Alastair Scott speaks about his experience as a student at the Dundee Technical College, how classes used to be, about the courses he took and what Dundee and the campus used to look like. He spoke about his role in the family business and how the jute industry provided him with a lot of travelling opportunities (India, Pakistan, Thailand).
He talks about lecturers he remembers and the connections he still has with Abertay University and his role in the Dundee Heritage Trust. He then talked about all the different companies he worked for and other involvements he had (board member in America, part of a counsel).
Alastair speaks about his experience with synthetic fibres (e.g. polypropylene), and his involvement with the university for the creation of the jute museum at Verdant Works.

1:00 Jute technology course at the Dundee Technical College
3:00 Describes courses he took (textiles, management)
4:00 Practical and theoretical work, jute as an important part of education in Dundee
5:00 His role in the Dundee Heritage Trust (which owns a lot of the College's training machinery now)
6:00 College Lecturers that he remembers and people he stayed in contact with
8:00 Connections from now with Abertay (scholarship)
10:00 His time in the jute industry (travelling opportunities)
11:00 Use of jute replaced by plastics
12:00 His company producing artificial grass, and a story about how it led to him sharing a sports field with Whitney Houston
14:00 Other career opportunities it has provided to him (member of an American textiles board, member of a council)
15:00 Social life, social areas at the College
18:00 Differences in the Campus and university back then and now

• the use of jute
  20:00 Archway story
  21:00
  23:00 Producing polypropylene + how it took companies a while to get used to it, with
  24:00 The Tech's involvement in research was limited - jute companies were secretive about their processes and in competition with each other
  27:00 College machinery for the jute production and his involvement in setting up the Verdant Works jute museum
  29:00 The Jute industry’s legacy

Graham Milne shared memories of taking the College Rugby team to an international universities rugby tournament in Bilbao, Spain. He talks about the journey there by bus, feeling lost once they got there, beating the English team in the first round, and the feeling of coming third in the tournament. He also talks about how things have changed at the university since his time there, and the importance of taking advantage of the social aspects of university as well as the educational benefits.

0.00 Start of the interview
0.20 Didn’t initially want to do Civil Engineering. Wanted to do Architecture at Dundee University. Dad owned GMB. Failed first year of his degree and did a Higher National Diploma in Civil Engineering instead
1.10 Great honour to be picked by peers to be captain of the rugby team. Great responsibility too – need good attitude, discipline. Wouldn’t see himself as the best player, but had other skills – leadership for example.
4.20 He received a letter from Spain looking for teams to promote rugby in the Basque area of Spain through a tournament. The application he put forward was a little embellished. But to his surprise the team was selected. Initial doubts - didn’t know how they would get there – didn’t think they could do the country credit. Had to try to get funding to travel, but accommodation, food etc would be supplied by Bilbao University. Managed to get the funding but it was a very hard task – some of it came from the College, but most of it was raised externally. They took the Bus to England, cross English Channel, then to Spain via Stagecoach. Train to Arun [???] station. Left there on their own in the middle of nowhere not sure if there would be another train to get where they needed to go. Managed to then catch a train to Bilbao, but they had no-one able to speak Spanish and there was no-one to meet them there in Bilbao. They were afraid of armed police walking around the town due to threat of terrorism (Basque separatists). They felt lost, he “nearly had a mutiny” from the team (i.e. people threatening to go home and not take part). But someone managed to phone University of Bilbao and a bus was arranged to their accommodation.
9.20 First game against England (Salford Uni), and Scotland won. Their opponents had a more professional set up (coach, medics, better equipment etc), but were over-confident, and had gone out the night before, so they were not in good shape for the match. Dundee “took them apart”.
11.20 He feels his team had great camaraderie, team spirit. Great feeling to win Bronze medal. Only sadness is that some players that he had promised would get a game, decided after that first match that they were not good enough and opted out of playing, choosing instead to cheer from the sidelines. He regrets they didn’t get the experience of playing in the tournament.
13.20 He didn’t stay in college accommodation, but stayed at home in Dundee, and had the benefits of that. He managed to see the College’s accommodation, and, compared with what his children have experienced at university, thinks there is a big improvement in what is provided now.
15.10 College / Uni is all new for students, and next steps are work, then rising in your profession, for example, taking part in professional organisations (like the Chartered Institute of Civil Engineers). Planning is important – plan to get where you want to go, encourage others to join your profession. He is a STEM Ambassador (Bridges to Schools) – and has shown school pupils how to build suspension bridges, and conduct disaster recovery exercises. Make sure you contribute to your profession.
19.05 He remembers the whole experience was one of enjoyment. Take advantage of the social aspect as well as the educational one, so join a society or a club that will introduce you to your circle of friends for the next few years. This also applies when you get into the world of work or moving to a new area – it’s all new, and joining a club helps you get into that new environment.

Rebecca Wade, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science at Abertay, speaks about her career and achievements at Abertay University in Environmental Science. She also talks about her work as a STEM Ambassador, and her experiences so far on the Homeward Bound leadership initiative.

Louise Giblin speaks about her experiences as a Biotechnology student at Dundee Institute of Technology, experiences in student societies and activism, including her first parachute jump, and the transition to university status. She also spoke about her subsequent career working for the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

Worked Examples (format is Drawing No; Drawing Title; Model (all references in brackets are to the Standard Method of Measurement of Building Works Edition 5 (SMM) Sections)

43 Boundary Wall (D,F,G,
44 Banda Drawing Lead Flat Roofing, Zinc Roofing, Copper covered flat roof, Copper covered flat roof with standing seems (M).
45 Lead flat Roof with Sloping upstand (M)
46 Lead Flat Roof with Box Gutter (M)
47 Copper Hipped Roof (M)
48 Parapet Gutter in Lead (M)
49 a and b Plumbing (S)
50 Stone Dressings (K)
51 Window Openings (G,F,K)
52 Stone Work (K)
No number Hot Water Installation (S)
1 Basement Excavations / Underpinning (D,H,G) (Civils)
2 Retaining Wall (D,F,J,G,K) (Civils)
3 Chimney Shaft (D,G,F,
4 Precast Concrete Piling / Concrete Building RICS Final Exam 1963 (E,F
5 Entrance Door (F)
6 Concrete Balcony (F)
7 Loading Bay (F)
8 Concrete Stair (F)
9 Reinforced Concrete Building (F)
10 Structural Steel Work Sheet 1 (Q)
11 Structural Steel Work Sheet 2 (Q)
12 Structural Steel Work (Q)

Worked Examples (format is Drawing No; Drawing Title; Model (all references in brackets are to the Standard Method of Measurement of Building Works Edition 5 (SMM) Sections)

13 Oriel Window (K)
14 Stone Work in Ashlar with semi- circular Arch (K)
15 Stone Work (G,K)
16 Stone Work – Glasgow High School (K)
17 Stone Work Panels and Pillasters (K)
18 Cupboard below Fume Cupboard (N,P)
19 Details for above 18 (N,P)
20 Details for above 18 (N,P)
21 Timber Curtain Walling Details (P)
22 Timber Curtain Walling Details (P)
23 Trusses to Octagonal Roof (N)
24 Trusses to Octagonal Roof (N)
25 Stairway (P)
26 Timber Screen (N,P)
27 Stone Tracery Cottingham Church (K,Y)
28 Panelling (N,P
29 Panelling
30 Panelling
31 Panelling
32 Panelling Details (P
33 Panelling Details
34 Marble Catafalque (U)
35 Mansard Roof (M)
36 Mansard Roof – Copper Roof Details
37 Alteration Works (C)
38 Demolitions and Alterations (C)
39 Forming Window Openings (C,K)
40 – 48 incl Plumbing (S)
No number Boundary Wall - Civil Engineering (Civils)
No number Carriageway – Civil Engineering (Civils)