Female students from the United Arab Emirates today (Wednesday, February 3) visited a traditional and award-winning marmalade and jam production company as part of their Academic Training Programme with Dundee’s Al-Maktoum Institute.
Now in the third week of a four-week stay, the 34 third and fourth-year students from six UAE universities have been invited to tour Arbroath-based Mackays, which has been making world famous marmalades and preserves for over 70 years and is now the only remaining producer of orange marmalade in the Dundee area.
“We strive to create interesting and stimulating itineraries, mixing social, historic and cultural elements and we are very pleased to include the visit to Mackays for the first time,” said the Institute Principal, Professor Malory Nye. “We have certainly put Scotland on the map for the UAE and Mackays is known worldwide for its products, including the UAE. I think the students are in for a real treat and we are grateful to Mackays for opening its doors to us.”
Professor Nye said the current educational programme, the ninth programme of its kind including Summer Schools, emphasised that the Institute is becoming more recognised as an international college in its own right. “That is good for Dundee and Scotland as well as the Institute,” said Professor Nye.
This study trip forms a key part of the students’ degree courses and the various activities arranged by the Institute, including visits to the Scottish Parliament, have been tailored to advance their overall learning and understanding of Scotland and the challenges of global dialogue and exchange.
“This Academic Training Programme builds on the excellent work we’ve been undertaking at the Institute over the past seven years with young women regarded as potential leaders in their society,” said Professor Nye.
“We are working to educate the next generation of scholars – both nationally and internationally – in the study of Islam and Muslims and multiculturalism to enable them to face the challenges and opportunities of today.”
Mackays, which received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2004, has demonstrated exceptional growth within the overseas market. Originally founded in 1938 by the Mackay Brothers, the business was kept in the family until being bought over in 1995 and is now run by Paul Grant MBE. The company, with 115 employees in total, has won a significant share of the international retail market and today exports to 43 countries worldwide.
“I met a group of UAE students at an Emirates Festival Day hosted by the Institute last summer in Dundee and many of them sampled and enjoyed our jams and marmalade,” said Paul Grant.
“I am delighted to be able to welcome this group of students to Mackays today and I hope they find the tour both interesting and enjoyable. Our products are popular in the UAE and maybe the students will sing our praises on their return as unofficial brand ambassadors.”
The Institute estimates that the students’ visit will boost the local economy by over £200,000 when hotel accommodation, transport, meals and shopping are taken into account.
