IBM attend Inward Programme at the Scottish Parliament

4th March 2010

Eleven senior managers from IBM attended an Inward Programme hosted at the Scottish Parliament by the Scottish Parliament and Business Exchange.  The focus of the day was to enable IBM to gain a greater understanding of the Scottish Parliament.

The programme started with a welcome from Alasdair Morgan MSP in his role as a Deputy Presiding Officer for the Parliament.

The morning session was based around understanding how Parliament itself works.  Dr Jim Johnston, Clerk to the Finance Committee, led the session, which focused on: what the Parliament does and what powers it has, who's who in the Government and Parliament, Recent subjects from a business perspective that the Scottish Parliament and Committees have been, and how does business engage with the Scottish Parliament.  The delegates then visited the main debating chamber in the Parliament to observe First Minister’s Question Time.

Following lunch there were two sessions in the afternoon.  Firstly, Iain Smith MSP spoke about the role of the Finance Committee in his role as convenor, and then Stuart McMillan MSP spoke about the role and responsibilities of being a Member of the Scottish Parliament. 

Speaking after the event Phil Harkins, CRM/BTO Business Operations Manager for IBM said:

"Our day visiting the Scottish Parliament with SPBE was very interesting and helped us understand how the Parliament works, the role of the MSP's and the importance of the Committees. We all enjoyed the day very much and it provided valuable insight into how businesses and the Parliament can learn from each other."

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