Bangor International July 2018

Bangor International July 2018

No. 1 in the UK for Clubs and Societies WhatUni 2018

Bangor appears in UK Top 10 League Tables Bangor University is among the top 10 universities in the UK for six subjects taught at the university according to the Complete University Guide for 2019.

The six subjects included in the Top 10 among UK universities are:

l Agriculture & Forestry (5th) l Celtic Studies (2nd)

l Creative Writing(9th)

l Medical Technology (2nd) l Nursing (10th)

l Social Policy (10th) Vice-Chancellor Professor John G. Hughes said:

“The University continues to provide students with an excellent education and we were delighted to be the only University in Wales to receive a Gold standard in the first Teaching Excellence Framework Awards. We always

L-R: Bottom left is our Pontio building, Psychology Department and the wonderful Main Arts Building is on the right

recommend that prospective students consider every aspect of their university experience, and sources such as league tables, surveys and Awards provide valuable endorsements which underpin the impression made by

a visit to a Bangor University Open Day.” “I once again congratulate all our staff for their hard work in delivering excellent student experiences.”

In this issue of our newsletter... l Award Winners l Research News l Take a look at our International Student Newsletter here: www.bangor.ac.uk/international/support/news/international-student-newsletter-april-2018-36475 www.bangor.ac.uk/international

Global award for Bangor wetland scientist Bangor University lecturer Professor Chris Freeman has received a top international award for his work on understanding some of the world’s most important habitats.

Prof Chris Freeman was given the prize after receiving nominations from scientists around the world, who praised him as a leader in his field.

The Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) awarded Prof Freeman his International Fellowship, at a special event in Denver, USA, in recognition for his pioneering work on wetland science.

Prof Freeman has been conducting research on the subject for over 20-years and has seen his work feature in the world’s top scientific journals and on the covers of national newspapers around the globe.

Some of his most influential discoveries have described how wetlands store climate-changing amounts of carbon and how they can be looked after to help safeguard our own future on the planet.

Speaking about the importance of Prof Freeman’s work at Bangor University, Dr Loretta Battaglia from SWS said: “There’s no doubt that Chris Freeman is a world-leading wetland scientist and it was a great pleasure to award him an International Fellowship.

“His work has really helped us understand what’s going on in our wetlands, and as they are some of the most important habitats we have, this development of knowledge is crucial for us to better manage and protect them in the future.”

Prof Chris Freeman receives his Society of Wetland Scientists International Fellowship award in Denver, USA “They are definitely the most Prof Freeman, who is the director fascinating places to study and of the Bangor Wetlands Group, we’ve still so much to learn about said he was delighted to receive them,” he added. such an accolade: “It’s wonderful to receive such an award and it’s Bangor University offers a range of great to see that the work we’ve degrees and modules which been doing at Bangor University is feature some of Prof Freeman’s having such an impact on work on wetlands, and the wetlands and conservation around university prides itself in the world. producing up-and-coming wetland “Wetlands really are such amazing scientists. places – they are the hub and For more information on focus for so much life on Earth, Professor Chris Freeman visit: they can clean our water, protect our homes and even control the wetlands.bangor.ac.uk/ climate.”

Chris-Freeman.php

WhatUni Awards Success for Bangor University

Bangor University has been chosen as the best in the UK for its Students’ Union Clubs & Societies as well as its Student Accommodation in this year’s WhatUni.com Student Choice Awards. The University was also placed third in the UK in the University of the Year category and second in the UK for Courses and Lecturers.

The latest accolade is a further endorsement of the quality of the courses, accommodation, facilities and students support provided by Bangor University. It follows another successful year which has also seen the University in the top 10 in the UK in the National Student Survey for student satisfaction and becoming the only University in Wales to achieve Gold standard in the UK Government’s new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

Professor John G Hughes, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, welcomed the news saying:

“This is the fourth year in a row that Bangor University has won a national WhatUni Award. I’m delighted that the University has won two category awards, and these awards reflect our close working relationship with the Students’ Union and our own students in order to provide an excellent education and all-round student-centred university

partnership with them to ensure that the students of Bangor have the best possible student opportunities.”

Simon Emmett, Hotcourses Group Chief Executive, said:

experience. I’m grateful to our students for their support, and very pleased that they appreciate their time in Bangor. I would also like to thank the University and Students’ Union Sabbaticals and staff for their fantastic efforts.”

“Our collection of almost 37,000 reviews gives voice to students’ lived experiences of university and while there are challenges, the results delivered many positive comments about university experience that will help inspire prospective students faced with the difficult decision of where to study.”

Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Carol Tully said:

“We’re delighted to regain the award for Best Accommodation.

Our staff work tirelessly to ensure that our students get the most from their time in Halls. Our Campus Life Co-ordinators and Warden Team are committed to creating a close community. It’s great that our students have acknowledged this once again.”

Mair Rowlands Bangor Students’ Union Director said:

“We are absolutely delighted to have won the WhatUni 2018 award for Best Clubs and Societies, this is yet another amazing achievement for Undeb Bangor. Students are at the heart of what we do, and we achieve these awards by listening to our students, and working in

Bangor University was nominated for Awards in the following categories:

l Accommodation

l Clubs & Societies

l Courses & Lecturers l Giving Back

l International

l Job Prospects

l Student Support

l Best Prospective Student Engagement

l Overall University of the Year

Bangor Business School succeeds at IBM Business Competition!

A team of Bangor Business School students (pictured right) came 2nd at the national final of IBM University Business Challenge, held at IBM’s London HQ in March.

Students worked as board of directors to make critical business decisions showing entrepreneurial skills, creativity and team-work.

Over 200 student teams competed in the nationwide event. The BBS team, which included Chinese student Junhui Wang王俊慧, was mentored by Dr Siwan Mitchelmore, BBS Employability Officer. A second BBS team made it into the semi-finals and were placed 8th overall.

The IBM Universities Business Challenge is a prestigious and highly competitive contest.

Undergraduates from universities throughout the UK participate in a series of realistic, simulated business scenarios, showing how students can translate academic learning into real-world commercial sense.

L-R: Victoria Wiglusz, Junhui Wang, Nguyen Nhat Ngan Le, Benjamin Aaron Peter Murray, Hannah Rose Culleton

Bangor cognitive neuroscientist to spend the summer in Utah learning about molecular genetics Prof Debbie Mills, from Bangor University’s School of Psychology was recently awarded a Leverhulme International Academic Fellowship " Linking gene expression with social brain activity.” Following her summer in Utah she will bring new skills on human genetics research back to Bangor University.

Her research will focus on how gene expression interacts with social perception and behaviour.

A related article shows how genetics influence the way the brain detects trustworthy from untrustworthy faces. read the original article here : www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5608800/ Professor Debbie Mills

Gold in the Commonwealth Games for one of Bangor University’s teams Wales’ first gold medal in the Commonwealth Games was won by a member of Bangor University’s team.

Gareth Evans, a sports assistant at the university’s Canolfan Brailsford, secured gold in the men’s weightlifting in the 69kg category in Australia, lifting 299kg.

Gareth was one of six athletes from Bangor University who represented Wales on the Gold Coast.

With him in the weightlifting and powerlifting squad are Seth Casidsid, a psychology graduate, Catrin Jones, a psychology student, Harry Misangyi, a sports science student, and Hannah Powell, a sports science graduate, all of whom are based at Canolfan Brailsford.

Prof Carol Tully, pro vice chancellor (students) said: “Being able to boast six athletes in Team Wales is a huge honour for the University and reflects the

Bangor University sports assistant Gareth Evans receiving his gold medal investment we have made in gym proved to be the preferred supporting our own students and training venue for the Welsh the sporting community in North weightlifting team in their Wales.” preparations for the Gold Coast, and we are delighted at Gareth’s “Our newly opened Platfform81 win.”

The School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences (SHES), has been providing high-calibre undergraduate and postgraduate degrees since 1978. Over this period Bangor has attracted some of the world’s best teaching and research staff who have contributed to the development of these extensive degree programmes.

The School is research-led and staff have well-established national and international reputations in sport and exercise psychology, motor control and learning, and clinical exercise physiology.

See what courses our School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences offer:

www.bangor.ac.uk/sport/index.php.en

Ranked 8th in the UK for Studen t Satisf ac in the S ports S tion subject cience ar (NSS 20 ea 17)

Dominican Republic FULL Tuition Fee Waiver Postgraduate Scholarships Available An agreement has been signed between Bangor University and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology of the Dominican Republic to establish a collaborative scholarship programme to support Dominican students undertaking postgraduate studies (Masters or PhD) at Bangor.

The agreement will cover a maximum ten students for each academic cohort, covering a total of twenty for the years 2018/19 and 2019/20.

Tuition and accommodation fees will be covered as well as a stipend for each year of study.

(Some science degrees may charge additonal bench fees, details will be supplied in offers of admission).

Courses available under the agreement include Music, Psychology and Electronic Engineering courses only.

Scholarships will be awarded on a competative basis and will be confirmed each year no later than 30th June.

Applications must be made through Bangor’s online admissions system: (www.bangor.ac.uk/ international/applying/) by 1 May each year and applicants should meet the minimum requirements for those courses.

Visit our course pages: www.bangor.ac.uk/ international/courses/

Bangor hosts photography exhibition of the ancient Saudi City and Unesco World Heritage Site, Madain Saleh On the 24th of May, the School of History and Archaeology hosted a photography exhibition of the ancient Saudi city and Unesco World Heritage Site, Madain Saleh.

The exhibition displays eyecatching photos of the Nabateans’ second-largest city, after the Nabatean capital Petra in Jordan.

All photos in the exhibition were taken by Bangor’s School of History student Mardhi Alenazy.

Mardhi’s dissertation project is conducted on Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih).

The event was organised by Mardhi Alenazy with the support of the Saudi Student Club, and the exhibition was opened by Dr Peter Shapely, Head of Bangor’s School of History and Archaeology, and the director of the Saudi Student Club, Mr Osama Sultan Alruwaili.

The event has received a high response from many MiddleEastern and Saudi newspapers that talked about the importance

L-R: Mardhi Alenazy and Dr Peter Shapely of such activities and giving an opportunity to show historical sites of Saudi Arabia.

The exhibition will stay open for visitors until 9th August.

Turkish Embassy visit Angharad Thomas, Director of International Development and Noor Al-Zubaidi, International Officer at Bangor University paid a successful visit to the Turkish Embassy on the 7th June and met with the Education Counsellor Mr Hasan Unsal in a bid to strengthen academic ties between Bangor University and Turkey.

L-R: Angharad Thomas, Mr Hasan Unsal and Noor Al-Zubaidi

Two Bangor Professors elected as Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales

Prof. Tony Brown and Prof. Raluca Radulescu both from Bangor University’s School of English Literatue were recently elected as Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales for their outstanding contribtions to academic life and culture in Wales. This double honour is particularly notable since the School of English literature at Bangor University was the only academic department to have two of its members elected in the same round.

Prof. Tony Brown is a leading authority in Welsh Writing in English, and co-director of the R. S. Thomas Research Centre, which houses the major archive of Thomas's work. Prof. Raluca Radulescu has an international reputation in the field of Arthurian Studies, she is President of the British Branch of the International Arthurian Society and founding director of Bangor University's Centre for Arthurian Studies.

Learning disability nursing student volunteering in Cambodia On 27th of August, 2018 Learning Disability Nursing student, Iola Mair Morris will be going to Cambodia to volunteer for a month on a public health project that has a focus on promoting health, hoping she’ll use what she has learned over the last three years when she meets individuals with learning disabilities.

The visit to Cambodia will give Iola an opportunity to live and work in a different country and culture, and she hopes that the skills and knowledge gained as a Learning Disability student nurse will enable her to contribute to the nursing care provided to individuals in Cambodia. Although Iola believes volunteering will be a personal challenge, she hopes to learn from the local families and the nurses she will be working alongside. Lastly, Iola hopes

Iola Mair Morris volunteering “will enrich my experience and give me the opportunity to be a better person, hopefully enhancing my learning and practice at Bangor University to become a Registered Learning Disability Nurse in the future”.

Research News

Professor Val Morrison

ENTWINE An Innovative Training Network Professor Val Morrison from Bangor's School of Psychology is a partner in a H2020 MSC-ITN 2018 (Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions) funded Innovative Training Network – an EU consortium training PhD students – called ‘ENTWINE’, involving partners from UK, the Netherlands, Israel, Italy and Sweden.

Mostly due to increased longevity and medical advances, the needs of older/ill individuals for longterm care rise rapidly while the availability of informal caregivers decrease. Informal caregivers are those who provide unpaid care to a relative or friend with a chronic illness, disability or other long-lasting health or care need. This “Care Gap” will create huge problems for the sustainability of European health care systems that rely heavily on the provision of informal care.

The aim of ENTWINE’s multidisciplinary and inter-sectorial team is to investigate the broad spectrum of issues concerning the development and use of innovative psychosocial and technology-based interventions willingness/motivations and positive outcomes of providing informal care. Prof Morrison at Bangor is the Lead for the Willingness to Care WorkPackage.

Bangor’s Noor Al-Zubaidi elected as the new co-chair of the presigious UK Universities Saudi Interest Group (UKSIG) Noor Kareem Al-Zubaidi, International Officer for Bangor University was recently elected to the position of 'co-chair', to lead the prestigious UKSIG (UK Saudi Interest Group), a group of all UK Universities who are engaged in Saudi Arabia. Noor was elected by representatives from across the sector and was in competition with several other colleagues.

Noor Kareem Al-Zubaidi

The platform serves as a coordination mechanism between UK Universities, the British Council, the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau and other stakeholders that are involved in the country.

Born in Bangor to Bangor graduates, Noor is herself a Bangor alumna, and has worked within the International Education Centre at Bangor University since 2013, and before that she worked in the Registry office at Bangor.

Noor's election as the co-chair is a huge testament to the good work she has undertaken in the Middle East region, which has not only produced excellent results for the University in term of student numbers and profile in markets, but also highlights the respect that she commands amongst peers in the sector. Good luck Noor!

Bangor University presents ‘Internationals Go Green’ at the 50th UK Council for International Student Affairs conference The International Student Support Team attended the 50th UK Council for International Student Affairs Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, in July. Alan Edwards, Head of International Student Support and Marcel Clusa, International Student Support Officer presented their project – Internationals Go Green during the 3-day conference. This is a project designed to link international students with various Bangor University departments and local community organisations through a series of volunteering events within the frame of sustainability.

Marcel Clusa and Alan Edwards from our International Student Support Office

The session raised awareness on the importance of bridging international students with local communities as part of their study abroad experience. It also highlighted the need to create platforms for home and international students to engage on sustainability, recycling and green practices. By attending this and other sessions at the conference, the International Student Support Team had a chance to share their expertise, learn from peers from other universities and discuss new ways to keep improving our support services for international students.

To learn more about the upcoming trips and events organised by the International Student Support Office please visit www.bangor.ac.uk/international/support/events

Bangor Business School hosts the 11th International Accounting & Finance Doctoral Symposium (IAFDS)

Attendees pictured outside the Management Centre, Bangor University On the 11-13th June, Bangor Business School hosted the 11th International Accounting & Finance Doctoral Symposium (IAFDS). The IAFDS is run in partnership with many leading UK, European and international Universities with the aim of developing the world's future leading researchers in banking, finance and accounting.

Professor Jon Williams, the Head of Bangor Business School commented;

“Bangor Business School is proud to host high profile events such as the IAFDS. The IAFDS is an innovative collaboration of universities designed to foster and cultivate the leading banking, finance and accounting researchers of tomorrow. Bangor Business School is delighted to

take a central role in this initiative and provide many gifted academics a solid foundation to build their careers.”

The IAFDS is a developmental collaboration between Bangor University and the University of Queensland, the University of Strathclyde, Deakin University, SKEMA Business School, University of Bologna, the University of Leeds, Universidad de Salamanca, Trondheim Business School, the University of Liverpool, Tsinghua University, the SGH Warsaw School of Economics and the Politecnico di Milano.

Bangor University has taught banking and finance for over a century and has a history of repeated innovation in financial and banking education. Students worldwide are attracted to Bangor

Business School by our long standing reputation, high quality and expertise, particularly in the areas of banking and financial services, in which Bangor is a leading European centre and home to one of the largest PhD schools of any business school in the UK. In recent years, Bangor Business School staff have conducted high level consultancy work and training for many leading organisations including the European Commission, The World Bank, the UK Treasury, The Financial Conduct Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority.

The symposium will be hosted next year by the Politecnico di Milano at a location on the shores of Lake Como, Italy.

www.bangor.ac.uk/international

Meet us in your country in 2018 We shall be visiting the following countries between July and October 2018: Hong Kong Vietnam Nigeria USA

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July & Sept July July, Aug & Sept Aug - Sept

Singapore Malaysia Pakistan

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Sept Sept Oct

If your country is not listed above then you may contact the relevant Country Manager listed below, OR visit our country visits page for more information: www.bangor.ac.uk/international/visits

Country Managers Karen Jones Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388207 : Email: k.m.jones@bangor.ac.uk Country Manager responsible for: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

Maggie Parke Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388416 : Email: maggie.parke@bangor.ac.uk Country Manager responsible for: The Americas: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, USA Michael Rogerson Tel: +44 (0) 1248 383648 : Email: m.rogerson@bangor.ac.uk

Office Contacts International Office IEC, Bangor University Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, U.K. Tel: +44 (0) 1248382028 E-mail: international@bangor.ac.uk Web: www.bangor.ac.uk

Partnerships Office IEC, Bangor University Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, U.K.

Country Manager responsible for: European Union Countries

Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388325 E-mail: c.billing@bangor.ac.uk Web: www.bangor.ac.uk

Noor Al-Zubaidi Tel: +44 (0) 1248 382879 : Email: n.al-zubaidi@bangor.ac.uk

Bangor International College

Country Manager responsible for: Middle East and North Africa including: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, Qatar International students in the UK Sarah Jones-Morris Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388843 : Email: s.jones-morris@bangor.ac.uk Country Manager responsible for: Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon Central Asia - including Azerbaijan.

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore Sukhjinder Bhatti Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388874 : Email: s.bhatti@bangor.ac.uk Country Manager responsible for: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka

Oswalds Building, Victoria Drive Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, U.K. Tel: 01248 383 783 E-mail: bic@bangor.ac.uk

Beijing Office Bangor University Room A029, 3rd Floor, The Exchange Beijing, B-118, Jianguo Road Chaoyang District Beijing, P.R. China 100022 Tel: 010-58902596; 010-58902597 E-mail: luna.wu@bangor.ac.uk Web: www.bangor.org.cn

Please do contact us if you would like one of our international officers to visit your school or if you need any advice. www.facebook.com/BangorUniversityInternational

@BangorUni_intl