Tag Archives: Student Success

Double whammy win for Bournemouth University researchers

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Bournemouth University (BU) can boast success once again as two PhD students have received awards for their outstanding research.

Their research focussed on photogrammetry – the use of photography in mapping measurements between objects – from the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Society (RSPS).

Emily Norton was given one of the most prestigious awards, the Presidents Cup, for the best presentation to be shown at the RSPS Annual Conference in Glasgow. Emily’s research looks at how satellite imagery can be used to locate concealed and undiscovered mass-graves from wars or genocide.

To further add to their success, Heather Papworth was given the Wiley Award for Best Photogrammetric Contribution. Her award was given due to her research concerning the 3D measurement of damage and loss to archaeological sites using old aerial photos from World War Two to the present day. Regarding the future of her research, Heather has said: “I believe that my work can now be taken forward for use by heritage bodies to better plan their management and conservation work on these important archaeological features.”

The pair received their awards at the RSPS Annual Meeting in Aberystwyth and they were accompanied by Andrew Ford, a lecturer of geoinformatics at BU, who told us he was “so very proud and just over the moon” about his students’ success. Papworth recalled that she was “shocked but elated” on the announcement that she would receive the award.

By Charlotte Cranny-Evans

Charlotte is a graduate of Budmouth College in Weymouth, who is working at Bournemouth University in the Press and PR Department. She joined BU on a Sir Samuel Mico Scholarship, which provides 10 students from the college with work experience for four weeks over the summer.

BU WWI Film Set for Leicester Square Premiere

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A film created by Bournemouth University students and set during the First World War is to premier in Leicester Square.

The Journal is a fiction film about a man called Blake, who finds a diary written by his Great-Grandfather during the First World War. The film is a flashback account of deception and honour.

The film was created by Bournemouth University Television Production students eager to enhance their learning through the summer months. Keen to tie in with the 100 year anniversary of the First World War, the team set about creating the film.

First year student and Journal Director Tim Mizon said, “We wanted to create a film that can catch the eye of the audience. We took on crowd funding first and raised nearly £3,000 – getting sponsorship from a number of executive producers. The team were so dedicated that they also contributed to the funding of the project. We are all passionate film makers and we wanted to make a film that we can take away and be proud of.”

The film is due to be premiered at Leicester Square on 25th October, and the first screening sold out within two hours of ticket release.

Tim continued, “A group of television 1st year students wanted to create a film during term time to create more opportunities for ourselves and to really take advantage of creating films before we depart from student life.

“We filmed in France and Belgium within the grave sites. I found a trench that was constructed by BBC Time Team’s investigator Andrew Robertshaw. He supported us with the 60ft trench, with costumes and weapons. We then moved location to Yorkshire to film the final scenes inside a house.”

Looking back on the film so far and how far it has come, Tim concluded, “We are very pleased with the success we have had so far, we still have one more scene to go but we are really proud with what we have achieved.  As a crew we are excited to be showing our film in such a prestigious area where Hollywood films are premiered.”

You can view the trailer for the film on YouTube and more information about the film can be found at www.thejournalfilm.com.

Advertising students star in their own advert

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Four BU advertising students can be seen smiling down from a billboard on Bath Road in Bournemouth after presenting the winning pitch for a national advertising campaign.

Final year students of the BA (Hons) Advertising degree programme were invited to compete for a £1.5million campaign for VisitEngland. As a prize for winning the students got the chance to star in their own billboard advertisement.

Students received a live brief to create a campaign aimed at encouraging families to stay in England and to include cycling as part of their holiday activities. Final pitches were presented to VisitEngland, MediaCom, industry practitioners and tutors, who were looking for a credible, convincing solution to the brief.

The winning team were Totem advertising agency, made up of students, Victoria Sayer, Loren Hargreaves, Jennifer Gale and James Reeves. Based on the theme, ‘Escape the ordinary. Live the extraordinary’, Totem’s campaign impressed the judges with thorough research and a fully integrated communications plan.  Jennifer Gale, one of the team, spoke on behalf of her fellow students,

“We’ve been on quite a journey within the campaign planning experience and it’s been great to see the team grow throughout the whole process. We couldn’t be more pleased with the result and it’s amazing to know that all of those late nights paid off.”

“We were just happy to have answered a difficult brief with ideas that our lecturers and MediaCom liked as much as we did! It’s a really good feeling when it all seems to fall into place.”

The Campaign Planning unit of the BA (Hons) Advertising programme requires that students team up to form a professional advertising agency to complete assignments and leads up to tackling a real client brief under the banner, ‘A BIG, BOLD National advertising campaign’. This year the assignment was supported by VisitEngland tourism board and international media agency, MediaCom.

Course tutors at BU were also impressed with their students’ achievements. Melanie Gray, the unit leader for Campaign Planning, commented,

“Seeing the students respond to the challenge set by a real client brief was fantastic. The challenge by VisitEngland was complex and involved some real investigation and creative thinking by the students.”

“The students really embraced the opportunity and the quality of work produced by many of them was outstanding. Totem were worthy winners of the final pitch, receiving the highest grade for their campaign solution based on extremely well researched insight and some fantastic communication ideas.”

SUBU Annual Review celebrates success

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The 2014 Annual Review celebrated SUBU’s 20th birthday by showcasing another year of achievements.

The event, on Wednesday 4 June, was presented by the elected Full Time Officers, who highlighted all the great activities the Students’ Union at BU (SUBU) have been supporting, funding and making happen in 2013/14. Among the guests were Chancellor Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, Vice Chancellor Professor John Vinney, Conor Burns MP, members of the University board, SUBU Board of trustees and previous SUBU Full Time Officers.

The Students’ Union at BU has been in operation for two decades and has grown with each passing year; supporting, developing and entertaining every new cohort passing through BU’s doors. This year was no exception and SUBU have plenty of successes to shout about.

One of the key achievements for 2013/14 was SUBU’s RAG (Raising and Giving) charity activities which raised over a quarter of a million pounds. The funds were split between local charities and worthy causes around the UK including, Dorset Blind Association, Autism Wessex, Alzheimer’s Society and Children with Cancer UK.

Volunteering increased by 40% this year with 734 students giving a helping hand to both local and national projects. The Big Feed was one of the more successful projects, managing to collect and deliver four tonnes of food to local families and food banks. Student engagement in extra-curricular activities, like volunteering, is a major player in affecting employability for BU students and it is high on SUBU’s yearly agenda.

The ‘Lock it or Lose it’ burglary prevention campaign helped to cement community relations this year as SUBU joined forces with Arts University Bournemouth, BU staff, local police and councillors. Combined with the newly created SUBU Community Warden team, this resulted in a 19.6% reduction in crime around Winton and 41% reduction in bin-related complaints from residents. The four new wardens managed to clock up over 50 miles of patrolling around the local area, helping to improve integration and relations between students and locals.

As if that weren’t enough, SUBU’s strides towards becoming a more ethical and environmentally friendly organisation were recognised with a Gold status NUS Green Impact Award.  Next year will see SUBU getting even more green on campus.

Encouraging student engagement in democratic decision-making and student representation also took a major step forward this year. Earlier in the year representatives from six other Students’ Unions were invited to Bournemouth so that SUBU could share their practices and expertise in student engagement. SUBU President Murray Simpson said,

“We’ve been highlighted as a feature of good practice for our evidence based feedback by the QAA, and believe a partnership approach with BU has enabled this to happen. We’ve come on leaps and bounds with welfare and democracy this year, and the Annual Review is a fantastic chance to look back and celebrate these successes.”

As a final visual treat, the audience experienced a nostalgic romp through the history of SUBU in a slide show of the last 20 years. The future of SUBU was also discussed, with a focus on the Union’s new home in the Student Centre and welcoming the new SUBU staff for 2014/15.

BU men’s football team celebrate promotion success

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Bournemouth University’s men’s football team are celebrating this week, with the 1st and 3rd team clinching promotion to higher divisions.

The Men’s 1st team secured promotion with a 5-0 away victory against University of Winchester Men’s 1st team to claim the BUCS Western 2A League title.

The Men’s 3rd team finished the season with a top of the table clash against University of Bath and claimed a 2-1 away victory – with the winning goal scored in the last few moments of the game. They too, claimed their division title with the win and are promoted as a result.

From next season the Men’s 1st team will be playing in the BUCS Western 1A League, with the 3rd team playing in BUCS Western 2A League.

Marcus Dowdeswell studies Business Studies with Finance at Bournemouth University, and is Captain of the Men’s 1st Football team. He said, “The boys showed great commitment and character to win their respective leagues on the last game of the season. We have a strong squad, with strength throughout and I believe this is what allowed us to achieve what we did this season.”

Marcus continued, “There is a great spirit and will to succeed amongst the players and each member of the squad contributed to the success of BUFC. There are a number of final year students, including myself, within the squad and therefore the title deciding games were our last games for Bournemouth University FC, and this success concluded a great three years of university football for Bournemouth.”

Steve Cuss, Head of AFC Bournemouth’s Community Sports Trust, works with BU’s football teams as varsity football coach, and said, “Congratulations to all the players on the achievement of a double promotion.  We have enjoyed working with the players on a weekly basis, the effort and commitment shown by all has very evident and the two winning teams are reward for the hard work of the players throughout the season”.

Steve’s contribution to the football teams’ success was also highlighted, as the continuing link between Bournemouth University and AFC Bournemouth provides an opportunity for students to receive a professional level of coaching during their time at university.

Three BU students up for Institute of Directors Award

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Three Bournemouth University students have been shortlisted for the Student of the Year prize at this years Institute of Directors’ Director of the Year Awards.

The student award category celebrates the success of student members of the Institute of Directors and this year, three of the six nominees in the category are current BU students.

The awards ceremony takes place on 11 October 2013 and details of the three BU students shortlisted for the Award can be found below.

The Institute of Directors is the UK’s largest and oldest membership organisation predominantly for directors and professional leaders, which includes a student membership category.

For more information about the awards you can visit the Institute of Directors’ Director of the Year web page.

BU’s shortlisted students:

Lyton Chithambo

Lyton studied a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance at the University of Malawi, became a qualified Chartered Accountant in 2006 and was recognised as a top performing employee in the Supervision division. Lyton won the Beit Trust scholarship to study a Master’s Degree in Finance and Risk at Bournemouth University, and is now reading for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Accounting and Finance. His plan is to set up a consultancy firm majoring in governance and risk management.

Tom Heyes

Tom is in his final year studying Business Studies at Bournemouth University. Tom was a finalist for the Target jobs Undergraduate of the Year in Commercial Excellence in 2013, and participates in the Dorset Youth Council. After graduating from University, Tom sees himself spending some time working in an overseas location and in five years he would like to be working for an international organisation as a client or delivery executive.

Dan Hunter

Dan is studying Software Engineering at Bournemouth University.  He has been involved with the strategic planning and opening of a brand new Elite Sports and Stage & Screen Studio School in Bournemouth that offers revolutionary education and training for students aged 14-19. Dan is currently on a placement year with JP Morgan and is working as a consultant with LeAF Studio School. Dan competed in the London 2012 Olympics and would never rule out the possibility of targeting a future Olympics as well!