NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY 2012

The National Student Survey (NSS) will be launched for Keele students next week.

The NSS is a survey of students' academic experiences, commissioned by the
Higher Education Funding Council for England and administered by Ipsos MORI, the independent research company. The results are made available to participating institutions on the NSS Results Website, while prospective students, their advisors and the public can view the published NSS results at Unistats.com.

It is important that as many students as possible provide their feedback for the survey to generate reliable information. We need to achieve a response rate of at least 50%, both at institution and at subject level. Last year we achieved an overall response rate of 67%, but not all subject areas were equally successful.

Eligible students will be sent an invitation to complete the NSS next week. Those who have not completed the survey may be contacted by post or ultimately by telephone. They can also complete the survey online at www.thestudentsurvey.com and students can opt out of the survey at any point during the fieldwork. Keele has consistently done well in the survey and last year was positioned in the top ten nationally for student satisfaction.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR KEELE PSYCHOLOGIST

The British Psychological Society has awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Chris Cullen, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Keele and Director of Psychological Services for North Staffordshire NHS.

Professor Cullen was appointed to Keele in 1995.  Prior to that he was SSMH Chair in Learning Difficulties at the University of St Andrews.  Professor Cullen has been President of the Society as well as Chair of its Division of Clinical Psychology.  He was also President of the British Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Psychotherapies. Throughout his career he has been very active on a wide range of committees but he also has an extensive publication record particularly in the field of complex learning disabilities. It was for his distinguished contribution both to the profession of psychology and to the British Psychological Society over many years that he received this very prestigious award.

RESEARCH INTO AGEING SYMPOSIUM

More than 60 members of staff from various faculties this week attended the first Bridging the Gaps supported workshop on Ageing at the Sustainability Hub. The aim of the event was to raise the profile of inter-disciplinary work in the field of ageing currently undertaken across the University. Keele supports a number of major initiatives in age-related research, supported by the research councils and leading charities.

The purpose of the day was to explore the contribution of different disciplines to understanding population ageing, and to assess ways of taking forward research collaborations which would demonstrate the strength of University activities in a priority area for research funding. Presentations were drawn from all of the faculties within the University,  and included epidemiology, chemistry, medicine, biology, law, economics, psychology, English and sociology.

Professor Carol Jagger, from Newcastle University, the Symposium's external speaker, talked about the social and health challenges associated with ageing populations and the important role of inter-disciplinary research. The day concluded with a discussion reviewing ways of developing joint grant submissions drawing from work across a number of research institutes and centres.
 
For more details on how to apply for funding a collaborative project or details for the next "Bridging The Gaps" event, please visit the website: http://www.keele.ac.uk/bridging-the-gaps/.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH AT KEELE

February sees the start of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender - LGBT History Month, the first in a series of Keele Unity events that will take place throughout the year.

Led by staff and students, Keele Unity aims to bring people together through a series of events with a common aim of promoting equality, diversity and inclusion.

LGBT History Month has been developed in close partnership with staff, students and a range of local groups and agencies. It is an opportunity to bring our community together to remember, commemorate and celebrate the enormous contribution the LGBT community has made to our rich and diverse society both locally at Keele and globally.
 
The LGBT History Month Symposium will take place on Wednesday, 8 February from 8.45am to 1pm at the Sustainability Hub. This will be followed by a full programme of presentations, workshops, student run events and lectures throughout February.

Attendance is free but demand is expected to be high so please book early to secure a place. For further information and to register your attendance at an event please contact Colette Smallwood, Equalities and Recruitment Administrator, Human Resources, on Tel – 01782 733407 (ext 33407) or email c.a.smallwood@per.keele.ac.uk. For further details visit the Keele Unity webpage http://www.keele.ac.uk/hrss/equalitydiversity/keeleunity/

SCHOOL OF LAW CLIENT INTERVIEWING FINAL

Level 2 students, Cara Louise Sharpley and Kat Gittins, won this year's School of Law Client Interviewing Competition before an audience of staff and students.

The final was judged by Janet Jackson and Kathryn Harvey, solicitors on ASPIRE's legal team. The competition is designed to help support the development of Law students' skills in communication, working with clients and quickly identifying key issues in complex scenarios.

Kathryn and Janet said: "The standard of the competition in the final was really strong and all the teams were very impressive. We are really pleased to be able to invite all six finalists to spend time with us at ASPIRE.  The winners demonstrated a really impressive set of interview management skills and empathy with the client."

Cara and Kat, pictured above with the judges, will be representing the School of Law in the Regional Final of the National Client Interviewing Competition this weekend and we wish them the best of luck.

CHILDHOOD OBESITY PAPER 

Marshall Scholar Speaker, Anna Jo Bodurtha Smith, gave a paper on childhood obesity from a UK and US perspective at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Clinical Education Centre, this week to more than 50 student nurses and paediatric academic staff as part of the Keele World Festival 2012 events.

Anna Jo Bodurtha Smith, who has a MPH from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a BA in Sociology from Yale University, is currently researching ways to weave childhood obesity interventions into paediatric care in the NHS and US.

Pictured left to right: Yvonne Flood, Lecturer, Dr Wynne Thomas, School International Champion, Jacquie Collin, Lecturer, Anna Jo Bodurtha Smith, Louise Vincent, Lecturer.

CENTRE VISIT

Colleagues at the Learning and Professional Development Centre welcomed Dr Rabab Tamish from Bethlehem University this week. Dr Tamish, (pictured right with Head of Centre, Dr Jackie Potter) recently completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge on teachers' professional knowledge and has been asked by her University to establish a Centre for Teacher Excellence.

She met colleagues from the teaching teams of the three Keele postgraduate awards that are available for staff wishing to explore and develop their teaching practice.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH TATA

As part of the first partnership visit to India, Rama Thirunamachandran,
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the University, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) in Mumbai.

Keele and TISS have been exchanging students in Human Rights and Globalisation under PMI2 for the last three years, but this agreement now takes the partnership to a new level and will enable the two institutions to work closely on a range of activities in Social Work, Social-legal outreach programmes and research.

APPOINTED JOURNAL EDITOR

Dr Alexandra Lamont, Psychology, has started a five-year term as Editor of the journal Psychology of Music. 

The journal, published by Sage, in association with the Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research, has grown significantly in submissions, readership and citations in recent years. 

It received its first Impact Factor of 1.182 in the 2010 Journal Citation Reports, and Dr Lamont hopes to take the journal from strength to strength over the coming years.

RESEARCH INTERVIEW ON BBC RADIO

A PhD research candidate in the Centre for Social Gerontology, Robin Hadley, discussed his research on involuntarily childless older men on BBC Radio Manchester this week. Rob is hopeful the opportunity will help in his recruitment of participants in this difficult to access group.

Anyone interested in taking part, or who would like more details about the research, please email Rob at: r.a.hadley@ ilcs. keele.ac.uk.

WP HEALTHCARE EVENT FOR LOCAL STUDENTS

Outreach and Widening Participation, in conjunction with Nursing and Midwifery, hosted one of three HE CARD health care events at Keele this week. 

The 140 Key stage 5 learners, who visit three universities as part of the CARD programme, enjoyed talks on UCAS applications, through to practical clinical sessions, where they took temperatures and pulses. Many had questions about routes into healthcare professions, with Karen Washington leading sessions and offering expert guidance.

The event, attended by Stoke on Trent College 6th Form and Stafford College students, was supported by a team of Keele Student Ambassadors.

NEXT WEEK

Tuesday, 7 February:

Inaugural Lecture - Professor Gordon Hamilton, Life Sciences, "Sex pheromones of male insects and disease control". Westminster Theatre, 6 pm.

Wednesday 8 February: ,

Sustainability Open Forum in the Sustainability Hub, 3pm. This is an opportunity for staff and students to hear more, and ask questions, about the University's Sustainability vision. Refreshments and a tour of the Sustainability Hub will be available.

Thursday, 9 February at 3pm - Official opening of 'Whole Earth? - Aligning human systems and natural systems' exhibition, by Jonathon Porritt, who will be installed as our new Chancellor at a ceremony earlier in the day. Claus Moser Centre.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Thirty-seven years ago -

Earlier diagnosis of multiple sclerosis has been made possible by research carried out by Dr David Regan and Dr Beryl Milner of Keele's Department of Communication, and Dr James Heron of the North Staffordshire Hospital Centre. A method of recording from the brain has been developed, producing a test which reveals a visual defect that is not otherwise apparent. 6 February 1975.