7/7

In the final programme of the Scottish Intellect Billy Kay visits the Paisley campus of the University of the West of Scotland. With several centres across West Central Scotland and over 20,000 students UWS, is the largest modern university. Here, nearly half of the take their degrees on a part time basis - allowing them to work and earn money at the same time. Many of the students come from the kind of non academic and lower income brackets which were in danger of being excluded from Scottish higher education in our ancient elite universities. Billy speaks to students there who are the first in their families to attend university and are as proud as punch that they have overcome difficulties to work towards the goal of a degree - something that would have been unthinkable to them a few years ago. UWS has Scotland's largest School of Health, Nursing & Midwifery, and Billy talks to students and teachers about what they see as the importance of a degree in a subject which in the past did not require such qualifications. He also hears of new courses like Commercial Music and speaks to the Course leader Allan Dumbreck who refutes the elitist idea of Mickey Mouse Courses at new universities by pointing to the huge number of his students working full time in the creative industies - one of Britain's growth areas. He also point with pride to bands with UWS connections like Cassidy and the support he has had from Scottish superstars like Shirley Manson of Garbage and Paisley's own, Paolo Nutini.
Billy concludes his series with contributions from people like Mike Russell, Cairns Craig of Aberdeen University and Robert Crawford of St Andrews University on the desire to continue the traditions of democratic access, the generalist approach to a broad base of subjects, and the academic renown enjoyed by our universities. We also discuss the role of Scottish culture within our universities and the potential threats to its study posed by institutions increasingly looking to attract fee-paying students in the international market place.

Billy leaves the last word to Professor Roger Mason of the University of St Andrews where it all began - his summing up of the role of the universities in Scottish society is intensely relevant across six hundred years of Scottish history.

"...they continue to play an absolutely vital role in the life of the nation both economically and culturally - without them Scotland would be a very, very impoverished place indeed. "

An Odyssey Production for Radio Scotland. Show less