Three Heriot-Watt representatives are among the latest to be appointed to the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Young Academy of Scotland. Olga Kozlova, Enterprise Creation manager, Helen Louise Bridle, RAEng and EPSRC Research Fellow, and Bernadette O' Rourke, Lecturer in Spanish & Linguistics are among fifty new appointments to the Young Academy.
Established in 2011 it is designed to foster interdisciplinary activities among emerging leaders from the disciplines of science and humanities, the professions, the arts, business and civil society. It provides a platform for able and innovative young entrepreneurs, professionals and academics to develop a coherent and influential voice, and to address the most challenging issues facing society in Scotland and beyond.
The first cohort of 68 members joined in the autumn of 2011, and the Young Academy is anticipated to grow to a maximum membership of 150 or so after three years.
Chris O'Sullivan, one of four Young Academy co-chairs commented, "I speak for all members of the Young Academy in welcoming the successful applicants. The new members are based in institutions and organisations across Scotland, and come from a range of disciplines. The quality of applications was extremely high, from both academic and professional fields, and it is exciting to see the Young Academy growing. Over the past eighteen months the Young Academy has developed work streams in health, education, equality and constitutional reform, areas in which many applicants felt they had a contribution to make. We look forward to the added value that the new members will bring to the work programmes we have, and to the new ideas and experiences they will contribute."