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Welcome to our weekly in Focus update...... |
Past Issues << | Issue 32: Monday 11 December 2006
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Wednesday 13 December 4pm – 5pm the Edge Restaurant Docklands Campus
As you will no doubt be aware, our Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Thorne will be leaving us at the end of December for pastures new at Anglia Ruskin University.
We wish him every success in his new position, and would like to invite all colleagues to join him at a farewell tea on Wednesday, 13 December at The Edge restaurant at our Docklands campus, starting at 4pm. The Edge is in the East Building just off the Atrium.
Seasonal cheer includes tea, mince pies and mulled wine. If you haven’t done so already please let me know that you’re coming!
The event will be followed at 6pm by our final Public Lecture of 2006, which will be given by Professor Lizbeth Goodman, Director our SMARTlab Digital Media Institute in the Business School Lecture theatre.
An interview with Mike as he reflects on his time here as Vice-Chancellor and talks about both the achievements he has personally made as well as those we have made collectively in that time, will be available on our web pages shortly.
The Board of Governors is pleased to announce the appointment as Director of Finance of Nirmal Borkhataria, currently Director of Finance and Resources at the Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College.
Nirmal will join us on 12 February 2007 and succeeds Richard Allanach who took up his appointment as Director of Finance and Resources at the Quality Improvement Agency earlier this year. Richard who has been serving as Acting Director of Finance on a part-time basis pending the appointment of his successor will leave us finally this month.
Alan Ingle has just received the formal letter, assessment report and certificate from our assessment company to confirm that we have met the Charter Mark standard.
Alan Ingle commented: "As I have said repeatedly, I know that our staff take pride in delivering excellent services to students, visitors, and indeed to one another. In applying for the Charter Mark standard, we were merely asking an external assessor to recognise the excellence of that commitment. That he has done so is a vindication of the excellent service provided by our staff. But it does not stop there. Charter Mark is about continuous improvement and we are already thinking ahead to build on what our staff have achieved as we seek to become ever more customer-focused".
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Our first Disability Equality Scheme has now been completed and will be available shortly on the website. In the meantime any member of staff who would like a copy of the Scheme can obtain one by contacting Alan Ingle.
Our salary sacrifice scheme in which parents can set aside a maximum of £243 a month towards their childcare costs takes effect in January 2007. Because the amount you choose to set aside is non-taxable and exempt from National Insurance contributions you stand to make quite a saving over the year. For example, a parent on annual salary between £10k - £33k who sets aside £243 a month for childcare, will save £962 over the year.
For more information call Busy Bees now on freefone 08000 430 860 or visit the Busy Bees website: http://www.busybees.com/ and try out their ready-reckoner to find out how much you stand to save.
Other great staff benefits include:
Our Cycle to work scheme in which you can buy a bike and related safety equipment up to the value of £1,000, repaid over 18 monthly instalments, attracts tax relief so that you stand to save roughly a third on the cost of your purchase.
Contact Greg Price on 020 8223 4361 for more information.
Our Interest Free Season Ticket Loans in which you’re eligible for a substantial discount if you buy an annual ticket, and you can repay the loan over 10 or 12 monthly instalments.
Contact Tracey Mason on 020 8223 4310 for more information.
HSA Everyday Healthcare for those interested in joining up to a simple and affordable plan (our staff are entitled to corporate rates) which can provide you with tax-free cash benefits.
Contact HAS Healthcare Solutions on 0800 072 5850
Dina Vyortkina our e-learning manager is coordinating a high profile national benchmarking exercise of e-learning sponsored by the Higher Education Academy(HEA).
Dina says: “The project working group has eleven members from UEL academic Schools and some Services (QAE, IT, LLS, Student Services) This is not just a SDEL’s exercise, it is one that involves the whole institution.”
Only 35 UK universities were selected to take part in this Phase 1 of the research project and once completed we will be able to bid for pathfinder funding - which will equate to about £6 million for about 35 successful universities which participated in a Pilot project and Phase 1.
Peter Chatterton HEA consultant working with us on the project explained:"The e-learning benchmarking programme is an important element of the Higher Education Academy'sdrive to supportUniversities in their strategies for improving the student learning experience and is set within the context of the Government's White Paper on the future of higher education. The University of East London is playing a leading roleby participating in Phase 1 of the benchmarking programme and it is anticipatedthatthe programmewillhave asignificant influenceinthe implementation of the University'steaching and learning strategy - in particular, by encouraging a change management approach to the use of e-learning."
The principal methodology for the research is the Embedding Learning Technologies Institutionally (ELTI) Survey originally developed by the University of Bristol and which we have redesigned.
Other supporting research methods include: surveys to academics, some services and students, focus groups, semi-structured interviews and content analysis of documents. Dina explains: “While this project feeds into national research and we will be compared to other Universities nationally, our primary purpose is to know our own profile. We want to identify our strengths and our weaknesses in e-learning so we know where to improve and what to build on. This is very practical research and the whole university will benefit.”
All data collection activities should be completed by the end of February 2007. Dina would like as many people as possible to participate in the research ensuring we get the most relevant and reliable data. The link to survey will be going out to everyone shortly – so please take the time to fill it in and return it.
The LERI Annual Event will take place on Thursday 11 Jan. Four of LERI's Visiting Professors David Powell John Newbiggin, Richard Sumray and Paul Brickell will discuss the cultural festival of the Olympics and the LERI 2006 Annual Report will be launched.
For further information please contact Emma Roberts on Ext. 6026 or 7216, Rising East: the East London heritage issue www.risingeast.org
7pm Docklands Campus, Business School Lecture Theatre Weds 13 December
Inaugural lecture by Professor Lizbeth Goodman, followed by exhibition, performance and display in SMARTlab Multimedia Institute.
For more information visit www.uel.ac.uk/lectureseries
You’ll have noticed banners going up on our Stratford and Docklands campuses for the Knowledge Dock ‘Enterprise Factor’ (or E-Factor) Business Plan competition. E-Factor is a marvellous opportunity for start-up businesses to win a very handy £10,000 to transform their ‘on paper’ idea to a fully functional business. Please let your students and potential applicants know.
For more information visit www.knowledgedock.com/efactor
To conduct your own search of current funding opportunities, or to set up email alerts specific to your interests, visit www.researchresearch.com. If you intend to submit an application for funding please contact Becky Whitham in the Graduate School.
ESRC: Targeted Initiative on Science and Mathematics Education
Deadline: 4pm 24th January 2007
Outline applications are invited for research projects capable of leading to significant increases in participation in science, mathematics and related disciplines in schools and colleges and significant enhancements in learners' achievement in science and mathematics by children and young people in the UK up to, and including, A level and transitions into higher education or the workplace. Projects proposals should be of up to 4 (exceptionally 5) years for research to start from autumn 2007.Applications must be submitted through JeS.
ESRC/NERC: Transdisciplinary Research Seminar Competition
Deadline: 8th February 2007
The scheme aims to support the development of research across social and natural sciences. The focus of the 2006/07 competition is sustaining future ecosystem services. Proposals should bring together economists, social and environmental scientists, other experts and stakeholders to explore and develop ecosystems services approaches and help to build research capacity for future interdisciplinary research in this field.
Leverhulme: Early Career Fellowships
Deadline: applications will be accepted between 1 January and 13 March 2007
Intended to provide career development opportunities for those with a proven record of research who do not hold, or have not held a full-time established academic post in a UK university or comparable institution in the UK. Applicants should be under the age of 35, hold a degree from a UK institution and hold an awarded doctorate or have equivalent research experience. Candidates from all fields of research are eligible to apply.
Our Institute for Performing Arts Development presents Out of Site, Surviving Oedipus and Urban Myths.a mixture of film and performance form the BA Performing Arts/BA Theatre Studies - fromFriday 15 December 7.30pm Stratford Circus Theatre Square Stratford London E15 1BX
Out of Site - Six short digital films represent moments of performances from the heart of London's retail centre to its forgotten resting places
Surviving Oedipus - Incest and murder abound in a quest for city renewal
Urban Myths - is London a public city? What happens when the Olympic bid gets deconstructed or when a young woman gets more than she bargained for?
All staff and students welcome. Tickets available on the door. Entrance FREE.
Monday 11 December, 6.30 pm - 8.30pm, Stratford Town Hall.
Your opportunity to put questions directly to the bodies building and hosting the London 2012 Games. Places are FREE. For further information and details of how to register go to www.newham.com/2012Games/EventsAndConferences/Events/Ask+the+experts+-+Monday+11+December.htm
For details visithttp://www.uel.ac.uk/staff-development/documents/ForthcomingStaffDevelopmentCoursesl--Nov06-Jan07-2.doc
Brush up your IT skills and get an internationally recognised qualification online. Contact Greg Price, Organisational Development Manager on ext 4361 or email g.price@uel.ac.uk
Many of us will have noticed the black vinyl lettering just above the entrance to the West Building outside Oscar’s.
You crack me up is a text-based art work by Lucy Tate one of our third year Fine Art students. This piece measures 160cm in length and each letter measures 12cm in height.
Lucy selects phrases from comments she overhears or reads and likes the presence of the work to be subtle. This means only some people will notice it and only a few of them will remember or think about it.
Lucy said: “I choose places where I think the lettering will blend in to its surroundings; I specifically don’t want the work to be obviously visible.”
Dare James has won a special award from the Business School in recognition of his success as an undergraduate student on his BA (Hons) degree in Accounting and Finance.
Dare received the Ede & Ravenscroft Prize for highest achieving second year student from Robert Bell, Head of our Business School in November.
Dare said: “I am delighted to have won this award. I’ve worked hard on my degree and benefited greatly from the support and guidance of all my tutors. After graduating I hope to gain the professional ACCA accounting qualification and go on to a successful career in the field.”
Carolyn Malinowski, Programme Leader for Accounting and Finance said: “Dare’s an exceptional student who acts on his own initiative and does more than the lecturers ask of him. I’m sure he’s got a tremendous future ahead of him, in whichever area of accounting or finance he decides to go into.“
If you have a story or some information for In Focus update email them to me Karen O'Connor at infocus@uel.ac.uk.
Please print off copies of In Focus update for colleagues who may not have easy access to email.
© 2006
