Connect January 2017
The magazine for Anglia Ruskin University alumni and friends
Stephanie Newell, winner of the Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award English and European Thought and Literature, 1991 From L-R Ben Garrod, Stephanie Newell, Professor Iain Martin
Vice Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumni Awards Pages 5–9
ARU CONNECT JANUARY 2017 Also in this issue: Q&A with Griff Rhys Jones Page 14 | Aneela Rose Page 25 | Stephanie Newell Page 8
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Since our last edition, I have participated in 30 graduation ceremonies, the latest being at School of Accounting and Management (SAM) our partner in Trinidad. At each ceremony I have met and spoken with students who told stories of how their lives have been transformed through the education we have delivered, either directly or through our partners. It’s been a reminder for me, if I needed one, as to why our university is so important and as we develop our new strategy a perspective that we absolutely must hold close. In early April we’ll be sending you an email to tell you more about the consultation paper we are working on, where we are asking all stakeholders to give their opinions on the future of ARU. Your feedback is important to us, so please do contribute – the closing date for comments is Friday 14 April. Your feedback will then be considered and the final version of the plan will be launched on Friday 16 June – our 25th birthday. Your Alumni Officer, Helen, is keen to hear from you if you have stories and photos you’d like to share with us from 1992. We’d like to include these memories as part of our celebrations on campus. The start of a new year is both a time for planning and reflection. The highlights of 2016, my first year at ARU, are numerous but I’m particularly proud of the progress we’re making with the School of Medicine, winning the Duke of York Award and launching our inaugural Alumni Awards. I’m delighted to report that we’re now well underway with the first stage in the construction of the building to house our School of Medicine, in Chelmsford. The contractors are carrying out geotechnical work as part of the construction planning, the planning application has been submitted and we hope construction will commence early
Welcome
In this issue
A message from our Vice Chancellor
4 Welcome & The Inbox 5 The Vice Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumni Awards 8 Stephanie Newell
this year. We continue to engage with key politicians, healthcare providers and other stakeholders to maximise our chances of securing the 100–120 funded places we are seeking from the 1,500 announced by the government on 4 October 2016. This is taking place alongside the General Medical Council’s accreditation process, with the aim of having our first students start in September 2018. You can find out more about our School of Medicine plans on page 10.
10 Anglia Ruskin School of Medicine 12 In the news 13 The conversation 14 Q&A with Griff Rhys Jones 16 Alumni updates
On 15 November we won the Duke of York Award for University Entrepreneurship at the annual National Business Awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel. This is a fantastic achievement and further recognition of the entrepreneurial culture across our university. These business awards are also known as “the Oscars of Great British business”.
18 Study shows wider impact of microplastics 20 Alumni updates 21 2016 Graduations 25 Alumni updates
And to round 2016 up we hosted our inaugural Alumni Awards Dinner on 7 December. It was fantastic to be able to celebrate the achievements of some quite remarkable individuals, and to hear them reflect on the influence of ARU on their careers – and I would encourage you to watch the ceremony to hear their stories. Next year we will re-open the nomination process and I’d encourage you all to consider nominating yourself or someone you know. We will build on this year’s event for the 2017 awards, which I believe will become one of the highlights of our University calendar. You can see photos of this event and a list of all our winners on page 5.
26 The best laid plans… 28 Alumni of the month 29 Virtual open days 30 Off the bookshelf 31 Reports and publications 32 Dates for your diary 33 Class notes 35 Obituary
Thank you for your continued support of ARU. I look forward to an exciting 2017 with you. Professor Iain Martin Vice Chancellor vc@anglia.ac.uk
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THE INBOX
Welcome
The Inbox
The last few months have been particularly enjoyable due to the number of graduate-related events. I met many new graduates over the course of the graduations in Peterborough, King’s Lynn, Chelmsford and Cambridge and it was a pleasure to speak with and find out more about their plans over the coming years. To celebrate everyone’s achievements, we had a pop-up photo booth area situated at the graduation receptions, for all our guests to use. This was great fun and we got some great pictures, which you can see on page 21. Last month we held our first ever inaugural Vice Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumni Awards. I would like to echo our Vice Chancellor’s sentiments that these awards will become one of the highlights of our university calendar. It was such a special occasion and one we plan to expand on next year and I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination form for the awards. We received double the number of nominations we’d anticipated and I was truly astounded with the volume of successful alumni that we have. If you know someone who might be suitable to win one of our 2017 awards, please check the alumni awards webpage for regular updates. I for one, am already looking forward to the next nomination round to open. June 2017 will mark our 25th anniversary of having our university status. We’ll be looking to celebrate this in a number of ways and would like to hear from all our alumni, particularly those that were studying with us back in 1992, with photos and stories of your time with us. Please contact me if you’d like to be involved. It’d be great to include your memories at our events. We always like to hear from you if you’d be interested in coming in and speaking to prospective or current students about your successes since graduating and it’s always great hearing your news and achievements so please do continue to keep in touch. We’re always looking for alumni success stories – perhaps you might like to be one of our Alumni of the month features or maybe you’d like to tell us if you met your partner at ARU as part of our Valentine’s day social media campaign #ARUinlove
Helen Arnott Alumni Officer ARU CONNECT JANUARY 2017
I will be looking to employ and to offer volunteering to ARU graduates of Zoology or Animal Behaviour. I will look first to employ within the “family” so as to keep the continuity that really did set me on my path and not forgetting I know the course and endorse the true value of the field trips that will really be invaluable to the students and me as a future employer. Furthermore a number of TV film crews have enquiries about filming a series at the sanctuaries namely ITV, BBC and Sky but more importantly US TV with singer Katy Perry now involved as an investor. I look forward to sharing our updates with my fellow alumni over the course of this year. Karl Scarr (Cambridge) BSc Hons Zoology 2011
Helen Alumni Officer
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I’ve just taken over SPANA in Tangier with our major benefactor and we are going to Spain to finalise a deal on a 6 acre site in Almeria to turn into another animal sanctuary. Alumnus Sorrel Kiamil is joining me on this venture.
ALUMNI AWARDS
The Vice Chancellor’s Outstanding
Alumni Awards
From L-R Eddie Law, Stephanie Newell, Ben Garrod, Léo Reitzell, Michelle Keaney, Professor Iain Martin, Neil Clephan OBE, Lloyd Amsdon, Nicholas Juett. Credit: Starr Photos
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ALUMNI AWARDS
Celebrating the achievements of our alumni It was a pleasure to meet our inspirational graduates from areas as diverse as health, business, and television at our first inaugural alumni awards ceremony. The Vice Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumni Awards were presented on Wednesday 7 December 2016 to former students who have excelled in their respective industries since graduating. Our guests arrived at 7.00pm for a drinks reception in our Michael Ashcroft Reception in Chelmsford and then everyone moved on to our Mildmay Sports Hall, which had been transformed into a special gala, with a three-course meal followed by the award ceremony. You can see videos and photos of the transformation of the sport hall and the announcements of each award, all on our Facebook page. The awards were presented by Vice Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University, Professor Iain Martin, and compered by BBC television presenter, Anglia Ruskin Teaching Fellow and former student Dr Ben Garrod, as follows: Alumni Service to Society Award (joint): Jan Cassidy. A writer, environmental photographer and prison health researcher, Jan graduated as a mature student from Anglia Ruskin in 1993. Soon afterwards, 6
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she began her lifelong dedication to improving the health and human rights of prisoners. Appalled by the high levels of blood-borne viruses within the prison population in the 1990s, she completed a pilot study vaccinating against hepatitis B whenever a prisoner was moved. In 2000, she became a specialist commissioner for High and Medium Secure Psychiatric Hospitals, arguing for better, more appropriate care. She went on to advise the Home Office on prison health. Our thanks go to Dr Marie-Ann Ha for accepting Jan’s award on her behalf. Alumni Service to Society Award (joint): Neil Clephan OBE. The headteacher at Roundhay School, Leeds, for
more than 20 years, Neil has transformed the school in terms of its leadership and management. He was one of the first National Leaders in Education to be appointed by the National College, and has been seconded to work with a number of schools. He was awarded an OBE in the 2016 Queen’s New Year Honours List for services to education. Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Lloyd Amsdon. After graduating from his History degree, Lloyd co-founded Watchfinder, which specialises in buying, selling and servicing pre-owned watches from 50 brands including Rolex, Omega
ALUMNI AWARDS and Cartier. The business is now the largest pre-owned retailer in Europe with sales forecast to reach £90million in 2016, and employing more than 160 staff. Lloyd also co-founded Hospitality Founder, which has a £10million turnover. Shareholders in the business are ex-England rugby stars Lawrence Dallaglio and Mike Tindal. Alumni Contribution to Culture Award: Léo Reitzell. Léo joined MTV in 1996, just three months after graduating from her Fine Art degree at Anglia Ruskin, and launched in excess of 40 channels. She subsequently worked as the Creative Lead for all four UK Disney Channels, and then as Creative Director at Discovery Channel. She founded her own creative agency, brandAnonymous, in 2010. Young Alumni of the Year Award: Michelle Keaney. Listed as one of the Observer’s Future 500, Michelle is acknowledged as one of the most talented leaders shaping industry. Her career is a mix of business and consumer sales and marketing which saw her leading a major retail drive for The Walt Disney Company, establishing the UK Marketing Capability function for Heineken and co-founding award-winning social enterprise Inventing Futures. In 2015, Michelle cofounded purposeful brand consultancy Three Point Zero. Michelle graduated from Anglia Ruskin in 2004 with a BA Hons in Business and Management. Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award: Stephanie Newell. A graduate of English and European Thought and Literature in 1991, Stephanie is now a
tenured full Professor of English at Yale University, in her own words thanks to the inspiration of her teachers at Anglia Ruskin. Her latest book, The Power to Name, was shortlisted for the prestigious Herskovitz Prize for African Studies in 2014. Stephanie is regarded as a researcher leader by senior scholars of Africa in the UK and USA and holds fellowships from the University of Cambridge. On receiving the Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award, Stephanie Newell said:
“My teachers were so committed, so passionate, so encouraging. When I wrote my undergraduate dissertation, they encouraged me to publish it in an academic journal and that is what got me addicted. That one first publication really set me on my pathway. “I’m very honoured to receive this award. Thank you Anglia Ruskin for helping to get me where I am today.” Runner up certificates were also awarded to: Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year: Eddie Law and Nigel Livingston. Eddie graduated with an LLB Hons Law in 1999 and is the Founder of eLawyer, a legal recruitment and legal services company. Nigel Livingston graduated with a BA Hons Business & Politics in 2001. Nigel is the Managing Director and Founder of Optimus Search
Ltd. Recognised in Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 as the 53rd fastest growing company. Alumni Contribution to Culture Award: Gruffydd Harries and Nicholas Juett. Gruffydd is a Musician, performer and broadcaster. He’s the Founder and Director of Chamber Orchestra of Wales and has performed with The British Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, QE2 and Loose Tubes jazz group. Gruffydd is also an Honorary member of the Gorsedd of the Bards and now works on TV and film shows. Gruffydd graduated with a BA Hons Geography in 1976. Nicholas is a renowned artist. His artwork is on display both nationally and internationally (on TV and radio). Nicholas is also an art teacher. Nicholas graduated with a Foundation Art in 1983. Vice Chancellor, Professor Iain Martin said, “Membership of our Anglia Ruskin community does not end when a student crosses the stage to graduate and it is so pleasing for me to recognise that we have, in some way, laid the foundations for so many successful careers. It was not easy to pick the winners of these categories and it has been a delight to hear so many success stories. Thanks to all who nominated our alumni for these awards.” We will shortly be announcing the nomination dates for 2017. Check our webpage for regular updates. Watch a timelapse of the award ceremony set-up here.
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F E AT U R E S TO R Y
Stephanie Newell Winner of the Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award, 2016 Q. Any fond memories of Cambridge to share? Walking along the river to Grantchester on a beautiful summer’s day; drinking bubbly wine on East Road outside the Cambridge campus when we’d finished our last final exam.
Q. Are you still in touch with anyone from university days? I’m still close friends with two people from the old days. We meet up as often as possible, and we’ve stayed in contact over the years. One is a retired nurse, and the other is Head of Library and Information Services at one of the London universities. Stephanie Newell, Professor of English & Senior Research Fellow in International and Area Studies at Yale University
Q. What made you decide to come to Anglia Ruskin to study? I liked the look of the campus – it wasn’t vast and sprawling like the other campuses I visited, but compact and walking distance from the town centre. I also loved Mill Road with its charity shops, fruit-&veg shops, pubs and student culture.
Q. Did you enjoy the experience/studying for your degree? Adjusting to living away from home was tough in the first year, but I loved my second and third years. I liked how mixed the student group was, with people from many different backgrounds and a lot of mature students. We would sit in the refectory after lectures and discuss our work. I made some lifelong friends from those days. Also, the lecturers were really helpful in giving feedback on written work. When I was at the start of my second year, one of my English lecturers – Dr David Buoy – wrote two pages of feedback on an essay that completely transformed how I wrote. After that I got straight A-grades every time. 8
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Q. What did you do straight after graduating? I got a scholarship to study for a Masters degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, so after the summer break I went straight back to university!
Q. How has your degree helped you get to where you are? It was the lecturers as much as the degree that helped me to get where I am now. They gave really high-quality lectures and tutorials, and they helped to shape my love of literature into a set of critical and analytical skills.
Q. What is the most exciting aspect of your work? I get to travel a lot to African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. My favourite country is Nigeria. I’ve been going there since the mid-1990s when I did my PhD on all the local popular novels and pamphlets that get ignored in the West, but are read voraciously all over West Africa.
F E AT U R E S TO R Y
Q. When you look back on your career achievements, what are you most proud of? The most amazing moment was the publication of my first book. Even though academic books generally don’t sell in huge numbers (to put it mildly), it was a wonderful feeling to see my PhD turned into a proper book. I loved seeing the words transformed from manuscript to print.
Q. What is a typical day like? Working days are very simple during term-time. I get up at 6:45am, walk to work and teach in the mornings; after lunch I have committee meetings and student supervisions, then I come home and prepare for the next day’s teaching. When term finishes, I head straight for West Africa and the archives to continue my various research projects.
Q. What is your most treasured possession? Q. What are you focussing on at the moment? I’m just starting to write another book with the title, Histories of Dirt in West Africa. It will be about the ways people’s perceptions of waste, public health, migration and the environment are shaped by newspapers and novels. The book will ask how particular urban spaces come to be regarded as dirty or as full of dirt, and how certain objects and people come to be labelled using categories related to dirt. The book will stretch back to the colonial era and then up to the present day, including the Ebola outbreak of 2014.
When my project about dirt and urban life in Lagos (Nigeria) came to an end last year, my research team in Lagos commissioned a portrait of me by an artist who works exclusively with found objects. The entire portrait is made out of bits of rubbish, and it’s huge! He produced a perfect likeness of me out of old aerosol cans, empty tubes of toothpaste, rusty wires, plastic lids and bits of string. As a joke, he put tiny shells on my teeth because the research team told him I eat a lot of fish. He turned ‘trash’ into ‘treasure’, and what he created makes me smile every time I look at it.
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NEWS
Architects visual of the new School of Medicine building on our Chelmsford campus
Anglia Ruskin School of Medicine Building on our 20 year history as the largest provider of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health courses in the East of England and the success of the internationally renowned Postgraduate Medical Institute, we are proud to be developing the School of Medicine to educate future doctors who will make a real contribution to the health and wellbeing of our local communities. We recognise that Essex and the wider Eastern Region has some challenging issues in the medical workforce and feel
We are working with local healthcare providers and a variety of stakeholders, to establish a School of Medicine on our Chelmsford campus.
that delivering undergraduate medical education on our campus in Chelmsford will form part of the solution to delivering a sustainable medical workforce that meets regional needs.
Our Vision The development of the undergraduate School of Medicine within Essex will create a new regional ‘academic system’ and positively promote retention and recruitment of doctors by serving as a pipeline for the future medical workforce, as
well as providing an attractant for doctors seeking to work in a stimulating and scholarly environment. Opening in September 2018*, the School will educate clinicians who have a propensity to work as generalists to meet the established needs of our health care system. Undergraduate medical students who enrol now will still be practising in 2050 which requires education providers to respond to future service delivery needs by training a resilient medical workforce. * Subject to General Medical Council approval.
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NEWS We have committed to a £20 million capital investment required to develop the School, which will have: • • • •
state-of-the-art skills facilities specialist teaching space lecture theatre cadaveric anatomy suite
Complementing our existing skills facilities, including the £3.4 million SuperLab. Our aim is to bid for a portion of the recently announced additional places the government are making available for students to study medicine; and we aspire to recruit up to half of the students from the East of England, providing opportunities for the region’s most promising students.
Our exciting curriculum, based on our partner Dundee School of Medicine’s curriculum, will equip students with the skills and knowledge to work within, as well as go on to shape and lead, healthcare delivery in the 21st century. This will be a school with social accountability at its heart and graduates who will make a real contribution to the health and wellbeing of our local communities! Professor John Kinnear is the Head of the School of Medicine. To find out more about this exciting project, contact Dr Ruth Jackson (Pro-Vice Chancellor for Medical School Development) ruth.jackson@anglia.ac.uk
ARU CONNECT JANUARY 2017 11 anglia.ac.uk/school-of-medicine
NEWS
In the news Anya Hindmarch CBE
Jody Cundy OBE
Queen’s New Year Honours
Double shot of success at Costa Book Awards Creative Writing and English graduates were shortlisted for two major literary prizes in the prestigious Costa Book Awards. Congratulations to Guinevere Glasfurd and Sarah Perry on being shortlisted for their novels at the Costa Book Awards. It’s such a fantastic achievement. Guinevere was featured in our June 2016 Connect magazine and you can read about Sarah’s book on page 30 in this edition. Well done to you both.
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Congratulations to two of our honorary award holders for their recognition in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours. Anya Hindmarch has been awarded a CBE for services to fashion and Jody Cundy has received an OBE for services to cycling and swimming. We believe we also have a further six alumni that have also received recognition in the Queen’s Honours. Congratulations to you all.
Spinner Josh Poysden selected in England squad to take on Sri Lanka Spin bowler and former Anglia Ruskin student Josh Poysden (BSc Hons Sports Coaching & Physical Education 2013) has been named in the England Lions’ one-day (50 overs) squad to tour Sri Lanka in February and March this year. Read more here.
T H E C O N V E R S AT I O N
The Conversation The Conversation is a unique platform where all content is sourced from university academics and researchers, but is written specifically for the general public. Since joining in March 2016, articles written by Anglia Ruskin academics have been read by over 3 million people around the world, in countries as far afield as Azerbaijan and Zambia. You can keep up to date with our latest comment pieces by visiting: https://theconversation. com/institutions/anglia-ruskin
What happens to your gut if you eat the $2,000 New York pizza topped with gold? A restaurant in the New York financial district is offering customers a pizza priced at US$2,000 (£1,623). Dr MarieAnn Ha explains that the pizza is topped with caviar, stilton cheese and gold leaf, with each bite costing around US$50 and that gold is an inert metal and is therefore not degraded by the acid in our stomachs. Read more here.
Articles include interesting topics, such as:
Think you’re all for gender equality? Your unconscious may have other ideas
Why do so many women oppose feminism?
Magdalena Zawisza has also explored what unconscious gender bias is and how it came about. Read more here. You can also test your own implicit biases more scientifically by taking this Implicit Association Test.
Magdalena Zawisza has written an article examining the positive and negative attitudes towards feminism. Read more here.
Chimp study shows how hanging out with friends makes life less stressful Ben Garrod researches the role that social interactions and bonds play in reducing stress and how the study of chimpanzees can further help our understanding of the evolution of human social behaviour. Read more here.
Six things that successful crowdfunding projects have in common Prof Emanuele Giovannetti and PhD student William Davies have set out to research what distinguishes successful crowdfunded projects from those that do not achieve their goal. Read more here.
How to flat-pack a dinosaur After more than 100 years of residency in London’s Natural History Museum, the world famous cast of a Diplodocus carnegii skeleton, known as “Dippy”, is going on tour to inspire and educate more people than ever before. Ben Garrod provides insight on the process of packing and transporting these fossils. Read more here.
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C O N N E C T TA L K S TO
Griff Rhys Jones Comedian, TV Presenter and actor, awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters in 2004 for his contribution to the arts. Q. Tell us about yourself I am a married white man in my early sixties who works in the entertainment industry.
Q. What is your biggest professional achievement to date? I find that sort of thing quite difficult to quantify. I have few great one-off achievements to my name. It’s a bag. I have done a lot of things reasonably successfully so I still work in most of these fields and jump off sinking boats from time to time. I have produced and written sketch shows and documentary things for the telly, run companies, produced drama, appeared in drama, written books and generally kept my hand in. I have just passed forty years in “the business”. I see that as quite an “achievement”. Enough some might say. I started as a radio producer. Worked in telly. Worked in independent telly and in between somehow did quite a lot of stage work. My most
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satisfactory professional times have probably been on stage.
Q. What drives you? I only feel comfortable in work. Some performing roles can be very boring to execute. They are not hugely intellectually demanding. Recently I made forays into television documentaries on arts and things like Tribal Art and a journey around Africa for ITV. I found a continuous spirit of enquiry pretty motivating and genuinely rewarding. The learning was what has driven me recently.
Q. Who or what is your biggest inspiration? These days I am mostly inspired by great film makers though I am hardly ever involved in film. I would love to be but I think it will be in another life. My early days were influenced by Tony Hancock, Steptoe and the great comedians like Tommy Cooper. I was lucky to produce Frankie Howerd for three years. But I am a child of Monty Python and Cook and Moore really.
C O N N E C T TA L K S TO
Q. What was the best piece of advice you’ve received?
Q. If you could go back or forward in time, where would you go and why?
If at first you don’t succeed, try something else.
I wouldn’t go back. I love back. I love history. But the age we live in is by far the most comfortable for the majority of this country’s citizens. Though they are never told that.
Q. What is the best advice you can give to today’s graduates? Do something for yourself. If you are engaged in the arts, take a role as an assistant to a great but only as an interim step to doing your own thing and only to a great. The doors tend to open to people who have made their own entertainments not played as cast. You have as much right to write, perform or create as anyone and shouldn’t wait to be given permission.
Q. What did you want to be when you were younger? An actor, when I was very young. And then a producer or director.
Q. Which accomplishment are you most proud of? I have been quite a successful farceur. Yup. I wonder though if this questionnaire would be best left to someone else to fill in. I am quite good at blowing my own trumpet, as many will tell you, but not this relentlessly.
Q. What advice would you give your younger self? Go and do.
Q. What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Q. If you could invite anyone to your dinner party, who would they be and why?
Keep busy. It’s the best hedge against useless introspection. And try to help others. I wish I had done more to do that.
Close friends. Experience proves that your heroes can be disappointing dinner companions and the best dinner parties are either with people you have never met or people who can share the same stories over and over again. I really try to avoid dinner parties these days.
Q. How did you first become involved with ARU? Officially I was asked to take an honorary doctorate. Unofficially I played a lecturer at ARU in its earlier manifestation as CAT in the film of Tom Sharpe’s “Wilt”.
Q. What do you think are ARU’s greatest achievements? Spreading opportunity.
Q. What has your connection with ARU given you personally? Speaking opportunities.
Q. What’s next? I am touring about with a tiny one man show in small places telling stories. And then I am off to do Moliére. The Miser is a great play and makes me laugh but it is quite difficult to pull this sort of comedy off for a modern audience. I am really looking forward to it. We start work in January and come to the West End in March.
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SPOTLIGHT
Alumni updates Katharina Luther. Nun. Rebel. Wife. But there she was, large as life, gazing out at us from three different portraits by Lucas Cranach. On display were her wedding ring, a pair of shoes, her little book of hours, a dress and other personal belongings. A seed of curiosity was sown in my mind.
Image of Anne Boileau
I graduated from Anglia University and Writtle College in 1993, with a BSc in Rural Resource Development. I was lucky enough to receive a travel award from Strutt and Parker to research for my Dissertation on land management and conservation in the former East Germany; it was only two years after Unification. While in Saxony, we visited Wittenberg and came upon an exhibition about Katharina von Bora, Dr Martin Luther’s wife. In fact we were surprised that the rebellious monk, who dared defy the Church of Rome in 1517, had even had a wife at all.
Fifteen years later, I decided to find out more about this woman. While researching those turbulent times, I realized how vital was an understanding of animal husbandry, food production and preservation for any woman running a large household. The farming and church calendars were interwoven. The young Frau Luther, confined to bed before the birth of her first child, sets down her own story; her early childhood, life as a nun, her audacious escape from the convent, and ultimately her marriage to the great Reformer. It is the story of the Reformation, recounted by a woman who was there. The book is available to buy on Amazon here. Anne Boileau (also known as Polly Clarke) (Chelmsford) BSc Hons Rural Wildlife & Landscape Development 1993
Beneath the Skin I met a young writer (Aaron Ellis, then not even 20) on a film set in Norwich. He told me about a LGBT film he wanted to make. I read the script. I was so touched by it I felt it should be made. The upshot was that a handful of investors (including my Dad and I) put money in, and the film (entitled ‘Beneath the Skin’) got finished. It won awards at film festivals in America. It got picked up by top LGBT company TLA, and ‘Beneath The Skin’ topped their best-selling preorder DVD chart. They are dealing with the US release, and the film was still top of their chart over two weeks AFTER its release. I’m handling our UK 16
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DVD distribution via Amazon, and orders are coming in from all over the country... and it’s all getting rather crazy! In a world full of negativity and hate, our movie (though it does include the nastier side of human behaviour) is also one of love and fulfilment - and definitely one with a wider message. Inspired by this, I am soon to work on another feature film project with Brandon Carpenter, an actor and singer. Again, it is his idea which has gripped me, and this too needs to be made! Richard Harrison (Lowestoft) CHE Post Compulsory Education 2004
SPOTLIGHT
Reptile and Amphibian Conservation The salamander chytrid fungus threatens European salamanders and so I’m part of a team who is currently crowdfunding to run a monitoring campaign in Belgium. I’m a member of the SAVE THE FROGS! Task Force and the IUCN Species Survival Commission Amphibian Red Listing Authority. My role in the IUCN SSC ARLA includes writing red list assessments for threatened amphibians in Southeast Asia.
Image of Steve Allain
I graduated from BSc Zoology back in 2015, but ever since the start of my degree I’ve been heavily involved with reptile and amphibian conservation. I’m the current chairman of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Amphibian and Reptile Group (CPARG) and have been since 2014. I’m also involved in a number of other projects and organisations around the world. In Cambridge I’m currently monitoring a non-native species of toad with the help from Natural England and a few funding bodies.
I frequently blog for The Wandering Herpetologist (an internationally recognised scientific herpetological blog) and CPARG updating the world and our members of the valuable conservation work we are doing in Cambridgeshire. The work I do through CPARG eventually gets converted to a manuscript before being published in local journals. I’m currently in the process of editing some manuscripts regarding novel techniques of amphibian and reptile data capture, before they are published. I was also recently on Cambridge TV. Steve Allain (Cambridge) BSc Hons Zoology 2015
Common Name: Red-Eyed Tree Frog Scientific Name: Agalychnis callidryas Type: Amphibians Diet: Carnivores Group Name: Army Average life span in The Wild: 5 years Size: 1.5 to 2.75 in An arboreal hylid native to Neotropical rainforests where it ranges from Mexico, through Central America, to Colombia.
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RESEARCH
Study shows wider impact of microplastics New research highlights damaging effects of plastic pollution on coastal habitats New research shows that even small concentrations of plastic, such as microbeads found in toothpaste, cosmetics and household cleaning products, can have a serious impact on entire marine habitats. The study, led by Dr Dannielle Green, Lecturer in Life Sciences, was carried out at a special outdoor laboratory facility at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland, has been published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. The impact on a wider coastal habitat is examined, looking at ecosystem functioning and biodiversity (the abundance and type of animals) following exposure to tiny particles of plastic, which commonly enter the water through litter or, in the case of microbeads, through drainage systems. The research took sections of muddy seabed containing European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), and monitored the effects of small quantities of microplastics – particles of polylactic acid (PLA) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) – on the bivalves and the wider marine habitat over a period of 50 days. The study found that microplastics had a different effect on the filtration rates of the bivalves: the filtration rate of oysters increased by 7.5 times, while mussels decreased filtration. The oyster habitats saw a reduction in the amount of microalgae – an important food source for other animals – and a reduction in nutrients in the 18
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sediment, while the types of animals living in the mud exposed to microplastics changed. Specifically, mud with microplastics became dominated by oligochaetes and bootlace worms. These are often used as an “indicator species” for pollution as they prosper where other, more sensitive, organisms die. And the PLA microplastics, which are supposed to be biodegradable, did not rapidly decompose and caused many of the same effects as HDPE. Dr Green, said: “Mud is a bit like a battery, in that organic material is stored and then recycled and released as nutrients. This fuels algae and therefore supports the foodweb in marine systems. “Our study demonstrates the potential of microplastics to impact the functioning and structure of some marine habitats by reducing nutrients in the water and changing the types of animals that live there. “Some heavily contaminated coastlines, such as around parts of South Korea, record far higher concentrations of microplastics than those used in this experiment, so our results are both realistic and significant. It is reasonable to predict that wider cascading effects on ecosystems could be possible in the not too distant future. “The recently-proposed ban on microbeads in cosmetics is a great start, but microplastics in the form of fibres from synthetic clothing and particles broken down from larger litter are still accumulating in the environment and require more research and action to stem the flow into marine habitats.”
RESEARCH
About
Microbeads © Oregon State University, Flickr
Dr Dannielle Green Lecturer in Life Sciences
FACT FILE Born and raised: Born and raised up above (in the Blue Mountains) down under (in Australia). Education: My undergraduate degree was in Marine Sciences at the University of Sydney and I completed a PhD in marine ecology at University College Dublin in Ireland. Job title: Lecturer in life sciences. Length of service at ARU: I’ve only been here since October 2016 but am loving it so far. Awards and recognitions: I won an early career researcher grant from the British Ecological Society and a Postdoctoral Scholarship from the Irish Research Council in 2013. Favourite book: Being Dead by Jim Crace. It’s a somewhat morbid, yet beautiful love story about two marine biologists. It was also given to me as a random gift on a fieldwork trip to Donegal, Ireland and conjures happy memories. Favourite old school album: It’s a tie between anything by David Bowie (always been my default ear candy) and Disintegration by The Cure.
Favourite recent album: OK she’s not recent, but I only recently discovered the soulful music of Nina Simone. Everything she sings, but especially her album Feeling Good. Favourite film: That has to be films plural. The Back to the Future trilogy. Default feel good films, love them! Motto: “She’ll be right” in Australian or “It’ll be grand” in Irish. Either way, meaning that everything will work itself out in time and don’t panic. Perfect day: A day of fieldwork with friends. Science in action. Sweating and sinking in mudflats in the baking heat all day, collecting data and then coming home for a BBQ and a cool beer ready to do it all again the next morning! What do you love about working in Cambridge: The friendly atmosphere of the place. Since arriving I have found people really helpful and inviting, I already feel like part of a team at ARU. There always seems to be some sort of festival going on and I love the eclectic selection of cafés and pubs around Mill Road.
Microbeads © Oregon State University, Flickr
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SPOTLIGHT
Alumni updates Richard Maynard Boxing PR man and alumnus, Richard Maynard got in touch to tell us all about his new business venture, Maynard Communications, established May 2016. Last year I set up my own PR and Communications agency, Maynard Communications. My company specialises in boxing and sports, an area I have long been a fan of since I was a child. I was always into combat sports, I started kickboxing when I was 14 years old and I have been into boxing my whole life. When I was 17, I decided to get into boxing and undertook work experience and basic training at Brendan Ingle’s gym in Sheffield. On completion of my studies, I secured a job working for Frank Warren in PR and Media and this was the only other company I had worked for, so it was a great opportunity for me to follow my dreams and aspirations by starting my own business. I’ve been really fortunate in working with a wide range of successful sporting pro’s, including two of Britain’s greatest ever fighters - Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe. I’ve also worked with Amir Khan, Johnny Nelson, a long-reigning WBO cruiserweight champion, and Scott Harrison, two times WBO world champion, plus the legendary Mike Tyson, and American stars like Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones and Johnny Tapia. I currently work in a PR capacity with boxers David Haye (one of ARU’s Honorary award holders), Tyson Fury, Hughie Fury (Tyson’s cousin), James DeGale MBE, UK promoter Mick Hennessy and US promoter Richard Schaefer (who was previously named the most important man in boxing). James DeGale is the current IBF World SuperMiddleweight Champion. I first worked with James when he turned professional with Frank Warren after winning Gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I’ve now been appointed by James to handle his PR for his massive unification fight against rival world WBC World Champion Badou Jack on Saturday 14 January at the Barclays Centre in New York and
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Richard, pictured right
will represent him going forward. By the time this magazine is published, the result of his unification will be out! I also sit on the committee (and am the youngest member) of the prestigious Boxing Writers’ Club alongside well respected boxing media personalities like Colin Hart, Jim Rosenthal, John Rawling, Mike Costello and Adam Smith. In addition to my day job, I’m assisting MP Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Boxing on a Government study promoting the social benefits of boxing as a deterrent to crime. Life’s pretty busy for me these days, but I love what I do and I feel that my time studying business at ARU provided a good starting point for my career. My new website is currently under construction, but in the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter: @RichardMaynard1 Richard Maynard (Cambridge) BA Hons Business 1999
C E L E B R AT I O N S
Graduations
Class of
2016 Graduation
During October 2016 we set up a photo booth for graduates and their guests to have their photos taken behind a gold frame image, with or without some funny props! It was a great opportunity for us to meet graduates, celebrate in their successes with them and find out what their future plans were. The Employability Services team were also on hand to speak with graduates to see if there was any additional support graduates might require in the coming months. Did you know the Employability Services can help you with careers advice for up to two years after you’ve graduated? They offer one-to-one appointments over the phone, on email or face to face. Email employability@anglia.ac.uk to find out more or book an appointment. Here’s a selection of our favourite snaps:
If you’d like to view the full gallery of all our ‘Wall of Frame’ photos, you can do so on our Facebook page. Additionally, if you’d like to watch any of our 2016 graduation ceremonies, they can all be viewed here. To celebrate our 2016 graduates, we have a graduation video we’d like to share. Click to watch.
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C E L E B R AT I O N S
Class of
2016 Graduation
College of West Anglia Rosanna Day wins Student of the Year 2016 at graduation ceremony for Norfolk and Cambridgeshire graduates. Rosanna Day, 22, from March, was named University Centre West Anglia’s Student of the Year 2016 at graduation proceedings on Saturday 10 October 2016. Rosanna studied BSc (Hons) Veterinary Nursing with Applied Animal Behaviour at CWA’s Cambridge Campus in Milton. She has graduated with a welldeserved First Class Honours. Read more here.
Rosanna Day
Honorary Award Holders Our new Honorary award holders can now be found on our website. Recent recipients include Suzi Quatro and Wilko Johnson. Suzi Quatro is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, poet, author and radio presenter. Having sold over 55 million records worldwide, she is a global rock legend. Wilko Johnson is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor, icon of the British music scene, and treasured East Anglian. We particularly like this photo taken of Wilko Johnson at his ceremony. 22
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Wilko Johnson
C E L E B R AT I O N S
RE
Louisa Kewell We were delighted to showcase Louisa Kewell’s illustration on our alumni bags this year, at our graduation ceremonies. It was great handing these bags out to our graduates and hearing how they’ll be seen all over the world. I remember one family promising me that they’ll take it on holiday with them and use it with pride! Louisa Kewell (Cambridge) BA Hons Illustration 2015
Are you a 2016 illustration graduate? Would you like your design to be on our 2017 graduation alumni bags? If so, I’d love to hear from you! Email me to express interest – don’t forget to tell me your full name, date of birth and student ID number if you remember it. Helen, Alumni Officer
An image of Louise Kewell, photographed being the first to receive our souvenir 2016 alumni bag.
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New European funding to boost British business A new partnership led by ARU has secured £9.3m of funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to drive innovation and support growth amongst the region’s small to medium size small enterprises (SMEs). The funding will enable SMEs across the East and the South East of England to benefit from a new knowledge exchange programme of subsidised research and development support. The KEEP+ programme stands for Knowledge Exchange and Embed Partnerships, and will enable SMEs to access academic expertise and graduate talent, with a view to developing and launching new products and services.
The programme started this month, and will run for three years. It’s open to SMEs registered and actively trading in the four Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas that cover: Cambridgeshire (Greater Cambridgeshire/ Greater Peterborough (LEP), Hertfordshire (Hertfordshire LEP), Suffolk and Norfolk (New Anglia LEP) and Essex, Kent and East Sussex (South East LEP). Amongst the benefits available to local companies are: 12-week graduate innovation internships; three-way collaborative partnerships between businesses, graduate employees and academic experts that typically last 12 months; and innovation networking events.
KEEP+ follows on from the successful Low Carbon KEEP programme (also funded by the European Regional Development Fund) that created 85 new jobs and helped over 200 SMEs in the East of England increase their competitiveness, productivity and profits. SMEs that are interested in taking part in KEEP+ should contact Anglia Ruskin’s Knowledge Exchange Manager, Simon Daly for further information, simon. daly@anglia.ac.uk, 0845 196 3173 or visit our website. You can also follow us on Twitter: @ARUBusiness
Innovation Bridge is now live Innovation Bridge is a new business support programme funded through the European Regional Development Fund offering up to three days’ free support to help small and medium sized businesses innovate and grow. The project provides an opportunity for businesses to access specialist academic expertise to create an action plan which will support the development of a new product or service. On the completion of the action plan, companies can then access a 24 ARU CONNECT JANUARY 2017
match funded grant programme offering grants between £1,000 and £15,000, where Innovation Bridge will cover up to 30% of the investment. Anglia Ruskin University is supporting businesses in the Greater Cambridge, Greater Peterborough region to access expertise through Innovation Bridge. Alumni can find out more and register for the programme, by visiting this webpage.
SPOTLIGHT
Alumni updates How competitive Powerlifting has given me a big lift in business Aneela Rose is the Managing Director of Rose Media Group Ltd (incorporating Aneela Rose PR and Purple RoseDigital). ARPR is a long established, successful Public Relations company and PRD is a UK top 50 Social Media agency. Additionally, Aneela is also the South’s first British Asian female to qualify and win a Powerlifting medal at national level.
can do it all so I just get on with it! It would be easy (and understandable) to find excuses for not ticking off the bucket list. But, I’m not wired that way.
On 29 October 2016 I won a silver medal at the Great British Powerlifting Championships held in Manchester. I had set myself a personal goal to compete in a national powerlifting competition. Not only did I compete, which was the most nervewrenching experience of my life, I achieved Personal Bests in all three of my lifts in squat, bench press and deadlift, just 7.5kg shy of the British record and qualifying for the World Championships.
I love sport for so many reasons and although powerlifting gives me much needed breathing space as it helps to shut off the outside world completely, albeit for a brief time. At work, I’m a role model for my team who constantly look to me for answers, mentoring and guidance but with this comes inane pressure. In the gym, the opposite is true as my trainers tell me what to do, challenge me with their instruction and constantly push me past my limits. I welcome this role reversal as it has sharpened my thinking and attitude, and I’ve become more confident and successful in business as a result.
It’s an achievement which a year ago seemed as plausible as setting foot on Mars. The key factor has been the adoption of a growth mind-set, which I first heard about at my child’s school last year. Little did the school realise that they had not only influenced my child’s attitude to learning, but my own behaviour changed too.
Success means different things to different people. I’ve achieved so much in a year, with an amazing support network and the right mind-set I’ve finally started to believe in myself… I pictured the future, I planned how to get there and I got off my butt and worked at it. It’s not easy but we are told that if you really want something, you’ll find a way.
Embracing a powerful mind-set has impacted my success, in and out of work; I’m stronger, mentally and physically, I’m focused on my goals, I’ve developed better habits and I thrive off learning from others. I’m willing to learn, grow and improve constantly. My passion for entrepreneurship remains central to my business life and by setting and achieving goals in my personal life, I have experienced higher energy levels, improved self-belief and positivity, which has transferred into the workplace. It has had a profound effect on me personally and in business. In the past year I have truly mastered the art of organising! Fitting in a strict training and diet schedule whilst running two growing agencies and a hectic personal life - it’s challenging but I believe I
Aneela Rose (Chelmsford) BA Hons Business Studies 1995
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SPOTLIGHT
The best laid plans… Alumnus David Shearn shares his experiences of life after graduating. I remember back in my first few weeks of graduation wondering “Now what?” My plan was to go to Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) as I felt I lacked leadership skills and this was probably the best place to learn them. For the first 3 years there was a plan, but after going through the process of having sponsorship from a Major from the Royal Anglian Regiment and even meeting with a Brigadier who came to the University, I broke my clavicle which meant a change of direction, as I would have to wait a further 6 months to progress on this route. During that 6 months, I applied for a “Graduate Recruitment” 2 year program and I was invited to an interview at the Fleet Street area in London and was then hired along with graduates from Durham, Cambridge and all the best Universities in the county. I was assigned to the HIVE in Colchester, right where the cargo ships would come in. I had to be there at 5.00 am and sweep, even during the freezing winter. Eventually you move through every part of the operation from sales to logistics to accounting and then in the last week shadow the 26 ARU CONNECT JANUARY 2017
CEO and present a paper-based financial impact report on how you think the company can save or make money. My report was well received, but it was the second report where I honed in further on the company inventory, which was a mess. The company did not have a computer system like we have today, but my year out at Konica (it was a ‘sandwich’ course) made me 5 years ahead of anyone else and I had a gift for computers. The rule of the CEO of the entire group “if there’s a wall go over it, go round it, do not let anyone or anything stop you from achieving the goal”, so I quickly got into their weak computer system, downloaded all the data onto excel and could easily identify the stock that was not selling and stock we would run out of. It was a revolutionary change. I gave it to the Logistics Director who was one of the people who initially interviewed me (so he has a vested interest in my success). My document was in front of the board in 3 days. I was sitting in a chair at the back while they all looked blankly at a completely new report. None of them could use excel. It pointed out in colour, areas of concern.
SPOTLIGHT The Board analysed the data and then the CEO asked “who did this” and looked at the Logistics Director who handed it out. He pointed to me sitting in the corner of a conference room at the Belfry. Then I had to get up and explain how many millions could be made and saved. My 2 year graduate programme ended there and then, as the CEO put me in charge of a new division. From then on I only ever reported at corporate level, though just 22 years of age. That led to a transfer to the USA, right at the .com bust in 2000 (I arrived Jan 11 2000). I was fascinated by that. So while continuing to try and change the business I was in, during the evenings I taught myself how to build websites and more about Google and e-commerce.
I moved around quickly, from billion dollar company to billion dollar company, until the collapse in 2008. Then after years of trying to propose ‘my plan’, I realised no one would ever do it. It was too risky and they did not understand, that the half a trillion dollar building materials industry would inevitably follow the same path as books, it was just a question of “how!”, so I did it myself, with no money - which was hard from my garage! The risk paid off and today I am CEO and owner of The Builder Depot, an e-commerce home improvement company with an EBITDA well into 7 figures. David Shearn (Chelmsford) BA Hons Business Studies 1997
I remember back in my first few weeks of graduation wondering “Now what?” David Shearn CEO, The Builder Depot
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NEWS
Alumni of the month October
Trevor Chatelier LLB Law 1973
November
Patience Bamisaye
BSc Hons International Nursing Studies 2013
Our October alumnus was Trevor Chatelier. Trevor, now enjoying the benefits of retirement by exploring life as a trans-ocean sailor, has an extensive career as a Solicitor and District Judge. Click here to read more. Find out more about our LLB Law courses
Our November alumnus was Patience Bamisaye, a registered midwife. Patience now resides in Nigeria, but is keen to return and do her PhD at ARU. Click here to read more. Find out more about our International Nursing Studies course.
December
January
International news Anglia Ruskin staff regularly travel overseas to participate in fairs and exhibitions, meet our in-country representatives and prospective students. Here’s a list of upcoming dates that our International Officer’s will be attending. It’s possible that they may be able to meet you whilst over in your country or that you might be able to help out at these events, so why not get in touch if you see a suitable date you may be available to meet with your representative. Japan 23 March–26 March 2017 Visiting Osaka and Tokyo modesta.rahman@anglia.ac.uk Malaysia 18–19 March 2017 Visiting Kuala Lumpur ivan.ong@anglia.ac.uk Norway 9–10 February 2017 Visiting Tromsø eve.fower@anglia.ac.uk
Ghaith Al Jalabneh MSc Mobile Telecommunications, 2012 Ghaith Al Jalabneh describes himself as a humanitarian and charity worker, and is our December alumnus. Ghaith is considering enrolling on a PhD. Click here to read more.
Danielle Rippengill Graphic Design, 2016 Our January alumnus is Danielle Rippengill, a recent Graphic Design graduate who is now a junior graphic designer, designing children’s books. Click here to read more. Danielle also featured in our 2016 graduation video.
If you’d like to nominate yourself or someone you know for a future month, please email Helen, Alumni Officer 28 ARU CONNECT JANUARY 2017
South Korea 18–19 March 2017 Visiting Seoul modesta.rahman@anglia.ac.uk Taiwan 25–5 March 2017 Visiting Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Tainan. modesta.rahman@anglia.ac.uk Please visit the Events in your country webpage for more information.
NEWS
Virtual Open Day Take a virtual trip down memory lane The launch of a new Virtual Open Day that gives prospective students the chance to visit our Cambridge and Chelmsford campuses, will also offer alumni the opportunity to visit ARU from the comfort of their own phones, tablets or computers. Launched in late 2016, the Virtual Open Day includes – video tours, an opportunity to
explore the campus through interactive maps and information about the courses that our five faculties offer. Viewers can even experience our newest faculty facilities in 3D using their mobile phone and a Google Cardboard device. The Virtual Open Day makes our campuses accessible to an even wider audience. It gives those who are unable to visit us in person, or are simply exploring what we offer, a taste of life at ARU. Over the next year, more content will be added to give our virtual visitors an even richer experience.
You can take a tour by visiting anglia.ac.uk/virtualopenday. Get in touch to let us know about the memories you recall, the new facilities you found exciting and how we can make our Virtual Open Day even better.
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OFF THE BOOKSHELF
Off the bookshelf
Invisible Pleasures
Essex Serpent
A highly amusing memoir from a newly published author, Invisible Pleasures is an exciting memoir of love affairs and overseas adventures will appeal to those with an interest in the arts and foreign travel.
Sarah Perry has written a historical novel based in London, 1893. This book won the Waterstones Book of the Year and is available from Amazon.
Roger Pollard MA Creative Writing 2012 (Cambridge)
Little Red Bethan Woollvin’s debut book was named by The New York Times as one of the 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2016. In 2014 her initial illustrations for Little Red helped her win the national Macmillan Prize for Illustration, and the rights for the book were subsequently snapped up by publishing giants Pan Macmillan. Read more here. This book is available via Amazon. Bethan Woollvin BA Hons Illustration 2015 (Cambridge)
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Sarah Perry BA Hons English 2001 (Cambridge)
Katharina Luther When a runaway nun marries the rebellious former monk Martin Luther, there is mixed reaction. Some are delighted, others are appalled: they have broken their vows. Any fruit from such a union must surely be an Antichrist! Following a near miscarriage, Katharina is confined to her bed while awaiting the birth of their first child; she uses this quiet time to set down her own story. This book is available via Amazon. Anne Boileau BSc Hons Rural Wildlife & Landscape Development 1993 (Chelmsford)
Spotlight on India’s Climate Change Identity India’s Climate Change Identity, is a book co-authored by Professor Aled Jones, Director of the Global Sustainability Institute and Dr Samir Saran. The book presents a new and innovative approach to understanding the dynamics of international climate change negotiations using India, the second most populous country in the world, as a focal point. You can read more here. Professor Aled Jones Director, Global Sustainability Institute
If you have recently published a book or journal, please let Helen know and we will promote it in our May edition of Connect.
R E P O RT S A N D P U B L I C AT I O N S
Annual Review Our new ARU Annual Review is now available. It focuses on the achievements of our students and their wider contributions to the community. It’s now available for you to download here. “We have chosen to focus this year’s review on student achievement that goes beyond academic performance alone. It’s vital for our future that we are a vibrant and active civic partner within the communities where we are based. The role that universities play in developing community and supporting and enhancing the values of a liberal democracy is often not stated as loudly as I believe it should be.” Professor Iain Martin, Vice Chancellor.
The impact our supporters have made Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we’re able to provide a range of support for students, including scholarships to alleviate hardship, awards that recognise academic excellence and contribution to the community, and projects that enhance students’ life-skills. All of these initiatives really enhance the experience of being an ARU student, in ways that simply wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Please do take a look at our Donor Report for 2015/16. This is our opportunity to show the difference that our donors have made over the last year, and to thank them for all the ways that they contribute to Anglia Ruskin’s success.
Global Sustainability Institute Through research, education and information gathering, the Global Sustainability Institute develops solutions to the sustainability challenges we face, globally and locally. The GSI publishes the So What? magazine to highlight the latest trends and developments in sustainability. Issue 8: Winter 2016
FST First is our Science & Technology research newsletter. We also have our Research Review which highlights our recent research activities. Read the latest issue of First. December 2016 edition
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EVENTS
Dates for your diary Experience the vibrant Essex writing scene
Entertainment Bureau, Dr Chris McCully from University of Essex and Derek Adams from the Essex Poetry Festival.
Saturday 18 March 2017
Chelmsford Library, County Hall, Market Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1QH
This exciting day of workshops, stalls and events brings together readers, writing groups, Essex based authors, publishers and organisations supporting writers and all those interested in writing and reading. Listen to readings of adult and children’s books, pick up top tips in mini workshops, take part in the writing challenge, meet other authors, or simply browse and buy books.
This event is FREE and you can just drop-in, no booking required. There’ll be tea and coffee available throughout the day. For more information and to see the day’s full programme of events, visit essexbookfestival.org.uk
Science Festival 13–26 March 2017 An exciting opportunity to explore hands-on activities and get involved with talks, debates and exhibitions on this year’s theme; ‘Getting Personal’. Our events will take place on campus and at The Guildhall, Cambridge. Click here to read our latest Community newsletters for more events near you.
Headline workshops with Diane Armstrong from The
1 April 2017, 9.00am–4.00pm, Cambridge We will be holding a TEDx Talk event on the Cambridge campus on 1 April 2017 and we are looking for speakers and attendees.
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The setup of the event will be around 14 live speakers interspersed with pre-recorded TED talks. These events are independently organised and designed to share ideas and bring together different speakers from a variety of backgrounds. Our theme for the event is Creative
Minds, a theme that is broad enough to include people from psychology, technology, enterprise and creative industries. If you’d like to find out more information about this event, contact abi.dickinson@anglia.ac.uk
CLA SS NOTE S
Class notes Ibrahim Rahman BSc Hons Information Systems 2012, Cambridge I have been nominated as a finalist under the Services to Creativity and Technology category for the British Muslim Awards 2017. I am genuinely humbled and grateful to be nominated for this award. I am really looking forward to the ceremony and I am sure it will be an exciting and memorable occasion. The event will take place on Wednesday 25 January 2017. Philip Brazier BSc Hons Building Management 1995, Chelmsford After graduating in ‘95 with a BSc (Hons) in Building Management from APU at Chelmsford, I worked in social housing sector.
Since 2000, I’ve been teaching, which led to completing a Grad. Dip. in Defence Studies at Massey University in New Zealand in 2012. I’ve recently been notified that I passed an MA in Military History by Distance Learning from Birmingham University. My thesis was on combat engineer support to British/Canadian operations to clear the Scheldt estuary in October 1944. Peter Dodd BA Hons Modern History 1991, Cambridge I graduated in 1991 with a BA in Modern History and loved my time at Anglia. I was on the same course as celebrity chef Angela Hartnett and had some good friends who I have largely lost touch with over the years.
Lara Jorephani was another of my friends, along with Adrian Gascoigne, Emma Duffett and Finbarr McCabe, but I would like to contact anyone from that course. Denis Radchenko BA Hons Business & Economics 2008, Cambridge I was an international student and I worked really hard to get a First Class degree back in 2008, with great support of people like Professor Stuart Wall, Alan Griffiths and Tim Froggett, Since graduating, I have co-founded a business called Albert Cliff which serves some of the largest and well-known Financial Institutions and Blue chip companies around the world. Here’s my LinkedIn profile.
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OBITUARY
Obituary
Chairman of The General Electric Company plc from 1984 to 1998, has served as Vice President and as Chairman of the Rural Housing Trust and was Chairman of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce from 1996 to 2004.
It is with sadness that I let you know news of the death of our first Chancellor, Lord Prior. Born in 1927 and educated at Charterhouse and Pembroke College, Cambridge, James Prior was Member of Parliament for Waveney and Member of the House of Lords since 1987. After serving in Germany and India with the Royal Norfolk Regiment he returned to the UK to pursue his career. He was elected as MP for Lowestoft (renamed Waveney) in 1959 and went on to serve as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1970 to 1972 and as Leader of the House and Lord
President of the Council from 1972 to 1974. He was Secretary of State for Employment from 1979 to 1981 and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1981 to 1984. He retired from Parliament in 1987 and was subsequently ennobled as Baron Prior of Brampton. Lord Prior was
He was our University’s first Chancellor, serving from 1992 until 1999. During that time, he made a very significant contribution to our University and along with others laid the foundations for our current success. In 1992 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of the University. Our thoughts are with his family. Professor Iain Martin Vice Chancellor
VIRTUAL OCCUPANCY Virtual occupancy may be the solution to businesses that don’t require office space. The MedBIC, Anglia Ruskin’s Innovation Centre for Medical and Advanced Engineering is offering a range of virtual occupancy packages to businesses, starting from as little at £180 +VAT a year. Visit this webpage to find out more.
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C O N TA C T
Contact us Alumni Officer Helen Arnott Development Manager Jon Anscombe Post: Corporate Communications and Events Anglia Ruskin University Bishop Hall Lane Chelmsford Essex CM1 1SQ UK
Don’t forget
Tel: +44 (0)1245 684761
We’re looking for your memories and photos from all graduates who studied with us back in 1992. Get in touch if you’d like to be involved in our 25th anniversary celebrations.
Email: alumni@anglia.ac.uk (Alumni) giving@anglia.ac.uk (Development)
£1,000 discount for postgraduate study
Visit: anglia.ac.uk/alumni anglia.ac.uk/ makingadifference
There’s never been a better time to apply for a postgraduate course at ARU. Postgraduate degrees are a great opportunity to further improve your career prospects and learn more about a subject you’re passionate about. We offer 52 research programmes, 121 taught postgraduate courses and 139 continuing professional development courses, across three campuses in city-centre locations. You can study full or part-time and for many of our courses, as a member of our alumni network, you may be eligible for £1,000 discount.
Alumni Directory: anglia.aluminate.net Social networking: Join us on Facebook & LinkedIn @angliaruskin
Opinions expressed are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anglia Ruskin University or the Editor.
Next edition Our next edition will be published on 24 May 2017.
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