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Distance learning at BU featured in The Independent

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A postgraduate student from Bournemouth University featured in an article in The Independent about distance learning.

The article, by Stephen Hoare, looked at how people manage to balance a career and professional development by studying for a degree via distance learning.

Lucy Harbor, who is halfway through a MSc Green Economy at Bournemouth University, also works part-time as a commissioning editor at the Royal Institute of British Architects. (RIBA)

She said: “I specialise in sustainable architecture, low energy buildings and bio-diversity, so the degree is an opportunity to develop my career in the area of sustainability and take it that bit further.”

She added that distance learning also meant that she did not have to worry about travelling to lectures, and could study from home in her spare time.

“When you have a job and a child you don’t have too much time to study,” she said.

“I find distance learning suits me very well. I’m getting better grades that I did when I was studying at uni the first time around.”

Sean Beer returns to talk horsemeat on BBC Radio Solent

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Sean Beer, Senior Lecturer within the School of Tourism, specialising in the food supply chain, was invited back on to Steve Harris’ Drive show on BBC Radio Solent to talk about the worsening horsemeat scandal.

During Sean’s second appearance on the show he discussed the complicated nature of our food supply chain and how easy it was for the chain to be corrupted. He said, “You are dealing with a very complicated, long supply which is a bit like a sausage with lots of holes in it, and if you put pressure on that sausage the meat just squeezes out of all the holes. We have put a lot of financial pressure on this supply chain and sometimes we get what we pay for!”

When asked if he was surprised that the scandal was continuing he said, “I am not surprised at all. I was a bit surprised that it was horse that came to the fore. It could have been contamination with chicken, lamb or halal slaughtered meat that wasn’t halal or it could even have been a pesticide.”

As the discussion concluded, Sean finished by saying, “It’s not really about horse as many people eat horse around the world. What it is about is trust and the fact that what it says on the label is what we should expect.”

Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia visits BU

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Zoran Stavreski, the Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia, visited Bournemouth University  to discuss opportunities for future collaboration between BU and Macedonia.

The Deputy PM met with Vice–Chancellor John Vinney and other members of the University Executive Team to discuss an exciting new project in Macedonia called ‘Education City’, and the possibility of long term cooperation with the University.

At the end of the discussion Mr Stavreski was presented with a Poole Pottery plate as a memento of his visit. He was then taken on a tour of the campus, looking at the brilliant facilities BU has to offer including the Queen’s Anniversary Prize–winning Media School and Kimmeridge House – home to BU’s state–of–the–art lecture theatres and seminar rooms.

John Vinney, BU’s Vice–Chancellor, said of the visit, “It was an honour to welcome Mr Stavreski and his party to Bournemouth University today. Education City is an exciting and interesting initiative from the Macedonian Government and I look forward to further discussions as Macedonia’s plans evolve.”

BU helps to celebrate innovation and enterprise in Dorset

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Homemade bath bombs, cuddly sock creatures and rubber ducks were just some of the innovative products that pupils created as part of the Enterprise and Skills Enterprise competition.

The competition, run by the Enterprise and Skills company and sponsored by Bournemouth University, saw more than 120 schoolchildren from across Bournemouth work in teams to come up with their own business ideas.

The teams – made up of pupils ranging from Year 7 to sixth form age – had been working since October to come up with names and products and try to sell them for a profit at various trade fairs and events.

A panel of judges then decided on winners of categories such as Best Trade Stand and Best Company Report at a celebration event for the students, their parents and teachers at Bournemouth Central Premier Inn on Thursday night.

The judges included Professor Jim Roach, Dean of the School of Design, Engineering and Computing at BU, and BU Product Design graduate Simon Phelps, who is now managing director of Poole–based company Fluvial Innovations.

Infused, a team made up of pupils from Ferndown Upper School, were named Bournemouth University Company of the Year, and presented with a trophy by BU Vice–Chancellor, Professor John Vinney.

Year 13 pupil Dominic Keeley, 17, was managing director of Infused – who decided to make personalised photo-frames, cushions out of recycled t–shirts and take professional photos to make money.

He said: “We learnt how to run our own business, and so many other things – like how to run board meetings, how to go out into the public and try and sell, as well as how to make products and market them.

“I heard that they were running the competition and realised it could help me with things like getting into university. It gives young people the opportunity to do something that is almost missing in today’s society.”

The schools taking part were Bournemouth School for Boys and Girls, Bishop of Winchester Academy, Parkstone Grammar School, Queen Elizabeth’s School and Ferndown Upper School.

With business names like ODD one out, Innover, IndyBees and Aquilla, the teams made money selling products including handmade Christmas cards, home–made fudge and personalised baubles.

Professor Vinney said he was impressed by the quality of the business ideas and products the young entrepreneurs had come up with.

“It’s amazing,” he said.

“The style and the creativity of the presentations they gave, as well as the ideas for their products and just the way they have gone about it is really impressive.”

He added: “It is brilliant to help support this sort of enterprise in the region. I am proud that BU is part of driving creativity and innovation in the county.”

BU expert speaks to the BBC about The Francis Report

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Professor Keith Brown, Director of Bournemouth University’s Centre for Post Qualifying Social Work, appeared live on two BBC radio stations to offer his views following the release of The Francis Report into failings within the NHS, particularly at Mid–Staffordshire Hospital.

Firstly, Keith spoke to Steve Harris on BBC Radio Solent where he responded to the initial reaction to the report and helped to unpack its key features. Keith told listeners, “The Francis Report is not looking for structural changes but is saying ‘we need to change our culture’… It [The Francis Report] is seminal for the NHS. It affects every one of us.”

Keith continued, “The training is there but staff on the wards need to develop resilience and self–leadership.”

Following his discussion on BBC Radio Solent, Keith spoke on Radio 5 Live’s Drivetime show, concluding the show’s discussion on the Francis Report by saying, “We need to change the culture through leadership development through health and social care.”

Keith concluded, “We need buy in from top management. There is too much evidence of people afraid to speak up. We need to change that culture.”

To hear Keith’s appearance on Radio 5 Live you can review the show on the BBC website.

Forget sandcastles – it’s all about sand-camels!

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A Bournemouth University graduate who has travelled the world making amazing sand and ice sculptures was back on campus to create a giant sand-camel.

Jamie Wardley was back on Talbot Campus to create a giant sand sculpture of NeSSa the Camel, as part of the campaign to encourage final year students to fill out the National Student Survey (NSS).

Jamie graduated from the BSc (Hons) Environmental Protection degree course in 2001, and has since set up his own company – Sand In Your Eye – which is based in his hometown of Bradford, creating sand and ice sculptures and large-scale sand drawings.

He said: “I first got interested in sand sculpting in 1998, so when I was at uni, I was always down on the beach practising.

“The degree that I did was very useful. You wouldn’t necessarily think it with me being a sand sculptor, but we covered things like law and project management and health and safety and all of those things which are really important when you are running a business.”

Since graduating from BU, Jamie has travelled the world making his sculptures and drawings, and even helped Aardman Animations create the world’s largest stop-motion animation set, which featured his sand drawings.

Jamie, 33, said: “I have been all over Europe, Columbia, Georgia, Sweden – all over the world.

“My favourite sculpture was of Charles Darwin in Bradford – it was five metre long and 120 metres high. It was nice because it was my hometown.”

But, he said, it was nice to be back at BU, to create the giant sand-camel in the courtyard area of Talbot Campus.

The sculpture – which Jamie worked on for two days – features BU’s NSS mascot NeSSa the Camel in a dinghy boat, as part of this year’s seaside-themed campaign.

Jamie said: “It is lovely to be back in Bournemouth – I hadn’t been back to the university since I left so it’s really nice, and I even bumped into one of my own lecturers.

“The students have all been stopping and seem really interested in the sculpture. They seemed to recognise it really early on.”

He added that top tips for any budding sand-sculptors included lots of practice and plenty of water.

“I had a natural flair for it, but you are always learning and getting better.

“There are all these theories about the amount of sand that you need to use, but it’s all about techniques. Basically, you just need to use lots of water – especially if you are on a beach.”

Deputy Editor of Channel 4 News gives masterclass at BU

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The Deputy Editor of Channel 4 News visited Bournemouth University to give a media masterclass to students.

Felicity Spector, who has worked for the news organisation for the past 24 years, spoke to students about her experiences – particularly those covering US Presidential Elections.

Felicity is now Deputy Programme Editor for Channel 4 News, with responsibilities including writing the show’s script, but has also acted as a political correspondent on the programme, as well as writing for the website.

She said: “I went into journalism because I like writing people’s stories – there are so many people who have really great stories.

“I still get excited every day because it is a job where no two days are ever the same.”

Felicity added that she was in the USA during Barack Obama’s 2008 Election Campaign, and also dealt with coverage of his 2012 re-election.

She said: “It was the most astonishing election campaign. The whole atmosphere across the country was unprecedented really. People were partying in the streets in Washington – it was the most amazing feeling, it really felt like something had changed.

She added: “This election was not as exciting, as it was not as close, but it was really fascinating in terms of what it has shown about the system.”

David McQueen, course leader of the BA (Hons) Politics and Media course at BU, introduced Felicity.

He said: “It is a real privilege to be able to hear from someone working right at the heart of one of Britain’s biggest news providers.”

Felicity, who studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at university, joined Channel 4 News as a scriptwriter on a graduate training scheme and has been there ever since.

“I was very lucky that I stumbled into this job. I think now it is all about trying to get experience,” she said.

“Even if you can’t get a placement, have a blog and just be curious about what is going on.

“Just do something interesting and different to make yourself stand out. You just have to have the initiative to find something which you’re passionate about and badger people with it.”

Felicity said that she hoped students – who came from a diverse range of courses including journalism, politics and marketing to listen to her talk – would take away the realities of being a journalist.

“When you study media as an academic subject, it is quite different than when you actually work in it,” she said.

“I just wanted to talk about how you are always learning when you’re a journalist, and you never know it all.”

Intellectual property law brought to life in student collaboration

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Students from the Business School and School of Design, Engineering and Computing (DEC) will work together on a project that aims to bring intellectual property to life.

Final year Law students, from the Business School will advise final year DEC students from across product design and creative technology-based courses, while they create a product or innovation to bring to market.

Intellectual property law – such as copyright, trademarks, designs and patents – is particularly important for design students as it provides a means of protecting the products they create.

Dr Dinusha Mendis, Senior Lecturer in Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) at BU said: “This project provides for real-life scenarios and brings intellectual property to life.  It is a very practical project which allows the law students to act as lawyers for the DEC students who are their clients.”

The project will last until March, and kicked off with an Intellectual Property Masterclass, where students from across the two schools learned more about the law and how it can be used.

Donal O’Connell, from Chawton Innovation Services spoke to the students about what Intellectual Property is, and how it can benefit businesses.

He welcomed the idea of the student project.

“It seems to be quite unique – I haven’t come across it before,” he said.

“Having this sort of collaboration helps breaks down barriers – the engineers understand that there is more to life than just creating a product.

“The fact that they are doing it at university, before they even get into industry, is absolutely great.”

Matthew Schrader, Head of Intellectual Property Law, at Kiteleys Solicitors in Bournemouth, also spoke to the students.

He agreed that the collaboration would be great experience for the students.

“From a law point of view, it is a good opportunity to find out what it is like to work with real clients,” he said. “It’s a very good idea.”

The students will work in teams to put the theory they have learnt into practice.

There will also be prizes for the best Law student, best DEC student and the best group, sponsored by Paul Turner, a retired Patent Attorney.

New Director of IT appointed at BU

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Jon Ward has been appointed to the role of Director of IT at Bournemouth University.

Jon joins BU from Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, where he was an Associate Director of IT. In this role he was the lead for IM&T across the Trust.

Jon started his career with British Aerospace, before moving to the University of West of England. Whilst working at Poole Hospital, Jon was the lead for IT at UK Transplant, a role that included the migration of the National Transplant Database.

He joined Bournemouth University on Monday.

Team GB Judo star at BU

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A member of the Great Britain judo team was at Bournemouth University to inspire more students and staff to take up the sport.

Tom Reed, who is training to compete in the Rio 2016 Olympics, joined representatives from British Judo in The Atrium to encourage students to start going to judo sessions, which have recently started at BU.

Tom, who was British Champion in 2012, said: “It is a complex sport, but it is good fun and there are lots of ways to do throws and lots of different moves.

“It’s completely different every time so you can’t really get bored of it.”

He added: “It’s a really safe sport – the first thing you learn is how to land safely and things like that – which helps you in everyday life as well, and it helps in other sports with things like balance, coordination and footwork.”

Active Dorset have given BU £4,000 for new judo mats and the weekly judo sessions are part of the Free Your Fitness project, funded by Sport England to increase student and staff participation in sport.

The judo sessions take place every Sunday in Talbot House from 11.30am to 1.30pm and cost £2 per person.

Chris Payne, Sport Activator for the Free Your Fitness Project at Bournemouth University, said: “British Judo approached us and we are always looking to put new sports and activities on. We thought it would be great to get a couple of new things going.

“Since the Olympics, there has been a lot more interest in Judo, and the aim is to raise awareness.

“It definitely helps to have Tom and British Judo here – it’s great to have that Judo knowledge.

“It is just offering students and staff more opportunities really – you can make friends, have fun and get fit.”

Roxanne Blanks, who is in her first year of a Biological Anthropology degree at BU, has been doing judo for the past four years.

She said: “I love it – it’s such a good way to get fit and it’s fun. It’s cool to know that you can look after yourself.”

Find out more about Free Your Fitness at BU