Bangor International March 2017

Bangor International March 2017

No. 1 in the UK for Student Accommodation WhatUni 2016

Bangor University subjects join elite in world table Newly published analysis of the latest influential QS World University Rankings, now provides further information on rankings for different subject areas among the world’s best universities.

Six subjects and one subject area taught at Bangor University feature among the world’s elite universities in this year’s release of the QS World University Rankings by Subject, with Agriculture and Forestry appearing in the top 100 institutions worldwide who teach the subject and fourth in the UK, and rising from among last year’s 200 top Universities.

Bangor’s School of Psychology is placed in the top 200 psychology faculties worldwide (and 30th in the UK).

Environmental Sciences is placed in the top 250, placing it 25th among UK Universities ranked

while Bangor’s School of Linguistics appears in the top 300 and 32nd in the UK, and Biological Sciences and Medicine appear in the top 500 worldwide and 37th and 40th in the UK respectively. The Life Sciences and Medicine subject category, which includes 6 sub- areas also appears in the top 500, and 35th in the UK, which

provides an excellent platform for future developments in this area.

The subject rankings consider research and international reputation, and universities need to meet strict criteria to be included in the tables. This year, 30 subjects taught at Bangor, met those criteria.

In this issue of our newsletter...

l Pontio Innovation supports bionic arm

l Welsh Government Minister visits Bangor University

l Take a look at our International Student Newsletter here: www.bangor.ac.uk/international/support/news/international-student-newsletter-march-2017-31225

www.bangor.ac.uk/international

BBC reports on Bangor Alumnus building a bionic arm for his son with support from Pontio Innovation A Bangor University alumnus has set up his own company to develop prosthetics for young children with support from Pontio Innovation.

Two years ago, Sol Ryan, son of psychology alumnus Ben Ryan, needed emergency surgery at just 10 days old. Surgeons made the devastating decision to Photo: Ambionics Sol Ryan amputate Sol's left arm just below the elbow because of a blood clot. better way to put this new equipment to use than to actually Health professionals would not help Ben with his project." offer help with prosthetic arms until Sol was a year old.

Using state-of-the-art 3D printing technology at the innovation lab, Ben’s Idea Ben and the University staff were Ben did not want to wait a year, so able to turn a mish-mash of DIY he used rolled-up pieces of foam store parts and imagination into taped to Sol's elbow to see what something much more. would happen. Within minutes, Sol was banging his toys with his hand Wyn continued: "The best way we - and his foam arm. It was the first can help people, is to help them help. We've given Ben the skills time he had tried to use the left and access to the equipment and arm since the amputation, before training so he can actually develop that, the left arm didn't do his own ideas." anything.

It was the breakthrough moment for Ben. From there, developing a better prosthetic arm for young Sol became an obsession. Ben came up with an idea for a new design that would operate a hand using tiny movements of the elbow.

Pontio Innovation Convinced it would work, Ben contacted Pontio Innovation and asked them for help.

Wyn Griffith, chief technician for Pontio Innovation, recalls: "When I started to talk to Ben and found out what he wanted to do and why he wanted to come here, I was quite humbled really. We'd just moved into this building - what

Prototype Today, Sol has a new prototype of an arm and hand that can grip, with a moveable thumb. And instead of the three months it takes to cast and build a fibreglass prosthetic through the health service, a new arm can be built and printed from scratch in a matter of days.

It means not only is the young boy getting the early intervention his family are convinced he needs, it has opened up a whole new world of opportunities for his father.

Dr Andy Goodman, Director of Innovation at Pontio, said: “This could cut NHS waiting times from 6-12 weeks to a few hours. This is

particularly important considering the developmental psychology implications, and its impact on the life of individuals can't be understated. In due course, developments could include printed sensors, and software automate fitting and manufacture within the home. A multidisciplinary approach would ideally include engineering, health service systems, computer science, psychology, health economics, business and product design.”

Ambionics Ben has given up his day job to concentrate full-time on prosthetics, setting up a new company called Ambionics.

Despite being a fledgling start-up, Ben has already won some big name backing. Along with Bangor University's Pontio centre, Ambionics is also being supported by the Life Sciences Hub Wales and its entrepreneurship programme.

So far, the whole project has been funded by family and friends, but a crowd funding campaign has now began as Ben wants to raise at least £150,000 to satisfy medical authorities his arm prosthetics are safe to use, finalise patents, and to develop the design.

If Ben can raise even more, he wants to see medical research trials to back up his own theories on how young children learn to use artificial limbs.

The BBC’s news story and video about this exciting development can be seen here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales39106937

Bangor University shortlisted for 10 of 12 Awards!

Bangor University has been shortlisted for 10 of 12 UK Awards in this year’s Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2017, with the nominations based on the excellent reviews and opinions of the University’s own students.

While 44 UK universities in total have received a nomination in one of the 12 categories, Bangor University has been nominated for more Awards than any other University.

The Whatuni Student Rankings are based on averages taken from tens of thousands of reviews submitted by students and published on Whatuni.com.

Professor John G Hughes, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, welcomed the news saying: “Being nominated for ten awards on the strength of our students’ responses is a resounding endorsement from our students and reflects our focus on providing teaching excellence and all-round student-centred university experience. I’m pleased that our current students appreciate their time in Bangor and that so many choose to take such an active part in the life of the University.”

Professor Carol Tully, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students), said: “We enjoy a close working relationship with our students and partner with them to constantly

Bangor joins forces with Iranian Mental Health experts to hold international workshop in Dubai The School of Psychology, Bangor University in partnership with a team of Iranian experts in Mental Health, is holding an international workshop for participants from the UK and Iran.

The workshop will be held in Dubai, UAE, on 25th to 27th April 2017.

improve their experience at Bangor University. We are also extremely proud of the support provided for our students by our staff across the University who work tirelessly to make the student experience at Bangor so special.”

We have been nominated in this year’s awards for: l l

University of the Year

l

Course & Lecturers

l

Student Support

l

University Facilities

l

Postgraduate

l

International

l

Job Prospects

l

Clubs & Societies

l

Accommodation Giving Back

The official 2017 Whatuni Student Rankings will be announced on 6 of April at a ceremony in London. You can follow all the action on the night with the hashtag #WUSCA

The event seeks to bring together early career researchers from the UK and Iran to hold an academic discussion on Mental Health with subthemes of: l Cognitive neuroscience methods in mental health research l Child mental health treatment and prevention l Adult mental health treatment and prevention l Behaviour, motivation, and prevention of mental health issues.

The objective of the workshop is to facilitate the sharing of knowledge in both directions and to build links for future collaboration.

The organising committee is inviting applications for participation from interested scholars based at higher education and research institutions in the UK and Iran.

Applicants should submit their application package to: iranukworkshop@bangor.ac.uk by 25 March 2017.

Selected applicants are expected to be notified by 3 April 2017.

Further details can be found here: www.bangor.ac.uk/psychology/ news/bangor-joins-forces-withiranian-mental-health-expertsto-hold-international-workshopin-dubai-31283

Health Services Research Summer School 3 - 7 July 2017 The School of Healthcare Sciences is offering a unique opportunity to gain access to internationally renowned experts in the Health Services Research Summer School. Topics include: l l l l l l l

Bangor Law student from Afghanistan secures internship at the International Criminal Court, Netherlands

Complex interventions and their evaluation (including clinical trials) Realist synthesis and evaluation Health economics Implementation Ageing and dementia Primary care Language awareness and the service user perspective.

We have designed a programme to offer specific activities to help support your own plans and goals drawing on the expertise that we have within the Bangor Institute for Health & Medical Research (BiHMR).

Fees: £650 - ‘early bird’ fee includes accommodation in student halls, course fees & conference dinner. £930 - ‘early bird’ fee includes accommodation at the Management Centre, course fees & conference dinner.

Other options also available, fees increase slightly after the ‘early bird’ option ends 31st March 2017.

Further information can be seen here: www.bangor.ac.uk/ healthcaresciences/ summerschool/index.php.en If you like to register your interest in attending the Health Services Research Summer School 2017 then please email Dr Lynne Williams: lynne.williams@bangor.ac.uk

LLM student and Chevening Scholar Wahida Omari has secured a six-month internship with the International Criminal Court McDermott Rees, was delivered in An International Law student has secured a prestigious internship at a most effective way, and as part of the assessment, I played the the International Criminal Court in prosecutor role in a moot court, the Hague, the Netherlands. gaining experience of arguing both Wahida Omari, a Chevening sides of a case.” scholar from Afghanistan, will As she looks forward to her begin a six-month placement with internship – as well as graduating the Office of the Prosecutor’s Situation Analysis Section in April. in the summer – Wahida is appreciative of the opportunities The internship will place Wahida, Bangor has afforded her. an LLM International Criminal “My time in Bangor has been Law and International Human outstanding and very fruitful. Not Rights Law student, in the very only did the different methods of epicentre of international law, assessment help develop my where she will work alongside research, writing and oral leading lawyers and enhance her advocacy skills, but my studies own knowledge of the subject. have played a huge role in Explaining her passion for securing the internship with the international law, Wahida, International Criminal Court. explains: “I took the International I cannot fail to thank Dr Rees for Criminal Law module through providing the recommendation which I came to have a deep letter which enhanced my chances understanding of the creation, of success.” functioning and decisions of the leading courts and tribunals that deal with International Criminal Law, including the ICC (International Criminal Court).

The module, taught by Dr Yvonne

Minister visits Bangor University’s School of Electronic Engineering The Welsh Government’s Minister for Skills & Science, Julie James AM, visited Bangor University’s School of Electronic Engineering on the 16 February. During the visit, the Minister was taken on a tour of the school’s state-of-theart laboratories and was given a demonstration of the work undertaken by Professor Jianming Tang and his Optical Communications Research Group (OCRG).

At present, the group’s research activities are mainly focussed on exploring cutting-edge signal processing technologies, including super-fast 5G mobile networks currently being developed. As Professor Tang explained: “By working on advanced digital signal processing technology, we will significantly improve the functionality of mobile networks. In time, this could result in universal broadband coverage and a super-reliable service for us as consumers.”

Bangor University, in collaboration with M-SParc, the new Science Park currently under construction on Anglesey, have recently been working to establish a Digital Signal Processing Centre of Excellence on the site. The proposed Centre would bring together the expertise of ten industrial partners that have been undertaking research collaborations with the OCRG for the past 10 years. The Centre would seek to develop innovative solutions to address industrial challenges with a sharp focus on not only improving their existing products, processes or services but also introducing new ones in a cost-effective way.

Reflecting on her visit, Welsh Government Minister for Skills &

L-R: Professor Jianming Tang, Vice Chancellor Professor John G Hughes and Julie James, Minister for Skills & Science.

Science, Julie James AM, said: According to Professor Paul Spencer, Dean of the College of “I’ve been very pleased to see the Physical and Applied Sciences at research underway at Bangor Bangor University, OCRG’s University’s School of Electronic Engineering in exploring the future activities have huge potential for academia, the telecommunications of communications infrastructure. industry and for us as consumers, Technology is constantly developing and it’s great this “The work that Professor Tang and cutting edge work, led by his group have undertaken over Professor Tang, is happening right the last 10 years has resulted in here in Wales. over £5m worth of direct investment by some of the giants Professor Tang explains the of the telecommunications world.” high-tech equipment at his lab to the Minister: “The Welsh Government’s aim is to bring fast reliable broadband to every property in Wales. The Superfast Cymru programme is bringing superfast broadband to areas which would otherwise not receive it. Eight out of ten premises can now receive it resulting in Wales having the highest availability of superfast broadband among the devolved nations. No part of Gwynedd would have access to superfast broadband without the intervention of Superfast Cymru.

Now nearly 50,000 premises in the county can access it with more being able to take advantage of Professor Tang explains the superfast speeds as the rollout high-tech equipment at his lab to continues.” the Minister.

Research News Memorandum of Understanding New €7m EU investment in Wales and Ireland’s fisheries industry

with Shanghai Ocean University

A cockle on the sea bed More than €7m of EU funds will be invested in science and technology projects to help protect and develop the marine life and the fisheries industry in Wales and Ireland.

Led by Bangor University, in partnership with Irish and Welsh organisations, the project will assess how climate change is affecting the health of fish stocks, the migratory movement of commercial fish, and risks from new non-native species.

Around €5.5m of the EU fund will support the Bluefish marine science partnership, investigating the effects of climate change in the Irish Sea on the sustainability of fish and shellfish.

Dr Shelagh Malham, senior research fellow at Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences, said:“We need to maintain a sustainable food supply chain. The combination of research between academic partners and collaboration with industry partners will ensure these vital industries receive the information and support they need to be more resilient to the changes the industry is facing and will continue to face in coming years, and to react to opportunities.”

Read the full story here: www.bangor.ac.uk/news/ research/new-7m-eu-investmentin-wales-and-ireland-s-fisheriesindustry-31269

The delegation onboard Bangor University’s research vessel - The Prince Madog: 3rd from right Shanghai Ocean University Vice President Wu Jiannong; 4th from right Professor Colin Jago, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences; 2nd from left, Angharad Thomas, Director of International Development

During a recent Shanghai Ocean University visit to Bangor University lead by Vice President Professor Wu Jiannong, a Memorandum of Understanding was renewed for a further period of five years.

The first phase of the partnership saw undergraduate degree students participate in a number of Ocean Science Summer Schools at Bangor University.

Following successful and productive discussions, colleagues at both Universities are currently developing cooperation in Bachelor and Masters degree programmes.

L-R: Shanghai Ocean University Vice President, Wu Jiannong and Bangor University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hughes

Bangor University opens new Physical Activity for Health and Well-Being Centre labs Bangor University has invested £1m in a new state-of-the-art facility, the newly-named (Canolfan PAWB Centre) at its internationally recognised School of Sport Health & Exercise Sciences.

Two new exercise physiology laboratories, which research the functioning of the human body and a large new teaching laboratory will extend and complement the School’s existing teaching and research resources. These address the range of health benefits from exercise and physical activity and also investigate performance, sport and

extreme environments.

The new, highly flexible space is a significant additional resource for the School’s students and researchers and will, in the main, focus on physiology and rehabilitation.

Professor Tim Woodman, Head of the School of Sport, Health & Exercise Sciences was keen to stress that:

“This new expansion ensures the best learning experience for students by co-locating new teaching spaces with the physiology testing and

rehabilitation labs. This re-enforces the crucial link between the research being delivered by the School and its teaching activities. The new labs will ensure that the School continues to offer an excellent environment for both physiological research and student development.”

Read more here: www.bangor.ac.uk/news/latest/ bangor-university-opens-newphysical-activity-for-health-andwell-being-centre-labs-31413

Several Masters degrees receive CMI accreditation We are pleased to announce that several postgraduate programmes at our Bangor Business School have been accredited by the Chartered Management Institute, the only chartered professional body in the UK dedicated to promoting the highest standards in management and leadership excellence.

The accreditation means that graduates of Bangor’s Masters courses in Business, Management or Marketing will attain a Level 7 CMI qualification alongside their degree – at no extra cost, and with no extra study.

CMI qualifications are highly regarded by employers as they demonstrate the practical skills needed to perform in an increasingly competitive workplace. By completing one of the programmes below at Bangor, graduates will automatically achieve a CMI Award, Certificate or Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership: MA Business and Marketing MA/MSc Business with Consumer Psychology MBA Environmental Management MBA Information Management MBA International Business MBA International Marketing MBA Law and Management MBA Management MA/MSc Management and Finance

“We are delighted that all our Postgraduate Business, Management and Marketing programmes are accredited by the UK’s leading professional body for Managers, the Chartered Management Institute”, commented Professor Gareth Griffiths, Director of Postgraduate Studies (Business, Management and Marketing).

“This gives our students unprecedented access to their extensive careers facilities, huge range of online resources and opportunities for continuing professional development.”

www.bangor.ac.uk/international

Useful Contacts Country Managers

Office Contacts

Ali Khan

International Office

Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388874 : Email: a.khan@bangor.ac.uk

IEC, Bangor University Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, U.K.

Country Manager responsible for: Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka

Karen Jones

Tel: +44 (0) 1248382028 E-mail: international@bangor.ac.uk Web: www.bangor.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388207 : Email: k.m.jones@bangor.ac.uk Country Manager responsible for: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

Maggie Parke Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388416 : Email: maggie.parke@bangor.ac.uk Country Manager responsible for: The Americas: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, USA

Beijing Office Bangor University Room A029, 3rd Floor, The Exchange Beijing, B-118, Jianguo Road Chaoyang District Beijing, P.R. China 100022 Tel: 010-58902596; 010-58902597 E-mail: luna.wu@bangor.ac.uk Web: www.bangor.org.cn

Michael Rogerson Tel: +44 (0) 1248 383648 : Email: m.rogerson@bangor.ac.uk

Nigeria Office

Country Manager responsible for: European Union Countries

BCIE - Bangor desk Valley View Plaza 99 Opebi Road, Lagos Nigeria

Noor Al-Zubaidi Tel: +44 (0) 1248 382879 : Email: n.al-zubaidi@bangor.ac.uk Country Manager responsible for: Middle East and North Africa including: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, Qatar International students in the UK

Tel: 01 3427672 Mob: 08060136178 E-mail: bangor_nigeria@bcie.co.uk

Bangor International College Oswalds Building, Victoria Drive Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, U.K.

Sarah Jones-Morris Tel: +44 (0) 1248 388843 : Email: s.jones-morris@bangor.ac.uk Country Manager responsible for: Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon Central Asia - including Azerbaijan.

Tel: 01248 383 783 E-mail: bic@bangor.ac.uk

Upcoming Visits for 2017 We shall be visiting the following countries between March and May 2017: Malaysia - March USA - March & Apri Colombia - March & April China - March & April

Ghana - April Saudi Arabia - April Nigeria - May India - May

Visit our country visits page for more information: www.bangor.ac.uk/international/visits OR contact the relevant Country Manager.

Please do contact us if you would like one of our international officers to visit your school or if you need any advice. www.facebook.com/BangorUniversityInternational

@BangorUni_intl