Tag: University of St Andrews

Establishing digital at the heart of the University from IWMW 2016

I had a bit of a surprise this afternoon when I spoke with my sister Jenni on the phone.

“I saw that lecture you gave at the university, on YouTube,” she said.

“What lecture?”

Jenni sent me the link.

It turned out to be the one above, a talk given to the Institutional Web Management Workshop (IWMW) at John Moore’s University in Liverpool in 2016, on the eve of the infamous Brexit referendum.

There was an electricity outage at Lime Street station on the day we were meant to return to Scotland, so we hot footed it down to the Liverpool docks, hired a car and I drove back to Leuchars station where I’d parked my own car. Then I drove to Anstruther to place my vote firmly in the box that said: no I do not want to leave the EU.

Anyway, this was my talk, illustrated with a lot of LEGO-related slides.

St Andrews class of 1993

I’ve just received my 30th anniversary graduation gift from the University of St Andrews: a short video clip of my graduation on Thursday 8 July 1993.

So, I uploaded it to my YouTube channel to share with the world.

In the video, I can be seen walking across the stage in the Younger Hall on North Street after my name is called, kneeling before Sir Kenneth Dover, the then-Chancellor of the University who taps me on the head with what are supposedly part of the breeches of John Knox while saying “Et super te” (and also on you), while Jim Douglas places my Bachelor of Divinity (Honours) hood over my head.

Then there is what my son Joshua referred to as the ‘action replay’.

The video ends with a view of the graduates congregating outside Younger Hall in the rain. These days after the graduation there is a procession down the middle of North Street from the Younger Hall to St Salvator’s quadrangle for photos and celebrations.

This brought back fond memories of my graduation day.

There is no such thing as a stupid question

St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews, 1990–1991

One of the most important lessons I ever learned was while I was in my fourth and final year at St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews and it had nothing to do with what I was studying, practical theology and Christian ethics.

The lesson I learned was, there is no such thing as a stupid question if you don’t know the answer.

Continue reading There is no such thing as a stupid question

Let’s talk about mental health

The Firth of Forth, looking towards the Isle of May

One year ago today, I walked into work and burst into tears. I didn’t even make it to my desk. I felt the anxiety rising as I approached my office building. By the time I reached the top of the stairs I was shaking and hyper-ventilating. I walked past my office, sat in my boss’s office and wept.

Continue reading Let’s talk about mental health