KEELE LINK AWARDS CEREMONY 2011
The Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning Division held their
third annual Keelelink Awards Ceremony to celebrate the achievements of
the Keelelink programme, its projects, and the excellent work undertaken
by internal and external contacts, students and schools over the
past the year.
The evening was attended by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of
Stoke-on-Trent, teachers and learners from the division's partner
schools and colleges, current undergraduate and postgraduate students,
and academics from Keele.
Highlights included a keynote speech from Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Nick Foskett, a wonderful performance by the Riff Raff Samba Band from
Sir Stanley Matthews Academy, and an adaptation of scenes from the
Wizard of Oz, delivered by learners from St. Margaret Ward Catholic
College. The evening also showcased a video detailing a week in the life
of Keelelink, and the platform to hear perspectives on the impact of
the programme from a learner, a student and a teacher.
Presented in recognition of Keelelink's outreach work, awards were
received by teachers and learners from partner schools and colleges, as
well as students and academics from Keele University. Winners included,
the School of Physical and Geographical Sciences for their Academic
School Contribution; Jonathan Parker, School of Humanities & Social
Sciences, for Academic Individual Contribution to Keelelink; Amy
Thompson - Best Newcomer; Craig Doughty - Mentor Role of the Year; Ayden
Aitken - Higher Education Ambassador; Andrew Stephan - Outstanding
Promotion of a Curriculum Subject; and Alanna Stewart - Student of the
Year.
The Vice-Chancellor is pictured with Kylie Hazeldine, WP Manager, the
Lord Mayor, Councillor Denver Tolley, and the Lady Mayoress, Lynne
Tolley. |
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COMMITTED TO WIDENING PARTICIPATION
 Keele
Pro Vice-Chancellor, Kevin Mattinson, this week was featured in a
detailed article in the Guardian on the end of Aim Higher and how to
continue widening participation.
He was interviewed for the Guardian's higher education network after
delivering a presentation at the Higher Education and Schools
Partnerships Conference in London.
He said Aim Higher had been a been a tremendous success and pointed
to Stoke-on-Trent where, since 2004, the percentage of students aged 18
going into higher education had doubled to 24% – one of the most rapid
improvements in the West Midlands.
Kevin added that it was
vital to keep the initiative alive when funding for Aim Higher ends in
July and that Keele had already committed resources for our
outreach work and widening participation. |
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INSURING WAR
 Dr
Luis Lobo-Guerrero, School of Politics, International Relations and
Philosophy/Research Institute for Social Sciences, gave a keynote
address at the conference 'Beyond Security Politics: Threats, risks and
fears in International Relations'. The conferences was co-organised by
ETH Zurich and the Universities of Lausanne, and Geneva and funded by
the Swiss Science Foundation. In his address Dr Lobo-Guerrero advanced
an idea of his forthcoming book 'Insuring War: Sovereignty, Security and
Risk', a new concept which he labels 'insurantial sovereignty' as a
theoretical contribution to understand the role of marine insurance as
an instrument of strategy in British war efforts from the Napoleonic
Wars to the present day.
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FASHIONING CHILDHOOD
 Dr
Lydia Martens, Sociology, participated in a one-day seminar and
networking event exploring the interdisciplinary, theoretical and
intergenerational dimensions of fashioning childhood. The event was
organised by Dr Annamari Vänskä, from the Centre for Fashion Studies,
and took place at the University of Stockholm. The seminar brought
together scholars from the Nordic countries, the US and the UK to
present and discuss their work around the themes of the fashioned,
represented, embodied and sexual child. Dr Martens spoke about
children's embodied and sensory experiences in outdoor activities and
placed this in the context of the challenges encountered around embodied
dis(comfort) and clothing for adverse weather and environmental
conditions. The various contributions will be brought together in an
edited collection."
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POLITICAL SCIENCE ROUNDTABLE
 Professor
Robert Ladrech was invited to participate in a featured roundtable at
the 17th Conference of the Hungarian Political Science Association in
Budapest. The topic of the roundtable concerned the intersection of the
European Union and political parties, in national political systems as
well as in the European Parliament. Along with Professor Ken Benoit, of
the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Professor
Gabor Toka, of the Central European University, presentations and
questions ranged from the europeanisation of political parties to the
possibility of building a European level party system.
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KEELE HISTORY IS COMING OF AGE
A working party of alumni came to Keele to film and record for the
second episode of the Keele Oral History Project. A DVD and CD set
entitled "Coming of Age" will tell the story of Keele "for alumni, by
alumni" from the Royal Charter Year of 1962 through the years of change
and turbulence to 1973. The premiere of the new film is planned for the
graduation week next year, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the
Charter. The team, including Matt Bowling (2008), John Easom
(1981), Nici Hildebrandt (1975), Gerry Northam (1970), Pam Jones and
Brian Walker (1970) captured over 70 film "takes" at thirteen locations
and recorded a narrative of nearly 80 tracks. The experience of students
during the founding decade of the University College of North
Staffordshire at Keele was recounted in the first episode, entitled
"First Decade". For more information click here. |
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BADMINTON SUCCESS IN FRANCE
 Keele
badminton team sent two female and one male team to compete in the
Lille European championships last week. Both female teams
progressed to the knockout stages with a group win and a second
place. They met in the semi-finals guaranteeing Keele a final
place. After a hard fought match the 1st team progressed to the final,
with 2nd team playing in the 3rd/4th play-off. After two fantastic games
Keele ladies walked away with a 2nd and 3rd place.
The men's team dominated in the early stages with a convincing group
win. The Keele team were beaten in the semi-final, losing to a pair
ranked in the top 30 in France. They went on to win their final game
picking up a well deserved 3rd place. |
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RAY PAHL PAPERS DONATED TO SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AT KEELE
 Forty
boxes of papers containing the writings of one of Britain's foremost
sociologists – Professor Ray Pahl – have been donated to the University
Library's Special Collections and Archives, complementing the
Foundations of British Sociology Archive http://calmview.keele.ac.uk.
Professor
Pahl, in his role as Visiting Professor of Sociology at Keele, has been
a highly valued supporter of social research at the University. The
collection of published and unpublished articles spans a fifty year
period and draws upon some of the key questions of concern to
sociologists over this period. Professor Pahl was a major figure in the
development of British Sociology, producing highly influential studies
in areas such as urban sociology, the sociology of work, the impact of
unemployment on households, and the nature of friendship and changing
social ties. His work was uniquely interdisciplinary, combining
approaches drawn from geography, social anthropology, political science,
as well as different strands within sociology itself. Professor Pahl
played an important role in the development of a 'Public Sociology',
serving on a range of official enquiries and contributing to important
debates on questions relating to planning, work and employment. His
papers provide a unique resource for understanding some of the key
questions facing social and economic institutions at the present time.
This
generous gift strengthens the University's holdings of records charting
the development of British Sociology. For further information, or to
arrange to view the Ray Pahl Papers and the preliminary catalogue,
please contact the Archives Administrator h.burton@lib.keele.ac.uk.
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PROJECT GREEN WINS TOP AWARD
Project Green has been recognised for its excellence by winning an award at the 'Recognising our 'finest' Awards 2011' at the Britannia Stadium.
The 'finest Collaborative partnership Award' was looking for
an organisation that could demonstrate it had worked together in
partnerships with local or national companies, local government,
academic institutions or non profit organisations for the benefit of finest member firms, showing commitment to innovation, excellence, results and
challenging conventional practice by engaging in a highly-interactive
process of winning business.
The project was entered by Wardell Armstrong LLP and the award was
presented to Lucy Delaney, of Keele, pictured above, Mark Bedford,
Director at Wardell, and Colin Brown, Managing Director at Wardell.
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WHAT MAKES YOU SO SPECIAL?
For the fourth year running, the Careers and Employability Service and Students' Union have collaborated to deliver the 'What makes you so special?' series of careers and employability workshops for students at every stage of their Keele career.
Allowing students to enhance their preparedness for the world of work
after exams and assessment deadlines have passed, the two week series
was well attended.
Workshops included MBTI Personality Type Profiling, Psychometric
Testing, Working as a Volunteer, Crafting Effective CVs, Succeeding at
Interview and specialist sessions for international students.
Jacob Tyler, 2nd year Biochemistry and Neuroscience said: "The 'What
makes you so special?' workshops are novel, interesting and fresh;
forget what you think you know about the recruitment process!"
BASIC BITES ON THE ROAD TO BIRMINGHAM
Keele Basic Bites (KBB) went national and presented at the 19th
Annual Birmingham Conference at the Lakeside Centre, Aston University.
With an audience of doctors, clinicians and NHS professionals, the
KBB team pitched their video-based guided study project, finishing to
loud applause after concluding with one of their promotional
videos.
The project was warmly received at the venue and will hopefully lead
to further high profile clinical collaboration in the future as a result
of this opportunity to showcase innovation from Keele.
The Birmingham Conference is an annual educational conference for
healthcare professionals hosted jointly by the West Midlands Workforce
Deanery and the Centre for Research in Medical and Dental Education.
TOTAL RECOGNITION FOR CFM STAFF
'Total Recognition', an initiative to recognise a member of staff or team worthy of praise, has been launched by CFM for 2011.
The scheme was devised by a group of CFM staff to recognise individuals, and teams, who excel in the workplace.
Students, members of staff and visitors can nominate an individual or
team for an award. Voting forms are available across campus or contact
Marcus Wilson on extension 34606.
The judging will take place in August.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Forty-four years ago –
A lecture broadcast on the BBC Home Service to mark the centenary of
the birth of Arnold Bennett was organised by the University's Adult
Education Department and delivered at Stoke Town Hall by J B Priestley
on 26 May, 1967.
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