The celebrations were officially launched on 28th January when Robin Harper MSP gave a historical perspective of Robert Stevenson, the famous civil engineer, after whom the College is named. Among the events planned throughout the year is a fashion show with music and fashions from the 70’s, 80’s 90’s and 00’s, Stevenson’s Got Talent for students with an earlier version of the talent show in the form of Opportunity Knocks featuring staff, a Global Week and events showing how sports and fitness has changed over the years.
Principal at Stevenson College Edinburgh, Brian Lister OBE, said:-“The College has come a long way since 1970. Then, we had three thousand students and today Stevenson is one of the largest further education Colleges in Scotland with over 18,000 students from a range of backgrounds, studying across a wide variety of subject areas.
“We are also very proud of the international dimension at Stevenson with over 1,000 EU and international students enrolling at the College every year, so we are keen to reflect the cultural diversity of the College as part of our celebrations. We also plan to showcase the work of our current students and reflect on our successes with former students and staff who we hope will join in our 40th anniversary events.”
David Dick OBE was the first Principal of Stevenson College Edinburgh and served from 1969 until his retirement in 1987. Mr Dick (80) was awarded a Fellowship of the College at Stevenson’s Graduation Ceremony in November 2009 for his exceptional and outstanding service. Mr Dick said:-“There have been many changes since the College opened in 1970. In my day there were very few women students and teachers with the exception of the health department. Today, many women are in senior management positions and female students study across a wide range of courses.
“To allow a wider range of people to study we were the first to introduce block study and distance learning. We were also the first college to have a computer and I recall sending one member of staff to train and show the rest of us how it worked. Today, even pre-school children know how to operate them and every desk has a PC.
“Education has improved for the better over the past 40 years and I hope it continues to adapt and improve for the benefit of future generations.”
Stevenson is interested to hear from any former students or staff who would like to join in on the 40th celebrations. Please contact Tammy McAllister or Joe West on 0131 535 4600 or by e-mail at 40years@stevenson.ac.uk
