Now and Then Issue #16

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON’S ALUMNI NETWORK

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT THE FUTURE OF UEL

UEL GOES STATESIDE

JUST EAT BRAND BOARD ADVISOR

MAT BRADDY

ZSL LONDON ZOO, ZOOLOGICAL MANAGER

MARK HABBEN

Issue 16, Spring 2015

UEL Alumni Network Editor Charlie Tyce Design UEL Design & Publications Department Cover Mat Braddy, Brand Board Adviser JustEat plc and UEL Alumnus Print and Distribution Sure Print Services

©Now and Then 2015

About Now and Then is a publication of the Alumni Network at the University of East London. It is a platform for graduates and friends across the globe to stay in touch with their university, and maintain relationships with former classmates and the wider UEL community. We aim to provide opportunities for communication, friendship and involvement.

Contact us Alumni Network, University of East London, Docklands Campus, University Way, London, E16 2RD alumni@uel.ac.uk +44 (0)20 8223 2222 uel.ac.uk/alumni

W

elcome once again to the UEL alumni magazine, Now & Then. We hope you enjoy reading this edition which is full of interesting and thought-provoking articles.

Our ambition is to become London’s leading university for Civic Engagement, a theme we know our graduates embrace throughout their lives, even after they have left us. We hope this edition of Now & Then reflects this and encourages you to get involved with our work taking place in the heart of our local communities. You can read more about UEL’s ambitious Civic Engagement plan on pages 4 to 7.

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facebook.com/uelalumni @UELAlumni youtube.com/videoUEL LinkedIn Search for UEL Alumni Network under groups and click join!

Subscribe For the latest news and interviews subscribe to our YouTube channel.

EVENTS ay. In our both home and aw ts en ev g in st ho en the The team has be l our tr avel s and can read about al u yo n io ct se ts recent even et along the way. alumni we have m UCH ep up-toKEEP IN TO h with UEL and ke uc to in ay st to s way only shows you a There are lots of gs. Now & Then in en pp ha st te la the time to date with the L. Please do take UE at s th on m w fe , social media sites snippet of the last th us and join our wi ils ta de t ac nt e. nc update your co L alumni experie enjoy the full UE to le ab e ar u yo so that

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26 CONTENTS 04

COVER STORY Civic Engagement – The Future of UEL

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UEL News

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COVER STORY Mat Braddy – Brand Board Advsior, JustEat plc

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Graduate Transitions

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SeqUEL

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Research Updates

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COVER STORY Mark Habben – Zoological Manager, ZSL London Zoo

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COVER STORY UEL goes Stateside

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Recent Events

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10 minutes with Tomas Januska

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Our ambition is clear. We want to become London’s leading university for Civic Engagement.

We pride ourselves in the knowledge that students take their learning out of the classroom and into the community. We work in the heart of our communities to deliver solutions to the challenges they face.

Our unique position in East London offers us a huge variety of challenges and opportunities. We are a ‘living lab’ offering a unique environment for learning and teaching as well as applied research, enterprise and innovation. Our students and staff get involved with enthusiasm and skill, learning and developing their academic and life skills.

Our world-class research has a real-life impact as we strive to make a difference.

Read on to see stories of students and graduates who have played their part in our Civic Engagement story.

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“You see the th learning about and you’re reading abo happ

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leanor McGill graduated from UEL in International Development with Anthropology in 2014.

Studying at UEL gave her many opportunities to take her learning outside the classroom, including three study trips to Uganda with the help of the Going Global fund.

An engaged and highly-motivated student, Eleanor seized the opportunities UEL offered, including Shark Stopping, a campaign which aimed to raise awareness of predatory money lenders amongst students to prevent them from being exploited.

Eleanor was also able to become a Money Mentor and was paid

by UEL to deliver financial

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literacy classes to local sixth form students. This gave her the chance to work towards combating financial exploitation by encouraging young people to be more aware of money issues.

“Through studying at UEL I got more than a degree,” said Eleanor. “It opened up the many opportunities for me in both the UK and abroad. These opportunities not only helped me to enhance my CV but also helped me learn what I was passionate about and led me into the job I am in now.

“If I had the choice again, I would choose UEL because of the invaluable experiences it gave me.”

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hings you’re d the things out pening before you.”

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EL politics alumna Alice Prescott’s feet haven’t touched the ground since she graduated in 2014.

Encouraged by her dissertation supervisor, Steve Hebden, she wrote to her local MP asking for work experience at the end of her second year.

Rushanara Ali MP quickly responded and asked her to work in her office for a week. A week turned into a summer and the voluntary work turned into a permanent job as soon as Alice graduated, proving that real-life experience is an invaluable asset as a new graduate.

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At present, Alice splits her time between working as Rushanara Ali MP’s diary secretary, looking after all of her press and media commitments, and working in her Bethnal Green Constituency office as her Campaign Manager.

“You see the things you’re learning about and the things you’re reading about happening before you,” said Alice. “I would definitely advise students to try and get all the active experience you can alongside your degree.

The voluntary work is just so valuable – it’s really worth just putting yourself out there. People do want your help and people do want to offer opportunities.”

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Access to graduate jobs CV & application checking Volunteering opportunities Professional mentoring Mock interviews Careers counselling Internships & Placements We’re dedicated to ensuring both UEL students and recent graduates get the very best support to enter into the world of work.

If you are interested in gaining support from the team and graduated from UEL within the last 2 years then check out uel.ac.uk/eet Or if you are in a position to help others by being a speaker, mentor or placement provider, then please get in touch at eet@uel.ac.uk as the team is always looking for inspirational alumni to help students progress to the next level.

Careers & Student Employability

UEL

s w e N All the latest happenings from UEL, keep up-to-date with what has been going on at your University.

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EARLY CHILDHOOD STUDENTS PARTNER WITH BARNARDO’S FOR TOY DRIVE

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n partnership with children’s charity Barnardo’s, early childhood students have distributed toys to low-income children in East London. Cass students recently collected the toys from vendors at Toy Fair 2015, the UK’s only dedicated toy, game and hobby trade show.

The toys have now been donated to nurseries, children’s centres, hospital wards and other places.

Cass students were asked to nominate and make a case for the donation locations.

“Barnardo’s is something myself and my family have supported for years. My mum was actually in a Barnardo’s children’s home years ago and I’ve often donated to the charity but it’s really nice to be involved and actually be making a difference, “third-year student Taisha Bailey said.

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“On my module, we’ve learned that children learn through play.

And a lot of children don’t have toys or don’t have access to toys and if you can provide toys it will help them enrich their childhood.

It makes all the difference,” Taisha said.

Francesca Zanatta, lecturer in early childhood studies, said:

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“They will understand and learn how to make a difference which is ultimately what we want for students. And they’ve just been fantastic and really enthusiastic and really motivated in making sure all the teaching that is happing at UEL has some kind of meaning also for the local community and not just for the student themselves.”

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he University of East London is embarking on a pioneering new research programme with Barts Health NHS Trust, the UK’s largest NHS Trust, to help transform antenatal care across East London and the wider area.

The five-year multi-institutional research programme is part of a £1.9m research grant from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and targets socially-disadvantaged and ethnically diverse communities who currently experience some of the worst maternal and infant outcomes. It is being led by Professor Angela Harden, a community and family health expert at UEL’s Institute for Health and Human Development.

The team’s work will include developing and evaluating a community-based intervention designed to encourage women to get the full benefits from

their antenatal care, including accessing care as early as possible in their pregnancy, through a peer support network.

UEL TO HELP TRANSFORM ANTENATAL CARE IN EAST LONDON

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Professor Harden said: “We know how important early uterine development is for determining the future life course of babies, yet there are huge inequalities in early and consistent uptake of antenatal care. This research programme will provide valuable research evidence on what works to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities through closer partnership working between local women and health care professionals.”

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ARCHITECTURE GRADUATE RECEIVED PRESTIGIOUS AWARD FROM RIBA

Kent Gin won a prestigious international award for his work on museums in the future. Kent was presented with the SOM Foundation Travelling Fellowship award by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in a formal ceremony in central London.

UEL is excited to have one of its graduates receive this prominent

RIBA award. “Receiving this prestigious award by the RIBA president is a testimony of the high standard and top quality of Architecture at UEL,” said Professor Hassan Abdalla, Dean of the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering.

“This is an extraordinary achievement for UEL.”

Kent’s project, “Cultural Perforation of Madrid, Disruption of the Defined” proposed the museum as a place of the future that is accessible and civically responsible. The project was set within the existing building of the Palace of Conde Duque, one of the largest and most important buildings in the Spanish capital.

SPORTSDOCK HOSTED POWERFUL PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION

UEL students compiled and organised a powerful photographic exhibition documenting the lives of amputee footballers in Sierra Leone, based on the work of renowned photojournalist, Lindsay Maggs.

The exhibition, entitled Soccermen-out-on-a-Limb, was hosted at SportsDock on the Docklands campus.

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The esteemed photographer worked closely with the Single Leg Amputee Sports Club (SLASC) and the amputee football team of Sierra Leone, whose achievements have inspired similar amputee teams to be set up in Liberia, Angola, Ghana and Nigeria.

“The work shows the extraordinary power of a group of young amputees who have risen above their disabilities

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to become able sportsmen, triumphing over adversity,” said Ms Maggs. “The horror in Sierra Leone is unimaginable. By taking the photographs I take, I want to achieve a greater degree of awareness among more developed areas of the world.”

Ms Maggs paid tribute to UEL students for their dedication to the cause. “It takes a range of qualities to produce an exhibition such as this.”

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SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES WELCOMES NEW DEAN

Professor Allaine Cerwonka has joined UEL as the first Dean of the newly-formed School of Social Sciences. American-born Allaine has professional training and extensive work experience in the United States, Hungary, India and the UK. It is perhaps no coincidence that she regards herself as a “Global Dean”.

So what brought such a global citizen and internationally respected academic, to east London? The new Dean speaks with energy and passion about what attracted her to the job, and her vision for the School.

“UEL Social Sciences has all of the necessary ingredients to be

a leader in the Social Sciences in the UK and globally,” says Professor Cerwonka. “It has a researchactive faculty who are strong, committed teachers. Its subject areas – Sociology, Global Studies and Psychosocial Studies – are highly relevant for society and are gaining in the national rankings.”

ADI HAS SUCCESSFUL WEEK AT BOXPARK

Earlier this year UEL made a successful, if just temporary, move to the heart of London’s coolest neighbourhood with its pop-up unit at BOXPARK Shoreditch.

Over 500 people visited UEL’s unit during its recent weeklong stay at the pop-up mall on Bethnal Green Road. Numerous visitors participated in “zine” and risograph workshops.

The workshops, organised by a small group of graphic design

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students from UEL’s School of Arts and Digital Industries, highlighted the University’s strong offerings in risograph printing.

The students used the risograph technique to create individual prints as well as zines - small, handmade publications.

Members of the public helped UEL produce a zine titled “I confess...” which recounted the personal, secret disclosures of BOXPARK visitors. Students also made a zine designed to capture

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the vibe and style of east London.

“I think the second and third year students did brilliantly in engaging the public,” said UEL Graphic Design Lecturer Ed Gill “Lots of really beautiful pieces of artwork came from it. I think it was a success.”

UEL’s container unit was arranged to demonstrate the energy and ideas that are an integral part of ADI, as well as UEL’s commitment to bringing art to the local community.

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Mat Braddy graduated from UEL in 1999 after studying Business Administration, Marketing, and has since risen up the marketing ladder to become Brand Board Advisor for JustEat plc.

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“I

had a great time at UEL. At the time we were based in the Barking campus. It was a very interesting time to be at university and studying a marketing course because we were learning all these great new ideas about advertising and marketing.

“My most memorable experience at UEL is of an old housemate of mine who I am still friends with. We had left home for the first time and had a bedsit in Dagenham right by the Ford factory, it was very special – mould on the walls and green wallpaper. My friend lived in his dressing gown and I remember one day he really wanted some chips. He had some old jogging bottoms on and his dressing gown, but put his coat on top, and his slippers on and went down and tried to buy some chips with a cheque. He has been my inspiration at JustEat. He is who I hold in mind, I need to service him so he doesn’t have to go out in his dressing gown to get chips – we can bring him food.

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“ Having the DIY doesn’t mean s own business – I’ m Spring 2015

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“After graduating, I got a job with an internet security company in Cambridge, responsible for marketing but also in charge of running the website which was brilliant, I continued with my geeky ‘nerdishness’, and was still playing online games (Quake 2 at this point) and one of my friends told me about his start-up business called gameplay.com which became a big portal for the gaming community. This is where my career as a dot com ‘monkey’ really kicked off. Gameplay.com was amazing, with a lot of investment from Sky, Dixons and BT. We floated on the stock market just nine months after the

company was born (ridiculous I know). It had so much money, we had our own television programme on a Saturday morning on Sky – a complete dot com bubble company.

“From there I then went to the Financial Times as the Head of Internet Marketing, where I was a big part of driving subscriptions of FT.com. I then went on to become a Marketing Director for another start-up called Top Table which was a restaurant booking site (now Open Table). I worked here for 3 or 4 years and then met the people at JustEat and the rest is history.

“Working here at JustEat, building a company, floating it on the London Stock Market in 2014 – it really doesn’t get any better than that – to build a brand up that people really appreciate and value what you’ve done as a team is fantastic. In terms of marketing, ‘Don’t Cook Just Eat’ as campaign would have to be a career highlight because it’s just so naughty.

“The most important thing when starting you career is to focus on something that really interests you, and something you can get really passionate about.

Y mentality, starting your – I’ve never started my own business.”

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“There’s a lot of TV programmes about being an entrepreneur, such as Dragons Den. Having the DIY mentality, doesn’t mean starting your own business, I’ve never started my own business, [but] I did leave UEL and start building websites whilst looking for a job. The ability to do DIY; build an app, a website, a game – if you want to get into working for king.com marketing the next Candy Crush, go and build a clone of Candy Crush, understand the dynamics of the business a bit better. Passion and a DIY mentality are really crucial.”

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eaving university and starting a graduate job is quite a moment in anyone’s life. Entering this new era can be full of possibilities.

However this exciting new future comes at a cost. Alongside the advantages of a graduate salary and the promise of a new professional identity, graduates need to replace a life of certainty and familiar routines with something unknown. Everything is new and there is a lot to learn.

One adjustment which graduates need to fine tune is their professional look. The move from student to employee will often require a new working wardrobe, as the image expected from a graduate trainee can be a far cry from the jeans and Ugg boots seen in lecture theatres.

Julia Yates Programme Leader for the MSc in Career Coaching at UEL, has been working on some research which explores how

graduates manage this transition and how they feel about having to re-create their outer image for their new jobs. One of the interesting things to come out of this work is the way that graduates see their appearance as a badge of identity. The change from student clothing to business attire was a symbol of a fundamental shift from one stage of life to the next. This makes the whole notion of a new corporate wardrobe far more significant than a simple substitution of one kind of shoe for another. Many of the graduates that were spoken to accepted that a new image was part and parcel of their new role. They were willing, or at least prepared to wear what was thought to be appropriate for the industry, even if this meant taking piercings out, or covering up tattoos during the working week. Others railed against it, and struggled to find a way to still feel like ‘themselves’ in this new arena.

Julia’s work shows that appearance in the work place does matter. Right from the first

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“ Everything is new and there is a lot to learn”

encounter with an organisation, attractive and appropriate looking candidates are more likely to succeed. They stand a greater chance of getting interviews, being offered jobs and having higher starting salaries.

For women, the rules are particularly nuanced. The female graduates in the study described the challenges of finding outfits that made them look smart but not dressed up, professional but not masculine and attractive but not sexual.

Men aren’t entirely off the hook either. The current fashion for beards, for example, is causing confusion. The clean-shaven look still seems to be the safe bet for men looking to make a favourable impression on their new employers, but others wonder if an actual beard would be acceptable in most spheres these days. Stubble seems to be a sign of laziness, so best avoided.

the notion of personal branding.

Anne-Marie Parmentier suggests that graduates should think of themselves as a product, and as such focus on the dual idea of fitting in but standing out. She says that whilst the cardinal sin in terms of career image, is to look wildly different from your colleagues, if you look exactly the same, you won’t get noticed. Her advice is that graduates’ starting point should be the industry ‘uniform’ but that they are more likely to make an impression if they can put their own individual spin on it.

Graduates know what they are talking about. In the study, they showed that they grasp the implications of career image and the advantages that the ‘right’ look can confer. But they are in control. They’ll toe the line if they choose to, whilst it suits them, to get where they want to go, and when they feel the time is right, they’ll let a bit more of their own identity shine through.

One idea which is current in the academic literature, as well as in the pages of glossy magazines is

How do you feel about work attire? Julia would love to hear your feedback on the matter you can contact her directly on j.c.yates@uel.ac.uk Now & Then

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Our amazing alumni on life after University

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Bill Puplampu

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wo generations of a Ghanaian family have benefited from the facilities of UEL’s School of Psychology, with a third member of the family studying another subject at the same institution.

Bill Puplampu came to the UK to study in 1985, when UEL was known as the North East London Polytechnic, and started off as a part-time student on the MSc in Occupational Psychology. He completed his Masters in 1990 before starting a PhD in the same year, completing it in 1993.

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After graduating, Bill returned to his home country to take up a faculty post at the University of Ghana Business School, where he has spent most of his academic career. He was headhunted in 2010 by Ghana’s largest private university (Central University College) and became Dean of its Business School. In December 2014 he was appointed Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs.

No doubt influenced by how well his psychology qualification from UEL had served him, 15 years Spring 2015

later Bill’s son Vivaldo followed him to study the same subject at the same institution, graduating in 2012. And his daughter Xavia also followed him to UEL, though she chose to study International Tourism Management instead.

“I hope that the things I said about UEL did the trick for them,” says Bill. “Either way, I am immensely proud that they followed me to UEL. Their big sister, Dionne, also studied Psychology, so it’s something of a family tradition I suppose!”

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Halima Hamid “ My experience has been an awesome roller coaster ride”

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sychology graduate Halima Hamid believed she wouldn’t know how to set up a business selling her homemade chutney, after all none of her family had ever run a business.

But, after entering a local competition which saw her pitching her chutney to an esteemed panel of business experts in Canary Wharf, Halima emerged as the winner.

Today, her Rustic Roots brand is proving to be a recipe for success.

“After I entered the competition, my experience has been an awesome roller coaster ride,” says Halima.

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The money will help her to get barcodes completed and finalise all of the nutritional content for laboratory testing.

Marketed under the slogan, ‘Enhance your Mood through Good Food’, Halima’s chutney goes back to traditional recipe roots, a fact that helped with the branding.

“I want to keep the chutney tradition alive in my product,” says Halima. “I don’t want anyone to change it or, at the same time, to say that it is similar to something else. My market research is so unique in the sense that my chutney doesn’t have any added flavours or preservatives. My main aim is to keep it authentic.”

Besides completely outclassing the other finalists, she’s received an entrepreneurial grant to help her move the business forward.

For Halima the toughest challenge about creating Rustic Roots was being faced with and

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overcoming obstacles relating to confidence and self-esteem.

“During the entrepreneurial process I’ve discovered that not only is this journey about building a successful company from zero, but also about building myself up from the ground, brick by brick, thus permitting myself to be the person I believe I am,” says Halima. “In other words, this business is a pure reflection of my inner self. My success has so far been remarkable and the progress of both myself and the business are undeniably interdependent.”

Halima maintains that the steady and successful growth of her company has given her a huge boost in self-confidence.

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England (HEFCE). The Council does not publish league tables but parts of the media will produce their own rankings from the data. he University of East London has nearly doubled its output of world-leading research over the past several years, according to a massive new peer review of research at UK universities.

Around 17 per cent of the research UEL submitted to the Research Excellence Framework 2014 was classified as worldleading, the assessment’s highest possible rating. That’s almost twice the nine per cent of UEL research activity placed in the same category in the similar Research Assessment Exercise in 2008.

About 94 per cent of UEL’s research was deemed to be of an at least internationallyrecognised level. Almost twothirds, 62 per cent, was rated as internationally excellent – an increase of almost 20 per cent from 2008.

The REF 2014 results were recently released by the Higher Education Funding Council for

Through an ongoing strategy of support and investment in research, UEL increased the number of research areas submitted to the assessment process from nine in 2008 to 13 in 2014. UEL also increased the number of staff submitted by almost 20 per cent. The nine submitted last time all saw their evaluations improve.

The results highlighted the presence of high levels of worldleading and internationally excellent research at UEL in areas such as Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy; Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience; and Communications, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management.

More than a third of the research submitted by UEL in the latter unit was ranked as world leading.

UEL Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Joughin, said: “It’s really

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“ There is a strong correlation between research and teaching” gratifying to see an increase not just in the quality but also the volume of the research submitted this time round in what is an ever more competitive environment.”

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Nora Colton, was also delighted with the REF result. “It’s not just that we submitted more individuals, but the quality of their work has increased and that’s been recognised by the fact that every single unit of assessment saw a positive trend upwards.”

Professor Colton noted the wider impact on the University.

“These are areas where not only is there excellence in research but also excellence in teaching.

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So we are not only proud of the achievements of our researchers but also that there is a strong correlation between research and teaching. And the units that have demonstrated worldleading quality in research are also areas where we have excelled in student satisfaction.”

The real-world impact of UEL’s research was also highlyrated, with 22 per cent of activity classified as world-leading.

The impact category, which is new to the assessment process, evaluates the reach and significance of research beyond academia. UEL also saw marked improvement in a number of areas ranging from Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience to Social Work and Social Policy and also Education.

The results of the REF confirm UEL’s position as a research leader among London’s modern universities. The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a system for assessing the research done by the UK’s Higher Education Institutions. It replaces the Research Assessment Exercise, which was published in 2008. The deadline for REF

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submissions was November 2013.

More than 150 higher education institutions were invited to submit research in up to 36 subject areas. The research was assessed in three categories: outputs, impact and environment.

Submissions were rated, in the following order, as being of worldleading quality; internationally excellent quality; internationallyrecognised quality; nationally recognised quality; or “U” for quality that is below the standard of nationally recognised or is not eligible for REF. UEL submitted research in the areas of Allied Health Profession, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy; Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience; Computer Science and Informatics; General Engineering; Architecture, Built Environment and Planning; Business and Management Studies; Law; Social Work and Social Policy; Sociology; Education; Art and Design; Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts; Communications, Cultural and Media Studies, and Library and Information Management.

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There’s no telling where a degree from UEL will take you. For Animal Biology graduate Mark Habben, it took him round the world and back to London, where he ended up as zoological manager of the worldfamous ZSL London Zoo.

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eing given a tour of ZSL London Zoo by the manager is quite a different experience from that enjoyed by regular visitors.

For an animal lover it’s more like being escorted around the Chocolate Factory by Willy Wonka - not only viewing the animals from afar, but joining Mark, behind the barriers, as he gets up close and personal with his charges. So, on the day we visited, we found ourselves feeding carrots to the giant tortoises and trying to coax the meerkats from their burrows with live bugs. (Apparently they had been spooked earlier by a hawk flying overhead).

Mark’s long journey to London NW1 started at UEL’s Romford Campus “I’d always wanted to work with animals,” he reveals, “and had always been really fascinated by living collections, since I was a child. Working at London Zoo was an ambition for me, and I’ve been very lucky to have achieved that. “ I chose to study at UEL because it was one of the very few universities at the time that specified animal biology rather than the broader biology courses that were out there. And it was a fantastic course, with brilliant lecturers, and great field trips.”

Mark completed his Animal Biology BSc with Honours in 1997, and after graduating he went travelling across Central and South America. On returning

“ It’s been a lifetime passion – and I’ve been very lucky to have achieved that.”

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he started looking for a job.“I’d always been interested in birds of prey. I’d been working and flying birds since I was quite young.

An apprentice falconer position came up at ZSL London Zoo and I took that position for a season,” he says. “At the end of that I was offered a permanent position in the Biodiversity division, working with a range of invertebrates, aquatic species, primates – a whole range of different animals which was fantastic.”

Mark stayed in that role for several years before moving back into the animal training team. But, as we all know, career success depends not just on what you know, but who you know, and it was a fellow former UEL student who led him to his next job.

“A friend of mine was running a project in Ecuador for Global Vision, looking at the biodiversity of different species in very different habitats,” recalls Mark.

“He offered me a position out there.”

“It’s a very varied role,” explains Mark. “I oversee the animal teams at London Zoo, looking after the staff. A lot of that involves people management working with the training teams, looking at the messages we are putting across in our displays, and also working with visitors which is hugely important to us here.

After that, on returning to the UK, he successfully applied for his current position as the Zoological Manager at ZSL London Zoo. This post gives him responsibility for the zoo’s human workforce as well as its animal attractions.

“But I also work closely with the animals. As the curator of the bird department I’ve been looking at our collection planning.”

Landing this job at ZSL London Zoo is clearly a dream come true for Mark, and the culmination of a lifetime of passion and interest in nature. So, what advice would he have for current students or recent graduates who are

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looking to pursue a career in a similar field?

“The best advice I can give to anyone, is to knuckle down and work hard,” he says. “If you get an opportunity to volunteer in an area that you are interested in, take it, because it’s your chance to prove yourself. If you can use what you’ve learnt at university, but get your head down and work really hard with a strong work ethic, and get yourself noticed, it gives you as many advantages as you could hope for.”

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UEL goes

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fact-finding mission to the United States has given UEL leaders the opportunity to explore fresh ideas around Civic Engagement, student retention and alumni relations.

The trip earlier this year by Professor Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford, Vice-Chancellor Professor John Joughin and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Nora Colton included stops at noted educational institutions and organisations in Chicago, North Carolina and Tennessee. Professor Colton also travelled to New York City, where UEL was part of a larger group which included the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and representatives from 18 institutions belonging to the London Universities International Partnership (LUIP).

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“ Getting out there and see institutions is ver impor

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eing

Professor Colton said the US trip was a great opportunity for UEL leaders to observe and learn from American universities that have been participating in Civic Engagement for decades. UEL’s itinerary included visits to the University of Chicago, which takes a research-centred approach to improving its local neighbourhood, and Duke University, which has a strong history of hands-on volunteering.

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“Getting out there and seeing institutions that have been doing this for a while and really getting an idea of what it could look like is very important, not only in terms of being inspired and energised to really take it forward here in east London but also to get a feel for what works and what constitutes best practice,” Professor Colton said.

UEL leaders discussed ideas around retention with officials at Chicago’s Kennedy-King College, which has improved its graduation rate by nearly 20 per cent over the past five years, despite being located in one of the city’s most deprived areas. Leaders also travelled to Fisk University of Tennessee, a historically black university that sends a large number of African-American STEM students to medical and graduate schools.

The New York and Chicago portions of the trip built on the University’s ongoing efforts to improve alumni connections. UEL super-alumnus Martin Slark, the CEO of Illinois-based Molex Inc., hosted a reception at the University Club of Chicago that brought the University’s leaders together with US-based UEL graduates and Chicago community leaders.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Group also visited civic organisations such as Rotary International in Chicago and a Rotary Peace Institute run jointly

by Duke and the University of North Carolina.

“The big thing that stood out at all these universities was that it’s all about relationship-building,” Professor Colton said. “Relationshipbuilding with your students, alumni, and your community.”

“And it’s about how universities are really leveraging those relationships to create economic growth and be anchor universities in their local communities,” she continued. “At UEL, we want to continue to be the anchor university for east London and also make sure that we are contributing to the positive change that is happening around us.”

Now & Then

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Recent Events If you would like to hear more about our up-and-coming events, make sure you are on our mailing list by emailing your details to alumni@uel.ac.uk or joining our facebook page facebook.com/uelalumni.

06 Evening with -An Barry Hearn 02 15

Barry Hearn spent much of 6th February at the University’s Docklands campus, speaking to sports students in the afternoon, and as the special guest at an ‘Evening with’ event.

“I’m old and I’m rich. I no longer have any reason to lie,” he explained.

Before the event Barry had said that he wanted to ‘light a fire’ of ambition when he spoke to the students, and he offered advice to those who would soon be entering the job market.

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Spring 2015

11 in the UK and -Law the Four ‘Es’ 02 15

Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury – the President of the UK Supreme Court – told a packed auditorium at USS he “couldn’t swear” he hadn’t been prejudiced. His startling revelation came in response to a question about why there was only one female judge in the Supreme Court despite the Equality Act. More than 150 people attended the event. UEL Vice Chancellor, Professor John Joughin, was delighted that UEL was able to host Lord Neuberger.

Among the other guests was Imran Khan, patron of the law clinic.

Now & Then

19 HS2 for -Developing Great Britain 03 15

22 Malaysia -Alumni Dinner 03 15

23 Alumni & Friends -UEL Events in India 03 15

11 Applied Positive -MSc Psychology Alumni Evening 04 15

The School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering saw a great turnout for their 2015 Alumni Event.

John Castle, the area manager at High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd delivered a speech about the high speed rail and developing HS2 for Great Britain.

He has spent the last 20 years working on major rail projects in the UK, and is currently responsible for the changes to the Parliamentary Hybrid Bill for the Country South section of the route. Alumni, staff and students gathered at this event to listen to John’s experiences in an informative talk.

Senior staff from the University of East London have been forging new relationships in India. The Deputy Vice -Chancellor (Academic), Professor Nora Colton, led UEL staff on the week-long student recruitment and relationship building trip to Mumbai and Hyderabad.

As part of the trip UEL held two receptions for alumni, featuring a fashion event hosted by students and staff from the School of Arts and Digital Industries. These events really gave UEL the chance to showcase its work and keep its graduates based in India up to date with the latest happenings in the UK. Now & Then

Dovile Alsauskaite from UEL’s International Office hosted an intimate dinner at Impiana KLCC Hotel, Cedar.

Almost 30 alumni and guests attended the dinner, sharing their stories and experiences of their time at UEL. The event offered a fantastic opportunity to honour our agents for their continuous work, and to express gratitude to our alumni network by showcasing their career successes. It also allowed for our prospective students to connect with our representatives and alumni and get a real feel for UEL. We’re already looking forward to next year’s visit.

There was another great turn-out for the second of our MSc Applied Positive Psychology Alumni Event evenings. This event is becoming a firm favourite in the UEL Alumni calendar with nearly 100 graduates in attendance.

Our fantastic guest speaker for the night was Nic Marks, Director of Happiness works, a company that focuses on science-based, responsive analytics to kickstart new ways to happiness and productivity within the workplace.

Everyone there left the campus with a positive disposition!

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As a member of the Alumni Network, you have plenty of opportunities to continue receiving support from UEL. Make sure your details are up-todate so we can inform you of new and exciting developments. uel.ac.uk/alumni alumni@uel.ac.uk / +44 (0)20 8223 2222

10 MINUTE S W ITH...

TOMAS JANUSK A

Tomas studied BA (Hons) Photography at UEL, and graduated in 2014.

He started his photography in 2009 when he got his first camera. Since then, he has been shortlisted for many prestigious awards, exhibited at a number of exhibitions and also won Ilford’s “Framing the Nation” competition in the Monochrome category, in 2011. He is now living in London and working with a friend from Rochester University on their company, ‘DigiToast Productions’.

We asked Tomas what his most memorable experience was of UEL. His response was: “Being involved in lectures by famous worldwide photographers.” He also went on to add, “UEL has allowed me to meet many photographers, which I am currently working and collaborating with.”

We also asked Tomas if he could give one piece of advice to UEL students, what it would be, “The main piece of advice I would like to give to current students is to not be afraid to experiment with different ideas in their work and also to aim high in everything that they do.”

We think you will all agree that Tomas is a great example of just how talented our graduates are. For more info on Tomas and his work visit his website tomasjanuska.com Takako (Gravity series), Tomas Januska

ARIANNA (GRAVITY SERIES), TOMAS JANUSKA