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Welcome to in Focus Update… |
Past Issues << | Issue 263: 27 September 2011 |
As many staff will be aware, Facilities Services are currently installing a new access control system across the University. All staff will need a new ID Card to operate this new system. Please pick up your new ID card from the Security Reception Desk at your main Campus between Monday 26 September and Wednesday 26 October. The majority of cards have been pre-printed, with photographs, so the whole process should only take a few minutes. Please note that after the end of October 2011, your old ID cards will no longer work with the new system. Some staff will have received separate emails from IT Services or Security Services asking them to attend either Stratford or Docklands Security Receptions to have their photograph taken for a new ID Card. If you have received such an email, please go to your Security Reception asap, if you have not already done so. Your old ID card will stop working shortly. For any problems or questions regarding collection of new cards contact Security Reception at Docklands (020 8223 5599) or Stratford (020 8223 4073) Campuses. For more information see bit.ly/staffIDcardFAQs
As part of the First Week celebrations, chefs from Jamie Oliver’s ‘Jamie’s Ministry of Food Stratford’ came to Docklands Campus to show students how to make delicious food, quickly and inexpensively. Chefs drew crowds to the marquee on the green where they were given the chance to sample dishes created before their eyes, including ‘Chill Con Jamie’ and Chicken Chow Mein. For the full story, and to find out more about cookery classes available to UEL staff, see bit.ly/MOFStratford
With the London 2012 Games less than a year away, UEL has brokered an exciting new deal with leading sports performance company ASICS. ASICS will operate its brand centre at Stratford Campus during the 2012 Olympic Games. The agreement also has a long term partnership arrangement lasting five years, including the provision of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and visiting professorships. For the full story see bit.ly/uel_asics
CEWE, The Centre of Excellence for Women Entrepreneurship, in partnership with the Women’s Business Centre at Newham College of Further Education, will be delivering business coaching and advice to support women to achieve their entrepreneurial potential. This service is open to female UEL students, graduates and KDBC tenants, as well as business women from the wider community who are engaging with CEWE. The coaches will be located in the Petchey Centre for Entrepreneurship, in the Knowledge Dock Business Centre at Docklands Campus. The service will operate every Monday between 10am – 6pm. Appointments can be booked by emailing ceweadvice@uel.ac.uk
Last Wednesday, 21 September, Vice-Chancellor Professor Patrick McGhee personally hosted welcome-back talks for final-year undergraduates, providing advice for the year ahead. The Vice-Chancellor spoke of the importance of engaging with opportunities and encouraged students to take advantage of UEL’s several avenues of support, before a networking lunch with support staff and students. Students’ feedback was welcomed and UEL hopes to build on this event for next year.
UEL students were last week awarded Sports Scholarships in recognition of their enduring commitment to sporting activities. The scheme, which was introduced to the University in 2010, supports elite athletes during their studies at UEL. Pro Vice-Chancellor, Strategic Planning and External Development, Selena Bolingbroke, presented the awards at a ceremony which took place at Stratford Campus last Thursday, 22 September. Recipients included Gemma Gibbons, Great Britain’s number 1 Judoka, and Zara Zohn, a hurdler who has represented GB at European Junior and Senior Championships, as well as World Junior Championships. Also receiving their Scholarship were rowers Alan Sinclair and John Collins who recently won EURC gold medals whilst representing UEL. The University supports high-performance athletes across various sports through its Sports Scholarship Scheme; to find out more see bit.ly/sports_scheme
Last Wednesday evening, UEL alumni, staff and guests gathered together to celebrate the success of our students and research staff at the Annual Fund Awards. The awards, presented by Vice-Chancellor Professor Patrick McGhee, included 5 Start-up Research Grants, 3 Sports Coaching Awards and the Women’s Entrepreneurship Award. UEL's Alumni Team would like to thank the Worshipful Company of Paviors who kindly donated towards the first Paviors Financial Assistance Grant for first Year Architecture Students. Pictured (from left to right) are HSB researchers
Dr. Susan Outram, Dr. Stefano Casalotti and Dr. Gemma Phillips.
To see more photographs from the evening please see facebook.com/uelalumni
A Lecturer in the School of Arts and Digital Industries has co-authored a new book which has been published by the world-renowned Harvard University Press. In Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation after 9/11 (pictured) ADI Lecturer Dr Peter Morey explores the representation of Muslims in mainstream media and political discourses from over the last ten years. Dr Morey also recently appeared on the Islam Channel’s Politics and Media show, and has subsequently contributed a blog entry on Muslims and the Multicultural Backlash to the Harvard UP website. The book was launched at SOAS last week, where Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor John Joughin appeared as guest speaker.
John Storan, Continuum, Director in ESDS, has been awarded a visiting professorship in Education and Science by Malmö University in Sweden. This is in recognition of his work in widening participation both in the UK and in Sweden, where he has been active as a policy advisor and academic researcher, publishing and speaking at conferences throughout the country as well as working with government ministries, policy makers, universities and various other bodies for the last 10 years. Recently, John has worked intensively with Malmö University to help develop its WP and HE Access policy and practice, and this has led to a memorandum of understanding being established between the two universities.
For the latest on our activities visit the news releases section of our website www.uel.ac.uk/news
Human Rights: Ten Years After September 11th: Wednesday 28 September, 3.30 – 5pm (Room 110, Duncan House)
John Strawson, Reader and Interim Director of the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, School of Law and Social Sciences, UEL. Refreshments provided, all welcome. For further information visit www.uel.ac.uk/chrc or contact Johanna Herman on j.herman@uel.ac.uk
Nviro Partnership Event: Friday 30 September, 11am (EB.G.18, Docklands Campus)
This event will provide staff with the opportunity to meet UEL’s new cleaning partners and raise any concerns or issues staff may have over cleaning, and to generally get a feel for the new company and new cleaning specifications. Please confirm attendance to m.miller@uel.ac.uk as light refreshments will be provided.
School of Psychology External Speaker Programme: David Pilgrim (University of Central Lancashire): Wednesday 5 October, 1pm – 2pm (AE.1.01, Stratford Campus)
All staff are welcome to this talk entitled ‘Some limitations of the biopsychosocial model’. For further information please contact Mary Spiller via m.j.spiller@uel.ac.uk or see www.uel.ac.uk/psychology/research/conferences.htm
University Futures: A public discussion: Tuesday 11 October, 1.30 – 5pm (Bloomsbury Suite, Friends’ House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BY)
Hosted by UEL, the Campaign for Social Science and Times Higher Education, University Futures brings together academics, policymakers and activists to address questions of widening participation and funding in the HE sector. For further details see www.uel.ac.uk/lss/newsandevents/events
School of Psychology External Speaker Programme: Terry Honess (Cardiff University): Wednesday 12 October, 1pm – 2pm (AE.3.18, Stratford Campus)
All staff are welcome to this talk entitled ‘Admitting evidence of a defendant’s previous conviction and its impact on juror deliberation’. For further information please contact Mary Spiller via m.j.spiller@uel.ac.uk or see www.uel.ac.uk/psychology/research/conferences.htm
Doing justice or meddling in transitions? Universal jurisdiction and Spanish prosecution of crimes committed in Rwanda and DRC: Wednesday 12 October, 3.30 – 5pm (Room 110, Duncan House)
Rosa Ana Fernandez Alija, Lecturer, University of Barcelona. This event is co-hosted by the London Transitional Justice Network. Refreshments provided, all welcome. For further information visit www.uel.ac.uk/chrc or contact Johanna Herman on j.herman@uel.ac.uk
PSF Showcase: Tuesday 18 October, 4.30pm (EB.1.03, Docklands Campus)
All staff are invited to afternoon tea to hear the experiences of colleagues who have become Fellows of the HEA through our CPD Route, to hear initial evaluations of research being undertaken into UEL’s Professional Standards Framework, to share colleagues’ good practice and to meet other Fellows. Please RSVP to Dallas Davis: d.j.davis@uel.ac.uk For more on the PSF process see www.uel.ac.uk/apse/professional/framework.htm
Migrant workers and camel jockeys: a look at exploitation in the Gulf: Wednesday 26 October, 3.30 – 5pm (Room 110, Duncan House)
David Keane, Lecturer, Department of Law, Middlesex University. Refreshments provided, all welcome. For further information visit www.uel.ac.uk/chrc or contact Johanna Herman on j.herman@uel.ac.uk
Gender-based violence in war and the question of accountability: the case of Bosnia: Wednesday 9 November, 3.30 – 5pm (Room 110, Duncan House)
Maja Korac, Reader, School of Law and Social Sciences, and Olga Martin-Ortega, Senior Research Fellow, Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, School of Law and Social Sciences (UEL). Chair: Johanna Herman, Centre on Human Rights in Conflict, UEL. For further information visit www.uel.ac.uk/chrc or contact Johanna Herman on j.herman@uel.ac.uk
The Centre of Excellence for Women Entrepreneurship (CEWE) Conference: Thursday 17 November, 9am – 4.30pm (Honourable Artillery Company, Moorgate)
Registration is now open for the CEWE Conference and networking session. The event will bring together women entrepreneurs and their supporters to share knowledge, experiences and challenges. This is an excellent opportunity to develop your networks! Early bird discount applies if you book before 5pm on 30 September. Please see www.uel.ac.uk/cewe/conference.htm for more information and to book now.
The Human-Rights Compliance of UK Anti-Terrorism Legislation in the Light of Domestic and International Case Law: Wednesday 23 November, 3.30 – 5pm (Room 110, Duncan House)
Carmen Draghici, Lecturer, School of Law, City University. For further information visit www.uel.ac.uk/chrc or contact Johanna Herman on j.herman@uel.ac.uk
See Events Calendar for a full listing: www.uel.ac.uk/marketing/support/eventscalendar.htm
Physical Activity
Our brand new timetable is available online; all sessions will be starting this week. Please see www.uel.ac.uk/sports/activity/physical.htm for more information.
Joining a UEL Sports Club this academic year couldn’t be easier. For only £60 UEL staff have access to over 20 Sports Clubs, access to National Governing Board coaches, weekly training sessions and insurance cover whilst participating.
To join a Sports Club, do any one of the following:
– Email c.smyth@uel.ac.uk for a one-off deduction from your salary
– Call into the UELSports office and pay Emma Jenkinson in person. The office is located in RB.2.06, Stratford Campus
– Pay in person at the Cashiers Office, located on the North Building ground floor on Docklands Campus.
For more information on membership please contact c.smyth@uel.ac.uk
Open to UEL students and staff, a tennis tournament will be taking place tomorrow. Brilliant prizes are on offer, as well as great fun. It’s only £2.50 to enter.
Wednesday 28 September
West Ham Park Tennis Courts
Register to play by emailing Nurudeen Isa at n.isa@uel.ac.uk
Welcome to the Green Thing, a regular section full of info on environmental projects, tips and ideas for staff at UEL. Visit our website www.uel.ac.uk/greenthing or get in touch via greenthing@uel.ac.uk We’d love to hear from you!
Environment Team
Facilities
Over the course of First Week, the Environment Team held several hands-on workshops for students and staff to get stuck in with. One involved designing and building a bug hotel, which has now settled in to its permanent location in the herb garden behind the Clinical Education Building at Stratford Campus. Students and staff also took part in the first planting session in the Stratfood project, and their efforts are now clearly visible above the surface of the soil! We have our next two planting days at Stratford this week: Wednesday 28 September and Thursday 29 September, both from 12 noon – 2 pm. All welcome. For more information on the growing project, visit www.uel.ac.uk/greenthing/GrowYourOwn.htm
The computer area of the Conference and Computer Centre on Stratford Campus will now be cooled much more efficiently, thanks to a new Monodraught product recently installed. The system is expected to reduce the energy needed to cool the area by up to 90%. During the day, it works by storing warm air from inside the building in a special material. At night, the colder outside air passes over a heat exchanger and the material releases the stored heat. For more information about new energy-efficient installation across the campus, contact Sara Kassam via s.kassam@uel.ac.uk
Thousands of hazelnuts from the 22 trees in and around the Ferns Road car park behind LT02 at Stratford Campus are ripe and ready to be collected from the ground. An early estimate reckons there are around 25,000, with a retail value of more than £200! They come in casings such as the one pictured here – please mind the spikes – and although the nuts are small, they are delicious! Send your favourite hazelnut recipes and pictures of anything you make with the Stratford nuts to greenthing@uel.ac.uk and we will publish our favourite local food recipes on the Green Thing website.
…that ten new water fountains were installed across both campuses over the summer? You could win a hamper of lovely Fairtrade goodies if you can find them all. For more details visit the website: www.uel.ac.uk/greenthing/wasteinitiatives.htm#competition
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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© 2011
