UHI Moray named as the official partner of MacMoray Easter Festival
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UHI Moray has been named as the first-ever official partner of MacMoray Easter Festival.
Now into its third year, MacMoray has never previously had a partner – but this link-up with UHI Moray changes that.
The Northern Scot sat down with Jacqui Taylor, UHI Moray's head of marketing and external relations, to discuss the move.
The Northern Scot: Congratulations. UHI Moray is the new official partner of MacMoray Easter Festival. Why did you choose to get involved with MacMoray?
Jacqui Taylor: Because we are and have been the local community college since 1971 and are now the local university as part of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
We wanted to team up with MacMoray because we feel it is a really valuable and exciting weekend event for families in Moray, which is important, and it has grown in popularity since it started three years ago.
Within UHI Moray we have revised our curriculum offer and it's important we get the message out to prospective students and other key stakeholders, including employers, that we are offering new courses which are based on what our community is looking for.
It's an ideal opportunity for us to let people know what we are doing. We will be there the whole weekend.
Also, we feel being part of the festival reflects what is going to be becoming our new messaging – it's time to make an entrance, our doors are always open, apply now.
The Northern Scot: On the weekend itself, are there going to be opportunities and staff alike to get involved?
Jacqui Taylor: It's not just about us being the official partner, it's about students and staff gaining experience which they can bring back into the classroom.
We have been given the opportunity to have 20 places for students to volunteer over the weekend. The volunteering will be anything that is required, a lot of it is working backstage in VIP areas and making sure bands have what they need.
We have students doing video work, business work, so it's a great opportunity to gain some valuable practical work experience for our students.
It's available to students at all levels – students at entry level can come in and you don't have to have any experience and it's right up to degree level.
That's one of the unique elements of UHI Moray – we can take somebody and progress them right up without them having to leave the area to go to one of the more traditional universities.
People can also come in and study at any stage in their life based on their commitments and what they can fit into other responsibilities.
For our staff, we are hoping to have a number of stands in the arena where they can showcase what they offer.
Obviously, with the more practical areas it's easier for them to do that – so hairdressing, beauty and integrative healthcare. Our integrative healthcare degree that we run is the only one in Scotland so we have students all across the country who study with us for that degree.
Our sports areas will be looking to see if they can do something. It's an opportunity for lecturers to meet with community, existing students, perspective students and potentially employers to talk about their experiences.
A lot of our lecturers have extensive industry experience, which is really important when you are teaching students. The next step for a lot of our students is into employment, so it's good they get this opportunity to get real life experience.
The Northern Scot: Is there anything in addition to that that you hope to gain?
Jacqui Taylor: It's important for UHI Moray to get involved in this event as the first official partner because we still want to be seen as integral to our local community.
This event is fantastic for Moray and at attracting people from outwith Moray. It attracts families of all ages, old and young, to enjoy this amazing weekend.
From the outset, MacMoray has been a huge attraction and we are very proud to be the official partner of the event. We can't wait for the weekend.
