SPORT SCIENCE & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HEAD OF SCHOOL UPDATE APRIL 2018 This month I have been meeting with students on every one of our undergraduate courses who are taking a professional placement year between their second year and third year. Some of the students are going overseas, whilst others are staying in the UK to work in sport and physical activity. They’ll get a whole year of experience in a professional environment and it’s a great opportunity to learn new skills, develop their CV and gives a significant advantage over other graduates when applying for jobs. It’s an opportunity worth considering.
DR ANDREW MITCHELL
Head of School Sport Science & Physical Activity
DATE FOR YOUR DIARY I invite you to come to the Bedford Campus and talk to us at our next Open Day on Wednesday 4th July. We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have. For more information, go to: www.beds.ac.uk/open-days Or if you have any questions for me in the meantime, please email me on: Andrew.Mitchell@beds.ac.uk
I was recently pleased to spend the evening with a number of students on courses within Sport Science & Physical Activity, as part of the University Sports Scholarship Scheme. I presented scholarships to students that are high level athletes, coaches and referees. To see if you might be eligible for a sports scholarship please go to: www.beds.ac.uk/sportbeds/scholarships/sportscholarships
NEW STAFF This year we are pleased to announce that we have two new staff join the school. Dr Rebecca Jones is a Physiologist and will be teaching on all of the Sport & Exercise Science courses. Whilst Alex Baird will be teaching on the Sport & Physical Education courses.
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL TEAM HEAD TO CHAMPIONSHIPS The University of Bedfordshire’s wheelchair basketball team competed at the Wheelchair Basketball University Championships earlier this year.
STUDENT STORIES LEWIS BURGESS
One of our BA (Hons) Sports Studies students Lewis Burgess has been chosen to represent the Universities National Football team. We are very proud of Lewis and wish him luck.
The team, made up of students from across the University, headed to the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester where they competed with other university teams from across the country. Team captain Dominic La Mura, who is studying BSc (Hons) Sport & Physical Education, said at the time: “I feel proud and honoured to captain this initiative to bring communities together and bring a competitive and fun sport to those who need more opportunities to take part. The build-up has been inspiring and we’ve experienced friendships and growth for what we all bring to the team. I look forward to the fun and exciting weekend at the championships.”
CLUB LA SANTA
Twenty of our students and two staff are off to Lanzarote in a week for a work placement at Club La Santa. They will help organise and manage the Volcano Triathlon, with 450 participants, supporting staff with course set-up and break down, race registration, race day health & safety, aid station supervision and serving as marshals. Three students will secure summer placements to work at the resort and over the years many have secured full time roles. Catch the action from a few years ago on YouTube: https://youtu.be/p8U4hC-P1eQ
YOUTH SPORT TRUST
The developing partnership between the University of Bedfordshire and the Youth Sport Trust (YST) continues to create opportunities for our BSc (Hons) Sport and Physical Education students. Our final year students have been accessing externally provided courses. The first course took place recently at the Alexander Sports Centre, where tutors from the YST National training team delivered the BUPA ‘Start to Move’ course, which focuses on developing physical literacy, whilst supporting the professional development in PE for teachers in primary schools.
STUDENT STORIES ELLIOT PLANT
One of our students on the BSc (Hons) Strength & Conditioning course spent some time working with MK Dons Head of Sports Science Damien Doyle and Assistant Sports Scientist (and Bedfordshire graduate) Tom Bromley. Elliot helped out with the testing of the first team squad’s speed, strength and flexibility. Elliot said “It isn’t every day a chance like this comes along so I’ll be doing as much as possible to learn from this fantastic experience!” For more information, go to: www.mkdons.com/news/article/ dons-undergo-end-of-season-testing-3107492.aspx
ERICA BYRON
One of our BA (Hons) Sport & Physical Education students played for Luton Town Ladies FC in the FA Women’s Premier League Plate Final against West Ham United Ladies FC. Sadly Luton Town lost but we are very proud of Erica’s performance in the match.
JAMES TOBIA
One of our BSc (Hons) Sport Science & Coaching James Tobia students was at the Rio Olympics as a caddy for Russian golfer Maria Verchenova. She shot an Olympic record of 62 in her last round and attracted a lot of media attention.
GRADUATE UPDATES Charlotte Stringer, one of our graduates from the BSc (Hons) Sport Science & personal Training degree stayed on with us last year to complete her MSc by Research looking into blood glucose response to interrupted sitting time in overweight and obese adults. I am delighted to share that Charlotte has just accepted a job as a research assistant at the Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Science. Stephanie White, one of our graduates from the BSc (Hons) Sport and Physical Education degree stayed on with us last year to complete her MSc by Research looking into sedentary behaviour and cardiometabolic risk in children. I am delighted to share that Stephanie has just been offered a fully funded PhD by the Positive Ageing Research Institute. The project is looking at digital behaviour change interventions to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour in older adults. One of our graduates, Bert Klemmer, came to the UK from Estonia four years ago to study for a BA (Hons) Sport Development & Management degree. After graduating with a First Class Honours degree, Bert is now studying for an MA Leadership and Management of Sport and Physical Activity, here in Bedford. He know works for Teams Beds & Luton and he recently shared his experience of working full-time, whilst studying for a masters degree. www.teambedsandluton.co.uk/ blog/2018/01/doing-masters-degreewhilst-working-full-time
DID YOU KNOW? Six months after graduation 100% of our BSc (Hons) Sport & Exercise Science students and 97% of our BA/BSc (Hons) Sport & Physical Education Students were in employment or graduate study.
PROFESSIONAL PLACEMENT YEARS I wanted to share a story about one of our students, that I think you’ll find really interesting, Megan Edwards is studying on the BSc (Hons) Sport & Exercise Science. In her first year, she did a strength and conditioning (S&C) placement at the Bedford Blues RFC. In her second year she did a summer long placement at La Santa in Lanzarote. In her Professional Placement Year (also known as a Sandwich Year) she worked as the lead S&C intern and sports massage therapist at the Western Force, who are a super rugby franchise based in Perth in Australia. Have a read of her amazing story. www.timeshighereducation. com/student/blogs/benefitsinternational-placement-during-yourdegree Now Megan is back in Bedford for her third year, she is doing her dissertation as part of a placement with Saracens RFC, whilst working part time for RP-X, which is a company selling Fitness, Health and Wellness products. I’m sure you’ll agree, that along with a great degree, Megan is going to graduate with a huge amount of work experience across a wide variety of sectors. Just think… That could be you in a few years time, if you sign up for one of our courses here in Bedford!
BSc SPORT AND EXERCISE SCIENCE I was really pleased to get some feedback on our BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science students on placement with Bedford and County Athletics Club. “The support from the students continues to be invaluable and the new ones are proving to be highly capable. We will again encourage as many of them as possible to seek formal UKA Athletics Coach qualification, which the club will again cover the fees for. I also keep in touch with previous students who have helped with coaching and its encouraging to see that they are I full time, relevant employment, and utilizing their qualifications and experiences as athletics coaches.”
DAVID CHESHIRE Coach
Over the last two years we have risen 12 places (2016) and 11 places (2017) in the University League Tables for Sport Science. We rank above a number of our significant local and national competitors.
BSc SPORT SCIENCE & COACHING I This season, three of our BSc (Hons) Sport Science & Coaching students have been working with the Bedfordshire Football Association. They worked on a variety of projects and received great feedback. “They’ve been fantastic this season and we’ll continue to provide them with valuable networking experiences in professional football.”
JAMES PETTY
Playing the Game Manager
THE SPIRIT OF RUGBY A number of our students on the BA (Hons) Sport Development & Management are working with Senior Lecturer, Stuart Wilson, on a project supported by the Rugby Football Union. The Spirit of Rugby project will use the inspiration of Rugby World Cup 2015 and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games to involve groups of young people from communities not traditionally engaged in rugby.
DID YOU KNOW? We sat down with some of our
placement students and they shared their experiences? Check out the videos on YouTube below.
DOYIN
youtu.be/mNe6y9QfmMg
MEGAN
youtu.be/N3263NlEMkg
FRANK
youtu.be/lRYX5GzNtEI
BA FOOTBALL STUDIES This year, students on the BA (Hons) Football Studies course were joined in lectures by a group of students from Linfield College in Portland, Oregon, USA. The American students spent two days with us at the University of Bedfordshire, including an afternoon trip to the MK Dons stadium, as part of a three week educational trip around England. I also took them to the Arsenal versus Chelsea Premier League match at Emirates Stadium.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY We would like to invite you to the following events taking place at our Bedford campus.
USING YOUR SPORT DEGREE
From elite football to prisons, come to our event and discover where your degree can take you. To book a place, get in touch with rebecca.jones@beds.ac.uk Speakers include recent graduates who have entered the world of work, as well as other industry professionals, including: Chris Goddard (Physical Education Officer with Her Majesty’s Prison Service) Joe Brooks (Sport Science & Personal Training and MRes graduate, Gym Manager) Abe Kerr (Rugby player agent) Craig Grant (Worked in Premiership football before leaving to set up his own sports therapy clinic) Jason Hamilton (Sport Science & Personal Training graduate, Personal Trainer at The Grove Hotel)
HUMAN PERFORMANCE Athletes underwent heat acclimation sessions in the University’s Human Performance Centre, which replicates the conditions they will face during the Marathon Des Sables, a six day running event where competitors cover around 150 miles through the Sahara Desert in Morocco. The sessions, overseen by Dr Jeff Aldous, who teaches on BSc (Hons) Sport & Exercise Science, involved running on a treadmill in our environmental chamber, where the atmosphere can be controlled to maintain a temperature between 35-40 °C and 40% relative humidity. www.beds.ac.uk/news/2017/april/ athletes-use-bedfordshires-sportslab-to-prepare-for-desert-marathon
DATE: 4th May TIME: 1-4pm LOCATION: G2.11 The University of Bedfordshire opened up its sports labs to help an athlete prepare for a gruelling 153 mile race in the unforgiving Greek heat. Ian Hammett from Northamptonshire took part in the Spartathlon, an exhausting 153 mile race from Athens to Sparta in Greece, a distance that athletes must cover in 36 hours. To help him prepare for the conditions he faced during the race, Ian trained in the heat acclimatisation chamber at the University’s Human Performance Centre at the Bedford campus. www.beds.ac.uk/news/2017/ september/university-helps-runnerian-train-like-a-spartan-for-gruellingrace
To book, visit: unibeds.info/ISPAR18
Dr Julia Zakrzewski-Fruer a Lecturer on the BSc (Hons) Health, Nutrition & Exercise had her research included in Public Health England’s weekly Obesity Knowledge Update. The update highlights new research, reports, resources and news relating to obesity and its determinants. The research was also published in the International Journal of Obesity Supplements and examined the associations between breakfast frequency and adiposity indicators in children.