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Catherine Dyer, LLB 1982 Current position: Crown Agent of the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service. Queen’s & Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer. The role of Crown Agent for the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), Scotland’s independent prosecution service, comes with many responsibilities. Catherine Dyer enjoys the variety her role brings.
Dr Fannon Lim, BEng 1999, PhD 2003 Current position: Director, undergraduate programmes, University of Glasgow Singapore. Dr Fannon Lim spent six busy years at Glasgow completing his BEng and PhD in Engineering, making countless new friends and travelling around Europe. Fannon rejoined the University in 2011. This time round he is not a student based in Glasgow’s Gilmorehill, but a member of staff leading undergraduate programmes for students in his home country of Singapore. Five undergraduate programmes are now on offer by the University in Singapore through a partnership with the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). Fannon is in charge of two of them: Mechanical Design Engineering and Mechatronics. ‘I’m really pleased to be leading these new programmes,’ explains Fannon. ‘Studying at Glasgow was one of the best times in my life and it’s nice that I can bring my experiences and knowledge to students in Singapore.’ After his time at university in Glasgow, Fannon returned to Singapore and began his career as a research scientist for Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology
& Research (A*STAR). During his time with A*STAR, he also managed a fund that bridges promising A*STAR technologies from lab scale to commercially viable ones. Most recently, Fannon was a chief operating officer for a start-up company where he played an instrumental role in developing the company’s solar and LED technologies.
Studying at Glasgow was one of the best times in my life and it’s nice that I can bring my experiences and knowledge to students in Singapore. Fannon brings industry knowledge and a great commitment to learning to his role with the University and he’s enjoying every minute of it. ‘It was a proud moment to watch the students graduate,’ says Fannon. ‘I was even prouder when they handed me their first business cards!’ Read about the first graduations in Singapore on page 4.
‘In my role as Chief Executive I’m responsible for the day-to-day running of the service,’ Catherine explains. But this is just one of her responsibilities with COPFS. ‘As Crown Agent I act as the principal adviser on prosecution matters to the Lord Advocate, who is the ministerial head of COPFS.’ Catherine is also responsible for decisions about whether to claim ownerless goods on behalf of the Crown in her role as Queen’s & Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer. ‘These items could include assets of dissolved companies or from individuals who have died without leaving a will and have no relatives to inherit,’ says Catherine. ‘There is also the Treasure Trove of ancient artefacts that have been found and could be claimed and allocated to museums in Scotland.’ When asked about how her studies have helped her in her career, Catherine comments: ‘My degree gave me the confidence to investigate and examine the history of issues, as well as recognition of the need to keep up with emerging developments.’ During her University days Catherine got involved with clubs and societies and became an elected member of the Students’ Representative Council. ‘I think that all my experiences at Glasgow made me more confident,’ Catherine says. ‘I knew that I could take on new and different challenges.’