The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, and colleagues, recently led a 'Keele in Kenya' event at the British Institute for Eastern Africa in Nairobi, hosted by Dr Ambreena Manji, Reader in Keele's School of Law, who is presently on sabbatical as Director of the BIEA.  

 

The two-day event aimed to build on existing links and establish new partnerships providing opportunity for the University to extend its relationships with HE institutions and businesses in East Africa and to extend opportunities for Kenyan students to study at Keele. 

Headlining the event was a presentation by the Vice-Chancellor entitled 'Internationalisation and Higher Education – Perspectives and Challenges'.  The lecture, Chaired by University Council member and Former British High Commissioner to Kenya, Sir Jeffrey James, attracted a capacity audience, including the Kenyan Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, Hon Professor Margaret Kamar, who also addressed guests following the Vice-Chancellor's announcement of Keele's programme of scholarships for Kenyan students from September 2013.

 

Pictured above - Delegates attend the Vice-Chancellor's keynote address. Front Row: L-R, John McCarthy, Director of Marketing and Communications, Dr Ambreena Manji, Director, BIEA, Hon Professor Margaret Kamar, Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, Kenya, and Professor Krispus Kiamba, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Higher Education, Science and Technology, Kenya.

 

'Keele in Kenya', which concluded with a reception for Kenyan alumni and applicants, also saw the establishment of  the  'Kenyan Alumni Association' which will assist maintaining strong links with Keele to provide information, mentoring advice, employment opportunities and support for Keele's Kenyan students and alumni.

The Vice-Chancellor is pictured above with founder members of the new Kenyan Alumni Association (KAA) at the 'Keele in Kenya' Reception, BIEA, Nairobi.

 

The Research Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine has purchased a new Pyrosequencer to replace the existing one at the Guy Hilton Research Centre, which has been a mainstay of several research projects over the last ten years.

 

Pyrosequencing technology allows high-throughput DNA (genetic and epigenetic) sequence analyses and rapid single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) identification.  The new equipment permits increased sensitivity and more sophisticated analysis platforms, throughput and workstation software.
 
Costing over £35,000, ISTM's investment will underpin new work by at least seven research teams and projects in ISTM, plus training opportunities for numerous PhD, DM and MSc students. 

 

The equipment will be maintained by Professor Tony Fryer, pictured above left, and Professor Bill Farrell, pictured right, who are collaborating with clinical colleagues in the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, as well as groups in Birmingham, Nottingham and Derby. 

 

Capital Equipment funding allocated from the Higher Education Funding Council for England has enabled the purchase of the Pyrosequencer, which will be commissioned in early summer.

 

An Awareness Event was organised this week by the School of Life Sciences, to raise the profile of the Athena SWAN Charter, which recognises and celebrates good employment practice for women working in science, engineering and technology (SET) in higher education and research.

 

Keele joined the Charter in 2005 and gained a bronze award in 2006 (one of the first institutions in the country to receive this).  Since then two Schools: Physical and Geographical Sciences, and Life Sciences have gained Silver departmental awards.

 

Professor Paul Walton of York University (who successfully achieved a Gold Athena SWAN Award for their Chemistry Department) gave an inspiring lecture to an audience of around 40 colleagues from Keele, on the benefits of equality in the workplace and, in particular, support for those at key career transition points.  There was then an opportunity for networking over lunch, followed by a workshop for those Schools looking to apply for Athena SWAN Awards.

 

The photograph shows Professor Paul Walton with the Head of Life Sciences, Dr Anne Loweth, and Ximena Canter, Faculty Business Manager for Natural Sciences.

Professor Andy Hassell, Medicine, delivered the last lecture in the University's series of professorial Inaugural Lectures for 2011 – 2012, on Monday. His lecture was titled.  "The patient with arthritis, the medical student and the rheumatologist: influencing tomorrow's doctors".
 
In his talk, Andrew explored some current concepts of medical education, both undergraduate and postgraduate, against a background of his experience as a clinician and researcher involved in the care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

 

Professor Hassell is pictured with the Dean of Health, Professor Andy Garner, and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett.

 

Staff at the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre at Keele formed a fundraising branch for the charity and held their first event in March last year – since then they have raised nearly £7,000, which was presented by the Research Centre's Director, Professor Elaine Hay, and Deputy Director, Rhian Hughes, along with members of the branch, to Arthritis Research UK Regional Fundraising Managers, Emma Macdonald and Fred Johnson, this week.

 

Approximately £5,000 of this was profit from their Gala Ball at Keele Hall in March. It was a fantastic evening of dinner and dancing and was enjoyed by all, including the Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent and Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme. The remainder was raised from a variety of successful events, including cake sales, a comedy night, football related competitions, supermarket collections, donations and sponsored events.

 

Following on from the success of last year's Comedy Night, another night of stand-up laughs is planned for Wednesday, 19 September. Tickets (£7 each) are available from Daniel Green (d.j.green@cphc.keele.ac.uk).
 
The picture shows Emma Macdonald and Fred Johnson (ARUK) with Rhian Hughes, Professor Elaine Hay and some members of the fundraising group.

 

Students from the School of Nursing and Midwifery have returned from their international practice experiences in a range of countries, including Ghana, Tanzania and Australia.

 

Student Nurse, Sarah Barton, spent time at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi, Ghana, on their Paediatric Ward, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and in a Community Clinic.

Sarah is pictured with Dr Eghan Paediatric Consultant, and Dr Adams, Registrar, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital. 
 
Students will be presenting their international experiences to staff and students on 10 September  at the Clinical Education Centre. They will identify the similarities and differences in health care between the countries and the impact it has had on their personal, professional and future career development.

 

Dr Wynne Thomas School International Champion has completed Erasmus Teaching Mobility Exchanges at San Rafael-Nebija University, Madrid and Ankara University, Turkey.

 

Wynne has been invited to join the Scientific Committee of the 1st National Congress of Innovations in Nursing at Ankara and will be an invited keynote speaker at the congress in October 2012.

 

He is pictured with staff and students from Faculty of Health Sciences, Ankara University.

 

A symposium and book launch entitled 'From Greed to Sustainability? The Corporation in an Era of Responsibility', which took place in the Claus Moser Research Centre, explored the contribution of two recent books by Dr Gordon Pearson, Keele Management School: The Rise and Fall of Management: A Brief History of Practice, Theory and Context (Gower, 2009) and The Road to Co-operation: Escaping the Bottom Line (Gower, 2012).

 

Dr Pearson introduced the texts and Professor Andrew Dobson, SPIRE, provided a commentary. The current practice of management and the dominance of neo-liberal economic theory underlying it were criticised and alternative approaches discussed.

 

The well attended event gave rise to lively discussion. It provided an appropriate conclusion to a very successful series of presentations organised by the Culture, Organisation and Markets group within the Research institute for Social Sciences during the academic year. Dr Pearson's blog can be found at:
http.//www.gordonpearson.co.uk/

 

An Organisation Studies Network Seminar, held in the Claus Moser Research Centre, was part of the 2011-12 programme of presentations, arranged by the Culture, Organisation and Markets group, within the Research Institute for Social Sciences.

 

It was attended by academics from a number of universities. Presentations were given by Elizabeth Harlow (Chester); Kim Mather (Keele); Teresa Oultram (Keele); Jim Barry (East London & Lulea), Elisabeth Berg (Lulea) and John Chandler (East London); and Martin Parker (Warwick).

 

The OSN was founded in 1997 to help stimulate research and critical thinking about organisation and management. It currently operates through bi-annual seminars that rotate between UK universities; providing an opportunity for both new and established researchers to mix, share thoughts and present papers in a scholarly but supportive environment. This was the latest in a series of very successful OSN seminars held at Keele.

 

Hanshi (Master) Jim Hulse, from the Finance & IT Directorate, was awarded his 8th Dan by George Mattson, 10th Dan and President of the International Uechi (pronounced way-chee) Karate Federation in Boston, USA, over the Diamond Jubilee weekend – making him the highest ranked exponent of this discipline in the country and joint highest ranked in Europe.

 

To advance to such a high level, Jim, pictured right with George Mattson, has trained frequently over the last 40 years; he also teaches students at his local dojo twice a week. In addition to his weekly training sessions, he holds a Summer Camp here at Keele for people from the UK and mainland Europe, teaching the art of pressure point fighting.

 

Complementing his knowledge of martial arts, is his equally formidable use of the healing arts like qigong, kyusho and tuina …. so, having knocked you out, he can bring you round with tender loving care.

 

Sarah Elsom, the High Sheriff of Staffordshire, unveiled the largest model of Diamond in the world in the market place Uttoxeter.

 

The model was built by the people of Uttoxeter, with the help of the Keele Molecules Out and About team. This came from a partnership with Redfern's Cottage, the Museum of Uttoxeter Life, and Thomas Alleyne's High School, with every school in Uttoxeter taking part, along with local community groups.

 

Dr Graeme Jones, the team leader, said: "The model has a real zing in the sunshine but there has not been much of that! People spend ages looking at the model, seeing the different planes in the crystal structure and looking through the channels. It is quite eyrie, as you move around the model the channels move with you."

 

The team is now looking for a pair of adjudicators to ratify that the model beats the current Guinness World Record.

 

Dr Jamie Pringle, of the School of Physical Sciences & Geography/EPSAM, was this week awarded the 2012 William Smith Fund by the Geological Society of London, the oldest Geological Society in the world at President's Day.

The William Smith Fund is awarded for excellence in contributions to applied and economic aspects of Geology within the first 10 years of the recipient's academic career (see here).

 

 

'Visitation Adagio', a collaborative audiovisual work by Dr Diego Garro and Richard T. Nelmes, RI Humanities - Music & Music Technology, was awarded the Visionen Preis 2012 at the Festival for Sound and Moving Visual Arts in Hannover, organised by GEMART (Group for Experimental Music and Media Arts).

 

The video features quasi-familiar Keele campus landscapes and ominous soundscapes, re-contextualised into a musing voyage of re-discovery by a quizzical visitor and his arcane, glistening little companion. This work can be previewed here.

 

Professor Chris Phillipson led a public debate in the British Library on the theme of 'Growing Old: Something to Fear or Celebrate'.

 

The debate was one of a series dedicated to exploring the role of social science in responding to areas of social and political concern and is sponsored by the British Library in association with the Academy of Social Sciences and the Economic and Social Research Council.

Professor Phillipson reviewed some of the challenges associated with demographic change, exploring the different ways in which key social institutions associated with work, the family and higher education needed to adapt to fulfil the potential of ageing populations.

 

Professor Phillipson has recently been awarded a Fellowship from the Gerontological Society of America in recognition of his research activity in the field of ageing.

 

 

Professor Andrew Dobson, SPIRE, has made two media appearances recently.

He participated last Sunday in a debate on GM crops, and the expansion of Birmingham airport, on BBC TV's 'The Politics Show'. 

 

He argued that neither was desirable, on both economic and environmental grounds.

 

He also took part in an interview hosted by BBC Radio Stoke's Stuart George on the issue of prosperity and economic growth, and whether the latter was a precondition for the former. 

 

This was part of the celebrations surrounding the publication of Professor Gordon Pearson's two books on the contemporary state of management theory and practice.

 

 

Dr Sorin Baiasu, Reader in Philosophy and Philosophy Programme Director, was interviewed by Kenny Jones, for the 'Behind the Mic' show on Talk Radio Europe, about the morality of politics.

Dr Baiasu argued that the morality of politicians is not always well reflected by the level of trust in the public, and is adversely affected by factors such as the current economic situation.

 

He also argued that, given Kant's view of a continuous moral improvement of the human race, today's politicians are likely to be morally superior to those from the past: an indirect proof of this is the fact that they are more scrutinised, the press has better access to their private lives, and the opposition do not hesitate to speculate about moral slippage.

 

The interview can be heard in full by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

The event includes lectures by Keele academics, arboretum walks, handling reptiles, taking part in live music and getting involved with the less conventional sports.

 

The University hopes to welcome over 3,000 people on to campus for a day of activities from 10 am to 4 pm. All activities and parking for the day are free of charge.

 

On the day you can try a language or sport taster session, or perhaps try
your hand at finger printing/examining fibres, or visit the observatory and
sustainability hub, or listen to local young talented musicians on the outdoor stage.

 

 

 

Mrs Rhiannon Jones has been appointed a Lecturer in Social Work and was previously a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Manchester Metropolitan University.

 

 

The Employer Engagement Team's new newsletter can be found here.

 

It includes an overview of  internships, the benefits they bring to Keele as a whole, and a case study of a graduate gaining a permanent job.

 

 

After two highly successful years and by popular demand, Keele Writer's Retreat will return this summer.

 

The summer school will take place from 29 July to 3 August.

It is open to everyone with an interest in creative writing and life writing.

 

The workshops and tutorials take place in the old library in Keele Hall.

 

Each day, participants will receive one-to-one feedback from one of four published authors.

 

They will participate in group feedback sessions and receive a masterclass in either poetry or prose, depending on their interest.

Tutors include Jacob Polley, the author of two collections of poetry; Gwendoline Riley, a Fellow in Creative Writing at Keele, who is the author of four novels; Joe Stretch, a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Keele,  pictured above, who has published two novels with Vintage - Friction and Wildlife - and his third - The Adult - is appearing this year from Cape; and James Sheard, a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Keele, who is published by Mews Press and Cape.

 

For more information contact: k.c.mckeown@his. keele.ac.uk or click here.