Dr Iain S Ovens, OBE
Retired Principal, Dundee College.

Iain recently retired as Principal of Dundee College, a post he held since August 1996 having previously been Principal of Angus College for three and a half years. He has worked in colleges in Scotland for over 30 years spending most of his career in Glasgow and Fife.

Iain is a graduate of the University of Strathclyde and he worked in the electricity industry before becoming a college lecturer. Much of his career has been devoted to designing and delivering customised training for companies and in the public sector. He has been active in curriculum development throughout his career and was seconded to the Scottish Office to work on the 16+ Action Plan in the 1980s. Iain has led a number of national further education projects including the development of occupational standards for lecturers and a Total Quality Management project that involved most colleges in Scotland. He was a member of the Independent Committee of Inquiry into Student Finance established by the Scottish Executive (the Cubie Committee).

He has been a founding director of various bodies including the Association of Scottish Colleges. He currently chairs the Colleges Open Learning Exchange Group (COLEG), the Fife & Tayside Wider Access Forum and the COLA (College On Line Assessment Project) Steering Group. Iain has served on the Learning & Teaching Committee of the Scottish Further Education Funding Council and is active in support of the development of national qualifications. Iain chairs the Steering Group for Continuing Professional Development of Principals.

In 2002 Iain was awarded an OBE for his services to further education and in 2003 was appointed a Fellow of the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Iain was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Dundee in June 2006 in recognition of his contribution to raising the standards in further education.