PR student leads first live tweeting from UK surgery

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A PR student from Bournemouth University (BU) led the first live tweets from surgery in the UK.

Jessica North, 22, is in her final year of the BA (Hons) Public Relations degree at BU and works for Merchant Marketing Group alongside studying.

Jessica led the live tweeting from gastric bypass surgery at Spire Bushey Hospital, which is one of Merchant’s clients.

She sat in the operating theatre and tweeted throughout each step of the two and a half hour procedure.

Jessica, who lives in Bournemouth, said: “By tweeting the procedure live as it took place, we were able to provide real insight.”

She added: “Social media and digital communications is my absolute passion in the industry and I’m very fortunate for the opportunity to combine them both.

“We had to fully prepare in case of a crisis, in which case the live tweet would have stopped with an explanation as to why, in this situation it is vital the patient and his family come first.

“I spoke with the patient and his family so they not only fully consented but were all happy with what would happen and could ask me any questions if they were unsure at all – this kind of thing can understandably be a little nerve-racking.

“He understood what a fantastic educational opportunity this would be for the public and wanted to be involved because of that.”

Although live tweeting has been done during surgery in the US, this was the first time it has been done in the UK.

Jessica tweeted throughout the gastric bypass surgery – an operation which alters the size of the stomach to aid weight loss – from the hospital’s Twitter account, using the hashtag #liveatbushey.

She said: “With the help from the surgical team, I answered people’s questions and enquiries and shared a few images from the operation room.

“It was amazing to be sat in that room; the skills and expertise of Mr Sufi and his team are inspiring. I don’t think there’s another industry that can simply change an individual’s life in just a day.”

Jessica added that the response from the public had been great, and there were plans to do it again in future.

“We had such lovely feedback from people, being the first in the UK meant people were glued to the screens as we revealed the next tweet,” she said.

“My absolute favourite moment though was after the procedure when I went to see his family.

“They’d been following the live tweet and despite earlier apprehensions were really pleased it took place. They said it gave them an inside look at what was happening to him and it was peace of mind knowing that nothing was going wrong.

“We are looking at repeating the procedure and we’re currently researching the best operation to showcase.”

Event marks the launch of new art displays at BU

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The Atrium Art Gallery at Bournemouth University opens its new year long exhibition called ‘The Art of Making: Handcrafted & Traditional Skills’.

Art work will be displayed in a number of public areas around Bournemouth University for the whole of 2013, starting with a series of pieces under the heading of ‘Handcrafted 2D Works’.

The exhibition includes art and drawing by Bernard Leach and photography from local photographers Krishula Auckland and Denis Roberts.

During the well–attended event, guests were treated to their first glimpse of the artwork along with live entertainment.

Photographer Krishula Auckland said at the event, “University is a time when you are exploring different interests, so it is important to see art at university. All culture is important at university as it broadens your horizons.”

Denis Roberts, whose photographs are also on display in the Atrium Art Gallery, agreed with Krishula’s comments stating, “I work a lot with students and artists and I want to share this art with them.”

Denis’ unique photographs include prints of Bournemouth University’s campus, offering an artistic perspective to some of the campus’ most aesthetically pleasing elements.

Julie Herring, Curator at the Atrium Art Gallery, said the opening went well, with more than 150 visitors.

She added: “‘The Art of Making’ highlighted the processes of working and ‘creating work over a period of time’, so the overall displays celebrated the skills and craftsmanship.

“It was really rewarding to see so many people enjoy the artwork and spend time looking and talking with each other about the making.”

The ‘Handcrafted 2D Works’ will be on display from Thursday 14 February until Saturday 6 April 2013 and will be open from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm with free admission.

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.

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

I don’t Beliebe it!

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A journalism student from Bournemouth University has won the chance to travel to Miami and meet teen pop sensation Justin Bieber.

Third year BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism student Joseph Kent beat entries from around the world to win the competition, run by Adidas NEO.

The prize includes an all-expenses paid trip to Miami at the end of the month, and the chance to meet Justin Bieber after one of his concerts.

Joseph, who will then blog about the experience, said: “It is the trip that I am more excited for – I have never been to Miami and it sounds amazing. I’ve already been checking the weather reports.

“The great thing is that I don’t really have an opinion on Justin Bieber so I can go to the concert and form a justified opinion on him.”

A keen fashion blogger through his site www.unlimitedbyjk.com, Joseph was contacted by the Adidas social media team and encouraged to enter.

To get through the first round of the competition, Joseph had to send in a photo of the face he would pull if he found out he had won.

“That took me ages,” said Joseph, 21, who is from Woking and lives in Winton while studying.

“It was a mixture of surprise and disbelief, with a little glimmer of ‘oh my gosh’. It took me a while of taking photos with myself to find a face that I was happy with.

“I’m sure it wasn’t the face I actually pulled when I found out I’d won.”

For the second round, entrants were sent a rucksack and then had to blog about what they would put in it for their trip to Miami.

Joseph created a stop motion video of the items – including his camera, spare lens, passport and shorthand notebook – magically appearing to put themselves in the bag to one of Justin Bieber’s songs.

He said: “It took about two hours to shoot everything and about four hours to do all the editing but it was really fun to make.”

Initially Joseph was told that he had come in third place, but technicalities meant that one of the winners could not take up the prize.

He was at university helping out with an Activity Day for prospective students when he found out he would be going to Miami after all.

“It came as a total surprise,” he said.

“I was on my lunch break and checking my emails when I saw the one saying that I was going after all. I had to read it twice before I absorbed it.

“I think my jaw actually dropped and I started screaming and jumping up and down.”

Joseph will be one of two bloggers reporting on the experience, and will travel to Miami on Friday 25th January.

He will stay at a hotel on Miami Beach and will see Justin Bieber’s concert at the American Airlines Arena on the Saturday, before returning home on Sunday 27th January.

He will meet Justin following the concert, and hopes he will get the chance to interview the teen pop icon.

“If I have the chance to get a few words from him, I’m really interested to see what he thinks about the fact that there are his superfans who do really crazy things and then people who absolutely hate him.

“I want to see how that affects him and get his point of view.”

Joseph added that his friends are proud of him winning the competition.

“My friends and coursemates have been saying that they are proud of me as I work so hard and that I deserve this. I feel quite overwhelmed by that.”

You can watch the stop-motion video that Joseph created for the competition here: http://vimeo.com/52813041

BU student wins prestigious Prince’s Trust Award

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Nat Hawley won Education Achiever of the Year Award, and may now get to meet the Prince of Wales.

A Television Production student who overcame adversity to gain a place at Bournemouth University has been given a prestigious Prince’s Trust Award.

Nat Hawley won Educational Achiever of the Year for the South of England and London at the Prince’s Trust Celebrate Success Awards.

The award recognises young people who have overcome barriers and developed new skills to improve their prospects through education.

Nat, 21, who is now in his second year of a BA (Hons) Television Production degree at BU, said: “It felt pretty fantastic as I wasn’t expecting to win.

“I felt quite honoured really, as there were a lot of other people in the running for the award who had really inspirational stories, so it was brilliant to win.

“I was the only person who had made it to university. At one point when I was going through trouble, I didn’t think I would be able to get through the next day – let alone end up studying something that I have always loved.”

Nat, who is autistic and dyslexic, became a full-time carer for his mother when he was 16 and studying for his GCSEs.

“It was a full-time job and it meant that I couldn’t really leave the house or do things that other kids my age do.”

But after Nat, who is from Eastleigh, began to struggle while at college, a teacher referred him to the Prince’s Trust Fairbridge Programme, a personal development scheme which offers one-to-one support and group activities.

“They helped me to live independently and build confidence, and I also learned about first aid – which has helped me to save my mum’s life a few times,” said Nat, who now lives in Talbot Woods.

“As well as learning skills like food hygiene, I did lots of other things like climbing and sailing that I wouldn’t get to do before.

“I also met other young people who had been through the same difficulties as me – it helped me to gain some perspective and hang out with similar people.”

Nat was presented with the award at St Mary’s Stadium, in Southampton, in December.

As well as receiving a trophy, Nat may now have the opportunity to meet the Prince of Wales himself, as well as attending a further event in London.

Winning the award has also helped Nat to make contacts which has helped him secure work placements in the industry.

“I am going to be moving to London, which is another great step. There are amazing possibilities and opportunities that I wouldn’t have had if it wasn’t for the Prince’s Trust.”

The Bourne Legacy

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Alumni who have done well in the creative industries come back to BU to give advice to Media School students.

Successful Media School alumni were back at Bournemouth University to share their stories and advice with final year students.

Among those speaking at The Bourne Legacy event were BU graduates who have gone on to edit The X-Factor, work on Tim Burton animated film Frankenweenie, and have gained positions at BBC Radio 1Xtra.

The event is now in its second year, and has been organised to inspire current final year students from across the Digital Media Design, TV and Radio Production courses, Scriptwriting and Global Media Practice degrees.

Mark Shufflebottom, Programme Co-ordinator BA (Hons) Digital Media Design, helped to organise the event.

He said: “It is a chance for [the students] to meet people from BU who have gone out into industry and are doing great things.

“It is about meeting these guys and them giving some really good idea of how to get into the industry.”

The first speaker of the day was Dan Mellow, an editor who has worked on TV shows including the X-Factor and Comic Relief, and is now editing comedy programmes.

Dan, who completed a Media Production degree at BU in 1995, said: “There were so many skills that I learnt at Bournemouth University that I have taken into the industry and that continue to be useful today.

He added: “I’ve hugely enjoyed the event. I hope it’s very useful for the current batch of students for alumni to come back and share their experiences and stories of how they got into the industry.”

Also speaking at the event was producer and director Céin McGillicuddy, who has worked on programmes like Made in Chelsea and MTV’s My Super Sweet World Class since completing a BA (Hons) in Scriptwriting for Film and TV then an MA (Hons) in TVProduction at BU, and fellow Scriptwriting for Film and TV graduate Danna Wills, who worked at Aardman Animations and Disney before moving into children’s magazines.

Following the talks, there was a Q&A panel session with the alumni and the opportunity for networking.

Anna Goodridge, who studied TV Production at BU from 2005 to 2008 was another of the speakers.

She is currently working as a Production Coordinator on BBC drama Holby City.

Anna said: “I started off as a runner and worked my way up the old-fashioned way, which is how you’re always going to have to do it.

“I want to let students know that your mum or dad doesn’t have to work in television – with hard work and a bit of research you can get in quite easily but you’ve got to be patient and one day, eventually, you’ll get to where you want to be.”

2012 Paralympics changed perceptions of disability, BU study finds

The London 2012 Paralympic Games led to greater confidence and less anxiety in talking about disability and disabled sport, a Bournemouth University (BU) study has found.

The study was commissioned by Channel 4, broadcasters of the 2012 Paralympic Games, and was completed by the Creative Enterprise Bureau, a marketing consultancy based in BU’s Media School which involves staff and students from the Corporate and Marketing Communications academic group.

They found that viewers were genuinely surprised by how emotive and thrilling the games were, and began to see sporting excellence rather than only the disability.

Over the course of two years they conducted in-depth interviews with participants – based in London, Bournemouth and Newcastle – about their thoughts and experiences of disability and disabled sport.

“The focus was on experiences and the stories that people had,” said Dr Dan Jackson, senior lecturer in Media and Communication at BU, who helped coordinate the study.

“We wanted to speak to a whole cross-section of people, so the interviews included disabled people, people with direct experience of disability and disability sport, people with an interest in sport and TV watching, and people who had no interest at all.

“We were most interested in how this massive sporting event impacted on people’s lives.”

The participants were interviewed in four phases before and after the London 2012 Paralympic Games, and Dan said that, before the event, there did not seem to be much change in the way people were talking about disability and disabled sports.

“There were a lot of barriers – people didn’t know how to talk about it,” he said.

“Many people did not have experiences of disability because it was very rarely on our screens. There was not a great deal of knowledge or interest in Paralympic sport.

“But there seemed to be a lot of good will towards it – people saying “It should be on TV, it’s a worthwhile thing, but I won’t really go out of my way to watch it.”

However, after the London 2012 Paralympic Games, people’s perceptions and experiences of disability and disabled sport seemed to change.

The study found:

  • The Paralympics had a noticeable impact on the way disability was talked about; there was greater confidence and less anxiety in talking about disability sport.
  • Genuine and palpable surprise at the emotional reactions generated by watching the Paralympics – viewers seemed genuinely surprised at just how emotive and thrilling the Paralympics were.
  • A shift from expecting to see only the disability to primarily seeing sporting excellence. This was accompanied by a shift away from sympathy and pity to thrill and excitement associated with watching live sport
  • A reduction in expressed sense of discomfort when watching people with disability on TV.
  • Disabled participants were acutely aware of the ‘buzz’ generated that made disability momentarily trendy and fashionable, and that a general sense of ‘admiration’ appears to have displaced sympathy, pity or fear in how able-bodied people interact with disabled people. But they were sceptical of whether this would last long-term.

Dan said: “We couldn’t find anyone who hadn’t experienced any of the Paralympics – even if they hadn’t watched it directly, it was second-hand through the news or other people.

“While the summer of sport, particularly the Olympics, was quite moving for the whole country, it had a huge impact and was the central focus all summer, and the Paralympics benefited from that.

“But for some people it suffered, as it seemed to be considered an afterthought.”

He added: “Some of the people who were least likely to watch and enjoy it, got beyond that and beyond the disabilities and were watching it as a sport just like any other sport.”

Around half of the Corporate and Marketing department at BU helped with the study, along with final year Marketing, PR and Advertising students.

Dan said it was great to be involved with such a high profile project, and that they were now hoping to write a book around the findings.

“One of the great parts of it from our point of view was that it was a really good project that involved so many people in our department,” he said.

“The 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were massive for the country and it only seemed to really hit home when we started quite how big a deal this whole thing was.

“To be part of that and doing the research on that was great.”

Who killed Rudolph the Reindeer?

With just weeks to go before Christmas, tragedy strikes.

Rudolph the Reindeer has been killed – and Santa, Mrs Claus and his fellow reindeer are among the prime suspects.

Our only hope for a happy Christmas? Schoolchildren from across Bournemouth – who visited BU to try and solve the crime on Monday.

The Who Killed Rudolph? was organised by BU and the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) to introduce pupils to forensic science.

Year 9 pupils from The Bourne Academy, Oakmead College of Technology, The Grange School, Carter Community School and St Aldhelm’s Academy first watched a short play, which introduced all the main characters and prime suspects.

The play – acted out by students and Aimhigher ambassadors – showed tensions between Rudolph and characters including Mrs Claus – who was jealous of Santa and Rudolph’s ‘snowmance’ – The Grinch and the Head Elf Toymaker, who had been overlooked for a promotion, with Rudolph getting the job instead.

At the end of the play, Rudolph staggers in and collapses – but nobody knows what has happened to him. Or do they?

“It’s a forensic murder mystery,” said Naomi Capell, Science Outreach Officer, at Aimhigher with BU, who helped organise the event.

“The participating schoolchildren then had to find out how Rudolph died and whether he was killed.

“They took part in five workshops and all of them were aimed at discovering the truth behind those aspects of the investigation.”

The workshops were led by students and took place in BU labs.

They included interrogating the main suspects, fingerprint and hair analysis and learning how to extract DNA using strawberries.

Pupils also analysed Rudolph’s stomach contents to see if he has been poisoned.

Naomi said: “We hope they will see the possibilities of studying science, particularly science at university.

“Forensics is not something that students tend to study at school, so we just wanted to show them more about what science at university is like and what kind of facilities we have.

She added: “The students seemed to enjoy the activities.

“All of the workshops were as practical as possible and we got quite good feedback from the interrogation workshop – they quite loved questioning all of our main characters.”

The Who Killed Rudolph? event was repeated by staff and students at the Royal Veterinary College, in London, for schoolchildren the next day.

Pupils had to write down who they thought killed Rudolph and how, and the answers were revealed in another short play at the end of the event. Pupils who got it right won prizes.

Dawn Griffiths, upper school coordinator at Oakmead College of Technology, had brought her pupils along to the event at BU.

She said: “It has been brilliant. It’s a great insight into studying forensics at university.

“It has stretched the pupils, which has been really good, and they have been fully engaged with it all.

“Speaking to the students throughout the day, a growing number have said that they are now interested in studying forensics.”

BU student creates best film about his placement abroad

A Bournemouth University student has won a national competition for creating the best film about his placement year abroad.

BSc (Hons) Product Design student Martin Constantine spent his placement year in French town Charleville–Méziéres, working for Visteon – who design and manufacture parts for companies like Ford and Jaguar.

The film he created of his experiences won first prize in the Film Category of the British Council and Ecorys ‘Your Story’ Competition, which was open to all students who had undertaken an Erasmus placement abroad.

Martin, 23, who is now in the fourth year of his degree, has won £100 of Amazon vouchers and will attend an awards ceremony in London on November 15.

“I was just really surprised to win,” said Martin, who is from Woodbridge in Suffolk but lives in Winton while studying.

“I was really pleased to be able to tell my parents that I had won and the university as well.

“It is not really about winning the prize, it’s about the recognition of the work I put into the placement and the experience that I had.”

The video shows Martin at work, and some of the machinery he used during his placement, but also focuses on the experiences that he had outside of work – such as making new friends, learning French and kayaking.

“I got the opportunity to do things I would never have been able to do if I had stayed at home – like learning to play ice hockey,” he said.

“I was filming bits and pieces for myself anyway as I was going to festivals and historical re–enactments and I just wanted to keep a memento.”

He added: “I’m not really sure what the competition was like but I like to think that my film had a nice balance of the overall experience – so the work and the social side of things and engaging with the people in France and doing things with them.”

Erasmus placements are funded by the European Union and mean students from higher education institutions can spend a placement period of between three months and one year in another EU country.

Bournemouth University helps students to find the placement abroad and offers support throughout the year, making sure students are settled and happy.

Martin was in Charleville–Mezieres from last June to July this year, and said he learnt a lot both about industry and himself.

“I really enjoyed my placement and it was actually quite difficult to come back.

“I felt like I really had a lot of responsibility and the company took me very seriously, as if I had been there ten years and I wasn’t just a work experience student.

“Everybody went to a lot of effort to make me feel welcome and at the weekend, I was making friends and we would go out and do different things, and I had new experiences because of it.”

He added: “I think going abroad adds a completely different dimension to your placement year. By putting myself a bit out of my comfort zone, it helped me to develop much more.

“Now I can speak French and now I can say that I received an award for my film about the experience. It is something that little bit extra that makes you stand out.”

He said that the experience has also helped him decide what career path to go down after graduating.

“It has definitely given me the direction that I was never really sure about before.

“Now I know that I want to work in the automotive industry, as I found the whole experience so great.”

Watch Martin’s video