Spotlight on great teaching

The first-ever Student Led Teaching Awards got off to a great start with over 100 staff and students attending the award ceremony on Thursday 11 April.

More than 160 students took the opportunity to nominate staff for the six award categories. Winners were Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, Heather Price, Ian Wells, Alix Hanson, Paul Adams, Ho Chung Law and Helen Powell of the School of Arts and Digital Industries who received a Special Recognition Award for being nominated in all categories.

The award ceremony was organised by third year UEL students, pictured above, who are studying for a combined honours in Advertising and Events Management, as part of their third year project.

The aim of the awards was to ‘develop a popular scheme to empower students to influence teaching’ and, with the fantastic turn out, this looks set to happen. Well done to all the winners and nominees. We look forward to next year!

For more information and a list of all the award winners click here…

Health Matters 2013

Would you like advice or information on physical health issues such as epilepsy, smoking cessation or HIV, or emotional health such as bipolar and depression? Perhaps you would like to try a free massage or find voluntary work with one of our local services?

Visit the Student Health and Wellbeing stand on 18 April, 10am-4pm in the Atrium, Docklands, to speak with one of the team. For more information click here...

No smoking policy – There have been a number of complaints from staff that cigarette smoke is drifting into reception areas and offices due to people smoking in front of entrances and open windows. UEL's policy is that smoking is not permitted in or near to any of its buildings. Those members of staff or visitors wishing to smoke are asked to comply with signs around building entrances which indicate the minimum distance people need to stand away from the building. Used smoking materials should be safely disposed of where cigarette bins are provided. For more information click here...

UEL Product Design Showcase 2013 – UEL product design students will be exhibiting their work at The Crystal, Royal Victoria Dock, this June. To celebrate the opening of this exciting event, a selected audience will be treated to talks from high-profile guest speakers. For more information click here and for a copy of the poster click here...

Public seminar on the creation of new rights – Dr Illan Rua Wall, School of Law, University of Warwick, gives an open seminar discussing how the question of new rights is displaced entirely from one of conserving the established and legitimate discourse, to a strategic question of engagement with and against law. For more information click here...

Seed Drive – If you have any unwanted seeds you would like to donate to the Stratford or Docklands Grow Your Own food projects, particularly wildflower seeds and herbs, please contact Emily Hamilton.

Blossoming fruit trees – Take a look at the beautiful blossoming fruit trees at Stratford Campus. If your School or Service would like to adopt the final Braeburn apple tree please contact Emily Hamilton.

Green Move Out goes red – Green Move Out sees UEL and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) working together to reduce the amount of waste left by students moving out of Halls of Residence. Tell your students to look out for the red bins where they can donate their unwanted goods to the BHF.

Call: Exploring knowledge to build a better future programme – The Toyota Foundation's 'Exploring knowledge to build a better future' programme invites applications for both its joint and individual research grants. For more information click here...

Call: EU announces Executive Agency for Health and Consumers 2013 – The Executive Agency for Health and Consumers this week announced a raft of calls for its 2013 funding. For a list of those announced click here...

Drop-in sessions – Questions about an upcoming grant or funding opportunity? Visit the ReDS team during one of their drop-in sessions. For more information click here or to catch up on recent tweet discussions regarding writing successful research grant applications click here...

Student's Union General Meeting – Students get the chance to have their voice heard, submit motions, vote on motions, and set the political direction for the Union. The agenda will be available from the UELSU website on Wednesday 17 April.

Are your students intersted in postgraduate studies? – Current undergraduate students at UEL are entitled to a 15% discount on postgraduate studies here. To speak with Student Recruitment visit their stand at the Atrium, Docklands and the CC building foyer between 12 noon-2pm each day until 4 May. For more information click here...

Social Action Awards – Nominations are now open for the first-ever UELSU Social Action Awards! The awards are designed to recognise students who make inspirational contributions in volunteering, campaigning, fundraising, and research on social issues. For more information click here...

Varsity 2013 – On Wednesday 24 April, UEL will be fighting it out against Middlesex University in Varsity 2013 at the SportsDock and other east London venues. A variety of sports will compete this year, including handball, netball, futsal, hockey, tennis, both men's and women's football, volleyball and basketball. This is the last chance of the year to support your team. For fixtures, click here...

Exercise of the month – The deadlift is SportsDock's exercise of the month, focusing on the posterior chain (quadriceps, gluteus maximus and erector spina). Each exercise comes with guidance notes such as the best technique, health benefits and how many repetitions are required to reach your strength goal. For more information click here...