21 Oct Interview with Penny Macbeth, Director and Principal, Glasgow School of Art (GSA), Scotland
Scotland’s tertiary education system has long been regarded as a model of excellence, blending tradition with forward-looking innovation. What continues to set Scotland’s tertiary education sector apart on the world stage in 2025 and what has driven its exceptional growth over the past five years?
What is interesting about Scotland’s tertiary sector is how closely it connects with schools and colleges. We have 19 institutions, each with its own distinct character — from our four ancient universities to modern universities and specialist institutions like the Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which both receive world-leading funding because of our global impact. Although we are small and specialist, we are also highly international. We collaborate closely on research, teaching and innovation and our size helps us work well together while still offering a diverse range of opportunities.
Another defining feature is our commitment to widening access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds or with care experience. We work with schools and colleges to help young people find the best pathways into higher education, whether that is directly, through further education or by joining us later in their studies. This partnership approach is something we are very proud of in Scotland.
What are the biggest challenges universities are grappling with in 2025 and how are Scotland’s 19 higher education institutions responding to ensure a more resilient, future-ready education ecosystem?
One of the main challenges in UK higher education is funding per student, along with the recruitment of international students and how welcoming we appear under current UK government policies. We have worked hard to maintain a graduate route so international students can stay in the UK and build their careers here. Although that has been uncertain at times, recent developments have brought more clarity. In Scotland, our funding model is different from the rest of the UK and can be complex, especially for small, specialist institutions like ours. We rely heavily on Scottish government support, but we also need to balance the mix of local, UK and international students carefully. As a small, world-leading art school, we have large studios, workshops and technical spaces, so it is vital that we recruit the right number of students — enough to thrive, but never so many that we compromise the space and facilities students need to create their best work.
There are always wider challenges: new governments, elections and shifting agendas all affect our sector. As a specialist art school, we must ensure our students are ready for careers mainly in the creative industries, though some also move into areas like heritage, healthcare or pharmacy. Changes in the creative and cultural industries directly impact us, but the outlook is positive at the moment. Recently, the United Kingdom government published an industrial strategy and aligned it with the Creative Industries Sector Plan, reinforcing the creative industries as one of eight key growth sectors for the UK. This is good news for Scotland too — Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and the wider country are strong hubs for creative production. While there are challenges, there are also plenty of opportunities.
Founded in 1845, The Glasgow School of Art stands as one of Europe’s foremost creative institutions. For our USA Today readers, can you give us an overview of the university and how it stands out in the country’s higher-education landscape?
We were founded as one of the original government schools of design during the Industrial Revolution to drive innovation and creativity in manufacturing cities and to deepen understanding of arts and culture in the economy. In many ways, that mission still holds true today: we champion purpose-led arts, craft and creativity for the benefit of people, the environment and the wider economy. GSA has four schools: the Mackintosh School of Architecture, a leading Fine Art School with alumni including 12 Turner Prize winners, the School of Design and our new School of Innovation and Technology, which brings together digital, simulation and innovation disciplines.
We are strong in research, with high global impact and a thriving PhD community. We rank 12th in the QS World Rankings for art and design — 3rd in the UK and 7th in Europe — and work closely with other leading specialist art schools worldwide.
I also chair the Specialist Institution Forum for Universities UK, representing conservatoires and art schools, ensuring we stay influential both nationally and within our local communities. We work closely with major institutions like the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde, often collaborating at the intersection of creative practice and fields such as medicine, pharmacy and innovation.
GSA has around 2,700 full-time and 1,000 part-time students, supported by 600 staff, including a dedicated team of technical experts who help students produce their work. We focus on making, thinking and curating across art, design, architecture and innovation. Our alumni have global impact, working in top arts organizations and many other sectors worldwide, giving us an extraordinary reach for a small school.
In many ways, we lead the creative sector by producing the graduates who power it. We also hold key research grants and generate intellectual property that brings partners together — whether that is other institutions or creative organizations. Our students are agile, collaborative and ready to respond to new opportunities and challenges. Recently, we have played an active role contributing to the UK Government industrial and creative industries strategies with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, ensuring Glasgow and Scotland’s strengths as a production hub are recognized in the wider UK plan.
Advocacy is a big part of our work too — we engage with policymakers in Westminster and Holyrood to champion the creative industries. Our staff are deeply embedded in the sector: many split their time between teaching and working as practising artists, designers, architects or innovators. This keeps our teaching rooted in the real world and closely connected to Scotland’s creative community.
What steps is GSA taking to foster entrepreneurial thinking, including embedding business acumen into its creative curriculum?
Our students are highly entrepreneurial — in fact, GSA graduates are three times more likely to start their own businesses than the Scottish university average. We have the usual support like a careers hub and creative networks, but what really sets us apart is how our curriculum builds creative inquiry, research skills and the confidence to test, prototype and refine ideas. This mindset of experimentation is central to art school practice and helps students turn ideas into ventures.
Glasgow itself also plays a big role — it is a city where creative practitioners can test and grow ideas, supported by strong networks. That is why more than 60% of our graduates choose to stay here after they finish their studies. We have many examples of our graduates’ entrepreneurial success. Some of our product and engineering alumni not only run innovative businesses, but have also launched accelerator programs to help others grow like Filament STAC (Smart Things Accelerator Centre). Many of our alumni lead the way in fields like interior design, graphic design and branding and we regularly bring them back to collaborate with our students.
We also have strong industry partnerships. For example, our product design and engineering students recently worked with top companies on a transport design sprint, creating an electric vehicle for people with disabilities. Such a project — with its complex battery and accessibility needs — is a good example of the challenges our students tackle. One of our alumni companies, Callum Design — founded by Ian Callum, a former design director at Jaguar Land Rover — ran a design sprint with our students and a graduate went on to secure a paid internship from it. These live projects, combined with industry talks and strong networks, create an environment where students can test, prototype and learn from failure. This mindset gives them the confidence to launch their own businesses — and many do — while others thrive in top design studios.
We value deep specialism but also build in interdisciplinary work across the curriculum. This helps students collaborate, form networks and develop ideas together, laying the foundations for startups and future projects before they graduate.
How has the digital revolution reshaped the classroom experience at GSA and what technologies are proving most transformative in the learning process?
We have long been pioneers in digital design, especially through advanced courses like our MSc in Medical Visualization and Human Anatomy, delivered with Glasgow University’s medical school. This course developed a virtual human model, part funded by the Scottish Funding Council, which was used by the Scottish government during COVID-19 and has enabled world-leading medical procedures, such as innovative eye surgeries. We have also created tools in augmented and virtual reality, working on this course for over eight years. In heritage visualization, we have developed digital twins, including one for the Mackintosh building, a historic site currently being rebuilt after fires.
Our research extends into augmented reality and virtual reality collaborations with Strathclyde University on pharmaceuticals and Glasgow University on cancer care, showing how we blend creativity with cutting-edge science. Since COVID-19, we have expanded our digital expertise across the entire curriculum by creating the School of Innovation and Technology. Our workshops combine digital and traditional making, for example, silversmithing alongside 3D printing or textile design where hand weaving and digital looms work together.
We integrate digital R&D with craft practice because they enrich each other. Recently, we appointed AI expert Catriona Campbell to our board, signaling our commitment to exploring AI’s opportunities and challenges. We see AI and digital tools as just that: tools that support creative inquiry without overshadowing it. Since we are a small institution, we often partner with others to access advanced equipment and investment, balancing innovation with our scale and resources.
How central is sustainability to GSA’s interdisciplinary training and what progress has GSA made in decarbonizing its operations?
Sustainability is central to everything we do and is very important to our students, who hold us accountable. Our Rural Lab, based on a small Highland campus but active across Scotland and beyond, plays a key role in this. Each year, we run a Winter School — an international gathering of faculty, students and experts — to explore themes like land stewardship. Participants from the US, China and Europe work together on projects focused on sustainable land management and green innovation. This work aligns with Scotland’s leadership in green energy and rural economy innovation.
We are proud to be at the forefront of research and teaching in this space. We have also announced significant investment as part of the UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Focal Awards program: GSA’s ‘A Golden Thread: Crafting the Creative Economy from Scotland’s Highlands, Lowlands and Islands’ aims to strengthen Scotland’s craft sector, which is a vital, 80% women-led industry that contributes an estimated $94 million every year to the Scottish Economy where we are the lead investigators working with Scottish partners — an exciting step for our sustainability mission. We run many events to help students develop sustainable practices and build a fair institution. We critically examine everything — from energy use to sourcing materials ethically. If a material like silver has dubious origins, we remove it from our curriculum.
Our leading research includes the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit, focused on sustainable architecture and air quality in Glasgow’s tenement houses, influencing major policy on respiratory health. Regarding our estate, we are working toward net zero with a 2022 strategy guiding investment in sustainable buildings. The Mackintosh building’s rebuild will embed these principles at its core. Sustainability is central to all we do and we continuously strive to reduce our environmental impact.
GSA’s global network remains a vital part of its academic and financial health, especially in light of recent drops in international enrolments across the UK. How is GSA reinforcing its international appeal at present, particularly among prospective students and collaborators in the US?
We focus on deep partnerships with organizations, both local and international. Some courses, like fine art, silversmithing and jewelry and innovation design draw students because of our strong reputation and unique opportunities — such as Glasgow as a global centre for contemporary fine art and UK creative industries center, our rural campus and the Rural Lab’s Winter School, which attracts faculty worldwide. Our Fine Art program, with its history of world-renowned Scottish artists and alumni, is especially popular with US students. We also have strong faculty connections across Europe and the US that enhance these programs.
Partnerships are central to our strategic plan. We prioritize long-term, meaningful collaborations rather than quick wins, carefully choosing partners where we can make a real impact. Our alumni, including many from the US, are passionate about GSA and proud to be part of our community, which strengthens our global reach and influence. Glasgow is one of the UK’s and Europe’s leading cities for creative industries and contemporary fine art. Its reputation as a creative city dates back to the Industrial Revolution, making it a powerful draw for students and for the critical mass of creative producers, makers and graduates who are based here. The unique blend of rural and urban settings adds to its appeal. Local partnerships with producing galleries and top international curators offer opportunities that many other cities can’t match. For fine artists, Glasgow provides a strong platform to build their careers, especially through our master’s programs and our globally recognised and longstanding, two-year Master of Fine Art. Both the city and GSA offer unique strengths and connections that attract students from around the world.
Since becoming director in 2020, you’ve steered GSA through strategic transformation, infrastructure renewal and deeper community and international engagement. How would you summarize your vision and aspirations for GSA?
We are halfway through our current plan, focused on stabilizing the school and raising quality across all areas. Now we are at an exciting point to reassess — asking if we can move faster and be more ambitious. Despite challenges in our environment, we are on track and aiming to remain a small, specialist art school, the ideal size for us. We are exploring new disciplines to lead in Scotland and internationally, both in teaching and research. We have built strong partnerships, often as co-partners and now we are ready to lead major international bids with others joining us. Innovation is key, especially through our role in Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Institute, where we aim to be a world leader in creative innovation design.
Looking ahead, we want to deepen international and interdisciplinary partnerships around major global challenges, while preserving the unique, introspective creativity that defines an art school. Balancing both is vital to avoid stagnation. We are positive and ambitious, driven by people, partnerships and creativity, even as we navigate a challenging environment. Mark Logan, a major Scottish Tech entrepreneur, former COO of Skyscanner and former chief entrepreneurial advisor to the Scottish Government, is a visiting professor with us and entrepreneur in residence at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He is very engaged with our work, especially around Glasgow as a creative cluster and potential supercluster alongside the Conservatoire and other city assets.
Our student president shares this vision, seeing how Glasgow’s creative energy can be leveraged like FinTech or other tech sectors. Mark’s firsthand experience and thought leadership are helping shape our ambitions. Having worked in Manchester, I see Glasgow’s potential to reclaim its position as the UK’s creative production hub, like it was in the 1980s. The city offers ample space and a deep love for creative arts — something unique in the UK — and a strong belief in creative education.
What is your final message for the readers of USA Today?
Scotland’s creative and cultural economy is rich and diverse, full of thinkers, experts and imagineers. We understand the complex relationship between rural and urban spaces — a defining feature of working here. We welcome purposeful partnerships and invite you to learn more about us. Collaboration is key in today’s challenging world.