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Welcome to in Focus Update… |
Past Issues << | Issue 287: 3 April 2012 |
The first ‘offer holder’ day took place last Saturday at Docklands and Stratford campuses for everyone who has been offered a place to study at UEL. Over 1,550 people attended the event, taking part in taster sessions and talks to find out more about their prospective courses and general information on university life. The event was a great success with 17 offer holders accepting on the day and many more indicating that they will be accepting over the next few weeks.
Festival of Sports in SportsDock Nearly 40 staff and over 250 students enjoyed two weeks of FREE sport in SportsDock during the Festival of Sports last month. From badminton to netball, spinning to fencing, there was something new for everyone. If you’d like to take part in FREE sport as part of the Try a Sport 365 programme (you don’t need to be a SportsDock member) we have several sessions for staff, see www.uel.ac.uk/sports-365 for more details.
Thursday 5 April: Closing early at 9pm
Friday 6 April – Monday 9 April: Open from 10am-5pm self-service only
Tuesday 10th April: Normal 24-hour service resumes at 9am
Don’t forget you can access electronic journals and e-books online 24/7 at www.uel.ac.uk/library
Projects are sought that will demonstrate an innovative approach to learning and teaching, and address the themes of: enhancing the quality of teaching and/or assessment; academic advice and support on study choices.
Please note:
• selection of projects will be made on a competitive basis
• projects must be completed within the 2012-13 academic year
• funding is available for small (up to £3,000) and medium (up to £5,000) projects
• funding is for projects that are beyond the range/scope of usual academic/service practice
Click for further details and proposal forms. Send proposals to Dallas Davis. Feedback will be provided approximately one month after the closing date of Thursday 10 May 2012, 5pm.
We’re looking for your nominations for outstanding and inspirational adult learners to be recognised during an awards ceremony to be held on Wednesday 16 May.
For the past two years UEL has successfully run these awards in partnership with Birkbeck, University of London, as part of the national Adult Learners’ Week. If you would like to nominate a student, please fill in the application form. All nominated students will be invited to the ceremony. Click here for more information or contact Julie Walker.
Currently we don’t allow food in the library as it can cause litter and be anti-social to others. However, study styles are changing and many students who spend a great deal of time in the library would like to eat while studying. Over the next month, Library staff are asking students (and staff) whether they think food should be allowed in the library. If you would like to make your opinion known click here, or email Anna Knox, Customer Services Manager.
In line with the WEEE directive for the correct disposal and recycling of electrical goods, it is once again time for an all-campus collection of broken electrical goods. If you have electrical items in your office or area that you would like collected please contact Mollie Miller stating your:
• Name
• Contact details
• Department
• Details of items for collection
• Item location/room number
• Access times
• Budget code *Please note items will not be collected without this code.
All collections will be made during the week commencing Monday 9 April.
IT Services is rolling out a new series of Business Intelligence applications (Qlikview) across the organisation with the aim of providing a simple, self service reporting tool for key decision makers within all schools and services. As part of this JISC-funded project, we’ve demonstrated our applications to over 45 HEIs at a range of different workshops and seminars and have been recently invited to Copenhagen to showcase our work at the QlikView Public Sector conference. More IT news...
UEL postgraduate Health Promotion students had a valuable learning experience whilst delivering the small ‘c’ campaign to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of bowel and lung cancer. Working with Community Links, the students spent the day in Westfield shopping centre and Stratford shopping mall talking to members of the public and developing their practical skills.
UEL has been awarded £260,917 in EU funding as part of the EUBORDERSCAPES project. Professor Nira Yuval-Davis from CMRB/LSS and her team of researchers will be working on the project which will look at the concept of state borders, state territoriality and international relations.
Six UEL members of staff from UELSports and Corporate Marketing tested the track at the Olympic Park Run on Saturday. Over 5,000 people took part including Mel C and HRH Princess Beatrice. Congratulations to everyone who took part!
UEL Sports Journalism student Andrew Bontiff has been awarded the post of Olympic and Paralympic News Service Coordinator. Andrew volunteered last summer at two Olympic Test Events to get a taste of what it would be like to work with the Olympic News Service.
A special one-off event on Saturday 5 May will give 40,000 people the chance to join famous faces, celebrities and sports stars at London's new Olympic Stadium. Tickets are priced at £20 (£10 for concessions). More...
SportsDock now offers over 20 weekly exercise classes for all levels of fitness and interests. With classes conveniently timed before work, at lunchtime and after work, everyone is encouraged to get involved. Prices start from as little as £2.50 per class, and are available on a pay-as-you-go basis. Whether you want to lose weight, tone up, improve your posture or get fit there is an exercise class for you at SportsDock. For a full timetable of the exercise classes visit http://www.uel.ac.uk/sportsdock/aerobics-and-dance.htm or email enquiries@sportsdock.co.uk
Ever wanted to run home but live too far away? Home Run London can help by organising guided group runs from station to station. Everyone who books a place gets a free t-shirt and bag and they will also carry your bag for you, leaving you to run comfortably before getting the train for your onward journey.
Routes are between 2-6 miles long, and you can gradually increase the distance. If enough people register a new route they will start running it. See http://www.homerunlondon.com/index.php/routes/vote
Welcome to the Green Thing, a regular section full of information on environmental projects, tips and ideas for staff at UEL.
Visit our website, follow us on twitter or get in touch at Green Thing.
We’d love to hear from you!
Environment Team, Facilities
The culmination of many months of hard work to embed environmentally responsible behaviour into UEL’s schools and services, culminated last week with our Green Impact Audits. This year with the help of the NUS Green Impact Project team we trained 21 Student Auditors to audit all 18 of UEL’s Green Impact teams. The team received fantastic feedback and would like to thank everyone involved. Keep an eye out for your invitation to our Green Impact Awards on 27 April at Docklands EB.G.16.
Last Friday, UEL’s Environment team held its second Sports Dock Environmental Induction with the UELSports team. These inductions are to train staff who use SportsDock so they are aware of the environmental features of this BREEAM Excellent building. By encouraging users to act in an environmentally responsible way, we can help SportsDock meet its energy efficiency targets, reduce carbon emissions and provide financial savings for the university. If you would like the Environment Team to deliver an Induction to your team, please contact Emily Hamilton.
For the latest on our activities visit the news releases section of our website www.uel.ac.uk/news
University challenge: Educating for a sustainable future
Wednesday 25 April 2012, 12-2pm, CCG.04, Stratford Campus
• Lunchtime forum to explore how we can promote education for sustainable development through our practices, research and teaching.
• RSVP to
Emily Hamilton by 20 April.
Minding the gap about BAME student attainment: some preliminary findings of BAME students' experience of higher education
Thursday 26 April 2012, 12-2pm, RBG.13, Stratford Campus
• The session will explore the ways in which BAME students construct their expectations about, and experiences of, higher education, and will use this to clarify some of the reasons for the lower attainment of good degrees.
• Facilitated by Dr Pippa Bell, School of Psychology.
• Booking not necessary. Buffet lunch (first-come, first-served).
• View the Lunchtime Learning and Teaching Series schedule.
The Centre of Research on Migration, Refugee and Belonging: Imaging Migrants
Wednesdays, 5.30 – 7.30pm, EB.1.37, Docklands Campus
• A series of free seminars for staff and students.
• See the full schedule.
Entrepreneurship Day
Wednesday 18 April, 9.45am for 10am start, SD.1.12 (SportsDock), Docklands Campus
• Experience how Dutch students run their own live student companies as part of their business studies programmes.
• Similar to X factor, you can give support to the overseas live student company members, whose companies will be judged by a panel of experts.
• Click here for more information.
Art and documentary conference: Truth, dare or promise
Friday 20 - Saturday 21 April, Goldsmiths University
• Conference featuring key speakers from the documentary and art world, organised by UEL, Royal Holloway, University of London and University of Ulster.
• FREE
• RSVP:
TruthDareorPromise@rhul.ac.uk
HR conference: Developing attitudes and behaviours of world class performers
Thursday 24 May, 10-4.30pm, UEL Conference Centre, Stratford Campus
• HR conference with opportunities for networking and improving your CV.
• Motivational speakers, Roger Black MBE and Danny Crates will explore the relationship between high performance in sport and business.
• For more information and to book visit www.HRandPerformance.com or email eastlondon@cipdbranch.co.uk
Wake up! It’s time to get that job!
Monday 19 March – Wednesday 23 May, UEL and Canary Wharf
• The Employability and Enterprise Team is running a 10-week programme of events to get final-year students into the world of work.
• Students can view the full schedule and register here.
Workshop: Student-centred design of online learning materials
Tuesday 12 April, 12-2pm, EB1.04, Docklands Campus
• Workshop to look at evidence that students' experience of an easy-to-use VLE interface is a predictor of overall student satisfaction.
• Suitable for staff interested in increasing students' online learning experience in VLE modules or creating learning-related websites.
• Click here for more information.
Training for validation and review panel members (with a specific focus on validation)
Wednesday 18 April,
2-4.30pm, Docklands Campus
• The course will provide an understanding of the validation and review processes and the role of internal panel members.
• Suitable for all academic staff involved or interested in acting as members of validation and review panels.
• Please contact Joanne Wood for further information and esdsadmin@uel.ac.uk to book onto the session.
Forthcoming workshops for researchers include:
• Tuesday 24 April: Pressentation skills for researchers (Docklands)
• Tuesday 8 May: Preparing for your viva (Docklands)
• Thursday 10 May: Regulations on PGR examination (Stratford)
• Thursday 24 May: Developing your professional reputation (Docklands)
For workshop synopses, plus times and venues, see the RDP web page: http://www.uel.ac.uk/gradschool/training.htm.
To book a place, e-mail Dr Caroline Dunmore, Researcher Development Manager.
See Events Calendar for a full listing: www.uel.ac.uk/marketing/support/eventscalendar.htm
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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