UNIVERSITY OF WALES INSTITUTE, CARDIFF
AT H R O FA P R I F Y S G O L C Y M R U, C A E R D Y D D
Issue 01 2009
inside... Promoting ability page 4
Graduation 2009 pages 7 - 8
alumnium The University of Wales Institute, Cardiff Alumni Magazine
BAFTA success page 10
Welsh Artist of the Year page 10
Management’s moving! page 12
Cyncoed - 40 years on page 15 - 16
Unlocking
new routes for the blind pages 8 - 9
New Alumni Officer
UWIC Alumni Questionnaire We emailed a link to the online questionnaire in September and have received a wonderful response. Thanks to all who have responded. If you did not receive that email, and would like to let us know your alumni experience, you can find it on our website: www.uwic.ac.uk/ alumni UWIC is committed to reducing the environmental impact of sending out our alumni magazine. If you would prefer to receive an electronic version, please let us know your email address, and indicate your mailing preference. If you prefer a paper copy, we’d still love to know your email address so we can send updates through the year. Please do remember to inform us if you move house, or if you no longer wish to receive the magazine. Contact Details If you would like to get in touch with the Alumni Office, you can email alumni@uwic.ac.uk or call 029 2020 1590. We’re based at UWIC Foundation, Cyncoed Campus, Cyncoed Road, Cardiff CF23 6BN Credits: Edited by Claire Grainger with thanks to the Communications team Design by Sarah Garwood, UWIC Creative Services, Communications & Marketing
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Above: Students head to lectures past the newly refurbished College House at Cyncoed Campus, where the new alumni office is based.
Hello from the Alumni Office I am delighted to welcome you to the new-look alumni magazine! There have been some wonderful changes here at UWIC over the past year or so, not least the creation of the new UWIC Foundation. We are a small team, with Alumni and Development working hand in hand to direct support from our friends and former students to the most worthy causes in the institution. Above: Claire Grainger, UWIC Alumni Officer
I took over the role of Alumni Officer in January and find it hard to believe how quickly the time has gone! I have really enjoyed speaking to alumni from around the world, whether that be face to face, on the telephone, via email or online. You are such a diverse group of people with such wonderful stories. If you would like us to include a story in our next magazine, please let us know! We have worked hard to expand the alumni network to include all former students we’re in touch with approximately 20,000 of you, but we’re always on the look-out for more. The next step is to make this network work well for all our alumni, through social engagements, reunions, and business or career-enhancing opportunities. Please get in touch if you have a suggestion of how the network could work for you!
Vice-Chancellor’s Welcome
Sitting here in the new lecture theatre at Llandaff, I realize that many of our alumni would have a hard time recognising UWIC as it stands today. We operate four campuses across Cardiff and have partner schools in London, Singapore, Malaysia and Bangladesh. More than 10,000 students from over 125 different countries study on over 100 degree programmes. UWIC was named the best new university in Wales in four national polls this year. We opened the new Food Industry Centre at Llandaff and also broke ground there for the new Cardiff School of Management building.
With regards to staff, the Cardiff School of Health Sciences gains a new Dean following the retirement of Dr Maureen Bowen. Professor Adrian Peters has been with UWIC since 1995 and was awarded a University of Wales Personal Chair in 2005. As Director of Research at the School, Adrian has been at the fore-front of the development of a strong research culture at UWIC and has conducted pioneering research into biofilm micro-biology, the control of biofilm in food production and the application of food safety management systems in the food industry. We wish Maureen all the best for her retirement, and welcome Adrian to his new role. We have more exciting changes to come. I am delighted to tell you that UWIC was awarded Research Degree Awarding Powers (RDAPs) in August this year. The authority to award our own research degrees to doctoral students follows an extensive and intensive scrutiny by assessors from the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) who met representatives of our governors, academic staff and postgraduate research students.
Undergraduate taught degree-awarding powers (TDAPs) were attained in 1993 and were held in abeyance, with students continuing to receive University of Wales awards. However, having now acquired both TDAPs and RDAPs the institution will seek university title in its own right. Accordingly, we will require a new name, and consultation about our name has already begun. By the time you receive your next alumni magazine, we may well have a new name, and the class of 2011 will be graduating from a new university! One other big change relates to our Alumni Office. We have a new Alumni Officer, Claire Grainger, who is steadily expanding the network to include all graduates from UWIC and its Founding Institutions.
I attended a recent reunion for the Class of 1969 and was delighted to meet with graduates from 40 years ago.
Welcome from the Vice-Chancellor
I also met with alumni on a recent trip to Hong Kong. As we look to the future, support from our alumni and friends will become ever more important as we aim to position UWIC in the top 5 of the UK’s new universities - attracting outstanding students from across the globe, irrespective of their social and cultural background. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about some of our recent successes.
Professor Antony J Chapman Vice-Chancellor
Claire works within the UWIC Foundation, which has been set up to build better relationships with our alumni and friends and to raise additional funds from these groups, local businesses and charitable trusts.
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Peepo
Unlocking new routes for the blind How does one describe Product Design? Making something that does its job well, while also looking good, perhaps. Advanced Product Design? How about inventing something revolutionary, that looks great despite the fact its users can’t even see? Jason Perkins, 34, who graduated in June 2009 with a MSc in Advanced Product Design, has created a ground-breaking sat nav system designed to help blind dog users find their way through busy streets and unknown territory. Dubbed the Peepo™, the revolutionary handheld GPS allows visually impaired users to speak into the device, which then uses sat nav technology to find directions. Followed by subtle steering by way of pulse zones and vibrations at the user’s finger tips, the user is then carefully guided through to their destination, with a 3
separate sensor notifying when the user is travelling in the correct direction. The sleek palm sized product fits onto a guide dog’s metal lead without compromising the owner’s handling of the dog. During the 12 month development of the product, Jason worked with a focus group based at the Cardiff Institute for the Blind to test the product along each step of the way. Gareth Loudon is the Course Director for the Advanced Product Design. He is extremely proud of his recent graduate: "Jason's initial insights came from
research work with people from the Cardiff Institute for the Blind and this resulted in a great invention. He has then matched that initial success with tremendous dedication and hard work to try and translate the invention into a commercial reality." Jason’s innovative device has already won the People’s Choice Award, voted for by the British public and was also shortlisted for the Sir James Dyson International Student Design Award 2009. Commenting on his inspiration behind the device, Jason said: “I really wanted to design a product that would
radically enhance people’s lives. I've always felt the competitors tackle their designs from a stagnant stance, without truly catering for the users' needs. As a consumer comments, 'it's not only paramount to us that a product works really well, but also we care how it looks - just because we cant see doesn't mean we don't care what we look like’.” Jane McCann, a member of the focus group that tested the product has found the device extremely useful: “I wish that I could find my way around new places without having to ask others. My hearing isn’t
very good also and what with the noisy, busy traffic, I would prefer not to use headphones - so the GPS is absolutely perfect for me.” Looking to the future, Jason now wishes to conquer the US market. “I’ve already received sponsorship from the Welsh Assembly Government which has been fantastic, but now I’m looking for a separate financial backer in the region of £10,000, either in the UK or North America, where the market gap is wider regarding products for the blind, to get Peepo™ where it needs to be market-wise.
Promoting Ability within Disability
Promoting ability within disability Approximately 1000 students with a declared disability have chosen to study at UWIC. The disabilities include sensory impairments, mobility difficulties, medical conditions, mental health difficulties and specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and dyspraxia. Students studying at UWIC each have an assessment to ascertain exactly what their needs are, and the support given makes a huge difference, as Amanda Brassington explains: “I had an assessment with a disability advisor when I first applied. I was truly amazed at the amount of ergonomic equipment and software that was available and was given to me to help me with note taking and completing my assignments. I was also appointed a learning support tutor and a befriender. Without the help of either I feel it unlikely that I would have either remained on the
course or passed it.” Amanda graduated in 2008 with a degree in Complementary Therapies and is now studying parttime on the PGCE course. One of the disability assessors is himself blind. Stuart Ball, Study Skills and Technology Assessor, is a well-known figure around campus, with his guide dog Yardley by his side. “UWIC is a fantastic place to work for someone with a disability. They just get it. For example, this is the first place I’ve ever worked where they had a dog pen, somewhere safe and contained where I know I can let Yardley off the lead
to do her business. It’s something as simple as that which can make a real difference to daily life.” Fine Art graduate Jan Williams picked up the Helen Gregory award (and £500 prize money) for her 3rd year painting this summer. This was a great achievement for Jan who has been living with rheumatoid arthritis for several years. As a result of living with this disability, Jan chose to research art and disability for her dissertation, and this, as well as creating art work, has been very cathartic for Jan "it has given me back my sense of self."
Jan stated that the support she has received has been wonderful: "My tutors have been incredible: they know how I feel and how to treat me and the Disability Service has been fantastic too." Once students graduate, they can continue to benefit from UWIC support. The institution has been working with Access to Work as part of a new Jobcentre Plus initiative to support graduates during the transition from education to employment.
Sophie Dyment, 24, who is visually impaired and works as a project officer for Wales Council for the Blind, has benefitted from the initiative:
“The project has given me a lot of support, and provided me with an enlarged keyboard, laptop and electronic magnifier, which allows me to do my work effectively. This type of support really makes a difference to someone with a disability.”
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Introducing the UWIC Foundation
UWIC is Fundraising Philanthropic support is essential for the advancement of UWIC and the UWIC Foundation has been set up to encourage and steward all such support from alumni, staff, friends and organisations. So why support UWIC in this way? Education changes lives and UWIC wants to continue to make a difference in Wales, the UK and internationally. Support from our alumni, friends and organisations can help us to strengthen research to address the challenges that face our society, provide scholarships for those who need our help or enhance our facilities for everyone in our community. Large or small every gift can make a difference. There are many ways you can support UWIC so please contact us to find out more. Matched Funding There has never been a better time to start or to increase your support for UWIC as the Government has launched a new Matched Funding Programme for gifts to higher education. As a former UWIC student or friend of the institution wherever you are in the world - this means we can double the value of your gift at no extra cost to you. For UK donors this bonus will be applied both to the gift itself and to the value of Gift Aid that we can claim on your gift, which could substantially increase your contribution to UWIC. A gift of £10.00 would actually be worth £25.30 to us!
UWIC Annual Fund
What we’ve achieved
The UWIC Annual Fund has recently been established to raise money from alumni, staff and friends of the institution. On an annual basis, this money is distributed to projects within UWIC for: • Enhancing the campus environment for everyone in our community • Scholarships for those who need our help to make the most of their abilities • Strengthening research to address the challenges that face our society • Resources that focus on providing the best student experience.
Established this year, the UWIC Foundation has already raised over £55,000 to support valuable projects and activity within UWIC.
Large or small, every contribution to the Annual Fund is greatly appreciated. And don’t forget that your gift to us is now worth twice as much!” To find out more about the UWIC Annual Fund and our fundraising priority areas, please contact us on 029 2020 1590 or uwicfoundation@uwic.ac.uk or find out more online at www.uwic.ac.uk/uwicfoundation 5
The projects supported include a sports outreach programme for children, the purchase of new equipment at the Wales Sports Centre for the Disabled, worldleading research on the antibacterial properties of honey, library resources and new scholarships for talented students. We are enormously grateful for all the support we have received - it has made a real difference. We’ve teamed up with JustGiving, the UK’s leading online fundraising website, so you can donate and raise funds for us online. If you would like to support us, all you need to do is go to: www.justgiving.com/uwicfoundation/donate
Cardiff Half Marathon As this magazine goes to press, our Alumni Officer, Claire, has just run the Cardiff Half Marathon in aid of the UWIC Foundation. Claire insists she’s not a great runner, finishing towards the back of the pack, but it makes her efforts all the more worthwhile. If you would like to support Claire’s run, take a look at her Justgiving page at http://www.justgiving. com/ClaireRunning Cardiff
Careers Advice
So…you’ve got the qualification, but have you got the job? We’ve all heard scary stories about the lack of graduate jobs this year, as the recession squeezes people out of current jobs, and forces companies to cut back on new hires. According to a recent article in the Observer, “Graduates competing in one of the most difficult job markets in decades are resorting to door-to-door selling as many give up hope of finding a permanent job.”
Recession-busting help is at hand for UWIC Grads! How can UWIC help? For starters, all recent UWIC Alumni are entitled to use our Careers service after graduation. Our dedicated team, led by Alyson Twyman, can help with planning your career, CV and applications advice, job searching and interview practice. For more information see www.uwic.ac.uk/careers or email careers@uwic.ac.uk. Our GO Wales team also offer placements lasting about 10 weeks with a range of employers, giving graduates a chance to hone and demonstrate their professional skills while being paid at least £240 a week. The team also offer unpaid work tasters (up to 2 weeks of work shadowing or trying out work you’re interested in) and subsidised professional development funding for graduates in small-medium sized companies in Wales. For more information see www.gowales.co.uk or email gowales@uwic.ac.uk. In addition to careers advice, the Centre for Personal & Professional Development (CPPD) has a wealth of opportunities available to graduates wishing to develop knowledge, gain new skills and pursue a personal interest. In a recession, having up-to-date skills on your CV can make all the difference, as employers are increasingly wary of taking on people whose skills look a little ‘rusty’. Check out more about the courses offered on our website: www.uwic.ac.uk/cppd. For education graduates we now have an in-house recruitment agency, Education Specialists @ UWIC, providing professional and ethical solutions for schools and teachers. For more information email educationspecialists@uwic.ac.uk or call 029 2041 6951 / 029 2020 1524
So, that’s how we can help what can you do? Our network of graduates provides a great source of support in the many diverse industries where UWIC graduates excel. In Hospitality, Sport, Design, Podiatry, Teaching - your next boss could well be a UWIC graduate themselves. Make the most of your connections - if you’re staying in your academic field, your lecturers are a strong link to the relevant industries, as are those students who graduated before you. Online, our LinkedIn group continues to grow, providing a vast professional network of people who know exactly where you’re coming from. From careers mentoring, informal after-work gatherings, or more formal partnership opportunities, we are creating a truly active network of hardworking, focused, talented people. You are now part of that network - make it work for you. 6
Graduations and Honorary Fellows
Graduations & Honorary Fellows
Students graduating from UWIC this year were guaranteed a day to remember as the ceremonies took place in the picture perfect setting of the iconic Wales Millennium Centre. More than 3,000 students from UWIC’s five academic schools celebrated their achievements over the course of the three days. In addition, many students from the London School of Commerce were awarded their degrees as part of the unique partnership enjoyed by the two institutions. Honorary Fellows are awarded each year by UWIC to individuals who have distinguished themselves and made a significant contribution in their field. This summer we welcomed seven new Honorary Fellows... 1. Julie Barratt Director of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health for Wales, Julie has been instrumental in leading the successful campaign highlighting the issues of illegal slaughter and sale of unfit meat in Wales, as well as raising awareness of skin cancer in Wales which has prompted the removal of sun beds from some local authority premises. 2. Professor Iram Siraj Blatchford Professor of Early Childhood Education at the London University Institute of Education. Professor Blatchford is a distinguished academic 7
who has earned international recognition for her work in early childhood education over many years. 3. Professor Paul Gough Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Creative Arts at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Professor Gough is a leading academic in the field of art and design in the UK, with a distinguished record as a painter and writer. 4. Judith Isherwood Chief Executive of the Wales Millennium Centre, Judith has more than 27 years experience working
in the performing arts industry. During this time Judith was the dedicated director responsible for the Olympic Games, while serving as acting Chief Executive at the Sydney Opera House which was both a sporting venue for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and the home of the Olympic Arts Festival. 5. Graham Mackenzie Non-executive Chairman of Wyndham UK Ltd, and engineering services company in South Wales, Chairman of the British Association of Reinforcement and most recently, appointed chairman of Wolverhampton
Graduations and Honorary Fellows
Development Company, the government sponsored, private sectorled body tasked with the urban regeneration of the northern part of the Black Country. Graham has also been a member of the UWIC Board of Governors and Chair of the Audit Committee. 6. Sir William Stewart Recently retired as Chairman of the Health Protection Agency, Sir William is also Chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board and has held a number of other high profile appointments. 7. Er Kwong Wah Executive Director of the East Asia School of Business - Institute of Management. He is one of
Singapore’s most eminent citizens, holding numerous awards and is Commandant dans L’ordre des Palmes Academiques. UWIC is also pleased to confirm that future Fellows to be awarded at a later date include John Inverdale, Matthew Maynard, Gerald Davies and Abdul Rahman Taib, Minister of Education for the Government of Brunei Darussalam.
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Alumni in focus
Award-winning Art & Design
Foundation fashion fame Twenty recent Graduates from UWIC’s Cardiff School of Art & Design (CSAD) promoted their work at the New Designers 2009 exhibition in London in July. Billed as the place to ‘discover the creative energy of the next generation’, New Designers brings together the very best of UK graduate design and attracts thousands of professionals from across the sector who are looking for new talent. Melissa Selmin (pictured), graduated in the summer from Contemporary Textile Practice with a first class honours degree and the top theory prize. Melissa won the Graham & Brown New Designers’ Award 2009 and was awarded £1,500 by Graham & Brown Design Company. 9
The judges selected Melissa because of her work’s ‘strong commercial awareness and understanding of contemporary pattern, composition, colour and finish’. Graham & Brown were so impressed with her designs that they have commissioned two pieces to be commercially printed immediately. Melissa will go on to apply for an inhouse designer role, hopefully with Graham & Brown themselves. Melissa’s inspiration comes from her heritage which stems from her halfChinese, half-Italian origins. The project she
won the award for is inspired by China and her personal appreciation of Japanese art. Francesca Loam who studied BA Interior Architecture won the New Designers Gleeds Award with her design for the interior of the Habitat building in the Hayes. Judges were delighted with her ‘creative and sympathetic re-use of an existing building to produce a viable and realistic mixed-use facility. She has made an interesting use of interrelated spaces to create a logical route to the ultimate destination.’
Stocks of a £60 leopard-print dress designed by Julien Macdonald sold out in a fortnight this summer - before it had even hit the shelves of Debenhams. Julien, who studied on the Foundation course at the Cardiff School of Art and Design in 1994, says “I had an amazing time at Cardiff art college and learnt a lot of new skills and techniques there - all which helped me on my path to my career in Fashion Design. It was really a great place to be and a brilliant period of my life. I would strongly recommend this course for anyone wanting to have a career in Art or Fashion.’ Julien’s range of designer clothes are proving extremely popular, especially in the current economic climate, with savvy shoppers snapping up designer styles at high street prices. Debenhams said it had never seen a reaction like it and has ordered more supplies of the dress, which is part of the shop’s exclusive Star by Julien Macdonald collection.
Alumni in focus
Calling all Authors!
Graduate awarded Welsh Artist of the Year UWIC’s Cardiff School of Art and Design graduate, Tim Freeman, has won the prestigious Welsh Artist of the Year 2009 award. Tim, a digital artist who studied Fine Art at both degree and masters level at the school, received the award and £2000 at a ceremony at St David’s Hall in Cardiff. The winning entry ‘Hidden System’ beat 500 other
The Alumni Office is celebrating our literary alumni with a dedicated Alumni Library and we need your contributions!
entries to win the title and features a photograph of huge industrial pipes running through the tranquil setting of the Lake District. This is the second year running that UWIC has had a direct connection to the winner of the award with Phillipa Lawrence, a Contemporary Textiles lecturer at the Cardiff School of Art and Design, being crowned Welsh Artist of the Year in 2008. Tim’s artwork formed the
centrepiece of an exhibition featuring all the prize winners and more
than 80 short-listed entries at St David’s Hall.
So far, we have just two books: Dai Davies’ memoirs of life as the Wales and Everton goalkeeper, and Russell Deacon’s “The Governance of Wales”. If you have written a book novels, short stories, poetry, fiction or non-fiction - and would like to donate a signed copy, we would be proud to display it in our growing collection.
Graduate BAFTA success Richard Jenkins is celebrating after scooping a prestigious BAFTA Cymru award for interactive work on hit BBC TV show ‘Merlin.’ Richard, a BA Broadcast Media graduate from UWIC is currently the Interactive Producer behind several hugely popular TV programmes including Ashes to Ashes, Mistresses and Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures and has previously worked on Doctor Who and Torchwood. As Interactive Producer, he is responsible for producing all of the video, audio and images for the programme’s interactive platforms including the Web, Mobile phones, Red Button interactive, itunes, iPlayer, BBC Youtube and BBC Bebo. “This can include anything from producing web games, creating behind the scenes content to shooting scenes specifically for interactive content. My day can range from being on set, to writing ideas for future commissions, to balancing my budgets,” explained Richard. Commenting on his career plans for the future, he said: “At present I want to stay with the BBC. I’m lucky enough to work with a great team and Wales is becoming the BBC hub for exciting interactive content. We’re also lucky enough to have a stream of outstanding network shows that are made here at BBC Wales.” Highlighting his growing status in the broadcasting industry, Richard, who graduated in 2005, was also part of a team nominated for a main UK BAFTA for his work on Merlin and has previously been nominated for an International Emmy and a main BAFTA for his work on Doctor Who. 10
Alumni in focus
The Food Industry Centre and Health Research Building at Llandaff is now open for students, and also for our business partners.
2009 Sommelier of the Year
One of our alumni, Harriet Myers, is the new KITE Associate, bringing the wealth of expertise and state-ofthe-art equipment of the Food Industry centre (FIC) to the family-run ice-cream firm Franks, in Ammanford. Harriet tells us about her work: “When I graduated with a degree in Sociology from Swansea, I realised that I did not relish the choice of jobs that were open to me. I knew I liked food, and I wanted to do a Master’s in a food-related discipline. However, not having a science degree, I opted to do the HND Food Science and Technology instead, which I hope to top up to a Master’s in the future.
Tasting the Flavours of UWIC “The KITE programme at UWIC eases you into business, which is great for me, and the access it gives me to the FIC facilities is amazing. Most small companies do not have sensory analysis suite, or a refractometer, or viscosity measures, etc - it’s like having a huge magic store cupboard!” Harriet is involved with benchmarking “to prove that Franks chocolate ice cream is the best!” She will be coming to Llandaff soon to use the new sensory analysis suite to test Franks’ new chocolate ice cream - here’s hoping the alumni officer will get first dibs on the tasting!
Laura Rhys, who graduated from UWIC in 2004 with a BA in International Hospitality Management, has been crowned UK Sommelier of the Year 2009. The Head Sommelier at the Hotel TerraVina in the New Forest beat off strong competition to win the final held at the Tate Modern in London. 15 semi-finalists were assessed by a high-profile panel of judges headed by Master Sommelier Matt Wilkin, last year’s Sommelier of the Year Gearoid Devaney and top food and drink writer Tom Parker-Bowles. Having won her place as one of the three finalists Laura then had to compete in a series of tasks including a realistic role-play restaurant scenario which tested the sommeliers ability to deal with customers, their management skills and their ability to cope under pressure; a blind tasting; a food and wine matching exercise and an against the clock wine list error spotting exercise. The grand finale saw Laura and the other two finalists, both of whom were French, having to pour a single magnum of Champagne into 16 glasses, filling each equally without returning to any of them. Laura was inspired to choose a career in wine after undertaking a series of Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) wine courses while studying for her degree. “Winning the award has given me recognition within the industry and from my peers. It’s been a goal of mine since I started as a Sommelier five years ago and because so few people have won it, it’s put me into a very select group. It has also given me more confidence in my abilities and that can only be a positive thing for my future career.”
Above: Harriet weighs a tub of Franks’ vanilla ice cream. 11
Cardiff School of Management
Management’s moving!
2009-10 will be the final year for the Colchester Avenue campus. The doors will close to students for the final time in July 2010, after over 40 years of educating students in Food Technology, Commerce, Hospitality, Leisure, Tourism and Management. The Cardiff School of Management will be relocating to a new building at Llandaff campus next year.
Did you know... ...that one of the first uses of the Colchester Avenue campus was to host the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Aberfan Disaster? It sat for 76 days, the longest tribunal in British history to that time.
The new Cardiff School of Management building will enable UWIC to become a leading centre in the UK for teaching and research in subjects including Business, Hospitality and Tourism. This great new facility will allow us to innovate and develop an exemplar of what a modern management school should be - strong in learning and teaching, research and enterprise and accessible to the local community.
“Sanket, you’re hired!” A former UWIC student returned this year to create our own version of “The Apprentice” won by Sanket Hiremath from India.
Above: Left to right, Phil Davies, Sanket Hiremath and Professor Antony Chapman, UWIC Vice-Chancellor.
Phil Davies, Managing Director of Hospital Innovations which is based in St Mellons, Cardiff created the opportunity for international students on the MBA course at the Cardiff School of Management. Students were given the opportunity to compete for a one year placement working on a variety of high profile marketing projects, including the opportunity for international travel, human resource management, e-marketing and health and safety management. Phil has enjoyed a high flying career in the international medical industry since graduating from UWIC’s predecessor (South Glamorgan Institute). Always keen to support UWIC, he is the President of the UWIC Men’s Rugby Club and was the guest speaker at the first MBA dinner.
There will be a “Graveyard Tour” planned for those alumni who would be interested in saying goodbye to the building, to register your interest, please contact the alumni office.
Why not sponsor a seat ? We are offering all our alumni and friends the unique opportunity to sponsor a seat in the main lecture theatre of the new building. This will include a special dedication engraved on a plaque. This special dedication will also appear on our website as acknowledgement of your support of the new Cardiff School of Management. Each seat costs £200* and you can name it for yourself, in memory of a loved one or as a gift for someone dear to you.
All the money raised will help to support future generations of students to achieve their academic potential. Contact us on uwicfoundation @uwic.ac.uk or go to www.uwic.ac.uk/ sponsoraseat for more information. *This does not include any special seating privileges. 12
International News
International Alumni Profile Name: Goitseone Lucy Hopkins Nationality: Botswana UWIC Programme: Graduate in BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences and MSc Biomedical Sciences (2002-2007) Current Employment: Biomedical Scientist, Haematology department, NHS Tayside, Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, Scotland I first heard about the amazing student life at UWIC through some friends who studied in Cardiff while I was studying in the University of Botswana. I chose to study BSc Biomedical Sciences at UWIC as the course is accredited by the Health Professions Council. The knowledge, skills and experience I developed during my studies made me more marketable to employers and I now apply those skills every day in my current post. Studying at UWIC provided the opportunity for me to meet people from all around the world. Some of my friends have visited my home and family in Botswana and I have been to Canada, Switzerland, and France, with friends that I met during my time in UWIC. I am also still in touch with my UWIC lecturers and supervisors as well as the International Office. Since graduating with my MSc I have moved to Scotland with my husband, a UWIC Fine Art graduate who I met in during my time there. I am now enjoying the challenges of my new career as a Biomedical Scientist in the NHS.
South Wales and Kenya build strong links
Students experience the best at UWIC
UWIC was delighted to welcome the Kenya High Commissioner as he made his first visit to Wales in March 2009. His Excellency Mr Joseph Muchemi, Kenya High Commissioner to the UK and Switzerland, and Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization, hosted the event, with the theme of “benefiting from your time in the UK”, which brought together Kenyan officials and students from universities across South Wales. The whistle stop tour was organised by George Karani, Professor of Environmental Health at UWIC, who first met the High Commissioner in 2004, and has since built up strong relationships and worked collaboratively with Nairobi University. Mr Mulchemi held discussions with UWIC ViceChancellor, Professor Antony Chapman, and also met staff and students from UWIC and other Welsh institutions. The busy visit also included meetings with the First Minister for Wales Rhodri Morgan AM, and Jane Hutt AM Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills. 13
In a recent student survey UWIC was ranked top in Wales and fourth in the UK for the quality of its international student experience. The International Student Barometer (ISB) survey canvassed the views of international students at more than 80 Universities. With students from more than 125 countries currently studying at UWIC, the findings will help UWIC to build on its current success and continue to attract top class candidates from around the world. John Philips, Dean of International Students was thrilled with the result. “The achievement of such high satisfaction ratings, particularly amongst strong competition from universities across the UK, really does highlight our commitment to providing a first class experience for our international students and it is a true testament to the hard work of all UWIC staff.”
International News
Shanghai Alumni group is formed For those of our alumni based on the East Coast of China, we are pleased to announce a new Shanghai-based UWIC Alumni Association. Led by our first official International Alumni Ambassador, Andrew Woods, the group aims to provide a focus for UWIC alumni based in the area to meet for social gatherings, talks and networking. Andrew is a Vice President at the Shanghai-based JJ Communications, owned by Peter Wang and Robin Xie who also studied for the MBA at UWIC. Andrew can be contacted via the Alumni Office, please email alumni@uwic.ac.uk.
UWIC Brunei Alumni Association Annual Dinner
Above: Pictured with John Phillips, Kirsty Bird and Anna Dukes are a large group of former students including Haji Almumin- MBA 2001, (seated centre) who is the Alumni President, Haji Jaffar- BSc Environmental Health 1999 (seated next to Haji Almumin and Anna Dukes) who is the Association treasurer, Adina -BSC Environmental Health 2006 (seated next to John Phillips) who is the social secretary and Zul Hasan BSc Food Science 2004 ( standing in the black shirt) who is the Alumni Secretary.
During the visit to Brunei by the International Office for the British Education Exhibition in August, 43 former UWIC students gathered for the annual get together.
Hong Kong Dinner Professor Antony Chapman dined with some of our Hong Kong Alumni in May, during his brief trip to Hong Kong University. The Vice-Chancellor was attending the graduations of students from the MSc Food Safety Management course, which is validated by UWIC. Pictured below with Professor Chapman are: UWIC graduates Ada Mui and Ryane Wong with Jimmy Yao, and local agent Steffany Lay at the Metropark Causeway Bay Hotel.
The dinner, in a local Restaurant in Bandar Seri Bagawan, took place during Ramadan and therefore started at 6:30pm, giving everyone chance to break their fast. The former students, including those from the mid 90’s through to last year, enjoyed meeting each other again and talking about happy times in Cardiff. The next major event in Brunei will be a visit in the Spring to celebrate the start of a jointly delivered undergraduate degree in Sport and Physical Education between UWIC and the University of Brunei Darussalam.
Did you know? UWIC has over 70 Brunei students currently studying here and we are the only British university that has an official Alumni association in the country.
International Alumni Ambassador Programme UWIC has made contact with a number of alumni in different parts of the world, who wish to develop their local alumni networks.
The International Alumni Ambassador Programme (IAAP) has been launched to provide a framework for volunteers who wish to organise local alumni gatherings.
If anyone would like to find out more about the IAAP, check out the guidelines online at www.uwic.ac.uk/alumni or email the Alumni Officer on alumni@uwic.ac.uk. 14
Cyncoed - the old and the new...
On a wet and windy afternoon in July, 75 members of the Class of 1969 were reunited - some for the first time in 40 years. With the main refectory looking much the same as it had done 40 years ago people re-discovered their long lost friends over coffee and welsh cakes and shrieks of amazement.
Class of ‘69 Reunion A tour of the grounds revealed the many changes since 1969, prompting the obligatory comment "I remember when all this was just fields." Taffy's Bar and the Students’ Union building were new to the group, although there had been an active Students’ Union in the 1960s (see side panel). Other new buildings included NIAC, the Wales Sports Centre for the Disabled, the tennis centre, swimming pool, Queenswood and Nantes. The relentless rain failed to put a dampener on the evening reunion, which continued with a buffet in Taffy's Bar. The Vice-Chancellor congratulated the group on their camaraderie of so many years before updating the group on some of the many changes that had happened in the intervening 40 years.
Above: Dinner dance at the Old Empire ballroom
1969 Students’ Union President: Gwynn Angell Jones Male VP: Paul Keetch Lady VP: Olwen Williams Treasurer: Dai Pugh Secretary: Christobel Roberts Social Secretary: Carol Thomas Welsh Affairs Sec: Dick Evans N.U.S. Sec: Bob Hancock 3rd Year Rep.: Kath Morgan 15
"You'll never find another year group like this" remarked one attendee, "we all got on, and look, after 40 years, we still do!" Many credited the closeness of their year group to the fact that they were based in the Heath in their second year. "We were in wooden huts, like army billets, and it was only us second years there, so we were very close" said one, while another credited the wonderful performances of Oklahoma and West Side Story, as well as the end of term reviews for the tight-knit community which had been formed. Some photos from the 'old days' were produced for the reunion, played as a slideshow on the night. One lady brought three photo albums along with her, all annotated, giving everyone a wonderful kick-start to the memories which came flooding back. Carousing until 4am "in a quiet corner of Cyncoed", the group certainly relived their longlost youth!
Right: Images of Cyncoed from the 1970’s.
Cyncoed - the old and the new...
Above: From left to right, Mary Roach, Christabel Roberts, Glenys Roberts, Bethanne Williams and Olwen Rhys.
Left: From left to right: Paul Keetch, David Wynne Jones, Ron James, Hugh Jones and Colin Harvey. Above: Cyncoed’s new Campus Centre can be used for reunions.
Left: Wales and Everton goalkeeper Dai Davies with Nick Williams.
Cyncoed’s new Campus Centre opens!
Left: Wales and Llanelli scrum half, Selwyn Williams enjoys a pint with a friend.
Left: The National Indoor Athletics Centre, NIAC.
Left: Aerial view of Cyncoed Campus.
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Where are they now?
Class of 1959/60 Where are they now? On a sunny Friday lunchtime in August I met up with Kenneth Jones, an alumnus from the Heath Training College from 1957 - 59. He produced the below photo, with names on the back, and we’re trying to trace that whole year group for a reunion in 2010. So, if you were at the Heath in those years, or did the 3rd Year diploma until 1960, or if you recognise one of the unnamed men in the photo, we would like to hear from you! Back Row: M. Owen, Tony Tunstall, Alan Jones, Rod Moody, M Griffiths, Malcolm Miles, Gareth Roberts 2nd Row: Dave Martin, John Ley, Barry, unnamed, unnamed, Hugh Davies, unnamed, Idwal Thomas 3rd Row: Dai Lloyd, Ifor Thomas, Derek Blake, Russell Scriven, Bryn James, Danny Prescott, Peter Haswell, E. Hughes, William Bell Front Row: Unnamed, Gethin Davies, Kenneth Jones, Eric Williams, Don Williams, Dave Brown, Tony Charles, Randall Bevan [Absent: Geoff Williams, John Simon]
Alumni from the Class of 1969 have generously provided funds for a sports scholarship for students who started at UWIC in September.
Stefanie Collins (MA Sports Development & Coaching, UWIC Archers Captain, GB Basketball)
The sports scholarships are awarded to students participating in any sport at National or International level, regardless of the subject they study. These students are training and studying full-time, and these scholarships provide a vital source of funds.
Sports Scholarship
Are you in the Class of 1970? Do you see a big anniversary reunion looming next year? Enquiries relating to anniversary reunions (25th, 30th, 50th or more!) should be directed to the alumni officer. Reunion events themselves are easy to book - the hard work is in finding and contacting all the alumni from that group.
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Great Britain Women’s Basketball Point Guard and Archers Captain Stefanie Collins is one of the students who has benefited from a sports scholarship.Highly recognisable in her No. 21 vest on a Saturday afternoon in the Archers Arena, Stef is also involved coaching children from the local community who attend the Archers Academy at Cyncoed in the evenings after school. "The sports scholarship award has been extremely beneficial. With the demands placed on being an elite athlete on top of pursuing a master's degree, the scholarship has eased other areas with free access to facilities and financial supplementation to create a great environment at UWIC to enhance my learning as well as my training." Stef was recognised for her contributions to UWIC sport when she picked up UWIC’s prestigious ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ award in 2008. She joins the elite few who have represented UWIC either on Olympic, Commonwealth or top-flight international stage - a very fitting award for someone who as a UWIC alumni of the future will likely lead Great Britain in London 2012.
The Class of 1968 is also looking for their contemporaries for a gathering in 2010 – but we only have five names so far. We'd love to have more, so we need your help! If you, or a partner, friend, colleague or family member was a student at UWIC, or one of our founding institutions, we would love to hear from you. For smaller groups, we can arrange a small afternoon tour of the campus and work with you to find a suitable venue on or off campus.
Howard Tear is one of the Class of 1969 donors, who incidentally also coaches basketball. Citing his reasons to give, Howard wrote: “I’m grateful of the chance to give back even just a small amount to the place where I spent the happiest three years of my life.”
You can sign up online at uwic.ac.uk/alumni or email the Alumni Officer on alumni@uwic.ac.uk.
For more information on sports scholarships, or supporting UWIC, please contact the Development Manager on 029 2020 1590.
UNIVERSITY OF WALES INSTITUTE, CARDIFF ATHROFA PRIFYSGOL CYMRU, CAERDYDD
What will be your legacy? Make a difference to future generations by leaving a gift in your will If you would like to discuss any aspect of leaving a legacy gift to UWIC, please contact: The Development Manager UWIC Foundation Cyncoed Campus, Cyncoed Road, Cardiff, CF23 6BN. Telephone: 029 2020 1590 Email: uwicfoundation@uwic.ac.uk www.uwic.ac.uk/uwicfoundation
FOUNDATION
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Next Step?
Next step?
Whether you are looking for full or part-time study, UWIC is an excellent choice for postgraduate study. Offering a wide range of postgraduate and research opportunities across five academic schools: Cardiff School of Art & Design Cardiff School of Education Cardiff School of Health Sciences Cardiff School of Management Cardiff School of Sport
Further information and full course list: uwic.ac.uk/postgraduate 029 2041 6044