News in brief

Schoolboy teaches French during Covid-19

A nine-year-old boy and his mother – who is the head of French in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Aston University – have been teaching youngsters French through YouTube. The channel was set up by Aleksandar Veresić-Labeau who attends St Mary's CofE Primary School, Selly Oak, in response to Covid-19 to help his classmates keep up with the language while learning from home. Aleksandar, who is the star of the videos and does most of the narration, covers a wide variety of topics in French, with the aim of using ordinary activities to practice the language and learn new phrases. Under the guidance of his mother, Dr Emmanuelle Labeau, senior lecturer in French language and linguistics at Aston University, Aleksandar has an avid following with some vidoes amassing hundreds of views.

Technical TALENT to be rewarded

A new project led by a consortium of eight Midlandsbased universities and industry partners – including Aston University – is to shine a light on the expertise of their technical community by delivering a package of measures to support their career advancement and development. Midlands Innovation’s £4.99million TALENT programme is the largest ever investment into technicians in higher education, whose specialist skills often go unrecognised despite the crucial role they play in the success of universities and the growth of the UK economy. The investment is particularly timely, given the prominent role which technicians have played during the Covid-19 pandemic. In March 2020, Aston technician Jiteen Ahmed wrote about a major undertaking at the University to manufacture and distribute hand-sanitiser, as well as gathering useful medications and PPE for the NHS (read more on p. 25).

‘Cell pores’ discovery gives hope to millions with brain and spinal cord injuries

Scientists have discovered a new treatment to dramatically reduce swelling after brain and spinal cord injuries, offering hope to 75million victims across the world each year. The breakthrough in treating such injuries – referred to as central nervous system (CNS) edema – is thought to be hugely significant because current options are limited to putting patients in an induced coma or performing risky surgery. The new treatment, developed by scientists at Aston University in collaboration with colleagues from Harvard Medical School, the University of Birmingham, the University of Calgary, Lund University, Copenhagen University and the University of Wolverhampton, features in the latest edition of the scientific journal Cell. The researchers used an already-licensed anti-psychotic medicine – trifluoperazine (TFP) – to alter the behaviour of tiny water channel ‘pores’ in cells known as aquaporins. Testing the treatment on injured rats, they found those animals given a single dose of the drug at the trauma site recovered full movement and sensitivity in as little as two weeks, compared to an untreated group that continued to show motor and sensory impairment beyond six weeks after the injury.

Aston University contributes to prestigious Institute of Technology

Students’ Union opens doors to food distribution centre

Aston University is a key participant in a new Government scheme to introduce Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across the country with a view to creating a powerhouse for advanced manufacturing and engineering. Led by Aston University, Solihull College & University Centre, Birmingham City University and South and City College Birmingham, the project will design, develop and widen education and training opportunities aligned to the latest skills needs of employers; the local, regional and national economy; and Government priorities for technical education. Professor Alec Cameron, vice-chancellor and chief executive of Aston University, said: “The approval of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Institute of Technology is so important for our region. As a key participant, Aston University is excited to be collaborating with institutions and employers across the West Midlands to create this new centre of excellence in engineering and advanced manufacturing. Building on our existing strengths in these fields, it will enable young people, adult learners and existing employees to develop new skills and secure high-quality jobs in the industries of the future.”

A food distribution service providing vital supplies to communities in need across Birmingham during the Covid-19 pandemic has been making use of Aston University Students’ Union building while it has been closed to the public. The service (formerly in Ladywood Community Centre) was coordinated by The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS), along with The Real Junk Food Project, and supported by food charity FareShare and Birmingham City Council. As the pandemic took hold, Aston University started a volunteer support group to help students living in accommodation in the city. As the number of volunteers grew, the group realised it could help on a much wider scale, so offered its services through a number of Covid-19 Facebook groups in Birmingham. When The Active Wellbeing Society got in touch, the University agreed to offer its Students’ Union building as a new location for the distribution centre. “We are delighted that we have been able to provide support for such a much-needed service for the city,” said Saskia Hansen, deputy vicechancellor (engagement) at Aston. “We now have over 200 staff and student volunteers supporting local projects and helping to run the distribution centre. We are so proud that our Aston community is making a difference to residents across Birmingham.”

Looking back on the Pioneers for Change campaign

ASTON

ALUMNI MAGAZINE 2019

This year marks the close of Aston’s Pioneers for Change fundraising campaign, launched in 2016, and as we’re preparing to round the project off, we want to thank everyone who has contributed. It seems appropriate, in an issue dedicated to Aston People, that we celebrate some of these successes through the magazine. In the following pages you can read about alumni who have helped during the pandemic - whether by making PPE equipment, supporting students via the hardship fund or raising money for hospitals and health charities (p. 24). We also look at how donors are raising the aspirations of students via the Pathway to Healthcare programme (p. 39). We’re so grateful to you – our pioneering alumni – for supporting major projects such as the launch of the Americas Foundation (2017) and a public medical school (2016). Look on our website and social media channels or further celebrations of your achievements during the Pioneers for Change years – we can’t wait to see what transformations will be made in the years to come.

Crisis management expert joins Aston Business School

Jonathan Hemus, managing director of specialist crisis management consultancy Insignia, has joined Aston Business School as a visiting lecturer. Jonathan brings over 25 years’ experience of providing crisis management advice and training to world-leading organisations and brands such as Cathay Pacific, DP World, London Luton Airport, NFU Mutual and Stagecoach. Throughout his career, Jonathan has helped multiple organisations navigate challenges presented by crises and his advice has been particularly sought after during the Coronavirus outbreak. Jonathan will be joining Aston Business School’s team delivering a new MSc in Crisis and Disaster Management from September 2020.

THE BUSINESS ISSUE

ASTON IN 1981 CHEQUES AND THE CITY THE FUTURE OF ENERGY

Alumni magazine wins silver at international awards

The 2019 edition of Aston in Touch has been given a Circle of Excellence Award by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The awards programme recognises outstanding work in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising, and marketing at colleges, universities, independent schools, and affiliated nonprofits. Aston joined 610 institutions across 28 countries in entering the programme, bringing home a Silver award in the category of magazines published once a year.

The winning issue was distributed to 52,000 graduates worldwide in October 2019. The cover-story featured alumna Arese Ugwu (BSc Business and Management, 2006) who wrote a book about finance for women which became a bestseller in Nigeria. If you have a story that you think might interest fellow alumni in future editions of Aston in Touch, please contact the executive editor Dr Annette Rubery (a.rubery@aston.ac.uk) with details, picture ideas, and a sentence on why you think it should be featured.

Business school expands global virtual internship programme

An energy start-up in India, formed out of an Aston University research project, has won a prestigious United Nations award for its work. In January, A2P Energy, formed through the University’s European Bioenergy Research Institute’s (EBRI) Energy Harvest project, won The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) award, which recognises the work being done in India to combat air pollution. The company, founded in 2018 by Sukhmeet Singh and Robert Berry, seeks to provide a solution to the challenge existing in Northwest India relating to agricultural waste management. Farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh regularly burn residual rice straw as it is seen as having little value. The burning causes substantial local disruption and health problems; additionally, large amounts of pollution are then blown by prevailing winds to the heavily populated city of Delhi. In a bid to reduce the resulting health issues, A2P has established a supply chain that collects the paddy straw and produces energy pellets that can be used as a replacement for non-renewable fuels. These pellets can also be transformed into biochar through EBRI's expertise in pyrolysis, helping to improve soil structure and crop yields. Aston Business School is expanding its global virtual internship programme to provide international placement opportunities for its postgraduate students faced with travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Work Global, Stay Local programme offers students the possibility of working remotely for a real company for up to 300 hours in an industry related to their career choice and to develop digital and remote-working competencies in the process. The virtual internship programme is part of a comprehensive package of online activities that has been developed to provide a ‘virtual skills framework’ for Aston Business School students to help them navigate new ways of working and ensure that they

United Nations award goes to Aston spin-out

are employment-ready when they finish their courses.