£3 MILLION REFURBISHMENT COMPLETES STAGE ONE OF STUDENT ACCOMMODATION PROJECT

The latest stage in a major, multi-million pound project to refurbish the student halls of residence at Keele has been completed a week ahead of schedule.

 Designed to enhance the experience of students, the £3million refurbishment at Holly Cross has seen 238 bedrooms, 30 diners, 60 kitchens and one resident tutor flat completed seven days early. Holly Cross is the last of the residential blocks to be given an overhaul, including an upgrade to mechanical and electrical systems.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, said: "I am delighted that the transformation of Holly Cross completes the first phase of a massive refurbishment programme for the halls of residence. This first part of the programme has taken 10 years to complete and has seen a huge investment by the University to enhance the experience of our students."

The pciture shows, left to right: John Chambers, Jack Seddon, Jed Carr, all Seddons; Jenny Tucker, Director CFM;  Cyril Wakefield, Seddons; Professor Nick Foskett, Vice-Chancellor;  Robert Bates, Poole Dick Associates; Sue Parkin, Sue Underwood and Andy Carnall, CFM.

KEELE CHANCELLOR AWARDED TOP U.S. MEDICAL PRIZE

The Chancellor, Professor Sir David Weatherall has been awarded a prestigious Lasker Award, the most significant U.S. prize for medical research. He is the only person outside America to win one of the awards this year.

The 2010 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement in Medical Science Award honours the Chancellor for "50 years of international statesmanship in biomedical science", the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation announced. The award, which carries an honorarium of $250,000, recognises his research on genetic diseases of the blood and his leadership in improving clinical care for thousands of children with thalassaemia throughout the developing world.
 
The award, which will be presented at a ceremony tonight at the Pierre Hotel in New York, honours "a physician-scientist who has melded astute bedside observations with rigorous experiments to generate countless insights about inherited blood disorders, especially thalassemia. In the last half century, Sir David, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, has deployed diverse investigational approaches that have catalyzed advances in the understanding of the biochemical, genetic, and clinical aspects of thalassemia and has delivered fruits of this wisdom to patients worldwide. Professor Weatherall made global health a priority before doing so was fashionable, and has inspired scores of young physicians and researchers to apply the power of molecular medicine."

FIRST NORTH AMERICAN FOUNDATION SCHOLAR

Morgan Davison, the first recipient of a Keele North American Foundation Scholarship, has arrived at the University to study for an MA in Human Rights, Globalisation and Justice.

The NAFKU Scholarship was created in 2009 through the generosity of Keele alumni and the North American Foundation for Keele University. It will help to support a student from North America to pursue a postgraduate course at Keele.

Morgan, who is from Virginia and graduated from San Francisco State University, said:  "I wanted to study a master's degree in Human Rights but wanted to study outside the USA, so that I could experience study somewhere new and different. I searched a website that lists course at universities around the world and I identified courses in Egypt, South Africa and several places in the United Kingdom.
 
"Keele became more and more prominent. It is fantastic to be able to study across disciplines and to combine them into a broad understanding of my subject. It very quickly became my first choice. I am grateful for the NAFKU Scholarship, it has made a tremendous difference and will enable me to do and experience so much more. I really wanted to experience a traditional university lifestyle, living and working with fellow students."

LIFE AND DEATH OF THE MOST MASSIVE STARS

Norhasliza binti Yusof, a PhD student at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, has been awarded a split-site scholarship from the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission to work at Keele with Dr Raphael Hirschi, Astrophysics group, Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics, on the fate of the most massive stars.

During her six-month visit, Norhasliza will continue her PhD work on the impact of mass loss and rotation on the evolution of very massive stars. In particular, her work will provide an answer to the question: "how do the most massive stars die?" This work follows on from the discovery of the most massive stars, in collaboration with researchers at the universities of Sheffield and Potsdam, which was announced in July this year (http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1030/). The scholarship, worth around £11,000, will cover both living and research costs and will allow the purchase of a new 48-core computer server.

KEELE STUDENT REPRESENTS ENGLAND AT DELHI 2010

Keele student, Emma Jackson, flew out to India this week to represent England in the 800 metres at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Emma, who is studying for a PGCE in Mathematics and graduated from Keele last summer in Accountancy and Finance, is England's No 1 for the 800m but admits it will be tough going against some of the world's leading athletes.

"It has been a fantastic year for me," said Emma. "I have recorded four personal best times and am now on my way to Delhi 2010 to represent England. It will be a real test and if I get through to the final I will be really pleased."

STUDENTS' UNION WELCOMES INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS TO KEELE

KUSU hosted its third 'Welcome to Britain Party' last week.  More than 300 students were invited to share a traditional British meal of fish and chips, bangers and mash, scones with jam and cream and the ubiquitous cup of tea!
 
Students were welcomed from all over the world and had the opportunity to make new friends and start to feel at home at Keele.

Fadi Dada, KUSU's Vice-President Communications and Democracy, who welcomed the students from the stage in three different languages, said: "We're really pleased to be able to offer a hot meal and a friendly face to our new international students, many of whom have literally just landed in the UK.  We can introduce them to Union services, such as the Independent Advice Unit, should they have any issues or worries."

CENTRE FOR SUCCESSFUL SCHOOLS 21ST ANNIVERSARY

The Centre for Successful Schools at Keele celebrated its 21st anniversary last week with a conference entitled 'Schooling in the 21st Century: The Key to Success'. A total of 380 delegates (including education organisers at national and regional level, school leadership teams and Associate Teachers from Keele) were welcomed to the event by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett.

Thought-provoking keynote speeches, addressing current and future issues relating to educational change and improvement, were given by Professor Mel Ainscow, Sir William Atkinson, pictured, Sir Bruce Liddington and Charles Leadbeater.  A range of seminars were also held on the day, including presentations from two local schools.  As one delegate wrote: "I have been so impressed with the inspiring speakers. The event does what a conference should do; opens up possibilities."

UCAS BOARD APPOINTMENT

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Rama Thirunamachandran, has been appointed to the UCAS Board, with immediate effect.

Rama, who was elected to represent English institutions, said: "UCAS plays a pivotal role in connecting people to higher education and I am excited about the potential it has to contribute to the HE sector at a time of extensive change."

UCAS is the world's leading shared admissions service for higher education. It manages applications for full-time undergraduate courses, together with applications through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry, Conservatoires UK Admissions Service and UK Postgraduate Application and Statistical Service. Since its inception in 1993, UCAS has processed around 30 million applications and placed over five million students on higher education courses.

RESEARCH COUNCILS UK DELEGATION TO INDIA
 
Professor Mark Ormerod, Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics, was a member of a small Research Councils UK delegation that travelled to India to participate in a two day scoping workshop in Chennai on UK-India academic collaboration in Low Carbon Technologies.

The scoping workshop was funded by RCUK and the Indian Government Department of Science and Technology, and involved leading scientists from Indian Institutes of Technology (centres of excellence) and Universities. As well as being very productive, the workshop also provided an excellent opportunity to promote awareness of Keele and its activities to scientists from leading institutions throughout India.

MONEY DOCTORS AT KEELE

Keele recently became a member of Money Doctors, a project originally designed by the Financial Services Authority to help improve financial capability amongst university students.

This week, staff from the Student Funding Office organised a stall at the Freshers' Fair, offering taste tests, comparing supermarket own ranges and branded foods, held a competition to find the best student money saving hint and gave advice about budgeting and student funding. Two money management talks were also held for first year students, and workshops and further resources are planned for later in the year. For further information about the project contact Helen Johnson in the Student Funding Office.

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

The following academic appointment commenced in post this week:

Keele Management School

Mr Syed Kazmi has been appointed a Lecturer in Management/ International Business and was previously an Associate Professor at the National College of Arts, Pakistan.

Dr Yuki Kumagai has been appointed a Lecturer in Economics and was previously a Graduate Teaching Assistant, at the University of Nottingham.
 
School of Sociology and Criminology

Miss Clare Jones has been appointed a Teaching Fellow in Criminology and was previously a part-time Exams Invigilator at Keele.

STUDENTS SPLASH OUT FOR FREE

Students at Keele can enjoy free swimming at council pools during Freshers' Week. Free entry is available at Jubilee Pool, Newcastle, and Kidsgrove Sports Centre until Sunday on production of a Keele Card.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has teamed up with the University in a bid to boost people's health. For more information see here.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

This week 28 years ago…

Dr David Cohen, Senior Tutor at the University of Keele, has been appointed Registrar from 1 October 1982, in succession to Mr John Hodgkinson, who is retiring after almost thirty years in the post.