Professor Sir Jim McDonald：Principal of University of Strathclyde

President and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology
Fellow of the Institute of Physics
Glasgow Economic Partnership
Glasgow Science Centre
Scottish Science Advisory Council
Senior Consultant for Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters, China

Professor Sir Jim McDonald is responsible for the day-to-day management of the University and is also responsible to the University Court for the finances of the University. He was appointed Principal in November 2008 and took up his post in March 2009.

Professor McDonald leads specifically on Strategy and Planning; Research and Knowledge and Exchange and External Affairs and Development.

He started his Strathclyde career as an undergraduate, before studying for an MSc and PhD in Power Engineering and Power System Economic.

Sir Jim returned to the University in 1984 after eight years in industry and held several academic positions in the department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering including Head of Department, ultimately taking up the post of Rolls Royce Professor of Electrical Power Systems in 1994.

He was promoted to Deputy Principal in August 2006 with a focus on research enhancement and business development. In October 2006 he was appointed Director of the Glasgow Research Partnership in Engineering (GRPE), part of an £80m collaborative pooling funded by the Scottish Funding Council. As part of the Scottish Engineering research pool, he acts as Chairman of the Energy Technology Partnership.

He is actively involved in advising government, industry and commerce and holds a number of public posts including: Member - Scottish Science Advisory Committee (SSAC); Member - UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) - Energy Excellence Board; Co-Chair (with the First Minister) of the Energy Advisory Board in Scotland; Chairman - Saltire Prize Technical Advisory Board; Member - Scottish Enterprise Aerospace, Marine and Defence Industrial Advisory Board.

He has a strong personal commitment to supporting gifted young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter Higher Education. He is an Adviser to the Robertson Trust, which allocates scholarships, and has played a leading role in the Careers Scotland/NASA Space School and the IET Power Academy, which have similar aims.

He was awarded a knighthood in The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Birthday Honours for his services to education, engineering and the economy. In January 2020, Sir Jim was received by Chinese PM LI Keqiang recommended by MOST and promote and strengthen the collaboration in Engineering and Technology between China and the UK.