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International Nurses Day celebrated at BU

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A special event celebrating nurses was hosted at Bournemouth University to mark International Nurses Day, 12th May 2014.

The event combined exhibitions from key healthcare charities and companies and a series of keynote speeches talking about nursing in the UK.

The day, hosted on the birthday of Florence Nightingale, celebrates the contribution that nurses make to society and was also attended by Bournemouth Mayor Councillor Dr Rodney Cooper (pictured).

Dr Janet Scammell, Associate Professor in Nursing at Bournemouth University, helped to organise the event at BU and said, “Nursing and healthcare have been in the spotlight over the last year as reports about poor quality of care in the NHS and elsewhere have come to light.  We know that most nurses provide excellent care despite increased care need and diminishing resources.  The nursing team at Bournemouth University wanted to use International Nurses day as a catalyst to celebrate the best of nursing despite living in challenging times.”

Janet continued, “The ‘buzz’ in the exhibition was full of energy.  The stands were wide ranging, including international nursing, history of nursing, service users perspectives, practice innovations, student pledges and staff research.”

The afternoon also included a panel discussion with two consultant nurses from Dorset. 150 participants were invited to the half-day conference focused on self-leadership, equality and diversity and service user involvement in health care.

Talks included a lecture on self-leadership by BU’s Professor of Nursing Elizabeth Rosser (also pictured) and a lecture titled ‘Improving the Patient Experience’ by Kevin Holton, Deputy Director of Patient Experience at NHS England.

The work of Florence Nightingale featured prominently, as Janet Scammell explains, “This event reminded participants of her work and those of other inspiring leaders from the past and provided examples from current clinical practice and education of how these values are still alive and well in nursing education at Bournemouth University working with its practice partners in Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset.”

BU research in action at Stonehenge Visitor Centre

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A series of reconstructed Neolithic houses have opened at the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre, with Bournemouth University research used as the basis for the reconstruction.

Original remains of Neolithic houses were uncovered at the Stonehenge site during the Stonehenge Riverside Project, which involved Bournemouth University staff and students.  The houses, at Durrington Walls, date to the time in which Stonehenge was constructed and are likely to represent the houses of those who were involved with building the monument.

Dr Kate Welham, one of the Co-Directors of the Stonehenge Riverside, said, “I feel immensely proud that the hard work by our archaeology students has ultimately contributed to this fantastic visitor experience at Stonehenge.  To see the result of our research presented in such an imaginative way is extremely exciting, and for it to be such as major part of the visitor experience is a real reflection of just what an important part of the Stonehenge story this work is.”

There are over a million visitors to Stonehenge each year, and the new Visitor Centre, including the work of academics and students from BU, was created to give more information and context about the history of Stonehenge. The new houses take centre stage at the Centre as they are based just outside.

Dr Kate Welham continued, “The houses are really important and such a key feature of the World Heritage Site that English Heritage decided to make them a major part of the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre.  They have reconstructed them and there are five houses which visitors can go into and explore what it might have been like to be living in the Neolithic time. They have been carefully reconstructed using traditional techniques and the original plans and finds from our excavations.

“It is also extremely unusual to find houses from this period and therefore they are extremely important archaeologically, beyond even their relationship with Stonehenge.”

To engage with the Stonehenge Landscape and learn more about the houses and the Stonehenge Riverside Project, download the Google Earth layer – Seeing Beneath Stonehenge.

BU graduate ‘scores’ publishing deal with football book

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A Bournemouth University graduate has found success with the publication of a new book for budding football professionals.

Dean Caslake, an Accounting and Finance graduate, wrote ‘The Footballer’s Journey’ alongside current professional footballer Guy Branston to offer practical tips on becoming a professional footballer.

‘The Footballer’s Journey’ is aimed at young footballers, parents, amateur coaches and even current footballers who are looking to find success on the football field. The book also talks about the importance of education and how to react to setbacks within professional football.

Dean is no stranger to competitive football, as he was a key part of BU’s men’s football team while studying at university and nods to BU in his book. On studying at BU, Dean said, “Ultimately the experience at Bournemouth University improved my drive to achieve and opened my eyes to the possibility of doing something for myself and going it alone.

“After playing football myself and having a couple of unsuccessful trials with professional clubs, I was left wondering how the pros are different and what they had done that I didn’t to make the transition from an amateur level to a Professional level.  I initially had the idea to actually explore these unanswered questions in my final year at Bournemouth Uni.”

A number of current and former professionals were also involved in the book including current Manchester United footballer Chris Smalling and former Bournemouth striker and television pundit Steve Claridge.  Much of the work in contacting professional players was done by Dean, who said, “I contacted clubs and then sent individual letters to a large number of players at their clubs training grounds. Then it was a waiting game and thankfully quite a few responded.

“I must say I was hugely impressed with their willingness to help, they were brilliant throughout and gave up huge amounts of their time, and never once asked for a penny.”

The forward for the book was written by former footballer and television personality Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock, who says, “The Footballer’s Journey is essential reading. It helps guide and advise not only football hopefuls, but also parents, and even current professionals when looking at life after football.”

The book was released in April 2014 and has been well received, with mentions in FourFourTwo magazine and an appearance on Sky 1 television programme Soccer AM due in May.  Further endorsements for the book have come from the likes of Gordon Taylor, Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA).

Dean graduated from BU in 2013 and had these words of wisdom to share with current students who are burning with an idea for the future, “If you come up with an idea, or a project you have a great passion and drive for, and you think it can really make a difference and be successful, give it a try or you’ll forever wonder what might have been.”

More information about The Footballer’s Journey can be found through Amazon.

Project India coverage of Indian elections

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A project to report on and catalogue the Indian elections is underway at Bournemouth University.

Project India aims to give an alternate take on the 2014 Indian elections by focussing on voices not always picked up by mainstream media. Work is carried out by a team of students from Bournemouth University (BU), in collaboration with students and staff from other universities in India and the UK.

Stories are written and collated on the Project India website, and students are also encouraged to submit work to the project’s two media partners; rediff.com and WoNoBo.com, both based in India.

The project also seeks to research the traditional and new Medias used by politicians and voters during the elections, to provide in-depth analysis of the part that media has played in the historic election race.

This research will also look at the way politicians present themselves through media and how Indian citizens relate and react to the election through media and social media. Particular attention will be given to how the election is being covered in the margins, and how previously unheard voices in the media will come out through the elections.

Dr Ana Adi, Head of International Development at Bournemouth University and one of the coordinators of the project, said, “We had a wonderful experience with the US 2012 elections where students from Bournemouth University worked together to create coverage of the elections. Using the good practice acquired during the project, and considering our growing interest and number of connections in India, we found it timely to consider a similar project that enabled us to have an alternative look into the Indian Parliamentary Elections.”

Dr Adi continued, “Project India is a great example of international cooperation that brings together education, practice and research. We are proud that the project involves undergraduate and postgraduate students from various degrees, as well as researchers and practicing journalists.”

As a part of the project, students are encouraged to research the latest developments in the election and create unique and interesting multimedia content – often providing an alternative viewpoint of how the elections are affecting the country and how Indian citizens are responding to these political developments.

Stories written so far include a look at how Tibetans living in Delhi are voting in the elections for the first time and how talking about gay rights is still a taboo during the 2014 election race.

The other universities partnering with BU for the project are the University of Madras, Chennai; Amity University, Uttar Pradesh; University of Mumbai, Mumbai; and the University of Bedfordshire.

The project has already received significant interest from the UK and abroad, and is due to be covered by BBC World Service in the coming weeks.

For more information can be found on the Project India website or through social media on Facebook and Twitter.

Labour MP sets Politics students the task of engaging young voters

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Bob Ainsworth MP spoke to Politics and Media students at Bournemouth University as they look to study the EU Parliamentary elections.

Mr Ainsworth, a Visiting Fellow within BU’s Media School, set an online campaign task for five groups of first year students aimed at mobilising young voters in the South West region for each of the main parties: Labour, Conservative, UKIP, Liberal Democrat and Green Party.

Labour lost their MEP in the 2009 election and the Green Party missed their target for an MEP by less than one percent, so a small surge in voter registration and engagement could easily tip the balance for any of the parties next month. The students discussed what they saw as the main weaknesses and strengths of the existing online campaigns, which in their view were all weak and not currently aimed at young potential voters.

Shortly afterwards in a studio interview  four students Elina Kuusio, Alan Andrews, Jack Aspinall and Joanna Poulton (pictured) grilled Mr. Ainsworth, Secretary of State for Defence in the last Labour government, on his views on what the European Union offers young people, UKIP and the likely outcome of the elections.

Parts of this televised debate will be broadcast during the Media Schools coverage of the 2014 EU Parliamentary elections on the 22nd May between 10pm and 1am. Bob Ainsworth is returning to Bournemouth University to judge their campaigns on the 8th May when he will also be contributing to a student organised screening and debate on Belarus.

In an effort to engage young voters on May 15th, Bournemouth University will be hosting a hustings in the Allsebrook lecture theatre from 7pm where prospective MEPs from all the parties will be addressing students and local residents. Politics students will be attending this and learning more about this important election.

BU research featured on BBC’s Monkey Planet

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Research conducted by Bournemouth University’s Alison Hillyer has been featured on a BBC programme looking at primates.

Monkey Planet, currently showing on BBC1, featured research into the Red Colobus monkey and its interactions with another species, green monkeys, and how their relationship has developed through living in the same habitat.  Specifically, the programme showed how the red colobus monkeys form special multi-species associations that are most likely a way of improving predator detection.

BU’s research at the site is mostly concerned with the conservation status of Temmincki’s red colobus in the region and is aimed at developing an integrated conservation strategy for the region that involves experts in tourism (Vijay Reddy and Feifei Xu) and primatology (Amanda Korstjens and Alison Hillyer) and is conducted in close collaboration with the local authorities.

Alison Hillyer invited the BBC to the site for filming and advised them on the transcript for the sequences.  The research and filming took place in The Gambia, more information about the project can be found on BU’s research pages.

The Temmincki’s red colobus monkeys (not to be confused with the Zanzibar Red Colobus) are in need of protection to avoid their extinction. BU students have been invited back to The Gambia in July 2014 for a new inter-disciplinary project that aims to develop a sustainable long-term strategy to support local development and conservation in The Gambia through eco-tourism business.

The programme can be viewed again on the BBC website for the next seven days.

Be a part of the Bournemouth Echo’s World Cup coverage

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The Bournemouth Echo are looking for representatives from all of the nationalities represented at this summer’s World Cup Finals.

You may be asked to give your thoughts and views on the prospects of your team before, during and after the soccer competition and will feature as a part of the Echo’s World Cup coverage online and in print.

The following countries have qualified for the World Cup:

Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil (host), Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Iran, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay, U.S.

Students and staff are all welcome to get involved.  If you would like to represent one of the countries above then please send an email to newsdesk@bournemouth.ac.uk in the first instance confirming the country you would like to represent and we will send details on to the Echo.

BU’s PR Team

New publishing house launches in Bournemouth

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A new Dorset-based publishing house was launched this week during an action-packed event in Bournemouth.

Fresher, based within Bournemouth University’s Media School, aims to ‘encourage and support aspiring writers and offer a platform to all new voices’ by offering a chance to submit work for publication and support from experts within the university.

The launch event, which took place at Kino in Bournemouth Square, also showcased the first publication from Fresher publishing, a book called Fresh, a collection of new writing and short stories produced entirely by final year Bournemouth University students.

The project has been driven by Fresher’s Editorial Director, Emma Scattergood, who is a Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media at Bournemouth University. Emma said, “We are delighted to be launching Fresher – and its first book – and are looking forward to growing as a platform for new writing talent in Dorset. Having our own publishing press is a great way of allowing our students to get valuable practical experience and, I hope, will go a step further in establishing Bournemouth, and especially the university, as a centre of creative writing.”

As a part of the launch event, authors were invited to read excerpts from their short stories. One author, Joan Ellis, read a passage from her new book, ‘I am Ella. Buy Me’ due to be published through Fresher as an e-publication later this year. Joan said, “The book, based on my experience, is the fast-paced story of a young woman battling more than just fat thighs and small boobs in the sexist world of London’s mad, bad Adland in the 1980’s. Thanks to Fresher I look forward to my novel being published in the summer.”

The event was also an opportunity to announce the winner of the Most Promising Student Writer Award, created to celebrate the achievements of the student writers who contributed to the book ‘Fresh’. The award was won by Charlotte Clifton (pictured), a Communications and Media student from BU, for her short story ‘Scales’; the tale of a young girl and her struggle with a medical condition.

Charlotte said, “It feels fantastic to know that all the hard work has paid off, and quite surreal to see my writing in a published book! I’m absolutely thrilled to win the award, especially as there was so much talent to choose from – being recognised for something that I love to do is so wonderful and has really given me the confidence to get back to my desk and keep writing.”

As well as giving an opportunity to aspiring writers, the publishing house offers the opportunity for university students to gain valuable experience of publishing by taking on various roles within the publishing house. These roles include marketing and PR, as well as editing, typesetting and cover design for some of the publications.

Writing submissions are encouraged from writers of all ages and backgrounds as the publishing house seeks to give opportunities to new writers. If you are interested in further information about the publishing house, or submitting a piece of writing, you can do so through the Fresher website.

BU NCCA featured in 3D world magazine

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A feature article about Bournemouth University was published in 3D world magazine highlighting the success of its National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) courses.

BU “has garnered a reputation as one of the best schools in the UK for anybody with an interest in VFX, animation and creating games. There is nothing more telling than the accolades that graduates and lecturers receive, and Bournemouth is proud to boast more than a few awards for projects it is connected with”.

“Most recently many members of the staff and student body have worked on the Oscar-winning blockbuster Gravity”. Over 60 BU alumni worked on the visual effects for the film at London-based Framestore.

Framestore’s Anna Swift says “we are so thrilled to be celebrating Gravity’s success, which is testament to the commitment and skill of our talented staff, including Bournemouth University graduates”

Adam Redford, Senior practice fellow of the NCCA at Bournemouth University said “A lot of the tools and techniques used in the creation of the VFX for Gravity are being taught in NCCA classrooms every day. The NCCA at BU has a great reputation for producing graduates that go on to achieve amazing success in the feature film VFX industry all over the world”.

BU offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes specialising in computer visualisation and animation. For more information please visit the NCCA website.

BU statement on student death

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Bournemouth University is very sorry to confirm that a student has died following a fall from Lyme Regis house at 01.50 this morning, Friday 4th April.  Emergency services attended the scene and the student’s next of kin have been informed.  Bournemouth University is working with Campus Living Villages, who own and operate the halls of residence on behalf of the university.

Bournemouth University is working closely with the Students’ Union and student support services to provide support for students and staff affected.

Any students or staff who would like support at this difficult time have access to the university support services.

Campus Living Villages are also offering students access to crisis counselling services.

Staff can access the Employee Assistance Programme for support.