UNIVERSITY OF HULL
Bringing together alumni & friends
Winter/Spring 2016
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CULTURE COUP
Hull 2017 – The case for confidence, cheer and changing lives
CONFINING MODERN SLAVERY TO HISTORY Seeking today’s solutions from a shocking past
A GATEWAY TO SILICON ESTUARY Hatching hi-tech success at the Enterprise Centre
Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
Welcome All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. The views expressed in this publication are those of the contributors and not necessarily the views of the University of Hull.
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To make content suggestions for future issues, or to contact the magazine, call +44 (0)1482 466645 or email alumni@hull.ac.uk. Published by the University of Hull in association with White Light Media. www.whitelightmedia.co.uk This magazine is printed on paper produced from sustainable managed forests.
www.hull.ac.uk/alumni
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There has never been a more exciting time to be in the city of Hull, and especially to be involved in University life here. The city is just a year away from its moment in the spotlight as the UK City of Culture 2017, and the University’s role as a principal partner in the celebration will allow our people unique opportunities to get involved on and off campus. At the same time a £200-million investment programme is transforming our physical surroundings, academic portfolio and infrastructure. A newly refurbished Brynmor Jones Library now offers an exceptional place to study and socialise, Middleton Hall is set to benefit from a £9.5-million facelift, and a multi-million pound health campus and student residence are in progress. All of this can only strengthen Hull’s position within the top three per cent of global institutions in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. It shows that we are succeeding in our vision to be recognised for academic excellence that empowers people to shape the future. We are proud of a long history of transformative impact and our current ranking as a top-50 UK institution for research power means we will continue to contribute proactively to creating a better world.
As you will have noticed, there is a new name for your alumni magazine. Venn is a nod to Hull-born John Venn’s famous contribution to mathematics – the Venn diagram, and we want this magazine to be a common focal point for everyone involved with the University – especially former students. We want to use it to pull together disparate parts of University life and to acknowledge the shared values and history we all have from our time in Hull. Venn will tell the stories of Hull’s talented alumni, staff and students and hopefully help to strengthen the bonds within our community. Your successes bring prestige and profile to the University, which in turn helps us to attract talent. I hope this magazine will inform you, inspire you, and encourage you to engage with us in the future. Professor Calie Pistorius Vice-Chancellor
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Inside this issue Inside this issue 04 30 How did I get here? Matt Davies, Tesco UK & ROI CEO
Four ways ... Hull is shaping a better future
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Cultural catalyst Hail Hull – UK City of Culture 2017
Enterprise Centre Incubating top tech talent
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A campus recast Investing for the best student experience
Calling Hull home Mungo Arney of Middle Child Theatre
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One good deed The Dick Bursary’s first recipient
18 Your President A busy first year for Sir Paul Grant
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20 Virtual healthcare Fighting cancer with virtual reality
24 Alumna profile Best-selling author Katharine Norbury
26 Modern slavery Lessons for today from a shocking past
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Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
How did I get here?
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After turning round major retailers Pets at Home and Halfords, Hull graduate Matt Davies was hired by supermarket giant Tesco as UK & ROI CEO. Here, he talks leadership, listening and life on The Lawns
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pinch myself every week, every day, all the time. My career has surpassed all my expectations and aspirations. After six months at Tesco I am still very much in the learning phase. It’s a fascinating, diverse, colossal business. What brings home Tesco’s scale is the number of employees. Across the group we have half a million people. In the UK we have more than 300,000. I still often find myself in situations where I feel overwhelmed, and I just think that’s natural. Speaking to people who have just joined Tesco, they don’t believe that everybody in the business right through to Group CEO Dave Lewis is standing there 100% confident in every decision they have made. We all have to challenge ourselves sometimes. And, of course, with retail everyone has an opinion. I am very receptive to advice – I will take any help I can get, especially at Tesco when people are customers. You ignore your customers at your peril. Colleagues and customers – that’s where all the answers lie and that’s the whole basis of Tesco and the way it operates. We listen to our customers hard, we listen again and we respond. All the great innovations Tesco launched over the years came from listening to customers. Great leaders have two ears and one mouth and you should use them in that proportion. I know we’re operating in a very competitive market place, which is changing at pace, but I’m an optimistic character. I think the leader of any business who can’t approach the role with energy, excitement and optimism is setting him- or herself up to fail. What also helps is surrounding yourself with a small number of people you implicitly trust. People that are better in their core functional areas
than you ever would be – who challenge you, who excite you, who gel as a team. That has always been a sort of focus and a route for me. There was a big sense of team when I was at the University of Hull, whether it was the entertainment committee that I chaired for a time, the council I sat on, the union, my course or my accommodation. There was a warm collegiate feeling and people looked out for each other. I came to Hull because of the combination of the course and my desire to go to a campus university, and I had a great time and that was helped by the closeness of the University and how well integrated it was into the town. I met some great people living on The Lawns, which really set me up. Tutorials and lectures came to about 10 hours a week, so it enabled me to have a great life – a fun life, and then I focused when I needed to. I came away with a 2:1 in Accountancy. I had no great affinity for any one subject. I’d love to have the desire to study a subject like Humanities or English Literature, but I never had that. So it was a question of what do you do that might support what you want to do later in life, and Accountancy had elements of economics, law and finance. The sort of skills that finance background teaches you are very important. It’s a good solid grounding for anybody who wants to pursue a career in business. I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up. I had no plan, I never planned. It felt logical to qualify as an accountant after studying at Hull. Then I got an interest in corporate finance and then Pets at Home came along. I think it’s important to just be alert to different opportunities that might excite you and engage you.
“I always felt part of a team at Hull, that I was very welcome. In any company that I run I try to create that same dynamic� When I’m hiring it’s all about attitude. The biggest bearing for me is the way people have been brought up. Do they have the right values set? Do they have the right attitude? Do they have the right ethics instilled in them? Because it is very difficult to work against that. Then you have capability. I was listening to a speech the Gulf War General Norman Schwarzkopf made where he talked about the two things he looked for. He looked for character and he looked for competence, and I think there are no two words that better sum up what anyone should look for in the people they surround themselves with. I always felt part of a team at Hull, that I was very welcome. In any company that I run I try to create that same dynamic. The best advice I could give anyone is that what you do for your work may well be a very significant proportion of your life, so make sure it’s something you have an affinity for, a passion for – something that is going to provide a really challenging and varied career for you. Don’t overly plan, don’t overly worry and be alert to when opportunity presents itself. Because there are only a very small number of critical calls that will determine your life, whether they’re works calls or personal calls. n
info More info Watch Matt speaking at the ‘Inspired in Hull’ lecture series đ&#x;“š www.bit.ly /mdaviesvid
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CITY OF CULTURE
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Cultural catalyst Hull UK City of Culture 2017 Chief Executive Martin Green talks culture, credibility, confidence, city life and changing lives
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hen you’ve kicked off two of the world’s most famous sporting fiestas in spectacular style, you’ll need to look hard to find a more challenging role. But Martin Green has been given the chance to help transform a city’s future by applying everything he learned while running the London 2012 Olympic ceremonies and the Tour de France Grand Départ opening and team presentation ceremonies. As Chief Executive of Hull UK City of Culture 2017 Martin will oversee 365 days of transformative cultural events and, beyond that, the chance to help usher in a new social and economic dawn for the city.
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“My passion is how culture changes a place” Martin Green, Hull UK City of Culture 2017 Chief Executive
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“My passion is how culture changes a place and especially how it changes cities,” he says. “I’ve been lucky enough to work on some pretty large-scale cultural projects that, in one way or another, changed the city itself or the image of the city. The principles with 2017 are the same in terms of what we’re trying to achieve and how we’re trying to work with a city’s cultural infrastructure to show it at its best, build its capacity and make change. “I know Hull, I have friends here, I really like it and it was an attractive place for me to think about going to live. You come with experience that gives some semblance of how to do the job, but you also come with a very open mind because there are challenges and opportunities which are unique to this place.” Having been in the role and the city since July 2014 Martin feels he is “part of the furniture” and has got under the skin of the city and its people enough to understand the changes Hull is undergoing as part of the preparations for 2017 and wider economic development.
“The city feels confident in a way I understand it hasn’t felt in a long time. Add to that the political conversation about devolution, our role in the ’Northern Powerhouse’ conversation and there’s a perfect storm of circumstances. If the city uses these correctly, success is ours for the taking,” he says. High hopes for Hull The scale of ambition for the UK City of Culture is there in black and white – a commitment to create £60 million of economic benefit to the city, a million extra visitors, increased confidence and the creation of new and sustainable jobs, particularly in the culture and hospitality sectors. “But 2017 is the beginning of something, not the end,” says Martin. “We will work very closely with all the organisations which are permanently based here to make sure we are building the cultural sector and making it stronger so it is a fundamental part of the change in the city. The change will take many years. “For every hour we spend working on the content of 2017,
“We will be generating work from within the city that is genuinely jaw-dropping and accessible and that can actually change lives” Rosie Millard, Chair of Hull UK City of Culture 2017
Below: The Freedom Festival main stage sponsored by the University of Hull and Hull alumna Rosie Millard
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we will spend an hour making sure things are set up and put in place to carry that on far beyond our existence.” Martin says that with the full engagement of the key people and organisations, including Hull City Council and the University of Hull, “the landscape is right” for the city to reap the rewards far beyond 2017. University of Hull alumna Rosie Millard, a distinguished journalist, broadcaster and author, is working alongside Martin as Chair of the Hull UK City of Culture company. She is clear that the event needs to be nationally resonant but also meaningful to the people of Hull by creating a more vibrant and sustainable cultural sector, improving the quality of life for residents and increasing access to tourism and cultural sector jobs. Rosie says: “We will be generating work from within the city that is genuinely jawdropping and accessible and that can actually change lives. That sounds cheesy, but culture can change lives, just by exposure to it – give people a grassroots foundation in culture and it changes people’s perceptions. Places can be transformed. There is a reason why City of Culture has come to Hull. It has regeneration qualities, which Hull needs.” The case for confidence Martin confesses to having a few sleepless nights over the scale of the task at hand. “It’s a huge responsibility to bear and I take it very, very seriously,” he says, But, he adds that there are very concrete reasons to be optimistic as some major milestones have been passed on schedule. It was confirmed earlier this year that
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City of Culture – how it breaks down
£60 million the economic impact of UK City of Culture on Hull in 2017
1 extra visitors to be attracted to Hull in 2017
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target number of volunteers, including cast, crew and ambassadors
days of transformative culture
£100 million cultural capital programme, driven by Hull City Council, to regenerate the city
The seasons The year will be split into four seasons, each with something distinctive, intriguing and created to challenge and thrill.
Season 1 Made in Hull Jan – Mar
Season 2 Roots and routes Apr – Jun
Season 3 Freedom Jul – Sep
Season 4 Tell the world Oct – Dec
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CITY OF CULTURE
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the Turner Prize will be hosted in Hull in 2017 and there was a further boost in October when a partnership with the BBC was announced and Culture Company's new brand was unveiled. The BBC’s activities for 2017 will include a world-class celebration of poetry, performance and the spoken word, BBC Learning working with schools across the city, the BBC Writersroom developing stories inspired by Hull and some of the biggest BBC events coming to the city. “The BBC partnership is incredibly significant and there is more to come as we go through 2016,” says Martin. “The volunteering programme will open next year. Our online presence will improve throughout 2016 and we’ll announce bigger creative projects early in the year, all leading to a moment around September when we give full details of other parts of the programme. The launch of the grants programme is also very important – we’ve always said no one needs our permission to get involved but we recognise that people may need a few quid to do it.” Meanwhile, a walk through the city provides daily reminders of the work in progress with citycentre improvement works and the re-vamping of the Ferens Art Gallery, which will host the Turner Prize. Martin says: “All that work is a great reminder that we can succeed in this if we put our heads to it. Going to the Freedom Festival and seeing tens of thousands of people out enjoying the cultural scene is a reminder that the audiences are here. Hull is a cultural city already. What 2017 will do is
“My message to alumni is to get involved however you can. Follow us on social media, register for our newsletter, contact us if you run a business and want to get involved” Martin Green
UNIVERSITY OF HULL
shine a spotlight on that, build for the future and create one-off lifelong memories. “My message to alumni is to get involved however you can. Follow us on social media, register for our newsletter, contact us if you run a business and want to get involved, we’d love to hear from anyone who believes they have something to offer – there’s a role for everybody. And to those who have left the city, now is the time to re-visit. No matter how long ago you left, you’ll find a changed city.” n
info More info cursor www.hull2017. co.uk
twitter @2017Hull FACEBOOK facebook.com/ HullCity ofCulture
Clockwise: BBC Director-General Tony Hall discusses the partnership for 2017; Thousands gather in Queen Victoria Square to show their support; The Ferens Art Gallery will be revamped in preparation for hosting the Turner Prize; Giant cubes displaying the new Hull UK City of Culture 2017 brand; University scientists amaze at Freedom Festival with handson demonstrations
A cultural education
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ull UK City of Culture 2017’s ambition is to make a difference to a life every day – inspired by the poem Days by the University of Hull’s former librarian, Philip Larkin. The University will play a pivotal role in creating an unmissable, 365day celebration of art, music, drama and creativity. As a principal partner for 2017 the University’s students, alumni and staff will have unique opportunities to take part as volunteers, artists and audience members, while our role as the exclusive academic research partner means our Institute for Research on Culture and the Creative Industries will evaluate the year’s impact and build knowledge for future cultural investments. There will also be a full programme of events and activities scheduled on campus including at the revamped Middleton Hall. As well as sharing insight and experience with cities across the UK and the world,
the University will create a complete archive of Hull’s 2017 journey, which will be a valuable resource for researchers and cities bidding to be a city of culture. Hull UK City of Culture 2017 Chief Executive Martin Green says: “The University’s role will be a mixture between hard academic research and great creative work. What I am looking forward to is seeing how 2017 pervades every department, because this isn’t just about art and drama departments; engineering is a creative act, science is a creative act. The University’s role is crucially important because it is so much a part of the fabric of the city.” n
Chris Heron, BA Jazz and Popular Music undergraduate
“The University’s role will be a mixture between hard academic research and great creative work” Martin Green
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A campus recast The University’s landscape and architecture is being transformed. Everywhere you look on campus there is evidence of a £200-million investment programme, from the opening of Brynmor Jones Library to strengthening student services and the IT infrastructure – all to deliver the best possible experience for our students.
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Above: New exhibition space adjoining the art gallery – part of the Brynmor Jones Library – hosting temporary exhibitions and events
Above: Over the summer of 2015, Hull University Union refurbished the students’ union building. The £500,000 project created vibrant new spaces for students to eat, drink and relax with friends
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“It is the best university library I have ever seen. The students are so lucky to have this. I love the way they have allowed the spirit of the old library to shine through the different spaces. I love the different ways you can engage with the library. It is inspirational, I’m bowled over” Poet Laureate Dame Carol Ann Duffy, who officially opened the library
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Brynmor Jones Library The newly opened £28-million Brynmor Jones Library has transformed the heart of the campus and is an unmistakeable sign of confidence in the University’s future. It now includes a variety of learning spaces, a café, and an exhibition and art gallery. The redevelopment has been sympathetic to the library’s heritage. Original features of the 1959 building have been retained, where possible, and other key features painstakingly reproduced. As part of the work, the desk of acclaimed poet, Philip Larkin, University librarian for 30 years, was restored and brought back into use.
Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
Above: Allam Medical Building, part of the new health campus opening 2017
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New concert venue ready for Hull’s City of Culture year Forming the centrepiece of the £9.5-million redevelopment of Middleton Hall is a 400-seat concert hall. This versatile venue will be ideal for classical music concerts and, with adaptable acoustics, will also be used as a surround-sound cinema and theatre space. Phase one opened this year, boasting music studios and recording equipment that rivals the best commercial studios. The studios include a huge 48-channel mixing desk alongside an impressive array of other facilities including the only truly ambisonic studio in the country, which allows listeners to experience 3D sound. Students can access the studios around the clock and the facilities have already been used for an eclectic range of projects. Right: Middleton Hall’s £9.5-million remodelling will create a new concert venue for Hull’s cultural showcase year Opposite: New recording studios with equipment rivalling that of the famous Abbey Road Studios
In excellent health A £28-million development is creating a brand new health campus, providing some of the best medical training facilities in the UK. At the heart of this major development is the Allam Medical Building – funded by a £7-million donation gifted to the University by alumnus and leading East Yorkshire businessman, Dr Assem Allam. It will be a five-storey building housing lecture theatres, research laboratories and mock hospital wards. The health campus will also provide extensive collaborative working areas for researchers and students. The facilities are due to be completed by the summer of 2017.
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Great student living Construction has started on new ÂŁ30-million on-campus accommodation. The development will provide highquality homes for 560 students from October 2016. Set in landscaped grounds, it will include contemporary architecture and feature the latest technology.
Above: An artist’s impression of how one of the new student flats will look
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ALUMNI
Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
One good deed ... Studying in Hull 75 years after his benefactor, Chemical Engineering undergraduate Jack Roberts is the first recipient of the Terry and Brenda Dick Bursary
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ack Roberts’ and Terry Dick’s university careers are separated by three quarters of a century of change but share one important aspect: generous bursaries helped both men to pursue their passion for science. Jack is the first recipient of the Terry and Brenda Dick Bursary and is in the second year of a Chemical Engineering degree. The 19-yearold, who was born and raised in Hull, attending Holtby Academy and Wyke Sixth Form College, says university life would be much more difficult without the £3,000-a-year bursary and hopes it will allow him to go on to use his skills in one of Hull’s engineering businesses. “I like Hull – there’s a lot of businesses around here which are big in the engineering field. During the summer I did an internship at RB (the worldleading health and hygiene company), so I know that in Hull and the surrounding areas, there are always good opportunities business-wise,” he says. Terry Dick credits his thensizeable £75-a-year scholarship for allowing him to complete his degree. Starting at what was then Kingston Upon Hull University College in 1940, he fitted a Chemistry degree around his wartime air raid precaution duties and fire-watching patrols. He embarked on a successful chemistry career following graduation, working his way up in a variety of positions with companies such as Esso, the National Coal Board and British Gas. Later, he was appointed as the director of both the London Research Station of the Gas Council, and the Water Quality Division of the
“I know that in Hull and the surrounding areas, there are always good opportunities business-wise” Jack Roberts, BEng Chemical Engineering undergraduate Department of the Environment. The University recognised Mr Dick’s achievements and connection to the University by presenting him with its Alumni Laureate award during 2015. Terry and his wife Brenda, who worked in the Health Department in the Royal Borough of Kensington and later became active in local politics, decided to offer the same opportunity Terry had to new students at Hull by setting up the bursary. It supports academically exceptional undergraduates studying Chemistry, Physics, Biological Sciences and Chemical Engineering who are from Hull or East Riding of Yorkshire schools and academies, and is designed for students whose lack of funds might otherwise prove a barrier to attending university. Jack has used the bursary to buy computer equipment and books and says he is delighted with how the course is going so far. “I was really happy and excited when I found out about the bursary, because it’s a lot of money,” he says. “I wrote a thank you letter to Mr and Mrs Dick and received a handwritten one back, which was really nice. They will keep in contact with me.” n
Opposite: Jack Roberts studying at his home in Hull
Below: Terry and Brenda Dick
An enduring gift to linguists A major gift in the name of a fondly remembered family member will fund bursaries and excellence prizes for many years in the University’s School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures. Suzanne Denyer graduated from Hull in 1974 with a BA (Hons) in French and German. The Suzanne Denyer Bursary is made to students who have undergone hardship, and there is also a separate award to students who achieve excellence. The first recipient is Dunia Meza (BA French with Management student), a refugee who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo. He had been a trained nurse but decided that a degree in French would help build a career. On meeting Dunia, Suzanne’s cousin, Dr Roy Hayter, made a further gift of £125,000 to the fund. The first winner of the Bursary’s excellence prize graduated in summer 2015. Calum Porter had the best academic performance at undergraduate level on a languages programme. Dr Hayter has now donated a total of £160,000 to endow the bursary in memory of his late cousin, who left him her estate.
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ALUMNI
Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
“I have always been proud of my University and loved my time there”
President of the Hull Alumni Association, Sir Paul Grant, DL, reflects on a successful first year in the role and looks to future expansions
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hen the opportunity to become President of the Hull Alumni Association (HAA) arose, I leapt at the chance to get involved. My educational links with Hull continued professionally, but like many alumni, I also kept the lifelong friends I made during my time in Hull. For me, it is all about being part of our University as it strives for excellence.” Sir Paul Grant knows better than most the positive power our educational establishments can have on their students and communities, having been knighted in 2009 for his work as a head teacher at one of the UK’s most famous educational success stories. Robert Clack School was struggling. Pupil disengagement led to huge problems with discipline and exam performance, and plans to close the school down were advanced. Today, however, his
school is one of the most oversubscribed in London. Ofsted listed it as one of its ‘Twelve Outstanding Secondary Schools’ (2009) and it appears in the Good Schools Guide. The Sunday Times also listed it as one of its Best Hundred Companies to Work For. In 1997 fewer than 10 pupils obtained a University place; now it is nearer 150. Sir Paul (BA History 1978, DLitt 2011) says: “I was deeply involved in playing sport as a student at Hull, and this taught me that what happens outside the formal curriculum can be equally important in a person’s development as the teaching. I also benefited from cultural events and overseas trips. That is why at my school we widened the availability of extra-curricular activities when I became Head Teacher. It’s critical that everyone find something that they can excel in and be proud of.” Since taking over the role of President, Sir Paul’s warmth toward his alma mater has helped alumni engagement, which has increased to coincide with the University’s
Above: Sir Paul Grant, DL, President of the Hull Alumni Association
strategic goal of step change. He sees the Hull UK City of Culture 2017 and the University’s approaching 90th anniversary as extraordinarily good moments to reconnect. “The University and its community have stepped up the number of alumni events, communications and volunteering opportunities for alumni, and much more is planned,” he says. “We have recently seen alumni meetings in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow, Paris, New York, Singapore, Malaysia, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Accra and Lagos. “We alumni tell our stories in the Hull Alumni Association blog (www.hullalumni.me) and on the Business School’s networking platform (www.hubsconnects. me). Our alumni community is e-mentoring students, offering internships, and alumni speakers are returning to the University to speak about their lives and their influential careers. All of this creates this atmosphere of excitement and growth, and I feel privileged to be a part of it.” n
ALUMNI EVENTS
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Alumni events are one of the most important ways in which the alumni community comes together, both on campus and across the UK and the world. 2014 and 2015 saw an increase in the number and quality of exciting opportunities for alumni to engage in, and while they are too many in number to record here, the following provides a flavour of the atmosphere and warmth of some of our innovations.
info More info twitter @hullalumni ✉ c.cagney@ hull.ac.uk (Christopher Cagney, Head of Alumni Relations) ✉ alumni@hull. ac.uk (Alumni Office)
At the University, the stunning range of events open to alumni were complemented by a set of talks. Inspired in Hull Alumni Lectures saw Nick Hardwick CBE (HM Chief Inspector of Prisons), Andrew Caplen (President of the Law Society) and Robert Elstone (Everton FC CEO) speak on campus. Future talks are planned by Jeremy Darroch (Sky CEO), and the author Katharine Norbury, who will talk at the forthcoming Hull Alumni Association AGM taking place on 9 February 2016.
Internationally, the network of alumni reaches far and wide across borders and time zones. This year the ViceChancellor’s April 2015 visit to China and Hong Kong gave alumni an excellent chance to gather in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Over 300 alumni attended the three drinks receptions in those cities. While the Hong Kong Alumni Association celebrated its 20th anniversary in November 2015, the Beijing and Shanghai chapters were pleased to
In the city of Hull, the Founder’s Day Service, held for alumni at Holy Trinity for the first time in a generation, showcased the soaring voices of the University Chapel Choir, and Professor Lord Norton of Louth presented new research about just how ground-breaking and forwardthinking Thomas Ferens was, having advocated for women’s rights before universal suffrage had even been established. At the Humber Mouth Literary Festival, alumni Rosie Millard, poet Roger McGough and Russ Litten gave talks at various venues across the city.
gather and form an alumni group for the first time. An alumni group in New York gathered welcoming alumni based in senior roles in the UN, Morgan Stanley, Princeton University, Harvard University, Pfizer, and many more joined the University team for the first US event of its kind for a decade. Alumni events were also held in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Lagos (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), many of which will continue in 2016.
Across the UK, the London alumni group continued to go from strength to strength, with events including Professor James Booth’s talk about his hugely acclaimed Larkin biography Life, Art and Love, and John McCarthy in an intimate talk to an appreciative audience at the Union Club. Roger McGough gave a warmly received reading in partnership with the Royal Society of Arts at the Institute for Education, UCL. The Scotland alumni group also met for talks at the Edinburgh Parliament, a tour of the Glasgow Commonwealth Stadium and privileged access to a Wilberforce Institute conference on colonialism, slavery and emancipation followed by a special alumni reception.
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Virtually transforming cancer treatment Pioneering virtual reality software is leading the way in the fight against cancer
UNIVERSITY OF HULL
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Students learn about the radiotherapy technique for breast cancer treatment, using virtual reality software developed at the University
Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
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was very fearful of my treatment, chemo = needles, surgery = no left breast, radiotherapy = I haven’t got a clue. The unknown is where the fear and ‘dragons’ lie.” These words from a patient diagnosed with breast cancer typify the experience of many. For people facing cancer, anxieties surrounding their treatment can be almost as terrifying as receiving the diagnosis itself. Experts based at the University of Hull are helping to reduce the fear of the unknown for radiotherapy patients by using virtual reality. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, one patient explains how he was then faced with having to get to grips with undergoing radiotherapy treatment: “You listen as you are being told what radiotherapy will do to you. The exhaustive list of side effects, which 99.9 per cent of us will experience one or more of during the treatment. It feels daunting and a little overwhelming.” PEARL (Patient Education and Awareness on a Realistic Linac) is an innovative computer programme that helps patients understand the complexities of radiotherapy before they begin their treatments. Being introduced to PEARL helps patients and their families see, hear and understand what it will be like to undergo radiotherapy – all of which can be demonstrated on their doctor’s computer. Helping the patients see clearly for themselves what they can expect during treatment also helps to improve trust in their treatment plan, as one patient explains:
Above: A radiographer teaches a prostate cancer treatment session using VERT Right: A patient is introduced to PEARL, an innovative computer programme that helps patients understand the complexities of radiotherapy
UNIVERSITY OF HULL
“Vertual has revolutionised the way radiation therapy is taught” Shaun Caldwell, Assistant Professor and Program Director, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA
“PEARL is amazing. You can watch and see what radiotherapy is doing for you, seeing inside the room, how the machine works, the sounds, a person lying on the table, how the beams work, the importance of having a full bladder, what part it plays in the treatment, and gives the opportunity to ask questions because now you can understand and see what’s going to happen.” Improving patients’ understanding in this way gives them added confidence in their treatment. It may be one of the reasons why PEARL has also been shown to improve the levels of people complying with and completing their courses of treatment – thereby improving survival rates. Dr Josep Sulé-Suso, Associate Specialist and Senior Lecturer in Oncology, University Hospital of North Staffordshire, Stoke on Trent, is just one of the clinicians who has successfully adopted PEARL into their practice. He says: “Virtual reality technology is an excellent way to provide information to patients receiving radiotherapy on how their treatment is planned and given. The possibility for them and their relatives to receive this extra knowledge in 3D reduces their anxieties, and relatives feel more involved in the treatment of their loved ones.”
PEARL is just one of the bright ideas devised by Vertual Ltd, the leading provider of virtual reality training systems for radiotherapy training. A partnership between the University of Hull and Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, the company has already transformed the way that clinicians are trained in radiotherapy with its Virtual Environment Radiotherapy Training (VERT). VERT simulates a radiotherapy environment enabling clinicians to learn in a non-pressured, safe and cost-effective way. A detailed, life-sized 3D simulation of a treatment machine, VERT combines clinical data with advanced computer graphics to visualise patient anatomy and their actual treatment plan. Every radiotherapist in England is now trained using VERT and systems are installed up and down the country. Having transformed radiotherapy training in England, Vertual is now conquering the globe with 110 VERT installations around the world in 20 countries including the USA, New Zealand and Hong Kong. As of this summer, the unique software is now being used to train radiographers in Cape Town as part of a new South African health initiative to improve health care. n
It all started here • VERT and PEARL are just two of the remarkable applications to have been borne out of the University’s own Computer Science Department and its state-of-the-art visualisation technology centre HIVE (Hull’s Immersive Virtual Environment). • Ranked fifth in the UK for research impact in the latest Research Excellence Framework, the University’s Computer Science Department makes outstanding contributions to industry in areas including gaming, engineering and health. • HIVE can build any virtual environment to order and provides high-quality bespoke services including laser scanning, motion capture and 3D modelling. • Experts at HIVE can simulate training environments across a range of industries helping to enhance careers in many sectors. It has been developing virtual training scenarios for the offshore wind industry since 2012. Global technology giant Siemens recently adopted HIVE’s technology at a recruitment fair giving potential candidates the opportunity to experience the wind turbine work environment first hand. • With the anticipated growth of jobs and an increased need for more skilled workers in the Humber in the near future, HIVE is uniquely poised to help drive growth in the UK’s energy estuary. info More info cursor www.hull.ac.uk/hive www.vertual.eu
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Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
Going beyond the lighthouse Hull alumna, Katharine Norbury, recounts her journey from university to best-selling author via a voyage of self-discovery
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“I
t wasn’t what I expected at all. I arrived at two o’clock in the morning to walk to the lighthouse. It was a hot summer’s night – you’ve never seen so many people. There were birdwatchers and police driving up and down. When I was almost at the lighthouse, there was a complete mad man, for want of a better word. At first, I thought he was fishing, but as I got closer, he was picking up rocks, running in a circle and hurling them into the sea. It was a strange, unnerving Critical acclaim for The Fish Ladder: A Journey Upstream The Observer’s Rising Star in Non-fiction 2015 Longlisted for The Guardian’s First Book Award One of The Telegraph’s Best Books of 2015
experience. It reminded me of Virginia Woolf and To The Lighthouse, and the literary irony of not being able to go to the lighthouse was overwhelming.” Author Katharine Norbury is describing her nocturnal visit to Spurn Point, the spit of sand where the Humber meets the North Sea, one in a series of walks from a river’s mouth to its source that she embarks upon in her debut book, The Fish Ladder: A Journey Upstream. Having miscarried a longed-for second child, Katharine sets out on a journey to “the source of my own life”, inspired by Neil M. Gunn’s The Well at the World’s End, whose protagonist traverses the Scottish Highlands in search of an elusive spring. Walking is a habit that has persisted since Katharine studied at the University of Hull: “I was quite an insomniac and I used to walk for miles, down to the docks and the Land of Green Ginger, where I remember the sawdust on the streets from the bars – Hull was very exotic at night.” A joint honours student in English Literature and History of Art, Katharine admits that she wasn’t very diligent: “My professor, John Berlusconi, was extraordinarily patient with me. It was the first time I’d ever
been away from home.” Indeed, she believes it was a formative time and recalls a guest lecture by Anthony Minghella (also a University of Hull graduate) that made an indelible impression on her: “He spoke about how a theatrical performance is something that only ever happens once, and I learned about living in the moment. It was quite a young age to learn something that huge.” Unbeknownst to her then, Katharine would later work on Minghella’s Truly, Madly, Deeply. Following a stint as an English foreign language teacher after graduating, Katharine was hired as a trainee film editor by the BBC and credits her degree with helping her career: “Both the disciplines of English and Art History fed directly into the work I did as a trainee film editor and then script editor. In 1998 I began working with Alan Bleasdale on an adaptation of Oliver Twist for ITV. The knowledge of so many novels was helpful when approaching an adaptation as you are trying to encapsulate the essence of what the writer is doing.” After a successful career working alongside the likes of Harold Pinter and Dennis Potter, Katharine found it was a natural progression from script editor to author: “The book is structured like a
UNIVERSITY OF HULL
documentary. It has a five-act structure; a clear narrative that combines place with story, and reflections on mythology.� The Fish Ladder combines elements of travelogue, memoir and nature writing. After suffering a miscarriage, Katharine spent her summer in Wales with her daughter Evie and began documenting her series of walks upstream. While writing the book, Katharine was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. With Evie in mind, the doctors wanted to determine whether the cancer was hereditary, but Katharine was unable to tell them as she had been adopted at a young age. “People ask me why I decided to write a memoir in the style of a travelogue. I didn’t. I was writing a travelogue, and then these huge life events just happened, and they were impossible to ignore. I decided while everything was so tough, just to carry on and try and find my birth mother, but it was disastrous. I don’t think I would have been emotionally strong enough to do it unless I’d had cancer and had been staring death in the face.� Amidst a deeply personal journey through a harrowing period of her life, it was important to Katharine that the book retained a universal relevance: “In travelogues, the reader has a licence to be that person walking next to you in the landscape.� The book has garnered critical acclaim since it was published nine months ago. Has Katharine’s life dramatically changed? “Writers tend to be quite anonymous. But, since writing the book, I’ve had many letters from people given up at birth or as small children. There were stories that people harboured for years. For me, I realised I wasn’t alone.� n
“People ask me why I decided to write a memoir in the form of a travelogue, but these life events happened and they were impossible to ignore�
info More info twitter @kjnorbury đ&#x;“– Katharine’s novel The Fish Ladder: A Journey Upstream is published by Bloomsbury Circus addcalendar
Katharine will talk at the Hull Alumni Association AGM on 9 February 2016
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Left: Author and University of Hull alumna Katharine Norbury
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Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
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UNIVERSITY OF HULL
Modern slavery Lessons for today from a shocking past
“I told my trafficker I didn’t want to drive and he asked me to choose between death and driving. I chose death. He placed a gun in my mouth and pulled the trigger ...”
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t’s a statement that conjures a terrifying image – all the more so when you know this is no work of fiction. But it is delivered with such poise and steel that you can be in no doubt that you are speaking with a survivor, not a victim. Shamere McKenzie was 21 years old when she was enslaved. Not in the way we might immediately picture slavery. She was not forcibly shackled and shipped from her home. Initially she was courted and offered help. But, like millions enslaved today, she was exploited, forced to work against her will and treated as if she was someone’s property to be used and disposed of at will. Before Shamere met her pimp she was a promising student at a New York university. At first he appeared sweet and intelligent, and they started to see each other regularly. He offered to help
27 her get the money she needed to go back to school, but his help involved forcing her into prostitution. For 18 months she was sold for sex, beaten, raped, trafficked to five different states and was tortured if she failed to meet her $1,500 a night quota. When she was disobedient, she was badly beaten. When she thought of running away, she feared she or her family would be killed. When she refused to drive other women across state lines, she had a gun placed in her mouth. When it failed to go off, she was beaten with it. In the end, Shamere fled and was rescued by a stranger and so began an even more remarkable chapter in her life. One in which she became a survivor, leader and advocate for the enslaved. “I feel like a lot of focus is on a survivor’s story and not understanding they are more than
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Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
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their story,” she says. “Survivors are resilient individuals that can move past the story to greater things.” Today, as a consultant, mentor and speaker on the subject of modern slavery, and as the CEO of Sun Gate Foundation, a charity helping human trafficking survivors into education, Shamere personifies this empowerment. She is working tirelessly to raise awareness of the often unrecognised plight of slaves and the little things we can all do to address it – being vigilant for the signs in our own communities, volunteering and checking that the products we buy are not made using slave labour. “It’s important for me to tell my story because I want people to know this exists and it is real. Other survivors out there may be suffering from guilt and shame and the abuse of being enslaved, and are keeping it to themselves and not seeking help. They must know that there is help available.”
Above: Shamere McKenzie tells her remarkable story at the University of Hull’s Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation
T Q’ A P F H F E
The University has been awarded the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its world-leading research into slavery.
In October 2015, Shamere spoke at a major conference at the University of Hull debating a new global approach to combating modern slavery. Anti-Slavery Usable Past brought experts from around the world to the University’s Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation to discuss what can be learned from history in tackling slavery today. The £1.8-million research project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, is led by the University of Hull with partners from Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Nottingham. Lead project investigator Professor Kevin Bales of Wilberforce Institute first brought Shamere’s story to light in his book Slave Next Door and described her appearance at the conference as “electrifying”. The five-year project’s aim is to draw on the successes and failures of previous abolition movements to produce tools for researchers, teachers, policy makers, antislavery activists and the public. “There have been a lot of people working on issues of slavery across disciplines like History, Geography, Social Sciences, Psychology and Literature, but never talking to each other. But this was happening at the conference and it was very illuminating in all directions,” says Kevin. It is hoped that the project will influence policy and legal matters surrounding slavery, but, most importantly, will bring the lessons to be learned from history to anti-slavery organisations. The outputs will include several books (including Kevin’s own study of conflict as a driver in contemporary slavery), building up digital archives of the current anti-slavery movement, an e-book for anti-slavery organisations
outlining the successes and failures of previous movements and what can be learned today, a MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) and other open educational resources. Kevin says: “We hope that all the different parts of this project will support and teach those front line workers confronting slavery to do it better, so more people come to freedom more quickly. The second part is for those people who have come out of slavery. We want to create an understanding that they are not a bunch of pathetic victims. If we are going to have 36 million people come of out slavery – and that is certainly one of my goals – we need to understand how to reintegrate them into our societies in a way that doesn’t leave them as second-class citizens.” Much of the research will cover the three major, global anti-slavery movements prior to the current campaign tackling modern slavery. The first was the British movement to make the slave trade illegal that began in 1787 and was led through Parliament by Hull-born MP, William Wilberforce. The second was the American abolitionist movement that led to the American Civil War. The third was against the use of slaves in the Congo by the Belgians between 1896 and 1904. Kevin says: “The Congo has some interesting parallels with today because it was all based on demand for commodities for new technologies. The technology that was creating this enormous demand was the pneumatic tyre. Millions of bicycles were coming out of factories followed by the explosion of the automotive industry, and they were all running on rubber tyres. It’s a fascinating parallel as in some parts of the
UNIVERSITY OF HULL
Congo today there are a large number of people enslaved, mutilated and murdered in high numbers to supply contemporary new technologies – primarily minerals for electronics. “But, in the Congo, collective memory has been lost. The people say ‘We need to understand our own history and especially this history of repeated enslavement and exploitation.’� As well as the major global movements, researchers will seek lessons from individual liberations – how families or small communities are enslaved and come to freedom. Many different types of slavery have co-existed and evolved over time, and the justifications that people have used for slavery have also varied over time and geographically including race, gender, religion, nationality and caste. Today, slavery is illegal in every country in the world and Kevin says that polling among European populations shows that 90 per cent or more of people are aware, in basic terms, of modern slavery and human trafficking. “In a sense we’ve achieved that first level of awareness,� he says.
“Now it’s really about deepening awareness to know what the right strategies are to approach it and how it affects lives. It’s all about elaboration and sophistication of message now.� The barriers that remain are criminality and corruption, but Kevin believes that there has never been a greater opportunity to eradicate the problem. “It is illegal in every country, yet there are still thirty-six million people in slavery around the world today, more than at any other point in history. But that is a very small fraction of a global population of 7.2 billion. The International Labour Organization thinks slavery generates about $150-billion a year in output into the global economy. But out of a $15-trillion global economy this is truly a drop in the ocean. Thirty-six million people in slavery is a heck of a lot of people but it’s a tiny fraction of the global population, so we’re at a point in history where there are fewer slaves proportionally than ever before. And they are not really contributing much to a global economy except for criminals.
“What’s lacking is a full recognition of how slavery has been pushed to the very edges of human society� Professor Kevin Bales, Professor of Contemporary Slavery at the Wilberforce Institute
info More info cursor www. usablepast. ac.uk www.sun-gate. org www. antislaveryday. com www.hull.ac.uk/ wilberforce
đ&#x;“– Slave Next Door by Professor Kevin Bales
Below: Professor Kevin Bales of Wilberforce Institute is the lead project investigator for Anti-Slavery Usable Past
“So, what’s lacking is a full recognition of how slavery has been pushed to the very edges of human society and how it’s standing on the precipice of its own extinction. Part of the work we do is to say, how do you give it a hard push, and how much would it cost? Probably $25-billion over a 20- to 30- year period. Compared with the cost of a war, this is nothing. “When you explain this to people working in the anti-slavery movement, it changes their world view. They tend to be working with people who have been enslaved, tortured, raped – living in a very dark place. And then you say, ‘Guess what? You are just chipping away at it, but, in fact, with enough resources we’re going to have a lot more people chipping away at it and there is actually an end in sight to this.’� Undoubtedly, among those chipping away will be Shamere McKenzie. Having recently graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology, she hopes to become a lawyer to take the fight directly to today’s slavers and traffickers in the courts. Her story is far from over. n
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Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
Four ways our people are shaping a better future Throughout the year the University of Hull has made breakthroughs that have cast a light on how the world works and improved the quality of life for this and future generations. The University is amongst the top 50 UK institutions for
research power with impressive results in Science and Allied Health, whilst Geography and Computer Science ranked 3rd and 5th respectively for research impact. Here are four great examples of where we are making a difference.
Revolutionary treatment for varicose veins 30
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esearch at Hull has revolutionised the treatment of varicose veins meaning sufferers will no longer need invasive open surgery. Approximately 20 per cent of the UK adult population has varicose veins, which were traditionally treated with open surgery under a general anaesthetic, frequently followed by a prolonged, painful recovery period. Professor Ian Chetter and the team at the Academic Vascular Surgical Unit at Hull York Medical School (which combines the strengths of Hull and York Universities) performed pioneering walk-in-walk-out treatment under local anaesthetic utilising laser technology. Instead of being removed, the veins are destroyed using laser-generated heat delivered from within the vein itself. This results in the vein being reabsorbed by the body.
Patient Debra Rogerson, who had the operation at Hull Royal Infirmary, said: “I really didn’t want a general anaesthetic and I was doing everything I could to avoid the operation for as long as possible. I was in some pain and discomfort so I really needed it doing. It is a real relief that I could have walk-in-walk-out treatment.” Professor Chetter’s team’s research confirmed that this new treatment was safe, well tolerated and clinically effective, and resulted in a much quicker recovery, fewer complications and reduced recurrence rate when compared with traditional open surgery. They also contributed to a multicentre UK trial that showed the new treatment was also cost effective. Now the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends this technology as first-line treatment for any patient with varicose veins and its routine use has become established around the world.
Professor Ian Chetter performs revolutionary laser surgery at Hull Royal Infirmary on a patient suffering from varicose veins
UNIVERSITY OF HULL
“It is a powerful motivator to stand in front of a room of terminally ill cancer patients, who know current research efforts will not help them, but who can see hope on the horizon for the next generation,” says Dr Justin Sturge. A discovery made by the Hullbased academic is set to save the lives of thousands of men with prostate cancer. Dr Sturge showed that prostate cancer patients who have the Endo180 protein – sometimes called the ‘monster molecule’ – present in their tumours tend to have the most severe form of the disease. He believes this could hold the key to why some cancers become deadly when others don’t.
Lifesaving research into the ‘monster molecule’
Magnetic ink is the ticket Ink developed by a Hull University graduate will be used on millions of tickets across the world. Haydn Ward graduated with a first-class honours degree in Chemistry in 2014 and began work at Bemrose Booth Paragon (BBP), in Hull in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, a part governmentfunded scheme to encourage collaborations between businesses and universities. His primary task in his new role was to formulate magnetic ink that could be used in the manufacture of tickets. This was followed by ‘scale-up’, through the design and development of a full-scale ink manufacturing plant, including quality control and research and development laboratories. The ink is now being used in all UK rail tickets, tickets on the London Underground, the Paris Metro, the Cairo Metro and in hundreds of other locations.
Mr Ward is now developing new products using the ink while also undertaking a higher degree in Chemical Engineering. Rob Burgin, MD of BBP, says: “Haydn is an asset to the company and his work has contributed to the company’s future stability and profitability. We’ve been extremely impressed by the University, by the knowledge, commitment and enthusiasm, and support.”
“We found that around 65 per cent of men with Endo180 positive tumours died within five years of diagnosis, compared with just 39 per cent who did not have Endo180. We believe this research will ultimately help open the way to personalised medicine for prostate cancer patients,” he says. Dr Sturge is also working on an imaging agent that will highlight where cancerous tissue is in the body of people with prostate cancer. This tissue could then be removed using technology already in use for cancer treatment and he believes his discovery will have important implications for other dangerous cancers.
Mass extinction evidence can shed light on global warming Evidence of a mass extinction to rival that of the dinosaurs will further our understanding of the possible consequences of global warming. The University of Hull’s Department of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences made headlines around the globe when geologist David Bond found evidence of a sixth mass extinction. Dr Bond found rocks showing traces of a mass extinction of marine life dating back 260 million years in Spitsbergen, north of the Norwegian mainland. Similar findings had already been made in tropical regions such as China, 20 years ago, but there had been uncertainty over the event’s global impact. Dr Bond’s findings in the Arctic demonstrate the ‘Capitanian’ extinction took place, simultaneously, in a vastly different climate. “Our research means we can now say this is a true global extinction,” says Dr Bond. The extinction was caused by volcanic eruptions releasing carbon dioxide (CO2 ) into the atmosphere and high levels of mercury into the oceans. Studying the damage caused in the past by CO2 may help predict the damage that future CO2 levels could cause to ecosystems like coral reefs.
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Venn // Bringing together alumni & friends
Enterprising young start-ups The University’s Enterprise Centre has been incubating some of Hull’s top business talent in recent years. Venn discovers its potential and hears from one of its biggest success stories to date
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H
ull’s industrial landscape has undergone a paradigm shift over the past two decades. Where once fishing and logistics were mainstays, now the city is playing host to a tech revolution, mirroring the beginnings of Silicon Roundabout to the south and Silicon Glen to the north. And it’s not hard to see why. With an unrivalled fibre broadband network, a firmly established services sector and access to comparatively lowcost office and living space, Hull and the greater Humber region have attracted a plethora of tech start-ups – especially computer gaming firms.
The University, though, is undoubtedly the beating heart of the revolution. With one of the strongest and most influential Computer Science Departments in the UK, it’s overseen the development of some of the industry’s most promising talent over the years. There’s even a common saying therein that any given game studio – EA, Activision, Rockstar – will have its share of Hull graduates. Needless to say, the Computer Science Department commands considerable reach, not just within the games sector but also in the UK tech sector as a whole. This is something that has been fully harnessed within the University’s very own Enterprise Centre. An incubator space that offers low rent, business advice and proactive
mentorship to start-ups, the Centre has hoisted some 150 businesses to success since its establishment in 2008. Many of these have been tech startups keen to enter Hull’s fertile breeding ground of such entrepreneurial firms and begin operations in a rapidly growing global sector. It’s not just the tech sector to which the Centre is committed: firms ranging as far afield as architecture and real estate to nutrition and even pet furniture design have all operated under the one roof. In 2013/14 alone companies created in the Enterprise Centre generated £5.6 million Gross Value Added for the UK economy, and with a constant influx of talent this contribution is set to continue.
UNIVERSITY OF HULL
A gateway to Silicon Estuary Duncan Mulholland, co-founder and Operations Director at Hull-based game development studio Gateway Interactive, on coming through the University’s Enterprise Centre
D
uncan Mulholland has a lot to be excited about. Spectra, a debut title on which he and the team at Gateway Interactive have spent the past 18 months working tirelessly, has just been released on the Xbox One. In the computer gaming industry, this is no small matter; being asked to develop a game for one of the world’s biggest and most powerful next-generation consoles isn’t an opportunity that comes around every day for independent studios. Especially not when the founders left university only two years ago. Duncan and his business partner (and co-founder of Gateway Interactive), Louis Deane, are both graduates of the University of Hull’s Computer Science Department. It was here that they built up and applied their knowledge and passion for computer game development before securing office space at the University’s Enterprise Centre. “Working out of there, the help that we got was absolutely invaluable,” says Duncan. “There was no question that we could ask
Above: Duncan Mulholland, BSc Computer Science graduate and co-founder of Gateway Interactive
about business that they wouldn’t be willing to answer, and if they didn’t know the answer themselves they would find somebody to come in and tell us the answer.” Fostered by the Enterprise Centre and the expertise offered by the University, Gateway Interactive took off. The company was invited to spend three months at the prestigious Microsoft Ventures Accelerator Program before returning north with the backing of investors to set up operations in Hull. “We started hiring graduates from the University,” says Duncan, “because that’s what we wanted to do all along; we wanted to make sure that at its core this company gave something back to Hull and specifically the University. They’ve both been very good to us.”
The University is reciprocating the venture, offering regular support to employees of Gateway Interactive and other companies in the sector even after graduation. “Being able to drive to the University in five minutes and connect with anybody – that’s really, really essential,” says Duncan. “Every time we needed to talk to someone the staff were able to put us in immediate contact with the people we needed.” Gone are the days, Duncan explains, when titles were developed by a handful of people. Now developers must reach out to a multitude of individuals and as many areas of expertise to stay competitive in the fold. And he’s confident that Hull provides an ideal environment to this end, especially for start-ups.
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“Starting your own company is hugely daunting,” says Duncan. “Financially, it’s a non-starter for most people. But with the University’s Enterprise Centre providing the help and access that it does, along with the myriad of other incubators in the area, we like to think that there are a lot more graduates coming out now and realising that they really can start their own things.” Gateway Interactive hasn’t just given back to the University and the Humber region: it’s focused on contributing to the computer gaming industry as a whole, and in more ways than just making top-class games. The company’s vision is to create toolsets for others in the sector so that they themselves have a good chance of also becoming runners for next-generation consoles. In this collaborative spirit, Duncan recalls his time at the University in Hull and its Enterprise Centre: “The most incredible thing for me was the access to so many different people and so many different mental attitudes in one place. Students in the Computer Science Department have a reputation for being rather insular, but we actually connected with so many other departments on both official and unofficial levels. During most people’s formative years and when they’re in higher education they should be exposed to as much as they possibly can, so it was absolutely brilliant that the University enabled that.”
Gateway Interactive has been a true success story for the Centre, the University and the city, but it’s not the only one. Software developer BetaJester, digital development agency Smashed Crab Studio and VISR, the UK’s largest independent supplier of durable, low-cost cardboard virtual reality headsets, are all borne out of skilled graduates from the University. Aiming to enter the global digital gaming market, they’re being readily supported by the University, the Enterprise Centre and Platform – an
Above L to R: Adam Boyne, Ryan Lay, Josh Porter, BSc Computer Science graduates and co-founders of BetaJester Right: Entering virtual reality with a VISR headset
“Starting your own company is hugely daunting. Financially, it’s a non-starter for most people”
organisation which offers extensive mentoring to help people develop their own businesses and enter the global digital gaming market. Hull’s computer gaming scene continues to inspire hundreds of enterprising young start-ups across the UK, many of whom are looking to reach the top. For some this will remain only a dream, but for those physically surrounded by likeminded visionaries and access to unparalleled support in their business ventures, it’s fast becoming a reality. n
info More info cursor www. gateway interactive. co.uk www.hull. ac.uk/ enterprise www.hull. ac.uk/ computer science
LAST WORDS
UNIVERSITY OF HULL
Calling Hull home Founder and producer for theatre company Middle Child, alumnus Mungo Arney talks hilarity, humility and hope on the Humber
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hree years ago, I was slouched in a car outside The Minerva, hoping the foreshore would swallow me whole. In five minutes I was due on the iconic pub’s stage to deliver a ten-minute stand-up set. Now let me be clear – being funny is not my strong point. I don’t get jokes, let alone land them. I would have rather jumped the pier and backstroked to Barton-uponHumber, yet no such luck: this was stage three of the newly formed Middle Child’s internal development programme and compulsory for all members; we had a raucous and expectant audience of 12 and a job to do. Somehow, I saw it through. Be it the gorgeous venue, lovely crowd or supportive colleagues, I did it and lived to tell the tale. Skip forward three years and I’m still looking for the funny. On the plus side our audience has
Rising Stars: Mungo’s company Middle Child has produced 14 large-scale productions and three national tours in four years and won Musical Theatre Network’s Development Award for its production of ‘Weekend Rockstars’ at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
info More info cursor www.middle childtheatre. co.uk
grown a little; the company is still in Hull and hanging in there. Stand-up isn’t something we’ve returned to, but the trials and tribulations associated with that November night still ring true. There are huge highs and lows working in the arts, and often it can feel as though your livelihood depends solely on where the next smile is coming from, be it a funder, performance venue or from the bums on seats. As it did in The Minerva, that which surrounds me gets me through. Middle Child is a Hull company: we all went to University here, returned after our masters and have never left. If you took Middle Child out of Hull, its identity would be lost at sea: the
“If you took Middle Child out of Hull, its identity would be lost at sea: the city is one where straight shooting is a must, so we don’t talk down to our audiences”
city is one where straight shooting is a must, so we don’t talk down to our audiences; it is proud of its roots, so we embrace the past; it is an outlier, so we stride down the road less travelled. I like that. I’m proud that what we have created is so tightly woven into the fabric of its surroundings that to remove it would be to end it. It is an exciting time to be a Hullian; we’ve got 2017 coming up, the city centre is getting a spruce and with luck the Tigers will be promoted again come May. Fortunately, none of this depends on my stand-up ability, and although our development programme is over, we’ve never stopped looking for ways to progress. More importantly, neither has the city. When a community has the humility to look at itself and find a new way forward, you know the world is its oyster. What did the girl oyster say to the boy oyster? You never open up to me ... See, I warned you. n
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University of Hull Cottingham Road Hull, HU6 7RX United Kingdom T: +44 (0)1482 466645 E: alumni@hull.ac.uk
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