September 2012 | issue 11
As we start a new academic year, City News has updates on activities to improve our students’ experience, including a new Graduate School and changes to Library Services. We also welcome our first confirmed ‘Phase One’ appointments of researchexcellent academics, present the latest University news and highlight research outputs.
CIT Y NEWS
NEWS IN BRIEF Academic Services move As part of the Northampton Square Education Projects, Academic Services has moved from the Innovation Centre to Drysdale Building (room E211), including the new University Admissions Office which coordinates support for undergraduate admissions.
Helping local young people City’s Library Service undergoes restructure The University Library Service is undergoing a restructure this summer, to respond to changes to the estate and the University’s Strategic Plan. The focus has been on ensuring continual service improvements, developing new services for academic staff and improving student satisfaction (including PhD students) with the services they receive.
Environmental awards City’s Environmental Management System has received EcoCampus Platinum status and ISO14001 certification. EcoCampus is an environmental accreditation and award scheme specific to higher and further education, while ISO 14001 is the most widely-used international standard for Environmental Management Systems.
Presidential appointment Dr Lia Litosseliti, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics in the School of Health Sciences, has been elected President of the International Gender and Language Association until June 2016. Dr Litosseliti has served as Vice-President since 2010.
The Student Development and Outreach team is seeking support from academic staff to help support City’s engagement with local young people. The team is responsible for widening participation, volunteering (for students and staff) and a professional mentoring scheme for undergraduate students. It works with approximately 150 schools across North London, helping young people from families with no history of higher education attendance or who receive free school meals, to understand more about the benefits of university education. During the last academic year the team has engaged with thousands of schoolchildren through University visit days, subject-specific masterclasses, summer schools, an academic tutoring programme and career-based information, advice and guidance. The team now hopes to collaborate with academic staff across all Schools to further develop subject-specific masterclasses and to work with schoolchildren during visit days. If you would like further information or want to help, please get in touch with Ben Butler or Danielle Russo via email: wpteam@city.ac.uk
About City News City News is produced each month by Marketing & Communications. If you have any comments or feedback about the magazine or its distribution, or suggestions for content, please email: Christopher.leonard.1@city.ac.uk
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Dr Vladimir Stankovic, Research Fellow in the Centre for Software Reliability, attended this year’s International Air Show at Farnborough, with colleagues from the Schools of Engineering & Mathematical Sciences and Informatics. Delegates learnt about City’s courses and research, including DeltaWing and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, to simulations of internet security breaches and critical infrastructure interdependencies. 4
Changes implemented to the Library estate include the consolidation of the School of Health Sciences Library at Northampton Square and The City Law School Library’s move to The Pool in the College Building. In addition, three new roles have been created: Head of Library Academic Services and Head of Customer Services (both with service-wide remits) and a new Head of Law Library Services role. Máire Lanigan, Director of Information Services and Libraries, said: “These changes will ensure that Library Services better align with the University’s strategy, continue to provide a high quality service and capitalise on the skills and experience we already have in the Library Services team.”
Graduate School launched City Enterprise Services The City Graduate School was officially launched on 1st August returns for Law students as a new initiative to provide improved support for research students at City. The School aims to strengthen our research student community, support their personal and professional development and improve employability. The School will be led by its inaugural Dean, Professor Ken Grattan and will work collaboratively with senior University colleagues and senior administrative staff drawn from Professional Services. It will provide a focus for City’s research degrees provision and will have institution-wide oversight for academic quality and the dissemination of policies and priorities regarding research degrees. It will also respond on behalf of City to sector-wide initiatives and consultations on research students. Professor Grattan, Dean of City Graduate School, said: “We aim to provide opportunities for students to build confidence in communicating and promoting their work, meeting researchers and building international networks as part of the challenge and excitement of research." Responding to a Working Party established by Senate, the School will establish a Graduate School Committee, research student focus groups and adopt the successful Senior Tutors’ Forum. More details will be published over the next 12 months. You can find out more at: www.city.ac.uk/citygraduateschool
Teams of students, software developers and designers competed in a ‘hackathon’ at City, to devise a prototype application in 48 hours. They drew on the enhanced multimedia possibilities of HTML5 mark-up language for Cloud computing technologies. The event, demonstrating City’s distinctive role in Silicon Roundabout and Tech City, was a collaboration between TechMeetups.com and City’s Professional Liaison Unit. TechMeetups.com creates a global network of tech communities. First Prize winner was a pitch for ‘Kwikword’, a word game, from Ali Azeem, technology expert and consultant. 4
City Enterprise Services, a legal and business advice clinic staffed by volunteer students from The City Law School, returns this autumn following its initial success. The clinics involve City Law students – supervised by legal professionals – providing free legal advice to small businesses and start-ups. There are other free legal advice clinics in London but few specialise in start-ups. City’s clinics help students gain valuable commercial awareness (an important quality for law firm recruiters) and underline City’s reputation as the University for business and the professions. Following the success of the first clinics in February, City Enterprise Services will be run as an elective for law students this academic year. David Collins, Senior Lecturer in Law and alumnus Eric Klotz will supervise the sessions, which begin on Tuesday 2nd October.
NEWS IN BRIEF City’s IT research noted City’s involvement in Tech City and its ‘world-class IT-related university research’ was noted at a recent Mayor of London debate hosted by internet entrepreneur Jimmy Whales, founder of Wikimedia Foundation (the charity behind Wikipedia).
Anti-apartheid book City alumnus Ken Keable (1968), promoted his book London Recruits: The Secret War Against Apartheid, in South Africa last month. It tells the stories of foreign recruits to the anti-apartheid movement who defied the South African Government to support the ANC. The book’s royalties go to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
National Fellowship Professor Steve Stanton in the Centre for Music Studies has been awarded a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy (HEA), recognising his 'highly valuable contribution to learning and teaching'.
Greek TV profile Greek National TV has broadcast a portrait of Professor Costas Grammenos (right), Chairman of the Costas Grammenos Centre for Shipping, Trade and Finance. It was part of a series on senior professors of Greek origin who work outside Greece and whose achievements have had a lasting global impact.
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NEWS IN BRIEF Cass research recognition Secretary of State Vince Cable commented positively on Cass research into mergers and acquisitions (City News, January 2012) when addressing the House of Commons’ Business, Innovation and Skills Committee regarding bank lending and business growth.
Honorary doctorates
QAA Institutional Review
During July’s graduation ceremonies, City awarded honorary doctorates to individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to their professions.
City has submitted its Self-evaluation Document and supporting evidence in the first stage of preparations for the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Institutional Review.
His Honour Judge Donald Cryan was awarded Doctor of Laws honoris causa in recognition of his services to the law. Judge Cryan is Chair of The City Law School’s Advisory Board.
Start-up Question Time Leo Castellanos, Chairman of Cass Entrepreneurs Network, was a panellist at a recent Seed Academy Start Up Question Time event alongside Ben Southworth, Deputy CEO of Tech City. The event at the new London Google Campus, saw over 100 local entrepreneurs attend a ‘lively and informative’ debate.
Italian lawyers visit City The Legal English in Practice course is the fourth annual CPD course run by Christine Kretschmer, Programme Director CPD Translation, in conjunction with the Scuola Superiore dell'Avvocatura (Rome). The course focuses on Legal English in different areas of law and around 70 Italian lawyers will attend City later this month.
Cass research launch Cass Professors Joseph Lampel and Ajay Bhalla, with Pushkar Jha (Newcastle University), were invited by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to present their recent findings on employeeowned businesses at a recent Employee Ownership Summit in London, opened by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
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Professor Neville Jackson, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Ricardo plc, was made Doctor of Science honoris causa in recognition of his services to research leadership.
The QAA periodically reviews UK universities as part of its responsibility to ‘safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education’. The submission marks the beginning of the review process. The QAA Review team will consider City’s submission prior to its formal visit to the University between 15th and 19th October, during which it will meet with both staff and students. City has shared its Self Evaluation Document and Student Written Submission (from the Students’ Union) on its website: www.city.ac.uk/about/education/academic-services/qaa2012 A Quality Manual has also been released as a repository for policies, guidance and forms that support City’s framework for managing standards and enhancing student learning. This can be found on our website: www.city.ac.uk/quality-manual
eBook pilot success Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive of Coca-Cola, was one of the first MBA graduates from Cass and was made Doctor of Science honoria causa, for his work in international business.
During the last academic year, Library Services piloted a new purchasing model for eBooks – Patron (or demand) Driven Acquisitions. With Patron, eBook titles are only purchased when each has been accessed above a certain number of times or access has exceeded a specific time limit. This enables hundreds of high-quality eBook titles and thousands of pages to be viewed for free and for students to access a far greater number of eBooks than through traditional purchase models.
Nick Robinson, Political Editor at BBC News, was made Doctor of Science honoris causa for his services to journalism.
This means that students are themselves selecting and adding content they require to City’s libraries’ growing digital collection; more than 700 titles have been purchased to date.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Curran commented: "The calibre of this year's recipients demonstrates our commitment to academic excellence as well as our close connection to business and the professions."
“Instant access to many additional titles is an initiative that will now become a standard part of library provision in our continuing commitment to enhance the student experience and maximise educational success,” said Liz Harris, Deputy University Librarian.
Enterprise at City Digital Shoreditch leads to LCI partner London City Incubator to provide support for start-up relevant to research During the recent Digital Shoreditch festival in East London (City News, May), entrepreneurs from Tech City and the Silicon Roundabout approached the University’s London City Incubator (LCI) for support in their acceleration towards investment and growth. London City Incubator (City News, April) works with academics, students and external start-ups to commercialise their technologies and ideas, prepare for investment and accelerate their launches in high-growth sectors such as medical devices, digital media and clean technology. LCI offers start-ups support from its Associates, comprised of students (MBA, PhD and Masters) working alongside external designers with suitable technical and commercial skills.
Following Digital Shoreditch in May, five tech start-ups approached the LCI for support and the LCI’s assessment panel considered each pitch in terms of its technical and commercial possibilities for developing the start-up and securing investment. The LCI panel was particularly impressed by Foodsplore. The start-up currently has a website allowing users to share recommendations on restaurants and other eateries (www.foodsplore.com). Its successful pitch to LCI was to develop a mobile smartphone application that can tell users with specific dietary requirements (e.g. allergies, intolerance, ethical and religious), where to find suitable and yet delicious dishes. This is aimed at enhancing the eating-out experience of niche market segments. LCI has now begun work by appointing a team of LCI Associates relevant to Foodsplore’s proposition, holding regular meetings with Foodsplore and looking to constructively challenge and validate market assumptions made by the founders, in search of a scalable business model. Foodsplore has also taken up hot desks at City, provided by the LCI.
Proving market demand The next steps will include firming up the business model and prototyping a set of viable features that will prove the market demand for the Foodsplore application. The benefits to City are clear. By engaging with Foodsplore, City is strengthening its presence with the Tech City and the Silicon Roundabout community and Foodsplore links to research conducted at the University by the Food Policy Unit. Leo Castellanos (above right), Incubation and New Ventures Manager, said: “The engagement with Foodsplore meets a crucial criteria for City; ensuring alignment to our research and bringing impact to it. Foodsplore will benefit from accessing the world-class research that City has to offer. In due time, I would expect market data and information from the startup to feed back into our future research, thus closing the research loop.” The team at Foodsplore are delighted to have been accepted into the LCI. Mohammed Suleman, Foodsplore’s founder, said: “Working with LCI has given us the support structure and network that is vital to the success of any start-up. In a matter of weeks our team has grown from two people to seven. With the breadth of experience and expertise we now have, we are confident we can build a fantastic product that will have a global user base."
London City Incubator The LCI provides support for academics – and entrepreneurs external to City – to help those with ideas for sustainable start-up businesses to prepare for investment and accelerate their launch. The LCI provides consultancy support through LCI Associates, consisting of the Cass Executive MBA programme, PhD students, Masters students and creative and industrial designers who possess suitable technical and commercial skills. To find out how LCI can support you, visit our website: www.city.ac.uk/for-business/ business-services/london-incubator
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Introducing our new ‘Phase One’ academics Vicky Henderson, Professor of Mathematical Finance (starting July 2013)
Shaping City’s academic staff profile is a crucial part of the Strategic Plan: the University plans to more than double the proportion of academics across all Schools who are producing world-leading or internationally-excellent research, by 2016.
Dr Henderson is currently Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford-Man Institute (University of Oxford) and has taught at Princeton University (US) and the University of Warwick. She holds a PhD from the University of Bath and was awarded a Nomura Research Fellowship at the University of Oxford.
Recruitment has focused initially on ‘Phase One’: appointing 25 Professorial staff (with accompanying lecturers and doctoral students) by October 2013, to maximise our performance in the Research Excellence Framework. The first confirmed ‘Phase One’ appointments are introduced below (all starting 1st September unless otherwise stated). Further interviews will be taking place over the next few months and ‘Phase Two’ launches later this year, to complete our strategic recruitment of research-excellent academics.
Actuarial Science Jens Perch Nielsen, Professor of Actuarial Science Previously on a fractional contract at Cass, as of 1st September Professor Nielsen (pictured top left) is now permanent Chair in Actuarial Science. He has been Professor of Actuarial Science for six years and is coauthor of around 75 journal papers.
Economics Joseph Pearlman, Professor of Macroeconomics Professor Pearlman joins City from Loughborough University where he was Professor of Macroeconomics and Deputy Associate Dean of Research. His research interests include macroeconomics, policy design, economic growth and monetary and macro-prudential policy. He has been an ESRC Research Fellow at London Business School and conducted research at the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
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Finance
Following our first confirmed appointments under ‘Phase One’, City News introduces our incoming academics
Her research area is in mathematical finance, specialising in derivative pricing in incomplete markets.
Health Services Research Jill Francis, Professor of Health Services Research (starting 1st October) Currently Professor in Health Psychology at the University of Aberdeen, Jill is also Associate Editor of the British Journal of Health Psychology. Her research focuses on health psychology in two areas: translating evidence into behaviour to improve health; and behavioural components of trials.
International Politics Ronen Palan, Professor of International Politics (start date to be confirmed) Currently Professor of International Political Economy at the University of Birmingham, Ronen (pictured mid left) holds a PhD from LSE. His areas of research interest include international and evolutionary political economies, state theory, international finance, offshore economy and globalisation. He is founding editor of the Review of International Political Economy, has a Fellowship to the Institute of Development Studies and serves on the advisory board of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.
Law
Mathematical Sciences
Andy Boon, Professor of Law (start date to be confirmed)
Radha Kessar, Professor of Mathematics
Professor Boon will join City from the University of Westminster where he is Dean of the Law School. His research covers legal professional practice, education and ethics and he has published widely.
Previously at the University of Aberdeen, Professor Kessar (pictured mid right) has taught at the University of Oxford and in the US at Ohio State University, the University of Minnesota and Yale University. She has received the London Mathematical Society’s Berwick Prize in recognition of her research.
Formerly a solicitor, he has extensive experience of working on committees and research groups, including with the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and with the Bar.
Andrew Choo, Professor of Law (starting 1st November) Formerly Professor of English Law and Deputy Head of School (Operations) at Brunel University, Andrew (pictured bottom left) also has a part-time practice at Matrix Chambers and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Evidence and Proof. He received his doctorate from the University of Oxford and has taught at the Universities of New South Wales (Australia), Leicester and Warwick. His research interests include evidence and procedure (especially criminal evidence) and he is author of numerous articles and books. His work has been cited in appellate court decisions including the House of Lords, the Privy Council and the UK Supreme Court.
Markus Linckelmann, Professor of Mathematics Professor Linckelmann (pictured top right) was previously Chair in Mathematical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen and member of its international research group on representations theory. He has previously worked at Ohio State University and been Director of Research at the French National Committee for Scientific Research, Paris.
Nursing and Midwifery Susan Ayers, Professor of Maternal and Child Health (starting 1st October)
Management
Dr Ayers is currently Reader in Health Psychology and Director of Doctoral Studies at the University of Sussex. Her areas of research interest are stress and coping with health events, specialising in posttraumatic stress disorder after childbirth.
Jean-Pascale Gond, Professor of Management
Pervasive Computing
Professor Gond joins City from HEC Montreal, prior to which he was Assistant Professor in the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the University of Nottingham.
Adrian Cheok, Professor of Pervasive Computing (start date to be confirmed)
His widely-published research analyses socio-political dimensions of CSR, the influence of CSR programmes on employees and how CSR processes and theories are transformed into managerial practices.
Scott Shane, Professor of Entrepreneurship (starting 1st January 2013) Professor Shane is currently Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland). He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on entrepreneurship, spin-offs and technology transfer, business franchising, investment and genetic factors in entrepreneurship. He is author of over 60 articles and has written or edited 10 books.
Adrian (pictured bottom right) will join City from the Graduate School of Media Design at Keio University, Japan. He is founder and Director of the Mixed Reality Lab (Singapore). His research areas cover mixed reality, human-computer interfaces, wearable computers and ubiquitous computing, fuzzy systems, embedded systems and power electronics. He has obtained approximately $20 million in research funding and edits several journals.
By Chris Leonard
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Highlights of recent research at City University London
Research at City How the Treasury dictates public service strategies The Coalition Government’s decisionmaking for public services following 2010’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) reflects the dangers of a growth of Treasury power in Whitehall, according to City research. Dr David O’Brien from the Centre for Cultural Policy & Management has published a paper in Public Administration titled ‘Drowning the deadweight: what free swimming tells us about the policy process’. It explores how Government’s response to the financial crisis reflects trends in Whitehall using examples of sport policy, Free Swimming and the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA). Dr O’Brien argues that government machinery surrounding public services relies on economic decision-making reflecting the increasing influence of the Treasury and its Green Book guidance. He says the CSR reflected a growth in managerialism and Treasury power in Whitehall derived from cost-benefit analyses (or ‘economism’). Dr O’Brien argues that economism is used to present ideological decisions as technical exercises (as in sport policy), or identifying public services as ‘deadweight’ (as for Free Swimming). He expands this idea with the controversial scrapping of the EMA, which provided financial assistance to teenage students. Dr O’Brien concludes that the post-financial crisis landscape will see significant continuities in terms of how departments are overseen and controlled by the Treasury and warns that management-by-numbers systems could actually grow as spending cuts intensify. “Those wishing to resist or oppose Coalition plans for reducing public spending in future will need to learn the Green Book’s language and recognise the need to challenge Treasury dominance over individual departments,” warns O’Brien.
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Increasing insurance profits Banks and insurance companies could reduce their financial exposure to ‘risky’ existing customers according to new Cass Business School research. Academics have developed a model that allows companies to calculate a ‘risk profile’ for existing customers before choosing whether to offer new financial products to them. By using information on past claims, insurance companies can select attractive sales prospects while crucially filtering out customers on whom they are liable to make a loss. Other studies have considered methods for predicting the likelihood of making further sales to existing customers, but this study is the first to combine sales probability and risk information. When tested on data from a large Swedish insurance company, the model delivered a 30 per cent increase in profits. Co-author Professor Jens Perch Nielsen from Cass’s Faculty of Actuarial Science and Insurance, said: “Someone who has a motor insurance policy and who claimed less than expected is probably also going to be claiming less than expected on other areas such as house insurance. So when cross-selling house coverage it is wise to take into account motor (insurance) claims. “Our method – the first of its kind to date - allows companies to model past behaviour to estimate a customer’s specific risk profile for other products. This risk profile estimate is then used to select which customers from the company’s portfolio to approach to cross sell new products to.” The paper, ‘Selecting prospects for cross-selling financial products using multivariate credibility’, appeared in Expert Systems with Applications.
A framework for RE power and politics
Analysing prosecutors’ resistance to change
Professor Neil Maiden (right) and research student Alistair Milne in the Centre for Human Interaction Design (HCID), have outlined a framework for discovering the structure of power and political relationships and of decisionmaking processes in Requirements Engineering.
Studying legal cultures could be key to understanding whether legal systems are converging or diverging, according to City research.
Requirements Engineering (RE) describes the decision-making processes facing business analysts and those tasked with acquiring and implementing software-intensive computer technology systems. It is the process by which individuals can identify and judge the purpose of a system and predict how well it can improve human activities. The research paper, ‘Power and Politics in Requirements Engineering: Embracing the Dark Side’ (published in Requirements Engineering Journal), is an expanded version of prior research by the authors which won Best Paper at last year’s IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE’11). In this new expanded paper, the authors suggest working definitions of ‘power’ and ‘politics’ and provide an overview of existing literature in RE and disciplines related to it. The authors contend that with increasing complexity, uncertainty and organisational embeddedness surrounding the practice of RE and socio-technical systems, power and politics have become relevant factors but are yet to receive the consideration they deserve. The paper presents an analytical framework which examines power and politics through the structure of power relations and decision-making processes in organisations. This framework is explored through a case study of website development in a publishing company. The case study demonstrates the proposed framework and performs an initial validation of it together with an assessment of its utility to RE.
Research at City
The research by Dr Riccardo Montana (right), Lecturer at The City Law School, was published in the European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice. It highlights the importance of using an interdisciplinary/ socio-legal approach to present a fresh perspective on comparative and global legal issues. Riccardo’s empirical study of Italian prosecutors analyses legal culture to understand why they resist certain legal modifications that are Anglo-American based. Prosecutors play a key role in the Italian criminal justice system: together with the police, they are the gatekeepers of the penal system and thus were studied to appreciate the effectiveness, values and aims of the Italian criminal process. The study analyses the meaning of inquisitorial and adversarial approaches in modern criminal justice systems, the impact of legal transplants and legal translations and prosecutors’ powers in contemporary criminal justice systems. It explores interactions between legal rules and legal cultures as well as the cultural internalisation of transplanted legal rules. Riccardo explains: “These are very important questions because they can stretch our imagination about the true nature of our own legal system[s] and that of neighbouring countries. This contributes to helping us to clarify the process of contamination of legal systems.” He concludes that commitment of prosecutors to the ideals of processes inevitably leads to distrust of traditions and images that conflict with their own legal culture and in turn, their ability to mediate the impact of legal modifications. Riccardo suggests that detecting resistance to legal modifications can help to grasp the values that underpin contemporary criminal justice systems and understand how procedural mechanisms work.
City Research Online Have you uploaded your research outputs to City’s research repository? City Research Online (City News, November 2011) will help you raise the visibility of your research and help the University to collate and monitor its research. Find out more at: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk
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A second year Journalism student who worked behind the scenes at the Olympic Games introduces a little-known Olympic sport that brings people together with a common goal.
Pin-ing hopes on collecting Olympic memories Ask someone to name a popular Olympic sport and you would surely be surprised to hear ‘pin trading’. No medals are given out for it yet but pin trading is informally regarded as the number one Olympic spectator sport. Exchanging pins is not a recent addition to the Olympics. In 1924, the first Olympic Village in Paris provided a platform for fans to exchange collectable metal badges and with each subsequent Games, the international population of pin enthusiasts (affectionately called ‘pinheads’) grew. They were eventually given official headquarters by Coca-Cola, which set up the first Olympic Pin Trading Centre at the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games. Bill Baker, a seasoned pin-head from Canada, celebrated his tenth Olympics as a pin trader at London 2012. “I have been collecting for about 35 years. It is a hobby of mine and a great way to meet people and travel the world.” As with other sports in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, pin trading promotes Olympian values such as international friendship and competition. Pin trading is the most popular way in which fans can be a part of the Games, regardless of whether they are able to get tickets.
Bill explains how he became involved in pin trading. “I used to collect pins when I travelled. I would get one from a city or when I saw something special but then we had the Winter Olympics in my home town of Calgary in 1988 and I wanted to get a momento. I was born and raised there so I wanted to get a collection for my own city and and it went from there.” Pin trading represents an important aspect of the Olympic spirit. The custom of exchanging pins as tokens of friendship or gratitude was established over a century ago with the advent of the modern Olympic Games, by athletes who wore them to identify themselves. Now, enamelled badges serve as attractive decorations and adorn many a hat, lapel or lanyard throughout the Olympics. All varieties of pins are manufactured to commemorate the Games. The main categories are those characterising sports and individual athletic events; for committees, federations and participating nations; official emblems and mascots; Opening and Closing ceremonies; host cities; corporate partners and sponsors; official media; and even pins to mark ‘countdown days’ leading up to each Olympics. More than just a hobby, pin trading is a social event. Veteran traders encounter familiar faces every four years and make new contacts with novice pin-heads. Bill says of the pin trading community: “It is pretty big. There are many clubs in different cities around the world who keep it going between the Olympics too.”
by Jade Grassby
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Experts say that if you are aiming for gold in pin trading, one of the most important skills to have is a specialist knowledge of pins’ street values. Pins normally sell for a set price when initially purchased but once they hit the streets their trade value is determined by individual collectors and for some, this is where the real fun of pin trading begins.
Meet your colleagues
Name and job title? Professor Ahmed Kovacevic, Howden Chair in Engineering Design and Compressor Technology
What do you do at City day to day? I am extending the boundaries of Engineering Design in academia and industry by teaching engineering design and carrying out research in compressor technology. In this rapidly changing world, the future of industry depends on the globalisation of design, manufacturing, servicing and sales. Since 2004, I have revised the teaching of Engineering Design at City to align it more closely with industry requirements. I was influenced by the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Henley Report (2006), which outlined an industrial view on where 21st Century engineers need to be. It says engineering graduates must fulfil three roles: be specialists; be integrators (operate across technical or organisational boundaries in complex environments); and provide creativity, innovation and leadership for industry. This led to my research in the effectiveness of design education in academia and industry and to my collaboration with leading European universities in an annual project, European Global Product Realisation (EGPR). EGPR (www.egpr.org) is funded by industrial partners involved in the network and five European universities participate in the EGPR course. It is tailored to meet industrial requirements and more importantly, provides students with holistic design competence. Over 400 students (85 from City) have passed this module and gone on to be employed by major companies such as Mott MacDonald. Grant applications have been made for developing New Product Development teaching across Europe and recently, the Arts and Humanities Research Council has funded further research by City and the universities of Northumbria and Leicester. In 2008, I initiated industrial research projects with Howden Compressors Ltd, followed in 2011 by the start of an ongoing Howden-funded study of a Technical-Commercial interface required for the commercialisation of new products. I have since established a research and development department in Howden. In 2009 I started four major projects worth more than £2 million, two of which have been commercialised, allowing the initiation of eight further projects worth several million pounds.
City’s ‘N’ rotor profile allowed Howden to secure the single largest contract in its history (£14 million) and my research has led to new compressors and patents which have helped Howden increase turnover, increase employment and invest more in development. City has received over £600,000 from its collaboration with Howden and has appointed the CEO of its Compressor division as Visiting Professor. I have also organised several conferences, including the 2011 International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education, held in association with the Institution of Engineering Designers and the Design Society.
What is your biggest challenge in your job? Trying to reduce the amount of time I waste commuting across London.
How do you overcome it? I listen to audio books while fast-walking to and from City. I travel about 11 miles every day from my home to City. I take the train as it is quieter than the tube and allows me to type emails or read papers during the 25-minute train journey. My other reason for taking the train is that it involves about 40 minutes walk in each direction. That walk twice a day is very refreshing and beneficial for my wellbeing but this is 80 minutes which could be added to work or relaxation time. To make it more useful I listen to audio books.
If you didn’t do your job what would you be doing? Teaching Engineering Design at RMIT in Melbourne Australia.
What do you do in your spare time and to relax? Fly fishing and gardening.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? Jennifer Lopez, Richard Branson, Bill Bryson, Tom Jones and Jamie Oliver
Favourite place in London? The Design Museum at Shad Thames.
Favourite film? Inception.
Favourite book? Quirkology by Richard Wiseman
Favourite song/music? Lady by Lionel Richie
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Dates for your diary www.city.ac.uk/events AECEF Symposium: Global Issues in Enhancing Civil Engineering Learning, Teaching, Research and Practice Thursday 13th and Friday 14th September, Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre The seventh Association of European Civil Engineering Faculties (AECEF) symposium is the first to be held at City and occurs on the 20th anniversary of the foundation of AECEF.
Research Pump Priming Fund Application Deadline 4pm Monday 17th September The University Pump Priming scheme for early career researchers and research assistants supports research of strategic importance, with up to £5,000 to develop proposals for attracting further funding through external sources. For an application form, visit: http://tinyurl.com/pumppriming
Myddelton Street Building Official Opening Wednesday 3rd October (tbc) Alumni Thank You Event 6.30pm-8.45pm Wednesday 19th September Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre City’s Alumni Relations team hosts a special event for its most
valued alumni supporters. Students and staff will share how alumni support has helped them and current students will provide tours of Northampton Square.
Short Courses Open Evening 5.30pm – 8pm Thursday 20th September, Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre Foyer Open evening to promote City’s evening and weekend short courses. These cover a range of disciplines and are offered at levels ranging from beginner to advanced level. Staff can receive a discount on courses.
Induction week 24th September – 28th September The start of the academic year with events, activities and briefings to introduce first year students to City.
Hall Street Quartet: An Evening of Jazz 7pm Tuesday 2nd October, Performance Space Learning at City Journal Launch 4pm – 5pm Thursday 4th October, Goswell Place An informal event to mark the publication of Volume Three of the Learning at City journal. This edition focuses on assessment and feedback. Staff are invited to visit the new LDC offices in Goswell Place to celebrate the new publication and to receive copies of the journal.
Staff training and development For information about staff training, email: evan.bates.1@city.ac.uk or visit: http://www.city.ac.uk/sd/index
Appraiser Workshop for those who appraise others (Academic and Research staff) Tuesday 4th September Appraiser Workshop for those who appraise others (Professional Services staff) Tuesday 11th September Appraisee Workshop for those who do not appraise others (Academic and Research staff) Monday 24th September
Appraisee Workshop for those who do not appraise others (Professional Services Staff) Wednesday 26th September I did that course! “The training has prepared me for my own appraisal meeting as well as given me boosted confidence in setting and discussing objectives with my line manager. I would definitely recommend others to attend.”
Kiriaki Sourlantzis Bjork, Customer Service Co-ordinator in Services for Students.
Undergraduate Open Day 10am – 3pm Saturday 6th October Providing prospective students with the opportunity to visit and find out more about City and its courses.
An Evening with Professor Paul Curran 6.30pm – 8.30pm Wednesday 10th October, Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre City’s Vice-Chancellor is interviewed by Professor George Brock, in front of an audience of City staff and guests.
Vice-Chancellor’s Open House 2.30pm – 4.30pm Wednesday 17th October, Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre Writing and Publishing a Nonfiction Book: two City graduates tell their story 6.30pm Thursday 18th October, Oliver Thompson Lecture Theatre Undergraduate Open Day 10am – 3pm Saturday 3rd November Providing prospective students with the opportunity to find out more about City.
Annual £50,000 Research Competition City hosts its sixth Annual Research Competition in January, with a £50,000 Research Excellence Award as a first prize, awarded by a panel of judges. Academic staff – either as individuals or in teams – can enter their proposal for new research, or a proposal for taking existing research in a new direction. Each proposal must outline a research question and its intellectual justification and how the money will be spent. The deadline for applications is Monday 12th November and the Award will be presented on Wednesday 16th January 2013. Guidelines and judging criteria are on our website: http://tinyurl.com/researchproposals Find a video of previous Award winners explaining why you should take part at: http://tinyurl.com/researchvideo