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May 2013
Bath Spa University’s monthly magazine
once upon a time in bolivia
Wellbeing week
A Writer’s Summer School
Front cover: Rules for Living by Dafydd Samuell
In MAY’s issue of space... Update from the Vice-Chancellor 1 Newton Park campus development update 2 Wellbeing Week 4 New courses in Creative Technology and Enterprise
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Spotlight on… Lucy Mitchell 6 Top 10 university for teaching time
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Double delight for Frances Westerduin at Textile Competition
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A Writer’s Summer School 12 Jamie Cooke wins Gold in Budapest 13 Anna Freeman shortlisted for Pageturner Prize 14 Mind matters exhibition raises money for local charity 16 An insight into the world of food science 17 Exploring Hardy’s Home, a Cabinet of Curiosities and Knowing Your Place
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Once Upon a Time in Bolivia 22 Primary school students ‘Learning to Lead’ 24 Khat Public Lecture 25 Busy times in Business and Management 25 Creative Work, a look behind the scenes 26 Send a Cow 27 Joelle Adams awarded prestigious International Scholarship 28 The Tor, the Witch and the Goddess Priestess 30 International Interaction 31 BSU: In the news 32 Bath Spa Live 33 BSU Events: Creative Futures 2013
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Students’ Union News 36 Staff news 37 SPACE MAY 2013
Update from the V
Pic: Professor Christina Slade, Vice-Chancellor
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Vice-Chancellor The end of the academic year is drawing closer and during
May and June we celebrate the creative and enterprising work of our student body. Congratulations to those who have already participated in our Creative Futures 2013 programme. There are many more events to come and I urge you to find time to attend at least one event. Our graduation ceremonies are soon upon us and it will be a time to celebrate student achievement, recognising the hard work of our future teachers, sculptors, historians and geographers, to name but a few. I look forward to announcing our honorary graduates for 2013 in the coming weeks. I was pleased to see a good number of staff and students taking the opportunity to tour the new academic building at Newton Park. The residential development starts in a few weeks and I ask everyone to take note of the recent communication regarding the impact on parking at Newton Park. If you can car-share, take public transport or even cycle, you may find that a more convenient option during the busy periods of the works. Finally, a reminder that my online suggestions box is always open and can be accessed at https://thehub.bathspa.ac.uk/services/vicechancellor/suggestions. All suggestions are looked at and referred to the person best placed to respond to the idea. Please do keep your ideas coming.
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Newton park campus development upda Academic building opens its doors for staff and students to view.
On May 15 at 5:00pm work on new academic building stopped and the gates to the construction
site were opened to any student or staff member who wanted to take a look around the new building. All three floors in both wings of the building were open, so it was possible to see the whole interior of the building. Internally the walls are being fitted, so the scale of the rooms and learning space were clearly visible. Samples of carpets, doors, flooring and other fixtures and fittings were displayed, showing the different colours and materials that will be used on each floor. Skanska staff were on hand to answer any questions and guide people around the building. Over 160 staff and students visited the site and for many it was their first opportunity to do so. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with many people commenting on how large the building is and the feeling of space inside. The level of excitement was raised and both staff and students are looking forward to this time next year when the building will be open.
Pic: Sample of carpets, floor and other materials. Image courtesy of Amy Lamborn. 2
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Pic: Skanska staff were on hand to answer questions. Image courtesy of Amy Lamborn.
If you weren’t able to visit the building in May, you can continue to follow progress via the webcams which are available here and if you have any questions or queries, please email the team npdevelopment@bathspa.ac.uk  John Brennan, Project Operations Manager at Skanska has also been working closely with Gareth Stone of the Business and Management team to help bring real world experiences into the classroom. John put together and presented an operational overview of the latest developments on the new build to level 5 Operations Management students on 7 May. A tour of the academic building
Pic: Looking into the huge studio space. Image courtesy of Amy Lamborn.
site has subsequently been organised for students, and Skanska employees and interns will give students a real flavour of operations management. SPACE MAY 2013
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Mental Health Wellbeing Week 13 to 17 May was Mental Health Awareness Week and various events were run across the University to support wellbeing.
The theme for this year was ‘Let’s Get Physical’ and staff were invited to take part in MOT Health
Checks, Pilates classes, reflexology, guided nature walks and stress-busting exercises. Top tips for looking after your mental health include: • • • • •
Talk about your feelings Keep active Eat well Drink sensibly Keep in touch
• • • • •
Ask for help Take a break Do something you’re good at Accept who you are Care for others
Ellie Hartup from HR is doing a bungee jump at the O2 in London on 23 June to raise money for Bath Mind, an independent voluntary organisation affiliated to Mind, working towards a better life for people diagnosed, labelled and treated as mentally ill. You can sponsor Ellie and support the charity here www.justgiving.com/elliebathspahr/
New courses in Creative Technology and Enterprise The University has recently appointed Professor Andrew Hugill
as Director of Creative Computing to lead the development of courses in this area. Professor Hugill is a composer and writer and his research involves literature, music and computing. He will be working with industrial and commercial partners to ensure the University’s developments in this area are integrated with the digital economy. 4
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Pic: Studying Creative Technology
The aim of the new courses is to prepare students for a fast-changing world of digital creativity and innovation.
This new development includes the creation of a research cluster for creative computing which brings together Bath Spa’s expertise in a number of areas, such as computing, music and software engineering. Professor Hugill will lead this group at Bath Spa as well as supervising PhD students. Commenting on the new course areas, he said: “The time is absolutely right for this new initiative, as the digital economy increasingly values creativity and innovation, while creative people are becoming increasingly technologically skilled. There is no doubt that an ability to flourish in a world of fast-changing technology will be essential for future success, both for individuals and the nation as a whole.”
Endorsement for the course has come from Mark Perry, Chief Technology Officer, Hewlett Packard, UK Public Sector who said: “I believe this course provides an excellent foundation in all the required ‘digital professional’ areas in the context of the teaching, and the hands-on exposure, which the students will receive to real-world problems and projects.” This is a new venture for the University and develops our existing skills in creativity to meet the needs of the UK’s fastest growing sectors. It will provide talented graduates, new ideas and initiatives that will help boost UK growth in the longer term.
As well as the new Integrated Masters, other new courses will be developed at both The first course to be introduced is an Integrated undergraduate and postgraduate level. Masters in Creative Technology and Enterprise. This course is taught over four years and Professor Hugill joined Bath Spa from De students have frequent opportunities to work Montfort University where he was Professor with commercial and industrial partners. of Digital Humanities. He is also an Associate Researcher at the Université de la Sorbonne, Paris, and a National Teaching Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. More information about the new Integrated Masters in Creative Technology and Enterprise is available on the Bath Spa University website here www.bathspa.ac.uk/schools/humanitiesand-cultural-industries/courses/ undergraduate/creative-technology-andenterprise-integrated-ma
Pic: Studying Creative Technology
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spotlight on...
Pics: Lucy skydiving and fundraising.
Lucy Mitchell, Business and Management student
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“This University has really suited me. The course, the campus and the people have been amazing and I really don’t want to leave!”
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Charity work, polo, skydives and tea parties. Oh and a degree too…
Every student will tell a different story about
their three or so years of being, living and acting as a ‘student’. Each will have an experience unique to them. For one student, graduating from her degree course is only one aspect of the many things she will have achieved during her time at Bath Spa University. Third year Business and Management student, Lucy Mitchell, has taken on an impressive range of extra-curricular activities whilst here at Bath Spa and the motivation behind that has as much to do with her view of the world as wanting to boost her CV and improve her job prospects. “As part of my Enterprise module I looked into student employment after graduation and it was clear that work experience is vitally important in gaining graduate jobs.” “Having worked for The Research Institute for the Care of Older People (RICE) for the last three years, I have been given the opportunity to try my hand at many things. I really enjoy tasks such as planning and running events, marketing and finance all of which I was able to do at quite a senior level with RICE.” RICE is a registered charity based in Bath and has benefitted greatly from Lucy’s motivation and organisation in arranging events, especially charity skydives, with all proceeds going directly to RICE. She said: “I had previously organised a charity skydive last year when five Bath Spa students jumped, raising over £1,000 for Alzheimer’s research.
“However, this year we had 11 people diving and raised over £3,000 which is fantastic!”. Despite having previously organised skydives, Lucy had never actually experienced a skydive herself. However, thanks to the other students involved, Lucy was given the chance to join them and jump out of the plane. She said: “It was a real shock. The team of 11 skydivers informed the manager of the airfield that despite having organised two previous dives, I had never dived before and much to my surprise he told me that I too would be jumping! “The students diving were all cheering me on so I couldn’t really back out! I am glad that I did it, because it was fantastic. I can only describe it as a really bizarre and surreal experience- it felt like I was just hovering in the air.” However, the Reading-born student’s charity efforts don’t end there with Lucy having also recently arranged a University-based ‘Blooming Great Tea Party’ in aid of Marie Curie. So how does Lucy manage such a hectic schedule? She explained: “A diary and planning! I am a bit of a planner and am able to keep on top of it all, as long as I have a plan and stick to it. “I don’t feel doing as much as I do has really prevented me from experiencing University life like every other student. I do go out. As social secretary of the Polo Team I organise a lot of social events for the team. The amount of people I have met and have networked with as a result of my extra-curricular activities means I am
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Pic: Seb, James, Polly, Fi, Nathan, Kitty and Freddie holding up Lucy after her dive.
constantly socialising with new people. And for that reason, I feel like I have had a rich experience of University life.”
apply for funding was a really easy and stressfree process with the Students’ Union pointing me in the direction of the EAF.”
Lucy is part of the University Polo Team. Despite having her own horse at home and having competed in dressage and show jumping events, she had never previously experienced polo. Lucy received funding from the University’s ExtraCurricular Activity Fund (EAF) and explained how this has helped in financing this considerably costly sport.
In retrospect, Lucy looks back with great positivity about her time at Bath Spa and will be leaving with fond memories.
“We simply applied, were shortly after approved and as a group received £2,100 which provided funding towards entry costs for the Schools and Universites Polo Association (SUPA) Winter Nationals. The money helped to cover costs such as insurance, membership and petrol. The funding has been a real help and I am delighted that my team came third! I strongly encourage any society or sports team to apply.
“Looking back, my course has been really enjoyable, which is lucky as I had not studied business before.”
“So many people I spoke to about the funding were unaware that they may be entitled to it. To 8
She said: “One of the reasons I chose Bath Spa was the beautiful campus. Where I live is fairly rural and the Newton Park campus is too, I much prefer it in comparison to a city centre university.”
“This University has really suited me. The course, the campus and the people have been amazing and I really don’t want to leave!”
If you would like to recommend a fellow student or colleague to be interviewed for ‘Spotlight on’ please let us know by emailing Rob Breckon r.breckon@bathspa.ac.uk
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Top 10 university for teaching time
A new study suggests students are receiving no
additional teaching hours for higher tuition fees and this has been featured across the press over the last month. The Daily Telegraph looked at how UK universities ranked according to how many teaching hours students receive and Bath Spa was in the top 10!
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Double delight for Fran Textile Competition MA Design Textile student Frances Westerduin has won two prizes at this year’s Bradford Textile Society Annual Design Competition. Frances was awarded second prize in the Woolmark Company Award – for a woven or knitted fabric for apparel, including accessories; and took third prize in the Clothworkers’ Foundation Award - for a woven fabric for men’s or womenswear, including accessories. Frances’ fabrics are fine merino Jacquard fashion fabrics and are woven in Yorkshire. She is currently exploring different weave structures combined with digital imagery to create patterns woven into the cloth, giving a sense of depth. Her designs incorporate large imagery which is possible to weave by using state of the art Jacquard machinery. British master craft skills in weaving and finishing, combined with fine merino wool, give the fabric a light smooth handle.
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Pics: Frances Westerduin designs
nces Westerduin at
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A Writer’s Summer School The University and Faber Academy are joining forces to run a writers’ summer school like no other.
Students will spend one week at our postgraduate centre at Corsham Court and a further week at Faber’s offices in Bloomsbury.
The course involves writing and editing, then pitching novels to Faber editors, with the help of our Professor of Creative Writing, Maggie Gee, guest novelist David Nicholls, author of One Day, and a Faber Publishing Director. “You get the best of both of us!” said Professor Gee. “Where better to write than Jane Austen’s Bath? And where better to live the writer’s life than Faber’s offices in Bloomsbury, where Virginia Woolf and TS Eliot lived?” ‘A Writer’s Summer School’ will run from 7 to 19 July 2013 and is open to any student from around the world. To secure a place on the course, students must take part in a formal application process which includes providing a sample of their prose. The writing schedule of the summer school includes one to one tutorials and four to five hours of workshops and feedback every day, along with writing time and more informal sharing sessions. More information about the Summer School is available at: www.faberacademy.co.uk/ CourseInstances/creative-writing-summer-school- Pic: Professor of Creative Writing Maggie Gee. for-writers 12
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Jamie Cooke wins Gold in Budapest Business Administration and Geography student Jamie Cooke has recently won the first Modern Pentathlon World Cup medal of his career taking gold in Budapest. Commenting on his achievement, Jamie said: “This was my first World Cup medal, so I’m so happy. I never thought I would do this after the fencing this morning, but I had a good swim, a good ride and a good combined. My shooting was definitely the key today.” Alongside his studies here at Bath Spa, Jamie trains at the Pentathlon GB high performance centre at the University of Bath.
Pic: Image courtesy of UIPM Nicole Rauvolfová.
Jamie, who won the World Junior
Championships in Argentina in 2011, had to produce a gritty and spirited performance to battle back from 24th place after the fencing event.
Pic: Image courtesy of UIPM Nicole Rauvolfová.
The Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon comprises the contemporary sports of pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horse riding and running. Ranked 40th in the world, Jamie was the fastest in the swimming pool, went clear in the horse riding and then produced a terrific run and shoot to take gold.
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Anna Freeman shortlisted for Pageturner Prize Creative Writing lecturer and performance poet Anna Freeman has been included in the shortlist for the Tibor Jones Pageturner Prize 2013.
The biennial Tibor Jones Pageturner Prize aims to unearth exciting and original fiction from debut un-represented novelists. Anna has received recognition for her novel The Fair Fight, a thrilling historical novel set around the lives of bare-knuckle prize-fighters and their patrons, in Bristol in the 1800s. As well as working part-time for the University, Anna is a performance poet and graduated from the Creative Writing course in 2009. Commenting on her inclusion in the shortlist, Anna said: “I’m delighted. I really am. Partly because of all those moments during the writing of it, when the self-doubt crept in and I wondered if I was deluding myself and it was all rubbish. Whatever happens next, I can stop thinking that. It’s really exciting.
“It’s nearly too exciting – I have to just not think about it, or I’ll run around in circles like a yappy dog.” The inaugural Pageturner Prize was launched in 2011 and received an extraordinary response with over 400 manuscripts submitted. Creative Writing Masters graduate Nathan Filer was the runner up in 2011 for his now recently published novel The Shock of the Fall. This year over 200 entries were received across all genres from young adult to literary fiction. The winner of the £1,000 prize will be announced in June 2013 and they will also win literary representation by Tibor Jones & Associates, London’s leading literary agency for the post-digital generation. More information about the Pageturner Prize 2013 can be found at http://tiborjones.com/2013/05/ tibor-jones-pageturner-prize-2013-3/ 14
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Pic: Anna Freeman SPACE MAY 2013
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Mind matters exhibition raises money for local charity A group of 12 second year Creative Arts students recently organised and created an exhibition of their work in Walcot Chapel in aid of Bath-based homeless charity, Julian House.
The exhibition entitled ‘Alive in the Mind’ ran
The students created a wide range of work including painting, photography, textiles, sculpture and installation.
artwork produced by the group amazing, but they also organised the exhibition in an incredibly professional manner.
The exhibition’s central theme explored the juxtaposition between Utopia and Dystopia and whether the ideal of Utopia could ever materialise and work, or whether it will always just be an idea ‘Alive in the Mind’. In order to fund the cost of the exhibition, the students organised several fundraising activities including homemade bake sales, bag packing at Sainsbury’s, and a pub quiz at The Hop Pole pub in Bath. Commenting on the students’ efforts, Cathy Adcock, Community Funding Coordinator for Julian House said: “Not only was the standard of 16
Pic: The artists.
from Wednesday 12 to Sunday 17 March and raised an impressive £888.58. The works created were part of the students’ Professional Practice module which aims to get the students thinking as professionally as possible, enhancing their chances of working successfully within the arts.
“Julian House was delighted to be the beneficiary of such a well thought out event.” The students involved were Phoebe Millard, Abigail Ducharme, Mari Jones, Matt Holland, Jade Fisher, Charlotte Owen, Jasmine Whiteleaf, Meggie Morgan, Ranee Twyford, Becky Doonan, Savhannah Schulz, Maggie Coll. More information can be found on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/#!/ AliveInTheMindExhibition?fref=ts Twitter - https://twitter.com/AliveInTheMind Blog - http://aliveinthemind.tumblr.com/
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An insight into the world of Food science Senior lecturer in Food and Enterprise, Richard Marshall has worked in and around food all of his life. He explained how the industry is doing all it can to help those interested in becoming qualified receive recognition for their efforts.
“Food science is a discipline that covers so
many different areas and something that involves a great deal of networking,” Richard said. “It is one of the few subjects where you can be a generalist and a specialist. The field goes from the basics of chemistry and physics, through to microbiology, engineering, analysis, safety, consumer behaviour, legal issues, creative design and computing.” As well as the scientific aspect of food science, it also involves the more general and everyday considerations of business management, environmental issues, and social and political aspects. In Richard’s opinion, networking is one of the essentials to being a food scientist. “As a result of the considerable time I have spent in this industry, I enjoy an extensive network of contacts from around the world,” he said.
One of the main projects Richard has been a member of for over 12 years is the ISEKI-Food network (originally ‘Integrating Safety and Environmental Knowledge in Food Studies’) with the aim of improving the delivery of HE Food Science courses and developing better links within industry. Richard is also the president of the ISEKI Food Association (IFA), a professional body for academic and industry staff working in food science and technology. He said: “The IFA’s objective is the establishment and maintenance of a network between universities, research institutions and companies in the food chain so that teaching becomes more relevant enabling us to provide support by connecting academics to the industry. “A key focus has been working on the establishment of a quality assurance programme for HE institutions that teach food studies. This provides accreditation for courses by setting standards for syllabus content, delivery and resources. A university that achieves these standards is awarded the EQAS-Food label accrediting it as a recognised provider of high quality education in food studies.” Richard hopes that sometime in the near future, the food courses offered at this University will also receive this prestigious accreditation.
“Within the UK, I am very active in the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) which is the main professional body for food science and it has links with similar organisations around the world.”
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It is one of the few subjects where you can be a generalist and a specialist.
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Exploring Hardy’s Home, a Cabinet of Curiosities and Knowing Your Place Final year Heritage students will be showcasing their collaborative projects at an event at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institute (BRLSI) in Bath on Wednesday 5 June. One group of students worked with the National Trust in Dorset to organise a week of events at Max Gate House, the home of famous English Writer Thomas Hardy. Another developed an App for No 1 Royal Crescent to help bring artefacts to life, and a final group worked on a community based heritage project and exhibition in partnership with the Museum of Bath at Work.
Hardy Half Term
Students from Heritage, History, Creative Writing, English, Drama and
Published have worked with volunteers from the Hardy Society and the ‘Hardy Players’ theatre group, to organise a week of events at Max Gate House. The aim of the project was to explore the world of Hardy and his work and create events and activities that allow visitors to discover his rich history. Some of the activities included:
• ‘Design your own house’ drawing activity which encouraged children to create their dream home (just like Thomas Hardy did when his father and brother helped him build his). • A period ‘dress-up’ station where visitors could dress like the characters from Hardy’s novels. • Visitor trails that took people on an exploratory path around the house and garden and included challenges and riddles about the writer’s home and life. The students who worked on the project were Josh Isaac, Hannah Lancaster, Clare Mansell, Beth Nelder, Meredith Orman-Brown, Dominic Pollard, Andrew Torres, Alana Wright and Emma Wynne. On Friday 31 May a new performance dance piece entitled ‘Some Reflections’ was premiered at Max Gate House. It is inspired by Hardy’s wife, Emma and her presence at Max Gate. It was directed by Sam Lawrence and Hannah Bruce and performed by Bath Spa University Dance students.
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Pic: Max Gate House, Dorset
Hannah Bruce said: “We were thrilled to collaborate with Bath Spa University, and the National Trust team at Max Gate. This was an exciting pilot project, and we hope that we might be able to develop the work more fully for future performances. We were made very welcome, and hugely enjoyed the atmosphere and imaginative wealth of Max Gate.” Audiences were invited to listen to a personal soundtrack via headphones and iPods, as they were led around the house, glimpsing the physical and imaginative spaces where Emma lived her life. It was a very personal experience for a limited number of audience members. Dance Lecturer Chris Lewis Smith said: “This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to be part of a truly innovative performance. Throughout history, dance has been used to express emotions and tell stories. It is fitting that this interpretation of our heritage brought creativity to the site of such historical significance.” Max Gate is also taking part in a longer-term research project about the meanings of literary house museums led by Professor John Strachan of Bath Spa and Dr Angelique Richardson of the University of Exeter.
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The aim of the project was to create an interactive App
for Number 1 Royal Crescent using objects loaned from the BRLSI. The App is based upon the idea of ‘Cabinets of Curiosities’.
Cabinet of Curiosities
The prerequisite of the modern museum, Cabinets of Curiosities allowed wealthy gentlemen and traders to collect rare and exotic objects from around the globe. The cabinets became more significant during the eighteenth century, when young gentlemen were encouraged to form their own collections during their ‘Grand Tour’. Many would, on returning to England months, or even years later, go to great lengths to display the man-made and natural souvenirs and objects they had collected either in Cabinets of Curiosity, or rooms specially designed to display larger objects and collections.
Pic: The team.
Final year Heritage, History, Creative Writing and Study of Religions students, Aaron Crossley, Adam Gedge, Lewis Hannaford, Siobhan Henry, Michelle Larkworthy, Steve McMillan and Stacey Turner have researched the history of the objects that will be used in the App, as well as marketing the project on social media platforms.
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They have worked with second year Graphic Design students Rebecca Blendall, Annie Brooks, Harry Flanagan and Bradley Young on the technical part of the project, creating the app. ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ will be released officially at Heritage at Bath Spa Degree Show at the BRLSI on 5 June.
Pic: Photographing a curiosity.
Knowing Your Place Knowing Your Place is a community heritage project in partnership with the Museum of Bath
at Work to create a pictorial A to Z exhibition of favourite places – past and present – in Weston, Bath. The students worked with the Weston local history society, canvased local residents and worked with Weston All Saints Primary School to find out which places were special to people who lived and worked in Weston. Bath Spa heritage and history students, Susan Blundell, Matt Callen, Conor Clifton-Milne, Susannah Duffy, Flora Ocsag, Adam Royston and Genny Temple-Davies then researched these places and sourced past and current images to create an exhibition for the community to celebrate its unique character. Stuart Burroughs, Director of the Museum of Bath at Work said: “Having the assistance of students from Bath Spa University on the pilot of the museum’s ‘Knowing Your Place’ community alphabet project, has been essential and we could not, genuinely, have completed this project without them. I hope they found it as enjoyable and as valuable as we at the museum have. A job very well done!” The Knowing Your Place A to Z of Weston community exhibition takes place on Saturday 1 June from 12 noon to 2:00pm at the Moravian Hall, hosted by Heritage at Bath Spa and the Museum of Bath at Work.
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Once upon a time in Bolivia The film ‘Once upon a time in Bolivia’ was screened as an official selection of the London Independent Film Festival.
Bath Spa Artswork Media technology
demonstrator Dani Landau was the film’s Director of Photography and it was produced and directed by Patrick L Cordova. ‘Once upon a time in Bolivia’ or ‘Erase Una Ves En Bolivia’ is a road movie addressing issues of racial tensions and land ownership in Bolivia. It was made on a budget of less than £6,000 and filmed in just three weeks. As part of the film’s production, the team held a workshop in film making with young people at Teatro Trono in El Alto, La Paz.
Pic: Film poster.
More information about the film can be found at www.onceuponatimeinbolivia.com
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Primary school students ‘Learning to Lead’ Dr Mel Macer, from the School of Education’s Education Policy in Practice Project, has been working in collaboration with four primary schools in the Tidworth area since March 2012.
Tidworth schools work with high levels of pupils from the local Armed Service Community and face increasing levels of Service Pupils as more units relocate to the area, following recent army re-organisations.
In partnership with the Tidworth Extended Services Co-ordinator, Julie Tremlin, and supported by funding from the MoD’s Support Fund, these schools have developed an approach to democratic pupil participation by engaging with ‘Learning to Lead’. At a celebratory event on 19 April, pupils from the four schools gathered to share their successes with each other and with their local MP Claire Perry. They described a range of impacts on their school communities including organising and coordinating the management of their classroom, Pic: Claire Perry MP for Devizes with ‘Learning to Lead’ students from Tidworth primary schools. Courtesy of the Andover Advertiser.
fundraising for a range of things from a class pet to a class sofa, developing a school newspaper and engaging with school building projects. At the celebratory event held at Castledown Business Centre in Tidworth, pupils described how they felt “listened to”; “proud”; “more confident”; “more involved” and “more independent”. They talked about how their involvement in ‘Learning to Lead’ enhanced a range of skills including speaking and listening, team work, working with budgets and managing projects. Mrs Perry explained how parliamentary procedures work and followed it up with a mini question time and an invitation to the students to visit her in the Houses of Parliament. The Tidworth Schools Cluster has pledged to continue to promote this way of working in their primary schools. Some of the pupils have now put themselves forward to join the Tidworth Youth Advisory Group; this group will work closely with the Tidworth Area Board, to ensure that Tidworth’s children and young people have a say in their local community. More information about ‘Learning to Lead’ is available at: www.learningtolead.org.uk
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Khat Public Lecture
Busy times in Business and Management
The Bath Spa Communities and Social
Identities research group hosted a public lecture at the University of Reading on 18 April about Khat in the UK. Michelle Brooks, a Bath Spa alumni now based at the University of Reading, spoke about the increasing usage of Khat, a drug closely linked in narcotic characteristics to ecstasy which is freely available in the UK. She revealed the negative social impacts of the drug, particularly on the Somali community and argued that this was an unreported crisis which encompassed problems including exploitation, homelessness, suicide, homicide, domestic violence and sexual abuse. The drug is mostly imported from the Horn of Africa/ Arabian Peninsula (Yemen) and Michelle also drew connections between the transnational trade and the funding of terrorism in those regions. The lecture was attended by experts from the Police Service, Bristol City Council and community support groups. Questions from the audience focussed on the quality of evidence about the problem and the potential that regulation or a ban might cause its own problems, including the stigmatisation of people who were already socially marginalised. Michelle argued that while better evidence was necessary, the option of ‘doing nothing’ could not be countenanced.
A number of Business and Management alumni
came back to visit and speak to current first year students about their experiences finding jobs, work placements and internships. The alumni who visited were Harriet Formby, Kim Hannon and Mark Loader. Harriet worked as a graduate intern with Bath Spa Careers and Enterprise team. She is currently studying for a Masters and working part-time as an Accounts Assistant at TaxAssist Accountants. Kim is a senior consultant at Nine Feet Tall, a management consultancy based in Bath. Kim graduated from Bath Spa in 2005 and joined Nine Feet Tall six months later; moving up through the company Kim now leads complex change programmes for clients like Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Laing O’Rourke and is a mentor for our 9Start graduate programme. Mark is currently in his third year at Bath Spa and has already secured himself a graduate role as a buyer at Jaguar Land Rover. During his degree he completed two work placements, at Jaguar and the British Council. Strategic Human Resources Management students recently presented to a number of potential employers including Butlins, BANES, Siemens, Nutricia, the National Trust and Wiltshire Council. The presentations were the outcomes of various projects set by these employers for students and included topics such as recruitment process, gender equality, talent management and training evaluation.
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Creative Work, a look behind the scenes A new exhibition will share the secrets of film and television production; creative writing; and marketing and advertising.
The roles of professionals working in these fields will be explored to highlight different practices and ways of working.
Opening on Wednesday 5 June with screenings and talks, the exhibition will remain open for a further three days until Saturday 8 June at the Museum of Bath at Work Curator Dr Dan Ashton, Senior Lecturer in Media Communications, said: “Bringing together university students and industry professionals from a range of creative backgrounds has provided unique insights for a public audience into what it’s like to work in the creative industries.” The opening evening of screenings and talks on 5 June is a free event, but registration in advance is appreciated. Discussion topics will include ‘What is Creative Work?’, ‘A History of Bath at Work’ and ‘Creative Work in Bath’. Please register using the following registration form On 6 June, there will be a ‘Tell Your Story’ workshop in collaboration with Bath Job Centre featuring Dr Mimi Thebo, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Bath Spa. Director of the Museum of Bath at Work Stuart Burroughs said: “The Museum of Bath at Work has always sought to display and present material on all aspects of the working life of the city - in the past and in the present. Working with Creative Media Practice and Creative Writing students has been an exciting exercise and we look forward to more collaborative projects in the future.”
Pic: Creative Work
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It has been developed in partnership between the Museum of Bath at Work, Bath Spa University, Creative Bath and local creative industries organisations. SPACE MAY 2013
Pic: Send a Cow
Send a cow On Tuesday 7 May, Bath Spa hosted its annual Royal Geographical Society lecture. This year’s speaker was Richie Alford, Head of Research and Impact at Send a Cow. Send a Cow is a local non-governmental organisation with its headquarters in Newton St Loe. However, it has international reach and has been transforming the lives of families and communities in Africa for twenty five years.
During the talk, Richie explained how the origins of the charity lay in sending dairy cows that were producing milk above the EU quota to Uganda, rather than to the slaughter house. Since those early days of working with rural smallholders, Send a Cow has learnt a great deal about the keys to unlocking the untapped and under-valued potential of these amazing people. In particular, the importance of enabling sustainable livelihoods through supporting smallholder farming was emphasised. Research presented during the talk highlighted the diversity of impacts of this approach, including an increase in educational attainment, enrolment of girls, food security, gender equality, and changes in aspirations. Send a Cow is celebrating its 25th year of operation, and is also one of Bath Spa University Students Union’s chosen charities for 2012-13. SPACE MAY 2013
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Joelle Adams awarded prestigious International Scholarship The Higher Education Academy (HEA) has named Joelle as one of the successful recipients of its prestigious International Scholarship funding award.
Joelle is the Deputy Director Library Services
(Learning Development) here at Bath Spa. She is one of only five recipients of the HEA International Scholarship, which provides opportunities for the Scholars to investigate interesting and innovative learning and teaching in other countries, to inform practice in UK higher education institutions. She will spend three months visiting universities in New York, California and Florida to research assessment and feedback in creative subjects. In particular Joelle will review how these processes affect students’ learning experiences and how students and staff perceive the dual vocations of artist and teacher. Results of the project will inform outputs including publications and consultancy. Commenting on receiving the Scholarship, Joelle said: “The Scholarship offers a unique and important opportunity to dedicate time to international research in higher education.
I’m honoured to receive this award from the HEA and to be in such esteemed company with the past and present winners. 28
I look forward to visiting colleagues abroad and sharing my findings upon my return.” The awards, which mark the second year of the scheme, have this year been renamed the Professor Sir Ron Cooke International Scholarship Awards, in recognition of his distinguished leadership in learning and teaching in higher education. Joelle has been at Bath Spa since 2005 and helped establish the Writing and Learning Centre. Since then she has worked on a number of initiatives including the Feedback and Assessment for Students Using Technology (FASTECH) and Transforming the Experience of Students Through Assessment (TESTA) projects. In the past, she also worked with the Widening Participation team. Her current research focuses on students’ experiences of assessment and feedback, learning and teaching in the creative arts, and personal and organisational development.
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Pic: Joelle Adams
Commenting on how Bath Spa has evolved over the last nine years she said: “I think there has been a shift in students’ perceptions of themselves as scholars. They work incredibly hard and have sophisticated aspirations.
Park and her favourite spots on campus are the view from East Wing Coffee and the walk around the back of Main House overlooking the lake.
“There is a real buzz and energy on campus. We are growing as an institution and offer an
Joelle also teaches on the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher and Further Music Education at Bristol Institute of Modern Music. She is also currently establishing a local Water Aid group
intellectually stimulating environment for both students and academics.”
with Emma Asprey, Senior Lecturer, Primary PGCE in the School of Education.
Joelle loves Bath, in particular the Botanical Gardens in Victoria Park. She is based at Newton
More information about the Writing and Learning Centre is available here
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The Tor, the Witch and the Goddess Priestess Study of Religions students recently had the opportunity to experience the religious and spiritual side of Glastonbury.
Pic: Field Trip to Glastonbury
The group of first year students enjoyed a sunny field trip to Glastonbury where they visited a
number of religious sites including the Goddess Temple, Chalice Well, the White Spring and the Tor. During their trip they had the privilege of meeting a Catholic Goddess Priestess and a witch who criticised Wicca, as well as learning about the Glastonbury phenomenon of the ‘free range Druid’. 30
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International Interaction Professor Iftikhar Malik, Senior Lecturer in History speaks at various inter-faith and global forums. Below are some highlights from the last month.
The British-German Annual Seminar on Pakistan, Berlin, 3 May: Now in its second year, this
seminar brought together diplomats and other policy makers to discuss the political developments in and around Pakistan. Professor Iftikhar Malik was invited by the British Ambassador to present his views on post-election politics of Pakistan in reference to domestic and foreign challenges.
Oxford Seminar on Kashmir, 4 May: Professor Malik was one of three speakers at this event jointly organised by the Oxford Union Society and the University’s Pakistan Society. The seminar sought to address the historical, regional and geo-political aspects of this major South Asian flashpoint. It was moderated by Victoria Schofield, an author on that part of the world and former president of the Oxford Union and as well as Professor Malik, presentations were given by Dr Faisal Devji of St. Antony’s College, Oxford and Barrister Majid Tramboo of the International Council for Human Rights, Kashmir.
The Man Booker International Award Forum, London, 19 May: Professor Malik spoke about the
literary and historical significance of the contributions by Mr Intizar Hussain, one of the most preeminent writers in Urdu and English, who has been translated into several languages and is shortlisted for the Man Booker International Award 2013. As well as Professor Malik, nominee Mr Intizar Hussain; writer Dr Asif Farrukhi; Ms Truda Spruyt, a Culture and Booker Prize official; and Mr Dan Damon of the BBC World Service all addressed this special seminar in Kensington. More information is available here
Training EU Officials, 11 May: Since 2007 Professor Malik has been working with The Sculoa
Superiore Sant’ Anna, University of Pisa in Italy to provide training sessions for EU elections monitors working in Pakistan. The workshops have included sessions on history, politics, cultures and the economy of Pakistan. With the national and provincial elections in Pakistan scheduled for 11 May 2013, Professor Malik was asked to organise three workshops for the EU monitors selected for Pakistan. They were held in Brussels and 115 officials from all EU nations attended. A BBC World Service Report (in Urdu) highlighted the arrival of these EU observers. It is available to watch here
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BSU: in the news Can Creativity be Taught?
Four Professors of Creative Writing debated this topic at a literary event at Foyles, London on 8 May. Professors Tessa Hadley, Maggie Gee, David Harsent and Fay Weldon spoke about their experiences as writers and the ‘creative community’ here at Bath Spa. The event was chaired by Rachel Cooke of The Observer.
Nathan Filer
Creative Writing graduate Nathan Filer’s debut novel The Shock of the Fall was published in May. It is an extraordinary portrait of one man’s descent into mental illness. It is a brave and groundbreaking novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction. The book has been critically acclaimed and Nathan was recently on The BBC Radio 2 Book Club with Simon Mayo discussing the book and you can listen to the programme here
Pete Etchells
Dr Pete Etchells, Lecturer in Psychology was interviewed by BBC News about whether screen use is bad for brain development. He pointed out that are some issues with the quality of research in their area, in particular the lack of any good longitudinal studies to support the claims made by some scientists. The full article is available to read here Dr Etchells also recently won a ‘ScienceSeeker blog’ award for science writing in the category ‘Best post about peer-reviewed research’ for his blog ‘The pseudoscience of anecdotes’. You can read it here
Tessa Hadley
Professor of Creative Writing Tessa Hadley’s new novel Clever Girl was reviewed by Francesca Angelini in The Sunday Times. The book focuses on a period in the life of a girl called Stella growing up in Bristol in the 1960s. The review praised Hadley’s way of investing such meaning in day to day domestic life and her use of the first person throughout which allows her to delve into Stella’s mind and bring conviction to her tale.
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Coming up... Whale Music
Sat 1 Jun, 3:00pm & 8:00pm, The Rondo Theatre Graduating students of the Performing Arts programme present the touching story of a student whose unplanned pregnancy raises all manner of difficult decisions for her. Returning to her seaside hometown, she finds strength and humour in the colourful group of companions who surround her. Friends old and new freely lend their opinions, advice and relaxing whale music records. Tickets: Full price £8, BSU students and U16s £6.
Gala Concert
Fri 14 Jun, 7:30pm, The Assembly Rooms, Bath Students from the Department of Music will celebrate the end of the academic year with their popular annual Gala Concert featuring the University’s Symphony Orchestra, Choir, Wind Band and Georgian band. The programme will include music from West Side Story as well as concerto performances by final year students. Tickets: Full price £12, Concessions £10, BSU students and U16s £6. Free for Bath Spa Live members.
An Evening of Georgian Pleasures
Fri 13 Sept, 7:00pm, The Holburne Museum Gardens Step back in time for a very special evening of authentic Georgian entertainment. For one night only, the gardens of the Holburne Museum will be alive with all the delights that made this the place to see and be seen in Georgian Bath. Tickets: Full price £12, Concessions £10.
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BSU EVENTS Creative Futures 2013 The Creative Futures 2013 programme of events is now underway running throughout June and showcasing the many talents of our graduating students. The festival which includes exhibitions, films, performances, events and degree shows will end with a Graphics and Photography Exhibition on Sunday 23 June. The launch event which took place at the Holburne Museum was a great success with our Professor of Art and Design, and world renowned artist Gavin Turk officially opening the evening. Featuring the work of graduating students from right across the creative and cultural industries, including cultural heritage, design, fashion, film, music, performing arts, photography, textiles and visual arts, Creative Futures 2013 highlights just some of the talent emerging from our University this year. Some highlights of Creative Futures 2013 include: Hospitality: an exhibition - Tuesday 4 to Friday 28 June Bath Spa and Bath Abbey have collaborated to present a new exhibition in Bath Abbey which explores the theme of ‘Hospitality’. The exhibition features new artworks by 11 of the University’s artists, including professional artist alumni, current students and staff from the School of Art and Design. Bath School of Art and Design degree show - Saturday 8 to Sunday 16 June Spread over 10 days and two venues, the Degree Show features the exciting output from graduating students in a range of Art and Design disciplines. Graduate Fashion Show – Tuesday 18 June The Graduate Fashion Show is the culmination of work completed on the BA (Hons) Fashion Design course and showcases the final collections designed, created and made by the students. These collections will be showcased on professional catwalk models from London and the show will be directed by an internationally-renowned producer. A full programme of events and more information is available on the website at https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/creative-futures 34
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Pic: Installation in Bath Abbey by Claire Todd.
Students’ Union Spa’tans Coffee Shop
A team of students from the RAG society opened a pop up shop café for one week only from 13 to 19 May. All the proceeds went to three charities: ‘Send a Cow’, ‘Age Concern UK’ and ‘WWF’. ‘Spa’tans Coffee House’ was located in the centre of Bath at 34 Stall Street, just opposite the Roman Baths. The students sold coffee, hot chocolate, tea, soft drinks and a delicious selection of cakes and savoury snacks.
Pics: The team behind Spa’tan Coffee and yummy cupcakes!
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Massive thanks went to companies such as Bath Bakery, Starbucks, Fudge Kitchen, Jika-Jika, Vodka Revolution and Society Café, all of which donated a variety of different items, from cleaning products and napkins to scrumptious cakes and snacks. Their support helped bring the café to life and raise money for a good cause.
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staff news Starters and Leavers
In May we welcomed… Caroline Armstrong, Payroll Assistant, Finance Lucy Plant, Administrative Assistant, Student Services Nicola Davies, Cleaner, Domestic Services Rosalind Braid, Evening Deli Supervisor, Catering Fran Hancock, HR Manager, HR Hann Gruszczynska, Student Housing Services Administrator, Student Services Jonathan Butterworth, Lead Server Analyst, Computing Services Antony Perkins, Cleaner, Domestic Services Ashley Froud, Cleaner, Domestic Services Paula Walsh, Hospitality and Catering Manager, Catering Paula Blake, Deputy Head of Finance, Finance Henryk Poreba, Cleaner, Domestic Services
We also said farewell to… Annette Hurst, Catering Manager, Catering Katherine Finlayson, Administrator (Estates and Services), Estates Andrew White, Cleaner, Domestic Services Marina Collard, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Dance Technique & Choreography, School of Music and Performing Arts Shantel Ehrenberg, Lecturer in Choreography and Dance Scholarship, School of Music and Performing Arts
Please let us know if you have any interesting news for the next issue by sending your stories to j.wakefield@bathspa.ac.uk Deadline: Friday 14 June 2013. SPACE MAY 2013
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