Members of the Young Academy of Scotland (YAS) had an opportunity to put their questions to the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, when he visited the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) last week.
The First Minister visited the RSE to set out his vision for Scotland ahead of St Andrew’s Day.
The First Minister said that he thinks Scotland would be best be served by a robust, resilient wellbeing economy. He envisioned a country that promotes economic and social equality, and decarbonises our communities. He aspires for Scotland to be a country that values the health and the happiness of its people, as much as their productivity.
A key theme in the First Minister’s speech was around collaboration, working across disciplines and across cultures. In particular, he spoke of a “collaboration over conflict” approach to solve challenges faced in Scotland, and the importance of sharing ideas, consensus building, and working with public, private and voluntary organisations to find collective solutions.
YAS members were able to pose their questions to the First Minister. Professor Gary Kerr, Co-Chair of YAS asked the First Minister about what the Scottish Government could do to further support Scottish universities in turbulent times. The First Minister responded by saying that the Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with universities and explore possibilities to strengthen the economy. He made reference to how ideas and concepts emerging from Scottish universities are supported by the startup ecosystem and the Techscaler programme.
Dr Bernhard Blumenau, YAS member, asked the First Minister about the role of Europe in Scotland’s plans for the future. The First Minister responded by saying that he would like Europe to play a more significant part than it currently plays. The First Minister spoke about economic damage of Brexit and spoke of his plea to the UK Government to rebuild relationships with the Europe and the European Union, including addressing youth and student mobility issues.
Dr Nour Ghadban, YAS member and Council for At-Risk Academic (Cara) Fellow thanked the First Minister for support she received from Scotland where she secured her life after moving here from Syria. The First Minister thanked Nour for sharing her reflections and thanked her for her contribution to Scotland and to YAS. The First Minister went on to speak of his pride in how 19 female Afghan medical students came to Scotland to study Medicine after they were banned from completing their studies in Afghanistan.
A link to the recording of the session is available on YouTube.
Delivering for Scotland – First Minister sets out his vision for Scotland – YouTube
Gary Kerr
