Professor McVittie awarded Fellowship of
the American Psychological Association
(APA)
PRO FE S S O R C H R I S M CV IT TI E ( Ph D, C P s yc h o l ,
A FB Ps S ) h a s b e e n awa r d e d Fe l l ows h i p o f t h e
American Psychological Association (APA).
Professor McVittie is Professor of Social Psychology and Director of
the Centre for Applied Social Sciences at QMU, and has been with
the University for more than 15 years.
Not only has Professor McVittie been awarded Fellowship of the
APA, but also of its Division 5 (Quantitative and Qualitative Methods).
On this latter award, Professor McVittie has the further distinction of
being the first non-US resident psychologist to receive this honour.
Professor McVittie said: ”It is a great honour to have one’s work
recognised by the leading international professional association.
I am delighted that the APA has decided to mark my contribution
to Psychology by this award of Fellowship.” ❒
Professor McCormack awarded £2.5m
for dementia care
A
WORLD RENOWNED NURSING leader has helped
secure a ground breaking investment which will
support people with dementia and carers to
become experts, leaders and influencers in Scotland.
Professor Brendan McCormack, QMU’s Head of Division of
Nursing, who has a global reputation for his work in person-
centred practice and with older people, has been a driving force
in securing the £2.5 million investment from the Life Changes
Trust. The funding will be used to create a School of Leadership in
Dementia and a National Forum for Dementia Policy and Practice.
Professor McCormack has worked in collaboration with leaders
from the Life Changes Trust, Age Scotland and the University of
Edinburgh to bring this exciting development to fruition.
The creation of the National Forum will bring together people
with experience and expertise in dementia, locally and nationally,
with the aim of evidencing what will create better lives for people
with dementia and those who support them. ❒
Making schools more inclusive
S
COTLAND’S SECONDARY SCHOOLS are set to
become more inclusive for all pupils thanks to a
new online professional learning resource.
Recognising a need for secondary school teachers to have
access to equitable professional learning on inclusive practice,
Education Scotland has created ‘Inclusion in Practice – The
CIRCLE Framework: Secondary’. Based on The CIRCLE
Framework - a collaboration between practitioners in Edinburgh
City Council, QMU and NHS Lothian - the free resource is designed
to promote effective inclusive practice in classrooms. ❒
Professor Alastair Ager awarded
Fellowship
A
(QMU) PROFESSOR HAS been awarded a Fellowship
of the Royal Society of Edinburgh for his work in
the field of global health and development.
Professor Alastair Ager, Director of the Institute of Global Health
and Development at QMU, received the honour in recognition of
his contributions and dedication to the industry.
Professor Ager has worked in the field for over twenty-five years,
after originally training in psychology at the universities of Keele,
Wales and Birmingham in the UK. He has wide international
experience as a lecturer, researcher and consultant across
sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, Europe and North America
working with a range of intergovernmental, non-governmental
and governmental agencies. ❒
Deputy First Minister visits with QMU from
Education Studies students
J
OHN SWINNEY MSP, Deputy First Minister and
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, visited
QMU on Wednesday 30 October 2019, to learn how
the University is taking a distinctive and fresh approach
to the education of student teachers.
In collaboration with the Scottish Government, QMU launched
its new teaching education programmes in autumn 2019.
With a real-world approach and a broad-based social science
curriculum, these courses take full account of the educational
needs of school pupils now and in the future.
During his visit, Mr Swinney saw the first cohort of
undergraduate primary education students participate in a
workshop on academic literacies, featuring discussions on
topics ranging from digital literacy to climate change. He also
heard how QMU is featuring education in British Sign Language
in its teaching courses, exemplifying the University's focus on
inclusive education.
Mr Swinney also met with students on the University's
postgraduate course in home economics, and learned how
they are being taught to educate young people in food, nutrition,
health and wellbeing, and the connection between these issues
and addressing climate change.
Mr Swinney said: "I was very pleased to meet so many talented
and enthusiastic student teachers who are enjoying their courses
and have the passion and enthusiasm to make a lasting, positive
difference for our children and young people." ❒
Framework to improve support for refugees
A
SCOTTISH ACADEMIC’S RESEARCH into refugee
integration has contributed to a new Home Office
report, which was published in June 2019. Launched
by the Immigration Minister, the report looks to improve
integration strategies to better support refugees in the UK.
The ‘Indicators of Integration Framework’, a helpful resource for
local authorities and charities who work with refugees, is based
on research conducted by Dr Alison Strang, an expert in refugee
integration from Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh. The
report allows individuals to understand how well settled someone
is and what changes need to be made to improve their integration
into their new community.
Produced by the Home Office in collaboration with Queen Margaret
University, academics from the University of Birmingham and the
University of Sussex, as well as charities and refugees themselves,
the report provides practical ways to understand and measure the
integration of refugees and migrants.
Essentially, it will help organisations working with refugees and
asylum seekers to design more effective strategies, monitor services
and better evaluate progress. ❒
QMYOU / News in Brief
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