Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 01 October 2020 (Creation)
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File
Extent and medium
1 mp4 video file (duration 38m 06s; 160Mb), and 2 WORD documents containing interview summaries.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Name of creator
Biographical history
Name of creator
Biographical history
Name of creator
Biographical history
Repository
Archival history
Interview conducted by Alana Cosgrove and Ruaraidh Wishart on 01 October 2020
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
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
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
No access restrictions
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright: Abertay University Archives
Language of material
- English
Script of material
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Finding aids
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Copy on YouTube - https://youtu.be/L1ffNz0k090
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Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Jute Management (Subject)