GCU Common Good Podcast

Stuart Martin, a Senior Student Communications and Events Officer, joins the latest episode of the Common Good Podcast to talk about how the GCU has kept in touch with its students over the past four months. Stuart discusses the best methods in communicating with students, how the pandemic has effected the way he works, the various campaigns he and his team have been involved in, and how they helped students celebrate graduations earlier in February.

Christina Kelly joins the latest episode of the Common Good Podcast to talk about the support GCU offers its student carers. Christina, a Student Wellbeing Officer, defines what we mean by the term "student carer" and discusses the difficulties they might face during their time at university, as well as debunking any myths and misconceptions surrounding them. She also tells us why GCU received a Going Higher for Student Carers Award.

Glasgow Caledonian University is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health. Professor Rachel Baker, Director of the Yunus Centre, is joined by Professor Pamela Gillies CBE FRSE, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of GCU, and Professor Cam Donaldson, Yunus Chair, to chart the last 10 years and discuss the Centre's beginnings, its research and its impact, and what the future holds.

Rose Cawood, a Social Innovation Manager at GCU, joins the Common Good Podcast to talk about her work into research, innovation and enterprise at the University. Rose provides a broad definition of social innovation and explains how it ties in with our motto as "the University for the Common Good". She talks about the projects she and her team have been involved in and the challenges brought about by Brexit.

How will we physically distance in our gyms? Will we be able to exercise as normal? And can we still use the changing rooms? Kathleen Campbell, manager of the ARC at Glasgow Caledonian University, joins the Common Good Podcast to about the reopening of our gym and steps required to make sure it's safe for use. Kathleen also talks about online exercise classes and how to maintain a positive mindset during lockdown.

Robotic devices like Amazon's Alexa are becoming increasingly prevalent in our households - they help us organise our lives and can sometimes indulge us in conversation - but will there come a point when these machines can put us in touch with God? And can they ever achieve their own sense of spirituality? Professor Mike Mannion joins the Common Good Podcast to talk about his research into artificial intelligence and his theory that, one day, these devices can act as our spiritual companions.

Dr Lesley Holdsworth is a Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy at GCU and the Clinical Lead for Digital Health and Care with the Scottish Government. She joins the latest episode of the Common Good Podcast to talk about how she successfully mobilised two-thirds of Scotland's clinical working staff to work remotely using Microsoft Teams, and got 70,000 carrying out remote consultations during the coronavirus pandemic.

GCU's Director of Estates, Douglas Little, joins the Common Good Podcast to talk about how he and his team have maintained the University campus during the lockdown. Douglas talks about the day-to-day challenges he's faced, the steps involved in re-opening the campus and what social distancing will look like and how it will be implemented.

Alan O'Neill, Glasgow Caledonian University's Director of IT, joins the Common Good Podcast to talk about how he and his team successfully transitioned GCU to remote learning and teaching at the start of the lockdown. Alan talks about how quickly the IT department reacted to the coronavirus pandemic, how they tackled any issues and what the future holds for working from home.

Chris Dolan, Leader of GCU's MA TV Fiction Writing Programme, joins the latest episode of the Common Good Podcast to talk about the rapid evolution of television over the past 20 years. He discusses how consumers have moved away from "appointment" TV to bingeing boxsets and streaming services. Chris also looks at how changing technology has played its part in dictating how we behave as well as the impact the global pandemic will have on the industry, both creatively and practically.