Dialogue Magazine - Issue 27

NEWS FOR DURHAM UNIVERSITY STAFF AND STUDENTS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 | ISSUE 27

Renaming the Library Former Chancellor Bill Bryson returns to Durham to rename the Library and officially open the new wing.

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Also in this issue: Spotlight on Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing A look behind the scenes. / Page 08

Winning Ways Celebrating award wins and distinguished appointments. / Page 10

Dialogue 27 | January / February 2013

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A great library must be at the heart of a great university. Libraries serve many roles: physical and electronic access to journals, books and items such as music and video; different types of work spaces for students and staff; and archives and special collections for research.

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In the past three or four years we have made major enhancements to ensure our library is the best it can be. The oldest part of Durham University library, the historic Cosin’s library from 1669 was one of the first two public libraries in the UK and has now been beautifully restored with its books back where they belong. Much of the remainder of the Palace Green Library complex has also been renovated and upgraded to make our special collections more accessible for research.

The remarkable Ushaw library is now being catalogued as part of our library, and Palace Green Library will house the Lindisfarne and St Cuthbert Gospels when they are displayed in Durham later this year. Our University Library also includes, of course numerous college libraries which provide convenient student workspaces as well as books and IT facilities. As an example, Grey College has just doubled the size of its library with significant contributions from the JCR and alumni.

Most symbolic, however, is the main library at the heart of the University, with its elegant extension nearly doubling the size of the building and including so many types of modern work spaces.

This is now the Bill Bryson Library, highlighted on page 04.

With best wishes,

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EDITOR:

03 Inaugural Lecture Series

10 Winning Ways

11 The new

DBS Re-brand

Neuroimaging Centre

BP Undergraduate Scholarships

12 REF2014

13 Event Durham,

New Year’s Honours

04 Renaming the Library 05 The Anne Galbraith Boardroom

Retail and Catering

14 HR news 15 CIS news

06 Research highlights

16 Experience Durham

08 Spotlight on...

17 Formula Student

The Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing

18 Greenspace

Rebecca Grundy, Corporate Communications Officer.

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Zoë Thomas, Marketing Projects Co-ordinator.

CONTRIBUTIONS: Sharon Battersby, Computing and Information Services; Tara Duncan, Greenspace; Louise Elliott, Event Durham; Media Relations Team, Communications Office; Mark Booth, Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing; Val Wooff, Research Office; Caroline Hall, HR; Vicky Ridley; Experience Durham; Quentin Sloper, Experience Durham, Anna Campbell, St. Mary’s College.

20 Under investigation

Chris Higgins, Vice-Chancellor and Warden

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What’s On

DESIGN: wearewarm.com PRINT: statex.co.uk

Front cover: The return of Bill Bryson, November 2012.

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News

Inaugural Lecture Series This term sees the launch of a new public Inaugural Lecture Series (ILS) where recently appointed or promoted Chairs, nominated by their faculties, will be invited to speak about their research.

All lectures will showcase the world-leading research taking place here at Durham but will vary in content area.

They are free to attend and open to staff, students and members of the public. The ILS will be hosted by the colleges and a drinks reception will follow each lecture.

Find out more...

and book your place at www.durham.ac.uk/research/ils

BP Undergraduate Scholarships

A former employee, a recent alumna and a current student are amongst a number of honourees with a Durham University association who feature on the New Year Honours list for 2013.

Former University employee, Carol Carr (top), who was known as a ‘college mum’ to thousands of students has been awarded a BEM for her services to Higher Education and student support.

During her role as Secretary to the VicePrincipal of Hild-Bede, Carol was extremely popular with students who requested for her to be more involved in the running of the College and provision of pastoral care. This resulted in her promotion to College Secretary, then Student Support Officer and finally to Senior Tutor until her retirement in 2009.

BP, one of one of the UK’s leading graduate recruiters, is launching a new scholarship programme for talented science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) undergraduates studying at nine selected universities across the UK, of which Durham University is one.

Sophie Hosking (centre), who graduated in 2007, has been awarded an MBE for services to rowing. Sophie won the women’s lightweight double sculls with fellow crew member, Kat Copeland, to claim Britain’s fourth rowing gold medal of the London Olympics. In Sophie’s honour, the indoor powered rowing tank at Maiden Castle was named The Sophie Hosking Rowing Tank.

In its first year, the BP scholarship programme will provide ten scholarships, each worth £5,000, to support the cost of living for ten of our high performing students. The programme will initially be rolled out over four years and the aim is then to expand and create an annual scholarship programme.

Student and rowing cox Lily van den Broecke (bottom) has been awarded an MBE for her services to rowing and paralympic sport.

In 2011, Lily won the gold medal in the (LTA) mixed coxed four at the World Rowing Championships in Slovenia and again at the World Cup in Munich. Lily and crewmates repeated their success and took the gold medal at the London 2012 Paralympic games.

Aimed at building capacity in skills and knowledge that is greatly needed in the energy industry, the scholarship programme focuses on supporting the education and development of the next generation of engineers and scientists.

Undergraduate students can apply for the scholarship based on the completion of an online application form, ability test, and a face-to-face interview with BP.

Putting the University back into the Business School Durham Business School has been rebranded as Durham University Business School to better align it with the University as its parent organisation.

This follows extensive and thorough internal and external consultation and all staff and students should use its new name in all communications with immediate effect.

Dialogue 27 | January / February 2013

At the end of November, our former Chancellor, Bill Bryson, returned to the University to rename the main library and officially open its new wing which has been in operation since April last year.

Crowds of students and staff gathered, lining every inch of the staircases, to welcome Bill on his first visit back since he bade farewell last year.

Bill’s time as the University’s 11th Chancellor, his ongoing links with the library, and the continuing development on the site”.

Following a short speech in which he smilingly urged students to respect his library, saying “No scribbling in the margins of books and if you take a book off the shelf you have to put it back in the right place!”, the author unveiled a plaque commemorating the library re-naming.

The new East Wing has been designed to produce a light and spacious study environment, and has enabled the library to rearrange its collection of 1.5m books into one sequence and to make 120,000 books previously in storage available in open access shelving for the first time.

While Bill described the re-naming as being the biggest honour that has ever been paid to him, apart from being appointed Chancellor itself, the University Librarian, Jon Purcell said: “The renaming of the Bill Bryson Library which never had a site specific name before, recognises

Later on the same day, hundreds of students and staff gathered in the Arnold Wolfendale lecture theatre to attend “an audience with Bill Bryson”. Full of his usual wit and humour, Bill spent an hour entertaining the audience with stories about Russell Crowe, Durham students,

a trip to Kenya, why he loves the UK and seven tips on how to have a good life.

He also answered questions from the audience about his writing, travels and time as Chancellor.

As well as giving his name to the main library, Bill Bryson has also become the President of the newly-founded Friends of Palace Green Library, which will be home to the Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition this summer.

Find out more...

To watch a video of the official naming of the library or of “An Audience with Bill Bryson” go to: www.durham.ac.uk/ tour/events/billbrysonlibrarynaming

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Boardroom named to honour former Chair of Council The contribution of a long-standing friend and alumna of the University has been commemorated by officially giving her name to the boardroom in our new Law School. Mrs Anne Galbraith is a lawyer who was a lay member of Council for 12 years until 31st July 2012 and its Chairman for the last six of those years.

The Anne Galbraith boardroom is a key element of the new Law School and cantilevers over the School’s entrance.

The room includes audio visual facilities and an informal area at its point with views of the Cathedral and Mountjoy.

Anne unveiled a plaque at the official naming ceremony on 27th November 2012 where she said, “I feel honoured to have had such a long association with Durham University…I am thrilled and overwhelmed that the University has decided to mark the end of my Chairmanship of University Council with such a generous and unexpected gesture.”

IMAGES Far left: Former Chancellor Bill Bryson talks to current students at the renaming ceremony of the new Bill Bryson Library.

“I feel honoured to have had such a long association with Durham University…I am thrilled and overwhelmed that the University has decided to mark the end of my Chairmanship of University Council with such a generous and unexpected gesture”

Above: Anne Galbraith, Council Chair, Lawyer and Durham University alumna gives her name to the Anne Galbraith Boardroom in the new Law School development.

Below: Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Higgins and Anne Galbraith unveil a commemorative plaque at the unveiling of the new facility.

Research highlights

We know that unborn babies hiccup, swallow and stretch in the womb but new observational research concludes that they also yawn.

The 4D scans of 15 healthy fetuses, by Durham and Lancaster universities, also suggest that yawning is a developmental process which could potentially give doctors another index of a fetus’ health.

While some researchers have suggested that fetuses yawn, others have disagreed and claim it is simple mouth opening.

But the new research clearly distinguished ‘yawning’ from ‘non-yawn mouth opening’ based on the duration of mouth opening. The researchers did this by using the 4D video footage to closely examine all events where a mouth stretch occurred in the fetus.

Lead researcher, Dr Nadja Reissland of the Department of Psychology, said: “The results of this study demonstrate that yawning can be observed in healthy fetuses and extends previous work on fetal yawning. Our longitudinal study shows that yawning declines with increasing fetal age.

Unlike us, fetuses do not yawn contagiously, nor do they yawn because they are sleepy. Instead, the frequency of yawning in the womb may be linked to the maturing of the brain early in gestation.

Given that the frequency of yawning in our sample of healthy fetuses declined from 28 weeks to 36 weeks gestation, it seems to suggest that yawning and simple mouth opening have this maturational function early in gestation.”

She added that yawning could be related to central nervous system maturation but further research involving mother and fetus would be required to examine this theory.

INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL COVERAGE including ITV and Sky News, BBC Online, The Times, The Guardian, New York Times, Reuters, China Daily, CBS and national press throughout Europe, The Middle East, Asia, Australasia, Africa and the Americas.

Why more people are choosing woodland burials Research suggests that Britain is leading the way globally in natural – or woodland – burials where people are typically buried in a woodland setting, field or meadow in wicker, cardboard, or other ecologically appropriate coffins.

The findings have been published as a book, Natural Burial: Traditional–Secular Spiritualities and Funeral Innovation by Professor Douglas Davies, Director of the Centre for Death and Life Studies and Dr Hannah Rumble, a Durham Research Associate, based at the University of Bath.

Environmental worries, giving something back to nature and reducing the burden on families are factors behind why people choose natural burials.

Professor Douglas Davies said: “Woodland burial answers a need for people who don’t necessarily want a traditional cemetery burial, or even cremation.

While there is a decline in explicit religious belief in some people, many have very strong views about themselves and their families and what they want to contribute to their future.

People talk about becoming part of a lively tree, grass, or plant surrounded place which their families and grandchildren can visit and play, with a different atmosphere than at a cemetery.

The other image we have been exploring is the idea of people not wanting ‘to make a fuss’.

Unlike ordinary cemeteries where people visit to tend the grave, in the woodland context nature takes care of things and some folk like that idea.”

Opened on September 7th, The Durham City Woodland Burial Project is Britain’s newest burial site and the first in the

country to be managed by a non-profit community interest company. The project is a partnership with Durham County Council.

The site, attached to the City’s crematorium, is native woodland, managed for wildlife, with a gravelled path that will wind between six burial glades.

Ian Rutland, founder of the Woodland Burial Community Interest Company, which runs the Durham City project, said: “This is a natural alternative, open to everyone, whatever their belief or faith. A simple place of peace that is designed to be secluded, intimate and dignified.”

COVERAGE INCLUDES: BBC Breakfast, BBC One o’clock News, The Guardian, The Northern Echo and specialist publications (e.g. Law and Religion UK).

Star Trek Classroom: the next generation of school desks Researchers designing and testing the ‘classroom of the future’ have found that multi-touch, multi-user desks can boost skills in mathematics.

the SynergyNet classroom improve in both mathematical flexibility and fluency, while children working on traditional paper-based activities only improve in flexibility.

New results from a three-year project working with over 400 pupils, mostly 8-10 year olds, show that collaborative learning increases both fluency and flexibility in maths. It also shows that using an interactive ‘smart’ desk can have benefits over doing mathematics on paper.

Lead researcher, Professor Liz Burd, School of Education, said: “Our aim was to encourage far higher levels of active student engagement, where knowledge is obtained by sharing, problem-solving and creating, rather than by passive listening. This classroom enables both active engagement and equal access.”

The ‘Star Trek classroom’ could also help learning and teaching in other subjects.

The Durham University team designed software and desks that recognise multiple touches on the desktop using vision systems that see infrared light. The technology also allows all students to take part as opposed to one individual dominating.

The findings published in the journal Learning and Instruction, show that children who use a collaborative maths activity in

Professor Steve Higgins said: “Technology like this has enormous potential for teaching as it can help the teacher to manage and to orchestrate the learning of individuals and groups of learners to ensure they are both challenged and supported so that they can learn effectively.”

The project has worked with 12 different schools in the North East.

I NTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL COVERAGE including ITV, BBC Radio, The Times, Times of India, Daily Mail, Science and Health (Brazil), Discovery Channel (Canada) and national press throughout Europe.

Spotlight on...

THE WOLFSON RE SE A RC H I N STI TU T

The Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing is the University’s flagship initiative on improving people’s lives thr The core team is based at Queen’s Campus but we have a mission to engage with every research-active academic in the Uni on improving health and wellbeing of human populations in the UK and/or abroad.

We welcome classicists as warmly as psychologists and physicists into our Fellowship, which currently stands at 180 members in 21 departments. This year we have opened up a new scheme for postgraduate research students who will have access to services offered by the Institute as ‘Postgraduate Associates’.

The research interests of the Fellows are extraordinarily diverse, but nonetheless coalesce naturally into three main themes that represent the mission of the Institute: • Tomorrow’s Healthy Adults • Optimising Population Health; • Belief, Understanding and Wellbeing.

Within these themes, the Institute aims to bring researchers together across the disciplines as much as offer support to individual Fellows. As well as offering statistical, ethics, peer-review and other advice to research active staff on a one-to-one basis, we also hold regular networking events, from coffee mornings to workshops and VIP seminars. We engage with Fellows who are unable to attend in person through our website, Research Bulletin and thrice-yearly magazine ‘Engage’.

By simultaneously facing into and away from the University, we are able to facilitate translational activities by engaging with policy actors and practitioners from a range of organisations including local authorities, national government, the NHS, voluntary

services and other stakeholders whose mission aligns with the health/ wellbeing agenda.

Another innovation this year is the formation of so-called Special Interest Groups. These are funded by our Small Grants scheme and are designed to seed the formation of groups of individuals with a common interest but where there is currently no structure within the University on which to pin that common interest. The groups may form around a common methodology (e.g. randomised trials), a particular behaviour (e.g. smoking) or a particular morbidity (e.g. pain). These groups not only act to bring researchers together but are also another vehicle for engaging with the public and other sectors.

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TE F O R H E ALT H AND W E LLB E I N G

rough basic and applied research. iversity whose interests are centred

Next year (April 17th – 18th) will witness our inaugural Research Colloquium, to be held on Queen’s Campus. This event will be an opportunity for Fellows and Postgraduate Associates to showcase their work to each other and external delegates.

The concentration of presentations will build a very rapid but composite picture of how the University approaches research in health and wellbeing. You can read more information about the colloquium on our website, visit www.durham.ac.uk/wolfson.institute Our engagement programme is constantly expanding. Whilst we maintain a strong link to local health services and local government, there are initiatives underway to link the

IMAGES Far left: University staff including Vice-Chancellor Professor Higgins and Institute Director Professor Bambra as well as regional NHS and local government stakeholders recently attended the Institute’s relaunch event and the opening of the new M’Gonigle lecture theatre.

Left: The Wolfson Research facility on the banks of the River Tees at Queen’s Campus, Stockton.

Institute to others across the North of England (e.g. the N8 partnership), across the UK (e.g. the NIHR School for Public Health Research) and the rest-of-the-world (e.g. Africa Regional Interest Group). It is our intention to ensure that there is crossfertilisation of ideas and outputs within and across geographically disparate populations, to bring about substantial improvements to health, reduction in health inequalities and enhanced wellbeing wherever people live.

Find out more... visit www.durham.ac.uk/ wolfson.institute Ext. 40699

Dialogue 27 | January / February 2013

Professor appointed to Banking Standards Commission Professor Richard Harris, Head of Economics, Finance and Accounting, has been appointed as specialist adviser to the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards.

INNOVATION AWARD WIN Durham University has won the coveted Times Higher Education award for Outstanding Contribution to Innovation and Technology for the development of a clean and scalable alternative for production of graphene – the “miracle” substance of nanotechnology.

After pitching his discovery to DBIS, the spin-off company Durham Graphene Science (DGS) was established in 2010.

Two years on, DGS and Professor Coleman are central to a market that is projected to be worth more than £400 million by 2020 and their contribution has been recognised throughout the industry.

Graphene could be used in the aerospace industry, in solar cells, and even to replace batteries in next-generation vehicles and consumer electronics. Karl Coleman, Professor of Chemistry and Nanomaterials, found the existing production methods to be costly, time-consuming and environmentally unfriendly so he opted instead to build graphene from the bottom up.

The award was presented at an event at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on 29th November. Award judge Chris Cobb, chief operating officer and university secretary at the University of London declared it “difficult to overstate the significance of this innovation”.

PROFESSIONAL BODY AWARD FOR ENGINEERING LECTURER

Variable Generation Task Force on probabilistic modelling methods. He has also made a particular contribution in promoting engineering problems within the mathematical sciences community.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology annually present the Mike Sargeant Award to a young professional who is judged to have made the most significant progress in their career over a number of years. This year the award is being given to Dr Chris Dent, Lecturer in Energy Systems Modelling in the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences.

Dr Dent entered power systems engineering in 2006 from a background in mathematics and, in just five years, has become one of the leading academic power engineers in the UK, establishing a worldwide reputation.

Examples of his work include designing the technical modelling for the first GB statutory generation capacity adequacy study, and advising the US Electricity Reliability Corporation Integration of

Above: The Durham University team receive their prestigious innovation award win from actor and writer, David Walliams.

Right: Dr Chris Dent, Lecturer in Energy Systems Modelling in the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences receives the Mike Sargeant Award from the IET President.

The Commission, launched in July 2012, has been tasked, amongst other things, with reporting on the professional standards and culture of the UK banking industry and to make recommendations for improved corporate governance and greater transparency in the sector.

Professor Harris has considerable experience as an expert adviser in the fields of economic and financial public policy. Speaking on his appointment, he said: “Banking and finance play a very important role in the UK. Therefore it is important for us to understand better how the sector impacts on the wider economy, and what lessons can be learned that may lead to improvements leading to higher economic growth and wider prosperity, I’m very proud to be able to contribute to this vital work.”

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Emeritus Reader receives Honorary Award Dr Ian S. Evans, Emeritus Reader in Geography, has been awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by ‘Stefan cel Mare’ University of Suceava (Romania).

This is in recognition of his “scientific merits in the development of Physical Geography, as well as a sign of appreciation of his human merits and the constant support and promotion he has provided for the University and Romanian Geography, in general.”

Dr Evans helped establish the Erasmus link between Suceava and Durham in 1999 and has lectured to a Geography MSc course in Suceava since 2008.

He has given guest lectures at many Romanian Universities, and works closely with geography researchers in Suceava, Timisoara and Lasi.

Right: Paralympic gold medallist and student Lily van den Broecke opens the Durham University Neuroimaging centre, accompanied by Professor Phil Kane (CONFIRM) at the James Cook University Hospital.

Paralympian officially opens new neuroimaging centre Paralympic gold medallist and student, Lily van den Broecke, has officially opened the Durham University Neuroimaging Centre at The James Cook University Hospital. Lily was joined by neurobiologist Professor Colin Blakemore, who specialises in vision and development of the brain.

A joint project between ourselves and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the centre provides state of the art facilities for biomedical research and the very latest technology for patients. We will use the centre to maintain and advance our world reputation for human brain research and the new scanner will be used by clinicians at the James Cook University Hospital for diagnostic scanning and for joint research projects between the hospital and university.

Professor Phil Kane, consultant neurosurgeon at the hospital described it as “an example of how universities and the health service can work together for the good of the community as well as for their own mutual benefit.”

The £1.5 million Siemens 3-Tesla MRI scanner will help patients with conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis or brain tumours who need highly detailed imaging of their brain.

Research projects by our academics include investigations of autism, the brain mechanisms of visual perception and how vision can be impaired as a result of brain damage, and the effects of hormones on the brain.

Second year student Lily said of the machine, “It is thanks to scanners like this that paralympic gold medallist and fellow crew member David Smith was saved from a fatal tumour […] and it is an honour to welcome it to the hospital.”

Dialogue 27 | January / February 2013

REF2014: Preparing the submission is a team effort At the heart of REF2014 there is a huge exercise - collating the data and preparing the submission is a team exercise, so I must acknowledge the amount of work being done by a large number of colleagues across the University.

At the heart of the submission is a series of documents for each Unit of Assessment (UoA).

In recent months academic colleagues have been busy writing the second draft of the submission. This will now be reviewed, first by Faculty panels and then by the REF Steering Group.

This will pave the way for another full draft at the end of May before we move into honing and polishing the final submission, which must be sent to HEFCE by 29th November 2013.

Thus, we are less than a year away from the final submission. There is a lot going on behind the scenes to ensure that we make the best possible submission and I want to provide an insight into some of the things that are happening to ensure Durham University’s submission is the best it can be.

The most challenging element of REF2014 lies in the area of Impact, which is evaluated in two ways; via an impact statement and via case studies.

Recognising the long term importance of Impact, we have a University Impact Strategy, owned by a new Dean of Knowledge Exchange and Impact (Professor Richard Davies), and a Research Impact Co-ordinator (Elaine Grieveson). The Impact Forum, consisting of key staff from the professional service departments, meets regularly to support the longer term Impact Agenda, and considerably more activity is in the pipeline to support this important area of our activities.

The Communications Office is helping to develop impact case studies, providing support in generating narratives and evidence. CIS has developed the REF database, Durham’s information collection tool, which will provide the data to be uploaded to HEFCE. Much work has gone into ensuring the re-use of data held in the University already. Other professional

services staff are supporting all sorts of activities - citation matching for outputs, developing modelling tools to show how each UoA may perform, Equality Impact Assessments required under the Code of Practice - and much more.

In the Research Office we are providing overall co-ordination for the REF Submission. Earlier this year we drafted, redrafted and finally submitted to HEFCE the Code of Practice on Selection of Staff. We have tested HEFCE’s submission system and have input data for HEFCE’s submission intentions survey.

We are co-ordinating the data collection for individual staff circumstances and have arranged, attended and minuted meetings of the REF Steering, Management, Technical and Advisory Groups.

Users have been trained on the REF Database and we have lost count of the number queries and questions answered on all aspects of REF2014.

In conclusion, REF2014 is a team effort. Many people are making their contribution in a variety of ways.

Although we have come a long way, there is still a way to go before November 2013.

We are sure that together we will generate the best possible submission for Durham. Thank you, one and all.

Val Wooff REF Manager

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Event Durham, Retail & Catering

Event Durham Personal invitation to reception at Buckingham Palace Andrea Cairns, Event Durham Manager, attended a reception at Buckingham Palace to recognise her exceptional contribution to the organisation of the lunch hosted at Durham Castle for Her Majesty The Queen and Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, as part of the Diamond Jubilee Royal Tour.

Right: Andrea meets HRH Elizabeth II

Event Durham welcomes new team members Cheryl McCarrick and Sarah Lumley have recently joined Event Durham as Customer Relations Agents.

Both Cheryl (right) and Sarah (left) have several years experience within the conference and events industry. Cheryl has worked as Events Manager at the North East Chamber of Commerce and the Sunderland Marriott Hotel and Sarah was most recently Events Manager at Redworth Hall Hotel.

Venuemasters conference and AGM Staff from Event Durham attended the annual Venuemasters (the National Association of Academic Conference Venues) conference and AGM in November at the University of Warwick.

The event was attended by over 100 delegates from 50 different venues.

The theme for the conference was ‘how to achieve more from your sales and marketing’. Keynote speakers included Lesley Everett, who inspired delegates to consider their own personal brand during her presentation of the internationally acclaimed ‘Walking TALL methodology’, and England Rugby World Cup winner, and dancing on ice champion, Kyran Bracken.

Retail

Catering

Retail Office Winter Reductions

Palatine Centre Restaurant

It’s that time of year again so keep an eye out for exciting reductions on our Online Shop; clothing, accessories, gifts and stationery lines will all be included with up to 50% off the usual RRP.

Take the hustle and bustle out of lunch and book a table within the Palatine Centre restaurant, open 11.30am – 2pm Monday – Friday. To reserve a table please contact Palatine reception on Ext. 46111 or 46110.

Sign up to our newsletter at www.durham.ac.uk/shop to receive notification when our sale launches.

The Palatine first floor restaurant is open 12pm – 2pm Monday – Friday.

To book a table please contact Palatine reception on ext. 46110 or 46111.

This offer will be for a limited time only so make sure you act fast if you’ve got your eye on anything.

Please note this offer is available online www.durham.ac.uk/shop and will include selected lines only.

For more information please contact: Louise Elliott, Ext. 42883 louise.elliott@durham.ac.uk

HR news...

A new interactive e-learning programme focussed towards leaders and managers in universities

aspiring to such roles, face up to and respond in a positive way to the challenges they face.

Durham University is part of a consortium of Universities from across the world working to develop an e-learning resource on leadership and management in universities.

Some parts of the programme focus on practical issues; how to align objectives and resources, how to recruit staff, and how to develop a strategic plan.

Other parts of the course focus on more indeterminate aspects of leadership and management such as motivating high performing teams, how to deal with difficult situations and how to manage conflicting priorities.

The six courses that make up the University Leadership and Management e-learning programme are designed to help leaders and managers, or those

The programme addresses a number of key issues, such as how to build a career in higher education leadership and management and how to deal with higher education leadership and management if it is thrust upon you temporarily.

Each course, which is authored by a leading academic with many years’ experience of leading and managing in the sector, balances practical application with theories and concepts.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE There are six courses to the whole programme: 1. Introduction • T he context and structure of the University Leadership and Management programme • H ow the programme will help to develop the role of the leader.

2. Leadership and Management • W hat makes leadership and management in universities unique?

• E xploration of the similarities and key differences in leadership and management • O pportunities to reflect upon personal approaches • A cquiring and maintaining positive influence.

3. University cultures and organisational management • What is culture in an academic context?

• What culture do you work in and how can you influence it?

• How to navigate the various cultural contexts.

6. Managing Resources

4. Strategic Planning • What is it and why do we do it?

• What is involved in developing a strategic plan?

• How to monitor and review strategic plans to ensure they become a reality.

Each course uses interactive exercises, opportunities to self-reflect, pointers to further reading and where applicable video and audio case-studies.

5. Managing People • How to motivate others • Effective recruitment and selection • Effective performance management • Creating a learning and development culture.

• R oles and responsibilities in the management of resources • The key elements of departmental resources (financial and other resources) • Developing and managing a fair budget • Facilities management.

There are also optional activities that will enhance the learning experience such as documents and checklists to download, as well as useful tips from practitioners.

These are designed to supplement the course material and to encourage participants to further reflect upon their careers and consider what they do and how and why they do it.

HOW TO ACCESS THE COURSE The entire e-learning programme is available to all staff via DUO. You can self-enrol by following the Leadership and Management link under the training courses section of the DUO homepage.

To find out more about the programme you may wish to view a short introductory video which can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl6wpFtTfHM

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CIS news...

CIS has been working on a project on behalf of the Research Office to design and develop a database to record details of the University’s research equipment: the Facilities & Research Equipment Database (FRED).

FRED, launched in October, was developed to comply with the Wakeham Review, which made several key recommendations to ensure the future sustainability and competitiveness of UK research, including encouraging a more intensive use of existing and new assets across the research base.

The aim is to help universities to make more of their resources by encouraging them to share equipment with each other, either across departments internally or externally with other universities.

CIS is delivering FRED in two phases: the first, which was completed in October 2012 involved giving Durham academic staff access to information relating to research equipment here for use which will help them in their research grant applications.

Work has now begun on Phase 2 of the project which will involve creating an externally searchable database of items of equipment which Durham is willing to share. This phase will also involve working with our N8 partners (a consortium of eight research intensive universities in the north) to look at the possibilities of creating a regional database.

The project provides many benefits for Durham including: • E nhanced opportunities for collaboration • C apital efficiencies allowing increased use of equipment and increased departmental income • I ncreased competitiveness and ability to respond rapidly to bids for capital

equipment which often appear at short notice • D urham University researchers will be able to benefit from increased access to information on facilities and equipment.

In addition, it showcases the collaborative work that CIS carries out utilising the expertise of our specialists to deliver services for other departments in addition to our business as usual activities.

For more information about how the FRED project is progressing, take a look at www.fred.dur.ac.uk and to access and search the database if you’re looking for research equipment, please visit: www.durham.ac.uk/research.office/local/ systems/equipment

Experience Durham...

Michaelmas term was packed with musical highlights, showcasing the immense talent of Durham student musicians. Performing in locations around Durham City and beyond, orchestras, bands and choirs stunned audiences with their professionalism and musical ability.

Durham Opera Ensemble’s first show of the academic year, a compilation entitled ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ in the grand surrounds of the Great Hall in Durham Castle.

The show featured pieces from many of opera’s best-loved composers. With a programme that included pieces from Mozart, Gershwin, Handel and Strauss, the show was a musical tour de force and left the audience mesmerised as the final notes of Johann Strauss’ ‘Die Fledermaus’ rang out into the cold Durham night. The Durham Opera Ensemble will next perform Franz Lehar’s, ‘The Merry Widow’ from Wednesday 11th - Sunday 17th February in the Great Hall at Durham Castle.

Renaissance, a small student-led choir with members drawn from the staff and student body, alumni and local community members had a busy term, with a special concert featuring Thomas Luis de Victoria’s Requiem held on Remembrance Sunday in Hild

Bede College Chapel and a Tudor Christmas Concert at Durham Cathedral Chapter House.

The Tunstall Ensemble with the Chapel Choir of University College performed a special concert of Bach pieces in the Great Hall of Castle, Durham Orchestral Society amazed audiences at Van Mildert College in their end of term concert and numerous ensembles performed in festive celebrations.

Well-known Hatfield student jazz band Kinky Jeff and the Swingers, along with Cuth’s Big Band and Basement Jazz helped Student Community Action raise money for their community outreach work as part of their annual Jazz and Wine evening.

Epiphany term promises to be equally exciting and all staff, students and members of the local community are welcome to all student music and theatre performances and more information can be found on www.durham.ac.uk/whatson

Above: Students performing ‘Seven Deadly Sins’.

The Michaelmas Term has been everything we could have asked for and probably a little bit more.

We feature in seven Premier Leagues which is more than any other university in Britain.

Men’s Rugby has continued their incredible league record, as they go into 2013 having extended their winning streak in the Northern Premier League to over two and a half years.

Tennis and Lacrosse have had great starts to the year with both the men’s and women’s teams sat at the top of their respective Premier Leagues. The British Basketball League playoffs are in reach for the Men’s basketball team as they are top of the BUCS Premier League. Women’s hockey also hold joint first place in England Hockey National League North.

On the water the GBR rowing trial results were very promising, especially for the men.

However it has been the Canoe Club who has stolen the BUCS limelight on the water with three golds, one silver and two bronze medals at the WWR Championships.

Find out more...

Visit: www.durham.ac.uk/ experiencedurham

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The Univ

ersity tea

m get set

This year, Durham University Formula Student (DUFS); a student-run team of science and business students from across the University, will seek to design, build and race a fully electric single seat racing car.

The group; part of Team Durham and the School of Engineering and Computing Sciences (ECS), will be contesting in the challenging annual Formula Student competition; an internationally-renowned event organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and held at the Silverstone race track.

It will be the first time that Durham University has entered a car into this prestigious competition and the whole team is relishing the challenge. Anna Campbell, Team Principal, said “The enthusiasm of our members is what makes the project possible; everyone enjoys taking part in creating the car. Whether this is through design, engineering, business, sponsorship, or just

for 2013

getting their hands dirty, everyone gets stuck in and the team ethos is great.�

Having completed their initial design last summer, DUFS entered into the designonly class of the competition last July.

This class of the competition allows teams to enter without cars; to provide initial examination and judging for the designs they intend to make into reality in the coming year.

DUFS presented its plan, including a business model and sustainability report, to panels of judges who praised the innovation that the Durham team showed.

Overall, DUFS placed 5th in the UK; the best position of any new team. Needless to say, the team is looking to build on this success with help and support from new and old students alike, as well as academic advisors from within ECS. The team is also seeking to utilise more sustainable sources and the latest green technologies, a good portion of which are

being researched here in Durham, to create an environmentally friendly racing car for the future. Likewise, the team is keen to emphasise how modern manufacturing and financial processes can be sustainable by creating an economic model which makes excellent use of both the engineering and business knowledge of the team.

With hard work and determination, all of this will hopefully culminate in an even more successful year for DUFS, further developing the team’s skills and abilities in the process.

Greenspace...

A year of monitoring the biodiversity of our campus has revealed the rich diversity of wildlife with whom we share our University grounds. Conservation initiatives over recent years are also helping to boost the number of species using the University.

This summer saw the first successful breeding on our grounds by barn owls, a pair of which fledged three young this year. At least eight Red-listed species – those UK species of highest conservation priority and which have suffered severe population declines nationally – occur on the grounds, along with around 14 Amber-listed species.

In addition, we have at least 200 species of flowering plants, including four species of wild orchid and woodlands full of bluebells and other ancient woodland indicators, with many more plant species waiting to be discovered. The bird list for the University contains 100 species, including five birds of prey and three owl species.

The campus is a haven for mammals, with roe deer, badgers and foxes regularly sighted in the woodlands, though unfortunately the red squirrels

that used to occur in the woods were replaced by grey squirrels over a decade ago. The University also supports six of the eight species of bat recorded in County Durham.

The University Biodiversity Group within Greenspace, which coordinates environmental initiatives and activities across the University, has spent the last two years collating and collecting biodiversity records. This Group is comprised of Steve Ansdell, Allan Watson, Dr Phil Gates and Dr Stephen Willis.

Steve Ansdell, Horticultural Manager, said: “We are fortunate to have a university that is surrounded by so much wildlife. It makes it a great place to work and study, though safeguarding biodiversity in a bustling university can be a challenge at times.”

Find out more... about biodiversity, visit www.durham.ac.uk/ greenspace

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Environment Week 5th-11th November Thank you to everybody who took part in Environment Week.

The week was an opportunity for all University students and staff to engage with environmental issues, to celebrate our environmental progress to date and to explore what we can do to further improve our environmental sustainability.

As well as having an opportunity to make suggestions / ask questions via suggestion boxes located in

the Palatine Centre, Mountjoy, Bill Bryson Library and Ebsworth Building (Queen’s Campus) there were four road shows (in these same buildings) where staff involved in environmental management were on hand to answer any questions. There were also environmental volunteering opportunities as well as guided walks for staff, a bike sale and clinic and many events which took place in Colleges.

Do you know what your carbon footprint is?

In just five minutes you can measure your carbon emissions and receive tips on how to reduce them.

Find out at www.durham.ac.uk/greenspace/cmp/footprint

Environmental Sustainability online training module Have you completed the Environmental Sustainability Training Module yet?

This can be found on DUO, will only take 30 minutes to complete and will help you understand environmental management at the University and the role you play in this. This was remodelled over the Summer to make it shorter and to include our new buildings. We would like every staff and student member to complete this. Everybody who completes the online training module will be entered into a prize draw. There will be two prizes; one for staff and one for students.

The prizes are: Staff A one night stay for two in a suite at the Castle Students £100 University retail voucher The names will be drawn at the start of August 2013 so please complete the training before the end of July 2013. Please remember to press the ‘exit’ button at the end of the course as this will ensure your name is entered into the prize draw.

Recent Environmental Commendations At the 2012 County Environmental Awards the University received two commendations.

One for the ‘Cookers to Contractors’ project in the ‘Greener Business Category’ and one for the ‘Fume Cupboard Energy Reduction Scheme’ in the ‘Climate Change category’.

The ‘Cookers to Contractors’ project (led by University Catering) covered initiatives including colour coding kitchen equipment to save energy, rationalising student menus to reduce carbon emissions and working in partnership with local suppliers.

The ‘Fume Cupboard Energy Reduction Scheme’ (Estates and Buildings and Chemistry Department) involved changing the Chemistry fume cupboard ventilation system and operating hours to make it more carbon efficient and demand driven.

Many congratulations go to all involved in these projects.

Dialogue 27 | January / February 2013

Under investigation Mike Parks

Head of Student Immigration & Financial Support Office

Have you got any pets?

I have a yellow budgerigar called ‘Yellow’.

What are you reading at the moment?

The Editor should know me better than that!

What would you like your epitaph to be?

He tried his hardest, and he did it with a smile.

Which historical figure would you most like to be?

Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. He saved so many lives and gave such an amazing legacy to the world.

What was the first record you bought?

Black is Black by La Belle Époque (I was seven).

What achievement are you most proud of?

Probably my MBA, it was hard work and took over my life for two years!

What was your best subject?

Mathematics, it was the logic of it that attracted me.

When was the last time you laughed and why?

I like to think I laugh all of the time. Life is hard enough, why do it without laughing?

What did you want to be when you were a child?

The professional answer is a solicitor but at the age of six I wanted to be one of the Banana Splits from the Saturday morning TV show.

Where will you be going for your next holiday?

Florida. I try to go three times a year for the golf and the sunshine.

What skill or talent would you most like to acquire?

I would love to play the piano but there have always been other things to do.

Give me a picture of your ideal day: I am very inquisitive and love to travel so being away, anywhere, always makes me happy. If the day ends with a nice meal with family then it just makes it ideal.

DULOG present ‘FAME’ Tuesday 22nd – Saturday 26th January, 7:30pm Matinée performances Wednesday & Saturday 2:30pm Gala Theatre, Durham Durham University Light Opera Group (DULOG) return to the Gala with an energetic production of the hit musical Fame. It’s time to dust off your leg warmers and throw yourself in to the all singing, all dancing world of New York’s celebrated High School for the Performing Arts!

On a scale of 1-10, how much do you care what other people think of you?

Probably about a 6-7. I realised many years ago that you cannot please everybody.

February

What’s your greatest vice?

Definitely chocolate!

Professor Justin Yifu Lin, founder and First Director of the China Center for Economic Research, Former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank, Former Professor of Economics, Peking University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology will talk about his new book entitled Beyond Keynes, to be published by the Cambridge University Press.

What’s your favourite film?

I am a bit of a closet sci-fi geek so films like the Matrix work for me.

Any nicknames?

Probably lots but friends call me ‘crinkle-cut’.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever done?

I once had to guard a toilet for the Queen!

What’s your favourite place in the world?

Madrid, I love the vibrancy of the city and the culture.

Tell me a secret: When I worked in a bar there was a particularly obnoxious customer so I used to hold a bar of soap under his beer as I pulled it. I learnt from that it is not wise to upset bar staff!

What luxury item would you take to a desert island?

It has to be chocolate.

What’s your greatest indulgence?

Probably everything. I am terrible.

If I want something then I get it.

Pass the buck: Finally, who would you like to see in the hot-seat?

Steve Leech in the Foundation Centre.

Beyond Keynes Durham Castle Public Lecture Series Wednesday 6th February

Chinese New Year Gallery Trail Saturday 9th – Sunday 24th February Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, Durham Families are invited to take part in a Chinese Quiz Trail around the museum and make traditional decorations to celebrate Chinese New Year.

March MUSICON Festival of East Asian Music Tuesday 12th & Wednesday 13th March Durham University Music School, Palace Green & Durham Town Hall Building on the success of last year’s ‘bamboo’ themed festival, this year Musicon presents a series of concerts focusing on East Asian song.

Science and Engineering Week: Seeing Stars Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th March Old Fulling Mill Museum of Archaeology Young visitors to the Old Fulling Mill are invited to follow in the footsteps of Nicolas Copernicus and make their own telescope and a working model of the solar system.

For more information on University events go to www.durham.ac.uk/whatson