UHI Moray announced as official partner of MacMoray Festival
UHI Moray is the new official partner of MacMoray Family Easter Festival. The Northern Scot sat down with Jacqui Taylor, head of marketing and external relations, to discuss the move.
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00:00 Jackie, congratulations, UHI Moray is the new official partner of McMurray Easter Festival.
00:06 Why did you choose to get involved with McMurray?
00:08 So I guess we chose to get involved with the McMurray Easter Festival is because we are
00:13 and have been the local community college since 1971 and now the local university as part of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
00:21 We wanted to team up with McMurray because we feel it's a really valuable and exciting weekend event for families in Moray
00:29 which is important and it's grown in popularity since it started three years ago.
00:34 Within UHI Moray we've just revised our curriculum offer and it's important that we can get the message out to our prospective students
00:45 and other key stakeholders and our employers that we're offering new courses, we're offering revised courses
00:51 which are based on what our community is looking for.
00:54 So it's an ideal opportunity for us to let people know what we're doing and we will be there the whole weekend in Easter and May.
01:03 Also we feel that being part of the festival reflects what's going to be coming, our new messaging or our new message to our prospective students in the community.
01:15 So we've decided on messaging, it's time to make an entrance, our doors are always open, apply now.
01:21 On the day, on the weekend itself, are there going to be opportunities for students and staff alike to get involved?
01:27 Okay so yeah that's a good question, it's not just about us being the official partner, it's about our students and staff gaining experience
01:34 which they can bring back into the classroom for new students and continuing students.
01:40 So we've been given the opportunity to have 20 places for students to volunteer over the weekend
01:47 and the volunteering will really be anything that's required, a lot of it is running back and forth, working backstage in the VIP areas
01:58 and just making sure that all the bands have got everything that they need.
02:02 And we have students who are doing, for example, video work, we've got students who are doing business work and some of that involves a small element of events.
02:12 So it's a great opportunity to gain some valuable practical work experience for our students and it's available to students at all levels.
02:20 So we have students at entry level who can come in and you don't have to have any qualifications right up to degree level
02:28 and that's one of the unique elements of UHI Moray in that we can take some of the progress and write up without them having to leave the area
02:37 to go to one of the more traditional universities. People can also come in and study at any stage in their life
02:44 based on their life commitments and what they can fit into other responsibilities.
02:51 For our staff, we're hoping to have a number of stands within the arena where our staff can actually showcase what they offer.
03:00 Obviously the more practical areas, it's easier for them to do that, so our hairdressing, our beauty, integrative healthcare.
03:08 Our integrative healthcare degree that we run is the only one in Scotland, so we have students from all across the country who study with us for that degree.
03:17 Our sports area is looking to see if they can do something and there'll be others as well.
03:23 So it's an opportunity for the lecturers to meet with community, to meet with existing students, to meet with prospective students,
03:30 to meet with what potentially could be industry, could be employers, and then to talk about what their experiences are
03:37 because a lot of our lecturers have got extensive industry experience which is really important when you're teaching students
03:46 because the next step for a lot of our students is into employment, so it's good that they get this opportunity to actually get real life experience.
03:54 In addition to that, is there anything else that you hope to gain?
03:58 So it's important for UHM Moray to get involved in this event as the first official partner
04:04 because we still want to be seen as integral to our local community and this event is fantastic for Moray, the Moray area.
04:12 We've attracted people from outwith Moray and families all ages, old and young, to enjoy this amazing weekend.
04:21 From the outset, McMurray has been a huge attraction and we're very proud to be the official partner of the event and we can't wait for the weekend.