UK-INDIA EDUCATION AND RESEARCH INITIATIVE SUCCESSES

Keele has been incredibly successful in bids to the UK-India Education and Research Initiative securing five awards and boosting the University's broader internationalisation and social responsibility agenda.

The University has been successful with one for stem cell research with Dr Nick Forsyth, ISTM, and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi; one for medicinal chemistry with Professor Pat Bailey and  the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, and three with Tata Institute of Social Sciences for law/social work.

The UKIERI funds activity aimed at establishing  educational relations between the UK and India and the funding stream has been available since 2006. The current programme of funding is aimed at producing systemic changes in India and will provide opportunities for  professional and leadership development of schools, higher education institutions and vocational institutions, support partnerships and develop student mobility and skills development programmes.

Keele and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences have been successful in securing a competitive grant to support a programme of study exchange in Law and Social Advocacy.

The UKIERI Study Mission grant will provide £50k to support Lead Applicants, Dr Jane Krishnadas, as Director of Legal Outreach, Keele, and Professor Lakshmi Lingam, as the Deputy Director of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences new UG and PGT campus in Hyderabad, to pioneer a study exchange of social and legal curriculum in collaboration with professional partners from the social and legal sector in India UK. The project prioritises the fostering of mobility of students across the UK and India, and all the UKIERI funding is allocated to secure the most equitable exchange of students from each institution. Over the two year programme this will enable a total of 32 students to embark on exchanges between the UK and India.

This was a very competitive funding call and the success of the application is a product of the relationships that have been developed since 2007 and the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions. The grant will support Keele PGT students who wish to visit TISS as part of their programme and for Keele to welcome an increased number of TISS PGR students to Keele. The opportunity to place our relationship with TISS on a much more sustainable basis will enhance the attractiveness of each institution's programmes to students wishing to take up these opportunities and the exchanges will provide a platform for future programme development and research collaborations.

Dr Krishnadas has been supported in this at Keele by Alison Brammer (Law) and Jane Boylan (Social Work) and the programme also builds on the community partnerships cemented through CLOCK (Community Legal Outreach Collaboration Keele).

The UKIERI grant will fund  Dr Boylan to visit  TISS in 2013. The visit will foster the building  of strong and sustainable teaching and research relationships in child care and gerontology;exploration of the potential for student exchange, joint course development and the possibility of a joint international summer school; understanding of the UK infrastructure, processes and procedures relating to teaching and learning in the field; developing collaborative relationships with social work academics and exploring the potential for social work research and joint curriculum development; exploring  the possibility of developing  joint programmes in social work;internationalising social work programmes, and opportunities to explore work with post qualifying and doctoral students.

KEELE IN SRI LANKA

During a recent visit to Sri Lanka, Rama Thirunamachandran, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, officiated at the 7th graduation ceremony of Keele students based at the Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT) in Colombo.

IIT has been teaching Keele degree programmes in Sri Lanka since 1999, most recently under the supervision of Dr Stephen Linkman. Thirty-two MSc students from Information Technology and Management and Project Management attended to receive their degree certificates.

Keele hosted a reception to launch "Keele in Sri Lanka," part of the Alumni Network which aims to bring together alumni from Keele and partner institutions. Kasuni Pinnawala (Law and Criminology, 1994) was introduced as the first Sri Lankan Alumni Ambassador and will help to energise and support Sri Lankan Keelites.

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL GRANT

Dr Divya Chari, Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, with Dr David Furness, has been awarded a grant of £304,000 by the British Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to support a project entitled "Magnetic nanoparticle mediated delivery of neurotherapeutic genes to multipotent neural stem cell transplant populations".

The work will build on proof-of-concept data generated under a BBSRC New Investigator Award made to Dr Chari in 2008, with the development of rapid, high throughput methods to study stem cell-nanomaterial interactions being a major goal for the project.
Dr Chari is currently delivering a series of scientific lectures in India. She has spoken at a range of prestigious research institutions including the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), both in Bangalore.

KEELE IN SOUTH EAST ASIA

As part of its planned expansion of postgraduate programmes delivered in Asia, Keele has launched the Postgraduate Certificate of Education (International) (PGCEi) in Thailand - www.keele.ac.uk/education/ pgceinternational

The first of four, weekend-long, PGCEi residentials was hosted at Harrow International School, Bangkok. This exciting and innovative programme is designed primarily for in-service, uncertified teachers working in international schools in Asia.
 
The launch was a great success with 23 teachers arriving for the first taught weekend. With nine nationalities represented and teachers working across eight South East and East Asian countries, this PGCE is truly international. The PGCEi team in Thailand was led by Mr Graeme Easdown, (School of Public Policy and Professional Practice), with Dr Stephen Whitehead (Keele's Asia Programme Coordinator) and Mr Denry Machin (Harrow International School) in support.
 
The PGCEi is the second postgraduate programme now delivered in Asia by the School of PP&PP. In May 2010 Keele launched the MBA Education (International), also hosted at Harrow International School. More PG programmes are now in the pipeline, with an MA Education (International) planned for September 2013.

CATERING SUPERVISOR ENTERS YOUNG HALL OF FAME

Rising star Emma Bell, Supervisor at Keele Hall, attended a reception at the House of Commons where she was presented with an award for young professionals in the hospitality industry and was entered into the Young Hall of Fame.

At the reception, Matthew Hancock MP, Minister for Skills, spoke about the hospitality industry with great pride. Emma said: "It was a very special day; the memory will stay with me for a very long time. I feel so proud to be one of the first people to receive the award and being the only representative from a university was such an honour. It also gave me the opportunity to meet some famous people, including Fred Sirieix from TV's Michel Roux Jr Front of House show."

Emma has also won through to the final 25 for the Gold Service Scholarship - a new UK scholarship for Font-of-House professionals launched in a bid to inspire a new generation of young people to make a career in Front-of-House hospitality.The inaugural scholarship offers the chance to win a year's worth of exclusive mentoring from the best in the business.
 
Following initial online tests, the judges, including industry luminaries, such as Willy Bauer, Fred Sirieix and Silvano Giraldin, chose the regional finalists from more than 100 entries. Those shortlisted will compete at regional finals at University College in Birmingham and the University of West London in January.

KEELE LECTURER HELPS DEVELOP ICT CURRICULUM FOR SCHOOLS

Andy Connell, Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education (School of PPPP), has been a member of three groups leading on possible developments in Primary and Secondary School ICT. 

He was invited onto the Teaching Agency Computer Science Expert Group in July to help draft materials for new teacher training courses in Computer Science, then invited to join the BCS & Royal Society of Engineering Computer Science Industry Expert Group, commissioned by the DfE, to write a proposed new Programme of Study for ICT.  Andy was also invited onto a second group, responding to consultation feedback.  The proposal is now with Ministers. http://academy.bcs.org/content/draft-ict-programme-study

SALVATION ARMY CHRISTMAS APPEAL

Congratulations to staff and students from the School of Medicine based at Keel e, UHNS and Stafford Hospital, who have donated over 100 toys and gifts to the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal.

Co-ordinated in the School by Helen Derbyshire (Placements Development Officer), the appeal aims to make Christmas special for children and families in and around North Staffordshire who would otherwise have little or nothing under the tree on Christmas morning.
 
Everyone was encouraged to select at random a Christmas tag from a bag.   The tag contained the gender and age of a local child who needed a gift this Christmas.  People were also encouraged to think of the appeal when out shopping and if they spotted an ideal gift they could donate that too.

Recipient children and families are referred by health visitors, social workers, schools, colleges, refuges, respite care and charities to the Salvation Army.  If you are interested in supporting the appeal next year please contact Helen for further information h.derbyshire@keele.ac.uk

NEWLY QUALIFIED TEACHER CONFERENCE

The Science Learning Centre's annual residential NQT Conference began with Paul McCrory's inspirational keynote session which showed his unique take on engaging children by encouraging emotional involvement. The next session focused on using video to support learning where participants used interesting props, including puppets, to make creative videos. After dinner, with a clear sky and a beautiful moon, enthusiastic observatory staff were able to reveal the night sky in all its glory.

The following day, participants enjoyed highly interactive workshops which covered a range of topics including assessment for learning, engaging practical work, literacy in science, STEM enrichment and exciting demonstrations. When the conference closed, a group of tired but 'fired-up' teachers commented that presenters were "enthusiastic, excellent communicators" and that they had been encouraged to "think about their teaching in a different way".

KEELE LECTURER ON BBC BREAKFAST

Dr Joanne Protheroe, Senior Lecturer in General Practice, was interviewed on BBC Breakfast last week on new research into health literacy levels across England that has shown that health information is too complex and that 43% of people aged between 16 and 65 years are unable to effectively understand and use everyday health information.

Dr Protheroe was part of a research team that also found that where health materials required reading skills, a significantly higher proportion of people in the North of England were unable to use the material effectively, compared to those in the South of England.

She was also interviewed on BBC Radio Stoke, Radio Sunrise and by the regional press.

RUSSIA TODAY INTERVIEW FOR KEELE ACADEMIC ON GOVERNMENT DECISION

Professor Peter Styles, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, has been in demand in the national and international media following the Government's decision to give the go-ahead to resume fracking in the UK.

He was interviewed on Russia Today and BBC WORLD, plus BBC Radio Ulster, and has been quoted extensively in the national and international press.

Professor Styles was co-author of the scientific report to DECC into the Blackpool earthquakes published in April 2012.

SOCIOLOGY SOCIETY FIGHTING FOOD POVERTY

Keele Sociology Society have been working with the Stoke-on-Trent food bank, which opened in May this year as a response to rising levels of food poverty in the area.

Members of the society ran a food drive with stalls in the Chancellor's Building and Students' Union to collect donations of non-perishable food from staff and students. 

An impressive 421 items of food were collected and over £50 in donations was raised. 

This was a brilliant effort from the sociology students and the donations will go towards feeding around 30-40 people for three days this winter.

WORLD AFFAIRS GROUP - 50TH ANNIVERSARY LECTURE

Professor Stephen White, James Bryce Professor of Politics at the University of Glasgow, gave the third World Affairs Group lecture organised to mark the University's Charter Year. His lecture was titled 'Is Russia a Democracy?'

 
His research interests focus on Soviet and post-Soviet politics, with special emphasis on elections, voting and nonvoting, parties, political elites, public opinion and the media.

He also works on the current politics and foreign policy of Belarus and Ukraine, on Russian foreign policy, and political graphics.

He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2010.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH - AHRC AWARD

The Humanities Research Institute has been awarded an AHRC Collaborative Skills Development Award for the student-led strand.

The project will be led by Jo Taylor at Keele and Kerry Astbury at Liverpool, and supervised by David Amigoni, pictured, and Liverpool's Matthew Bradley.

Entitled 'Crossing the bar: Public Engagement and Humanities Research', the project will develop the skills necessary for establishing mutually-beneficial public engagement relationships between postgraduate and early career Humanities researchers and community partners.

Two workshops will provide researchers in the North West with models of public engagement, and the skills necessary to build and sustain similar models in their own research practices.

The provisional partners include Staffordshire Archive Service, Johnson Birthplace Museum, Gladstone's Library and the Wordsworth Trust.

FROM THE ACHIVES

Ten years ago -

Dr Martin Dent, a Fellow of SPIRE, was awarded an honorary degree by the Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria, for contributions to humanity in the fields of Education, Conflict Resolution and philanthropy.

Dr Dent served as a colonial district officer in pre-independence Nigeria before coming to Keele. In 1994 he was made an honorary Chieftain of the land of Tiv for his services to the people.

The degree of Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) was conferred on Dr Dent at a ceremony at the Benue State University.

16 December 2002.