NATIONAL AWARD FOR WIDENING PARTICIPATION PROJECT AT KEELE

A Parent Ambassador project run by Deena Sandom, Aimhigher Project Manager in the Widening Participation and Life Long Learning Division at Keele, has won a top accolade at the annual National Aimhigher Awards.

The nomination highlights the significance of the work that Aimhigher in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent is doing in the area to increase the number of local youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds who progress into higher education.

Aimhigher Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent was awarded the Aimhigher Excellence in Practice award, which recognises those Aimhigher activities or programmes that demonstrate the most inventive approach to widening participation. There were over 130 entries to the scheme this year, which celebrates the most successful and innovative Aimhigher work being undertaken across the country.

Deena said: 'I'm really delighted to have won this national award for our unique parent ambassadors project.  The ambassadors are parents with children who are or have recently been at university.  They attend parents' evenings and other events to share their experiences with other parents and always go down very well.  It's great that their work has been recognised and I know all the ambassadors will be thrilled.'

The award was presented at a ceremony on Wednesday at the Guoman Tower Hotel in London and Deena received the award from the Rt Hon John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

More information about Aimhigher Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent can be found at www.aimhigherwm.org.

ESRC INTERNATIONAL END-OF-AWARD CONFERENCE AT KEELE

A total of 40 delegates, over the three days, coming from many European countries, the United States and Israel attended an ESRC International End-of-Award Conference, Beyond Plurality in the African Diaspora: Ethnicity, Congregation, Networking and Citizenship, at Keele last week. 

The conference was opened by Professor Chris Phillipson, Pro-Vice Chancellor, who welcomed the delegates, and Dr David Gadd, on behalf of the Research Institute for Law, Politics and Justice. The keynote speaker was Paul Stoller, of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

Professor Pnina Werbner, who was joint covenor of the conference with Dr Mattia Fumanti, said: "the conference was very fruitful and stimulating intellectually".

For further information on the conference: http://www.keele.ac.uk/research/lpj/Beyond/index.htm
 

FORENSIC GEOPHYSICS IN FOCUS

Dr Jamie Pringle, School of Physical Sciences and Geography, is quoted extensively in an article on forensic geophysics in the latest monthly edition of the UK's Police Professional's Investigative Practice Journal.

The article focuses on current research into specialist geoscientific search techniques that aim to bring benefits to crime scene investigations and were used in the cases of Myra Hindley, Fred West and, more recently, Peter Tobin.

The article states that while forensic geophysics continues to gain momentum Dr Pringle feels there is still a significant gap in knowledge of the best methods for collection, analysis and interpretation of geophysical data for forensic applications.

He said: "It should be noted that as long as there is a geophysical contrast between a 'target' and the background materials, then a host of evidential items can be resolved, not just location of murder victims, such as buried weapons, money caches and even evidence of human occupation or excavation."

Dr Pringle is part of the Applied and Environmental Geophysics Group at Keele and is one of three lead scientists carrying out collaborative research projects focusing on clandestine burial searches.

SUCCESSFUL SEMINARS FOR CHILDREN'S SERVICES

Making Research Count Keele last month organised two seminars disseminating recent research for social work practitioners. The first, 'Kinship Care', was led by Professor Jane Aldgate of the Open University, who is currently also engaged in advisory and research work in Scotland. The second event, 'Children in their Social Context', provided contributions from Professor Lena Robinson, from the University of the West of Scotland, on cultural adaptation and integration among South Asian Youth in England and from Dr Chrissie Rogers, from Brunel University, on disability and inclusion.

Both seminars were well-attended and stimulated lively discussion. Making Research Count is a national and collaborative social care research dissemination initiative. More information can be found at: www.keele.ac.uk/makingresearchcount.

NEW ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

The following academic appointments have commenced in post this week.

SCHOOL OF ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Mr Ziliang Deng, Lecturer in Economics, previously a PhD Student at the University of Nottingham.

Mr Panagiotis Sousounis, Lecturer in Economics, previously a  GTA at Keele.

Mrs Lindsay Hamilton, Lecturer in Accounting, previously a GTA at Keele.

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES

Mr Joe Stretch, Lecturer in Creative Writing, previously a Fellow of Creative Writing at University of Manchester.

SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCES

Dr Richard Darton, Lectureship in Physical and Analytical Chemistry, previously a Research Fellow, University of Warwick.

KUSU OFFERS INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS A GREAT BRITISH WELCOME

KUSU last week welcomed more than 200 international undergraduate and postgraduate students to Keele with a 'Welcome to Britain' party. 

New students from all over the world arrived at the Students' Union to enjoy a menu of traditional British favourites, including shepherd's pie, fish and chips and strawberries and cream!

The celebration then continued in the lounge, with British games such as dominoes, pool, a coconut shy and a raffle.  It was a great opportunity for international students to meet each other and to be introduced to the Students' Union and all its services.  Staff members of the Independent Advice Unit and the VE Project did a fantastic job meeting and greeting and it was an invaluable chance for Sabbatical Officers, Alumni and International Officers to mingle and talk informally about life at Keele.

Talah Omran, KUSU President said: "We were thrilled that the Welcome to Britain party was such a huge success.  International students were made to feel at home as soon as they stepped foot on campus and the party was a great icebreaker and friendly reception for weary students who had travelled to Keele from all over the world. Students forged friendships and got a real taste of the social side of the Keele experience."

ENGLISH SUBJECT CENTRE AWARD

The Careers Service working in collaboration with English has been successful in a competitive funding round to secure a grant from the English Subject Centre. The funding of £750 is for a case study project wherein past English graduates outline what they are doing now and how they reached this point.

Working with academic and non-academic staff, the Careers Service will be training and supporting our English students to gather the required information and write up case studies for both web and paper publication. In this way students will not only be finding out more about possible opportunities and gaining advice from graduates with experience but they will also gain skills in professional communications and writing in a non-academic context.

LET'S DO BUSINESS

Keele Conferences and Keele Science and Business Park both exhibited at Let's Do Business at the Stoke on Trent Moathouse Hotel this week. 

The Keele Conferences stand highlighted the venues on campus that can be used for social occasions, with a mock up of the Salvin Room in Keele Hall.  Keele Hall chefs produced homemade cookies that they offered to visitors who came to the stand.  Keele Science and Business Park's stand introduced potential tenants to the benefits of relocating to a unique environment where innovative research, first class facilities and academic facilities combine.

US Fulbright Distinguished Scholar appointed Visiting Professor at Keele

Christopher Brazel, an associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at The University of Alabama (USA), has been named a 2008-2009 US-UK Fulbright Scholar, one of the most prestigious scholarship programmes operating world-wide. The Fulbright program is celebrating its 60th anniversary and Professor Brazel is the first Fulbright scholar to be placed at Keele.

As part of the orientation in London last week, the US scholars gathered for a reception at 10 Downing Street. Fulbright grants provide funding for postgraduate study, research, lecturing, and/or professional development in the US and the UK, under a number of award categories.

During Professor Brazel's Fulbright grant year, he will be working in the Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine (iSTM) on Keele's Hartshill medical campus and has been granted the position of visiting professor for his year-long residence at Keele. 

He is pursuing research on nanotechnology for combining hyperthermia and chemotherapy for localised cancer treatment and will be working with Professor Jon Dobson and other colleagues in the iSTM. Though an engineer by training, Professor Brazel feels that Keele will be an excellent place to work in interdisciplinary fields and learn more about advanced biotechnology techniques and medical practice. In the summer of 2009, he will lead a study abroad programme for students from Alabama to visit Keele and explore the West Midlands area. Staffordshire will be an excellent location for the programme, which is focused on "The British Industrial Revolution."

Since its foundation in the aftermath of World War Two by leading US Senator J. William Fulbright, approximately 15,000 students from the UK have been given the opportunity to study in the United States and nearly 27,000 US nationals have come to study in the UK on Fulbright exchanges.

Today, the Fulbright Programme is one of the most respected award programmes globally with more Fulbright alumni having won Nobel Prizes than those of any other academic programme, including two in 2002. The Fulbright Programme works to promote peace and understanding through educational exchange in the belief that this is an essential vehicle for mutual understanding between individuals, institutions, and future leaders.

For more information on the Fulbright Programme, go to www.fulbright.co.uk or contact Michael Scott Kline, Director of the Fulbright Awards Programme, at 020 7539 4409.

Research grants

Dr Peter Adey, Research Institute for Law, Politics and Justice and the School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, has recently been awarded two research grants.

Funded by the ESRC, and in collaboration with colleagues at Durham University, 'Staging and Performing Emergencies: the role of exercises in UK preparedness' (£80,064) will conduct an ethnography of the spaces of emergency planning exercises that simulate and prepare-for possible catastrophic events. The AHRC have also awarded Peter a research leave grant of £22,670 for the project 'Aerial Geographies: mobilities, subjects, visualities'. This will enable Peter to complete a book that examines the anticipatory and militaristic cultures of the aeroplane, contracted with Wiley-Blackwell.

Dr Sarah Cartmell, Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine,  has been awarded £45,000 from a private local charity to research 'Statins - a potential treatment for osteoporosis?'. The grant will fund a postdoc for one year to research the effects of a commonly prescribed drug, simvastatin, on bone cell motility, growth cycle and potential to be used in a controlled release system for bone replacement strategies.

The Higher Education Academy Psychology Network and Keele Teaching Innovation Scheme have together awarded £24,676 for a project entitled 'Diversity in the Psychology Curriculum at Keele University: A Collaborative Action Research Project'. 
The two-year project will be led by Dr. Gaby Jacobs, Lecturer in Psychology, in close collaboration with staff and students within the School of Psychology.

The aim is to enhance consideration of diversity issues within the psychology curriculum.

The remit of the project will include a diversity audit instrument that can be adapted for use in other higher education curricula and a toolkit for the development of inclusive psychology curricula in the UK.