KEELE SHORTLISTED FOR INNOVATIVE INDUSTRY AWARDS

Keele has been shortlisted in two categories for this year's prestigious Times Higher Education awards.

The University is in the running for the Outstanding ICT Initiative of the Year for its innovative immersive 3D learning space, KAVE, developed by staff in the School of Pharmacy. Keele's Head of Chemistry and Forensic Science, Dr David McGarvey, has also been shortlisted for the title of Most Innovative Teacher of the Year.

The annual Times Higher Education awards celebrate the excellence and amazing achievements of UK higher education institutions and the winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 28 November 2013.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, said: "The Times Higher Education Awards are the most prestigious awards in the academic calendar, so we're delighted that Keele has been shortlisted in two categories. The KAVE is a phenomenal learning tool and a real sector first that we're proud to have developed at Keele.

"I'd also like to congratulate Dr McGarvey on his nomination. After twenty years at Keele, he continues to push the boundaries to innovate teaching and learning across all departments."

NEW NIHR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
 
A two year part-time In-Practice Research Fellowship from the National Institute for Health Research has been awarded to Dr Dawn Moody (Specialist GP with interest in Elderly Care and A&E Medicine), under the supervision of Dr Umesh Kadam within Health Services Research Unit; RI for Science & Technology in Medicine, pictured.

Dawn's project will develop clinical frailty models at the interface transitions between general practice and acute hospital care using two main approaches: a systematic review and an analysis using clinical linkage databases.

People are defined as 'Frail' when they have high vulnerability for adverse health outcomes, including disability, dependency, falls, need for long-term care, and increased likelihood of mortality. Whilst there are many causes of frailty that range from age, multiple disease and social context, there are no standard definitions of frailty.

Practical tools which assist clinical teams to identify populations at risk are needed to improve outcomes in such vulnerable groups. By developing this project, Dawn will develop methods to identify frail patients at the greatest need of integrated and responsive healthcare.

The project is the latest example of studies of such multimorbidity, with focus on elderly care by Keele's Health Services Research Unit (HSRU) which is building up international expertise on the effect of one disease and treatment on another. Supervision of Dawn's  project is led by Dr Umesh Kadam and members of the Keele HSRU team, including professors Peter Jones, Simon Davies and Christine Roffe. The NIHR award is over £100,000 for the two-year period.

KEELE ACADEMIC AT THE PROMS

Dr Nicholas Reyland, Senior Lecturer in Music and a specialist in Polish twentieth-century music and culture, gave a talk at the BBC Proms that was also broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The focus of Nick's discussion was music's function and meanings during the dark decade stretching from the height of the Nazi occupation of Poland in the early 1940s to the peak of Polish Stalinism.

The Proms Plus event accompanied the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra's Prom concert of music by Witold Lutoslawski, Andrzej Panufnik and Shostakovich at the Royal Albert Hall. Radio 3's Andrew McGregor interviewed Nick and Roxanna Panufnik (Andrzej's daughter, herself a noted composer) about Lutoslawski and Panufnik in front of a large audience at the Royal College of Music.

An edited version was then broadcast on BBC Radio 3 during the concert interval. Details and opportunities to listen again here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whats-on/2013/august-23/14666.

QUEEN'S NURSE AWARD FOR KEELE LECTURER
 
Julie Green, a lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, has achieved the prestigious title of Queen's Nurse from community nursing charity The Queen's Nursing Institute.

Julie completed a rigorous application process with feedback provided by peers and students and will be formally presented at a ceremony in central London in November 2013. The Queen's Nurse title is not an award for past service but indicates a commitment to high standards of patient care and a focus on improving practice.

Julie's award recognises her dedication to improving standards of care, learning and leadership in the community. Julie worked within the NHS in both primary and secondary care for 13 years before joining Keele University in 2003.

COUNTDOWN TO HORIZON 2020

The annual UKRO visit to Keele is taking place on 17 October at the Sustainability Hub, 10.00 - 16.00. Titled 'The Countdown to Horizon 2020', the day will be dedicated to providing researchers with the very latest information on this new European funding programme for 2014 – 2020. Eevi Laukkanen, from UKRO, will lead the presentations and is well placed to advise us on funding opportunities, how to get involved and what researchers can do prepare for the first calls that launch late 2013/early 2014.

Alongside Eevi's presentations, Keele academics will talk about their own successes with European funding and there will be plenty of opportunity for questions. All researchers are encouraged to take advantage of Eevi's experience and to attend this timely and worthwhile event.

Registration is not essential and the programme is designed for flexibility. Email researchadmin@uso.keele.ac.uk for information or to register. Lunch will be provided to those who register by Monday 14 October.

DEGREE PROGRAMMES GAIN ACCREDITATION STATUS

The Applied Environmental Science and Environment & Sustainability degree programmes (School of Physical and Geographical Sciences) have gained accreditation status from the Institution of Environmental Sciences.
 
The accreditation panel were particularly impressed with the interdisciplinary nature of the degree programmes, which aim to produce graduates who can combine the analytical skills of an environmental scientist with a holistic, integrated perspective that comes from a sustainability mind-set. The panel also commented on the number of 'innovative approaches to career and professional development' within the programmes which include the ability to undertake an environmentally-related internship as part of a work placement module.

Students studying on both degree programmes will now benefit from free student membership of the IES during their time at Keele, indicating their professional commitment to prospective employers.

MOVING FORWARD ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Dr Lydia Martens, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, chaired a semi-plenary session at the 11th European Sociological Association Conference in Turin. The session was called Moving Forward on the Environment? Sociological Debate on Families, Consumption and the Environment in Europe.

The session was initiated and developed by Dr Martens and Dr Monica Truninger (Lisbon), on behalf of the ESA's consumption network, and provided a platform for speakers from the Families and Intimate Relations network (Professor Lynn Jamieson from Edinburgh) and the Environment network (Professor Gert Spaargaren from Wageningen, NL).

With public concern in Europe so wholly pre-occupied with the financial challenges of the Euro and the consequences of the continuing economic crisis over the past years, the aim of the plenary was to shift the focus back onto the problematic of the environment and to consider advances in sociological approaches to debate on environment and sustainability.

KEELE STUDENT RACER TAKES MAIDEN PROTYRE FORMULA RENAULT WIN

Student racing driver, Hongwei Cao, capped off an outstanding weekend at Rockingham in style by claiming his maiden Protyre Formula Renault race victory.

The Chinese 20-year-old, who studies at Keele, began the penultimate race meeting of 2013 with an excellent podium finish in round 12, after battling through from sixth on the grid, then added a top four finish in round 13. Race three of the weekend, round 14, was the undoubted highlight, with Cao – who is known to his UK friends as 'Martin' – fending off newly crowned champion Chris Middlehurst for a famous debut victory on British soil.

NEW INAUGURAL LECTURE SERIES

Professor Nigel Ratcliffe, School of Pharmacy, will give the opening lecture in the University's programme of Inaugural Professorial Lectures 2013-14, at 6 pm on Monday (23 September), in the Westminster Theatre.

The title of his lecture is "The Pharmaceutical Industry is Broken? What Must the Pharmacist Do?".

RHIAN HUGHES APPOINTED RI CO-DIRECTOR

Rhian Hughes has been appointed Co-Director of the Research Institute for Primary Care & Health Sciences, reflecting the increasing scale and complexity of the Institute, which is internationally acclaimed as a world-leading centre for research into the causes, consequences and treatment of arthritis and related musculoskeletal conditions as they present to primary care.

This reputation has been recognised nationally through the award of Centre of Excellence status by Arthritis Research UK, the Queens Award for Higher & Further Education and membership of the NIHR School for Primary Care Research.

The Research Institute at Keele has grown from modest beginnings as the primary care research group established in the late 1990s by Peter Croft, Rhian Hughes, Elaine Hay and Julius Sim. 

It now consists of over 120 FTE academic, research and support staff, the majority of whom are externally funded. 

As well as the thriving research group, the Institute also hosts an NIHR Registered CTU, the Northern Spoke of the Research Design Service and a network of primary care practices covering Staffordshire and Cheshire that serve to link applied research directly with service delivery. 

In her role as Co-Director, Rhian will continue to support the Director, Professor Elaine Hay, in delivering research programmes and provide overall leadership of the centres vast infrastructure and NHS networks, including the AHSN theme dealing with long term conditions.

£1M WiFi INVESTMENT

With the rapid increase in the number of the wireless devices which staff and students are now bringing on to campus, the University has invested over £1 million this summer in a new wireless network infrastructure (WiFi) enabling connectivity to the network in all Administrative / Academic buildings, Halls of Residence and central outside spaces.

Our 'eduroam' network enables staff and students to connect not only at Keele, but also at other 'eduroam' institutions throughout the UK and the world. For more information please here.

WiFi is now also available for staff and students based in the Clinical Education Centre, UGMS and Guy Hilton Research Centre at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

LPDC CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS TO NEW JOURNAL

The Learning and Professional Development Centre is pleased to announce an open call for submissions on any aspect of teaching, learning or assessment for J.A.D.E, the new teaching and learning journal from the LPDC. 

For those interested in publishing their educational research in J.A.D.E there is a short video introduction to the journal and full instructions for authors available here.

KEELE IMAGE ON JOURNAL COVER
 
An image taken from a recent publication from Dr Divya Chari's laboratory at the Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine (Jenkins et al. NanoLife 2013, 3: 1-8) was featured on the cover of the June 2013 issue of the journal NanoLife.

The image shows several oligodendrocytes (the cells that form the insulating sheath around nerve fibres), that were used to compare magnetic nanoparticle mediated gene delivery between these cells and their parent stem cells- called the oligodendrocyte precursors.

TALKS ON FRACKING

Professor Peter Styles spent a week in Perth, Western Australia where he gave evidence to the Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs' Inquiry into the Implications for Western Australia of Hydraulic Fracturing for Unconventional Gas.

Professor Styles also had a one-to-one meeting with the Minister for Mining and Petroleum, Bill Marmion, to discuss Energy Governance issues in the UK and Australia.

He also gave an invited talk at the Department of Mines and Petroleum Annual Open Day entitled "Shale Gas UK, from Moratorium to Incentives".