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Abertay University Archives Oral History
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Interview with Jenny McNeill

Jenny McNeill speaks about her experiences as one of the first nursing degree students at Dundee College of Technology in 1975, and her subsequent career.

Jenny McNeill

Memories Re-animated Stop-Motion Videos

The videos were created using mobile phone technology and simple crafting techniques. They focus on small anecdotes told by the interview subjects that lend themselves to visual representation.

The videos and reference numbers are as follows:

AY25-MR-2-1 Craigie High School - William Moheiddeen
AY25-MR-2-2 Craigie High School - Nick Hamilton
AY25-MR-2-3 Craigie High School - Ahmar Ghafoor
AY25-MR-2-4 Dundee Young Carers - Louise Giblin
AY25-MR-2-5 Larisa Olaru-Peter - Jenny McNeill
AY25-MR-2-6 Hope Busák - Sumant Mathure

Abertay 25 Young Ambassadors

Abertay 25: Memories Re-Animated

  • GB 3516 AY25-MR
  • Subfonds
  • 2020-2021

13 videos and text summaries of reminiscence interviews conducted with former staff and alumni of Abertay University by Abertay 25 Young Ambassadors, and current staff and students of Abertay University. Interviewees were as follows:

  1. Sumant Mathure
  2. David Ross
  3. Richard Irvine
  4. Alastair Scott
  5. Nick Hamilton
  6. Alexander (Sandy) Robertson
  7. Graham Milne
  8. Christina Howie
  9. Ahmar Ghafoor
  10. William Mohieddeen
  11. Rebecca Wade
  12. Jenny McNeill
  13. Louise Giblin

6 stop-motion animation videos were created from the interviews and these are as follows:

  1. Craigie High School - William Moheiddeen
  2. Craigie High School - Nick Hamilton
  3. Craigie High School - Ahmar Ghafoor
  4. Dundee Young Carers - Louise Giblin
  5. Larisa Olaru-Peter - Jenny McNeill
  6. Hope Busák - Sumant Mathure

Abertay University

Interview with Richard Irvine

Richard Irvine speaks about his course and career at Dundee Institute of Technology. He spoke about his work as a research student and subsequent member of staff working on developing environmentally sustainable compost, and then acting as an intermediary between industry and the university when he worked for the Abertay Centre for the Environment. After the centre closed he was made redundant and he subsequently worked as a teacher / lecturer periodically for the University.
He speaks about his experience waiting on the Queen when she opened the new library building in 1998, which included speaking to her and helping her when the proceedings got a bit confused.
He talks about his feelings about the change of attitude amongst some staff concerning the change to university status.

0.00 Interview started
0.50 Use of Doctors terms previously, but titles are not used now.
2.15 Got to end of school – wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. Flowed into Dundee Institute of Technology. No specific reason to come here.
3.15 HND BioSciences course 1989 – Biotechnology started then. Got HND and got the Young Prize then went into 3rd year of the degree programme. Graduated 1993.
4.30 “Best time of my life” – really good group. All worked really well.
5.10 Studied at Nottingham Trent but didn’t work out. Came back. Friend researching here. Kevin Gartland was working on plant Biotech – stopping Dutch Elm disease. At same time working on waste products – Richard worked on sewage sludge. It can produce compost.
7.20 The University got European Regional Development Fund grant for sustainable environment research institute. It also got its labs refurbished for this. Richard was a Biowaste scientist. He acted as a conduit between the university and general public on environmental issues. It went on for 4 years. Kevin then went to Glasgow Caledonian University, and Richard was made redundant.
9.20 He’s been teaching on and off over the years.
10.20 He remembers great work with a company in Fife during the sustainable environment work – Andrew Cook in Methil / Glenrothes. He helped with composting. The work went on after the end of the project. He travelled round country into factories / yards / caravan sites in remote locations. Not really worrying about the funding, unusually.
13.10 Opening of the Library – 1998. The University was doing lots of fancy dinners for VIP visitors and hon grads and also graduation lunches. Not enough staff. Doris Kinnison? Asked research students if they wanted some extra money to help in these. Royal opening came – Research Student catering staff were first in line for being involved. We just turned up as normal – carparks were cleared. Every draincover was open, looking for explosives. "We winged it!" The Queen arrived, she came in the main door, up to the Principals office, small drinks reception, "we had to wheel along all the alcohol the uni could muster". The Queen was briefed on what would happen, then she went to the library, cut the ribbon, had a tour, she then went back across to the Kydd Building and she had the lunch in the old journal area of the old library which was turned into a reception and dining area. Richard served the Queen and Prince Philip with their Dubonnay and lemonade using the white gloves – the ladies were terrified of dropping it. Everyone filtered away apart from the Queen and Prince Philip. She asked Richard what to do next – he told her to go through the double door. Prince Philip was “playing with the sockets”. She was joking away. Dinner was from students of Dundee and Angus College? Then they lined up and the Queen walked past to leave.
24.20 He has his student and staff cards from his time at the university. Enamel badge for the nursing course that he rescued (does it have a number on it?!). He has a 1950 prospectus. He has a lot of books from when the library was moving. He has material on jute too.
27.40 He talks about the display of jute shuttles in the main building that has disappeared.
28.40 After university status, he feels nothing really changed in the buildings. He thinks there were changes in how the staff perceived the institution – wanted to be more university-like. He thinks there was more university stuff, but less of what it had been doing. DIT had a good record and image of what it was doing – it was just a name change, he feels it shouldn’t have made any difference. On Wednesday afternoons there were never any scheduled classes so you could do clubs, but that faded out in the 1990s.
32.30 He says he is a bit of a collector, hence why he has some good material saved from being thrown out.
35.50 He feels the HND in Biosciences was a really good course. Very positive way of getting into the degree. Strong vocational course. Well put together. Very talented individuals, lecturers, and technicians. They were not into research, but dedicated to teaching. Sometimes their talent was overlooked, and not always respected.

Richard Irvine

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