Pauline Mackay

Professor Pauline Mackay is a leading scholar in Robert Burns Studies and Cultural Heritage at the University of Glasgow's Department of Scottish Literature within the College of Arts. She serves as Director of the Queen's Anniversary Prize-winning Centre for Robert Burns Studies, Co-Director of Realities and Immersion Glasgow (research center for immersive realities), and is a resident of the University's Advanced Research Centre. Her interdisciplinary work bridges Scottish literary studies with digital and immersive technologies, transforming traditional humanities scholarship through innovative applications.

Her research spans Scottish Literature from the 15th-21st centuries with specialized expertise in Robert Burns, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Material Culture studies, and Digital Humanities. Mackay pioneered the first Robert Burns VR experience 'Burns Beyond Reality' through collaboration with Edify, and currently leads the £6.2m Innovate UK-funded 'Museums in the Metaverse' project. Her scholarship uniquely connects Burns's bawdy song tradition with contemporary cultural heritage practices, examining how immersive technologies can reshape engagement with literary legacies.

Mackay's publications reveal a consistent trajectory from textual analysis of Burns's bawdy works to cutting-edge applications of XR technology in cultural heritage. Her research demonstrates sophisticated integration of literary scholarship with technological innovation, particularly in how immersive realities can transform understanding of intangible cultural practices like the Burns Supper. The interdisciplinary nature of her work spans literary criticism, digital humanities, heritage studies, and gender analysis.

• Queen's Anniversary Prize (as Director of Centre for Robert Burns Studies)
• English Association Fellows Award (2023) for XR technology applications
• Saltire Society '40 under 40' recognition (2023) for creative industries contributions

As Co-Investigator on multiple major grants including the AHRC-funded 'Editing Robert Burns's Poetry and Correspondence' and Innovate UK's 'Museums in the Metaverse', Mackay has secured significant research funding. She supervises graduate students including Watson, John (thesis on 'Literature and the Scottish Landscape'). Her teaching portfolio includes convening 'Memorialising Scottish Culture & Literature' and developing online courses like the Robert Burns MOOC reaching global audiences.

Mackay leads the Centre for Robert Burns Studies team and collaborates through Realities and Immersion Glasgow with XR Project Board colleagues, industry partners, and cultural heritage institutions. Her current research on 'Burns Supper, Intangible Cultural Heritage and Social XR' represents a pioneering effort to transform how living heritage is experienced and transmitted through immersive technologies.