NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP FOR KEELE ACADEMIC

Krysia Dziedzic, professor of musculoskeletal therapies at the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre is a newly-named fellow of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and will promote NICE's work for the next three years.

NICE awards 10 fellowships and 10 scholarships each year to professionals in healthcare, local government or academia who are working to improve the quality of care in their area. The organisation is responsible for driving improvements in health and social care as well developing relevant guidance, standards and information.

Professor Dziedzic worked with NICE on the development of the first osteoarthritis guideline in 2008. She currently leads the MOSAICS (Managing Osteoarthritis in Consultations) study, implementing the guideline in partnership with general practices in the North West Midlands.

Under the fellowship she will work on integrating an update of the NICE osteoarthritis guideline (2013) with the MOSAICS project. She will work with other healthcare professionals and organisations, including the CSP, to disseminate the updated guideline. Professor Dziedzic will then work with NICE experts and stakeholders to develop a summary of guidance on non-pharmacological therapies across key chronic diseases.

DISTINGUISHED INTERNATIONAL MEDAL FOR KEELE ACADEMIC

Professor Simon Davies has been awarded the National Kidney Foundation's 2013 International Distinguished Medal. This award was established in 1990 to honour the achievement of individuals from throughout the world who have made significant contributions to the field of kidney disease.
 
Professor Davies was presented with the medal during the NKF President's Dinner at the NKF 2013 Spring Clinical Meetings in Orlando, Florida.  Professor Davies has held a Keele chair in Nephrology and Dialysis Medicine for the last ten years and has been a Consultant Renal Physician and the University Hospital of North Staffordshire for 20 years. He is a very active clinical academic in Keele's Research Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine, developing widely acclaimed research in the field of peritoneal dialysis with over 100 original research articles published, generating over 2,500 citations, plus many research reviews and book chapters.

By showing that peritoneal membrane function both influences survival and is itself affected by the treatment process, his research team has developed rational approaches to treatment that have improved outcomes for dialysis patients locally and nationally.  Professor Davies is clear that his research emphasis has always been the development of tools that can be translated into every day clinical work, recognised in several previous international awards including his election to the position of President of the International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis.

In the photograph Professor Davies is seen receiving his medal from Dr Beth Piraino, current President of the National Kidney Foundation.

NEW ARTWORK COMMISSIONED FOR SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

The School of Medicine has commissioned a celebratory artwork to commemorate the successful implementation of the undergraduate medical degree at Keele.

A local artist, Philip Hardaker, worked with students and staff to create ceramic tiles that reveal many different facets of learning and practising medicine in the Potteries.

Using these and other pieces of ceramic, including tiles recovered from the North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary, Phil has created a unique and striking artwork. This was unveiled by Professor Andy Garner in the presence of an audience that included those who have generously donated to the School as well as staff and students whose contributions make up the piece.  In welcoming everyone, Professor Garner commented on how well the ceramic mural reflected local heritage  and student experience. 

The picture shows Phil Hardaker, together with Professor Val Wass, Head of the Medical School, Dr Carol Gray and Professor Garner, PVC and Dean of the Faculty of Health.

TRANSFER OR TRANSLATION? HOW KNOWLEDGE IS SHARED THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS – INAUGURAL LECTURE

Professor Harry Scarbrough, Keele Management School, this week gave the latest lecture in Keele's programme of Inaugural Professorial Lectures. The title of the lecture was "Transfer or Translation? How Knowledge Is Shared Through Social Networks".

Professor Harry Scarbrough said:  "A common assumption amongst senior executives and policy-makers is the idea that knowledge can be readily 'transferred' from one setting to another. This assumption underpins many current policies in both government and industry, including the pursuit of 'impact' from research, and attempts to transfer 'best practice' in manufacturing and service organisations."

In the lecture he questioned the linear model of knowledge transfer, and outlined an alternative view of the way in which knowledge and ideas flow between different settings. Through examples drawn from his research in the health sector, he argued that knowledge was actually 'translated' through social networks, with different groups adapting and tailoring such knowledge to their own circumstances. The critical role played by such networks, ranging from professional groups to the 'old school tie' network, had important implications for our ability to make the best use of the knowledge that we produce.

The picture shows Harry Scarbrough with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, and PVC and Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, Professor David Shepherd.

RADIO 3 INTERVIEW ON FRANCIS POULENC

Professor Barbara Kelly was recently interviewed for a programme devoted to the French composer Poulenc for BBC Radio 3's, Music Matters (it is still available as a podcast here). 

Professor Kelly was involved in the programme planning and the identification of themes.  As a result she was able to comment on issues of legacy, identity and modernity in post-WWI Paris.  This programme is one of a number of tributes on the 50th anniversary of the death of the composer who was described as both a rascal and monk.  He is best remembered for his fashionable and apparently trivial ballets and his more devotional Gloria and Mass. 

Professor Kelly was invited to take part in the national French commemorations for the composer at an invited Symposium at the Paris Conservatoire in January, where she spoke about Poulenc and Stravinsky.  She organised an event at Keele on the actual day of the anniversary in January with Michael Bell (Keele), which took the form of a concert and papers by Professor Kelly and Philippe Cathé from the Sorbonne, Paris.  She is organising the only UK conference devoted to Poulenc in June at Keele.  Rethinking Poulenc will bring together scholars worldwide to reassess Poulenc's enduring legacy.  It includes public concerts by internationally acclaimed performers.  See website for details: http://www.keele.ac.uk/music/concerts-events-forums/poulencconference/.

KEELE CITED FOR MODEL STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMME

NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, singled out Keele for its excellent study abroad programme in a conference workshop, Internationalizing the Curriculum, which was delivered to  55 deans, chairs of department, and heads of schools of education at universities in the United States about study abroad opportunities for trainee teachers. 

The event, which was delivered online, sought to demonstrate how institutions can develop global awareness and cross-cultural skills in future teachers.
 
Dr Jonathan Parker was invited to speak to the group about the curriculum he has developed at Keele.  The integration of academic training in comparative education alongside practical placements in schools was identified as a model approach to study abroad that would maximize the impact on the students' experiences.  Keele was one of three universities selected, alongside North Carolina State University and Michigan State University.

ISTM POSTGRADUATE SYMPOSIUM

Postgraduate research students and their supervisors in the Research Institute for Science & Technology in Medicine gathered for their annual Postgraduate Symposium on Tuesday this week, and heard 21 presentations from first year students on their projects. Over 100 Keele biomedical researchers , representing  the clinical, basic science and translational themes of the research portfolio in ISTM, and guests took part in the event, held at the David Weatherall Building. Many supervisors commented on the high standard of this year's presentations and the clear ability of students to answer questions on their work.
 
Two poster competitions were held, with the science poster prize of £100 being won by Munyaradzi Kamudzandu, who is pictured with his poster "A neuronal network in vitro model – towards therapies for Huntington's Disease". The joint authors of the poster and supervisors of his PhD are Dr Paul Roach, Dr Ying Yang and Dr Rosemary Fricker.

The second competition was for posters which most effectively communicated scientific or medical projects to a non-specialist audience. The first prize (£100) and second prize (£50) winners were Kai Tsang and Clare Sampson, for their posters "Scheuermann's Kyphosis – the lesser known hunchback" and "Mass trapping of the western flower thrips: Frankliniella occidentalis, in strawberry".

SHALE GAS TALK IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Professor Peter Styles, Applied & Environmental Geophysics Research Group, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, has briefed communities in Western Australia on shale gas.

During his visit to Western Australia this week, he spoke as part of a broad engagement programme aimed at providing the North West community with independent science-based information.

His briefing outlined effective management strategies for hydraulic fracturing and natural gas production. He provided a global update on the industry in the US where shale gas operations have become a major source of energy and how the US had significantly reduced its energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions by replacing coal with shale gas as a major source of energy.

The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, the WA Government and CSIRO are preparing a communication and consultation programme in the North West. Several companies are involved in oil and natural gas exploration in the Canning Basin – from the southern fringe of the Kimberley to the inland Pilbara and the Gibson Desert.

BRITISH ACADEMY AWARD

The British Academy has awarded £9,938 to Dr Alena Audzeyeva, Economics and Finance Group, Keele Management School, to conduct a study investigating the predictability of sovereign emerging markets credit spreads.

This is a collaborative research project with Professor Ana-Maria Fuertes from Cass Business School, City University. As the recent sovereign financial crises demonstrated, the risks attached to sovereign debt are poorly understood. Securitised emerging market debt which is dominated by sovereign borrowers reached over $7 trillion in 2010.

Given large holdings of such debt by financial institutions, the mismanagement of associated risks can lead to systemic bank failures and financial crises. The project will investigate the determinants of sovereign emerging market credit spreads which serve as the market-based gauge of sovereign risk and build a credit spread forecasting model. The findings will improve our understanding of sovereign risk and will be of direct relevance to financial institutions and also marker regulators and policy makers.

'ANY QUESTIONS?' LIVE AT KEELE

BBC Radio 4's 'Any Questions?', chaired by highly acclaimed journalist and broadcaster, Jonathan Dimbleby, will be held in the Westminster Theatre on Friday 10 May.

A number of tickets are available for Keele staff and students to attend this significant event, which will be broadcast live to some 1.5 million listeners. 

These will issued on a first come first served basis and will be limited to one ticket per staff member and student in the first instance.

Prior to the broadcast, members of the audience will have the opportunity to submit questions, which may be selected to be put to the panel, which includes the Secretary of State for Transport, The Rt. Hon. Patrick McLoughlin MP, businessman and politician, Lord Digby Jones and the Bishop of Willesden, The Rt. Revd. Pete Broadbent.

Please request your tickets and provide your postal address by emailing the events team at: events@keele.ac.uk or by phoning 01782 733292.
 
• 'Any Questions?' came to Keele in the mid-1970s when David Jacobs was the Chair.

• Patrick McLoughlin was a student of Frank Burchill, Emeritus Professor of Industrial Relations, on the miners' day release course held at Keele at the time of the 1984 miners' strike.

The Secretary of State was at the time a Staffordshire miner.

Tune in to 'Any Questions?':

Live on BBC Radio 4 92-95m FM at 20.02 on Friday May 10.

Listen again at 13.10 on Saturday May 11

EMERITUS PROFESSOR PETER PLESCH, 1918 - 2013

Peter Plesch, who died in March, was a remarkable and distinguished man, known scientifically for his lifelong studies of cationic polymerisation.

He was also prominent as a collector of glass and ceramic artefacts. At Keele he was one of the first non-professorial staff appointed and helped shape the chemistry contribution to the curriculum.

However, seen in a wider context, Peter Plesch's death marks the end of an era not only for Keele, but for the wider intellectual history of Europe. For he was one of the last surviving members of the European Jewish diaspora of intellectuals forced to escape Nazism in the 1930s and '40s.

The Royal Society of Chemistry published a full obituary here.

INVITED SPEAKER AT SCIENCE MUSEUM

Gordon Fyfe, School of Sociology and Criminology, was invited to speak at the Science Museum in South Kensington.

The event was part of an AHRC sponsored seminar series on the subject of public history and museums.

His talk was called On the historical sociology of museums: an Eliasian perspective.

WHAT'S ON

Monday 27 May - KeeleSU Sustainable Clothing Fashion Show

The Keele University Students' Union's first 'Sustainability' Fashion Show will raise funds for Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and Oxfam UK.

The student-led event will include catwalk shows, dance performances, a local clothes and craft fair and a large scale raffle and will be supported by local community groups, photographers and designers.

Student-designed eco clothing and accessories will be modelled on the night, as well as donated eco, organic and Fairtrade clothes from around the UK.

Jennifer Holland, one of the Student Activities Coordinators said of the event, "We're thrilled to be working alongside such innovative local community projects such as Fenton Community Scrap Shack and important national and local designers.

"We look forward to welcoming students and members of the public alike through the doors of the Students' Union." 

Doors open at 6pm on Monday 27 May for an initial shopping period, with the catwalk show starting at 7pm and finishing at 9pm. 

Tickets are £2.00 for students/ concessions; £3.00 for adults and will be on sale from 1 May from KeeleSU Reception or can be reserved by calling 01782 733700 in advance and paid for on collection on the night.

For more information, contact:  Jennifer Holland, KeeleSU Activities and Representation Coordinator: 01782 733822;  su.activities@ keele.ac.uk; keelesu.com.

SPEEDPLUS DEADLINE

The deadline to apply for SPEED Plus is 22 April! If you have got an idea for a business and you would like to make it a reality, apply now!

Successful  applicants will receive up to £1,500 of grant funding to help start your business, plus seven business workshops covering e-commerce, marketing, and PR, financial planning and record keeping plus all the legal info you need and more. 

You will also have your very own business consultant and you can have up to 10 hours 1-2-1 consultancy sessions to help drive your business forward.

So, if you're a student, a graduate, a member of staff or know someone who is a graduate from another university returning to the West Midlands, then apply for SPEED Plus and make your dream of running  your own business a reality! www.keele.ac.uk/ speedplus.