A senior administrator from the University of Aberdeen is set to leave the city he has called home for more than 12 years to embark on a new life in Hong Kong.
Dr Trevor Webb, Academic Registrar and Director of Student & Academic Services, is heading more than 8,000 miles around the globe to take up a new appointment in the University Grants Committee (UGC), the funding body for the publicly-funded higher education institutions in Hong Kong. He will serve the newly established Quality Assurance Council (QAC), a soon-to-be established quality assurance body under the UGC.
Trevor has risen through the ranks at Aberdeen over the last 12 years since he joined the institution in 1995. He is now taking some leave of absence from the University to embark on an ambition to work overseas and is very much looking forward to his new role as Assistant Secretary-General (Quality Assurance).
Trevor said there were numerous reasons but one of the main reasons he is moving to Hong Kong is the new job. His new role will involve administering and overseeing the conduct of quality assurance reviews of institutions, including: liaising with UGC-funded institutions and the QAC review panel members, rendering support to the work of the review panels, supporting training of review panel members, preparing necessary review documents, arranging briefing and review visits, and taking follow-up actions with institutions as necessary.
Trevor will work closely with a Deputy Secretary-General of the UGC and members and panels of the QAC on a day-to-day basis, as well as undertaking strategic aspects in the administration of QAC, in administering its quality assurance reviews of higher education institutions in Hong Kong, and in promoting quality enhancement amongst institutions.
Hong Kong has become a world-class financial, trading and business centre and, indeed, a great world city. It is the world's seventh most visited destination and is a unique meeting place for East and West, blending Chinese heritage, British colonial influences, high-tech modernity and Cantonese gusto. It offers a diversity of travel experiences, from shopping to gourmet dining, countryside pursuits and unique cultural heritage, including a great variety of religious institutions and preserved buildings like temples, monasteries, walled villages, clan halls and colonial structures.
Speaking ahead of his new appointment, Trevor said: "I have visited Hong Kong three times on business. The people are really friendly and Hong Kong is such a dynamic city. I am excited to have this new opportunity and I am looking forward to the significant change in my role over the next two years. I am sure that it will open up opportunities for travel and for me to experience the Hong Kong culture.
"I am really going to miss my family, friends and work colleagues, although I am sure I will be inundated with visitors. My daughters, in particular, are really looking forward to visiting Disneyland in Hong Kong! I am very appreciative of this opportunity and would like to express my gratitude to the University, and in particular to Steve Cannon, the University Secretary, and Professor C Duncan Rice, the Principal, for being so supportive in helping to facilitate my appointment. I hope that I will be able to bring back with me a wealth of new skills which I will acquire following my time in Hong Kong."
Mr Michael Stone, Secretary-General of UGC, said: "We welcome Trevor to come on board. Quality assurance and quality enhancement are both essential components of the Hong Kong higher education system. Quality teaching and learning leads to effective graduates, who are the future of Hong Kong. In many different jurisdictions, certainly Scotland, quality assurance is now firmly on the agenda. We are therefore confident that Trevor's expertise, knowledge and experience will be extremely useful in helping us set up and take forward quality assurance initiatives at the QAC."
Steve Cannon, Secretary to the University of Aberdeen, is delighted at Trevor's new appointment. He said: "Trevor has worked at the University of Aberdeen for more than 12 years and has played pivotal roles in the Registry, and latterly within the new Directorate of Student & Academic Services.
"I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Trevor for his valued service to the University and on behalf of his colleagues would like to wish him every success ahead of his new appointment and his new life in Hong Kong over the next couple of years."
Trevor is flying out to Hong Kong today (Thursday, March 22), ahead of taking up his new appointment on Monday, March 26.