UWE Graduate Internship Scheme Success
Transcription
UWE Graduate Internship Scheme Success
thebulletin 27 July 2010 - Issue 96 UWE Graduate Internship Scheme Success B In this month’s issue NEWS 2 UWE wins Green Gown Award 3 Students win prestigious placements at CERN 4 Internship Scheme helps beat recession 7 Get on your bikes UWE 10 UWE bettertogether awards 2010 UWE wins Green Gown Award The University has won a prestigious Green Gown Award. The prize for ‘Continuous Improvement – institutional Change’ was presented to UWE’s Environment Manager, Mark Webster, at a special ceremony at the Swan at Shakepeare’s Globe Theatre. The prize for Continuous Improvement – Institutional Change recognises sustained and successful activities to improve the performance of whole further and higher education institutions, campuses, faculties and buildings over a number of years. Projects are only likely to be successful if they provide considerable quantitative evidence on the nature of the improvements made, and also demonstrate a causal relationship between activities undertaken and improvements achieved. Initiatives must have been running for at least five years. This prize is sponsored by The Higher Education Funding Council and The Scottish Funding Council. Mark Webster said, “This is brilliant news for the University. Being acknowledged by our peers for making a real contribution to sustainability is a highly valued and honourable reward for our efforts. UWE staff and students deserve recognition for their commitment to helping UWE achieve its vision of being recognised as one of the most sustainable universities. “We have put in an enormous effort to embed the Managament of sustainability across the whole of the University. We have reduced carbon emissions by 26 per cent since 2001/2002, we achieved carbon trust standard recently and the recycling rate now stands at 37 per cent of all waste. UWE is now recognised as one of the top five performing educational institutions for sustainable development and we have maintained a first class performance in the University Green League. “Last year UWE was shortlisted for Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development in the Times Higher Awards. “The Continuous Improvement – Institutional Change is arguably the most hard fought-for award to win because institutions need to demonstrate longevity of commitment to sustainability.” The Bulletin is published by the Marketing and Communications Office who reserve the right to select items for inclusion and to edit copy. For further information contact Jane Kelly or Mary Price on ext 82208, e-mail Jane.Kelly@uwe. ac.uk and [email protected] Editor: Jane Kelly Editor: Mary Price Contributor: Lesley Drake, Kate Mooney Production: Jayne Andrews, Kate Mooney Designed by Graphic Design Printing and Distribution by Printing and Stationery The next issue will be circulated at the end of September. Please do keep sending contributions in. The Bulletin regrets that it cannot be held responsible for any claims that arise out of advertisements carried. Steve West, UWE Vice-Chancellor, said, “We’re absolutely delighted to win a Green Gown. Sustainability permeates all that we do from research to waste management and energy management to purchasing. We continually strive to get better and the Green Gown recognition for all the efforts put in by the staff right across the University is second to none.” Judges’ comments include: “UWE has demonstrated the embedding of sustainability into the institutional strategy with an integrated management approach to continuous improvement.” “The judges particularly highlighted the strong collaboration with other institutions and the engagement from all staff, and felt that the initiative showed a significant breadth and depth of sustainable activity.” The Green Gown Awards are now in their sixth year and recognise exceptional initiatives being undertaken by universities across the UK to become more sustainable. The awards have become the most prestigious in the recognition of sustainability excellence in further and higher education. Front cover: Colette Percival (left), Linda Pick (right) and Anita Fleming (centre). Photographer Martin Chainey. 2 Seven UWE students win prestigious placements at CERN CMS experiment at CERN (Photo credit - CERN) Seven BIT students have won prestigious placements this year at CERN, one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research, and home to the Large Hadron Collider facility. So far this year a total of 14 UK students have been accepted for placements at CERN and more students may be selected later in the year. At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constituents of matter — the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of nature. The Technical Student Programme is aimed at undergraduate students in applied physics, engineering or computing. They are given a living allowance for Geneva and insurance coverage. The seven UWE students are all studying various specialisms within computing including Software Engineering, Forensic Computing, IT Management for Business and Computer Systems Integration. They will work on projects ranging from implementing a Content Management System in HR to contributing to the business support systems at CERN, and developing software to extract data from Oracle databases. In addition this year UWE has also won CERN IT Division funding for a PhD student, Alex Loth, for the next three years of around £25K per annum. Alex will work on a project of mutual interest to CERN and UWE. UWE has had links with CERN since 1990 and has sent around 50 placement students to the project over the past 20 years, but this is the largest number sent in one year. In addition UWE has had five CERN doctoral studentships, more than 10 CERN fellowships and two visiting professorships. UWE has collaborated with CERN on key projects such as MammoGrid, Health-e-Child and neuGRID*. Over the years the partnership with CERN has been worth around £3million to UWE and the University has developed a strong reputation for its collaborative research and excellent students. Professor Richard McClatchey of UWE’s Centre for Complex Co-Operative Systems, has played a key role in developing the links with CERN. He worked at CERN for 11 years, and is a CERN Scientific Associate and has held a Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship at CERN. Richard says, “CERN is an ideal place for young student scientists to serve their apprenticeship. It is an exciting environment and a truly unique organisation. It promotes genuine collaboration between countries, universities and scientists, driven not by profit margins, but by a commitment to create and share knowledge. “Our links with CERN are extensive and include other areas as well as student 3 placements. For example UWE staff have worked with CERN to develop CRISTAL, a software programme designed as part of the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiment. It has enabled scientists to track thousands of constituent parts through hundreds of complex activities over CMS’s extended 10-year construction period. This software has now been adapted for industry across the spectrum from concurrent engineering design to business process management. “UWE and its Centre for Complex Computing Systems was the first University to be granted associate status in the CMS experiment at CERN. We are well placed to collaborate with CERN as we understand both the physics aspects of the work and are also able to offer the computer science expertise that is needed for the project.” Through UWE’s links with CERN over the years, many alumni have gone on to take jobs at CERN, and they continue to share their enthusiasm and knowledge with current students. One of the first students to take up the opportunity of a placement at CERN was Steven Murray who joined UWE in 1993 via a foundation course at Soundwell College in Bristol. Steven did a BSc in Computing for Real-Time Systems and a placement at CERN. He gained a first class honours degree and studied for his PhD in France. He took up a fellowship at CERN and is now a software engineer Contd. on p.4 CERN placements contd. in the IT division working on the CERN advanced storage manager which currently holds 27 petabytes of physics production files and user files. Pictured from left to right are Anita Fleming, Linda Pick and Colette Percival. Steven says “My experience of UWE before coming to CERN enabled me to take on complex technical challenges with confidence and it enforced my enthusiasm to always learn more. I am happy to encourage other students who want to follow this path, because at CERN you will always find challenging projects with teams of people from all over the world.” Lucy Lockwood, HR systems analyst at CERN, is another placement student from UWE who now works at CERN. Lucy recently came back to UWE to give a presentation to current applicants. She says, “Undertaking a placement at CERN gives students an excellent start in a career in IT, engineering or physics. Students get to work in an exciting international environment, learn new skills and enjoy all the benefits of the region. I’m proud to work for the organisation where the Web was born and where ground-breaking scientific research takes place every day, and I’m happy to see other UWE students enjoying these opportunities too.” Lucy first came to CERN as a placement student in 2002, whilst studying Computing and Information Systems at UWE. After working at CERN for 14 months she returned to finish her degree, graduating with first class honours in 2004. In 2005 Lucy returned to CERN as a staff member, where she worked as a software engineer in the IT department for three years, before moving to work in the HR department where she is now responsible for the team that provides the department’s IT solutions. The seven UWE students going to CERN are: Robin Ashford, Martin Nemcic, Michael Scott, James Baldwin, Matthew Bowen, Lawrence Gray and Adam Harwood. Internship Scheme helps beat recession UWE’s Graduate Internship Scheme is a great success story with many graduates being offered full time employment as their individual internships finish. Maggie Westgarth, Head of UWE Careers, said, “The interest in the UWE Graduate Internship Scheme has been phenomenal and has enabled the University to partner up with and develop relationships with many new businesses and organisations. Significant new jobs are being created within small businesses who seem keen to retain graduate skills after the internship gives a taster of the value that enthusiastic graduates can add to their experience. Many graduates only think to approach the large employers but we have found that there is a real growth in smaller businesses with many creating new jobs on the back of the scheme. “It has taken great team work to get the scheme up and running so quickly. We have had input and support from, individuals, services and Faculties across the University. Of particular note are RBI, HR, the Faculty of Creative Arts, finance and the contracts team with special thanks going to Brian Allen and Gill Weaden.” As a result of UWE’s outstanding success at engaging the initial interest of employers the Higher Education Funding Council has doubled the number of internships UWE can support from 200 to a total of 400. Linda Pick and Colette Percival, on the recruitment team, say the response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive from businesses in the region. Linda has worked for UWE Careers Service for 20 years. She said, “We pressed the button to send the initial e-mail to an enormous list of prospects and within 30 seconds the first enquiry came through. Within the next 30 minutes we received positive responses from at least another 20 businesses. This was at 5pm – just as we were all about to leave the office. By the time we came in the following day there were over 100 businesses wanting to recruit interns. It was just so exciting to see how responsive employers were immediately when the scheme was announced. I can say without reservation that this has been one of the most positive schemes that we have been able to offer students in my time at UWE.” Colette who previously worked in recruitment said, “We set out to try to engage businesses from interesting sectors that are traditionally quite difficult to break into. The internships offered have been amazing including roles as journalist, film editor, architect, balloon designer and games publisher, to name but a few. " 4 High flyer Martin Shepherd took this picture on his first balloon ride Martin Shepherd working on the new printing machine at Cameron Balloons Andrew Kenyon Architects Stefanie Georgadidis, an architectural graduate from the University of Portsmouth, said, – “My internship was a very positive experience. There is not a lot of architectural work around at the moment especially for students who have recently graduated so it was good to get some project work experience. I worked on a selection of presentation drawings for Andrew Kenyon Architects. The internship has opened new doors and provided me with some valuable experience to add to my cv.” Wendy Tippett, Director of Andrew Kenyon Architects said, “This is a great scheme as it gave us the chance to take someone on to help with some packages of work to bring drawings up to presentation standard. Stefanie worked on several projects working on plans and section drawings that will be used on web and printed promotional material. Unfortunately we are not in a position to take her on full time but we did ensure that we gave her a project that she could focus on and that was really useful to us. We would definitely use the scheme again for short term projects.” Cameron Balloons Alan Noble from Cameron Balloons said that the company was suddenly presented with the scheme and thought they would give it a go. Alan said, “We had just purchased some new printing equipment. Printing onto balloons is a complicated process as balloons taper, so printing is not at all straightforward. We needed someone with a graphics background to help to manage the new equipment. Ordinarily new employees are taken on for a three month trial whch becomes permanent if they do well. “The scheme seemed like a good idea all round, we had a very high quality response to our need for a graphic designer and interviewed around 10 people. Martin ticked all the boxes and had incredible enthusiasm. He has proved very adept at learning how to use the new machine’s programmes but as a graphic designer he also has the artistic eye that is critical to ensuring designs will work. We have taken Martin on full time and we would absolutely use the scheme again. ” Martin said, “I’m over the moon, everything seems to have happened so quickly, the internship scheme has been brilliant. I was getting really despondent but the scheme has given me a fantastic opportunity. I’m from Bristol so I know how important Cameron Balloons is to the city and I feel so proud to be working here. “I did an illustration degree so it’s really good to be able to use my artistic training in my work. I’m training on Cameron Balloons’ new printing system and I will eventually take some of the workload from the Graphics Manager. I went to a Balloon Meet in Boulogne in France recently and had my first Balloon ride – it was amazing. I can’t thank the UWE internship scheme enough.” Stephanie Georgadidis at work with Andrew Kenyon Architects Aquavita Films Adam Phillips, a UWE BA Media Practice graduate worked as a Production Assistant at Aquavita Films. As a direct result of his experience he was able to apply for a full time post at Film 59. Adam worked on post production for a series called Gorilla School for Animal Planet. Aquavita Films Managing Director, Bernard Walton said, “This is an excellent scheme as it gives students the chance to cross the line from university to the business world and helps them to focus on the environment they will eventually work in. Equally for employers it means that we can offer up great industry experience and opportunity whilst getting help with funding. The scheme at UWE is very well run and we’ve been collaborating in some shape or form with the University on graduate employment experience of this kind since 2005. “What I like about this scheme is the fact that we can choose the candidate. Adam has done really well and we’ve worked him hard – he has been involved in some transfer and conversion editing but also as a runner and doing basic stuff. The internship has resulted in him getting an interview and employment at Film 59 in Bristol. Schemes like this are a small price to pay to help graduates move into work where they utilise their skills to the full and gain essential work experience.” Adam Phillips said, “I had done bits and bobs for production companies but the scheme gave me two months of solid experience at Aquavita Films. I was given access to an industry where it is traditionally difficult to gain a foot in the door. The time spent at Aquavita Films built my confidence and gave me useful industry contacts. By the time I went for my interview at Film 59 I didn’t feel intimidated as I had some good experience under my belt. Bernard Walton was amazingly helpful; he sat with me and gave me some good insight into editing techniques. I think the scheme is great – it’s possible to work forever for free in this industry but people don’t really take you seriously until you’ve got some decent experience and insight.” 5 NEWS Professor Alan Tapp R Geraint Evans, Marketing Manager (Theo's supervisor) Tomo OHNO, Theo Cox Zen United Theo Cox, a Games Technology graduate from UWE has a secured fill time employment at Zen United, a games publishing company, as a direct result of taking part in the internship scheme. He was getting rejections from supermarket applications and feeling really despondent. Theo said, “I started off doing fairly menial work like Excel documents but I tried really hard to finish this work fast so that I would get set more challenging tasks. I worked on a website for one of the games currently being promoted and developed the online communications for Zen United’s Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. I’ve started to do some editing for the trailer for some promotional media for new products. The work is extremely varied and I’m really enjoying it. Recently I made a little game for the website. “The internship scheme has given me the chance to show off my ability and use skills learned whilst at University and it’s paved the way to getting the job at Zen United.” Tomo Ohno, Zen United’s Managing Director, said, “We knew that Theo’s knowledge of technology would be useful to us but the real surprise benefit has been the insight he has given us into the communications for our target market. Most of the people working in the company are now in their 30s, our target market are in their late teens and early 20s. “Theo helped us to utilise communications on Facebook and Twitter and his understanding of these channels has helped us to gather an important insight into our target market. He will join the company as a Marketing Assistant and he is already helping us with building websites and using social media to promote our products. I think the internship scheme is excellent, so much so that we have another intern working with us now on a graphic design project.” The UWE Graduate Internship scheme was launched in February 2010 to support the local economy by helping business to employ and train quality graduates in the region. More than 300 businesses have now registered to participate. The Graduate Internship Scheme aims to improve the employment prospects of graduates by helping them develop industrially relevant knowledge and allow businesses to afford extra staff resources in order to undertake tasks and projects. The scheme also develops the skills pool of existing staff within a business by allowing them to mentor and supervise graduate interns. For more information on UWE’s Graduate Internship Scheme e-mail [email protected] or register at the webpage here: www.uwe.ac.uk/careers/graduateinternships. 6 Professor Alan Tapp (BBS) wins the prize for one of the longest commutes to work. He notches up over 100 miles every week. “I cycle from Chepstow at least three days each week and have done so since I joined UWE in 2000. I take Sustrans routes and quiet back ways where I can. Even on good days the winds over the Severn can be pretty challenging but once I’m away from the bridge I can bomb along. Maybe there are too many excuses not to cycle – I know I am lucky because I do have my own office, with a radiator and window so I can dry wet clothes easily when it rains. In Holland – yes it’s flat – people don’t worry about showers and getting wet – they just get on with it – over here we sometimes seem to make such a big fuss about it all and maybe we shouldn’t because it’s easier than people might think and just becomes what you do. Give it a go.” Alan’s Top Tip “Recognise that cycling feels great – especially when you get into the office…but yes, keep your ears and eyes open and your wits about you.” What UWE could do better Steve Ward (UWE’s Travel Planner) is doing a good job and I’m not going to bash him but better drying facitilies for wet gear and more showers might encourage more people to leave the car at home. Get on your bikes UWE “It’s free, it’s fun, it’s faster, it makes you feel good , it keeps you fit and is the best stress buster out there” – some of the viewpoints of people who regularly get on their bikes and eshew the driving traffic nightmare that is the daily commute for the majority of staff at the University. More and more staff at UWE are opting to cycle to work. Some have been doing this for years but the opportunity to buy a new bike tax-free on interest-free credit through the Cycle to Work scheme is inspiring more and more to give it a go. The Bulletin caught up with staff who cycle to work to find out more and spoke to Steve Ward, UWE’s Travel Planner about future initiatives. Barbara with her trusty Velocity bike Barbara Dale (HR) has cycled to work since the end of 2000. She used to ride a hulking heavy bike bought cheaply but invested in a Ridgeback Velocity from Bike UK in Clifton that she purchased through the Cycle to Work scheme in 2007. Barbara has a short commute from Filton and when she started to cycle in she hadn’t been on a bike for 20 years. “What started me off was a total frustration with traffic when I started working at UWE. I thought I’d give cycling a go and I haven’t looked back. The journey took 30 minutes the first time I did it as I had to get used to cycling again but now I zoom in in about 10 minutes. I cycle in all weathers, apart from when it’s really slippery with ice. I did try to cycle in when it snowed this year but it was a bit too dangerous so I walked as I don’t live that far away. Tessa Harrison (Academic Registrar) made the conscious decision not to drive years ago. Her daily commute from Bath combines cycling and a train journey and in the summer she does the Bristol to Bath Cycle path at least twice a week. Tessa said, “I don’t own a car, I belong to a car share scheme but I prefer to cycle everywhere. Throughout my career I have always cycled to work. The facilities here at UWE are much better than those I’ve experienced at other universities with plenty of secure parking and showers. In my view there is absolutely no excuse for anyone living in the city not to cycle. “I love cycling because of the fresh air even when it’s cold and raining! I find the cycle home makes a good transition between work and home life. Cycling is also really sociable and I’ve met people from all over the University who I may not have encountered in the normal d her hybri ills and Jenny W m Bike cycle fro “Beat the stress factor – cycling actually makes you feel good. Take a change of clothes to work but on a short cycle you won’t need to shower.” What UWE could do better “I think that the Cycle to Work Scheme should be better promoted. I’m sure this article will help!” “I bought my wonderful Brompton folding bike on the Cycle to Work scheme and I can honestly say that it has transformed my life as it’s so much easier to combine with a train commute.” Tessa’s Top Tip “Stop thinking of all the excuses why it’s too difficult to come to work by bike – just do it!” What UWE could do better “At the risk of becoming public enemy number one I would say UWE needs to make driving in more difficult for those who are able to cycle.” Jenny Wills (UWE Complaints Manager) has a nine mile journey from Warmley and cycles in about three times a week along the Bristol to Bath cycle track and the ring road path to Filton from the Old Mangotsfield station. Jenny says it is much easier to cycle in now that she is based on Frenchay Campus and her working day is more predictable. “I used to work at Glenside and needed to come to Frenchay for a lot of meetings. Since taking up my current role I’ve found that cycling is a more feasible option. I treat my commute as a chance to do some exercise so try to ride as fast as I can. I ride my lovely hybrid bike purchased from Bike UK in Clifton on the Cycle to Work scheme. “I like the fact it helps keep me fit and that’s it’s a stress free journey to work.” Barbara’s Top Tip course of my working day. Tessa wit h her Brompto n folding bike “I look forward to my cycle home at the end of each day, I think cycling is good for mental as well as physical health it keeps my carbon footprint low and it costs so much less than driving or catching the bus. Bike UK even service my cycle for free! Jenny’s top tip “Try it once or twice and see how you get on. It only takes a little bit of organising and it makes you feel so much better.” What UWE could do better “More towel hooks in the shower blocks and more lockers would be good.” 7 NEWS Jenny Chaplin (BBS Postgraduate Programme Assistant) was inspired to cycle to work, after driving to Frenchay Campus for eight years, when she borrowed a friend’s bike to do the Bristol/Bath cycle track. “I was amazed at how much easier it is to cycle on a bike with decent gears. My memories of cycling as a teenager on a three gear cycle meant that I had not really considered that cycling up Bristol’s hills could be an option. “ I bought a Ridgeback Comet from the very helpful people at Bike UK in September 2009 on the Cycle to Work scheme and I’ve cycled the four miles from Easton through Eastville Park and the Dower House track ever since. It’s a beautiful ride and I’ve seen herons and all kinds of wildlife – it makes a great start and end to the day. Jenny with her Ridgeback Comet tax-free bikes for work “I was initially worried that buying a bike on the scheme would mean that I would be expected to cycle in every day but the people administering the scheme in HR told me that this was not an issue. I have a little computer on my bike and it shows that I have cycled 250 miles and this gives me a sense of satisfaction.” Jenny’s top tip “If you are nervous about cycling initially it’s a good idea to find a cycling buddy to help you find a good safe route.” What UWE could do better “I think more shower and locker facilites will definitely be needed if more people decide to cycle in. First thing in the morning the current facilities are at full capacity." Professor Paul Gough (Pro Vice-Chancellor) said, “My route takes me from Southville to Temple Meads; Temple Meads to Abbey Wood; Abbey Wood to the Farmhouse. On a good day it takes 35 minutes door to door. Bristol, with its steep hills, indecently rutted road surfaces, and ignorant car drivers is a challenge to any cyclist but that hasn’t stopped me and I take great delight in breezing past the miles of static traffic that clogs up central Bristol each morning. I bought a bright-red Brompton on the Cycle-to-Work scheme and, apart from being an engineering masterpiece; it is perfect for the cycletrain-cycle route that I take each day. The UK’s No.1 Provid Tax-Freeer of Bik for Work es Cyclescheme “I am really pleased that Bristol is the first Cycling City in the UK and it needs our support. It’s great to be part of a cycling community at UWE and a pleasure to be in the cycling fraternity at the farmhouse. “Recommended reading for all cyclists – The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien, which tells the story of an unrequited love affair between a man and his bicycle.” Paul’s top tip For more information on the scheme, please visit our website at: “Cycling will save the planet; high-viz clothing saves lives.” www.cyclescheme.co.uk What UWE could do better Collect from your local bike shop Get any make and model GEN/A4/MAY09 Big savings on bikes and equipment Pay through your salary 8 “UWE-branded helmets in red and black?” Professor Paul Gough on his Brompton ‘engineering masterpiece’ An illustration of the savings on Cycle to Work scheme Steve Ward, UWE’s travel planner, is all too conscious of the barriers people have when it comes to cycling to work. “The biggest objections I come up against are that Bristol is hilly, that it’s not convenient to cycle when it rains and that people have too many papers and books to lug around so cycling is perceived by some to be impractical. Some people are concerned about roads being busy and fast and that cycling can be dangerous. There are also issues people have with the time it takes to cycle. “But despite being hilly, most hills in Bristol can easily be navigated with a bike with decent gears or even an electric bike. If it rains simply buy some good wet weather gear and pack a change of clothes. This small investment is soon absorbed by a nil cost commute. There are plans to increase the number of lockers available. As for the piles of paper work I have yet to see anyone walking from their car with paper work too bulky to be carried in a pair of panniers. “It can be difficult for many people to make the wholesale commitment to change. But as can be seen from the examples in this article cycling is actually an enjoyable option with people saying they feel better for it and that it’s actually must faster than depending on cars or buses. The chance to purchase a tax-free bike through the Cycle to Work scheme is an absolute no brainer. I strongly urge more of you to give it a go.” Total cost of bike and accessories: £799.00 Net cost of bike and accessories, including finance and admin costs (if applicable): £799.00 Income tax saving over hire period: £159.80 NI saving over hire period: £87.89 Final cost of bike and accessories: £551.31 Total saving:** £247.69 12 Monthly payments of: £66.58 Research reports increase in cycling to UWE A recent survey carried out by researchers from UWE’s Centre for Transport and Society has shown that there is a rise in the number of people cycling to UWE over the past two years. A sample estimated to represent around a quarter of the Frenchay Campus cyclist population was interviewed on 6 March 2010. Staff and students were approximately equally recorded with 40 per cent accessing on a daily basis. Project leader Professor Graham Parkhurst said, “We carried out this survey for the Highways Agency. We already knew that there are currently at least 800 people cycling on a typical day to the Frenchay Campus but didn’t know anything about their motivations or how long they had been cycling. Our recent survey suggests that around 160 of these had started to ride bikes to the University in the past two years with a greater number opting to cycle in the past 12 months compared with the number indicating they had begun in the previous year. Although some campus users who had started cycling in the previous 12 months may no longer come to campus, this doesn’t explain all the difference.” No dominant motivation to cycle was found, but respondents cited cost, journey time and reliability factors alongside fitness benefits. For those who had started cycling in the last two years nearly half said that the bus had been their main mode of transport prior to making the switch to bike and for a quarter it was the car. Researcher Henrietta Sherwin concludes, “This is important in terms of the University achieving its sustainability target and although some individuals had switched from walking the main change was from motorised transport.” Why are fewer women than men cycling in the UK ? Anja Dalton is undertaking a three-year, EPSRC-funded research project investigating gender differences in cycling in the UK and aims to discover the key reasons for the lack of participation in cycling by women. She is also interested in whether social influence is a significant factor in persuading more Anja Dalton explains, “Levels of cycling are low in the UK, compared to several European neighbours, at two per cent of all transport trips. One barrier to increasing cycling levels is that current uptake of cycling is unequally distributed, with only half as many transport trips by British women being by bike, compared to men. Certain groups, such as older people and ethnic minorities are also currently under-represented, and if some groups of people are not visible as cyclists others may not feel it is for them either. “The study is using a mixed-methods framework involving interviews and focus groups, as well as use of secondary quantitative data to investigate broader UK gender and cycling patterns. The first stage, an exploratory study in Bristol, is currently 9 near completion and then further data collection is planned in Cardiff later this year, in the vicinity of the Cardiff Connect2 scheme, Pont-y-Werin (People’s Bridge) between Cardiff Bay and Penarth.” Anja intends the research to provide knowledge relevant for policy-makers involved in the transport and health fields, to assist their work in enabling greater numbers of people to cycle and so enjoy the benefits of this flexible, fun, cheap and healthy form of transport. Her study is entitled Cycling Circles: gender and social influence in UK cycling. Anja Dalton NEWS UWE bettertogether awards 2010 The University marked the inaugural bettertogether awards in style on Friday 25 June at the UWE Exhibition and Conference Centre. Black ties, gold envelopes and even World Cup vuvuzelas added to the celebratory atmosphere, as the University publicly recognised the outstanding contribution of individuals and teams who have gone the extra mile in their areas of work. Over 300 staff members from all campuses attended the event. They enjoyed the excellent catering from Facilities, music from the UWE Big Band and amusing anecdotes from Pro VC, Professor Paul Gough who compered the awards. Chris Croudace (Outreach), Richard Bond (RBI), Fern Urquhart (RBI), Kieran Kelly (Graduate Development Programme), Gail Wilson (Students Representative Council Vice-President) and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Steve West. Professor Steve West said, “The bettertogether awards has been a great opportunity to say thank you to staff across the University for all their hard work, it’s very much appreciated. Thanks to Sue Fox (M and C) and everyone who was involved in making this event a success, we look forward to doing it again next year.” The bettertogether awards categories are based around UWE's seven strategic partnership themes and over 200 nominations from staff members were received. Congratulations to everyone that was nominated for an award. The winners are… Nominees and winners received a certificate and an engraved Bristol Blue Glass paperweight. All the award presenters had been involved in the selection process, they were: Pro VC Professor Alan Bensted, Dean of Students – Jonathan Bradley, Innovation Award This was awarded to Team Media – Cult, School of Creative Arts Andrew Channelle, Seth Giddings, Michelle Henning Also nominated in this category were: Praminda Caleb-Solly – Faculty of Environment and Technology and Sharepoint Team – IT Services: Andy Beeho, Peter Gilbert, Chris Mills, Alistair Sandford, AJ Wilson. Nurturing Staff Talent Award Student Experience Award Widening Participation Award This was awarded to Lina Callaway – This was awarded to This was awarded to Richard Rolfe – Hartpury College Marie-Annick Gournet – Social Sciences and Humanities Facilities/Cribs B Also nominated in this category were: Gillian Kemp – Bristol Business School, Student Wellbeing Service Team – Student Services: Karen Garmston, Jenni Horsfall, Alison Lindsay, Maxine Maybery, Nic Turney and Diane Zimmer. Also nominated in this category were: Simon Ramsden – IT Services and the Temporary Staff Unit: Martin Foster, Janet Hansen, Simon Howe, Philippa Nevin-Hernandez, Kathryn Nichols and Sylvia Whitfield. 10 Also nominated in this category were: Lynn Denning and Gail Duguid – Health and Life Sciences and the Pre-16 Outreach Team: Di Stone, Rubina Akhtar and Jenifer Vanmazyk Graduate Development Programme – Tutor of the Year Award This was awarded to Zainab KhanSocial Sciences and Humanities Also nominated in this category were: Linda Greening – Hartpury College and Catherine Rosenberg – Social Sciences and Humanities. Excellence in Research Award Knowledge Exchange Awards This was awarded to This was awarded to Business and Community Team – Research, Business and Innovation: Stephen Batty, Kim Chang, Alison Greenslade, Katie Gough, Tracey John, Vanessa Knight, Vanessa Luk, Fiona Matthews, Lindsay Mcdonagh, Priya Patel, Katy Sensier. Culture, Media and Drama Team led by Jane Arthurs and Helen Kennedy – School of Creative Arts. Also nominated in this category were: Richard McClatchey – Environment and Technology and Situations Team – School of Creative Arts. Also nominated in this category were: Saville Kushner – Social Sciences and Humanities and Judy Orme – Health and Life Sciences. The ViceChancellor’s Team Award This was awarded to Social Sciences and Humanities Administrative Team led by Roger Clewett. Also nominated in this category were: Recruiter Partnership Team, Career Development Unit, Student Services: Sarah Bambridge, Tim Bateman, Jack Beresford, Anita Fleming, Claire Hijani, Colette Percival, Linda Pick and Rajinder Saran. Graduate Development Programme – Team of the Year Award This was awarded to to Radiotherapy and Diagnostic Imaging Team – Health and Life Sciences. The team are: Jan Chianese, Mandy Tuckey, Fiona Chamberlain, Angela Bailey, Karen Dunmall, Sarah Zelley, Marc Griffiths, Julie Woodley, Suzanne Easton, Jeanne Scolding and Rob Stewart. Also nominated in this category were: Early Childhood Studies Team (Social Sciences and Humanities) – Sharon Friend and Sarah Chicken and Media and Cultural Studies team (School of Creative Arts) – Kate Brooks, Kate Mayer, Adrienne Noonan. UWE Students’ Union Winner of Winner Award Terry Atkinson accepted the award on behalf of Lisa Tozer – People and Planet from SRC VicePresident, Gail Wilson. The ViceChancellor’s Individual Award Also nominated in this category were: Alex George – UWESU Climbing Society and Mark Hughes – Bower Ashton Student Rep. Roland Cowley, Printing and Stationery. This was awarded to Also nominated in this category were: Lina Callaway – Facilities/Cribs B International Connection Award This was awarded to Mary Bishop-Bristol Business School Also nominated in this category were: Collaborative Provision Team – Academic Registry: Lisa Connors, Alastair Osborn, Sarah Philips, Darren Watson, Sue Yilmaz. Fritjof Korber – Health and Life Sciences. 11 NEWS Lina Callaway – a ray of Sicilian sunshine Just one member of staff at UWE was nominated for two bettertogether awards. Carmela Callaway, better known to everyone as Lina, from CRIBS in BBS, was nominated for the Vice Chancellor’s Individual Award and the award for Nurturing Staff Talent. Lina has managed CRIBS for the past ten years. She said, “I’m so delighted to have been nominated for two awards; I feel honoured to receive the nominations on behalf of the entire team in CRIBS because we all work so hard to make people feel welcome. “We have built up a great clientele at CRIBS, everyone comes here including Steve West who is often my first customer of the day. We pride ourselves on offering the best service and the most delicious coffee. I’m especially conscious of trying to ensure that international students feel at home. As a one time immigrant to the UK I know how it feels to arrive in a strange country without being able to speak the language. I see my job as being more than simply serving coffee, pasta and cakes – I want people to feel at home when they come to CRIBS. If I see someone is happy that really makes my day. If someone is looking sad I make time to check out how they are. “It’s lovely when students bring their parents in to meet me or show their appreciation. Just a few weeks ago a group of Law students brought me flowers – getting to know the students and staff is what it is all about for me – CRIBS is so much more than a café.” Lina is reknowned for making impromptu speeches to parents and prospective students on Open Days; a true ambassador for UWE she proudly tells of how her one of two sons came to UWE and how parents can trust her to look after their children when they flee the nest to come to university. Lina came to England in 1962 from Sicily. She explains,“I didn’t like it at first and went home but when I returned to Sicily I missed England so much so I returned in 1963 and I’ve lived here ever since. I married an English gentleman and Kevin and I celebrated Carmela Callaway in CRIBS at BBS 40 years of marriage earlier this year with friends and our sons Marco and Daniel. “My parents ran a knitwear business so I learned how to make things by watching my mother and my sisters.” Lina put this knowledge to good use and her sewing talents have included being commissioned to make equestrian blankets for HRH Princess Ann and the backdrop signature blue curtains used when Margaret Thatcher made one of her first speeches as Prime Minister. Poetry is also a passion, her work has been published and one of her poems received a merit in a competition run by the Bristol Evening Post. Steve West said, “Most mornings at around 8am when I am in the University I can be found in Cribbs talking to Lina and her team. They encapsulate why UWE is such a great place. Lina is always happy, positive and never afraid of telling me how we could improve things. She runs a fantastic facility where staff and students feel at home. Everyone is equal, everyone cared for and everyone encouraged to engage. Lina does much more that run Cribbs she believes in UWE and really cares about it. I am incredibly proud of her and everyone else that supports and promotes UWE so positively. I hope you are with us for many years to come.” 12 UWE exhibition showcases ‘cutting edge’ work Work by artists using the latest technology from the Centre for Fine Print Research (CFPR) at UWE is on show at the Arnolfini Bookshop during July and August. The show is curated by UWE Research Fellow Tom Sowden and features work from a range of artists and designers who have been working with researchers at the CFPR. The Centre provides an inexpensive bureau service for artists and designers, where they can execute their work and use the state of the art facilities to explore new ways of producing their art. The exhibition demonstrates the full range of outputs from the centre including the rapid-prototyping and enamelling labs. Tom Sowden explains, “The exhibition shows a wide range of approaches from artists and designers who have used the latest 3D printing and laser cutting techniques in their artistic practice. We often find that once artists have discovered the new techniques they become repeat users of the service. This exhibition includes artists working with paper, 3D printing, enamelling and acrylic. The laser can cut acrylic very precisely and we have several jewellery designers in the exhibition who use the laser to create very accurate and detailed pieces.” technology to develop new artists’ books and paper-based creative practice for arts, crafts and design. The project aimed to explore the potential of the laser cutter as a tool for artists working with the book form and paper-based work, and show how it could replace the need for labour intensive manipulation of paper and card by hand. The event will include talks by artists Su Blackwell and Jenny Smith, a demonstration on using the laser cutters for book and paper-based artwork and a round table QandA session. The Arnolfini Bookshop, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol is open Tuesdays 11.00-18.00, Wednesdays to Saturdays 11.00-20.00 and Sundays 11.00-19.00. www.arnolfini.org.uk/pages/bookshop/ Amongst the artists exhibiting is Bristolbased artist, Sue Gregor, a designer/ maker who produces ranges of contemporary jewellery as well as scarves, prints and wallpaper. She creates individual pieces using a wide range of materials and techniques, some of which she developed herself whilst doing her MA at UWE. Her work is exhibited in galleries and museums all over the country. Sue says, “Since discovering the possibilities of laser cutting in my work, I have found the bureau services at UWE an invaluable support. Innovation and excellence are central to the way I work as an artist. I recently worked with staff at CFPR to develop a new range of brooches and necklaces with interlocking pieces and surface engraving. The designs were initially drawn in Adobe Illustrator and then transferred to the laser cutter where a number of different processes were applied to each piece.” The other artists exhibiting include: Rebecca Cowley, Janine Partington, Nylon Sky, Victoria Browne, Jenny Smith, Tom Sowden, Cartel, Tortie Rye, Jessica Turrell, Claire Phipps. Tom Sowden will also speak at a symposium: Paper Models, a Symposium on Laser Cutting to be held on Wednesday 15 September 2010. The symposium is hosted by the Centre for Fine Print Research and funded by the AHRC. It will showcase the outcomes of the project, Paper Models: investigating laser cutting Flower Dome 1 by Sue Gregor 13 NEWS Law integral to Human Rights and Environment agenda Professor Philippe Sands at the launch of the journal As the world watches in awe and horror at the environmental and social impact of the oil drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico sharp focus is brought to bear on how people need protection in law that is guided and led by insight into the link between the environment and human rights. Legal experts from the UWE Law School have launched a scholarly forum including a twice annual journal and a web project that will, for the first time ever in a sustained way, bring together top legal brains in a project reaching out to the global legal academic community and intended to support the new United Nations Draft Declaration on Human Rights and the Environment. The new journal founded and co-edited by Anna Grear received glowing endorsement by a leading QC and academic with a formidable international reputation. Professor Philippe Sands, a highly influential international lawyer from UCL with a long time passion for human rights and the environment, said, “This journal is a fantastic development for the intellectual reputation of the UWE Law School.” The Journal for Human Rights and the Environment (JHRE), the first international journal that creates a dedicated opportunity for scholarly legal discussion on the interface between both arenas, was launched by Professor Phllippe Sands on Tuesday 29 June at a conference in the new UWE Exhibition and Conference Centre, hosted jointly by the International Law and Human Rights Unit (UWE) and the Centre for Environmental Energy Law and Policy (Swansea). Anna Grear said, “The JHRE is the only journal in the world directly addressing the important links between human rights and the environment”. The Journal draws together some of the world’s most respected international scholars working at the forefront of human rights and environmental issues. The event also saw the public launch of a related web-project, the Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment, through which a group of UWE legal scholars are currently working to support the new United Nations Draft Declaration on Human Rights and the Environment. “Human rights and the environment are fundamental to the entire human and planetary future. The environment is at the foundation, for example, of the human right to life, which makes no sense without a right to breathe clean air, drink clean water and to be ‘homed’ in a world where we can meaningfully flourish along with the other species that make up our world. Human rights issues directly intersect with environmental degradation. 14 Indigenous communities, for example, exist in a landscape where their culture is embedded. When they are forced to move, they lose more than their homes – they face the eradication of their entire cultural existence. This concern is of particular significance as we witness the compromising of indigenous peoples by industrial practice and climate change pressures, as well as environmental disasters, the wider implications of which are becoming clear in the current scenario in the Gulf of Mexico.” The journal can be accessed at www.e-elgar.co.uk/jhre Photo credit: Carleen van den Anker. Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr Shirin Ebadi, a world leading human rights campaigner gave a public lecture at UWE on Thursday 1 July entitled : Fighting for women’s rights in Iran: personal experience of resistance to oppression, as part of a three day conference 'Global Ethics: 10 years into the millennium'(30 June-2 July). Iranian lawyer and former judge, Dr Shirin Ebadi, became the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to be awarded in 2003 a Nobel Peace Prize for her activism on human rights in Iran. In introducing Dr Ebadi to the Conference, Professor Rob Cuthbert said; “It is an honour and a privilege to welcome Dr Ebadi to the University and to this conference. Her visit is a symbol of the University’s partnership approach in global ethics, where Christien van den Anker’s leadership combines highlevel academic research and teaching with practical engagement in human rights issues, exemplified in initiatives like the Global Ethics book series and journal which Christien edits, and the Refugee and Migrant Support Hub led by Ibrahim Shaw.” Dr Ebadi spoke movingly of the human rights violations by the Iranian government since the elections last year. She highlighted the death during the protests of Neda, who has become an icon due to YouTube. However, the regime made many arrests last summer and recently imprisoned two Iranian students studying in the UK. Dr Ebadi called on academics and vice-chancellors to write to the Iranian embassy in London to protest. The 200-people in the audience responded with spontaneous applause From left : Dr Christien van den Anker, Dr Shirin Ebadi and Professor Rob Cuthbert. Dr Shirin Ebadi at Global Ethics conference after Dr Ebadi's strong call against international military action in Iran. The way forward according to her is to continue to put diplomatic pressure on the regime and to support the democratic movement in Iran. since she left a day before last June's elections. The situation in the country became too risky and instead she has been calling on politicians and audience in the west to step up their support for human rights in Iran. The speech further highlighted the structural oppression of women by the Iranian government. The lecture ended with questions from the audience with many asked in Farsi. The responses set out passionately that a human rights activist ought to defend people from oppression by any regime. The overwhelming sense was one of inspiration by a woman who risks her own life on a daily basis to do just that. Dr Christien van den Anker who organised the lecture said, “It was very clear from the talk what strength Dr Ebadi has developed to be a human rights campaigner under these difficult circumstances. Her commitment and courage are an inspiration to us all. I was very moved to have an international audience of academics working on global ethics mix together with local Iranians to learn from Dr Ebadi.” Dr Ebadi has not returned to Iran Radio 4 broadcasts from CCRI Common Land event Over 160 delegates attended the 8th National Seminar on Common Land and Town and Village Greens on Thursday 1 July. The seminar was organised by the Countryside and Community Research Institute, a collaboration between UWE, the University of Gloucestershire, the Royal Agricultural College and Hartpury College. launch of the Foundation for Common Land, an organisation that is seeking to represent upland farmers who manage upland commons that are crucially important for biodiversity, heritage, landscape, mitigation against climate change and local communities. BBC Radio 4 was at the event to record a debate on the motion 'This seminar believes that little change to the current town and village green regulations is required'. Proposing the motion was Kate Ashbrook from the Open Spaces Society and opposing the motion was Cameron Watt from the National Housing Federation. The motion was passed! It was broadcast on You and Yours on Radio 4 on Monday 5 July. L eisure a Event organiser Chris Short said ctivities on Minchin hampto “This year’s event was the best yet n Comm on because it had the widest range of speakers and topics and a real buzz of enthusiasm for all those with an interest in these fascinating and valuable public 'assets' to work together and that is what this event is all about - bringing people with very different objectives together.” The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Natural England provided some sponsorship for the event and this enabled a large number of upland farmers who graze areas of common land in England and Wales to attend. Government officials attended from both England and Wales to provide updates on recent changes to regulations and schemes. The event also saw the public The CCRI has played a vital role in disseminating information on principal developments in common land legislation through the National Seminars on Common Land and Village Greens, which it has organised and hosted since 1999. 15 NEWS Film book is ‘one of most inspirational ever’ Andrew Spicer’s (CA) book Typical Men: The Representation of Masculinity in British Popular Cinema has been voted one of the ‘five most inspirational film books ever written’ by a film critic in response to a poll in Sight and Sound in June (vol. 20 issue 6). Andrew said, “I was delighted to receive this recognition, particularly as Typical Men was written some time ago, the paperback version appearing in 2003. It is the book with which I most identify as it was a radically revised version of my PhD thesis and so based on six years of research. What I tried to achieve in writing Typical Men was an approach to the study of the representation of masculinity that understood it as a variety of competing and contested cultural types. “The types I analysed over a fifty-year period were the gentleman, the fool/ rogue, the action adventurer, the everyman, criminals and rebels, and ‘damaged men’ that included a range of representations of men who could not resolve their psychological or social problems and often created havoc. Typical Men thus offered an account of masculinity that was broad-based, but could be nuanced by studying specific examples, the particular ways in which Albert Finney in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), for instance, represented a version of truculent working-class masculinity that incarnated many of the forces which were changing Britain’s social and cultural landscape. “I like to think, and this has been borne out by numerous comments I’ve received over the years, both face-toface and in e-mails, that the concept of cultural types offered students a way of engaging with forms of masculinity that they could use as a tool to analyse representations in other cultural practices and was not limited solely to films. As I teach Visual Culture that addresses students from a range of different programmes of study, this was an important objective. “I’ve also tried to build on Typical Men in subsequent essays. Most recently, I contributed a chapter, ‘The Angel of Death: Targeting the Hitman’, to the collection Crime Cultures: Figuring Criminality in Fiction and Film to be Andrew Spicer with a copy of his book published by Continuum in November. The essay focuses, for the first time, on the iconic figure of the hitman in crime films, arguing that he is often an ambiguous masculine figure, both deadly and beautiful (an ‘angel of death’), who inspires awe and fascination as well as fear. So I’m still extending Typical Men, hopefully in interesting ways.” Academic Writing, Communication and English Language Skills An innovative programme of support for international students will be launched in September 2010. David Phelan continues,“This new model really puts the student in the driving seat and will enable them to engage with the programme right from the start, later in the year, or to dip into the provision periodically; whichever they find most suited to their own needs”. David Phelan, Senior Lecturer in English for Academic Purposes and English Language, explains, “The new Academic Writing, Communication and English Language Skills (ACES) programme offers a more student–oriented service. We will be offering a wider range of courses, with delivery timed across the year and greater flexibility and choice for the student”. Students will be able to book their places for workshops and consultations using an online booking system, although to sign up for the courses they will need to register via the UWE Language Programme. Staff will be on hand during International Student Orientation, the Welcome Week and beyond to help them with this process. Students can combine options from a variety of courses, workshops, consultations and drop-in sessions. Each element has a cost assigned to it. International students who pay full fees will be given 100 ‘aces’ which they can spend against the cost of their chosen model of tuition or support. EU and home students (or international full-fee paying students who have used up their aces but would like further support) can also take advantage of the services available by paying a fee. We encourage colleagues to visit the ACES web page and familiarise themselves with the new programme www.uwe.ac.uk/hlss/llas/aces/index.shtml For more information contact [email protected] 16 UWE part of EU delegation to Shanghai Expo elan avid Ph ) and D ft e (l s ard Yate are Rich ictured P New initiatives to support international students “You have some really good services for international students, but sometimes it is very hard for the students to know what they are or how to engage with them” … “Why do I have to go to three different places to sort this problem out?” … “I need language support now, but the support programme started last term!” These are the types of issues that have come out in surveys of international students at UWE and through the recent series of LTAC seminars on internationalisation. To help address these concerns two new initiatives will begin this September: the Advice and Enquiry Centre, and the Academic Writing, Communication and English Language Skills) programme. Dr Karen Bultitude from the Science Communication Unit was recently part of an EU delegation to Shanghai for EU-China Science and Technology Week. The visit was organised as part of the European Union Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai China, and brought together over 500 leading scientists, journalists and representatives of industry, academia and government from the European Union and China, to share knowledge, experience and aspirations. Karen contributed to Masterclass events during the week as part of the ‘Science in the City’ activities, working to share best practice in communicating scientific and technological concepts between the two economic areas. Her contribution built on the Science Communication Unit’s recognised international expertise in science communication, and particularly UWE’s existing Science Communication Masterclass. Karen described her experience of being involved in the activities in Shanghai: “China is currently in a very interesting position in terms of both its technological development as well as how that development is perceived by members of the Chinese public. What was exciting about the discussions was that there were so many similarities in what we are trying to achieve – as well as some differences in approach which means we can learn a lot from each other.” The visit is likely to lead to ongoing collaborations in China, in particular with the Shanghai Association of Science and Technology who have already invited the Masterclass team for a return visit in May 2011. Advice and Enquiry Centre The Advice and Enquiry Centre will be based at Main Reception on Frenchay Campus and will act as the main point of contact for international students wanting to access a range of services delivered by different parts of the University, including Admissions and International Development , Student Services Department and Facilities. The Centre will continue to be the primary contact point for customer service for all students, staff and visitors for the Accommodation Services and Transport, Distribution and Car Parks teams. Richard Yates, Supervisor of the Information team for the new centre, said, “We want to be the first port of call for international students for most advice and enquiry services outside their programme of study. Where possible we’ll help the student resolve the issue at the Centre, but when necessary we’ll refer on to other relevant service points. Students can drop in, call or e-mail us for help. We’re also developing additional online resources.” Karen Bultitude (back row fourth from the left) with colleagues and friends in Shanghai “Services for international students at the Centre will include accommodation assistance, visa enquiries and attendance monitoring which is required by the UK Border Agency. Regular contacts with international students through the Centre should help ease their transition into the University and the UK and will help identify any problems quickly and provide relevant help straight away.” The Advice and Enquiry Centre will open during term time from 08:30 to 20:30 and out of term time from 08:30 to 17:00. For more information contact [email protected]. Karen Bultitude in Shanghai 17 NEWS Members of the Careers team Race for Life e f i L r o f and top) p) blue ( e n t i i ca t Ja s (wh r e Julie b ta Hu Chris This year many staff participated in the Race for Life in Bristol on 12 and 13 June. CVP organised Fundraising Thursday during National Volunteers Week, 1-7 June to encourage staff to do some focused fundraising activity in their departments. Cake and coffee mornings were very popular and UWE colleagues were very generous with their donations. Christa Hubers and Juliet Jain (both from BNE) managed to complete the 10K circuit within a respectable 57 minutes. More importantly, they managed to gather over £800 for cancer research …“£300 of which was kindly donated by FET colleagues in return for a piece of home baked cake. Many thanks to all of you who sponsored us and helped us bake, err make, a difference!” e c a R Nathalie Southall and Vicky Pratt (Marketing and Communications) said, “When the volunteering team suggested baking and selling cakes we thought it might help our total a little bit. The cakes went down a storm in the office and we received loads of support from both Marketing and Student Services whose donations helped us raise over £60 towards our whopping £525 total. On Saturday we completed our run in 35 minutes - lots of fun was had!” The UWE Careers team also put on a coffee morning. Sarah Proudfoot said, “As a team we raised an amazing total of £1,192.06. It was a brilliant excuse to get fit and to raise money for such an important cause. I was touched by the number of people that were affected in some way by cancer.” Tanya Hill (HLSS) and Sam Hutchins (CETTS) also took part in Race for Life. Sam said, “I managed to run all the way and I was so very glad to see the finish line, so I could stop moving!” Anna Kawar, Staff Volunteer Project Co-ordinator, said, “Well done to everyone who took part in Race for Life. There are so many UWE staff volunteering and fundraising outside of their work and we want to support people in their efforts. I know that there are many individuals putting in a huge amount of time and effort to raise money for something they really believe in and feel strongly about. We hope to have an annual Fundraising Thursday at UWE.” 18 Vicky Pratt and Nathalie Southall (MandC) Students praised for media project at YOI Three Media and Cultural Studies students have won high praise for their work for an education programme at Ashfields Young Offenders Institution at Pucklechurch. Kelly Edgar, Katie Mclean and Rosie Harrity created a video promo for Ashfields’ education programme. Education Manager Tom May said, “I would like to pass my gratitude on regarding the exceptional hard work and dedication the students displayed whilst working on the student information film last week. Sian Jones Changing times in Estates Facilities and Estates are proud to announce that three colleagues have achieved chartered status of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors this year and are celebrating their success. Congratulations to: Phil Lawrence BEng(Hons) PGDipSurv MRICS Sarah Pratley BA(Hons) PGDipSurv, MRICS Richard Serle BSc(Hons) MRICS This news comes at a time when the department is again inviting applications from students of the Faculty of Environment and Technology on to the annual placement scheme. Sian Jones, student Building Surveyor, is approaching the end of a year spent with Estates. Sian said, “In the last nine months I have worked closely with Faculties and service departments in order to develop various projects which are then tendered and managed in house. During this time I have been involved in maintenance, refurbishment, alterations and even new build projects. I have enjoyed working on a variety of buildings ranging from grade II listed Victorian buildings, 1970s purpose built teaching facilities, contemporary accommodation blocks and new build architectural studios incorporating modern methods of construction. “I have worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team on both maintenance and project work. Working with other specialists such as architectural designers, mechanical and electrical services engineers, energy officers, surveyors, compliance and health and safety managers, has truly enhanced the quality of my placement. There is also a lovely, friendly atmosphere within the office, which has made my time here all the more enjoyable. “I believe that the knowledge I have gained during the placement is invaluable and will be beneficial to me when I return to complete my degree and during any future employment.” Sian joins a list of students from FET who Estates Department has been keen to introduce to the working environment in preparation for their future successful careers. 19 “The filming was a complete success which was all due to the professionalism of the team involved. I am sure all three students gained some valid professional work experience and an insight into education provision within a young offenders’ institution.” Kelly said, “Contact was initially made through UWE’s Media department - the opportunity was advertised in one of our continuing production lectures. We had several meetings on what Tom wanted. The main brief we were given was to make it understandable yet more interesting than the folder for the youths there. “We started the project in November 2009 and finished early in June. We spent in total four days filming at Ashfields in January. It gave us insight into the work at Ashfields – Katie and I are both interested in working within prisons or with young people. This could help our future career options by showing that we're committed to outside work of a voluntary nature.” Katie said, “Rosie and I arranged and attended two post-production meetings with the Educational Management team to present and discuss the final project and how it related to the project brief and their expectations. The project involved us working closely with young offenders and experiencing what it is like to be educated in a very controlled environment. This gave us a very unique insight into a system often unseen by the general public.” Rosie said, “The experience was really valuable for me as I’m going on to work in film production (hopefully) and this opportunity gave me practical experience in all areas of production, from meeting with the client to the final edit and finishing touches. Tom had a very specific problem and we had to solve it combining our media skills in the most productive way. Most time was spent on editing as we had a lot of footage - around four hours to fit into a 30 minute film.” Govinda Dickman (CA), Lecturer in Digital Media and Video: Culture and Production, said, “We are delighted that the skill and dedication of these three students in this extra-curricular work has been recognised.” NEWS Cafe cience with S ) t d f n le a econd Turney rand (s on, Jon s ld a Ann G n o rs Ian D . regula erdine p p e P Andy Whose science is it anyway? Science without frontiers was the subject of PhD student Ann Grand’s talk at Bristol Science Café at the Tobacco Factory on 28 June. Ann's research explores the space between open science and public engagement and asks what happens when science steps out of the ivory tower, exposes its shifting, changing and uncertain nature and opens itself to contribution from – well – any of us? She said, “An increasing number of scientists and engineers are choosing to conduct their research as ‘Open Science’ – making the whole of their investigation, its data, scientific opinions, questions, ideas, folk knowledge, workflows and everything else available on and through the internet. Science usually comes to us neatly sound-bited through newspapers, radio or television. How many of us have been to a scientific conference or read a learned journal? “Open Science offers the opportunity to directly follow – and potentially contribute to – live projects. When there are no boundaries to prevent us from becoming directly involved with live projects, what happens to the science, to the scientists and to members of the public?” Ann was interviewed about her talk the same afternoon on Radio Bristol. She works with Alan Winfield (BIT), Clare Wilkinson (LS) and Karen Bultitude (LS) and is based in UWE’s Science Communication Unit. For more information on the Science Café visit http://www.sciencecafe.co.uk/ KTP Associate Martyn Hogg describes his project with surf kite manufacturer Flexifoil KTP Regional Seminar June 2010 Graduates working at a number of different companies including Space Engineering Services, Flexifoil, Pall Corporation, Gamma Telecom, MAST Carbon Ltd and Rubberductions presented at this year’s KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) Regional Seminar in June. The successful event was organised by UWE’s KTP office and held at the University’s new Exhibition and Conference Centre. As in previous years, the seminar was an opportunity for KTP Associates in their second year to present their KTP project to an audience from a variety of organisations made up largely of Associates based in the South-West and their company and academic supervisors. UWE Associates presenting were Justin Nwakacha (BIT), Ally Stewart (Rubberductions), Martyn Hogg (BIT) and Joe Jewell (BBS). After an introductory speech by Pro Vice-Chancellor Paul Gough, this year’s keynote speaker Blue Sheep founder and Executive Chairman Iain Lovatt, who has built a strong reputation as an original thinker in the Direct Marketing Industry, gave an entertaining talk on 20 innovative ways to improve business performance. The seminar’s programme of events was chaired by UWE's KTP Manager Clare Rowson and Enterprise and Knowledge Exchange Programme Manager, Dr Andrew Wray from the University of Bristol. The high quality presentations during the day covered a fascinating range of topics from the development and production of recreational surf kites to the implementation of a project management framework within a media company. The award for ‘Best Associate Presentation’ went to Bath Associate Samuel Bremner who is based at MAST Carbon Ltd. He was presented with a unique 3-D printed object which was kindly donated by UWE’s Centre for Fine Print Research. The seminar proved to be a fantastic opportunity for local universities and businesses to hear about the innovative KTP projects going on in the South West. It also provided an excellent opportunity for networking and UWE's KTP office was pleased to receive a number of very positive reviews from attendees. Appearance Matters conference hears that disfigurement is more than skin deep Disfigurement can be a challenging and distressing experience for many of the one million people in the UK who have a visible difference of any kind. Psychological support is as important as functional and surgical treatment in helping people cope with the challenges of disfigurement, according to research presented at UWE’s fourth Appearance Matters conference. The internationally-renowned bi-annual Appearance Matters conference was held in June and organised by UWE’s Centre for Appearance Research (CAR). This year, the conference brought together 168 international delegates from Malaysia, the United States, Australia, South America, Europe and the UK. They included psychologists, researchers, specialist nurses, academics, postgraduate students, medical professionals, sociologists and charity representatives with an interest in issues around the psychology of appearance. Paul Hobbs Photography Painting by Mark Gilbert lent by Saving Faces, the Facial Surgery Research Foundation Prof Nicola Rumsey and Dr Diana Harcourt, CAR directors, with keynote speaker Prof Alex Clarke (centre) CAR co-director Professor Nicky Rumsey said, “To the best of our knowledge, this is the only conference series that provides a forum which specifically highlights current psychosocial research, theory and good practice around appearance-related issues including visible difference, interventions, research methods and provision of care. year study involved 1,265 people with disfigurements including skin conditions, head and neck cancer or amputation. Funded by disfigurement research charity The Healing Foundation and co-ordinated by researchers at CAR, the study showed that common assumptions about who will cope well with a disfigurement are inaccurate. “Appearance Matters has gained a reputation as the key academic meeting in this sphere, with delegates travelling from the US, Australasia and Europe. In fact, Dr Phillippa Diedrichs, who has recently joined us from the University of Queensland, was inspired to join CAR after attending the conference in 2008.” Nicky Rumsey led the team of researchers from UWE, the Universities of Bradford, Sheffield, Warwick, University College London and the Royal Free Hospital, London. She said, “Distress reported by people with a mild disfigurement may be comparable to that reported by people with more severe disfigurement. This new study suggests for the first time that the visibility of a condition may be less important than previously thought, with people anxious not only about highly visible conditions affecting the face and hands, but also about revealing conditions that are normally covered by clothing. The event was supported by the charities The Healing Foundation, which supports disfigurement-related research, and Changing Faces, which assists people living with disfigurement and campaigns to change public perceptions of those with visible differences. Saving Faces, the Facial Surgery Research Foundation, lent the conference some paintings by Mark Gilbert that portray patients before, during or after surgery for injury, disfigurement or cancer. Keynote speakers included Professor Alex Clarke of the Royal Free Hospital, London, who is also a Visiting Professor at CAR, and Professor Lina Ricciardelli from Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. Research presented included a three- “Equally surprisingly, the study showed that concerns about appearance are not only the preserve of women and younger people. Many men and older people in the study found it difficult to adapt to their disfigurement and were equally as distressed by their appearance.” On the Advisory Panel of this important research project is Pam Warren, a survivor of the 1999 Ladbroke Grove train crash. She said, “There is so much 21 we don’t know about why some people are able to get on with life so well after disfigurement, and why some can’t. Or even why those who seem to cope well at first, might later need support. That is why this work is so important. It gives a better picture, based on real hard evidence, of people’s needs and offers the chance of meaningful psychological support for people with disfigurements, whatever the cause.” Research into appearance challenges for teenagers undergoing cancer treatment, the impact of gossip magazines on eating disorder behaviours and ultramuscular male models in advertising was also presented at the conference. Researcher Heidi Williamson (LS) explained, “Treatment for cancer can result in temporary or permanent changes to patients’ appearance, including hair loss, weight changes, skin complaints and scarring. These changes present particular challenges for adolescents because this is a time when young people are acutely aware of their body, and physical appearance contributes more than any other factor to levels of self-esteem.” Her research findings are now informing the development of ways of providing support for young people with appearance-related concerns during cancer treatment. Research fellow Phillippa Diedrichs (LS) presented her paper on the impact of ultra-muscular male fashion models on body image and advertisement contd. on p.22 Appearance Matters contd. effectiveness. She said, “Men and women both rated average-size male models as effective in advertisements as ultra-muscular models. These findings provide support for recent calls to increase size diversity in media imagery to promote positive body image.” Bottom picture: Haydn Evans (left) and Simon Hampton-Matthews with the award Main picture: The winning publication and the UPMG trophy for Best In-house Print A study by Dr James White from Cardiff University and Dr Emma Halliwell (LS) found that teenagers who read gossip magazines are more likely to engage in eating disorder behaviours. Dr White said, “Adolescents recorded changes in behaviours common to eating disorders, such as binge eating, selfinduced vomiting and dieting. They were also asked about their frequency of viewing different types of television programmes (soaps, music videos, sports, drama series, reality TV) and magazines (women’s fashion, health and fitness, men’s magazines, gossip magazines).” After six months, the viewing habits of teenagers who had significantly increased their use of eating disorder behaviours were compared to those whose eating had remained normal. One of the strongest risk factors for significant increases in eating disorder behaviours was how often teenage boys and girls were exposed to gossip magazines. The frequency of viewing other television and magazine genres did not have a significant effect. Dr White said, “This study suggests that there should be a greater awareness of the potential impact that exposure to the kind of images of celebrities and models in gossip magazines can have on adolescents eating habits.” UWE Printing and Stationery unit wins top award UWE’s Printing and Stationery unit has won a prestigious print award from the University Print Managers’ Group, an organisation that brings together 76 HE institutions from around the UK. UWE entered three out of the four categories and won Best In-House Print (Litho) for its four-colour publication Keeping the Peace – A Guide to Community Living. The award is remarkable as UWE was up against stiff competition and the entry was printed on a 25 year-old two-colour press whereas others are using modern four-colour presses. The competition was judged by Stephens and George Print Group, a large commercial printer from Wales and Jo Francis, Associate Editor of Print Week, the largest print industry magazine. Operations Manager Simon Hampton-Matthews said, “All credit should go to Litho Technician, Haydn Evans. Haydn has worked for the University for many years and works wonders with the old press – each sheet of paper has to be passed through the press four times, twice for each side and the polyester plates have to be precisely aligned to ensure the four colours that make up the image fit together with accuracy of fractions of a millimetre.” 22 Printing and Stationery Services Satellite symphony shortlisted for new music award Creating a symphonic experience using your own movements is now possible thanks to Phill Phelps (BIT). He is part of the team developing Satsymph, which uses an iPhone app to turn GPS co-ordinates into a complex overlapping sound world of symphonic textures and spoken word recordings. Satsymph is one of only five entries to be shortlisted for the £50,000 Performing Rights Society for Music Foundation (PRSF) New Music Award. Phill’s collaborators on the project are composer Marc Yeats and poet Ralph Hoyte. Did you know that we not only provide printing for the University but also do private work for staff and work for external organisations? Phill said, “I'm very excited about this because Satsymph is a perfect blend between music, computer programming, recording engineering, performance, interactive audio, and new technology; all topics covered on the courses I'm involved with here at UWE. If you are involved in a club or an organisation and you need some printing, please contact us for a quote. Telephone Internal 84670 External 0117 32 84670 E-mail [email protected] “What you hear will be directly triggered by your own time-varying GPS co-ordinates such that each participant will have a unique, but related, audio experience. Triggers can be recorded and shared via a website, to produce a collaboratively generated score, which will then be performed live in 2011. Our services include: • Lottery/raffle tickets • Event tickets • Event programmes • Posters • Newsletters • Calendars •Booklets with a variety of bindings (coil, comb, tape, ring, wire) • Bulk printing and burning of CDs and DVDs • Postcards • Printed envelopes • Promotional goods "Satsymph is one of many projects I'm working on outside the University. Bristol in general (and UWE specifically) are centres for cutting-edge innovation in the arts." Only one project nominated for this award will receive funding. For the first time, the PRSF are inviting the public to view videos showcasing the work of the five finalists on their website at http://www.prsformusicfoundation.com/ newmusicaward. If you like the idea, you can vote for Satsymph! Tired of stuffing envelopes? Phill is a researcher in UWE’s Bristol Institute of Technology and lectures part-time on undergraduate BSc awards including Music Systems Engineering and Audio and Music Technology. We are able to offer a sophisticated mail-merge and mailing service to both University and external customers. Contact Roland Cowley on ext 84672 for more information or e-mail [email protected] Hot news We are now able to accept jobs via our electronic submission service. At present it is only available to staff through the intranet. We are developing an external portal for staff over the internet. For more information, please contact Carolyn Hancocks on ext 84674 or e-mail [email protected] Website Our website contains lots of information about our services. Why not take a look today? www.uwe.ac.uk/printing/ 23 NEWS Schoolchildren learn about biodiversity at the Festival of Nature (credit Liza McCarron) Staff at the event included Marcus Pugh, Kevin Sudlow, Dave Molesworth, Steve Bride, Paul Bowdler, Dave Patton, Sara Hicks. Student Science Communicators were Hannah Gomm, Khadijat Aninashaun and Amalu Augustine Festivalgoers find out about plankton, glowing squid and biodiversity Thousands of visitors came to Bristol’s Harbourside on 11 –13 June for the seventh annual Festival of Nature, and UWE’s stand was right at the centre of things. 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and the festival represents Europe’s largest celebration of the natural world. the identification of insects and plankton using microscopes and a display of plants that society has been using for their medicinal qualities for thousands of years. Experts were on hand to chat about their research, from ‘glowing’ squids, robotic research and wild expeditions to Cuba and the relevance to the natural world. On 11 June, Millennium Square and the Amphitheatre in Bristol's City Centre came alive with free hands-on environment and science activities for KS2 children from all Bristol and the region. With well over 900 school children taking part, staff and students from UWE’s Department of Applied Sciences were kept busy throughout the day engaging children in science and the natural world through a variety of educational activities. Other highlights included a lively debate on ‘What has democracy done for the environment?’ led by Dr Darren Reynolds (LS) as part of the festival’s Science Café theme. The University’s engagement with the public, by a combination of fun, education and research, helps to raise awareness of the complexities and wonders of the natural world and the importance of biodiversity for our planet. UWE is a member of the Bristol Natural History Consortium, which organises the Festival of Nature and BioBlitz Bristol. Over the weekend, adults and children alike were given the chance to explore many activities concerned with the natural environment and the importance of biodiversity. Educational activities included the construction of food webs, For further information visit www.bnhc.org.uk/ 24 UWE students gain top typographic awards Six UWE students have been given awards for their graphic design and typography work from the prestigious International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD). Listening to the rhythms of the Severn Estuary The Breath of the Moon: listening to tidal rhythms in the Severn Estuary Michaela Reiser, Senior Lecturer in Digital Media (BIT), and Dr Owain Jones, Senior Research Fellow in Cultural Geography at the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) showed visitors to the Bristol Festival of Nature how the tidal rhythms of the Severn Estuary audible can be made audible through a process known as sonification. Sonification was developed by Michaela Reiser as a means by which patterns and rhythms in systems such as bodies and landscapes can be made readable through sound and music. The aim of this project is to raise awareness of this internationally important landscape which faces many pressures. The Severn Estuary has the highest tides in Europe and the second highest tides in the world. The tides are incredible spectacles of nature in themselves, and the inter-tidal lands they create are internationally important wildlife habitats and also important for archaeology and other heritages. All this rich cultural and biodiversity is in close proximity to the large industrial developments, and the 3,000,000 people who live in large urban conurbations and small rural communities around the estuary’s shores. The exhibit included a computer generated sonification of the tidal rhythms at Avonmouth Docks, photographs, 12 ‘fantastic facts’ about the estuary, including the uncertain future it faces, and a handout of facts and images. Three of the students – Jono Lewarne, Ged Palmer and Myles Lucas, received merit awards at the 2010 ISTD Student Award ceremony in London on 2 July, out of only five awarded in the UK by the Society this year. They will be admitted to membership of the Society along with fellow UWE students Rowan Caney, Romilly Winter and Liam Randall who have gained the high level of expertise needed. Graphic design and typography by Jono Lewarne The ISTD is the professional body run by and for typographers, graphic designers and educators. It seeks to foster a symbiotic relationship between education and industry by publishing and promoting the highest quality contemporary practice amongst its international membership. Its aims are to establish and maintain standards of typography within the professional design and education communities, through the forum of debate and design practice. UWE Graphic Design Lecturer John Paul Dowling said, “For a graduating student gaining membership to the Society gives them the edge when applying for work within the creative industries. It is a difficult task and a great honour to be allowed to put MISTD after one’s name. We are delighted for all the students - only five merit awards were made in the whole of the UK and UWE won three of them.” ities reer opportun r to ca Open the doo Meet the Employers Fair Thursday 14 October 2010, 10:00-16:00 UWE Exhibition and Conference Centre, Frenchay Campus Whatever your degree, whatever year you are in, our employers are keen to meet you. Meet representatives from a wide range of organisations • Graduate and Placement Employers • Volunteering • Small Business Zone • Creative Industries • ‘Meet the Experts’ Talks • Part-time Roles • Careers Advice ...and much more www.uwe.ac.uk/employersfair 25 Prize draw Sponsored by NEWS UWE helps set up SW network of Allied Health Professionals mentors NHS South West, with the help of UWE, has set up a database of clinical experts in the region who are willing and able to support the development of their colleagues. The initiative is part of its aim to modernise the delivery of continuing professional development (CPD) for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs). Medical Ultrasound Programme Leader Viv Gibbs (HSC) worked on a SW Strategic Health Authority funded project, investigating the setting up a system of mentorship for AHPs as part of improving their CPD. Viv says, “There is usually more demand than funding available for CPD, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to release staff from their clinical environment to attend structured training courses. Many requests will not get priority this year as clinical pathways, rather than individuals, will be the focus for funds. “By establishing a network of clinical experts/mentors across the region, the potential exists to provide more focused development for AHPs, as well as offering career development and networking opportunities for the mentors. These mentors will not be able to advise on funding or programme availability, so interested parties must go through their Strategic Service Improvement Funding lead to get this information.” The database of people who have offered to have their names publicised as experts in a particular field can be contacted by any AHP in the SW in need of advice or training in this area of expertise. The register was compiled following the circulation of a questionnaire to AHPs in the SW and gives brief details of the areas of expertise. Although those listed have not officially been ‘kitemarked’ by any professional body or educational establishment, they have all identified themselves as experts in their field. The Clinical Experts Register can be found at www.dayinthelife.org.uk/AHPresources. aspx CFPR develops industry links The Centre for Fine Print Research (CFPR) has been engaged in a number of events as part of a three year project funded by HEIF 4 to encourage industrial partners to work with the CFPR researchers on joint projects including KTPs. companies from Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as China and India. 77 per cent of attendees were senior managers, company directors and owner/managers. Nigel Roche, librarian from the St Bride Library in London was quoted in the Ipex Daily, (Issue 6, 23 May 2010) “I’m particularly taken with some technology I’ve seen for the 3-D printing of objects (Centre for Fine Print Research stand). It seems sci-fi now but I reckon in 20 years’ time it will be run of the mill.” Several open evenings for industry have been held at the CFPR labs at the Bower Ashton Campus which were attended by over 70 people. These evenings resulted in two sand pit sessions with the NHS which have led to the preparation of external funding bids exploring the potential of the 3D print facilities. As a result of the event several companies have expressed an interest in the potential of working with CFPR. These include Octi-Tech, Futures (Wales) Ltd, Canon (UK) Ltd, Sun Chemical, Russell & Chapple Fine Art Textiles, School of Continuing and Professional Studies, New York University. The CFPR has also been working with the Department of Art and Design to co-ordinate a series of sand pit sessions open to academic staff within CA to help UWE staff with collaborative research or knowledge transfer bids. The first of three two day pilot Current CFPR industry partners include projects focused on possibilities of Hewlett Packard Labs, Tate Gallery, 3D object made in CFPR using the new three dimensional print and wide British Museum and Inveresk Paper. 3D print technology format digital print and laser cutting. New commercial clients in the last During the two-day sessions free twelve months include Roland DRG, thinking has been encouraged in order to delve deep into the Minuteman Press, A.J. Wells and Dycem. problems on the agenda, and to uncover innovative solutions Joanna Montgomery, (Research Manager, CFPR) said, “The and the rapid evolution of radical ideas. 3 D print technology which we have in CFPR is truly ground In additon CFPR was given a free stand at Ipex 18-25 May breaking. We are finding that once we talk to industrial 2010 at the NEC, Birmingham to showcase their research in partners they are very impressed with the potential of the heart of the Ipex Knowledge Centre. Ipex is the world’s working with us and this technology. We also want to ensure biggest English-speaking event for print, publishing and that researchers in our own Faculty and throughout the media. It is the international industry event to find out where University understand what we are doing in CFPR, and the the market is going. Nearly 50,000 visitors attended from 135 wide range of potential applications. Our discussions with the countries, as well as 20,000 exhibitors, and 500 international NHS show there are many areas for the application of media personnel. The largest overseas visitor groups came CFPR technology.” from France, Germany, Netherlands with notable numbers of 26 Dr Jenny Knapp (BRIG-H Project Manager, University of Bristol) and Professor Robin Means (Associate Dean, HLS) at the UWE BRIG-H seminar BRIG-H comes to UWE More than 60 UWE staff attended a seminar in June to hear about a major new health initiative in Bristol. The Bristol Research and Innovation Group for Health (BRIG-H) is an ambitious Bristol-wide strategic health research and innovation partnership between UWE, University of Bristol, NHS Bristol, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, North Bristol NHS Trust and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Led by Professor Robin Means (Associate Dean, HLS), the seminar heard how BRIG-H is seeking to realise the full potential of health-related research and innovation in Bristol through effective partnership working. Professor Means, who sits on the BRIG-H Strategy Board, said, “The driver behind BRIG-H is to develop Bristol’s reputation for excellence in health research and promote it nationally and internationally. This will be achieved by investing strategically, building capacity and forging major new cross-disciplinary collaborations.” BRIG-H, which held its first annual symposium in March, is also aiming to provide a joined-up approach to research governance and innovation across the partnership. Dr Amanda Longley (RBI), who is on the BRIG-H Operations Group, said, ”Joined up support for research governance is a top priority for the initiative. This will include support at pre and post award stages as well as collaborative training in aspects of research governance such as good practice in clinical research. There are significant benefits and efficiencies to be achieved by working together, particularly on specialist areas of research support.” Among the initiatives already supported by BRIG-H is a study of public and patient involvement in health research being undertaken by UWE’s Dr David Evans (HLS). David’s study, which featured in the first BRIG-H symposium, is looking to develop a collaborative approach and methodology to support public, including patient and carer involvement in research across participating NHS stakeholders in South West England. For more information on BRIG-H, contact Ruth Quinn (RBI) on 82947, [email protected]. Staff are also invited to access the BRIG-H Web Portal, hosted by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) at https://portal. nihr.ac.uk/sites/brig-h. In order to do this, complete a registration form available from Ruth Quinn or the BRIG-H Project Manager, Dr Jenny Knapp, at the University of Bristol, e-mail [email protected]. Dr Neil Phillips (RBI) and Emma Carey (UKRO) at the Marie Curie Regional Seminar UWE hosts Marie Curie proposal writing seminar In a new initiative, UWE hosted a half day regional seminar in May on the European Commission’s Marie Curie Programme. The session was open to academics and interested parties from across the region, with over 20 representatives attending from Oxford, Bath, Cardiff and UWE. Marie Curie Actions are funded by the EC and include individual fellowships, staff exchange and network grants. Led by Emma Carey of the UK Research Office in Brussels, the seminar provided attendees with a deeper understanding of the funding available, the bid evaluation process and key issues that need to be addressed in planning and writing proposals. The seminar also provided a forum for discussion, and to answer questions that applicants had relating to these schemes. The closing date for submissions to the Marie Curie Individual Fellowships call is 17 August 2010. For additional details of EC funding opportunities contact Dr Neil Phillips in RBI [email protected] or go to http:// rbi.uwe.ac.uk/intranet/research/europeanprojects/efs.asp UWE to host Disability Football event The Wheelchair Football Association will be holding an introductory day for Powerchair Football on Saturday 21 August 2010 at UWE’s Centre for Sport. The purpose of this event is to lay the foundations for new clubs in the region, and to establish the beginnings of a South West League. The sport is played in power (electric) wheelchairs and is intended for physically disabled people, particularly those who cannot access football through other clubs. Men women and children can play in mixed teams, with the stipulation that they can safely control a powerchair. For more information on this event please e-mail Sam Bull on [email protected] 27 NEWS Olympic gold-medallist Jason Gardener inspires businesses in the lead-up to London 2012 UWE shows businesses how to win from 2012 Over 80 delegates from businesses in the West of England found out how they could benefit from opportunities for profit and growth before, during and after the London 2012 games. At the event, held at the Guildhall in Bath in June, small and medium enterprises heard local Olympic athlete Jason Gardener MBE give an inspiring account of his success at the 2004 Athens games. Organised by UWE and the Regional Educational Legacy for Arts and Youth Sport (RELAYS) in partnership with Deloitte and Business Link, the event was aimed at taking the mystery out of tendering for contracts in the runup to the Olympic Games. Expert speakers outlined how businesses can make the most of the support available in the region during this once in a life-time opportunity. Danny Bowerin from London 2012 sponsor Deloitte outlined how his firm has engaged with the games and their involvement with local communities. Mally Findlater from Business Link gave a unique insight into the official contracting portal CompeteFor. UWE’s Head of Procurement Helen Baker spoke about Public Sector Procurement and writing successful tenders and Elaine Ashley from Bristol City Council continued the theme, focusing on sustainable procurement. Guest speaker Jason Gardener gave an inspiring insight into what it is like to experience the Olympics first hand, showing a video of his 4x100m relay team winning gold at the 2004 Athens games. Jason emphasised the importance of goal setting and focus for both athletes and businesses in the lead-up to the 2012 Games. Kim Chang, RELAYS Sports Business Fellow at UWE said, “These forums are about signposting businesses to the many opportunities and long-lasting benefits of engaging with the London 2012 games and the wider sport and health agenda. The event is part of a series of forums in the South West to have won the accolade of being branded with the official Inspired by London 2012 logo by LOCOG (London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games).” The forum, entitled 'How to Win Business before and beyond 2012', was co-hosted in collaboration with Partners in Procurement, Bath and North East Somerset Council and Team West of England. Two more events in Cheltenham and Swindon are planned for September and October. For more information visit http://rbi.uwe.ac.uk/ relays/relaysevents.asp For more information visit http://rbi.uwe.ac.uk/relays/relaysevents.asp 28 Hockey camps for hotshots Stall at the Festival of Nature Building on the success of the Summer Camps, UWE is also offering Hotshots Hockey Camps 2010 during August. These enjoyable camps cater for beginners right up to future regional and international stars. There are two camps, the Aspire Camp for children aged 12-15, from 9-12 August, and the Pre-Season Elite Camp for 16-18 year olds, from 16–19 August. Both will be taught by the Centre for Sports Head Hockey Coach Turloch O’Siochain. UWE has some of the finest hockey facilities in the United Kingdom, is a key partner in the National Hockey Performance Centre Network and a home for a Junior Performance Centre. Mullion Cove receives business fellowship from UWE and celebrates its first birthday Bookings for both camps can be made at www.uwe.ac.uk/sport/sportscamps Summer camps keep children active during the holidays Mullion Cove, a Bristol-based business specialising in Cornish food and drink, has been awarded a £5,000 enterprise fellowship through UWE’s solutions4recession programme. The fellowship will provide access to invaluable business guidance and development through regular reviews, advice sessions and targeted networking at UWE Ventures Bristol, the University’s business incubation centre. Company director, Sophie Bowden commented: “We are thrilled to have received the solutions4recession award and are grateful to UWE for giving us this chance to develop our ideas going forwards. “Being based in UWE Ventures and working amongst like-minded entrepreneurs will give Mullion Cove the development and networking opportunities we need. The prospect of a panel of expert business mentors from UWE and its partners advising us is just fantastic.” The solutions4recession initiative launched in spring 2009 after UWE won almost £500,000 through HEFCE’s Economic Challenge Investment Fund. The programme assists individuals and companies impacted by the current economic downturn and has helped hundreds of people to improve their employment prospects or start businesses. UWE’s Head of Business Partnership & Client Support, Fern Urquhart has been delighted with the success. “In the past year solutions4recession has assisted over 350 businesses,” she said. “We have worked with all kinds of companies, from start-up businesses that have benefitted from subsidised accommodation and support, to more established businesses requiring affordable staff training options.” “In addition, we’ve engaged with more than 1,400 individuals experiencing unemployment or under notice of redundancy. It’s satisfying to know that many have secured new jobs or started their own enterprises, while others continue to take advantage of our free workshops and subsidised courses.” As well as its success in securing the fellowship, Mullion Cove is also celebrating its first birthday. The company, which sources products from small Cornish suppliers, initially started at the Tobacco Factory market in south Bristol. “It’s not easy starting a business during a recession,” said Sophie. “But our success goes to show that local businesses are resilient, especially if the local community are there to support them.” “I would personally like to say thanks to all the customers and business colleagues who have supported us over the last year. We are looking forward continuing to bring the best of Cornish food and drink to the Bristol market.” 29 UWE sports camps will keep kids active and entertained this summer UWE is offering children the chance to keep active and entertained during the summer school holidays. The multiactivity camps combine sport, play, arts and craft into a programme for a fun-fuelled summer. The summer camps are open to children aged 8-13 and welcome children of all abilities to gain knowledge of sport and activities from qualified coaches. Sports on offer include badminton, basketball, climbing, football, kickboxing, netball, short tennis, street dance, table tennis, tag ruby, trampolining, rounders, unihoc and volleyball. Other activities include arts and crafts, t-shirt design, sporting collages, inflatable fun days, treasure hunts and much more. The camps are running for five weeks during the summer holidays, from Monday 26 July till Friday 27 August. Operations Manager Helen Worboys said, “The Centre for Sport at UWE aims to provide a fun and enjoyable holiday experience that will encourage youngsters to develop and build on new skills in a safe environment.” Children can be dropped off between 8.30 and 9.15 and collected between 16.45 and 17.30. Summer camps cost £22 per day or £100 per week including an online discount. NEWS UWE economists celebrate 10 years of the Economics Network The Economics Network, the Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy, recently marked 10 successful years and UWE economists joined them to celebrate. The Subject Centre provides training events, learning and teaching resources, publications and funding to scholars working in the education of economics. Led by UWE Professor Emeritus John Sloman, the Subject Centre’s team are at the forefront of web-based learning and other education technology initiatives. Student Rowan Brandreth is a new member of GB’s boardercross team GB success for UWE’s boardercross athlete Student Rowan Brandreth has just been selected for the Great Britain boardercross team for the coming winter. He will be living with the GB team in Morzine, France, taking part in full-time training in the gym and on the slopes before going to Sweden for two weeks pre-season training in November. Rowan has just completed his second year of a BA degree in Business Enterprise and says, “Since competing in the student competitions it’s been my goal to achieve the GB team. It’s going to be a huge commitment - but one I’m ready for. Being on the Elite UWE programme has been a huge help to me - the financial support, strength and conditioning, nutritional advice and physiotherapy has been invaluable to me. It’s been a great catalyst for my success.” Richard Bennett, Performance Manager of UWE’s Centre for Sport said, “This is an impressive achievement for both Rowan and UWE and demonstrates that there is real sporting talent here drawn to UWE by the support we are able to offer.” Boardercross, or snowboard cross, became an Olympic sport in 2006. In it, four racers start in a pack down a course, racing against each other over rolling terrain and a series of jumps and ramps. The fastest two racers from each heat move on to the next round. Rowan’s achievements to date include twice winning silver medals at the British University Dryslope Championships in boardercross, as well as a snowboard giant slalom bronze medal. Rowan says, “Despite the glamour of the sport and attracting a large number of sponsors for individual events, it remains largely unfunded below World Cup level, with little support from the government for boardercross athletes. My first season may be challenging but I am hoping to attract sponsors.” 30 The Economics Network celebrated at the Treasury, in the Churchill Room, from the balcony of which the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced victory in Europe in May 1945. UWE economists joined colleagues from over the UK and members of the Government Economic Service, now a major employer of UWE Economics graduates. UWE was represented by Paul Dowdall (Head of Economics), a member of the Subject Centre’s Advisory Board, David Allen and Dr. Andrew Mearman, both Associates of the Subject Centre, and by Miriam Best and Ryan Hoare, UWE students on placement with the Subject Centre. Dr Andrew Mearman, David Allen, Professor John Sloman, Paul Dowdall, Andy Ross (Deputy Director, Government Economic Service), and Professor Neil Rickman (Durham University, Chair of the Conference of Heads of University Departments of Economics). Winterbourne Barn Trust to relaunch volunteer action days Action days for staff and students at the magnificent medieval tithe barn at nearby Winterbourne are set to begin again in the autumn. Richard Spalding, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management, has recently been elected chair of the Winterbourne Medieval Barn Trust, having been a volunteer for the past ten years. In his role, Richard co-ordinates the ongoing work to bring the 14th century barn complex back to life as a community centre for rural regeneration. The barn was built in 1342, just before the great plagues that swept across England, and is a fascinating survival of the medieval agrarian economy. Having been in continuous use as a working farmstead for well over 600 years, the complex began to fall into disrepair until it was bought by South Gloucestershire Council in the mid-1990s. The council recognised that the building was of historic national importance and that it appeared on the ‘Buildings at Risk’ register of English Heritage. From the mid-1980s a group of concerned residents campaigned vigorously to save the complex from total dereliction. In 2001 the Winterbourne Barn Development Group was established and this led to the formation of the Winterbourne Medieval Barn Trust in 2005. Recent repairs to the main barn and south range of the complex have saved the site from complete dereliction. Richard said, “I have learned so much about helping to build the capacity of a charitable organisation during this time and now find myself with the responsibility of chairing the Trust as it moves into its next action phase. For the last two years Richard has involved UWE students in practical volunteering on site with the support of Helen Seacombe, the Students’ Union Volunteer Support Officer, who says “Volunteers from UWE have been to the barn time and time again and really enjoyed volunteering alongside other members of the community and discovering another area of Bristol. We’ve also supported the Orchard Harvest Festival at the barn, which is a great community event.” The next Community Action Days will be on September 18, October 9 and November 20 at the barn– so get your gloves on and go and help them in the quest! Main picture: A student volunteer sorts roof tiles for the restoration work Credit: Emma Darnton Inset picture: Inside the magnificent fourteenth century barn Credit: James Kline Below: Community fair at the newly restored Winterbourne Barn Credit: Linda Hall Richard has also been developing the Community Volunteering module in FET. He says, “UWE has a great opportunity to use Winterbourne Medieval Barn as one of its chosen links for continuing the development of community engagement into the future”. unique building can be brought into community use for activities such as nature conservation studies; courses on vegetable and fruit growing, cooking and eating; history activities; art and crafts and as a meeting and celebration space.” The Trust is working with the owners of the site, South Gloucestershire Council, to put in place a programme of restoration which will bring the site back to life as a heritage-led education project. Much of Richard’s teaching and research at UWE matches perfectly with the rural regeneration agenda, especially as regards debates on food and place and the role of cultural landscapes in offering a potential way ahead for countryside sustainability. Anna Kawar, CVP Staff Volunteer Project Co-ordinator, says, “Richard’s work with Winterbourne Barn and UWE volunteers is a great example of how we can develop our community links for the benefit of the community and UWE students and staff.” He continued, “Involvement in the project gives me huge satisfaction in helping to shape the growth of the organisation so that this historic and 31 For more information on the Barn project go to www.winterbournebarn.co.uk. If you are a staff member who would like to get involved in action days or you want to promote this opportunity to your students, please contact: [email protected] NEWS Education Without Borders The UWE Refugee and Migrant Support (RMS) Hub first Education Without Borders conference during refugee week on June 17, chaired by Assistant Vice- Chancellor Professor Ron Ritchie, attracted over 100 delegates from a hugely diverse background, including academics, members of the Bristol refugee community and other underrepresented minority communities, students and other professional persons. In his welcome address Deputy ViceChancellor John Rushforth said despite general cuts to HE funding in the UK, UWE is still committed to promoting its inclusive and public engagement agendas. In his key note, Council for Assisting Refugee Academics, Professor John Akker said, “Refugees have key skills that may need developing and this is why it is essential that there is more funding from universities to assist refugees and make education accessible to them”. Fazil Kawani, a prominent Iraqi refugee and Head of Development of the Refugee Council in London said, “Refugees and asylum seekers often leave everything behind and flee from persecution; however they do not leave behind their skills, memories, and education.” Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of SSH , Jem Thomas wrote to Dr Ibrahim Shaw, RMS Hub Project Manager: “I have had terrific feedback on last week’s Education Without Borders event. Many congratulations to you and the RMS Hub team for putting on a great Community Engagement and Human Rights Conference.” “This conference has given the work of the Hub at UWE externally more visibility going by the many positive feeds received from participants, and we are hoping to follow up on some of the key issues that emerged out of the discussions in the two plenary sessions and four parallel workshops to improve accessibility of HE for refugees and other underrepresented migrants,” said Dr Shaw. In the photo Left to Right: Dr. Billie Oliver, Claire Barber, Professor Steve Neill, Sue Yates Adult Nursing student wins June Lancaster Travel Award Adult Nursing student Claire Barber has become the first student to win the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences June Lancaster Travel Award. This travel scholarship is awarded by The Gane Trust Charity to enable students in Health and Social Care the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of their professional practice area within a global context. Claire will be travelling to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Southern India to spend 4 weeks at PSG College of Nursing comparing cultural differences in the training of nurses between the UK and India. Claire said “I am really looking forward to exploring the diversity of service that is offered in Tamil Nadu. In particular I hope to gain insight into how they treat long term conditions such as diabetes and cardiac care. I am very grateful to the Gane Trust for awarding me this scholarship which will enable me to support myself safely while travelling within the community of Coimbatore”. Sue Yates, Adult Nursing Academic for the Nurse Elective Group said “We are absolutely delighted that Claire has been chosen to receive this award. She really embraced the objectives of the Gane Trust in her application and was a clear winner for this year’s scholarship.” Professor Steve Neill (Acting Dean of Health and Life Sciences) presented Claire with the initial cheque for £800. A further £200 will be awarded following completion of the project and submission of a report. Claire will be making a presentation of the outcomes of her trip at the Nursing International Options Open Afternoon in December 2010 at which representatives from the Gane Trust will be present. The June Lancaster Travel Scholarship is available to all third year undergraduate nursing and social work students proposing to undertake an overseas elective placement or Erasmus exchange option. The Gane Trust is a small local charitable trust ‘supporting and celebrating art, design, craftsmanship or welfare and social welfare’. In association with the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences the Trust offers a £1,000 travel scholarship to one undergraduate student each year to ‘enhance their studies in way that otherwise may not have been open to them’. The June Lancaster Award is made in memory of one of their Trustees. 32 Dianne Francombe retires Dianne Francombe worked for the University of the West of England from 1 July 1974 until she retired on 31 January 2010. Di’s career at UWE spans a period of 35 years during which she held a variety of roles culminating in her senior management role as Director, Admissions and International Recruitment (AIR) which she held since 1997. Di made a major contribution to the success of the University’s student recruitment over this time. Her wideranging experience both nationally and internationally in the field of admissions and student recruitment meant she determined policy and strategy as well as operational matters for this important area of the University. Di has also been engaged at a senior level in various University–wide initiatives and projects including: a major project to re-engineer the University’s business processes, implementing a new online IT system for admissions and recruitment, reviews of the academic portfolio, the student experience and learning and teaching development. Di‘s experience and skills meant she was highly sought after as an acknowledged expert in the field of admissions and recruitment to HE and for many years has been a familiar figure at higher education conferences and other events both in the UK and abroad. Di has contributed to conferences, events, working groups and reviews organised by the Careers Research Advisory Council, Council of Europe, Secondary Heads Association (SHA), Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), Governments and Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and locally the Bristol-China Partnership and the Anglo Polish Society. Di is also a founder member of the DfES/UCAS Curriculum Development group which advises the DfES on the impact on HE of curriculum developments in secondary education. She has been a member of a number national groups and committees including the Council for the Central Applications Board; Chair of the UCAS Tariff Advisory Group and a member of the UCAS Tariff Reference Group. We wish Di every success for her future. Accident reconstruction at UWE gives students valuable insight The University teamed up with South Gloucestershire Council and Avon Fire and Rescue to give South Gloucestershire students a unique experience, when the social care conference they were attending was interrupted by an accident reconstruction. A scene from the accident reconstruction The conference took place on Monday 28 June at the UWE Exhibition and Conference Centre. It was organised by South Gloucestershire Council to give over 120 students on BTEC social care courses a valuable insight into how families are supported by the health and social care sector. The conference started with a keynote speech from George Painter of radio station Heart Fm, focusing on the role commercial radio plays within the community on care related issues. His talk was interrupted by a telephone call asking him to report on a motorway accident nearby, and he then asked the students to accompany him. Outside, the students watched an accident reconstruction involving a family staged by the South Gloucestershire Road Safety team and Avon Fire and Rescue Service. After witnessing the crash reconstruction, the students then met professionals from across the health and social care sector, who advised on the care and support they could provide for the family involved in the mocked-up accident, who thankfully only received minor physical injuries but were traumatised. The students then completed an assignment based on the accident reconstruction which links directly into their BTEC programme. Bev Green, Head of Partnerships (AID), said, “The accident reconstruction is an excellent way of bringing studies to life for these BTEC students, we hoped they found it an inspiring experience and that it will give them a taste of the 33 career opportunities open to them in the future.” Watch Manager John Davies from Avon Fire and Rescue Service said: “We’re delighted to have been invited to take part in this innovative event. Not only will it help the students with their studies, it also gives us an opportunity to highlight road safety messages to young people who are likely to become new drivers or thinking about learning to drive within a few years.” NEWS European Court Judge to give Centre for Legal Research Annual Lecture The annual lecture of the Bristol Law School’s Centre for Legal Research is to be given by George Arestis, Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ). Judge Arestis will give his lecture on European Citizenship and the elimination of discriminatory measures among European citizens, with special reference to social benefits. The original lecture had to be re-scheduled because of the flight ban resulting from the Icelandic volcanic ash, but the lecture is still very timely. The ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in December 2009 will have wide-ranging implications for the United Kingdom, both domestically and in terms of its relationship with the rest of Europe. Originally formulated in the Maastricht Treaty in1992, the concept of European citizenship, combined with the principle of non-discrimination on the ground of nationality, is at the heart of the free movement of persons, one of the fundamental freedoms established under the European Union Treaties. George Arestis was a member of the Cypriot Supreme Court before becoming an ECJ judge in 2004. He has given lectures at a number of universities in the UK, and was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Training Programme for National judges in European Competition Law organised in May 2009 in Cyprus by Bristol Law School and Palermo University. Association of University Administrators (AUA) Join AUA now and benefit from • • • • support for your career development networking opportunities information on current HE issues a world of new opportunities within the sector • the opportunity to travel (through application for travel awards) The annual lecture is to be given at the Watershed, Bristol on Monday 4 October 2010 at 18.00. The lecture is free, but it is essential to reserve a place in advance in order to gain admission The UWE Bristol Branch of the AUA contributes to the professionalisation of the UWE Administrator by promoting the work of the Association and by working with the University to embed the Code of Professional Standards in a more high profile manner. To reserve a place please e-mail [email protected] by 16 September 2010. For further information please visit http://law.uwe.ac.uk/news/pdf/crl-lecture. pdf. For an information pack on the benefits of being a member of the AUA, please contact either Pat Hughes, Patricia. [email protected] or Teresa Stephens, [email protected], UWE Joint AUA Branch Co-ordinators. Bristol’s Somalis in Context - UWE, knowledge exchange and the Somali Diaspora Earlier this year, Madge Dresser was awarded £3,500 of public engagement monies by the Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Science—where did the money go? Part of it went to funding last May’s international symposium on The Somali diaspora in context, where keynote speakers Dr Rima Berns-McGown of the University of Toronto and Professor Mauro Tosco of the University of Turin met with British and Somali researchers and students. The papers ranged from a survey of Somalia’s varied linguistic heritage to the gendered impact of war on Somalia and its consequences for the British Somali diaspora. The symposium, organised by Madge Dresser (History) in co-operation with UWE colleagues Jeanette Saekel (Linguistics) and (Jane Tarr and Nick Clough (Education), was distinguished by the high quality of discussion and interdisciplinary exchange. On Friday 1 September, a free public conference will be held entitled Who are Bristol’s Somalis?, aimed at both policy providers and representatives of Bristol’s Somali organisations. Dr. Martin Orwin of London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies will open the day of lectures and workshop discussion. Speakers will include Nisar Majid and Hannah White, two final year doctoral students from Bristol University and UWE’s own Rebecca Richards (Politics). The conference will be held at St Paul’s Family Learning Centre, Grosvenor Road, Bristol. For further information and registration details, please visit www.uwe.ac.uk/ hlss/faculty/news/0910/bristols-somalis.shtml or contact Rose West, Events Officer via e-mail [email protected]. 34 Creative Arts Foundation Degree Students win Art Award Two Fine Art students on the Foundation Degree in Creative Arts have been awarded study grants by the Bristol Decorative and Fine Arts Society. The Society offers £500 each annually to an HE student at Filton College’s Queens Road, a Fine Art student at UWE and a History of Art student at Bristol University. The purpose of the grants is to allow them to further their personal development outside their course of study. The Society’s judges were so impressed with the Filton College applicants this year that they decided to make a £400 grant to second year student Zanne Andrea and another £400 to first year Gordon Bon. Zanne will visit Leipzig to see a major retrospective work by the renowned German artist Neo Rausch and the Spinnerei gallery/studio where Rausch works. This month Gordon attended a five day Introduction to Curating Contemporary Art Exhibitions summer school at Chelsea College of Art. Both will be expected to make a presentation to a meeting of the Bristol Decorative Fine Arts Society on their return. Concepts of health and illness Over the past three decades, various accounts of health, illness and disease have been proposed by researchers from history, sociology, law, philosophy, public health and economics. Often, however, proponents of various accounts have been isolated within their own discipline with an apparent unawareness of competing accounts. As a result, while there are now a number of different accounts of health, illness and disease available, there is no consensus about which, if any, of these accounts is ultimately acceptable and what implications each account may have. A three-day international conference will be held in Q Block, Frenchay Campus from Wednesday 1 September to Friday 3 September and will explore differences and overlaps between these different accounts. The conference aims to bring together researchers from multiple disciplines to create dialogue between them, as well as between researchers and health care practitioners, on the concepts of health, illness and disease. Havi Carel notes “This conference is a unique opportunity to bring together experts from a variety of fields to engage with conceptual questions about illness. These include: What is illness? How is it different to disease? Is disease merely a biological dysfunction, or does it contain a social and evaluative dimension? What definition of illness is the most useful one for our health care needs? This conference is funded by the AHRC, as part of my project on concepts of health, illness and disease.” There are still places available. For further information and to register please visit www.uwe. ac.uk/hlss/courses/philosophy/ ahrc_chid_network.shtml. FLEX Zone new learning space on Frenchay Campus On Wednesday 30 June a launch hosted by Professor Geoff Channon took place for FLEX Zone, a newly refurbished space in E Block on Frenchay Campus. FLEX Zone comprises three distinct areas: The FL EX ZO NE projec t team Lectorial Room This room will be used for formal scheduled teaching. With a capacity of 48, it has the flexibility to deliver small lectures but will also facilitate group work. Open Access Study Space This room combines comfortable seating with a range of IT enabled study areas. It is available for all students to use. There is also a separate vending area supplying a range of refreshments for students using this space. GDP / PAL Room This room is slightly less formal than the lectorial room. It provides a dedicated group based facility specifically for the scheduling of GDP and PAL activities. Karen West, Head of CETTS and Project Manager said, “The FLEX Zone was created by the Concept teaching rooms project funded by Facilities. This is part of an ongoing project to create experimental learning and teaching spaces which we can use to inform masterplanning. By working closely with the academic staff and students who use these spaces we can gain valuable feedback to evaluate the success of different spaces, to ensure that new and redeveloped spaces meet the needs of a 21st century university.” Academic staff are invited to make bookings in the Lectorial and GDP/PAL rooms through their Faculty timetabling team. For further information about FLEX Zone – contact [email protected] Emerald Literati Network 2010 Awards for Excellence Micheal Heaton UWE graduate (2007) and occasional visiting lecturer to the Faculty of the Built Environment, Michael Heaton has won this year’s Emerald Literati Award for Excellence for his paper Building Palaeopathology: Practical Applications of Archaeological Building Analysis published in Vol 27 No 2 of Structural Survey. The paper demonstrates the practical benefits of ‘building recording’ to building conservation and refurbishment projects and the 35 academic and legal context of the techniques. Michael is working on a follow-up paper provisionally titled: How medieval is a medieval house?, that will examine the nature and extent of primary fabric survival in historic structures using archaeological ‘building recording’ projects as case studies. Visit www.emeraldinsight.com/literati to read Michael’s winning entry. NEWS UWE student named Clarke Willmott Young Artist of the Year Student Alice Jones has been presented with the Clarke Willmott Young Artist of the Year Award by the Bristol firm of solicitors. Alice, a final year Drawing and Applied Arts student at the School of Creative Arts, won with her piece, Movements in Sleep, which attempts to capture the fleeting moments and subliminal movements that she experiences while sleeping and dreaming. She said "It is a huge honour to be presented with this award, which will give me greater opportunity to continue my practice and develop my skills. I plan to travel and experience different cultures and apply the experience to my work". National law firm Clarke Willmott LLP has teamed up with the Creative Arts Enterprise Office, to launch the Young Artist of the Year Award. A total of 49 submissions were received, 26 of which made it onto the shortlist to be exhibited at the firm's private client summer party at their Harbourside offices. The works were of an exceptional standard, including paintings, photographs, sculptures, installations and digital media, and some students sold their work at the event. Guests attending from the local business community were asked to place their vote in the ballot box and at the end of the evening Alice was declared the winner and presented with a cheque for £1000. This award is the first annual competition sponsored by Clarke Willmott. Professor Paul Gough, ProVice Chancellor, Research and Enterprise said, “The work was really imaginatively displayed, with excellent use made of the riverside location - a real credit to the Faculty and the University. I look forward to next year’s event and to many such future collaborations between Bristol's thriving business community and the excellent work produced by our students.” Alice Jones is presented with the Clarke Willmott Award by Anthony Fairweather UWE sponsors Pride Bristol The University is sponsoring Pride Bristol 2010 on 21 August. The event will celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community across the South West in the spirit of diversity. Rainbow flag Pride Bristol 2010 culminates in a free one day festival at Castle Park on Saturday 21 August following a week of diverse cultural events from 14 August – 22 August. UWE has a stall in the Community Tent at the event on 21 August. UWE’s Equality and Diversity Champion, Professor Ron Ritchie, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Partnerships, Diversity and Civic Engagement, said, “UWE is committed to becoming an inclusive University, as we see this benefiting all students and staff. Supporting Pride Bristol and its celebration of diversity is, for us, an important contribution to that aspiration.” 36 UWE’s strong commitment to LGBT equality has been strengthened by joining the Stonewall Diversity Champion programme and the university has been working closely with Stonewall and stakeholders to develop an LGBT equality action plan. Recently, UWE was rated as one of the top seven most LGB friendly universities for students, scoring 9 out of 10, in Stonewall University Guide. Luke Tryl of Stonewall said “It is great to see UWE is doing a lot for LGB students and I hope some of the best practices can be shared by other institutions.” For information, visit www.gaybydegree.org.uk/ For more information www.pridebristol.com CA schools project links creativity and sustainability Students and staff from the School of Creative Arts are working with South Gloucestershire Schools to deliver the Art and Design Challenge, a project that asks Year 10 school students to engage with issues of sustainability. Students have to make a piece of art or design work which raises awareness of sustainability issues amongst their peers and fellow school students in South Gloucestershire. Students will take workshops in Fashion Design – turning discarded garments into new and desirable items; Illustration – developing an editorial image using recycled papers that draws attention to sustainability issues; and Sculpture – considering how items we think of as rubbish can be given a new lease of life. The project has been developed by the School of Creative Arts working with Caryl Nurse, Teaching and Learning Adviser at South Gloucestershire Council, and teacher Beth Owen, (Bradley Stoke Community School). Caryl says “It is really important that young people understand what they can do with their creative skills if they do choose to pursue Art and Design focused careers. An understanding of the ways in which artists and designers work, and how they are contributing to changing attitudes towards these issues offers our students a really good opportunity to think about how they might want to work in the future. It is also gives them the chance to take part in a live project with an exhibition outcome and the opportunity to work with students at UWE is really positive.” The school students will be shown examples of the ways artists, designers and media practitioners are addressing sustainability issues, including media campaigns, making desirable items or fabrics out of waste materials and designing products so they are 100 per cent recyclable. Sam Thomson, Co-ordinator of Engagement with Schools, Colleges and Community in the School of Creative Arts says “Sustainability is such a crucial issue for young people, and designers and artists have a central role to play in developing solutions for everyone. This project is a brilliant opportunity for our undergraduates and staff to work with school students to share ideas and generate innovative thinking about how creative practitioners can contribute further to reducing unsustainable activities.” Following on from the launch day and workshops at UWE held on 7 June 2010, student ambassadors and staff will go to the schools to work with pupils on their own individual projects which will then be exhibited in schools across South Gloucestershire. Students help with Carnival Preparations Final year students from the School of Creative Arts took time out from preparations for their annual degree show to work with pupils at Cabot Primary School in Bristol to design and make costumes for the school’s parade in this year’s St Paul’s Carnival. The carnival theme of ‘He-roes and She-roes’ was the starting point for the project, in which pupils were asked to reflect on their own ideas about what a he-ro or a she-ro might be – ranging from the classic superhero to those heroes that we might encounter in day to day life. The UWE students worked with the school pupils to develop creative, ambitious and colourful costumes which reflect their individual interests and demonstrate the skills that they have learnt. Sam Thomson, Co-ordinator of Engagement with Schools, Colleges and Community in the School of Creative Arts says: “Our students loved working on this project. It is a fantastic way for them to use their creative skills and they gain really valuable experience in working with younger people, which lots of them are interested in doing when they finish university. The work that they’re all making together is fantastic and we’re very much hoping that this will become an annual event.” The School of Creative Arts runs an extensive programme of workshops, projects and activities with schools and colleges throughout the year. 37 News in Brief NEWS Staff in the media Jennie Parker (FAS) joined Dr Phil Hammond, the in house Doctor on BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Somerset on 24 July for a live phone in on the Saturday Surgery programme. National University of Ireland, Merrion Square, Dublin, on Thursday 16 September at 18.30, ISBN: 978-1-84545-672-6 and website: www. berghahnbooks.com/title.php?rowtag=MooreFolk Appointments Lisa Harrison (Politics) was a commentator on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme on 6 July 2010 to discuss the government’s Your Freedom website which is asking the general public to make proposals for changes to laws. Ray Priest, Principal of the City Academy, Bristol, and an honorary graduate of UWE, has been appointed as a Visiting Professor who will have a link with UWE next year, supporting UWE’s partnership work with schools. Dr Tony King (SSH) had an opinion piece on what staging the World Cup means to South Africa published in the Western Daily Press on Friday 18 June. Dr Mark Tooley, who is closely associated with the Institute of Bio-Sensing Technology (IBST) has been appointed as a visiting professor. Mark serves on the IBST Scientific Advisory Group, where his knowledge and experience has been critical in identifying opportunities within the health care environment. He has been actively involved in the development of projects linking the research of UWE, Bristol and research and clinical developments in the Royal United Hospital. In addition, his conference organising experience together with his extensive network of contacts has been utilised through his co-option onto the Advisory Board for the IBST International Conference on Bio-Sensing Technology. Charlotte Hopes (CA), and Alice Jones (Drawing and Applied Arts) the student who won the Clarke Willmott Young Artist prize, were interviewed on Monday 21 June by Bristol Community Radio about the degree show. James White (CAR) was interviewed on Tuesday 22 June by Heart FM about the Appearance Matters conference and the paper he presented on the link between reading celebrity gossip magazines and how it can encourage eating disorders in teenagers. Phillippa Diedrichs (CAR) was part of a discussion about body image on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour on Wednesday 23 June. Christien van den Anker (SSH) was interviewed on BBC Radio Bristol on Sunday 27 June and by the Dutch newspaper Trouw about the Global Ethics Conference at UWE. Ann Grand (LS) was interviewed on BBC Radio Bristol on Monday 28 June about her talk on Open Science at the Bristol Science Café. Publications Professor Rob Cuthbert (EDU) has a chapter on ‘Failing the challenge of institutional evaluation: how and why managerialism flourishes’ in Bamber R, P Trowler and M Saunders (eds) (2010) Evaluative practices in higher education: an international view Maidenhead: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill The Summer 2010 issue of Higher Education Review has an article by Professor Rob Cuthbert (Education) on ‘Students as customers?’, re-conceiving the relationship between the university and the student to analyse the part that markets can play in governing and managing the higher education system. Sue Cullimore and Jonathan Simmons (EDU) have just had an article published in the latest issue of Research in Post-Compulsory Education (Volume 15, Number 2/June 2010, pp 223-39): The emerging dilemmas and challenges for mentors and mentees in the new context for training in-service teachers for the Learning and Skills sector. Stuart McClean (HSC) and Ronnie Moore edited Folk Healing and Health Care Practices in Britain and Ireland: stethoscopes, wands and crystals, the book will be launched at the Campus Bookstore, Facilities and Estates are pleased to note that Vaughan Castell has passed the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Level 5 Certificate in Management. He is now Associate Membership of the ILM. Conferences Dr Marie Mulvey-Roberts (English, HLSS) recently gave the keynote lecture with Professor Janet Todd at the conference she co-organised entitled Celebrating Women's Writing at Lucy Cavendish College Cambridge. This conference was a celebration of the journal Women’s Writing on women writers before the First World War, which they co-founded in 1994. At a reception sponsored by their publisher Routledge, the latest issue, entitled Women Out Loud, was launched. This commemorates the work of Dr Mary Waldron, a former reviews editor and editorial board member, who carried out some of her most important work in Bristol for her acclaimed critical biography of Ann Yearsley, the local eighteenth-century ‘milkwoman poet’ and campaigner against the slave trade. Dr Helen Frisby, (Department of History, HLSS), gave a paper on the English folk funeral, c1840-1914, at a one-day conference of the Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath, on 19 June. The conference title was A Good Send Off: Local, Regional and National Variations in how the British Dispose of their Dead. Dr Frisby’s paper argued that, despite the obvious (and fascinating) localised variations in folk ritual and superstition during this period, one may nevertheless detect a very consistent underlying presumption that the living could and should engage in ritual in order to maintain relationships with the dead, and also to aid the post-mortem journey of the soul. 38 Manuel Frutos-Perez (Deputy Manager, E-learning Development Unit) was invited to give an expert talk on Technology Enhanced Learning at a conference in India in May. Manuel delivered his talk remotely (thereby saving time, money and CO2). Details of the talk can be accessed through Manuel’s blog: http://blogs.uwe.ac.uk/people/manuel-frutosperez/archive/2010/05/24/remote-expert-talk. aspx. Manuel’s presentation can be seen as a 45 minute animated movie that can be accessed online at:www.uwe.ac.uk/elearning/seminars/ edumatics2010/start.html Richard Bond (RBI) recently made two presentations at the annual Association of Research Managers and Administrators Conference in Manchester. A joint presentation with Pamela Johnstone (Bournemouth University) focused on Enabling research in a non researchintensive environment, exploring the strategies of post-1992 universities in developing research capability. Richard also gave a presentation on What do research managers manage? which looked at the relationship between research managers and researchers and the role played by managers in the research process. Dr Lorna Collins (BBS) principal lecturer in Strategy (enterprise and creativity) presented a paper Emotional Labour in the Family Business at the recent European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management 6th Annual Workshop on Family Business on 6 June 2010. The paper describes an in-depth study of Thorntons, the UK chocolate giant, focusing on the emotional labour within the family unit. Ben Ramdani (BBS) presented a paper at the 14th Conference of the International Business Information Management Association, on 24 June 2010. The paper, entitled: Embracing Enterprise 2.0: Moving Towards Accelerated Business Models was co-authored with Dr Tazeeb Rajwani from Cranfield School of Management. Tony Flegg (BBS) presented a paper entitled Regional Input−Output Tables and the FLQ Formula: A Case Study of Finland (co-authored with Timo Tohmo of the University of Jyväskylä, Finland) at the following conferences: Regional Studies Association International Conference, Pécs, Hungary, 24−26 May 2010; Nordic Regional Studies Association conference, Seinäjoki, Finland, 21−23 June 2010. Professor Rob Cuthbert (EDU) spoke at the national Higher Education Futures Conference on 23 June 2010 on What should higher education be doing in a changing environment?, sharing a platform with Nicola Dandridge (Chief Executive, Universities UK), Paul Marshall (VC Lancaster and Chair of the 1994 Group), and Graham Spanier (President, Pennsylvania State University). Jonathan Bradley (Dean of Students) gave a presentation on 24 May about Education for Peace at the International Study Group for InterEthnic and Religious Reconciliation in the Western Balkans, organised in Belgrade by the European Centre for Peace and Development. Jonathan was also one of the opening speakers at the Vinspired Students Conference in Bristol on 17 June about student volunteering. Human Resources Update Learning and Development Centre Support + Network - UWE staff networks The University encourages all members of staff to widen their knowledge in order to reach their full potential. The Learning and Development Centre (LDC) contributes to this by facilitating a lifelong learning environment where individuals can progress their personal and professional development. Staff networks are run by staff for staff and bring together people from all Faculties, departments and services who identify with a group relating to one of the University's six equality strands (gender, race, disability, age, religion and faith and sexual orientation). We want to make sure that staff know about, and take advantage of, the first class training opportunities that are provided centrally by the LDC. Staff networks fulfil various functions including providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development. Staff networks can also contribute to the development of University policies and working practices. We provide development and training in the following areas: • • • • • • • Management development Personal development IT Equality and diversity Learning and teaching Researcher development Finance UWE recognises the value of self organised groups in creating an environment that respects the diversity of staff and enables them to derive maximum benefit and enjoyment from their involvement in the life of the University. The University welcomes and supports the development of staff networks and employees are entitled to attend staff network meetings in their working time up to 15 hours a year (pro rata for part-time staff). The LDC is based in Botetourt House, Frenchay Campus on the Bristol Business Park. The vast majority of our training is free to UWE staff. If you would like to see our portfolio of courses and find information about our service, please visit our website at: www.uwe.ac.uk/ldc Currently the following networks are formed: • • • • Disabled Staff Network Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Staff Network Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Staff Forum Women's Staff Forum Please visit www.uwe.ac.uk/staffnetworks for further information including meeting dates. Please e-mail each network directly to find out more and membership is kept confidential. • • T Y P E • $ $ • • omen’s forum: [email protected] W Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender network: lgbt@ uwe.ac.uk Black and minority ethnic staff forum: bmeforum@uwe. ac.uk Disabled staff network: [email protected] For information on Faith based networks – contact: Rev Dr Peter Johnson (Head of the Living Centre) [email protected] 39 what'son Bulletin deadlines 2010 NEWS • for full details of all UWE events • to submit an event to the diary • to sign up to receive What’s on monthly e-mail www.uwe.ac.uk/events Month/Issue Copy deadline Sept/96 Oct/97 Nov/98 1 September 1 October 1 November Staff ads Interesting and Attractive House for sale in Spain - Situated in the old Moorish quarter of Calatayud in North East Spain, near the ancient castle and only ten minutes walk from the centre. The house is ready to move into but in need of some minor redecoration. The asking price is €80,000. 0781 743 0859 or [email protected] 0034 976 84 00 29 essential. Please e-mail [email protected] for further information, or ring Toby on 0117 924 3023. French holiday home in Vendee Town of Aizenay, West France, 15 minutes from the coast and golf courses. Sleeps 10, fully equipped from £300 per week, for further details and dvd contact 01454 850698. Property to let for Scottish Break - Clach Mhor (big rock) in the Perthshire village of St Fillans, set within Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Many outdoor activities including walks, climbs, cycle routes, shopping, distillery, golf course and gourmet restaurants to visit nearby. For further information visit www. enjoyperthshire.co.uk or contact Eric Broussine extn 88532. Holiday home for let, France, Dordogne Region very near town of Eymet, 20 mins from Bergerac. Farmhouse, set in two acres (with orchard), four double bedrooms, swimming pool (12 x 5), patio and outside BBQ area, very picturesque – visit www. my-eymetexperience.com or e-mail [email protected] Mauritius holiday apartment. Modern, fully equipped, overlooking large pool on SW coast, two double and one twin air-conditioned bedrooms, 24 hr security and maid service. Close to banks, supermarket, restaurants, bus routes. Five minutes walk to beach. Transfer from and to airport can be arranged. Contact: Michel Limpinnian on 01275 866233 or e-mail [email protected] Man and Van hire. I have a transit van and am based in Stoke Gifford. Rates are £10 per hour. Telephone Ian on 0789 0727 137 or e-mail [email protected] MJ Decorating – All types of decorating work undertaken, no job too small. GNVQ Qualified. Competitive rates. When telephoning please mention this advert. Call Matthew on 07989 392161 or 0117 961 3419 To let - Lovely spacious double room in Victorian house on Horfield Common, large kitchen diner, new bath/shower room, sitting room with log fire and pretty garden, shared with two others. We enjoy a peaceful friendly atmosphere. Mature professional non-smoker preferred. Rent £375 pcm including all bills. Available now. Telephone 0117 985 1375 Singers needed for established west gallery quire. We are a friendly group, who meet on two Tuesday evenings a month, at Woodland Road, Clifton. New members would be extremely welcome. An ability to read music is helpful, but not Staff Association Staff Association 40th Anniversary Celebration Raffle - The prize winners are: Beryl Hiles, Sharon Burden, Sue Tainton, Neil Phillips, Ginnie Isles, Sarah Hudson, Jenny Hugill, Christine Elliott, Janet Harland, Barry Walters, Mel Clarke, Steve Bride, Linda Shears, D Allen, Lou Williams, Carry, Lorraine Appley, Pearl, Karen, Rosemary Mclaren, John Breslin, Tanya Birch, Jackie Chapman, Katie Beck, Tony, Paul Spencer, Sharon Burden, Sam Evans, Daryl, M Burns, Lyn Donavan, Carol, Kim Chilcott, Shephard, Denise Bishop, Julia Tipler, Audrey, J Brown, Winton. Thanks very much to the Holiday Inn, Filton for providing the two night B&B prize. Staff Association Coach Club - forthcoming trips As you all know, in 2010 the Staff Association is celebrating its 40th anniversary and as part of that the Coach Club will be continuing to offer special offers on trips over the next few months. Look out for these bargains, they won’t last much longer! Saturday 4 September – Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Special ‘Anniversary’ Cost:Members £10, Non-Members £11 One of England’s finest medieval market towns packed with timber framed black and white www.uwe.ac.uk buildings, steep narrow streets and alleyways. It has over 600 listed buildings including a castle and Shrewsbury Abbey, home of the fictional Brother Cadfael. If you fancy a stroll there are riverside walks and the Quarry Park, but should this not be enough, the Shrewsbury International Street Theatre Festival is on that weekend providing further entertainment. Proposed future weekend trips October 2010 Weekend in London Ever wanted to stay in London and enjoy two full days sightseeing or taking in an evening show instead of a Matinee? Well here’s your chance at a very reasonable price:Cost: £89 Members, £93 Non-members Deposit: £40 single supplement: £20 23–24 October - Two days (One night) IBIS London Docklands bed, breakfast plus three course dinner with free (two hours after dinner) drinks. There will also be an optional excursion on the Saturday for those who only want a full day in central London on the Sunday. The destination of this excursion will be decided once we have numbers. This trip comes as a package so we are not able to offer any reduction for those wishing to enjoy an evening out at a show, club etc and miss the dinner and drinks. The A free drinks include selected beers, wines and soft drinks. Although we shall not be arranging a show visit as well, we will try, if there are sufficient numbers all wishing to go to the same show, to obtain group rate tickets for them if possible. Easter in Holland Friday 22 to Monday 25 April 2011 Three nights (four days) staying at 4* Mercure Amstel, Amsterdam Travelling again from Dover to Calais by P&O ferry, through northern France and Belgium to Holland. As Easter falls at the end of April next year and that is the best time of year for it – the trip will include a visit to Keukenhof - as well as a couple of other excursions (yet to be planned). These will all be included in current cost. There will of course be free time in Amsterdam as well. Costs: £275 Members £280 Non-members. Based on two sharing (single supplement £85). Dep - £50 pp If you are interested in any of the above please contact us through the following channels only:- [email protected], Telephone: 0117 32 83001 Graphic Design Team MC960 UWE, BRISTOL F.07.10 Printing & Stationery Services