For the Common Good
As the University for the Common Good, we are shaping society, influencing governments and transforming people’s lives in Scotland and around the world.
In a bid to help people in war-torn Ukraine, student Umran Ali Javaid bought an ambulance and drove it to the Polish-Ukrainian border from Scotland. Umran handed over the ambulance to a charity in Poland operating in Ukraine, after buying the vehicle for £2,500 with donations from family and friends.
He has previously delivered more than 30 second-hand ambulances to conflict zones in Burma, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. He also donated an ambulance to our 'twin' institution in Ukraine, State Tax University.
Our Podiatry Lecturer Mandy Abbott joined a team of health professionals to provide medical care to thousands of elite athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, with a particular focus on athletes from developing countries.
Mandy said: “Many teams from richer nations such as Scotland bring their own medical support. However, athletes from poorer nations often can’t afford to and many don’t have access to medical services, even at home.
“Helping out at these events and providing medical services, especially to people who don’t have the same opportunities, really feeds into the ethos of the University and it was a real honour to be part of it.”
Sir Alex Ferguson CBE, the GCU Foundation’s founding donor, hosted a golf day and gala dinner. It raised an amazing £175,000 to help students from some of the most disadvantaged communities at home, and further afield, to get the help they need to build brighter futures.
Sir Alex said: “I am delighted to continue to work with Glasgow Caledonian University, a university that gives opportunities to all, no matter what their background. Funds raised at this event will enable the university to provide even more students with that opportunity.”
Professor Sebastien Chastin presented pupils at Cadder Primary and Lambhill Stables Environmental Group with certificates for their winning 'Rocket Man' community eco film, as part of Scotland's Year of Coasts and Waters initiative.
As their prize, Trees for Life, an organisation working to promote and restore the world-renowned Caledonian Forest in the highlands of Scotland, which once covered much of the nation, will plant trees on their behalf.
And in the name of the University’s late Chancellor, journalist, and broadcaster Magnus Magnusson KBE, six students from the University received Magnus Magnusson Awards. The awards are part of the Glasgow Caledonian University Foundation, which raises money to enable students to improve both their own lives and those of others.
It has so far raised more than £10million and has supported students to undertake a variety of opportunities such as volunteering at a birthing centre in Mexico and developing a sustainable fashion business in Glasgow.
