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Welcome to in Focus Update… |
Past Issues << | Issue 235: 15 March 2011 |
On behalf of the University of East London, I would like to express our shock and sadness at the devastation left by last week’s Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami. I speak for all my colleagues, both staff and students, when I say that our heartfelt sympathies go out to those affected. We have of course contacted all of our Japanese students and will continue to offer them our support during this period.
Best wishes
Professor Patrick McGhee
Vice-Chancellor
UEL will open its new world-class sports-centre to Newham residents in early 2012. As part of celebrations to mark the final months of building work, a time-capsule was placed beneath the foundations of the centre on Friday 11 March, which will be re-opened fifty years from now, in 2061. Among the items placed in the capsule were pictures drawn by pupils from Drew Primary School in the Royal Docks, who were represented at the event by 9 year old classmates Neve Hughes and Kezia Abloso, along with Deputy Head Teacher Nicky Knight. Other items included in the capsule, which was designed and built by UEL student Holly Williams, were photos of various UEL sports teams and a unique badge provided by the US Olympic Committee. For the full story, and to watch footage of the event, visit bit.ly/uel_timecapsule To find out more about membership and to register your interest in joining SportsDock email sportsdock@uel.ac.uk or see sportsdock.co.uk
New research findings counteract the widely held belief that the media is destroying the imaginative play of children. New research by the Institute of Education, UEL and the University of Sheffield, a ground-breaking website (bl.uk/playtimes) from the British Library, and a documentary film produced by UEL, show that, rather than dying out as some fear, children's play is in robust health. By observing play over two years in playgrounds in Sheffield and London, researchers have found that games consoles, pop music and television actually enrich children's pretend play. The findings and outcomes of this 2 year project, Children's Playground Games and Songs in the New Media Age, (report link – http://tinyurl.com/6cssrat), will be unveiled at the British Library today (15 March).
Jewish and Muslim UEL students joined forces with interfaith group, the Coexistence Trust, to promote volunteering and interfaith relations, on Docklands Campus on Thursday (10 March). Elie Gottlieb, a Jewish second year psychology student, helped to set up a multicoloured 'crystal' dome in University Square before encouraging passersby to sign up for volunteering projects. The Coexistence Trust, which works with students of different faiths across the country, believes such initiatives will help students of different faiths to develop a better understanding of each other. For the full story visit bit.ly/coexistence_trust
A ground-breaking study will see researchers from UEL using eye-tracking technology to establish if future language, social and attention weaknesses can be identified in babies as young as six months. Being able to predict weaknesses in the critical pre-school years would enable professionals to develop targeted interventions, and increase the long-term chances that babies born in some of the UK’s most deprived areas can enter school with an equal chance of success. See bit.ly/Babylab for the full story.
Corporate Marketing is currently leading on a project to help to raise the profile of UEL’s research. A team of researchers has been appointed to the project and one of the main objectives of the team is to cluster the research expertise into one of the six strategic themes identified by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor. The project team will be meeting with the various Schools’ Research & Knowledge Exchange leaders, Research Institutes and Centres’ Directors to help us develop a rich picture of the research expertise and activities and to identify key academics and researchers that need to be interviewed. Due to the complexity and sheer scope of this project, our efforts will initially focus on colleagues whose research output is aligned to one of the six strategic themes and if they have received external funding for their research. However we do acknowledge that certain colleagues’ research activities will fall outside these parameters. If this is the case and you feel that your research can demonstrate world leading research excellence, then please contact Catherine Downes via c.downes@uel.ac.uk
UEL's strategy 'Transformation for Excellence' set out nine strategic objectives for 2015. The Global Reach programme board is one of nine programme boards which have been set up to achieve these strategic objectives. Global Reach covers areas such as;
– Establishing overseas centres and developing partnerships
– On-campus internationalisation through travel bursaries and institution-wide cultural competence and language schemes
– Setting up a UEL exam board
– Developing international promotional material
– Improving the international student experience
– Providing comprehensive data to inform our international strategy
Further information about the Global Reach programme board can be found on the Strategic Planning website via http://bit.ly/global_reach
John Shaw
Pro Vice-Chancellor International
Chair of Global Reach Programme Board
The first winner of the UEL cash prize draw was selected on Friday, 11 March. Congratulations to Ikechukwu Nwobodo, a combined honours student in the School of Computing, IT & Engineering. Ikechukwu was presented with a cheque for £500 by Pro Vice-Chancellor Learning, Teaching and Student Experience, Graham Curtis, and Representation & Programme Reps Coordinator from UELSU, Yousuf Joondan. Graham Curtis commented, “I am delighted that Ikechukwu is the first winner of our 3 prize draws and I look forward to presenting the next £500 prize draw at the end of March.” Please encourage any final-year undergraduate students who haven’t yet filled out the survey to do so via thestudentsurvey.com For the full story see the current issue of 'your universe': bit.ly/nss_winner
What is play? How do children benefit from play? What sort of play helps children best to develop when they are young? How can parents encourage healthy play? If you would like to gain more ideas and inspiration for play, please come to our Parents’ Forum on Healthy Play, at Children’s Garden (Docklands Campus) on Wednesday 16 March, 5 – 6pm. Creche bookable. Anyone interested is welcome! For more information contact t.m.bishop@uel.ac.uk
Following a successful JISC funding bid for the Clustering and Enhancing Digital Archives for Research Project (CEDAR), a collaboration between Library and Learning Services and IPAD, the Online Theatre Histories Archive has been launched. As part of the project, the website has been embedded in teaching and learning at partner institutions the University of Sheffield, University of Nottingham and Royal Holloway University of London and is also used in the UEL module “Performing the Archive”. There are over 15,000 images available relating to East End Theatres and the website encourages community engagement. Users can create their own collections of digital objects and make notes on images as well as contribute to enhancing the metadata for materials. To access the archive visit otha.org.uk
An advanced laboratory has been opened at the Hackney-based Petchey Academy following a donation of equipment by UEL. The Clinical Skills Lab aims to introduce a university level medical research facility into a secondary school environment. Using advanced molecular biology equipment donated by UEL, children from year 7 and above will investigate the molecular nature of inheritance and diseases like Sickle Cell Anaemia. The lab was officially opened by UEL Vice-Chancellor Professor Patrick McGhee with members from the Jack Petchey Foundation on Wednesday 9 March.
Many students have told us they would like help with researching their assignments. In response, Libraries & Learning Services have developed an online guide that assists students through the first stages of research. The guide looks at four major areas: identifying, finding, evaluating and referencing information. Using videos, help guides, demos and quizzes, it gives students step-by-step help whenever and wherever it’s needed. ‘Info skills’ was launched to all students and staff across UEL at the beginning of March, and can be accessed via uel.ac.uk/infoskills It was produced by Library & Learning Services in collaboration with UELconnect, and funded by Academic Practice & Student Experience. For more information please contact Ella Mitchell via e.mitchell@uel.ac.uk or 020 8223 2961.
The Library and Learning Services have extended the very popular virtual service to evenings and weekends during term time. Students can chat live to a librarian where ever they may be in the world. As the LLS continues to expand their global reach, students as far away as Malaysia are finding this a very useful way of getting quick answers to their enquiries. The LLS is keen for all students to gain easy access to their wealth of electronic resources. To access the Ask-A -Librarian service visit uel.ac.uk/lls/support/askalibrarian.htm Some of the enquiries relate not just to the Library but to other Services and Schools too. In these cases, the LLS forwards these enquiries on to the relevant teams. For more information on all of the above contact s.n.okolo@uel.ac.uk
Last Wednesday (9 March) saw Residential Services hold its Accommodation Fair on Docklands Campus, with great success. A wealth of information was available to students going into years 2 – 4, both from UEL staff members and from 10 of the leading providers of local and student accommodation. All of the rooms for returning students were filled, as well as those for the summer period. The Fair also coincided with the news that Residential Services received excellent results from their Customer Survey for March in Residences, with overall satisfaction rates rising from 73.4% in October to 79.7%, and 62.2% of residents rating the Residential Team as excellent or very good. The Student Health & Wellbeing Team was also on hand at the Fair, offering advice on healthy living and raising awareness of the 2011 National Non Smoking Day campaign to a total of 245 students. The team runs Stop Smoking clinics at UEL – to find out more contact wellbeing@uel.ac.uk or 020 8223 6231.
On Monday 21 February, the Counselor for Cultural & Scientific Affairs from the Cuban Embassy, Mr. Rafael Sardiña González, visited the School of Psychology at Stratford Campus. His visit was part of the link Senior Lecturer Dr Maria Castro has been developing with Cuba, which has been supported by the University's Global Reach initiative. Donald Ridley, the champion for International Development for the School of Psychology, and the five Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology trainees – Daniela Fernandez Catherall, Stephanie Doig, Eleanor Cross, Elisabeth Matheson and Lisa Wood (pictured) – welcomed the Counselor, and will themselves be making a visit to Cuba this April. The project involves three Cuban institutions and will investigate comparative aspects of mental health services between the UK and Cuba. For more information contact d.ridley@uel.ac.uk
Continuum Director John Storan was invited by Danny Kennedy, the Minister for Employment and Learning for Northern Ireland, to take part in the launch of the Regional Strategy for Widening Participation in HE. John has been working as an advisor for widening participation for the last 8 years, during which he has worked closely with both universities and colleges as well as the Department for Employment and Learning. Commenting on the launch of the strategy, John said, “The launch of this strategy is an important landmark in widening participation in Northern Ireland. Key stakeholders including government departments, the universities, further education colleges, community groups and many other relevant stakeholder organisations have been involved in its development. It therefore represents the first integrated and regional approach to the issue.” For more information please contact j.storan@uel.ac.uk
Teacher educators from the Cass School of Education were recently joined by colleagues from Hull, Wolverhampton, Canterbury, Middlesex and Anglia Ruskin to take part in a teacher education event, the first in a series of national events organised by ESCalate. ESCalate, the HEA’s education subject centre, are exploring the nature of professional learning and teacher education in the digital age in a series of events taking place over the next few months. The UEL event, to launch the series, was jointly hosted by ESCalate and Warren Kidd (Cass School of Education). The workshop day, filmed by members of UELConnect, will become part of a wider case study of digital and online resources culminating in a report co-authored by Julie Hughes (ESCalate and University of Wolverhampton) and Warren Kidd, due end of summer 2011.
For the latest on our activities visit the news releases section of our website www.uel.ac.uk/news
Open Day dates in 2011
If you are planning any School recruitment events over the coming year please contact your account manager in the Student Recruitment & Marketing Team who will be able to provide you with advice and support. You can find details of all account managers by visiting uel.ac.uk/marketing/srm/accountmanagers.htm
| Date | Event | Time of event | Times staff required to work | Campus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday 25 June |
General (UG & PG) open day | 12 – 4pm |
9 – 5pm | Docklands and Stratford |
Saturday 20 August |
Clearing application drop-in day |
12 – 4pm |
9 – 5pm |
Docklands |
The life of Brian (the Brain!): Wednesday 16 March, 6 – 9pm (CC.1.01, Stratford Campus)
As part of International Brain Awareness Week, Dr Ashok Jansari will be hosting a Brain Awareness Day at the School of Psychology. The event will include a public lecture entitled ‘The Life of Brian (the Brain!)’, giving a tour of the history of our understanding of the brain. This is a free event and all are welcome. For more information please contact Dr Jansari via
a.jansari@uel.ac.uk
Talking Business The Events Series – Entrepreneurship comes with hard work, integrity and honesty: Thursday 17 March, 4 – 5pm (EB.G.16, Docklands Campus)
Sir Gulam Noon MBE, who last year received an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from RDBS, will host this event, exploring Entrepreneurship, Integrity and Vision for Business. A man who with over forty years of business success, has made millions from preparing ready meals made from authentic Indian, Chinese and Thai food. This free event is open to all UEL staff and students. See bit.ly/gulamnoon to register.
Promoting Diaspora cross-border SMEs Development and Trade: Friday 18 March, 10am – 3pm (AE.1.01, Stratford Campus)
The Petchey Centre for Entrepreneurship, in collaboration with Jönköping University, Sweden, and DiasporaLink, will host a free workshop to develop operational networks and explore the various opportunities to develop joint ventures and other projects. Participants will also be given the opportunity to enter a free lottery competition which will be drawn during the workshop. All staff are welcome but RSVP is essential: http://bit.ly/fiDGPH For more information contact 07595 952 748.
International Development Guest Lecture Series – Fighting Poverty Around the World and Just Around the Corner: Tuesday 22 March, 5pm (EB.3.19, Docklands Campus)
The guest speaker will be Kate Wareing, UK Poverty Programme Director at Oxfam. For more information contact Susannah Pickering-Saqqa (Lecturer in International Development and NGO Management) via s.pickering-saqqa@uel.ac.uk
Patterns of teacher engagement in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities: Tuesday 22 March, 5pm (ED.2.01, Stratford Campus)
The presenter will be Dr Amelia Roberts. Everyone is welcome to attend. For further information contact Veronica Burton via v.a.burton@uel.ac.uk
What is UEL doing about Olympics and Paralympics? Wednesday 23 March, 1 – 2pm (CC.1.01, Stratford Campus); Thursday 24 March, 1 – 2pm (EB.G.08, Docklands Campus)
John Lock, Director of UEL's 2012 Office, will give a talk followed by a Q&A session. This free event is open to all students, staff and friends.
Ofsted Celebration Event: Thursday 24 March, 3 – 5pm (Children’s Garden Early Years Centre, Docklands Campus)
A recent report from Ofsted found the Children’s Garden to be 'outstanding' in all areas. Join the nursey staff in a small celebration at the Children's Garden on 24 March. Refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP to Thais Bishop via t.m.bishop@uel.ac.uk
TWENTY:TWELVE exhibition: Thursday 24 – Tuesday 29 March (The CAMP, 70 – 74 City Road EC1Y 2BJ)
35 UEL fine art students will be holding an exhibition of their works at The CAMP. The opening night will include performances, videos, poetry and live music followed by a DJ. For more information visit bit.ly/uel_twentytwelve
Contested meanings of social enterprise in the English health services: Friday 25 March, 2 – 3.30pm (UH3.04, Stratford Campus)
This seminar will be presented by Professor Fergus Lyon fromthe centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research at Middlesex University. Fergus is Director of the ESRC-funded Social Enterprise Research Capacity Building Cluster and Associate Director (social enterprise)for the Third Sector Research Centre, a part of the Cabinet Office. He will be presenting some of its current work on social enterprises in the health sector. All are welcome. Contact m.bertotti@uel.ac.uk for more information.
‘Synaesthesia as a window into human nature’, by Edward Hubbard: Friday 25 March, 6pm (CC.1.01, Stratford Campus)
What do David Hockney, Stephen Fry, Vladimir Nabokov, Olivier Messiaen and Stevie Wonder all have in common? They all have (or had) synaesthesia, a 'union of the senses'. For some synaesthetes, listening to a piece of music may also cause them to see specific colours, while for others letters or numbers are always tinged a certain colour. This talk will discuss recent research, showing what synaesthetes already know: synaesthesia is real. For more information see bit.ly/hubbard, email synaesthesia@uel.ac.uk or contact Mary Spiller on 020 8223 4004. For information about synaesthesia see bit.ly/uel_syn
UK Synaesthesia Association Annual Conference: Saturday 26 – Sunday 27 March (CC.1.01, Stratford Campus)
The School of Psychology's Mary Spiller and Ashok Jansari are pleased to be hosting the annual conference of the UK Synaesthesia Association. This annual event includes presentations from scientists, synaesthetes and artists from the UK and abroad. They will be discussing the latest cutting-edge research as well as the fascinating experiences of individual synaesthetes. The keynote speaker will be the world-leading expert Edward Hubbard, from Vanderbilt University, USA. See uksynaesthesia.com or email synaesthesia@uel.ac.uk for further information.
Science and Football conference: Sunday 27 March, 9.30am – 5.30pm (Docklands Campus)
What does it take to work in professional football? Presenters from leading professional football teams and technology and sports brands will be discussing sports science, medicine and marketing as well as careers advice. All are welcome. Book you place online at scienceandfootball.com or telephone 0844 809 4911.
International Development Guest Lecture Series – Faith-based Response to the Pakistan Floods: Tuesday 29 March, 5pm (EB.3.19, Docklands Campus)
The guest speaker will be Saleh Saeed, Chief Executive Officer at Islamic Relief Worldwide. For more information contact Susannah Pickering-Saqqa (Lecturer in International Development and NGO Management) via s.pickering-saqqa@uel.ac.uk
How to make a real success as an entrepreneur?: Wednesday 13 April, 6 – 9.30pm (Docklands Campus)
The Alumni Development Office and Royal Docks Business School invite UEL students, staff and graduates to an alumni evening of presentations and discussions about successful entrepreneurship, networking, and food and drinks. This event is free. Please RSVP to alumni@uel.ac.uk or call 0208 223 2222 by Friday 25 March.
UEL Alumni Celebration in Lagos, Nigeria: Saturday 25 June, 7.30pm (Victoria Island location, TBC)
UEL is celebrating 35 years of the School of Law and hosting a reunion for ALL Nigerian alumni. Alumni will be joined by Pro Vice-Chancellor, International John Shaw and representatives from the School of Law and the International Office. Please RSVP to alumni@uel.ac.uk by 31 March to provide an indication of numbers attending. For further information see uel.ac.uk/alumni/events If you are in touch with any Nigerian alumni, please forward these details to them.
See Events Calendar for a full listing: www.uel.ac.uk/marketing/support/eventscalendar.htm
UELSports indoor rounders UELSports in conjunction with Rounders England have organised a weekly indoor rounders activity for staff and students to attend. This is an exciting game played indoors, and will give lots of physical activity alongside fun and friendly competition. Dust off your trainers and come along for this new activity:
– Every Friday (from Friday 18 March)
– Sarah Bonnell School, Stratford. Opposite the Stratford Campus on Water Lane
– 5.30 – 7pm
– Free of charge for the first 6 weeks. Coaching provided by qualified rounders coach (funded by Rounders England)
This activity will lead on to outdoor rounders in the summer months, planned for West Ham Park and New Beckton Park. UELSports requests that all interested participants register before attending in order to give an idea of numbers. To register, to receive further details, email d.cosford@uel.ac.uk
Attendance to Sarah Bonnel School is via the student entrance, directly off Water Lane. Participants must attend between 5.20 and 5.30pm promptly to gain access, as the school is closed outside of these times.
UELSports is sending two clubs to battle it out for cup glory in Guildford on Wednesday 23 March, and we want you to get out and cheer them on! UEL Men's Football 1st team beat Portsmouth 4 – 2 in a thrilling encounter at Terence McMillan Stadium last week to book their place in a final against the noisy neighbours, Queen Mary University of London. Meanwhile, UEL Men's Basketball 1st team face-off against UCL in a cup final that promises to be a clash of titans. Your clubs need you to get out and support them in their bids to bring the BUCS silverware back to UEL. The University of Surrey is hosting this year’s BUCS Conference cup finals, and both cup finals will be contested at Surrey Sports Park, Guildford. BUCS cup final day will be an all day affair.
Match times are to be confirmed - Check bit.ly/uel_bucs for updates.
For directions to Surrey Sports Park, visit surreysportspark.co.uk/guestinformation/howtofindus/
The UELSports third annual staff five-a-side tournament is fast approaching on Monday 4 April. Last year’s winners from the Business School will be looking forward to retaining the trophy. Get your school or service team together ASAP. The top two sides will then represent UEL in the Royal Docks five-a-side tournament on Wednesday 18 May, won last year by Team Excel. Register via d.cosford@uel.ac.uk and for further details see uel.ac.uk/sports/notices.htm
For more information on any of the above please contact uelsports@uel.ac.uk
To view the UELSports webpages visit uel.ac.uk/sports
To view the UELSports blog visit
uelsportsblog.wordpress.com
And to contribute your own sports stories to the blog see
uelsportsblog.wordpress.com/contribute-to-the-uelsports-blog
UEL Sports – ‘Get involved, Join, Learn, Participate, Train, Motivate, Compete, Enjoy’
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Please send comments or contributions for in Focus Update to: infocus@uel.ac.uk
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