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Welcome to in Focus Update… |
Past Issues << | Issue 249: 21 June 2011 |
UEL’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Patrick McGhee, and Pro Vice-Chancellor International, John Shaw, conferred an honorary Doctorate of the Arts on Brazilian athlete, educator, businessman and sporting facilities planner Fernando Telles Ribeiro at a ceremony which took place at the São Paulo Hilton last week. The delegation was in Brazil to firm-up academic partnerships with key institutions in the country. They visited the University of São Paulo and Fundação Getulio Vargas (one of the top private universities in Brazil), and, following the honorary awards reception, travelled to Rio de Janeiro to meet the President of the National Olympic Academy for Rio 2016. For the full story see bit.ly/uel_brazil
It seems as though the Royal Family just can’t get enough of the University of East London, as students from the Institute for Performing Arts Development (IPAD) performed at their behest for the second time in less than six weeks. In a surprise visit, Prince Charles travelled out to east London to visit businesses, individuals and organisations based at Trinity Bouy Wharf, including students from UEL’s IPAD. The visit comes less than six weeks after students wowed crowds and attracted global media attention, following a flash mob dance performance outside Buckingham Palace. For the full story see bit.ly/princecharles_ipad
A new outdoor gym at Docklands Campus has been officially opened. The facility, which is open to students, staff and the local community, was unveiled at a special event last Thursday, involving students from Kingsford Community School in Beckton. The outdoor gym has been funded by UEL and Newham Council and is situated on the Dockside. For the full story see bit.ly/outdoor_gym
UEL has announced that it has appointed a new cleaning contractor that will pay its employees the new London Living Wage (LLW) of £8.30 per hour, as announced by Boris Johnson in May. The LLW will be implemented as soon as the contract commences on 1 August 2011, despite the tender process having commenced before the announcement of the new LLW. After a tendering process that saw submissions from a number of companies, the University agreed to engage contract cleaning specialists, Nviro. UEL’s procurement process was also informed by a series of recommendations put forward by Unison and other representatives of staff working through contracts with the current supplier, Ocean. For the full story see bit.ly/llwuel
Graduate Fashion Week may represent the glamorous end of the fashion student’s calendar but as the lights go down and the banners are put away for another year, it is through securing an industry placement that most fashion students will get their first step on the ladder in this highly competitive industry. This year UEL has achieved its highest-ever placement of students in the fashion industry. In fact, 46 students, compared to just 11 in the previous year, have been placed in roles. For the full story see bit.ly/uelfashion
For the second in the series of 60-second interviews, we caught up with Liz Pearson, Project Manager for the Creative Industries project:
What was your challenge?
Our first task was to raise the profile of UEL’s creative output in the arts, culture, creative and digital sectors. This led us on to our second task – to work with colleagues in order to develop a strong identity for UEL’s creative output and communicate it to everyone.
What did you achieve?
It’s been good to see a real focus on the arts and on cultural projects. And the new School of Arts and Digital Industries will provide a real platform to bring previously disconnected areas together. Projects funded through the Creative Community initiative are attracting interest from across the country – just shows what can be achieved with a relatively small amount of money!
What does everyone need to know?
There is lots of fantastic work going on around the Creative Community projects and you can find out lots more at our Creative UEL blog: creativeuel.wordpress.com
Everyone should check out the UEL Talent website, as it’s a great way to showcase students’ work in a very visual manner: ueltalent.com
And finally the Photographic East student competition received over 100 entries. The photos were recently displayed at the Oh 3 range! exhibition in Brick Lane. It’s all very exciting stuff!
What’s next?
We’re working on branding and getting the message out to everyone about UEL’s creative projects as we speak.
Nick Gibb, the Minister of State for Schools, paid a special visit to the Cass School of Education last week. During his visit, Stephen Hillier took part in a teaching training session with Principal Lecturer, Andrew Read, and PGCE primary students, about the use of phonics and comprehension in helping children to learn to read.
UEL is launching an online version of its long-established postgraduate Diploma in Careers Guidance, the first of its type in England. From September 2011, professionals – particularly school teachers – who are interested in training to be careers advisers can complete much of the two-year course from home, making it far easier to combine with full-time work and other commitments. For the full story see bit.ly/careersadviser
UEL is celebrating the environmental achievements of staff and students in gaining a 2:1 in the People & Planet Green League. The Green League is the only comprehensive and independent league table of UK universities ranked by environmental and ethical performance. It is compiled by the UK’s largest student campaigning network, People & Planet. Improving on last year’s performance, UEL’s 2:1 classification was awarded on the strength of projects in areas including energy management, recycling, biodiversity and staff/student engagement. To find out more see peopleandplanet.org/greenleague
UEL has won a Gold award for the fourth consecutive year in The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’ prestigious Occupational Health and Safety Awards, 2011. The Gold award was collected on behalf of UEL by Del Basi, Occupational Health and Safety Manager, (pictured) during a gala ceremony in Birmingham last month. This prominent award recognises overarching health and safety management systems, including important practices such as strong leadership and workforce involvement. RoSPA Awards Manager, David Rawlins, commented, “The University of East London has shown that it is committed to striving for continuous improvement and we are delighted to honour it through the presentation of an award.” For more information see rospa.com/awards
Wiley-Blackwell have just published Qualitative Research Methods in Mental Health and Psychotherapy: A Guide for Students and Practitioners, co-edited by Dr Dave Harper (Reader in Clinical Psychology at the School of Psychology) and Dr Andrew Thompson (University of Sheffield). The textbook covers eight of the most popular qualitative methods and addresses current issues in this field including ethics, service user involvement and how to go about choosing an appropriate method for a study. Dave said, "I hope it will be a useful book for both students and practitioners".
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 and 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 |
Developing Intercultural Working Skills: Wednesday 22 June, 9am – 5pm (Knowledge Dock, Docklands Campus)
The Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Staff Network has organised a study day on Developing Intercultural Working Skills with support of The Network for Black Professionals and Mentor and Equalities Unit. To attend, contact Sonia Harding via 020 8223 6379 or s.harding@uel.ac.uk
CCSR presents: Mica Nava – Feminism, Consumption, Cosmopolitanism: Wednesday 22 June, 3.30pm – 7pm (EB.G.18, Docklands Campus)
Staff are invited to a retirement event for Mica Nava. A seminar with former and current colleagues, as well as former PhD students, will be held between 3.30 and 5.30pm. Drinks and live music will take place from 5.30pm – 7pm. Contact Maggie Humm m.humm@uel.ac.uk for further details.
Children's Garden presents Strawberry Fair: Tuesday 28 June, 12.30 – 3.30pm (Children’s Garden, Docklands Campus)
The Children’s Garden are asking all staff to help them make the fair a great success by baking cakes, donating prizes to the raffle and spreading the word of the event to family and friends. For more information contact Annette on 020 8223 2663 or a.james@uel.ac.uk
Docklands redevelopment – looking back, looking forward. Have the lessons been learnt? Tuesday 28 June, 1.45 – 5pm (WB.1.01,
Docklands Campus)
An afternoon seminar to review progress on regeneration in east London and to engage with speakers from public, private and community sectors. To book email khughes@brookes.ac.uk or call 01865 483877.
Resilience for coaches and their clients: Thursday 14 July (Docklands Campus)
For more information visit acukconference.com All UEL students and staff should register their interest through Leigh-Ann to receive discounted entry: please email l.murray@uel.ac.uk
See Events Calendar for a full listing: www.uel.ac.uk/marketing/support/eventscalendar.htm
Men’s summer futsal leagueFutsal is a South American variant of football, played indoors on a smaller court and with a smaller, heavier ball. If you have an interest in this, Barking and Dagenham’s Community Sport and Physical Activity Team is looking for at least eight teams to enter (teams of up to 10 players) a Futsal league. Six weeks of training will be offered by Essex FA to ensure that all teams are prepared!
Starts Tuesday 21 June (ongoing entries)
Every Tuesday, 7 – 8.30pm
Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Ripple Road, Dagenham, RM9 6XW
Men aged 16 and over
£10 per team, per session
To register your team please contact the Community Sport and Physical Activity Team on 020 8227 3982 or email Danielle Robson via danielle.robson@lbbd.gov.uk
For more information see bit.ly/bd_futsal
The UEL Tennis club has organised a tennis tournament for staff and students on Friday 8 July, 5pm, at West Ham Park in Stratford. The tournament will run as a mixed doubles event with balanced pairings drawn on the day. UELSports members play for free and non-members pay £4 on the day. Winners will receive a prize.
To sign up for the tennis event, please contact Nurudeen Isa via n.isa@uel.ac.uk or 07828 485961. All UEL staff and students welcome!
Friday 8 July
5 – 7pm
West Ham Park, Portway gate access, Portway, E15 3QN. Click here for a map of the Park.
Welcome to Do the Green Thing, a regular section full of information on environmental projects, tips and ideas for staff at UEL. Visit our website uel.ac.uk/greenthing or get in touch via greenthing@uel.ac.uk We’d love to hear from you!
Environment Team, Facilities
Put Sunday 31 July in your diary, to visit the Celebration of Cycling Festival at Mabley Green in the Lea Valley (just across the road from the Olympic Park). Tandems, penny farthings, tall bikes, unicycles and classic frames will all be on show, while there will be a bicycle-crafting class for kids, a bike workshop with free maintenance, maps and advice, a display of bicycle art and culture, and a cycling-related jumble sale, or ‘Bumble’ as the organisers snappily put it. The event is promised to “have the best of a summer village fete feel, with a bicycle twist” and coincides with the Hackney Wicked Art Festival. To find out more visit bit.ly/bicyclefest
…why cycling thrives in certain areas? The Sustainable Mobilities Group in HSS have been researching this very question and have amassed a wealth of information including bicycle portraits, films, zines, stories and blogs. Find out more at cyclingcultures.org.uk
The Research and Development Support (ReDS) Team is pleased to reintroduce the external funding opportunities service. The service will provide information about relevant external funding opportunities for research, and knowledge exchange, including grants and tenders. A selection of the opportunities will be promoted within inFocus on a fortnightly basis, with a more complete lists of opportunities available on the ReDS website: uel.ac.uk/reds/current_opportunities.htm
The ReDS team provides administrative and development support to all research and knowledge exchange projects across UEL. Please contact us on 020 8223 7776 or email reds@uel.ac.uk if you would like to discuss any opportunities.
Highlights:
– UKIERI Phase 2 – The British and Indian Governments are investing £5 million a year over the next five years to enhance educational links through four strands: Leadership, Innovation Partnerships, Skills Development, and Enhancing Mobility. Deadlines are Monday 25 July or Friday 5 August 2011.
– Digital R&D Fund for Arts and Culture – Arts Council England, the Arts and Humanities Research Council(AHRC) and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) new fund for projects that harness digital technologies to connect with wider audiences and explore new ways of working. The maximum value of each grant is £100,000, with funding for up to two years. The deadline is Friday 2 September 2011.
– Daiwa Foundation Awards – Enabling British and Japanese partners to collaborate on projects in most academic, professional, arts and educational fields. Grants of up to £15,000 available. Closes Friday 30 September 2011.
– AHRC Early Career Researchers – Supporting well-defined research projects that enable individual researchers to collaborate with, and bring benefits to, other individuals and organisations through research. Up to £200,000 available over five years. Apply anytime (no deadlines).
– Dunhill Medical Trust Research Grants – Support is provided for the furtherance of medical knowledge and research into the care of the elderly, including rehabilitation and palliative care, and research into the causes and treatments of disease, disability and frailty related to ageing. Apply anytime (no deadlines).
– The Leverhulme Trust International Networks – To lead a research project where its successful completion is dependent on the participation of relevant overseas institutions. Applications for research on any topic within the entire array of academic disciplines are eligible for support (excluding medicine). Grants of up to £125,000 over three years. Deadline is Thursday 1 September 2011.
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.
To contribute a UEL event please supply a headline (c. 10 words), date, time, location, short description, with call to action (email / web link or phone)
© 2011
