MANAGEMENT AND LANGUAGES
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ongratulations – you did it! We are tremendously proud of every one of you and the hard work you have put in to achieve your goals. The knowledge and skills you have gained during your time here in the School of Management and Languages will be a great asset to you as you move on through this next stage of your lives. As a graduate of Heriot-Watt University you are automatically a member of the University’s alumni association, The Watt Club. If you have not already done so, please do register your contact details online at www.alumni.hw.ac.uk. By registering online with The Watt Club your details can be updated from wherever you are in the world via their website, and you can keep in touch with other students from your course and School, as well as receive updates on alumni news and events, as well as University and School news and events. In this newsletter we highlight the continuing global success of the School and our students, both past and present. It is both inspirational and uplifting to read about the fantastic accomplishments of our students and graduates – and who knows, in a few years time it may be your story that features in this newsletter! I sincerely hope you have found your time with us here in the School a rewarding and fulfilling experience, and on behalf of everyone in the School I wish you every success for the future.
Professor Gillian Hogg Head of School
UNIVERSITY NEWS
News Update June 2009 League Table Success Heriot-Watt University has leapt up from 52nd to 22nd place overall in the Guardian University league tables which were published in May. In terms of particular subject rankings that the School of Management and Languages is measured in, Heriot-Watt is in the top 10 for Modern Languages, the top 15 for Economics and the top 20 for Business & Management. Breaking this down further we are ranked 2nd in Scotland for Modern Languages, 3rd in Scotland for Economics, and 4th in Scotland for Business & Management. The University is now also in the top twenty for Art & Design, Building and Town & Country Planning, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology and Sports Science. Commenting on the statistics, the Principal and ViceChancellor of Heriot-Watt University Professor Anton Muscatelli said, “This is excellent news and is testament to the commitment of the University in strengthening its position as a leading institution continually enhancing student experience in academic terms and providing an allembracing relevant education. It recognises the quality of a Heriot-Watt degree, in securing good employment.”
SCHOOL NEWS Dr Cyrille Guiat It is with great sadness that we report the death of our colleague and friend Dr Cyrille Guiat in February 2009. Cyrille was a Lecturer in French and had been with Heriot-Watt University for 17 years before returning to France last year to take up a post at Audencia School of Management in Nantes.
Professor Chapman, 50, is currently Vice-Principal (Pro Vice-Chancellor) for Planning, Resources and Research Policy at the University of Edinburgh. He said: “HeriotWatt University is one of the country’s leading institutions and has gone from strength to strength in recent years. I look forward to continuing on the foundation set by Focus on the Future and to working with colleagues to grow the University’s influence.
Cyrille came to Heriot-Watt in 1991, initially as a Language Assistant and then as a Lecturer, after studying at the University of Nantes and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. An energetic and enthusiastic teacher, he had a natural ability to engage students fully. While developing teaching interests in Politics, History, Translation and Interpreting, Cyrille Dr Cyrille Guiat worked towards the successful 1968 – 2009 completion of a PhD thesis on the cultural policies of the French and Italian Communist Parties, awarded by the University of Leeds in 2000.
“The University has excelled in recent times in its research ratings and in its league table rankings. I believe that with a clear vision for the future, we are set to continue on this course and become one of the country’s leading institutions in science, business, technology and languages.”
In May, students and colleagues gathered in the University’s Millennium Garden to plant a rowan tree in memory and celebration of Cyrille’s life. During his 17 years at HeriotWatt, Cyrille forged many links across the University. He is fondly remembered and greatly missed by those who worked with him as well as generations of students.
New Principal Professor Steve Chapman will succeed Professor Anton Muscatelli as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University from 1 September 2009.
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Prestigious appointment for leading Economics Professor Professor Mark Schaffer, Professor of Economics in the School of Management and Languages, and also Director of School’s Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation (CERT), was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) in March 2009. Professor Schaffer was one of 44 new UK and International Fellows who were elected after a rigorous four-stage selection process culminating in a ballot of the entire Fellowship. Each new Fellow of the RSE is recognised within his or her peer group as having achieved excellence within their discipline or profession. Once admitted to the RSE Fellows are encouraged to contribute to the aims and objectives of the Society, including the provision of expert policy advice to Government and Parliament, outreach education programmes for young people, and public engagement events including conferences and discussion forums. The central aim of the Society is the advancement of learning and useful knowledge.
Multilingual Debate 2009 Heriot-Watt University’s Multilingual Debate, organised by the School’s Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies, is an annual event that showcases the interpreting skills of our final year undergraduate students, as well as the developing professional skills of postgraduate students on our MSc Translating and Conference Interpreting programmes. The event takes the form of a formal debate with two multilingual teams arguing for and against a motion of topical interest in a range of languages. The teams deliver their views in their various native languages (French, German, Spanish, English, Chinese, Arabic) with simultaneous interpreting provided by our students. British Sign Language trainee interpreters also interpret into BSL. The audience participate in the debate by listening to the arguments, putting questions to the speakers in the languages represented and voting on the motion. The Multilingual Debate stimulates an interest among young people in the international politics and social issues of the modern world whilst also setting language acquisition in a realistic context. The success of this initiative won a European Languages award in 2006. There was such great demand for the Multilingual Debate that this year for the first time two debates were run. Over 1000 participants from schools and universities from across the UK came to Heriot-Watt to take part in the debates on the marginalisation of men, and the diversity of language. The Debate also received TV coverage on Newsnight Scotland.
www.sml.hw.ac.uk
SML Society win ‘Society of the Year’ The SML Society aims to create a community atmosphere in SML through events and membership of the society, With a motto of ‘work hard, play hard’ it is unsurprising that members benefit from a variety of social events ranging from formal balls to golfing for business and the monthly dinner club, as well as challenging entrepreneurial projects and exclusive competitions, workshops and internships with some of the most respected employers in industry. In recognition of their achievements, the Society recently received ‘Society of the Year’ Award at the Heriot-Watt University Students’ Association (HWUSA) Volunteer Oscars. From their first Summer Ball event in 2007 to the Fiesta event held just before Easter. SML Society events are popular with students and staff from across the University and act as a great platform for networking and the sharing of ideas as well as building friendships. Planning and managing the events provides the opportunity for members to be come actively involved in the society and develop some amazing skills such as marketing, financial control, relationship management and logistics Another huge success for the society was in producing over 500 personalised hoodies for every school, every campus, societies and alumni only using ethically traded materials (which in itself was a major achievement!). Membership of the society is open to both SML students and SML staff and there are currently over 600 members! Keeping in touch with the Society and your fellow classmates is easy – sign up for free at www.hwsml.com
Careers in Languages A new website dedicated to careers information for the School’s Languages graduates was launched in September 2008. Fanny Chouc and Katerina Strana, Careers Liaison Officers for Languages, wanted to put together an interactive resource for students and graduates that provides regular updates on internships and job offers in the field of languages as well as useful links and tips for working as translators and interpreters. The website has a particular focus on translation and interpreting, but also includes information on business and languages as well as language teaching – all areas in which the School is a recognised leader in the field. We hope the website will become a regular port of call for those who wish to keep up with developments and career opportunities in translation and interpreting, and also with the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies. www.sml.hw.ac.uk/langcareers/
undergraduate NEWS Enterprise and Business Start-Up Competition 2009 The School’s Enterprise and Business Start-Up Competition is now in its 12th year, and is one of the biggest undergraduate enterprise courses in the UK. Over 400 students from Heriot-Watt’s Edinburgh and Galashiels campuses took part in the 2009 competition.
Pupils at the Multilingual Debate 2009’
Students are drawn from our own School of Management and Languages, along with students in other Schools here at Heriot Watt taking engineering, scientific, life sciences and IT degrees. The students study and practice the skills of enterprise in their first year management modules. During the second semester the various tutorial groups have to think up a viable business idea, develop and research this product or service and put together a business plan. The work does not finish here, for each group has to give a presentation to a panel of judges to try and convince the panel about the merits of their plan and idea. The Bank of Scotland provides information on the financing of business
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POSTGRADUATE NEWS
start ups and Scottish Enterprise is free with their advice to the students from their Small Business Gateway business information centre in Edinburgh.
Fashion students go ‘moda’ in Milan
Prizes of £1000 are awarded to the team with the best business idea, and the team who produce the best business plan. The Bank of Scotland also kindly assist in the judging of the student ideas at the presentations. The winners of ‘Best Business Idea’ in 2009 went to a group who proposed APSB (Air Pressured Speed Bumps). The prize for Best Business Plan’ was awarded to a group called 3E Ltd who had drawn up a business plan for producing an Eco Generator. The winning teams were presented with their prizes by Professor Gill Hogg, Head of School of Management and Languages at an awards ceremony held early in April, details of which can be found on our website at www.sml.hw.ac.uk/sml/ news/april2009/businessawards.html
The trip provided real-world insight to the realities of fashion marketing and allowed students to gain an international perspective on the issues taught on the course, as well as introducing a dash of Italian style! “Heriot-Watt’s MSc in International Fashion Marketing aims to be the best of its kind in Europe equipping graduates with the knowledge and skills to succeed in the demanding fashion industry. Students visiting a fashion-oriented city like Milan brings the subject to life in a way which would be impossible elsewhere” says Stephen Wigley, Deputy Course Director.
During the past semester the students have had the added experience of guest lectures from business and industry including Chris Hudd from Springboard Marketing who attended the ceremony to present management student Kathryn Randall with an award for the ‘Best essay for management consultancy’ . Chris commented; “Springboard were really keen to link up with a university – working with students within an institution gives us new ideas when it comes to marketing and promoting businesses. Kathryn provided a great submission, and there were several ideas that we hope to pursue with Kathryn in the future”.
Students and staff from the School’s MSc in International Fashion Marketing course have recently returned from a trip to Milan in Italy - the fashion capital of the world.
The trip included management presentations and tours of the Benetton flagship store, influential lifestyle boutique 10 Corso Como and the world’s leading luxury department store, la Rinascente. Learning from the practical experiences of these companies has complimented the teaching on the course. At the same time, the trip was an opportunity to enjoy some vino rosso and pasta and was an excellent conclusion to the years teaching before students began their dissertations.
Economics – suddenly we’re all interested! In these times of global recession, interest in economics and the study of economics has increased greatly. The School has run two events this year aiming to explore and explain the current economic crisis. Credit Crunch and Crash in December 2008 was attended by over 350 S5 and S6 pupils and looked at the underlying reasons for the economic crisis. Riding out the Recession in March 2009 then examined whether or not governments are doing enough to overcome the global recession. At each event Professor Jeremy Peat, former Chief Economist at the Scottish Office and Group Chief Economist with the Royal Bank of Scotland kindly acted as chair, with senior executives from RBS as well as leading Economists from within the School also taking part. Both events proved highly popular with some excellent feedback on how useful participants had found the events.
MSc International Fashion Marketing students at Benetton’s flagship store in Milan.
Heriot-Watt offer 20% off postgraduate course fees With the current economic situation, it is an ideal time to be thinking about further study and spending the next 12 months getting a postgrad qualification that will put you ahead in your chosen career. Heriot-Watt University is currently offering a 20% reduction on postgraduate taught course fees to all Heriot-Watt alumni. Within the School we have postgraduate courses in Business Management, Logistics, International Fashion Marketing, Strategic Project Management, International Accounting, Finance, as well as Translating & Interpreting. Full details can be found on our website at www.sml.hw.ac.uk/postgrad
EXTERNAL PROGRAMMES HWMP – 10 years and 1000 graduates
Professor Jeremy Peat at the Credit Crunch and Crash event held in December 2008
The Heriot-Watt Management Programme (HWMP) is a supported flexible and distributed learning undergraduate degree programme in business and management. Most students undertake the programme on a part-time basis, through our Approved Learning Partners, studying for their degrees over a 2 to 6 year period, depending on their work commitments. Over 2,500 students have enrolled in the programme since its launch in 1999, studying in countries throughout the world such as Dubai, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Iran, Malaysia, Mauritius, the Philippines, Singapore, and Trinidad and Tobago. Doris Osei from Ghana is HWMP’s 1000th graduate. When Doris enrolled on HWMP she was working with Anglogold Ashanti as a Senior Administrative Officer where she
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supervised the day to day management of the organization. During her studies she moved to Gyata Exploration Ltd as their Head Office Manager. Just before Doris completed her final examinations she was promoted to Administration & Finance Manager at Gyata.
deserved. This is the second prize that her thesis has won – only a few months ago it also won the prize for the best PhD in logistics / supply chain management from Emerald Publishing.”
Doris said: “I was doing book-keeping but needed to add accounting and management to it, so I was very happy to discover HWMP offered exactly what I needed. The road has not been easy but I have learned a lot. Achieving one’s goals requires determination; focus, commitment, and hard work but picturing the end result kept me motivated.” Doris and her husband will mark the occasion by attending the SML Graduation on 24th June where Doris will receive her Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree. We wish Doris every success for the future.
STUDENT NEWS Official Interpreter role for SML student Isabel Lui, a PhD student in translating and interpreting from the School, acted as the official interpreter for Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, on his recent visit to China. The First Minster and Education Secretary, Fiona Hyslop, were in China to build on existing links in areas such as education and exploit new opportunities in the fields of renewable energy, golf tourism, life sciences and computer gaming. Mr Salmond believes there is “massive” potential for Scottish companies, universities and colleges to build relationships with companies and institutions in China.
Yuan’s PhD supervisors, Prof. Alan McKinnon and Prof. David Grant, receive the Cooper Cup on Yuan’s behalf.
Interpreting Obama MSc Translating and Conference Interpreting graduate, Pierre Flez, interpreted Barack Obama’s victory speech for French television. After winning last November’s USA presidential elections, Barack Obama gave his victory speech from Chicago. Coverage was broadcast live around the world, and Pierre simultaneously interpreted Obama’s speech into French. Pierre commented: “It was an amazing moment, challenging, but historical! I was very proud to be involved.”
APM Student Success Award MSc Strategic Project Management graduate, Beth Hutchison, has won the prestigious Association of Project Management (APM) Student Success Award for 2009. Hosted by the Scottish Branch of the APM, the Recognition of Student Success Awards celebrate the success of MSc students from Scottish universities and showcases their talents as emerging project management professionals with creative approaches to project management. Beth, who graduated with distinction in 2007 and currently works for VisitScotland as a Planning and Sustainability Manager, was one of three finalists all of whom were drawn from APM member universities in Scotland. Beth’s winning dissertation looked at the concept of an ‘ideal commercialisation process’ for Scottish universities.
Isabel Lui (seated behind Alex Salmond) during the First Minister’s trip to China
Heriot-Watt has already established strong links in China through our Approved Learning Partner network, and also the opening of a Heriot-Watt office in Tianjin last year.
Amos Haniff, Director of our MSc Strategic Project Management course, said: “We are all immensely proud of Beth’s fantastic achievement in winning this APM award. Beth’s dissertation and our MSc Strategic Project Management course are both reflective of the new movement in project management, where projects are now being used as a vehicle to deliver organizational strategies.”
Isabel did an outstanding job in fulfilling an extremely challenging role, and was a great credit to the School and to Heriot-Watt University.
GRADUATE NEWS Prizewinning Thesis Dr Yuan Xing, a PhD graduate from the School’s Logistics Research Centre (LRC), has won the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s award for the best PhD thesis. Yuan’s thesis was entitled ‘An Analysis of Physical Distribution Service Quality in the Online Retail Market’. It examined the quality of the delivery service provided by online retailers from both consumer and supplier perspectives. The research included a large survey of Edinburgh residents and discussions with managers in internet retailing and home delivery companies. Yuan’s main supervisor and Director of the LRC, Professor Alan McKinnon, said “We are delighted that Yuan’s thesis has won the CILT’s prestigious Cooper Memorial Cup, it is thoroughly
Beth and Amos Haniff (centre left) with other Heriot-Watt students at the APM Awards
School of Management and Languages Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS www.sml.hw.ac.uk enquiries@sml.hw.ac.uk