Kushwant Singh Raud

The Late Dr Harkirtan Singh-Raud OBE JP FRSA BSc(Hons) MRSC CChem PGCE GIBiol MCollP MEd (Cantab) Phd. President of The Oxford & Cambridge Universities Sikh Alumni Association 2002-2007.Cha Cha Ji, A father to me Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room, I am I and you are you, Whatever we were to each other, that we still are. Call me by my old familiar name, Speak to me in the easy way which you always used, Put no difference in your tone, Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow, Laugh as we always laugh...ed, At the little jokes we enjoyed together. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without effect, Without the trace of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant, It is the same that it ever was. There is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind, Because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, Somewhere very near, Just around the corner, all is well.

WJKK WJKF Dr Harkirtan Singh-Raud OBE. JP, BSc (Hons), PGCE, MEd (Cantab) MRSC, CChem, G I Biol, MCollP, PhD, FRSA Lecturer in Science Education, Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure, Liverpool John Moores University He was a senior Lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University and had been Head of Combined Science, taught Chemistry, Biochemistry and science in schools. His research field covered the area of race, gender and diversity. He was nationally recognised in his field and was awarded the OBE for service to Education and to Diversity. He was a very active Labour Party member who had been recognised as an excellent candidate to become an MP. He lived in Manchester where he had hoped to become an MP. Dr Harkirtan Singh-Raud also chaired the Oxbridge Sikh Alumni. Harkirtan joined the University in 1995 as a senior lecturer in science education, following an outstanding career teaching chemistry, biochemistry and science in schools. As a member of the secondary initial teacher education team Harkirtan made valuable contributions to postgraduate and undergraduate initial teacher training programmes, inspiring a new generation of science teachers with his enthusiasm for his subject. Students will particularly recall his ability as an inspirational lecturer to make chemistry understandable, interesting, and fun. Harkirtan's research covered the area of race, gender and diversity in education, focusing on the attitudes and aspirations of Asian undergraduates towards education and employment. He had a strong belief that education was for all and passionately championed the views of those under-represented in higher education. He was nationally recognised in this field and was awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to Education and Diversity. His concerns for the under representation of Asian role models within the teaching profession led to Harkirtan taking a proactive role in supporting the recruitment of minority ethnic students into initial teacher education programmes, and he actively supported many students who have now become successful teachers. He was a great achiever for the Sikh Community having been awarded an OBE from the Queen and being a Gursikh JP at Manchester Magistrates Court. Harkirtan came from a successful and proud Sikh family, one of the first to move to Manchester in the 1950's, and he continued the commitment to and involvement in community work for which his father was well known. This was evidenced by his longstanding service to the community as a magistrate and his enthusiasm for and contribution to political life, twice being selected as a parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party. All these achievements aside, Harkirtan was a man of strong character with a keen sense of humour, love of life and strong family values. He was a popular and much loved colleague and acted as the social secretary of the science and outdoor studies section of the Faculty for many years. His staunch support of Manchester United also provided much opportunity for heated debate with those living at this end of the M62. Sadly, he leaves behind a wife and two young daughters and, in celebrating Harkirtan's achievements and contribution to life it is to them and his family we offer our sympathy and condolence. His sudden death in hospital, at the age of 46, has left his colleagues, friends and family shocked. However, we all want to remember and celebrate the tremendous achievements in his short life. WJKK WJKF