Reporter

Next issue: September 2011 Deadline: 15 August 2011

Inside Leeds counts down to the 2012 Olympics

Garden flourishes to win award: how the Bright Beginnings outdoor play area is helping children to learn and have fun. Page 14

The write stuff: students are honing their writing skills with expert advice from a Royal Literary Fellow. Page 10

[continued on page 2]

Five of our current students and several alumni are expected to compete in the Games. Champion triathletes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee (Sport & Exercise Science 2008 and School of History, respectively) hope to secure their Olympic places this season. The brothers currently sit on top of the triathlon world after finishing first and second at the ITU Dextro World Series race in Madrid. Their next major race is the London World Series in August, which will be run on the same course being used for the London 2012 Games. This race acts as a qualifier for the 2012 Great Britain (GB) Triathlon team, with Alistair and Jonny both keen to secure selection at the earliest opportunity.

Current students expecting to take part are Ed Scott (School of Medicine) who is the first-choice goalkeeper for the GB Water Polo team, and Claire Cashmore (Department of Linguistics and Phonetics) and Fran Williamson (School of Sociology and Social Policy) who will both represent GB in the Disability Swimming team. Another student,

With just over 12 months to go until London plays host to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Universitys students and staff and residents of the city itself are gearing up to play their parts in what is sure to be an unforgettable event.

Practice makes perfect: health professionals, trainee doctors and student nurses can sharpen their skills at new training centre. Page 4

Issue 559July 2011

Claire Cashmore will represent Great Britain in

Swimming at the Paralympic Games, along with Fran

Williamson.

Reporter / Issue 559

Leeds counts down to the Olympics [continued from front page]

THE REPORTER is the University of Leeds staff magazine and produced eight times a year. Over 8,500 copies are distributed to staff across campus.

The Reporter is produced by Sarah Ward in the Communications and Press Office. Contributors to this issue include Simon Jenkins, Sally Edwards, Alistair McFadyen, Lara Nulie and Paula Gould.

http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk WSTORIES AND LETTERSStory ideas and letters are welcomed as hard copy or in email. The deadline for the next issue is Monday 15 August.

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2

The Brownlee brothers celebrate victory in the ITU Dextro World Series race in Madrid.

During the run-up to London 2012 we are hoping to feature a series of Olympic-themed articles in the Reporter, so please get in touch if you:

are an academic conducting research related to London 2012

are a member of staff hoping to be a London 2012 Games Maker

know anyone with connections to the University who will be competing, officiating or helping to organise the Games.

Get in touch with our Olympic Programme Officer on m.davison@leeds.ac.uk and let us know your story!

Siroos Saeed (School of Mathematics), should be a member of the Iranian Swimming team. Alumni set to be part of Team GB are Rebecca Gallantree Diving; Matt Holland Water Polo; Ashleigh Ball Womens Hockey; Richard Yates Athletics; Paul Mattick Rowing.

As well as Leeds students taking part in the Games as athletes, some 80 students have already been interviewed for roles as London 2012 Games Makers volunteers who will welcome the thousands of visitors expected to visit the Olympic sites.

Matt Davison, Olympic Programme Officer added. Leeds was just one of a handful of universities approached by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) asking for student volunteers to be Games Makers. Its clear that our programme, excellent reputation for Olympic activity and volunteering initiatives such as LeedsforLife, help to develop our students into the kind of people that LOCOG are seeking to be the public face of London 2012.

Our reputation has also spread further afield, as the performance director of the Canadian Wheelchair Rugby team heard about the facilities available at Leeds especially The Edge and the proximity of suitable accommodation in Storm Jameson residences and approached us about bringing the team here for three training camps. Were close to a deal which will see the team complete their preparations for the 2012 Paralympic Games here at the University.

Members of the Universitys staff are also involved in London 2012. As reported in Reporter 558, sports injury expert Dr Phil OConnor (Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine) will lead a team of over 200 people diagnosing and treating injuries sustained by

athletes. His colleagues Carole Burnett and Carol Bailey will be lead radiographer and image service co-ordinator respectively. The team will provide a full imaging service for the 20,000 participants and is expected to carry out up to 60 MRI scans a day.

Culture is also an important part of the Olympic experience and four University initiatives have been granted the London 2012 Inspire Mark which recognises outstanding projects and events that will help deliver the Games lasting legacy. These include two series of Olympic-themed lectures. The third series took place earlier this year and proved to be extremely popular speakers included alumnus Martin Green, Head of Ceremonies for the Games. A fourth lecture series is planned for 2012.

Two projects based in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries are part of the official Cultural Olympiad. Wingbeats an arts project led by Adam Strickson has already held a series of events exploring flying in many forms, and more will take place next year. The University is also partnering the Balbir Singh Dance Company which has been commissioned by imove to develop Synchronised, a project involving synchronised swimmers and dancers. It will combine Balbirs interests of synthesising contemporary and Kathak dance with synchronised swimming, and work with dancers, swimmers and the general public.

Its already been confirmed that the Olympic Torch Relay will have an overnight stay in Leeds on 24 June 2012. Further details are still to be finalised including the names of the lucky few people who are chosen to carry the torch into and around the city but Leeds will definitely be hosting a large festival event to celebrate the Torchs visit.

Stewart Ross, Head of Commercial Services said The University has invested a significant amount of time and effort during the last three years to develop a distinctive Olympic programme, and the hard work is really paying off now. Were delighted the programme has managed to reach across culture, sport and education and will have a lasting impact on the University.

Full details of the Universitys Olympic Programme can be found at www.leeds.ac.uk/olympics W

Are you involved in London 2012?

3An enthusiastic audience attended the Green Impact Awards, held to mark the successes achieved during the first year of Green Impact, and the commitment and dedication of colleagues working to create a more sustainable environment across campus.

The environmental accreditation scheme run by the National Union of Students has only been in place for a year and its already achieved success, with 27 University teams registering and 20 teams being audited. Even more remarkable is the fact that two teams Information Systems Services and Leeds Institute of Health Sciences achieved Gold accreditation. Eleven teams were accredited to Bronze standard and a further eight were recognised as working towards accreditation.

Staff and departments who have signed up to the scheme are leading the way, said Dennis Hopper, Director of Facilities Management. Its great to see that real progress is being made across the University.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Student Education Vivien Jones echoed the sentiment, saying: This is an area that the University takes very seriously and its important to recognise

the huge efforts that people have made to participate in Green Impact. The first year of the scheme has been very successful, and has highlighted the large number of staff working together to create a sustainable environment.

Dr Lizzie Reather (Faculty of Medicine and Health) received a special award sponsored by the union Unite for her Outstanding commitment to sustainability. Presenting the award Jo Westerman MBE, chair of Leeds University branch, said: As well as co-ordinating her facultys uptake in Green Impact, she takes part in and supports a wide range of sustainability initiatives, including acting as joint-chair of the University Bicycle Users Group (BUG) and working to improve infrastructure for cyclists across the campus.

If you are interested in becoming involved in Green Impact next year please contact the Sustainability Team at sustainability@leeds.ac.uk

Further details on Green Impact can be found on the website. www.leeds.ac.uk/greenimpact/ W

Green Impact Awards make their mark!

Leeds plays host to WUN conferenceA WUN international conference hosted by the University on Asia-Pacific, Regionalism and Global Governance attracted internationally renowned scholars from China, Korea, Australia, Mexico, United States, Canada, Norway and Belgium.

Hosted by Professors Christopher Dent and Joern Dosch (East Asian Studies), the event was part of a broader WUN project looking at developments in the Asia-Pacific region which accounts for around a half of the worlds population and economy. Key discussion themes

included the global impacts made by powerful individual nations such as China, United States and Japan, as well as the impacts of different forms of regional co-operation and integration within the Asia-Pacific.

The presented papers form the basis of a book to be edited by Professors Dent and Dosch and published in 2012. Project partners have already started to put together new research collaborations based on their shared interests, for example emerging development aid donors from the Asia-Pacific.

There are plans for a follow-up event to be held at the University of Alberta in June 2012. For further details contact Christopher Dent (c.m.dent@leeds.ac.uk) or Joern Dosch (j.dosch@leeds.ac.uk).

Gold Award Information Systems Services (ISS) Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (LIHS)

Bronze Award Access and Community Engagement Estate Services School of Healthcare Leeds University Library Clinical Trials Research Unit (CTRU) Strategy and Planning Student Administration Leeds Dental Institute Institute for Transport Studies Earth and Environment LIGHT Building

Silver Award No silver awards

Working towards accreditation Communications Team Faculty of Medicine and Health School of Education Engineering (SPEME) Sport and Physical Activity Catering and Conferencing School of Music

Unite award for outstanding commitment to sustainability Dr Lizzie Reather

July 2011

Student Administration team members (l-r) Rosie Dowen, Lisa Gleeson, Edel Doherty receive their award from Professor Vivien Jones.

Louise David of LIHS celebrates winning the Gold award with Mike Howroyd from the Sustainability team.

Reporter / Issue 559

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The new Clinical Practice Centre, a joint venture between Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds Foundation Partnerships Trust, NHS Leeds, the University of Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan University and the Open University, has officially opened.

Funded with 2.85 million from the Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority, the centre is part of an innovative partnership with a range of education and training providers. It will offer training for existing NHS staff across the city, as well as the next generation of nurses, doctors and healthcare workers.

The centre puts Leeds at the forefront of work to modernise the training offered by university schools of medicine and healthcare and NHS Trusts. It will ensure trainee and qualified NHS staff are familiar with the latest techniques so there is no need to repeat training when moving around the country.

Facilities in the new centre include a simulated four-bed ward plus mocked up treatment and observation rooms, allowing staff and students to practice different procedures in realistic surroundings. The

centre is also kitted out with state-of-the-art audio visual equipment and video-conferencing facilities.

Dr Mitch Waterman, Pro-Dean for Learning and Teaching at the University of Leeds Faculty of Medicine and Health, said: It is vital that graduating students are well prepared to enter the rapidly changing world of healthcare delivery, both in the UK and internationally. This new purpose-designed facility will give prospective doctors and healthcare professionals the opportunity to practise and perfect their skills through simulation before they perform procedures on patients.

Ruth Holt, Chief Nurse at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: The Clinical Practice Centre is an enormous step forward for academic training here in Leeds and we are tremendously proud of what has been achieved. Health practitioners at all levels can look forward to a much improved learning environment with better facilities, and for patients this will mean they are looked after by better prepared and more confident staff.

Professor Patsy Stark, who has been leading the project on behalf of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Leeds, said: Previously training was undertaken piecemeal in rooms scattered across hospitals and health centres in the city and on private premises. Now, students and staff will have access to vastly improved new space over three floors which can be used flexibly to suit every training need.

Practice makes perfect for nurses and doctors at new 2.85m training centre

New standard for University signageAll new signage for University buildings must comply with the newly-released Signage Design Guide, and should be procured via Estate Services. The Guide covers both internal and external signage and is available at www.leeds.ac.uk/estate_services/downloads/Signage_Design_Guide_Rev_J_April_2011.pdf . It details the colours, fonts and materials which can be used, as well as rules about logos, wording and proliferation. The Guide replaces the previous guidelines on the identity management webpages.

For further information contact Steve Winter, Head of Maintenance and Operations: S.J.Winter@leeds.ac.uk

LUBS hosts world-class scholarLeeds University Business School recently hosted a high-profile, world-class scholar from Georgia State University, Professor Tamer Cavusgil, known for his substantial and sustained contributions to the fields of international business and global marketing.

To coincide with Professor Cavusgils visit the divisions of Management and International Business, led by Dr Vassiliki Bamiatzi, organised a workshop on Management, Entrepreneurship and International Business.

The workshop was a complete success, says Dr Bamiatzi. We had 28 participants, involved in a fruitful, productive discussion. Professor Cavusgil opened the workshop with an inspiring presentation on the Pressing Issues in International Marketing and Business Scholarship & Observations on Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets and provided invaluable comments and advice.

Health professionals, trainee doctors and student nurses can now sharpen their skills in a state-of-the-art training centre on the St Jamess University Hospital campus in Leeds.

News round-up

Students and staff get hands on in the new centre.

5July 2011

The LeedsforLife website is already embedded within the University and provides a simple, effective system that enables staff and students to make personal tutorials as beneficial as possible, says David Gardner, Learning and Teaching Support Office. The majority of schools are now using this system, and almost half our students are supported by LeedsforLife across all their years of study.

Staff and students suggested ways that the website could be improved, so were making a series of changes. A major improvement is that personal tutors can now use the website to record meetings with their tutees, and students have a specific place to record and reflect on the skills development opportunities theyve organised for themselves or found outside the University.

Other new features that will be in place for the 2011/12 academic year include:

webforms tailored to the personal tutoring needs of part-time and foundation year students

an online tutorial booking system linked to Outlook

a searchable database of all volunteering opportunities across the campus

an enhanced career mentoring system.

The new webforms address the needs of mature or part-time students, many of whom are studying for career-related reasons and really understand what LeedsforLife is trying to do, says the Lifelong Learning Centres Tony Ellis. Weve also published an introductory booklet to LeedsforLife to give to all non-traditional students, which stresses

its relevance to people already in or seeking to change careers. In future were seeking to badge other relevant programmes and innovations in schools, so that it becomes a consistent theme that LeedsforLife is about personal development.

LeedsforLife is accessible for up to five years beyond graduation, so students can continue to update and benefit from the information in their Living CV and personal tutors can use it to write references.

LeedsforLife offers even moreNew improvements to the LeedsforLife website will enable personal tutors to help their students to get even more out of their time at Leeds and prepare them to follow their chosen career path.

We have embedded LeedsforLife into the first year curriculum through our compulsory module, Personal Tutorials. This module is designed to enhance students academic, professional and personal development. We actively promote LeedsforLife from the outset, so that students can locate and engage in co-curricular opportunities to develop their employability. Its also a good way for us to publicise opportunities available within the School.

The LeedsforLife webforms provide a place for students to articulate their skills development, record their achievements, and reflect on their progress. As a result, we have found that students are better prepared for tutorial meetings, and discussions with their personal tutor tend to be more productive. Another key advantage is that information recorded on webforms can be used to write more informative and personalised references for students.Larissa Bdzola, Leeds University Business School

Honorary degree nominationsMembers of the University are invited to submit names for consideration by the Committee on Honorary Degrees when it meets in the autumn. The criteria specify that honorary degrees may be awarded to individuals:

(a) of real achievement and eminence in their respective fields, individuals who are distinguished by excellence, originality and the capacity to excite.

(b) It is expected that the list of honorary graduates in any year will reflect the breadth of the Universitys activities and interests, and in particular the local, national and international dimensions to its work as well as the Universitys values.

Nominations together with any supporting comments should be sent to Rebecca Messenger-Clark (Governance & Corporate Affairs Officer, Secretariat), by 9 September under confidential cover.

In terms of the whole student experience, LeedsforLife has now embedded personal tutoring into a much wider framework and clarified what students can expect. It encourages them to take responsibility for their own progress, and genuinely helps them to explore all the options that are open to them at Leeds.Susan Daniels, School of Performance and Cultural Industries

6Reporter / Issue 559

Delegation members travelled far and wide, undertaking a whole range of activities. Colleagues took part in several media interviews to raise the profile of the University and the week also saw the annual general meeting of the Worldwide Universities Network, which was attended by the Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Arthur and International Director Dr Judith Lamie.

Colleagues including Professor Peter Buckley, Marc Smelik, and Phil Steel joined the Vice-Chancellor and Dr Lamie to pay a reciprocal visit to the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing. A delegation from UIBE visited the University in 2010, and this meeting was an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to continuing and developing the relationship between the two institutions.

The Vice-Chancellor, together with Susan Daniels (PVAC International Director and Chair of China Working Group), Dr Lamie and Julia Wang, also visited the Shanghai Education Commission (SEC). Shanghai has always been a major market for

students to study abroad, and this visit allowed us to build our relationship with SEC and gain a better understanding of the Chinese governments plan for educational internationalisation and the opportunities this might bring, said Dr Lamie.

Professor Arthur, Dr Lamie and Julia Wang joined Professor Roger Halson (School of Law and ESSL International Director) and Kun Chen, Head of our China Office, for a formal ceremony to sign a further agreement between the School of Law at Leeds and East China University of Politics and Law (ECUPL) under which high flier students from ECUPL will complete their degree in law in three instead of the usual four years, before taking an LLM at Leeds. ECUPL has one of the highest ranked law schools in China. The agreement signed builds upon previous collaborations including the first Shanghai Summer School for Leeds law students in 2010. Both universities are working hard together to take the successful strategic partnerships to the next level, embracing a wider remit of internationalisation and research collaborations.

Visits to several cultural institutions were also on the itinerary, and members of the Leeds delegation visited the Shanghai Music Conservatory, the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the Academy of Visual Arts.

The visit was also an opportunity to increase links with alumni. Alumni dinners were held in Shanghai and Beijing, and a workshop for business leaders (including alumni) in Shanghai. Discussions were held about internships and ways to support the internationalisation of the student experience, and better prepare students for life after Leeds.

The culmination of the visit was an event in Hong Kong for more than 150 alumni and industry contacts, guests and VIPs, which was designed to showcase some of the Universitys world-class research and its real-world impact. Guests listened to a lecture on regenerative medicine Growing old and living young given by Professor Shervathi Homer-Vanniasinkam, Clinical Dean in the School of Medicine, and member of the WELMEC Centre.

Wide-ranging visit strengthens Chinese linksAcademic, cultural and professional ties between the University and Chinese institutions and organisations were strengthened during a week-long visit to China by a delegation of some 20 colleagues.

Members of the Leeds delegation including Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Arthur (middle) with members of ECUPL. Party Secretary Professor D U Zhichun is on the front, fourth from the left.

More than 200 international students attended the annual Life after Leeds graduation event, together with a host of special guests including the Lord Mayor of Leeds Councillor Reverend Alan Taylor and International Director Dr Judith Lamie.

The event was planned and organised by Tim Rhodes and Larissa Wood from the International Student Office in collaboration with internal partners from the Careers Centre, Leeds University Union and Alumni Office. Members of the University

Chaplaincy also attended, together with representatives from external partners Henry Hyams Solicitors, Tudor International Freight Company and STA Travel.

It was a privilege to see the event being so well received by the many international students, said Tim Rhodes. Were grateful for the professional presentations given by our partners; their knowledge and advice will serve our students well, whether they choose to remain in the UK following their studies, or return home with their success stories.

International celebration

The Lord Mayor of Leeds chats to one of the international students at the graduation event.

July 2011

7

Beyond boots and handshakesLocal knowledge and long-term relationships with religious communities are vital to effective community policing, according to new Leeds-based research announced at Religion, Policing and Security, a major international colloquium held at the University.Neighbourhood policing teams can make a real difference to community cohesion by learning about religion in their local contexts and being aware of the difference it makes to everyday life. However, a study of police officers attitudes to religion in two London boroughs found that some were hampered in their work by fear of causing offence.

We call it boots and handshakes, explains Dr Alistair McFadyen, senior lecturer in Christian Theology and a serving Special Constable with the West Yorkshire Police. Sometimes when thinking about religion, police officers focus on rules like whether to take your shoes off to go into a place of worship, or who you can and cannot shake hands with and they worry that theyll cause offence or be in trouble, if they get the rules wrong. So, religion gets treated as something to worry about that can get in the way of efficient police work.

Our research found that many individual police officers had a deep knowledge of religious communities, built up over many years. Were recommending that their knowledge is more widely shared, so that other officers are equipped with the skills to understand everyday, local religious life.

This is important for all aspects of policing and its the basis on which responses to specific issues, like the threat of terrorism, can be built.

Assistant Chief Constable John Parkinson, who attended the colloquium, said: Our experience in West Yorkshire has taught us that good neighbourhood policing and counter-terrorism work go together. Both require a thorough understanding of all communities and how they work and live together. The Police Service needs to work with and understand religious communities as part of our responsibility to society as a whole.

Dr McFadyen and Dr Melanie Prideaux (Department of Theology and Religious Studies [TRS]) led the research, which was conducted with the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme and the Metropolitan Police Service. The two-day colloquium was attended by senior policy-makers, academics and practitioners to discuss the complex, sensitive situations that arise in policing multi-religious and secular communities and focus on the relationship between police community engagement and social cohesion on the one hand, and counter-terrorist work and security on the other.

Download the full report at www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/downloads/file/804/effective_community_policing W

Colloquium attendees (l-r): Mel Prideaux (TRS); John Parkinson, Assistant Chief Constable, West Yorkshire Police; Mike Higton, Cambridge Interfaith Programme.

Contributing to the debate: Inspector Nik Adams, West Yorkshire Police.

A new artist on the University sceneAcclaimed theatre designer Becs Andrews is the latest recruit to the Universitys Academy of Cultural Fellows a group of artists and performers with a mission to create new work, inspire others and bring arts into the community.

Her two-year appointment with the School of Performance and Cultural Industries is funded by the Future Fund of Opera North and will afford her the freedom to develop her own skills while collaborating with the opera company and working on community theatre projects.

Since graduating, Becs has gained a reputation as one of the rising stars of stage design, working on projects including the multimedia set for Momo by the Ballet Berne, the spectacular touring childrens opera At The Rim of the World, and productions with the Royal Opera House and theatres across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Her appointment as the DARE Cultural Fellow in Operatic Scenography is the latest product of the fruitful partnership between the University and Opera North. Im looking forward to absorbing the culture of both organisations and working on projects at the Grand Theatre, in the Howard Assembly Rooms and at the University, she says.

The opportunity offered by these collaborations is fantastic. Ive worked as a jobbing theatre designer for years, and usually get called into a project thats already set up. This is the opportunity to join a production from the start and create something new, exciting and vibrant.

She will also take her work into the community, schools, youth groups and regional arts organisations.

Reporter / Issue 559

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Faculty focusFaculty focus Faculty focus

ResearchLeeds has one of the largest health-related research bases in the UK and this is largely thanks to the Universitys excellent relationship with its NHS neighbours. Many staff wear two hats running a research project in the morning, talking to patients in the afternoon and the recruitment rate to clinical trials in Leeds is second to none. Little wonder that the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise identified world-leading research across the facultys schools and institutes.

The phrase bench to bedside and back again provides a reasonably good description of the facultys research strategy. The main difference is that we are moving away from the conventional linear pipeline model and taking a more cohesive approach to translation, combining our

interdisciplinary strengths in the three key areas of fundamental biomedical research, applied health research and clinical research at all stages of the research and innovation process.

Our strongest potential for translation arises where strengths converge, ie:

Cancer research Musculoskeletal research

(including dentistry)

Cardiovascular researchThe faculty hosts the Biomedical and Health Research Centre (BHRC) a strategic partnership between the four science faculties of the University and the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as well as a number of collaborative research centres.

Each edition of the Reporter takes a look at one of the Universitys nine faculties here Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health, Professor Peter McWilliam, tells us more about the faculty.

Medicine andHealth

Medicine and HealthFaculty facts 1600 staff, 6200 students (550 international)

59 million annual research income (900 live grants)

135 million annual turnover (25% of University total)

28% of our undergraduates are from lower socio-economic groups

Employability to graduate destinations is 93% at six months

Faculty facts

The Faculty of Medicine and Health is a major international centre for research and education and by far the largest of the Universitys nine faculties. The faculty comprises the Leeds Dental Institute, Institute of Psychological Sciences, the School of Healthcare, and the School of Medicine.

It is no exaggeration to say that the faculty is bigger than many entire universities. As a result, the faculty is home to a large and diverse collection of individuals, as the make-up of the senior management team shows: I am a physiologist; the facultys Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation, Professor Jennifer Kirkham, is a biochemist; the Pro-Dean for Student Education, Dr Mitch Waterman, is a cognitive psychologist; while the Facultys Director of Health Enterprise and Knowledge Transfer, Dr Susan Hamer, is a nurse.

July 2011

9

Faculty focus New system to track postgraduate progressA new web-based Postgraduate Development Record System (PDR) will provide integrated support to all postgraduate researchers (PGRs), supervisors, administrative and training staff from this autumn.

The University-wide PDR will provide one common system across all faculties and schools. It will electronically record and track meetings between supervisors and PGRs, postgraduate student training, formal reports on student progress, and transfer from provisional registration. The system will be used and accessible by all PGRs, all academic staff involved in the career of a research student (supervisor[s], PGR tutors, internal and external examiners, advisers, external supervisors, research groups, members of transfer assessment panel), and administrative staff who support PGRs.

The PDR will replace paper-based processes, can be accessed remotely and securely, and be easily maintained, updated and searched, allowing for more efficient and responsive record keeping. It will support organisation of supervision and PGR study by indicating to supervisors when milestone activities, such as formal progress reports, are due. It will also be easier for joint supervisors to see and share information. It will monitor key contacts between PGRs and supervisors to support compliance with UK Border Agency visa requirements for international students.

The system is easy and intuitive to use, without the need for training. However, support and guidance is available if required.

Professor Edward Spiers, Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Director of the Universitys current PGR Project, said: This is a major development, which should enhance the experience of postgraduate researchers at Leeds. By providing a standardised electronic system of record-keeping across the University as a whole, it should enable the University to move towards its goal of realising a commonality of postgraduate experience across all faculties and schools.

Further information and details about the names of support contacts for the PDR in faculties and schools can be found at www.leeds.ac.uk/student_processes_project/pdrs/index.htm W

Study Our faculty receives almost 11,000 applications from prospective undergraduates, and many more from professionals and others seeking postgraduate study. Between them, the facultys schools and institutes deliver a wide variety of taught undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with subjects ranging from medicine, dentistry and nursing through to midwifery, social care, audiology (rated first in the UK in the National Student Survey) pharmacy practice, public health, health informatics, hospital management and psychology.

Our record on widening participation (WP) is impressive. The faculty is exceeding the Universitys target for attracting students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and has consistently done so for several years. A diverse array of more than 40 separate WP activities support this success, including the innovative access programme that links the School of Medicine with the foundation and degree programmes in Clinical Science at the University of Bradford. The facultys WP team and volunteer students from our schools participate enthusiastically in these events.

Many of the courses we offer are delivered with NHS partners across the region. Medicine, for example, is taught at 100 different locations in West and South Yorkshire, including two major partners Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust and Bradford Teaching Hospitals Trust as well as district hospitals, GP practices and health centres. Our dental students undertake placements in outreach teaching clinics in Bradford, South Leeds and Hull, helping forge closer links with local healthcare providers and the communities they will ultimately be working in.

As a faculty, we are keeping ahead of the competition by investing in state-of-the-art facilities for our students. Medical students now have iPhones for mobile learning and assessment, and dental students will soon benefit from haptic drilling simulators that enable users to sense touch and force.

Impact Our overriding vision is to improve health and to reduce health inequalities locally, nationally and internationally. One way to do this is through education for this generation of healthcare professionals and the next. Our distinctive interdisciplinary approach to translational research is clearly vital, too. We are expecting this strategy to accelerate the route to impact and allow us to focus our time and resources around specific clinical challenges. Our goal is to deliver research that is sustainable, distinctive and responsive to external opportunities. This may sound ambitious but we want to address truly global grand challenges across biomedicine and health. Last weeks global research headlines featured Professor Alan Melchers work on a vaccine for prostate cancer; this weeks are about a breakthrough in the fight against hepatitis C. I am sure that next weeks news will be equally exciting.

The facultys international strategy draws together our dual commitments to education and impactful research. We have a strong commitment to international health, not least through the work of colleagues in the School of Medicine who are helping establish systems for delivering basic curative and preventative health programmes in some of the worlds most vulnerable, under-served populations (see the feature in Reporter 556 on COMDIS HSD). We are also establishing a long-term relationship with a low-middle income country for health-focused research and education (the Leeds University Africa Health Collaboration). Experience gained from this work will ultimately be used to benefit other low-income countries.

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Reporter / Issue 559

More than 2,000 cancer patients have signed up to clinical trials at the Leeds Cancer Research UK Centre since its official opening last year.

The centre, which recently celebrated its first birthday, brings together researchers and support from Cancer Research UK, the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Collaboration has been the key to the success of the centre, which is based mainly at St Jamess University Hospital. By making it easier for researchers in the labs to work alongside doctors on the ward, patients benefit as soon as possible from research findings.

Professor Tim Bishop, head of genetic epidemiology at the University and chair of the Leeds Cancer Research UK Centre, said: Its been a fantastic first year. The centre has stimulated new ways of working and built closer links with scientists, doctors, chemists, physicists, biologists and engineers on site,

working hard to bring treatments from the lab to the clinic much faster. It is a huge benefit for patients to be on clinical trials and we are delighted that so many have been recruited from across Leeds and the wider region in the last year.

Milestone as centre celebrates first birthday

The write stuff

Livi is the second author to be appointed in the faculty under an RLF Fellowship scheme which is run in partnership with British universities and colleges. The scheme funds and places professional writers in institutions for a two-year period, during which they offer writing support and advice to undergraduates.

We were keen to offer writing support within the faculty and the RLF scheme seemed like an ideal solution, says Pro-Dean for Learning and Teaching Martin Purvis. We applied in 2008 and were lucky enough to get our first fellow Paul Sayer almost immediately. That proved so successful that, when Pauls time with us was over, we jumped at the chance to host Livis fellowship.

Livi is with us two days a week. Students consult with her on a voluntary basis, sometimes responding to a tutors recommendation. They book in for hour-long slots during which they can discuss particular problems. Last year, Livi delivered just over 200 consultations in total and held surgeries in the Schools of Geography and Earth and Environment. Although the service is confidential, weve received feedback

that students really value the help that a professional author like Livi can provide.

Livi, too, is enthusiastic about the Fellowship, saying: Its a fabulous scheme, and one of the best ways of employing a writers ability to help people understand the features that make a good piece of writing. Often its not the fact that students havent been working hard, instead theyve almost been doing too much and theyre drowning in a sea of information! I talk to them about things like note taking, how to frame an argument and sentence construction. Although Ive no specialist environmental knowledge, I can see clearly how essay structure and writing style can be improved.

Personally, its given me the freedom and income to work on my next novel. The scheme is a great initiative and Id love to see more disciplines and more universities take on RLF Fellows to help their students.

The RLFs Director of Education Steve Cook says: When the Fellowships began in 1999 it was more common for English departments to host Fellows. Over the years weve got better at broadening the base and now were delighted that around a third of

Fellows are working mainly with science, business or social science students. Leeds is a flagship post in this respect.

For our Fellows, working on campus is a refreshing change from the normally reclusive life of a professional writer: they love the variety of students they encounter and feel that they have something unique to offer in return. Students are generally appreciative of the help they get and kind enough to tell the Fellows what improvements they see in their work. That makes for excellent job satisfaction!

We trust that University staff see the Fellow as an ally in the overall enterprise of helping students get the best possible marks and learning experience. We provide added value to what the University already offers. And the wonderful thing is that its all paid for by the independent charitable income of the RLF, thanks to bequests made by authors such as Somerset Maugham and A.A. Milne.

More information visit www.rlf.org.uk/ and www.livimichael.com/ W

Now we are one (l- r): the Universitys Professors Peter Selby and Tim Bishop, Teri Wadsworth (patient), Peter Sneddon (Cancer Research UK) and Dr Geoff Hall (Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust).

Photo Yorkshire Post Newspapers

Students in the Faculty of Environment are honing their writing skills with expert advice and help from Livi Michael, a professional author and member of the Royal Literary Fund (RLF).

Author Livi Michael.

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Leader columnProfessor Michael J P ArthurUniversity Vice-Chancellor

Burnt Mill Comprehensive was built to educate the children of the post-war migration from Londons East End to Harlow New Town. Attracted by preferential business rates (and modern housing), craftspeople and entrepreneurs like my cabinet-maker father grew successful manufacturing businesses on which the town prospered.

He was canny enough to provide me with dull holiday work; the monotony of the production line more than anything shaped my determination to obtain the qualifications that would open the door to a fulfilling career. I was lucky enough to attend a school where it was assumed from the moment you set foot in it that if you had the ability, you were going to university.

Burnt Mill no longer has a sixth form and has clearly been through mixed fortunes; it sits, after all, in the countrys fifth most deprived area.* Quite recently, only one GCSE pupil was studying history, and the boom years have scarcely impacted on the fabric of the school. Little had changed in four decades; the same buildings, laboratories and common rooms, although computers are everywhere (and theres a much better drum kit in the music room); a playing field stood waist-high in weeds apparently because the cash for astro-turf had failed to materialise.

Such lack of capital investment contrasted sharply with the inspirational energy of the schools new head, Helena Mills, and the enthusiasm of her pupils. A historian herself, shes taking the school in a new direction; over 60 boys and girls are now studying history, and theres huge focus on realising potential and on everyone aiming as high as possible. The pupils I met were deeply interested in all aspects of university life and the opportunity it offers. Having done routine holiday jobs themselves, they related easily to my experience (and were entertained by the notion of professors working in factories).

While they largely hadnt appreciated the scale of the cuts visited on universities, and why therefore fees were going up

by so much, they had an incredibly mature understanding of the financial arrangements and were well prepared to make the necessary commitment. Their parents were certainly worried about debt figures dominating the headlines, but only three pupils (from a group of 20 or so) were concerned about the potential cost of university education. Ill be delighted to welcome some of these aspirational youngsters to our campus in due course.

Meanwhile further welcome evidence of the opportunities available to our graduates came with a substantial 7%-point increase in the annual destinations survey. The commitment of our careers staff to students is fantastic, and Im convinced our destinations figure would be even better if more students took their advice. This is their busiest year yet with 7,000 student visitors which means another 23,000 are not as concerned about the future as they might be!

The White Paper brought few surprises and one bad idea, of which more shortly. It doesnt change our thinking or the course we have set ourselves; our financial plans and student numbers will accommodate the relatively modest changes proposed; we factored in a potential 5% decrease in student numbers and many schools were aiming in any event to improve their staff-student ratios by cutting student numbers as well as making appointments.

The economies exercise prepared us for the new landscape by removing unnecessary costs and improving efficiency. As a result, we now have two substantial tranches of funding available to ease us into the new system. We have earmarked an additional 12m from tuition fee income for schools to improve the student experience, predominantly on academic staff but other ideas include funding field trips, placements and new student facilities. The student union is also involved in these discussions.

Weve also added 9m to our annual strategic pot (the strategic support and

development fund) to help schools with the transition into the new system and deal with fluctuations in recruitment, for example, or reshaping courses or more support for PhD students. Proposals for appointing up to 50 new academic leadership posts are being worked on by deans and others.

The sting in the tail of the White Paper taking 20,000 places out of the system and redistributing them in the main (almost certainly) to private and further education providers who charge less than 7,500 a year will do nothing for those year elevens at Burnt Mill who want to come to universities like ours.

In the short term, it will mean fewer places at Leeds around 300 in 2012 for those who do not achieve AAB at A level, and that has a disproportionate effect on the university chances of low income and disadvantaged applicants. The numbers will even out over time but I fear the immediate, perverse, effect (as we warned politicians) will be to limit rather than widen participation.

This clunky attempt to stir market behaviour into the university system will one day be revealed for the side-show it is, as if the new fees hadnt already done enough to incentivise universities into doing their best for teaching, learning and the student experience.

For now, the University of Leeds is more than ready for the changes ahead; we have created headroom for academic investment and our finances are sound. We are clear that our students are our partners, rather than consumers, and what that relationship requires of staff and students. Above all, and whatever the pressures created by the new funding arrangements, we understand there can be no compromise on our academic standards and professionalism.

Have a great summer.

* According to the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index, a government analysis of the proportion of children under 16 living in low income households.

Going back to the school Id left some 40 years ago to talk to pupils about their hopes and aspirations was an eye-opener.

Reporter / Issue 559

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In the news

Further details of press coverage can be found at http://mediacuttings.leeds.ac.uk/index.aspx W

Its hoped that the opening of the new Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield one of the biggest purpose-built art galleries outside London will attract people to visit the area. Dr Mark Westgarth (School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies) appeared on BBC Radio Leeds talking about how local people may use the gallery and the potential economic benefits to the town as it becomes a destination for art tourism. www.hepworthwakefield.org W

Research showing that the inner-core of Earth is simultaneously melting and freezing due to circulation of heat in the overlying rocky mantle was featured in Nature and several other media outlets including the Daily Mail online and the Telegraph India. The study was a collaboration between the University, UC San Diego and the Indian Institute of Technology. The Universitys Dr Jon Mound and Dr Sebastian Rost (School of Earth and Environment) were both quoted.

Professor John McLeod (School of English) participated in In for the Kill, a BBC Radio 4 programme concerning contemporary black British crime writing. The programme looked at how the autobiographical narratives of the past are being superseded by new writers who are tackling other genres notably crime fiction and why there is still a reluctance to see the black detective as hero.

Research from the University into a potential vaccine for prostate cancer generated considerable media attention from local, national and international media. Professor Alan Melcher (Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine), who co-led the study was quoted in the Times and Express, and the story was also covered by several news stations including ITN News and BBC Radio Leeds.

An infestation of caterpillars in a Bradford park was the subject of a story on BBC Look North, and included an interview with Dr Tom Cameron (Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology) in which he reassured viewers that the ermine moth larvae were completely harmless. Thousands of the caterpillars have stripped 15 trees of all their leaves and spun huge communal webs throughout the park.

The first images of small, red hieroglyphs written inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu were published in New Scientist and picked up by other media. The photographs were taken by a robot which has a camera that can see around corners, built by the Universitys Rob Richardson (School of Mechanical Engineering). Hes part of a team working on the Djedi project named after the magician consulted by Pharaoh Khufu when he planned the pyramid.

Dr James Worrall (School of Politics and International Studies) appeared on Al Jazeera discussing the recent decision by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to set up a paramilitary force of foreign mercenaries in Abu Dhabi. The UAE has hired Erik Prince founder of the US security company Blackwater to establish the 800-member battalion of foreign troops, in a deal worth $529m.

X-Men vs Bionic Women, an event at the Cheltenham Science Festival in which Professor John Fisher (School of Mechanical Engineering) played a key role, attracted media attention from around the world and was filmed by a Bulgarian TV crew. The talk included how engineers and scientists are working on technologies that could help make people faster, smarter, stronger than nature could manage, and the dilemmas such advances could bring.

The Universitys Professor Janet Cade (School of Food Science and Nutrition) and Professor Iona McCleery (School of History) discussed their exhibition on the history of the sweet tooth on Radio 4s Womans Hour. The exhibition Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice, which forms part of their Wellcome Trust funded project You Are What You Ate, is at Wakefield Museum until October. www.leeds.ac.uk/youarewhatyouate W

Faraday a University spin out company specialising in innovative packaging made an appearance with member company Sun Chemical at the Interpack exhibition in Dsseldorf. The trade press, including Packaging News, picked up the companys Power of Touch design process which can deliver a range of textured packaging surfaces.

Dr Oliver Phillips (School of Geography) featured in an article in the New York Times about the relationship between lianas parasitical vines and the trees in tropical forests that are host to them. Research has shown that the lianas are outcompeting trees in areas of the Amazon, northern South America and Central America. As lianas do not store as much carbon as trees, this could have implications for the carbon-storage capacity of tropical forests.

The Guardian featured research from the Timescapes project, which says that support services need to be adapted to deal with a new group of younger grandparents who are mainly responsible for caring for their grandchildren, often enduring hardship as a result. Dr Kahryn Hughes (School of Sociology and Social Policy) joint researcher on the project with Dr Nick Emmel, was quoted.

HonoursCongratulations to Commercial Services which has been awarded the Customer First Standard by Putting the Customer First the awarding body for the National Standard for Customer Service in recognition of its efforts as a service to put the customer at the heart of what they do and deliver a first-class customer experience.

As separate services Catering and Conferencing had previously achieved the National Standard, but this is the first time that Sport & Physical Activity has gone through the accreditation process. Following visits and interviews, the assessor praised many examples of good practice in all areas of the business and where it was a re-assessment, was pleased to see that strong progress had been made.

More information about the Customer First standard can be found at www.customerfirst.org. W

Dr Jackie Hill (Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine) ARC Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of the Academic and Clinical Unit for Musculoskeletal Nursing will be honoured by the British Health Professionals in Rheumatology with a lifetime achievement award for services to Rheumatology Nursing. She was formally presented with the award at the BHPR annual conference in Glasgow earlier this year and has recently retired after 30 years service at the University.

Net Impact the international organisation that inspires, educates, and equips individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world has awarded Leeds University Business Schools Net Impact Chapter the prestigious Gold rating.

The Net Impact Chapter was started at Leeds only two years ago, which makes our progress particularly impressive. This year just 14% of nearly 280 Net Impact Chapters worldwide achieved Gold standing and we are the only one in the UK to have received this distinction. This is a tremendous achievement for the Chapter and places the School at the top of World Business Schools engaging with corporate responsibility. The only other European Schools to achieve the same award were HEC Paris and ESADE.

Net Impacts Gold Chapters are at the forefront of the movement to build a new generation of business leaders. They provide members with critical support to learn about careers, expand their professional networks, and put their business skills to work through real-world projects.

The Leeds Net Impact Chapters activities this year were led by President Jaishri Srinivasan and Officers Melanie Kloeppner, Sarah Birch and Vwaro Omene.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor John Fisher has been appointed to the Council of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for a period of four years from 1 April 2011. Council is the EPSRCs senior decision making body and is responsible for determining its policy, priorities and strategy. Members of Council are appointed by the Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, and are drawn from both the academic and industrial communities.

Send your honours to the.reporter@leeds.ac.uk

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Assessment & Learning in Practice Settings (ALPS), a collaborative programme led by the University of Leeds, received a Gold Award in the Research and New Developments category from the IMS Global Learning Consortium. The Learning Impact Awards are designed to recognise the most impactful use of technology worldwide in support of learning. The ALPS submission was judged by a panel of experts who rated it as an outstanding example of technology being used to address education challenges.

The ALPS partners worked collaboratively to develop an interprofessional mobile assessment and e-portfolio system used across the five universities to support 360 performance feedback and reflection. The system allowed health and social care students on work placements to use mobile devices to complete and upload assessments and feedback. The devices can also be used to improve students access to learning materials.

Professor Trudie Roberts, Director of Leeds Institute of Medical Education at the University of Leeds, and ALPS said: This award is a testament to the innovative and cutting-edge work undertaken by ALPS, which has encouraged interprofessional and collaborative working and raised awareness of how creatively and effectively technology can be used to support learning.

ALPS involves the universities of Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds Met and York St John, 16 health and social care professions, service users and carers, the NHS, the Strategic Health Authority and commercial partners.

ALPS has also been chosen as one of the video case studies to be featured in the JISC Guide to Emerging Practice, which will be launched at the Association for Learning Technology Conference in September.

Angela Foley, General Manager of Bright Beginnings childcare centre, received a Member Champions Award at the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) Awards in recognition of her contribution to the sector. Recently retired as chair of the Leeds network for private providers, Angela has also represented the sector at local authority level, championed quality childcare and always been willing to share her knowledge and experience. She is also a trained accreditor for e-Quality Counts (e-QC), a leading independently assessed quality assurance scheme, specifically designed for group child daycare.

ALPS Delia Muir (l) demonstrates the mobile device to Joannie Tate (ALPS patient and Carer Voice Network).

Our peopleJuly 2011

Small adsSmall ads can be submitted online at http://smallads.leeds.ac.uk W

The charge is 7 for 10 words or part thereof (University members) or 10 (general public).

The deadline for the next issue isWednesday, 24 August 2011 at 4pm.

For enquiries please contact Thomas Saxton on 0113 343 8373 or email t.saxton@adm.leeds.ac.uk

Reporter / Issue 559

WILKINSONS PROPERTY MAINTENANCE All general property maintenance work undertaken; pointing, painting guttering, etc. No job too small. Free estimates. Brian Wilkinson 0113 219 4271 or 0777 307 1041 brian.b.wilkinson@btinternet.com

TRADE SECRETS CONSTRUCTION PARTNERSHIP we design and install kitchens, bathrooms and wetrooms, bedrooms, conservatories, custom-fitted furniture, and more, to your specifications. Repairs and renovations big or small. All work fully guaranteed. 40 years experience. Free estimates. 0113 261 3286 0776 806 1259 (daytime) enquiries@tradesecretsconstruction.co.uk

COMPUTER PROBLEMS? For all hardware, software and networking issues. Home visits inc evenings and weekends. Reliable and efficient. 0795 863 8686 info@biztechleeds.co.uk

PLASTERER Experienced, free quotes, all Leeds covered, references available. 0753 059 3563

BUILDING CONTRACTOR All building work undertaken: roofs, extensions, kitchens and bathrooms fitted. Free quotes. 30 years experience. Malcolm Wells 0789 545 9542

House for saleHOUSE IN RURAL FRANCE Two double bedrooms, fitted kitchen, sunny terrace, set in 1.9 acres of river-fronted meadow and woodland; 130,000 plus Notaires fees. http://web.mac.com/jbowman or Tel: 0146 274 2476 bob.bowman@btinternet.com

CHARMING HOME FOR SALE Detached, four-bed, exceptional gardens, GCH, original features. Two bathrooms, grand reception hall, spacious sitting room, dining room, sun room, generous dining kitchen, utility area, cellar. Long driveway and very large garage and workshop. 425,000 0113 237 0211 moortown@manningstainton.co.uk

House/flat/room to letATTRACTIVE FORMER FAMILY HOME to rent. Four bedrooms, overlooking park; 15-minute walk from University. Would suit a family / three professionals sharing. 800 per month. h.l.bekker@leeds.ac.uk

LARGE ROOM TO LET Well-furnished and decorated room with private bathroom and lavatory in owner occupied house in quiet, residential West Park, LS16. Probably best suit post-grad, researcher or lecturer, possibly couple. 85 per week. Brian Jennings 0113 217 8110 bdt.jennings@ntlworld.com

FLAT FAR HEADINGLEY Modern purpose-built, sunny and quiet. Two bedrooms, well equipped kitchen, double glazing, gas CH, parking, good transport links to University. Available 1 Sept fully/part-furnished. 495pcm. 0113 267 3197 d.dalton@lineone.net

LUXURY ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT. Only 395pcm. One double bedroom. Large lounge area. Fully fitted kitchen. Bathroom with power shower. Third floor. Unfurnished. Smart traditional stone building. Bradford City Centre with parking space. 2-minute walk Foster Square Train Station. 0775 238 0943 llckk@leeds.ac.uk

SPACIOUS ROOMS IN ILKLEY, edge of Dales. Own bathroom and kitchen. 30-minute train to Leeds. 400 pcm 0771 006 6798 tombeesley7@googlemail.com

Holiday home to letCHARMING ANDALUCIAN VILLAGE HOUSE near Granada and Costa Tropical. www.casalasolea.com

OtherMRI STUDY Help us to develop new MRI techniques to advance the understanding and management of arthritis. We are seeking those over 18 without ankle problems and no arthritis to have an ankle MRI and ultrasound. Robin Waxman 0113 392 3064 r.waxman@leeds.ac.uk

VW CAMPER VAN HIRE For further information please check out the website. www.headingleycampers.co.uk headingleycampers@gmail.com

WHITE ROSE SQUARES Fun and Fitness to Music. Square Dancing Beginners start Sunday 11 September 7.00pm, Pannal Memorial Hall, Harrogate. Couples/singles. First four weeks free. Geoff 0142 387 0221

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Advertisers are independent from the University. The University makes no warranty or representation as to (a) the accuracy of ads or (b) the quality of goods or services advertised. To the full extent allowed by the law the University excludes all liability.

Professional servicesELECTRICIAN. PART P REGISTERED. contact Good Connections for repairs, installations, alterations, periodic inspections, testing, new sockets, lighting and consumer units. Prompt timekeeper. Good value rates. www.goodconnectionselectrician.co.uk Richard Sykes 0777 249 9414

EFFICIENT HEATING SOLUTIONS installs and repairs central heating and plumbing systems, gas appliances, showers, towel rails and radiators. Gas Safe Registered, Worcester Accredited, Which? Local recommended. 0786 870 3384 www.leedsboilerrepairs.co.uk efficientheating@gmail.com

A mud kitchen, a gate to nowhere, a sand pit, tyre swing, drain tunnel and even a tree that can become a dragon or shark, all feature in the garden at Bright Beginnings the Universitys childcare centre which has recently been given a special local award in the Nursery Garden of the Year Awards by Leeds Early Years.

Councillor Judith Blake visited the centre to give the award, and presented a hand-carved plaque to General Manager Angela Foley. The celebration event was attended by over 70 people, including centre staff, Ruth Bush the centres architect, designer Mel Polson from Leeds Early Years, builders, parents, members of the board of directors and, of course, the main users of the garden the children themselves.

Bright Beginnings originally planned to install flat safety surfaces in its play area but, thanks to a 25,000 grant from Leeds Early Years in 2009, it was able to create a natural garden which gives children an attractive, stimulating environment with lots of opportunities to learn.

The garden spaces were planned in consultation with the children, offering lots of opportunities for them to engage in relevant and interesting experiences, explains Angela. The features of the garden help children to develop strategies to assess risk for themselves, promoting greater body awareness, self-confidence and self-esteem. Children are able to develop a sense of the wonder of nature, having opportunities to investigate, observe and discuss whilst experiencing first hand natural features and events.

Were really pleased to receive recognition for the experiences and opportunities we provide for our children and are proud to showcase these to other nurseries and centres. Leeds Early Years will use our portfolio as a benchmark of quality.

Bright Beginnings have now entered their outdoor environment in a national award with Nursery World Magazine.

For more information visit www.brightbeginningschildcare.co.uk/ W

Garden flourishes to win award

Im particularly happy about the secure access the children have to the outdoors in all seasons provided by covered balconies, well-designed gardens and a grassy field. I really believe in the importance of fresh air and the invigorating experiences and motivation that can be gained from being outside. Dr Vanessa Bowman (parent)

Young customers get to grips with the gardens mud kitchen!

July 2011

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www.leeds.ac.uk/events

NoticeboardBBC Reith Lectures Eliza Manningham Buller, the former head of MI5, will be giving a BBC Reith Lecture called Securing Freedom. Shell discuss security in the context of 10 years after the 11 September attacks on America, why we need an intelligence service and the role it plays, and the balance between security and human rights.

The lecture will take place at the City Museum, Leeds on 7 September at 1800, and will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service to a global audience of 160 million. Please email Lesley.Hilton@bbc.co.uk if you would like to attend.

Windows on the World: Keeping Them OpenAll are invited to a public meeting to discuss the future for publicly funded forms of cultural expression, information and entertainment being held at West Yorkshire Playhouse on 16 July.

Organised by Voice of the Listener and Viewer (VLV) an independent, not-for-profit association working for quality, diversity and editorial independence in broadcasting and supported by the Universitys Institute of Communications Studies (ICS), the forum will seek to examine the uncertain future that faces broadcasting, libraries and the arts. These outlets offer people windows on the world, a means of connecting with others and a space for debate. Are these spaces and resources now at risk?

Chairing the meeting is the Universitys Judith Stamper (ICS). Other panel members are Garry Lyons (School of Performance and Cultural Industries), Sylvia Harvey, Visiting Professor in Broadcasting Policy (ICS), and Lauren Smith, founding member of the national libraries advocacy group Voices for the Library.

The event is on Saturday 16 July at 2pm in the Congreve Room, West Yorkshire Playhouse. Admission is free and refreshments will be available from 1.45pm.

Further information can be found at: http://www.vlv.org.uk/ W

Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery Saturday eventsThe gallerys series of events to support the Carlos Nadal exhibition continues, with free workshops taking place in July.

A Fan of Colours: Fan Making and Decorating WorkshopSaturday, 23 July 2011, 1.30-4pm

Margaret Chalmers (ULITA) will guide participants in making and decorating their own version of this elegant summer accessory. While youre becoming an expert in this ancient art, children are welcome to join in to learn how to make simple paper fans.

Dancing with Nadal: Gerry Turveys Movement Workshop Saturday, 30 July 2011, 1.30-4pm

This dance workshop will be influenced and inspired by the strong colours, shapes, energy and architecture of work by Carlos Nadal. No movement experience is necessary, just a willingness to play and be open to new ideas! The workshop is open to all curious explorers 16+.

All workshops are free but places are limited, so please book your place by emailing Zsuzsa at libzmp@leeds.ac.uk, calling (0113) 343 2777 or visiting www.leeds.ac.uk/gallery W

Marks in TimeDuring July, grab your last chance to see the Marks in Time exhibition before it closes on 29 July, in preparation for relocation to the Michael Marks Building in November 2011.

Opened in 2009, the Marks in Time exhibition is situated in the Parkinson Building and celebrates the role M&S has played in peoples lives for 125 years. Charting the story of M&S from its origins as a penny bazaar in Leeds Market to todays position as an integral part of the British high street, the exhibition showcases how M&S is woven into the fabric of UK life. The iconic items featured in the exhibition offer visitors a snapshot of some of the 60,000 artefacts that will be housed at the M&S Company Archive on the Western Campus when it opens in November. The building will also feature a brand new exhibition which will provide a glimpse behind the scenes at M&S look out for more details coming soon!

All the fun of the Fest!Therell be something for everyone at this years Staff Festival, whether its taking part in a workshop on how to make the perfect smoothie, chilling out with a free cup of tea, watching a whole variety of performers, trying out some fairground games, entering a competition, browsing craft stalls or just relaxing with colleagues, partner or family.

This years festival takes place on Friday 9 September from 3pm until 6.30pm. If its a fine afternoon, the festival activities will take place around University Square (outside the Students Union) and stage@leeds. In the event of rain, well move inside the Union building.

To make the day really special were looking for volunteers to help dress the campus to give it a festival feel or act as stewards. Were also seeking performers (bands and choirs) to showcase their talents, comperes who are happy to introduce acts, stewards to ensure events run smoothly, and handy folk with the skills to put together some fairground-style attractions. If you want to run a stall at the Fest, theres scope for you, too, so please get in touch for details.

Contact Cathy ONeill C.Oneill@adm.leeds.ac.uk, email StaffFestival@leeds.ac.uk with any questions, requests or offers of help or visit www.leeds.ac.uk/staff_festival

How did you feel about winning the Unite award for your Outstanding commitment to sustainability?

I was really surprised to have won the award but I am very proud and its a great honour. I think the sustainability team at the University do a brilliant job, but I can understand why they would want to give the award to somebody whose full-time job is not within the team.

What does your day job at the University involve?

My job title is Research Project Officer which is quite confusing because I dont get involved in research projects, but I do projects for the faculty Head of Research Support within the Faculty of Medicine and Health. This means gathering data on the type of research thats happening within the faculty, the outputs from the research and trying to ensure the facultys return to the Research Excellence Framework is the best it can possibly be. I also do business analysis for the faculty, so its a mixture of jobs that changes every day and thats why I love it.

What do you do in your spare time?

I do lots of different things. I sing in the Leeds Festival Chorus and I play the double bass. I also enjoy cooking, reading and growing my own fruit and veg. In terms of sustainability, I cycle to work and I do little things around the office which was why I was so keen to be a part of the Green Impact scheme. Its such a great opportunity to make small changes in your workplace.

With your passion for the environment, how would you envisage the perfect university campus?

I think its all about the people. It would be lovely if everybody thought it was possible to have a more sustainable work environment and that it was their responsibility to create it. We cant expect the world to stay the same if we continue to leave the responsibility to someone else, and thats why I have so much respect for the sustainability team.

What are your favourite tips for creating a more sustainable environment?

Just think about what youre doing in terms of what effect your actions have on your surroundings. Its all in the little things. If everyone turned their computer off at the end of the day and put their rubbish in the correct bins, it would make a big difference. Its also about changing your mind-set and being organised. So, for instance, could you go to the supermarket on your way home instead of making a special trip? Could you try cycling to work one day a week to see if you liked it?

Sustainability is often the same as money-saving so thats a great extra incentive some days when Im not sure I can be bothered to cycle, the thought of shelling out 4.20 for a bus ticket persuades me!

Youre joint-chair of Universitys Bike Users Group (BUG); where did your passion for cycling originate?

It really started because my neighbour cycles to work and he suggested I should try it. I kept giving reasons not to, like the fact Id have to buy a bike and that its dangerous on the roads. Once I tried it though, I really enjoyed the ride to work and it makes such a difference to my day, because I get to be

outside and the exercise really wakes me up. I think everybody should have the right to travel by cycling or walking. Im passionate that people should be able to get to work sustainably, but at the moment it can be hard because there arent many bike-friendly routes.

Whats your most frequently asked question?

People ask me what my job is and its probably the most confusing question to answer as I have to give a thorough explanation. I also get a lot of questions about cycling because I think thats what Im most recognised for doing at the University. People mainly ask about whether its dangerous, or where the best place is to store their bike around campus.

If you were a character in fiction who would you be?

Wow, thats a really interesting question! Id love to be Phileas Fogg from Around the World in 80 Days as he starts from being very organised and regimented about his lifestyle. Its great that he suddenly changes everything and goes off on his big adventure round the world. Hes an inspirational character and I think its lovely that hes able to rely on other people on his journey and find love as well!

Who would you choose to be your favourite cycling companions?

Ive always cycled on my own so have never really experienced cycling with other people. It would be really fun to cycle in a big group through beautiful scenery on a long-distance trip. Id love to do that, maybe on the Continent it would be great to relax while cycling for a change!

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FAQsDr Lizzie ReatherFaculty Project Research Officer

Faculty of Medicine and Health