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Welcome to in Focus Update… |
Past Issues << | Issue 212: Tuesday 14 September 2010 |
Enrolment Week 20-24 September - Important InformationUEL is expecting approximately 6500 applicants to enrol on courses on campus starting in September 2010. This year the enrolment operation has been reviewed to ensure the student experience is improved by making the process more straight forward and providing extra support to students. The online enrolment task has also been reviewed to make it more user-friendly and easier and faster to complete. Online enrolment opened in June 2010, 1 month earlier compared with last year.
So far 2891 new applicants have already fully enrolled – over a thousand more compared with last year – and approximately 550 of these students have already collected their ID cards.
As per last year the morning session of the first day of induction week (Monday 20 September) will be dedicated to students who have fully enrolled and need ID cards only: approximately 1200 students will be invited to this session, 200 more than last year as the number of id card stations on the Trading Floor has been increased. All the measures to encourage students to enrol and collect id cards early will contribute to a reduction in queues during Induction week and therefore staff will be able to dedicate more time to students who require additional support and / or late applicants who have not yet enrolled on-line.
From Monday afternoon each School will be allocated a slot (www.uel.ac.uk/firstweek) for their students to collect their ID cards and complete their enrolment, if necessary. The afternoon of Friday 24 September will be dedicated to a mop up session for any new student that missed their School slot. The week commencing 27 September will be dedicated to support returning students who need to re-enrol online, although new students who have not enrolled or collected their ID card beforehand will also be accepted.
This year the enrolment deadline has been moved forward to Friday 1 October 2010 for Home/EU students. Nevertheless there will be sessions on the Trading Floor from 4 to 8 October 2010 to support late enrolment, but only for approved students.
International Enrolment - Important Information In the light of external factors which are impacting on students being able to obtain a visa, most notably in India, Adrienne Clarke, Director of International Office and John Shaw, Pro Vice Chancellor, have decided to extend the latest date to enrol for international students coming from overseas as follows:
From Friday 1st October to Wednesday 6th October it is estimated that UEL will enrol up to 50 additional international students with this minor extension
It is not felt that it is in the interest of either the students or the university to extend it beyond this date.
Issues that need to be addressed to ensure that students who start late have the best possible experience are as follows:
- Attendance -
To ensure students do not fall foul of our attendance policy the need for 100% attendance will be highlighted in our supporting documentation and at enrolment.
- Registering for modules - UEL needs to know when and how students register for their modules for all schools. This information will be given to students with their ID cards at enrolment.
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Help Desks - School help desks must be open 9 - 5.30 (preferably 6) during weeks 1 and 2 (i.e. up to and including Friday 8th October)
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Credit Control, Registry and the International Office - Colleagues from these areas will need to stay on the Trading Floor on Friday 8th October until all students have been dealt with (as far as is humanly possible) so that the students can attend classes from Monday 11th. Students must not be asked to return to complete any stages of enrolment the following week.
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Communication - All internal and external communication relating to this must go via the International Office
For more information please visit www.uel.ac.uk/international
The new e-zine will launch tomorrow ready for the arrival of International students and for first week. 'the universe' is a collaboration between UEL's Communications team and a group of student writers, photographers and editors. It will be accessible via UEL direct. The fortnightly
e-zine will be a one-stop shop for student news, events and entertainment together with important study and work-related announcements.
Student survey reveals happy students at UELUEL has seen a 4% increase in undergraduate student satisfaction in the National Student Survey (NSS) published last month.
According to the NSS, 76% of UEL undergraduates are satisfied with the quality of their course, up from 72% in 2009. The survey is published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) to help maintain standards and students are asked about every aspect of their university experience.
Go to http://www.uel.ac.uk/news/press_releases/NationalStudentSurvey.htm for more information
The new on line version of the Learning and Development Handbook 20010/2011 has now been launched. This can be found at http://www.uel.ac.uk/staff-development/handbook.htm or http://www.uel.ac.uk/staff-development/handbook/documents/ldh-online.swf
The online version is an exciting innovation as it works interactively and is explicitly linked to our Transformation for Excellence strategic objectives. UEL has exceptional staff at all levels, and a key objective in our strategy is to build on this strength. We aim to ensure that UEL maintains an outstanding workforce, with professionalism evident in all that we do. We are creating an environment in which talent is recognised, success is rewarded, and where all staff have the opportunity to play a full role in our future. The Learning and Development Handbook demonstrates UEL’s strong commitment to learning and development for all staff.
Knowledge Dock’s Conference & Events has been short listed again this year for the Customer Focus Award in the Docklands Business Club Chamber of Commerce 2010 Awards.
This year the finalists for Customer Focus were so close they had to choose four instead of the usual three applicants to go through. Knowledge Dock Conference & Events are up against finalists including the O2 and London City Airport! The Awards take place on 22 September 2010.
Karen Wilton hopes that we can top last year’s placing of coming second with ‘Highly Commended’
For the latest on our activities visit the news releases section of our website www.uel.ac.uk/news
Key dates for International (non EU) students this week:
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Wednesday 15th September: Airport pickup
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Thursday 16th September: Welcome events
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Friday 17th September: Enrolment
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Saturday 18th September: Tour of the Olympic site
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Sunday 19th September: London tour including river boat tour
http://www.uel.ac.uk/international/orientation/welcome-programme.htm
Key dates for Clearing:
- Friday 17 Sep 2010 Telephone Centre closes
- Saturday 18 Sep 2010 Moving in Weekend for Student Halls of Residence
- Monday 20 Sep 2010 First Week commences
- Monday 27 Sep Teaching Starts
Open House Weekend
CASS School of Education, Stratford Campus, Saturday 18 September, 1- 5pm
For more information, visit www.openhouseweekend.org.uk
Tour of Britain, Saturday 18 September
Once again The Tour of Britain will see this year’s final stage being hosted by the Olympic and Para Olympic Borough of Newham. Come and show your support, as the cyclists pass along the dockside of UEL's Docklands Campus, towards the finishing line of the race. For more details of the route, visit HERE
Newham Waterfront Festival, Saturday 18 September 11am-9pm
A fantastic free celebration of fine food, music and entertainment set within London’s historic docklands. For more information go to
www.waterfrontfestival.co.uk
How green is your department?
If you think your team could be doing more to help the environment, but don’t know where to start, help is at hand! UEL has signed up to ‘Green Impact’, an NUS scheme to help university departments to reduce their impact.
Only 15 spaces are available, and awards are up for grabs for the best departments. Curious? Find out more at our drop-in welcome lunch, which includes free food, goodie bags, and a film screening of ‘The Story of Stuff’. See you there!
Docklands: 27 Sept, 12-2pm, Room EB G.09
Stratford: 28 Sept, 12-2pm, Room RB G.19
Contact Jon Emmett: j.emmett@uel.ac.uk www.uel.ac.uk/GreenThing/GreenImpact
Living Black Scientists - Dana Centre, Tuesday 28 September 2010 19:00 - 20:45pm
Places are free BUT need to be booked by phone 020 7942 4040 or e-mail: tickets@danacentre.org.uk
UEL Open Days
Please note that the Aug/Sept open day events are split between campuses. Book online at www.uel.ac.uk/openday
For more information about Open Days, contact Vicky Rossiter on v.rossiter@uel.ac.uk
Open Day |
Saturday 16 October |
12–4pm |
Stratford/ |
All start dates |
Alumni reception with Professor Anthony Heath, 20 October 6-9pm
Professor Anthony Heath, Oxford Professor of Sociology is visiting UEL to give a talk to our students, staff and alumni at the WB Lecture Theatre. The lecture will be followed by a buffet and drinks reception. We will be expecting at least 70 alumni plus students and staff. For more background information about Professor Heath click HERE
National Energy Saving Week 25- 29 October
The aim is to
Reduce staff and student energy consumption: save money, contribute to Acorn EMS accreditation, and improve Green League position. For further information, please contact Jonathan Emmett on j.emmett@uel.ac.uk
A wide range of health, safety and wellbeing exhibitors will be present, there will also be several competitions and our ever popular goody bags. So whether you want to check your fitness levels, get some advice on healthy eating, find out about stress management or have a soothing massage, put the dates in your diary now. Staff and Students ALL WELCOME
Tuesday 2 November Stratford Campus Computer Centre- 10am- 4pm
Tuesday 9 November Docklands Campus East Building 10am- 4pm
See Events Calendar for a full listing: www.uel.ac.uk/marketing/support/eventscalendar.htm
Sports Fair 2010An opportunity for all new and returning students to find out about what sports and activities UEL has to offer. UELSports are organising 3 days of everything relating to sport and physical activity at UEL across 2 campuses between 10am till 4pm:
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Docklands (outside on the square): Monday 20th + Tuesday 21st September
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Stratford (outside on the green): Thursday 23rd September
All the sports clubs will be there so this will be an opportunity to come down and speak to them and find out if they are having trials, when and where they train and ask any other questions that they might have.
There will also be an opportunity for everyone to watch and even have a go in a selection of activities such as, rowing ergs, volleyball, boxing (on selected days), tennis, football penalty shoot out, Olympic weightlifting (on selected days), basketball, 60m sprint and tug of war.
External Research Funding Opportunity News (supplied by the UEL Graduate School)
Technology Strategy Board, Metadata: Increasing the Value of Digital Content (fast track projects). Deadline: 21 October 2010. TSB has allocated up to £5m to invest in collaborative R&D projects that will demonstrate how businesses may increase revenues from the metadata relating to their digital content. While the internet has enabled digital content industries to gain greater access to the global market, it has made it more difficult to control, manage and monetise digital assets. These companies are challenged by illegal file sharing and by the shift of advertising to online media. Digital content companies can no longer rely on historic business models but need to secure other sources of income. Better metadata systems – ways of storing information about individual items of content – offer a possible route to improving consumer access to content. This competition addresses the new challenge of generating revenue from digital content, by supporting projects that demonstrate the value of metadata. Visit the TSB’s website for more information.
Medical Research Council (MRC), the National Prevention Research Initiative (NPRI) Phase 4 Funding Call. Deadline for outline proposals: 3 November 2010, 4:00 pm. The National Prevention Research Initiative (NPRI) Funding Partners are delighted to announce a further funding call under NPRI Phase 4. The NPRI is a national initiative made up of government departments, research councils and major medical charities that are working together to encourage and support research into chronic disease prevention. Its core aim is to develop and implement successful, cost-effective interventions that reduce people’s risk of developing major diseases by influencing their health behaviours. A £10 million fund has been committed by The National Prevention Research Initiative (NPRI), managed by the Medical Research Council (MRC), in its drive to prevent some of the UK’s most prominent diseases and conditions, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, stroke and dementia. For more information visit the Call’s website.
Royal Academy of Engineering, International Travel Grants. Deadline: Open. This scheme is intended to help engineering researchers in the UK make study visits overseas enabling them to remain at the forefront of new developments and be aware of corresponding activity overseas. It is also a means of maintaining the prestige of the nation’s engineering overseas. The scheme is open to postgraduate students, doctoral and postdoctoral researchers; academic staff involved in research and chartered engineers in UK universities and industry. Visit the Academy’s website for more information.
Leverhulme Trust, Research Programme Grants Themes Announced. Deadline for applications: 12 January 2011, 4.00 pm. The Leverhulme Trust has announced the three themes for the award of Research Programme Grants in 2011. Each of these grants will be for sums of up to £1,750,000 and will enable research of up to five years duration to be conducted on a set of inter-linked projects lying within the over-arching theme. The themes selected for the 2011 competition are:
- Intergenerational Justice: Research will derive from the questions whether the interests of future generations are to be considered in making decisions on current concerns; and whether the current generation is damaging the prospects of future generations. The research problem has economic, legal, philosophical, ethical, theological, political, anthropological and psychological aspects to it.
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Resilience: refers to the capability and capacity of social and physical systems to withstand change in responding major challenges resulting from a number of changes in the world. Developing social, economic, physical, environmental and structural resilience is critical for long-term survival. Research will focus on consequences of change.
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Science and Politics: Research will focus on systematic investigation of the interaction of political decision and scientific opinion; and the ethical and socio-economic issues linking society, scientific inquiry and political direction.
Visit the Trust’s Website for more information.
European Commission, Directorate General for Research. FP7 Marie Curie Actions: Initial training networks. Deadline 26 January 2011. The objective is that institutions which are actively involved in research training (universities, public and private research centres, companies, SME, spin-offs, etc) set up a network and collaborate to recruit research fellows and provide them with opportunities to undertake research in the context of a joint research training programme. The joint research training programme should respond to well identified needs in defined scientific or technological areas, expose the researcher to other sectors including private companies, and offer a comprehensive set of complementary skills (entrepreneurship, IPR, etc.). Any thematic area is eligible for funding, and there is no limit in the budget requested provided all the costs are justified. Visit the Commission’s website for more information.
European Commission, Directorate General for Research. FP7 Marie Curie Actions: Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways IAPP. Deadline 7 December 2010. The IAPP action seeks to enhance industry-academia cooperation in terms of research training, career development and knowledge sharing, in particular with SMEs, and including traditional manufacturing industries. Participants under this action are one or more research organisations (e.g. universities/research centres) and one or more commercial enterprises, in particular SMEs, that propose a project based on a joint cooperation programme. The usual duration of an IAPP project is 48 months. Any thematic area is eligible for funding, and there is no limit in the budget requested provided all the costs are justified. Follow the Call’s link for more information.
Missed an Update? All previously advertised funding opportunities are archived until their date of expiry at http://www.uel.ac.uk/gradschool/research/ResearchUpdate.htm or http://www.uel.ac.uk/gradschool/research/euroupdate.htm
Free training sessions will be held for staff in departments with new Oce MFD (multi functional device) printers. Learn how to use the machines to their maximum potential including functions such as scanning, double-sided printing and other time/energy saving features.
Sessions are as follows, staff can either contact their administrators for further information or just turn up to the drop-in sessions:
Wednesday 15th September
Docklands
10am - HSS
11am - CITE
12-1pm Drop in session to be held in the Print Centre
Stratford
2:30pm - Access Centre
3:30-4:30 - Drop in Session University House Room 1.04
Thursday 16th September
Docklands
10am - HSS
11am -12pm - Drop in session to be held in the Print Centre
Stratford
2pm - HAB
3:30pm - Duncan House, Law School Room 009
The CALL for LEO projects for the academic year 2010-11 is NOW OPEN
This year projects are sought that will address the themes of :
* Assessment
* Feedback
* Inclusive Learning and Teaching
Please note:
- selection of projects will be made on a competitive basis
- projects must be completed within the current academic year (2010-11)
- funding is available for small (up to £3,000), medium (up to £5,000), and larger projects (up to £10,000)
- funding is for innovation and evaluation projects that are beyond the range or scope of usual academic or service practice
- larger projects will normally represent collaborative work between teams from different schools and/or services .
Further details are available at: http://www.uel.ac.uk/lta/funding/leo.htm. The closing date for proposals is 5pm FRIDAY 17th September 2010. Feedback will be given within 1 month after the closing date.
For Learning and Development Course dates see: www.uel.ac.uk/staff-development/handbook
Please send comments or contributions for in Focus Update to: infocus@uel.ac.uk
To contribute a UEL news item please supply a headline (c. 10 words), short paragraph (c. 50-100 words) with a call to action (email / web link or phone) together with a photo.
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© 2010
