A new project has been launched to preserve memories of Abertay University for future generations.
A newly designed portal will allow members of the public to submit video or audio recordings of their stories about the university, and anything else they might have relating to it such as images or memorabilia.
Their memories will become part of a project to expand historical knowledge about the university through the voices of the people that were part of it, and provide the community that it has served with an opportunity to add to its archive collections.
The audio and video recordings that people submit to ‘Memories Re-Animated’ could also be turned into short animations as part of a tie-up with secondary school children in Dundee.
Archivist, Ruaraidh Wishart, said: “The university has been educating the people of Dundee and the surrounding areas of Fife and Tayside, as well as students from other parts of the UK and the world, since 1888.
“We want to celebrate that fact by collecting the memories of the people that have made the university: its staff and students, and the people of the community it serves.
“This is a great opportunity for the public, and former staff and students to help build the archive collections, and make sure the voices and views of the people that made the university are preserved for the future.”
The university has also provided some suggestions to get the wheels turning such as memories of gigs at the students’ union of the Technical College, which was known as the Bowling Alley.
The building once had a real bowling alley in the 1960s and some of the UK’s biggest bands played gigs there in the 1970s and 1980s.
These included the Sex Pistols, Motorhead, Europe, XTC, Simple Minds and Dire Straits, going back to a time when lead singers wore head bands and guitar music could still be heard on MTV.
Fond memories of Dundee from the first Dire Straits tour in 1978 when we played the "Bowling Alley." Hoping to see some familiar faces! pic.twitter.com/iM8EApw0vp
— John Illsley (@John_Illsley) October 26, 2017
There were also the students and staff who were involved in building an ecologically friendly racing car which took on the world’s best.
The super fuel-efficient vehicle achieved success in the Scottish Eco Motor Mileage Marathon and was capable of driving from Dundee to Baghdad for just £3.50.
Hope Busák, public engagement officer, said “We’re so excited to hear the stories of things that happened to people here; their experiences – what they saw and did; their memories of people and events here, the buildings, rooms and even the equipment, like textiles machinery or early computers!
“There is also a wider use planned for the audio and video recordings that people submit to the archives. They will be considered for a project that we will be running later with secondary school children in Dundee to create short animations based on the memory recordings.
“These will be publicly displayed early next winter at an event celebrating all the work done by the schools and community of Dundee over the past two years as part of Abertay 25.
“Allowing the voices and memories of former staff and students to be heard as part of that event will be an amazing way to end Abertay 25.”
Abertay began life as Dundee Technical Institute in 1888 in a building within the precinct of University College Dundee in Smalls Wynd.
The push for university status began in 1991, when UK Government policy to increase the number of students in higher education created opportunities for tertiary education institutions to become universities.
By early 1993, the then named Dundee Institute of Technology had almost achieved the required figure and on August 17 1994, it officially became the University of Abertay Dundee following a public consultation to choose the name.
The 25th anniversary of Abertay being awarded university status prompted a variety of events to be held, charting its journey and development and growth as a world leader in specialist fields such as computer games.
Anyone who would like to take part in ‘Memories Re-Animated’ should make a short video or audio recording of five minutes or less with their memory and go to the Archives Submission portal to provide some information about themselves and then upload their file.
Further information about subjects of interest and a link to the Submission portal is available at: https://
abertay.ac.uk/about/the-university/archive/memories-re-animated/
