Newsletter - Issue 5

UNIVERSITY OF SUFFOLK NEWS

WELCOME

‘To everything there is a season’

As memories of our fantastic summer weather fade and autumn approaches it feels like we are entering a new season of our journey here at the University.

The time of year that Keats called the ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’, autumn is a season famous for its harvest time, alongside an association with endings such as turning and falling leaves, cooling temperatures and darkening nights.

However, in the world of higher education autumn is a season for beginnings. There is the start of our academic year when new students join us, new programmes start and we have our graduation ceremonies. I always love graduation; it enables the whole university to celebrate the successes of our students, sharing in their joy and pride. It allows us the opportunity to reflect on the contributions we make as they start on the next phase of their lives. Congratulations to all our graduating students and enjoy your new beginnings, wherever your journey takes you next.

This year we are excited to be welcoming our first Chancellor, Dr Helen Pankhurst, as she begins her association with us, a champion for us and a willing ambassador. One of the things that drew Helen to work with us was our ambition for transformation and change; if her forebears alongside others such as Suffolk’s Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Millicent Fawcett, had not been willing to challenge and change, often at considerable personal cost, then our society would be considerably poorer as a result.

In her book ‘Deeds not Words’ Helen not only looks at the progress we have made but at the progress we still need to make as a society. I commend the book to you—maybe one for the Christmas reading list—but more than that I ask you to reflect on the title of the book in relation to our purpose here at the University of Suffolk. We pride ourselves as an academic institution on our ability to use words to good effect and clearly, the opportunity to have robust academic debate to shape our future is welcome and important. However, we should also reflect on the need to act as well as speak. The task and finish groups we have set in motion around our core purpose of learning and teaching, as well as those that are considering the wider student experience, not only need to dialogue to reach conclusions and recommendations but need to move to act on these. Our aim is that by the time we are considering the start of the 2019/20 academic year, we will have brought transformational change to our students and to us as an institution on the next stage of our journey.

So as well as enjoying the beautiful autumn colours and being thankful for the Earth’s harvest, lets embrace the new beginnings we are creating here at the University of Suffolk and be a community that is known for being creative in word and deed.

Professor Helen Langton Vice-Chancellor

Access to Justice

The University has published research examining the impact of magistrates’ court closures in the county.

Commissioned by Suffolk’s Public Sector Leaders, the research entitled ‘Access to Justice: Assessing the impact of the Magistrates’ Court Closures in Suffolk’, follows the closure of the Magistrates’ Courts in Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds at the end of 2016. This left the county with only one courthouse, in Ipswich.

The University was tasked with looking at what short-term impacts the court closures had on the county, one that is mostly rural, covers nearly 1,600 square miles, has over 480 villages and hamlets and large towns of Ipswich, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and with a population of around 750,000 people

Dr Olumide Adisa undertook the research and presented her findings in front of legal professionals, members of the judiciary, Police, Probation, academics, and public sector leaders at an event at the University.

Dr Adisa said, “The study results revealed that the court closures are aggravating issues already present in the system. The research found that geographic accessibility to the courts was a significant barrier to access to justice. The court closures have led to a doubling of time costs for defendants and their witnesses, living further away from Ipswich. The court data revealed that more defendants

The Hold

Building work to create The Hold started over the summer months. The Hold will be opened in early 2020 and will provide a home for the majority of Suffolk’s unique archival collections, as well as state-of-the-art public facilities and teaching spaces for the University. More than just a building, it will drive a countywide programme of archivesinspired activities and events, and will transform the way the Archives Service reaches communities around Suffolk with its outreach work.

are failing to appear for their court hearing in more remote areas of Suffolk, where people have to travel huge distances.”

Dr Adisa added, “Access to justice is a fundamental human right. Yet, this would be the first commissioned academic study into the impact of the court closures on access to justice. This commissioned research, funded by the Suffolk Public Sector Leaders group signifies a strong commitment to understanding the impacts of the court closures in Suffolk using a robust evidence base. It is exciting to see that Suffolk’s Public Sector Leaders are drawing on the research findings to develop a robust action plan for those most affected by the court closures in the county.“ „ The Executive Summary

The Hold is a partnership project between Suffolk County Council and the University and has received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is supported by two local charities: Suffolk Archives Foundation and Friends of Suffolk Record Office.

On the last page of this newsletter there is an image showing an impression of how The Hold will look when completed

can be found here „ A copy of the full report can be found here

‘I’ll be a survivor for the rest of my life’ Research

by the University of Suffolk and Survivors in Transition

The University and local support charity Survivors in Transition have published research looking at the impact of ‘delayed disclosure’ and access to services for those who have experienced sexual abuse in their childhood.

The research entitled ‘I’ll be a survivor for the rest of my life’ follows the publication of ‘Focus on Survivors: See Me, Hear Me, Believe Me’ by the University and the charity in 2015.

The 2015 report was based on an online survey and concluded that ‘poor service can have a long-term impact and represent a barrier to support for survivors. In contrast, a good service response can result in survivors coming to a point of recovery or resolution sooner in their lives’.

Following these findings, this latest study followed a qualitative route; based on in - depth life biography style interviews with 28 adult survivors of child sexual abuse who volunteered to share their experiences of support services.

The interviews, some lasting over three hours, yielded rich, detailed descriptions of survivors trying to access help and support and their experiences of services. The study aimed to develop a deeper understanding of each survivor’s

experiences of disclosure, accessing services, the support they had received, what they felt ‘worked’ in terms of effective support and good practice and how survivors consider support services can be improved.

Many survivors spoke about the barriers to disclosure and the impact of delayed disclosure. The over reliance on medication and the limitations of time-limited interventions were highlighted, as well as the dearth of available specialist support services.

The findings suggest that specialist support which is available is often poorly signposted by professionals and, as a result, survivors battle for years, even decades with mental health issues as a direct consequence of delayed disclosure and inappropriate service provision.

Fiona Ellis, Founder and CEO of Survivors in Transition, said, “Our joint research highlights how hearing the voice of the survivor, is critical for a whole system change by all services that survivors of childhood sexual abuse come into contact with. By listening to individual survivor’s journeys, we have gained so much insight into how the system responds and what we can do to make these responses more effective and ensure positive experiences and timely support for all survivors going forward.”

The research was endorsed by Kate Davies OBE, NHS England’s Director of Health & Justice, Armed Forces and Sexual Assault Services Commissioning. She said, “The quality of your partnership work is a national example of good practice.”

NEWS AND UPDATES

National recognition for MA Fine Art students

Students from the MA in Fine Art degree have been receiving national recognition for their work.

Lorraine MacDonald Griffin has been presented with a prestigious award by the Lavenham Community Land Trust to provide the first public art installation on the Peek Close housing development in Lavenham.

The Trust said Lorraine met in full the brief to create a work or a series of works that will be broadly appealing for both residents and visitors alike and be functional.

In developing her proposal she was required to investigate Lavenham—its history, settlements, landscape and wildlife—in order to create a work that best reflects this unique area.

Lorraine has recently completed an artist commission for the National Trust at Sutton Hoo. The completed work consists of ten hanging double-sided sandblasted timber droplets depicting twenty of the many objects excavated from an Anglo-Saxon ship burial on the site in 1939.

Student John Ferguson’s photographic images from his final major project were shortlisted for the British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Britain 2018. His portrait of Michael Fuller, Chief Constable of Kent Police Force and Britain’s highest ranking Black Police officer at the time, was also selected to be part of the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection and archives.

Ipswich Town players benefit from University’s facilities

First team players at Ipswich Town Football Club used the University’s Human Performance Laboratory in the James Hehir Building for pre-season fitness analysis.

Several of our Sport Science degrees are run in partnership with Ipswich Town but this is the first time the Club has used the facilities with first team players.

Jimmy Reynolds, Head of Sport Science and Medicine at Ipswich Town Football Academy, explains, “We have been progressing the interaction between the University students with the Academy for a number of years and as we progress forwards there are ample opportunities for students to be exposed to the first team setting as well.”

Michael Fuller by John Ferguson

Suffolk hosts Storytelling Conference with an international audience

The University has held its first conference exploring the diverse nature of storytelling. The two-day Storytelling Conference attracted delegates from across the world, including as far away as Australia and a large contingency from Canada.

The Conference was organised by the School of Psychology and Education and Suffolk Business School. It follows last year’s Children and Childhoods Conference, which attracted delegates from over twenty countries.

Senior Lecturer Dr Sarah Richards was one of the organisers “Our aspiration for this conference was to immerse ourselves and our delegates in the diversity of storytelling and to embrace its application across disparate academic disciplines. The presentations, posters and installations that we have experienced at the conference have allowed this aspiration to be realised and we are grateful to all who came and shared their stories.”

The conference brought together academics, researchers and students, to theoretically and empirically engage with the nature and applications of storytelling.

League table and survey performance

National Student Survey

Twelve courses scored 90% or above for Overall Satisfaction in this year’s National Student Survey: History, Sport and Exercise Science, English, Diagnostic Radiography, Bioscience, Computer Games Programming, Mental Health Nursing, Psychology and Early Childhood Studies, Social Work, Criminology, Graphic Design and Communication Design and Operations Engineering provision.

Other courses made significant improvements on previous years.

Sport and Exercise Science went up by 13% to 95%, Mental Health Nursing went up by 5% to 91%, Social Work went up by 13% to 90%, Criminology went up by 13% to 90%, while History maintained 100%.

Destination of Leavers from Higher Education

95% of University of Suffolk graduates are in employment or further study six months after graduation according to figures by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

The University has maintained its position in the league table from last year.

Several courses scored 100% including Event Management and Tourism Management, Social Work, Counselling, Sport and Exercise Science, Fine Art, English and many of our health courses.

The Sunday Times and The Times Good University Guide 2019

The University has been ranked 13th in the country for social inclusion which takes into account the make-up of our student body, for example mature students, those from working class backgrounds and from state schools.

Professor Yiannis Gabriel from the University of Bath gave the keynote address on the first day entitled ‘Narrative Ecologies in Post-Truthful Times.’

The second day of the conference began with a keynote address by Professor Ken Plummer of the University of Essex. He addressed delegates with ‘Six Stories in Search of a Better World: On Narrative Power’. Delegates also heard from academics from Hong Kong, Germany and Canada.

NEWS AND UPDATES

International links

Dutch Delegation

A delegation of trade officials from the Dutch province of Drenthe have visited the county to discuss opportunities for inward investment, trade and collaboration on research and development.

Gijs Meijer, Strategic Advisor International Affairs and Trade, Eric Hoppenbrouwer, Strategic Advisor in Investor Relations and Frederik Hillbolling, Export and Business Advisor, were hosted by New Anglia LEP.

As part of the visit the group went to BT’s Global Research and Development headquarters at Adastral Park and the University’s Ipswich Waterfront Innovation Centre (IWIC). A further visit is being planned for the autumn.

Canadian Partnership

The University has successfully secured a partnership with the University of New Brunswick in Canada.

Students and staff will be able to benefit from an exchange programme, called Erasmus+, thanks to European Union funding. It is the first exchange partnership for the University in North America and will span two years.

Izabela Hutchins, Student Opportunities Manager and Erasmus+ Coordinator, said, “We are pleased to secure the funding for the University to support mobility to and from Canada for students and staff. We look forward to seeing the enhancement of the student experience, as well as engagement with new fields of international teaching and research.”

“Our project has received a high score from independent assessors in the EU Commission who recognised the impact in strengthening internationalisation, increasing mobility participation and broadening the perspectives of participants.”

Students have benefitted from periods of study in 19 countries including Spain, Greece, Italy, Belgium, Romania, Finland, Sweden and Germany.

NEWS AND UPDATES

International links

Exchange Programme for Nursing Students with Keio University, Japan

Every year the School of Health Sciences hosts a study tour for 12 student nurses and two academic staff from Keio University in Tokyo. During their time with us, the students attend a wide range of lectures and have the opportunity to visit a range of health care provision in the local area.

This year the programme ran from 5–11 September, and on their first day, the Japanese students joined the 09/17 cohorts for a discussion on the ‘Impacts of loneliness and Social Isolation on Health in Japan’. Associate Professor Tomoko Koike from Keio University presented to the group on the current provision and the challenges that social isolation brings in their country. The Keio students then gave a lively and interesting presentation of Japanese culture to the University of Suffolk students which was enjoyed by all.

Over the course of the next 7 days the students, accompanied by Associate Professor Koike and their interpreter, Associate Professor Rika Fujiya, the group visited two Acute Trusts (Ipswich and West Suffolk), two hospices (EACH and St Elizabeth’s) and a nursing home (Baylham), and we are grateful to our partners for once again accommodating the Keio group. The study tour also included a range of lectures delivered by University of Suffolk academic staff and on their last day the Keio students were presented with certificates by Dr Samantha Chenery-Morris, Head of Subject: Nursing and Midwifery, Lead Midwife for Education and Course Leader BSc (Hons) Midwifery.

In February 2019, Keio University will host four students from the University of Suffolk along with others from the USA, Korea, China as well as Japan to take part in their annual study tour. Keio University is a private, leading research university located in central Tokyo and is the oldest institute of modern higher education in Japan with 33,500+ students and 2,250+ staff. The University has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa, and has ten faculties and 30 Research Centres. Interestingly, their Hiyoshi Campus is also one of the preparation camps for TeamGB Tokyo 2020.

Paul Driscoll-Evans Dean of School for Health Sciences

STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS

Terrie Cornwell-Dunnett

Terrie Cornwell-Dunnett who works in External Relations and is studying part time on the Special Educational Needs and Disability Studies degree at the University, was presented with two awards in the recent Suffolk Adult Learners’ Awards.

Terrie was awarded ‘Inspirational Learner of the Year’ and then chosen by the panel in the final award of the evening being named the ‘Outstanding Learner of the Year’.

Chloe Sage

As well as the Suffolk Adult Learners’ Awards, Terrie was selected in June this year as the winner of the Festival of Learning Patron’s Award for her exceptional achievement in adult learning.

Chloe Sage, a Disability and Wellbeing Adviser within Student Services at the University, has completed seven UK based Ultra Marathons.

Starting in May and finishing last month, Chloe completed the challenges, each 100km (62 miles) long, for Cancer Research UK and Alzheimer’s Society.

Chloe has overcome many obstacles throughout her life as she explains, “When I was 18 years old, I was taken seriously ill with Henoch Schonlein Purpura vasculitis. I was on steroids and immunosuppressant medication for many years and had times when I had to use a wheelchair. I had a stroke-like attack in 2000, which affected my short-term memory and left me with permanent pins and needles down my entire right side.”

Before becoming ill Chloe was studying a Mathematics degree at Leicester University. Her illness led to her pursuing her love of art and she graduated from Suffolk College in 2007 with a First Class (Hons) Fine Art/ History and Theory of Visual Art degree.

“If you had told me 19 years ago that I would one day be able to take on the challenge of walking 100km (62.1 miles), I would never have believed it to be possible.”

Chloe’s fundraising pages are still live if you would like to sponsor her. Please visit „ www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/Chloe-Sage01 and „ www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/Chloe-Sage02

PUBLICATIONS

Sport Scientist announced as Associate Editor of leading journal

Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching and Course Leader for BSc (Hons) Strength and Conditioning, Dr Marco Beato, has been announced as the Associate Editor of The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research.

The editorial mission of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (JSCR) is to advance the knowledge about strength and conditioning through research. A unique aspect of the journal is that it includes recommendations for the practical use of research findings.

While the journal’s name identifies strength and conditioning as separate entities, strength is considered a part of conditioning.

Dr Beato said of his appointment as Associate Editor, “It is a great achievement because this journal is the reference for strength and conditioning coaches worldwide. Moreover, I believe that our BSc in Strength and Conditioning will benefit from my new position.”

Dr Beato is a UEFA qualified football coach and sport scientist. He has worked in several professional football clubs as a coach, including work with sport science, and strength and conditioning departments. Currently, he provides sport science support for Ipswich Town FC Academy, specialising in football coaching.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor publishes book on Smart Futures, Challenges of Urbanisation, and Social Sustainability

Professor Mohammad Dastbaz has worked in partnership with Professor Wim Naudé from The Maastricht School of Management and Dr Jamileh Manoochehri from De Montfort University on the publication.

The book, entitled Smart Futures, Challenges of Urbanisation, and Social Sustainability, tackles the challenges posed by accelerating urbanisation, and demystifies Social Sustainability, the least understood of all the different areas of sustainable development.

Professor Dastbaz said, “Large migrations from rural areas to cities without appropriate planning and infrastructure improvements, including housing, education and health care optimisation, have created significant challenges across the globe. In our book we suggest technology-rich strategies to meet these challenges by careful application of data on population growth and movement to the planning, design, and construction of operational infrastructures that can sustainably support our increasingly rapid population growth.”

Festival of Social Science

The University of Suffolk has been selected to take part in this year’s Festival of Social Science, run by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Now in its sixteenth year, the Festival is the UK’s biggest celebration of social science.

It runs nationally from 3-10 November and involves public debates, conferences, workshops, film screenings and virtual exhibitions.

The aim is to highlight the impact of social science research on people’s lives and the University of Suffolk will be hosting two events for the public.

The ‘Approaches to Reducing Domestic Abuse’ conference, on 3 November, will discuss community-based approaches to tackling the issue.

The event will present findings and ongoing work from various research projects on domestic abuse from the University of Suffolk and the University of Essex, to highlight learning from local provision as well as sharing good practice.

The University will also be hosting a dementia-focused event as part of the Festival.

‘ Movement and Memories: Exploring Perceptions of Dementia’ will be held on 10 November.

The event will be run in partnership with Orwell Housing Association and Sue Ryder. The event will revolve around performances from the internationally acclaimed physical theatre company, Gecko who will draw on the experiences of those living with dementia and carers.

The event will include the presentation of preliminary findings from the evaluation of the Sue Ryder ‘Dementia Together’ service by researchers at the University of Suffolk. Themes will revolve around personal stories, the arts and dementia and service provision, including speakers from the arts organisations and services working directly with people living with dementia and their carers.

IWIC

The Ipswich Waterfront Innovation Centre are hosting several events over the coming months including the Women in Enterprise Speaker Series

Dr Soraya Jones, the founder CEO of Cambridge Wireless (CW), the leading UK premier cluster for the technology sector, will be speaking on 25 October from 10.00am–12.00 noon.

EVENTS Open Lecture Series

The University’s Open Lecture Series is a high quality events programme featuring world-renowned speakers, showcasing academic excellence both inside and outside the University. The events include conversations with lectures and guest lectures by experts across a wide range of disciplines.

Waterfront Gallery

PROCESSIONS

Thursday 25 October–Sunday 4 November 2018

In this special exhibition for the Spill Festival, 100 banners created around the UK for PROCESSIONS will be shown as a trail at various locations across Ipswich including at the University.

PROCESSIONS was a mass participation artwork to celebrate 100 years of votes for women. It was an open invitation to every woman and girl across the UK to get involved by being present on Sunday 10 June 2018 in one of the four UK capitals: Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh or London; inspired by the great processions of the suffragettes and suffragists in the years leading up to 1918, who marched to demand the vote.

The programme sells out quickly so be sure to visit the website for the latest line up of speakers and to secure your place.

Anna Airy Award 2018

Saturday 17–Wednesday 28 November 2018

The University is delighted to work in collaboration with Ipswich Arts Society to host the Anna Airy 2018 Exhibition and Awards. The exhibition features works from artists aged 16 - 20 and is named in memory of Anna Airy.

The exhibition has run since 1964 to promote young and emerging talent. It attracts over a hundred of entries from schools and colleges in the area.

PROCESSIONS 2018 London, an Artichoke Project Commissioned by 14-18 NOW.

Photo by Sheila Burnett124

Game Anglia

After the success of last year’s Game Anglia event, nearly 500 game developers from around the world will once again gather at the University for what promises to be the biggest game development conference the region has ever seen.

Expanding on the last event, Game Anglia 2018 will broaden from one to two simultaneous tracks of talks in two lecture theatres. Even more fully playable indie games from across the globe will be on display in the foyer area, free to the public.

Associate Professor Rob Kurta said, “The University is delighted to be hosting the largest gathering of game developers in the East of England. The line-up brings together both Industry veterans and social media celebrities in a fascinating day of talks. Together with an open indie showcase this is a day that all gamers can look forward to with something for everyone. Game Anglia is run by Alumni and students on our Games Degrees and this event is a clear demonstration of their entrepreneurial flair.”

To find out more and to book tickets go to www.gameanglia.co.uk