ADAM SMITH 300
He adds: “To mark the tercentenary of his birth, we will see academics and students, as well as members of the public, discuss his continued relevance at a series of events taking place in Glasgow and around the world.” Competition time, tartan & TikTok One of these planned initiatives is Rethinking Adam Smith, led by the Economics Observatory in partnership with the Adam Smith Business School. This is a nationwide competition in which students are invited to design a new cover for one of Smith’s books. There will be prizes of up to £750 for the best entries, with all finalists having their work displayed in June as part of the university’s tercentenary celebrations. The school has also capitalised on its Scottish heritage and designed its own commemorative tartan. It has been made into a lambswool scarf at a local mill and will be available at pop-up shops at various Adam Smith tercentenary events, as well as at the university gift shop. Its main thread is the university blue with subtle hints of green and yellow alongside a check of burgundy, tying in with the university’s brand colours. Despite being one of the UK’s most ancient seats of learning (it is the fourth-oldest such institution in the English- speaking world), University of Glasgow is keen to move with the times and the business school is one of the first in the country to launch on digital video-hosting service TikTok. The school will use the platform to educate users about Adam Smith and how his legacy lives on in its graduates. In addition, the school is working with 12 PhD students to showcase their research in vlog-style videos capturing their passion and world-changing work, as well as demonstrating how they follow Adam Smith’s legacy to engender social good. Audio experiences of all kinds Meanwhile, the Adam Smith Heritage Trail aims to deliver the unique story of Smith and his connection to the business school and University of Glasgow through a ‘lived’ radio play experience, accessed via smartphone. It is designed to enhance student identification with the business school. The trail will also help facilitate students’ orientation between the Gilmorehill campus and the location of the new school building – which will be operational by the start of the next academic year in September – through GPS. An audio experience of an entirely different kind involves a piece of classical music that has been commissioned by a Scottish composer to convey a sense of Adam Smith’s legacy over time, as well as his imprint on the university today. The finished piece will be recorded by a string trio and played live at a day-long symposium to be held on 10 June.
University of Glasgow is an ancient institution with modern digital ambitions
The Adam Smith Business School has commissioned a special tercentenary tartan
Adam Smith 300 highlights ` The Adam Smith tercentenary global lecture series features internationally renowned speakers from the worlds of academia, business and public policy ` An on-campus and virtual exhibition of significant and rare Smith‑related artefacts will display letters, first edition books and material from the university’s archives
` New research into Smith’s life and writings is being undertaken
` The Royal Economic Society and Scottish Economic Society joint conference will be held in April, with global academics reflecting upon Smith’s legacy ` The event culminates in a week-long series of activities in June, including talks and exhibitions, with scholars from the London School of Economics, the universities of Princeton and Harvard and the University of Cambridge all taking part
Ambition | MARCH 2023 | 35
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