Hello and welcome to our second blog – we have now passed day 50 of lockdown. Hopefully, you are all well and adjusting to working from home, contacting colleagues and friends on Zoom and other video chat apps. I imagine like many of you I hadn’t even used Zoom until the lockdown commenced so it has been a learning curve.
Glasgow City Innovation District partners continue to work tirelessly to help support Glasgow businesses through these unprecedented times. They are continually updating their websites and social media channels with the most up to date information.
It is also great to see that the UK's leading businesses have come together to form a new coalition as part of the emergency response to CODIV-19. The Business Action Group has been established to streamline the voices of more than half a million business across the UK.
It is always good to share some recent success stories during these times.
The Scottish Government has awarded £355,000 to Strathclyde researchers to support four projects that aim to contribute to the national and global efforts to combat COVID-19 and its effects. The project funding was awarded following a Rapid Research in COVID-19 call for research bids by the Chief Scientist Office and 55No projects across Scottish universities share almost £5 million.
A new study is set to launch that uses patient data to track the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic across Scotland. The project has been awarded £500,000 of funding from the Medical Research Council and will also be able to track the effectiveness of any new treatments or vaccines. The University of Strathclyde is a partner in the study, which is being led at the University of Edinburgh and also involves Health Protection Scotland.
Strathclyde Entrepreneurial Network supported company, Power a Life, were featured in The Herald for all the fantastic work founder Jeremie Warner is doing. His social enterprise is leading the charge against global poverty, they have already transformed thousands of school pupils lives in rural Africa through the gift of light. If you want to find out more about the amazing work Power a Life, Jeremie will be part of the Impact Summit on May 20th.
It is still so important that you all look after your mental as well as physical health during these testing times. There is lots of evidence that we are all under different stresses, feeling more tired from a day of Zoom/Skype calls than we would from our previous longer days in and out of different offices and buildings attending back-to-back meetings. As we settle into our current “new normal”, it is important that you try your best to create a routine that works for you, take regular breaks from screen time and make sure we hydrate properly. In addition, some time outside replenishing our bodies vitamin D is good.
If you are able to take advantage of Joe Wicks or the plethora of other online classes, it will do you the power of good and see your mood uplifted by the dose of endorphins released into your bloodstream. It is well known that people who exercise regularly tend to do so because it gives them an enormous sense of well-being. They feel more energetic throughout the day, sleep better at night, have sharper memories, and feel more relaxed and positive about themselves and their lives. And it’s also powerful medicine for many common mental health challenges.