BANGOR INTERNATIONAL JANUARY 2013
Foundation stone laid for Bangor’s new arts and innovation centre... The foundation stone for Bangor’s new arts and innovation centre was laid on the 11th January by Leighton Andrews AM in a creative and musical ceremony. The £44m Centre being delivered by Miller Construction will offer state-of-the-art facilities to meet the needs of local communities and businesses. It will host a range of innovative cultural, artistic and community activities designed to promote collaboration, discovery and learning, making a unique contribution to the regeneration of Bangor and to improving skills. It will provide a theatre, studio theatre, cinema, design and innovation studio, teaching and learning facilities and a new Students’ Union as well as associated bar, café and public spaces. Bangor University Vice-Chancellor, Professor John G Hughes said: “This is going to be a focal point for the local community and the University alike – a place to meet, learn and be entertained as well as a home for innovative research, design and learning. It will be a unique place with the potential to transform Bangor.”
L-R: Prof John G Hughes (Vice-Chancellor); Lord Elis-Thomas (Chancellor of Bangor University); Leighton Andrews AM (Minister for Education & Skills, Welsh Government) and Chris Webster (Chief Executive of Miller Construction).
Leighton Andrews said: “I am delighted to play a role in the inauguration of this major new development, and to lay the Foundation Stone of what will undoubtedly become an iconic building.” Pontio’s artistic director Elen ap Robert said at the event:“We want to spark people’s imagination today on the building site by giving a flavour of things to come. Thecentre will be home for all sorts of creativity, from drama and cabaret to aerial theatre and classical concerts. Today’s inspirational musicians will all perform in hard hats and showcase the best of home-grown Welsh and international music.”
www.bangor.ac.uk/international
Learning Advisor Virtual Learning iPad app to help train future neurosurgeons... Scheme... Our highly successful ‘Learning Advisor’ scheme has just finished a second semester in the School of Psychology. This scheme is designed to give trained peer support to our new international students during the initial months at Bangor. We know that early experiences at University are crucial in setting the stage for later success, and we have found that early difficulties are often not related to ability but are instead due to navigating the new learning environment in Bangor. Last year, we ran a pilot scheme to train psychology students in the third year of their degree to work as learning advisors for new international students. They met once a week to discuss their academic progress, address problems, and tackle the transition from their previous learning experience to studying at Bangor. This year, we have extended the scheme to run in the School of Psychology and the School of Sports Health and Exercise Science. We have found that it has again been extremely successful and we aim to run it across all schools in the College of Health and Behavioural Sciences next year.
A new mobile ‘app’, downloadable free of charge, will assist with the training of future neurosurgeons, and is just one of a stream of programmes being developed, adapting visual computing and three dimensional realities to provide cost-effective virtual learning for a range of medical procedures. A basic skill that trainee neurosurgeons need to gain early in their training is an appreciation of the ventricular system in the brain, and how to cannulate it in an emergency. Llyr ap Cenydd, from the NISCHR funded ‘Advanced Medical Imaging and Visualization Unit’ at Bangor University, has just developed a surgical training tool for the iPad tablet called ‘VCath’, designed to take a neurosurgical trainee through the steps of positioning and inserting a catheter into the brain of a virtual 3D patient. The ‘VCath’ has been developed by the Unit at Bangor University’s School of Computer Science, in collaboration with Mr Nick Phillips, Consultant Neurosurgeon at Leeds General Infirmary, and Prof William Gray, Professor of Functional Neurosurgery, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University. Further enhancements to the tool are currently being implemented. Nick Phillips, Consultant Neurosurgeon and Clinical Director at Department of Neurosurgery, Leeds General Infirmary said: “Neurosurgery is a high risk speciality and providing safe training opportunities for surgeons is always a challenge. This training tool allows the trainee to acquire most of the skills needed for this procedure in an environment that is safe and risk free. It promotes discussion with trainers and is excellent at embedding the required skills” Prof William Gray, Professor of Functional Neurosurgery, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University said:
Bangor students presenting the results of the Learning Advisor project at the annual HEA fair, 2012
"VCath is an exciting new iPad application which allows trainees to learn the basic theoretical and practical skills of ventricular catheterisation in a realistic simulated environment. It is a valuable tool for enhancing the learning of a core skill set and is a significant advance for applying simulation to neurosurgical training". The ‘VCath’ training tool is available to download from iTunes.
First students graduate from unique dual accredited Global Banking and Finance MBA programme... In 2011 Bangor Business School launched a unique programme which is the only qualification in the world combining an MBA and Chartered Banker status - the highest possible qualification avaialble in the banking world. The powerful partnership between Bangor Business School and the Chartered Banker Institute, (the world’s oldest professional banking instute and only remaining instutute in the UK) has this year seen the first Graduates from the Chartered MBA Programme. Mrs Perry Rolle, a Senior Manager in Internal Audit and Corporate Governance, Central Bank of Bahamas commented:
“The CBMBA program has provided me with current and valuable information which is easily applicable to the real day to day activities of auditing in the financial services industry. The program provided an international perspective which is especially beneficial given the role of the Central Bank. The knowledge gained allows me to make an even greater contribution to the organisation’s strategic plan, particularly as it relates to corporate governance. I highly recommend the program to persons within or those seeking to transition to the financial services industry.”
Bangor Business School is proud to be working with the Chartered Banker Institute, the worlds oldest professional banking institute. To find out more about the unique Chartered Banker MBA programme visit www.charteredbankermba.bangor.ac.uk or contact +44 (0) 1248 365966
Enterprising students hold Christmas market... Last December, the International Student Support team participated in the very popular “Christmas Markets” held in Bangor. International students and staff from the International Student Support Office generously donated their time and expertise to create beautiful and unusual Christmas decorations, which were sold to
raise funds for charity, helping orphan children access school and further their education. All the materials used had been recycled or donated by other departments, making it a very “green” project.
Bangor News... New Courses for 2013
h MSc Computer Science with
Artificial Intelligence h MSc Computer Science with Security h MSc Computer Science with Visualisation h MSc Wetland Science & Conservation h MSc Plant Conservation h MSc Consumer Psychology & Digital Media h MA Philosophy & Religion h MA Theology (Distance Learning) h MA Study of Religion (Distance
Learning)
Bangor for Banking! Business School is UK leader for Banking research... Bangor Business School is the top institution in the UK – and amongst the world’s top 30 – for Banking research, according to recent rankings. RePEc (Research papers in economics survey). Bangor is placed 27th in the table – the highest placed UK institution, ahead of Oxford University (37) & the London School of Economics (45). Bangor Business School is currently ranked as the No.1 Business School in the UK for research in the field of Accounting & Finance, according to the latest UK Government RAE results. (2008)
Alan Edwards, Head of International Student Support commented:
GUARANTEED Accommodation for all International Students
“We are very proud of the work done here, which could not have happened without the help of our volunteers.
We are pleased to advise that accommodation will be guaranteed to all new international students (both bachelor & postgraduate) starting in September 2013.
We are, as always, keen to engage with the local community, the staff and students to promote collaboration and multiculturalism.”
The accommodation is guaranteed provided that an accommodation application has been submitted and the accommodation deposit of £300 has been received by the 31st July.
www.bangor.ac.uk/international
Country Representatives Bing Li
Sukhjinder Bhatti
Maggie Parke
Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388207 Email: bing.li@bangor.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1248 382990 Email: s.bhatti@bangor.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1248 382028 Email: maggie.parke@bangor.ac.uk
Responsible for:
Responsible for:
Responsible for:
Mainland China Hong Kong Japan South Korea Taiwan Vietnam
Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
Argentina Canada Chile Mexico USA
Sarah Jones-Morris
Gwawr Williams
Noor Al-Zubaidi
Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388843 Email: s.jones-morris@bangor.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388844 Email: gwawr.williams@bangor.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1248 382879 Email: n.al-zubaidi@bangor.ac.uk
Responsible for:
Responsible for:
Responsible for:
Australia Brunei Indonesia Kazakhstan Malaysia
Botswana Cameroon Ghana Norway Kenya Brazil
New Zealand Singapore Thailand Turkey
Nigeria South Africa Tanzania Uganda Zimbabwe
Bahrain Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait
Libya Oman Saudi Arabia UAE Qatar
Upcoming Visits Malaysia - January & March Johor Bahru, Kuching & Kuala Lumpur
Philippines - February Manila
India - January & February Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore & Kochi
Bangladesh - February Dhaka
Pakistan - January & February Islamabad, Lahore & Karachi
Turkey - March Istanbul, Ankara & Izmir
Norway - February Kristiansand, Bergen & Oslo
Indonesia - March Jakarta
Brunei - February
Singapore - March
For further details about country visits please contact the relevant Country Manager.