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Welcome to our weekly in Focus update...... |
Past Issues << | Issue 44: Monday 19 March 2007
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We’ve teamed up with innovative bike-rental company OYBike to establish a new pay-as-you-go cycle scheme, and we’re the first university in the country to do so. Bath and Southampton are set to follow shortly. There are only three self-service bicycle rental schemes world-wide, and ours is the only one to use mobile phone technology to book out and return a bike - others use smart cards. In the next 18 months there are plans to make the bikes’ lockable rental-stations solar powered, reducing our carbon footprint even further.
16 distinctive green and yellow OY bikes are available for rent at both Duncan House and Romford Road sites of our Stratford campuses, our Docklands Campus, Gallions Reach Retail Park and Stratford Mainline Station – and the scheme operates 24/7.
Staff will be able to register free by visiting this unique URL(select item 3 on the automated message for the operator) and get the first two and a half hours FREE.
Hire rates are:
Staff
First 2 .5 hours are free
Next 30 minutes 80 pence
Then £2 an hour up to a maximum of £8 for a day.
Students
First 30 minutes free
Next 30 minutes 80 pence
Then £2 an hour up to maximum of £8 a day.
We are currently looking into an overnight rate which will probably be in the region of £8.
Insurance
Staff DO NOThave to take out additional insurance. Students and visitors are recommended to take out annual insurance for £10 against theft and damage. They may find they are already covered by their household insurance.
Self-service Bike Rental stations are situated at:
Stratford
1 rental station at Stratford mainline station
University House site
1 rental station at Stratford mainline station
Duncan House site
1 rental station
Docklands
1 Rental stations outside the Business School
1 rental station outside the main atrium of the East Building at the car park end
1 rental stations outside the Student Village bar
1 rental stations and 4 bikes at Gallions Reach (opposite Next clothing shopl)
While not included with the bike we recommend you wear protective headgear when you ride for your own safety. For the future OYBikes will be producing maps of handy locations and cycle routes, stored in the front baskets, as well the capability to deliver maps to your mobile phone!
Bernie Hanning, OYBike Chief Executive explained: “Our scheme has been successfully running in Hammersmith and Fulham for about 4 years now with things really set to take off in East London. Tower Hamlets are building an excellent cycle network and Newham Council are interested in developing their own scheme. The scheme has enormous potential for small businesses as well as large institutions and I think that when people see these bikes in use by UEL staff and students this means of transport will grow organically, city-wide.”
You can view a silent animated instruction movie on the link below: http://www.oybike.com/OYBIKE/obhome.nsf/how_it_works.html
Two students who may never have otherwise met, except for our Entrepreneurship module, were runners-up in Knowledge Dock’s February E-Factor awards.
Andrew Preston, studying Sports and Exercise Science and Felix Feng, studying Accounting and Finance scooped the E-Factor's second prize of £1000 with their plans for a ‘Power Bar’ terminal, enabling people to charge up their mobile phones in public places.
Andrew and Felix met for the first time in Semester A, 2006/7, when they both studied the Entrepreneurship module SM3028. Their application to Knowledge Dock’s E-Factor competition was based on the work they completed for the module.
Susan Fitzgerald, Combined Honours Registrar, said: “I think it’s absolutely marvellous that two students who might not have otherwise met came together through the Entrepreneurship module and worked up such an innovative business idea. Andrew and Felix will be able to use their prize money to further develop their business plan if they choose to seek investment in their business idea.”
Introduced this academic year and administered by Combined Honours, SM3028 is a pilot module called Entrepreneurship that has been offered to all full-time students, to be studied as an additional module.
Further details of future offerings of this module will be available on UEL-Direct shortly.
Caption:Module leader Razak Grady (centre) with students Andrew Preston (L) and Felix Feng (R).
23 April – 4 May The Festival is a two- week event involving an exhibition, speakers, and practical workshops led by leading artists, critics, curators, and practitioners representing the fields of fashion, design, new media, fine arts and architecture. Speakers include architect, David Adjaye and Mark Hampson from the Royal College of Art. Contributions are invited from practitioners and critics who wish to make a presentation or offer a workshop which explores the wider context of drawing.
For more information contact Sian Harris, Festival Administrator sian@uel.ac.uk 020 8223 3405
Don’t miss Careers & Jobs Live Sunday 25 March 11am - 5pm Monday 26 March 10am - 4pm
To pre-register FREE for the event and be entered to win a Plasma TV or £7000 Computer course (donated by Women in IT) simply visit www.careersandjobslive.co.uk.
We’ll have our own stand there so drop in and say Hello!
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To conduct a 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.
To find a listing of all the major competitions visit:http://www.uel.ac.uk/gradschool/events/deadlines/deadlines.htm
Dr Donald Ridley, School of Psychology
Tuesday 20 March Stratford Campus, 300LT 6.30pm
From top-level government to lower-league football, mistakes are inevitable in all walks of life. Indeed, thinking that they can ever be entirely avoided is possibly the greatest mistake of them all. Donald Ridley is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and Principal Lecturer at our School of Psycholgy. His lecture will explore the underlying reasons why individuals and organistions, despite the very best intentions and the very latest technology, will never be able to completely eradicate error.
For details and registration , please email Franc Gooding at f.gooding@uel.ac.uk or call him on 020 8223 2884
For more information visit www.uel.ac.uk/lectureseries
An astounding big-screen adaptation of Frank Miller's (SIN CITY) 300. This is the story of the battle of Thermopylae, when 300 Spartan warriors fought againts over 200,000 Persian soldiers.
The film is released on Friday 23 March, with previews at Stratford Picturehouse on Thursday 22 March.
Stratford Picturehouse can offer TWO PAIRS OF TICKETS to see the film for free. Just send us the answer to the following question: How many Spartans fought at Thermopylae? Send answers to stratfordeast.competition@picturehouses.co.uk
Monday 26 March at 7pm at Stratford Library, 3 The Gove E15
Half of a Yellow Sun, the highly anticipated novel from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is set in Nigeria during the 1960s, at the time of a vicious civil war in which a million people died and thousands were massacred in cold blood. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who grew up in Nigeria was shortlisted for the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing. Her first novel Purple Hibiscus was shortlisted for the Orange Prize.
Tickets £5 from Newham Bookshop 745 -747 Barking Road, London E13 9ER Tel: 020 8552 9993 Email: info@newhambooks.co.uk
Organised by Continuum - our research centre for widening participation, this prestigious international conference is the premier networking event for everyone with an interest in: access, widening participation, lifelong learning and student success. We expect to attract around 250 delegates from both the UK and overseas. We would also like to take the opportunity to encourage our colleagues to attend this event as a platform for their work and a great networking opportunity.
Visit http://www.f-a-c-e.org.uk/conference2007.htm today to find out more.
16 April – 8 May Our School of Distance and E-Learning is running a 15-hour short course designed forf staff who support students online, such as, in WebCT or UEL Plus.
You will learn to:
- Recognise the different kinds of support that students need online.
- Clearly identify your role and responsibilities in different tutoring contexts.
- Compare the different communication tools available online and be able to justify the choice of one over another.
- Monitor student activity, promote effective online communication and pre-empt problem situations developing.
This course is offered in a “blended learning” format, and begins with a pre-course task and a 3-hour face to face session. This is followed by approximately 10 hours of online work (some individual and some group work).
Face to face sessions take place:
- Monday 16 April 9am – 1pm (Docklands IT Cluster 10)
- Tuesday 17 April 1pm – 5pm (Stratford UH269)
Online work will take place from Wednesday 18 April – Tuesday 8 May
For further information and a booking form visit http://www.uel.ac.uk/sdel/staff_development/short_courses.htm
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
Our Employability Unit Nominated Andrews Angel Solicitors, Ilford for a National Work Experience Award because they have given several of our Law Students fantastic opportunities to undertake the valuable work experience they need to give added value to their degrees.
The award ceremony took place last Wednesday and in total there were 45 finalists competing in ten categories.
Andrews Angel Solicitors were one of five nominees in the category Best Work Experience Provider as nominated by Careers Adviser or Placement Tutor. The judges said that this category was particularly hard to judge as all the entries were of such a high standard. This was the only group with two runners-up who received a Highly Commended certificate, Andrews Angel being one and JH Richards & Co., the other. The category winner was Apex Hotels Limited.
Paul Angel, Partner Andrews Angel Solicitors said: "We are proud to have been highly commended in the category for Best Work Experience Provider as nominated by Careers Adviser or Placement Tutor. This award recognises our efforts to provide a comprehensive work experience programme to UEL students and better prepare them to apply for a training contract or otherwise enter the graduate job market."
Acclaimed actor and comedian Rob Brydon (pictured below) was on our Docklands Campus at the start of semester shooting a scene for his forthcoming series Jones the Film - Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive.
The camera crew picture above are (L-R) Rollo Hollins, Director of Photography, Director Andrew Gillman and Cameraoperator Rob Fletcher..Our Business School posed as the Welsh Records Office for the day.
The series is due out in the Spring on BBC 3
For a round-up of events see www.uel.ac.uk/events.
In Focus Update is issued each Monday morning. If you would like items included in In Focus Update please send them to me by Wednesday of the preceding week at infocus@uel.ac.uk
Please print off a copy of In Focus Update for those of your colleagues who may not have easy access to email.
© 2006
