From Golden Era to Tarnished Relationships - Reflections on Five Years as the Scottish Government’s Representative in China.

SCEN is delighted to announce that this year's SCEN Lecture speaker will be Martin McDermott.

Martin will share with us his experience of working at the front line in the British Embassy in Beijing through five tumultuous years. As well as hearing about Martin’s recent experiences in China there will also be an opportunity to question him about how Scotland can work with China in challenging times.

The talk will be followed by a networking opportunity, for the first time in three years people associated with SCEN or who are interested in or involved with China or with language learning will be able to engage face-to-face.

School and university students are particularly welcome to attend this event.

Martin McDermott was the Scottish Government’s Representative to China from May 2017 to August 2022, based in the British Embassy in Beijing.

Martin joined the Scottish Government in June 2003. He has held a variety of policy positions across Scottish Government Directorates, including in Justice, Education and Lifelong Learning.

Martin grew up in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire and graduated with an LLB (Hons) in Scots Law from the University of Glasgow in 2002.