Dialogue Magazine - Issue 18

DIALOGUE THE DURHAM UNIVERSITY NEWS MAGAZINE

A BEAUTIFUL VISIT

SPORT’S BEST YEAR YET

Hear from the students who met Russell Crowe

Discover why 2010/11 was a stellar year for University Sport

JULY 2011

ISSUE 18

SPOTLIGHT ON DSU SOCIETIES There’s a University Society for everyone, even staff!

WELCOME This issue of Dialogue focuses on extracurricular activities for students – and staff! I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that Durham University is the UK leader for student activities, and no student can say they didn’t have the opportunity to participate in whatever excites them at whatever level they wish to participate – from beginner to elite.

Our strategy identifies extracurricular activities, particularly music and the arts, sport and volunteering as a critical part of what we offer our students, providing transferable skills such as leadership, teamwork and creativity, and contributing to their personal development and employability – the Durham Difference.

A trademark of Durham student societies are that they are student-led.

Staff volunteering has developed wonderfully over the past year and increasing numbers of staff and their families are engaging in sport. The quality of student plays and musical productions not only provide opportunities for some exceptional entertainment but also for participation. Even I have taken part in some student-organised musical events – I can recommend it.

We have recently established ‘Experience Durham’, under Peter Warburton’s leadership, to provide better co-ordinated support for student-led activities, and also to facilitate staff engagement. The potential for students and staff to engage with each other outside the classroom and laboratory – to be a real educational community – is something which can really only occur at a human-scale and collegiate University like Durham.

With all best wishes,

CHRIS HIGGINS, VICE-CHANCELLOR AND WARDEN

The Gateway programme is part of the University’s long term estates strategy for Durham City to provide excellent facilities for all its students and staff.

Major programme components are: • A new build on the Stockton Road incorporating: – A prestigious new Law School – A refurbishment to the main Library – The Palatine Centre, bringing together central Student Services – Catering and social facilities for students, staff and visitors.

• Refurbishment of office space at Mountjoy • Science Site Environmental Improvements For regular newsletters and updates visit www.durham.ac.uk/durham.project

ALL STAFF MEETINGS Watch out for details of all staff meetings in Dialogue Signposts and at www.durham.ac.uk/dialogue/meetings

EXCELLENT CAREERS SUPPORT AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES The Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre (CEEC) www.durham.ac.uk/careers

CONTENTS 2

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REGULARS

SPOTLIGHT ON

FEATURES

2/3 7 8 9 16 17 BC

6 The Oriental Museum 10/11 Durham Students’ Union Societies

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Media Round-up Event Durham/Retail/Catering HR News ITS News Sport Congratulations Under Investigation What’s On

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A Beautiful Visit UNESCO World Heritage Site Visitor Centre Get to know your Environment Champion Green Travel Recycling and Waste Social Media University Catering Making Connections Frenk wins Gruber Cosmology Prize Reach all corners of the world with DRO

ALTERNATIVE FORMAT

INPUT

If you wish to receive Dialogue in an alternative format, please email: dialogue@durham.ac.uk

Please continue to send your feedback and contributions to: dialogue@durham.ac.uk

www.durham.ac.uk/somuchmore

SO MUCH

MORE

MEDIA ROUND-UP Here is a taster of some of the recent stories concerning Durham that have been in the regional, national and international media.

Mountain Gorilla. Photography by Stephen G Willis, Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences.

THERE’S NO MAGIC NUMBER FOR SAVING ENDANGERED SPECIES A new study offers hope for species such as the Siberian Tiger that might be considered ‘too rare to save’, as long as conservation efforts can target key threats.

The findings contained in a report co-authored by Dr Philip Stephens of the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences have important implications for conserving some of the world’s most charismatic endangered species. These species often exist in populations far smaller than the many thousands of individuals that earlier studies had argued were necessary for viability.

Charismatic examples include the mountain gorilla, which likely now number 1,000 or less, the approximately 450 remaining Amur or Siberian tigers, the 180-500 remaining mature Philippine eagles, and the 70 wild Puerto Rican parrots.

Coverage includes: Science2Day, Science Daily, The Earth Times, Wildlife Extra.

MAKING HEADLINES – MAKING HEADLINES – MAKING HEADLINES The breadth of national and international ‘brand profile’ for the University continues to increase yearon-year, in most cases with a focus on how our research is shaping the world and responding – through the expert commentary of our researchers – to the global news and policy agendas.

In the last six months, Durham has secured over 3000 positive news

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articles in the media, which includes a 41% increase from the same period in 2009/10 in international brand profile in overseas media outlets.

This sets the University above all of our set of comparator universities in the same timeframe.

Feature or ‘soft’ media articles are an area of growth too with highlights including BBC Radio broadcasts,

feature spreads in the New Statesman, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, British Medical Journal, and last month in the Daily Mail. Added to that are cover stories in specialist media titles like ScienceWatch and BBC History, and primetime documentary leads and newspaper features on Dark Matter, our Shakespeare Folio, Renewable Energy and archaeological excavations.

JOIN MEDIA GUIDE TO EXPERTISE To join our searchable database of Durham University experts go to: www.durham.ac.uk/communications.office/media.relations/media-guide and click on ‘Join Media Guide’.

REGENERATION COULD BE KEY TO BOOSTING COALFIELD COMMUNITIES

EUROPEANS WERE THE REAL CANNIBALS, ACCORDING TO NEW BOOK

Decades after the pit closures, coalfield communities still face significant health problems and economic difficulties, according to new research.

European royalty and eminent scholars swallowed parts of the human body as medicine, including its flesh, blood and bones, right up until the end of the 18th century, a new book on medicinal cannibalism revealed.

Co-author of the study, Professor Sarah Curtis, Department of Geography, said: “Coalfield areas vary considerably and it’s essential that government policy recognises the different levels of support that are needed and helps the areas with the greatest need.

“Some mining communities have struggled and need more assistance, whilst others have fared quite well, demonstrating considerable resilience in the wake of the huge job losses that affected these regions.”

Researchers, some from the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, looked at self-rated outcomes for health in a national survey of 26,100 individuals.

The findings reinforce calls for increased and more focussed government assistance in poorer rural coalfield communities.

For well over two hundred years, even as they denounced the barbaric cannibals of the New World, educated Europeans applied, drank, or wore powdered Egyptian mummy, human fat, flesh, bone, blood, brains and skin, according to Dr Richard Sugg of the English Department, who argues that the Europeans were in fact the real cannibals.

Dr Sugg said: “One thing we are rarely taught at school is this, : James I refused corpse medicine; Charles II made his own corpse medicine; and Charles I was made into corpse medicine.”

Coverage achieved: The Independent, Daily Mail, The Sun, Irish Examiner, Times of India, The Toronto Sun, The Journal.

Coverage includes: BBC Radio Tees, BBC Radio Newcastle, Sunderland Echo.

EASTERN EUROPEANS ARE LONELIEST IN EUROPE People in Eastern European countries are the loneliest in Europe, according to a new cross-national study.

Lead author Dr Keming Yang from the School of Applied Social Sciences, said: “Loneliness is widely seen as a problem of old age. Although feelings of loneliness do tend to increase as people get older, our analysis suggests that the country in which people live is a much bigger factor than age.”

The research shows that the nations with the highest levels of loneliness are all those which were once under Soviet control, including Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania.

Ania Lepkowska, who is originally from Poland but now lives in the UK, said: “One observation I have is that Eastern Europeans are generally more reserved and less expressive than their UK counterparts. Often one simply cannot tell if someone is happy or sad.”

Coverage achieved: Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Journal, BBC Radio Newcastle.

Don’t forget to visit www.durham.ac.uk/dialogue

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A BEAUTIFUL VISIT

By Sarah Peters (DST Secretary) and Alexander Tweddell (DST President) The implication that Hollywood actor Russell Crowe was interested in visiting a small city in the North of England, and imparting some of his wisdom on a very select group of students there, was not the norm in the life of a member of Durham Student Theatre (DST) at Durham University.

Nevertheless, excitement started to build as within hours of an unbelievably random ‘tweet’ from the Oscar-winner himself, the DST Secretary hastily learnt how to use the social networking site in order to casually chat to ‘Russell’, and work out the logistics of an event that we hoped, but possibly slightly doubted, would happen.

Yet, with the aid of the University, our beloved Chancellor Dr Bill Bryson, and a great deal of hope, Russell Crowe visited Durham less than a month after that very first tweet. In essence, it truly was the stuff that dreams are made of. To have a personal dinner with Mr Crowe and Dr Bryson themselves is not quite something that the President and Secretary of DST envisaged doing on the first Thursday night of June, but who are we to complain?

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Following an early wake up call from the BBC, we both headed to St Chad’s College on Friday morning, where the first part of the day was to begin: 24 members of DST had been selected to partake in a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity: a three-hour workshop with the man himself. Not one of the 24 could quite adequately describe the events of that morning without a toothy grin plastered across their face. Working on the concept of leadership, how to interpret a script, and gaining a deep insight into the film industry, the workshop proved to be a three-hour period that the group will never forget. Following a quick stalking from the media, and a saddening excursion back to reality through the form of an end-of-year exam, the time had come to prepare for the evening affair.

Around two hundred eager DSTers gathered outside the Assembly Rooms to witness a truly valuable experience.

Their appreciation of the event and its very special guests was clear from the off, and the atmosphere inside our small, un-assuming theatre on North Bailey was absolutely electric. Anticipation built as Russell showed us a home movie, followed by a question and answer session with

Dr Bryson. At this point, members of DST were given a priceless opportunity to explore the depths of the minds of two incredible people; and it has to be said that they seized this opportunity with both hands. Our special guests were exceptionally forthcoming and spent at least an hour answering our questions.

Following this, a band called ‘Size2Shoes’ from Ireland that Russell had flown over to us performed some fantastic acoustic tracks; inevitably gaining a huge new fan-base from the audience along the way, and hopefully forging a long-lasting friendship with DST. We then had the unexpected honour of having Mr Crowe join the band on stage as well; showing the man of many talents in all his glory.

The entire experience can only frankly be described as, well… indescribable.

The members of DST gained such a wealth of knowledge, we were made to feel so unbelievably special, and we had the time of our lives. Our thanks extend to the University’s Communications Office; the soon-to-be-missed Chancellor Dr Bill Bryson; and obviously Mr Russell Crowe, without each of whom the event would never had gone ahead.

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE VISITOR CENTRE The World Heritage Site Visitor Centre, based in the University’s (former) Almshouses on Owengate, Durham, was opened for staff, students and the public with an informal concert by the student choir Durham Polyphony. The building has been sensitively adapted, with the £1M refurbishment costs provided by Durham County Council and One North East, as part of an enhanced network of information centres across County Durham.

The Visitor Centre will provide a central point of information about places to visit on the World Heritage Site including the Castle and the Cathedral with its Claustral Buildings including the Treasures of St Cuthbert. The Centre also complements the work of the separate Palace Green Library on the opposite side of the green which, with the recent launch of the public Wolfson Gallery, is growing not only as an historic visitor attraction, but as an enhanced research library for staff and students of the University and for visiting scholars.

Wider information about places to visit across Durham including the Botanic Garden, the Oriental Museum, Old Fulling Mill Museum of Archaeology, Durham Heritage Centre and Museum and the DLI Museum and Art Gallery will also be available. There will be the opportunity to buy tickets for attractions and to purchase souvenirs.

Like the rest of the World Heritage Site, the Visitor Centre will also be a working building and will provide interactive experiences for visitors including exhibitions, performances and hands-on family activities.

The Visitor Centre will provide a base for Durham University’s Institute of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, which is developing interdisciplinary research about the World Heritage Site, as well as a wide range of activities geared towards public understanding.

Durham Student Theatre will also have a presence in the Visitor Centre and will put on performances for visitors.

The Visitor Centre has opened with a photographic exhibition by Durham University students and led by local photographer Andrew Heptinstall called ‘Our Living World Heritage Site’, illustrating the living and working environment of the Cathedral as a church and a major visitor attraction, and of the Castle as a college.

FIND OUT MORE For more information on the Durham World Heritage Site visit: www.durhamworldheritagesite.com Don’t forget to visit www.durham.ac.uk/dialogue

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SPOTLIGHT ON THE ORIENTAL MUSEUM The Oriental Museum was founded in 1960 to house the amazing collections used to support the teaching and research operations of the Durham University’s School of Oriental Studies. This hidden gem continues to be closely aligned to the University’s teaching and research priorities. Members of the museum team are heavily involved in the delivery of both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, whilst the museum’s diverse collections support university teaching in a wide range of subjects including Archaeology, History, Education and Politics.

The museum is also involved in supporting a wide range of research activities.

Individual doctoral and post-doctoral researchers from around the world consult the collections, whilst major ongoing research projects include the international Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (based at UCLA and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) and a groundbreaking project in partnership with the Department of Archaeology to digitise our important collection of early Buddhist Gandharan sculpture.

Originally, little thought was given to public access, but today the museum is open seven days per week. Permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions showcase amazing treasures from around Asia, reflecting the astonishing range of rich cultures which have flourished there from the prehistory to the present day.

Our visitors include thousands of local schoolchildren, who flock to the museum to work with our specialist education and outreach team. Members of the team also work with older children and community groups, and the museum is a partner in the Stories of the World initiative, a national Cultural Olympiad project which encourages young people to learn about and curate museum collections reflecting diverse cultures.

In 2008 the Oriental Museum’s Chinese and Egyptian Collections were granted Designated Collection status, a governmentsponsored accolade recognising their national and international importance.

Their exceptional quality is also widely recognised abroad, and in 2008 a selection of 150 objects from our Egyptology collection were seen by almost a quarter of a million people during a 10-month tour of Japan. Such overseas loans are not unusual, and two pieces of Egyptian sculpture are currently featuring prominently in a major exhibition in Taiwan.

in Ancient Egypt will open in July 2011, whilst the Designation Challenge Fund have supported the creation of new displays of our outstanding Chinese archaeology and ceramics collections (due to open November 2011).

The Oriental Museum’s fabulous collections and friendly staff have won it many fans. If you haven’t been, take Bill Bryson’s advice and go at once. It really is that good!

The Oriental Museum is located on Elvet Hill, off South Road. It is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm and at weekends from 12 noon to 5pm. Admission is free to Durham University staff and students.

For up-to-date listings of exhibitions and events, see www.durham.ac.uk/ oriental.museum

Recent developments in the museum have seen the creation of new shop and café facilities, as well as the total refurbishment of our “Marvels of China” and “Egyptian Art” galleries. Thanks to a generous DCMS/Wolfson Foundation grant, a new gallery dedicated to everyday life

“Drop everything and go at once. It’s that good.”

Bill Bryson 6

EVENT DURHAM // RETAIL // CATERING EVENT DURHAM NEW TEAM MEMBER

Georgia Lee

Event Durham has recently welcomed Georgia Lee to our team. Georgia has joined as a finance assistant whose role will primarily involve invoicing events.

Georgia joins us from the School of Modern Languages & Cultures where she underwent the University Apprenticeship scheme.

DURHAM BUSINESS SCHOOL MERCHANDISE Durham University’s Online Shop now stocks official Durham University Business School merchandise. Visit www.durham.ac.uk/shop to see this range of smart, classic products with a twist, with more items being added on a regular basis. DBS merchandise is also available to purchase by internal customers using the internal trade account facility.

More exciting products and ranges will be added to the website throughout the year; sign up to our website newsletter at www.durham.ac.uk.shop to be kept up-to-date.

EVENT DURHAM STAFF VOLUNTEERING Event Durham have been taking part in the Staff Volunteering Scheme and have enjoyed two wonderful days at Broadgate Farm. Members of the team were joined

by Jo O’Neil, from the School of Education and Miranda Petersen, Volunteer Co-ordinator, to help out with horticulture projects throughout the farm.

Broadgate Farm Co-operative is an adult day care centre offering support to adults suffering from mental illness or recovering from brain injury. The farm provides facilities for all kinds of art projects, and holds contracts with local parish councils providing hanging baskets and tubs made with flowers grown on the farm. This is where the Event Durham team helped out. They potted up a number of seedlings and larger plants and made lots of beautiful hanging baskets to complete the parish contracts.

The farm also grows varieties of vegetables which are tended by visitors to the farm and once they are ready can be taken home by the groups. Event Durham also helped with weeding, watering and feeding the crops.

Emma Humble, Customer Relations Agent in Event Durham, said “It was hard work but very rewarding. We met some of the regular visitors to the farm and it felt good to know that we were helping them directly.”

Left to Right: Michelle Briggs, Crumbs in Yarm; Jan Wright, Durham University; Kath Hamilton, South Thornaby Community Centre

Event Durham will be continuing to work with the Staff Volunteering Scheme on projects throughout the year.”

If you or your department would like to get involved in this or other projects contact the Staff Volunteering Team on 42199.

Left to Right: Jim Reilly, Durham University; Jan Wright, Durham University; Glen Heslop, Durham University

QUEEN’S MAKES THE HEALTHY CHOICE Queen’s Campus menus have recently been recognised by the Healthy Choice Partnership.

Healthy Choice helps caterers keep salt, sugar and fat in their foods to a minimum and easily incorporate fruit, salads and vegetables in their recipes and have been working with Stockton Borough Council’s Standard team.

Queen’s Campus was already offering healthy exciting menus, including more vegetables in meals such as curry, chilli and cottage pie, mayonnaise-free sandwich fillings such as Mediterranean tuna and drinks such as water and unsweetened fruit juice. They will now be displaying the Healthy Choice logo – look out for it!

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HR NEWS

HR NEWS

HR NEWS

HR NEWS

FOCUS ON TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT DELIVERING CUSTOMER CARE In the last 18 months, we’ve supported our Colleges Division in the roll-out of a successful programme of Customer CARE (Community, Attitude, Respect, Excellence) sessions for all college staff.

The Library, World Heritage Site Visitor Centre, Treasurer’s Division, CEM Centre and the Academic Registrar’s management development groups have also been working with the Customer CARE concepts.

DEVELOPING OUR COURSES Our Open Course training programme for 2011/12 has been enhanced and refreshed to help deliver one of the University’s strategic aims – to develop management and leadership potential at all levels and provide high quality staff development programmes.

The programme has benefited from a review including feedback from previous courses and the key development needs raised during ASRs. The most popular courses – time management, assertiveness, presentation skills and introduction to leadership – have been refreshed. We’ve also introduced

INSTITUTE OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT As an ILM-approved centre, we offer practical, work-based courses to develop your skills. Courses are based on completing units to achieve a nationally recognised qualification.

new programmes to meet the new needs of our challenging future, including coping with change and enhanced communication skills.

Many of the courses are led by new programme presenters, bringing new perspectives and some of the best knowledge and skills to the University’s programme of internal courses.

The Open Course programme courses are available to everyone; subject to places and the approval of your line manager.

To access the Open Course programme, go to www.durham.ac.uk/training.course

ILM level 1 – for Team Members This is a bespoke programme for anyone working in a team. Speak to Claire Tindale on 41649.

ILM Level 2 – Team Leader Award This is a very popular programme and while the 2011 programme is full, we are collecting names for the 2012 programme.

Contact Claire Tindale on 41649.

ILM Level 2 – Team Leader Certificate This follows on from the Award and a new programme starts from January 2012.

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If you think your department might benefit from a bespoke programme, please contact Sophie Sowerby on 41640.

ILM level 3 – First Line Manager Award and Certificate We are collecting expressions of interest for the 2012 programme.

Contact Sophie Sowerby on 41640.

To join an ILM programme you must complete an application form and gain endorsement from your line manager to ensure the learning is appropriate.

To find out more about ILM go to www.durham.ac.uk/hr/training/courses/ supervisory

CIS NEWS

CIS NEWS

CIS NEWS

CIS NEWS

WORK IN PROGRESS: IMPROVEMENTS TO YOUR IT SECURITY

In addition to the recent structural changes uniting the Information Technology Service with IT staff in faculties and departments to form Computing and Information Services, the Department has a number of projects and plans designed to deliver significant enhancements to your IT services. An area of particular focus for us is achieving a better balance between your requirements for network freedom and the adoption of new ways of accessing our services, and our need to protect University IT and you.

As a result we’re putting some concerted effort into improving your IT security.

NETWORK: PROTECTED AND FREE We’re working to segregate the network to continue to give our data and key information systems (eg Oracle, Banner, etc) the level of protection they need, whilst allowing those areas such as research and study, the latitude to carry out their work with appropriate freedom.

SECURE DATA, WHEREVER YOU TAKE IT The introduction of consistent, data encryption for portable devices, adding a further layer of protection for our information should devices be lost or stolen.

PROTECTING LEGITIMATE ACCESS Tightening up network access to ensure that only authorised users and devices can get onto our network and see our data.

FLEXIBLE WORKING WITH CONFIDENCE We’ll be introducing an encrypted Virtual Private Network (VPN) so you can be confident that when you access the University’s services from home or further afield, your work and our network is protected.

BETTER EMAIL SYSTEMS Staff emails will be migrated to Exchange 2010, giving us better security and a single email environment so we can share our

calendars. Student email will be outsourced giving a significantly improved email experience to our student users.

MAKING YOUR PASSWORD WORK HARDER We’re working on a clear and accessible IT Policy framework so you know exactly what you need to do to protect yourselves and the data and systems you work with.

As part of that we will be looking at password security in terms of strength and any requirements for resetting which will be introduced through a new password policy.

GIVING YOU THE INFORMATION YOU NEED Work has commenced on comprehensive IT security advice to be published on our web pages giving you best practice guidance to help you to help yourselves.

We’ll also be looking to introduce a regular programme of security updates and a simple IT security awareness overview as part of the induction process.

There’s a lot going on and we’ll be letting you know about the progress of this activity and any action you might need to take via the weekly Dialogue Signposts and our web pages.

Meanwhile, please email any questions to security.hardening@durham.ac.uk

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SPOTLIGHT ON DURHAM STUDENTS’ UNION SOCIETIES 10

Members of staff and the local community are welcome to join any society. This therefore makes societies an excellent opportunity to not only gain new skills but to meet individuals from a wide range of backgrounds.

Societies make up one of the largest areas of extracurricular student engagement across the Students’ Union and indeed the wider University. Durham Students’ Union has well over 190 societies within its database, ranging from the creative, such as the Life Drawing Society, to the active, such as the Aerobics Society or the Hill Walking Society, or indeed to the quirky, such as the African Drumming and Singing Society or the Happiness Society, which amongst other things sends out regular emails to members containing inspirational quotes. We have a range of national and regional groups, such as the Spanish and Latin American Society or the Russian Society, as well as a number of faith and political societies: the Jewish Society and the Green Party Society, to name but two.

So much dynamism and enthusiasm goes into these societies. The boundless energy and sheer commitment that goes into running a society or a particular society event is often astounding. The Oxfam Society put on a fantastic Ethical Fashion Show in Dunelm House in Epiphany Term, the Eurovision Society organized Durham’s ‘official’ Eurovision party, which took place again this year in Fisher House, and DULOG’s (Durham University Light Opera Group) annual Gala show speaks for itself.

Having said that, not all societies focus on the large scale events. The beauty of our societies is that they aim to engage their members, no matter how large or small the activity. One of the best things about our societies is that they are open to everyone, this extends beyond the student body.

Members of staff and the local community are welcome to join any society. This therefore makes societies an excellent opportunity to not only gain new skills but to meet individuals from a wide range of backgrounds.

So why not take up a new hobby, or indeed an old one? Learn a language with the Arabic Society, play some chess with the Chess Society, write an article for The Bubble, join a campaign with the Amnesty International Society…

The list goes on!

FIND OUT MORE Find out how to join a society at www.dsu.org.uk or email dsu.societies@durham.ac.uk

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GREENSPACE GET TO KNOW YOUR ENVIRONMENT CHAMPION!

Did you know that most departments and colleges now have an Environment Champion?

Some great ideas came out of the session and Greenspace plan to develop these over the coming months.

Your Environment Champion acts as an environmental advocate and champions best practice for your department or college. They also provide a vital two-way communication with the Greenspace office.

A list of Environment Champions can be found on the Greenspace website, so make contact and have a chat with your representative www.durham.ac.uk/greenspace/policies/ environmentchampions

Recently, the Champions attended a training event at which they learnt in more detail about the University’s Carbon Management Programme and discussed how they could improve the carbon footprint of their college or department. Issues discussed included energy, waste, recycling, travel and procurement.

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Alternatively, if you have any energy concerns or suggestions on how to reduce energy use, there is a dedicated email address you can use energy.awareness@durham.ac.uk Estates and Buildings are happy to hear your energy saving ideas, no matter how small.

FIND OUT MORE Further information about Greenspace, the Carbon Management Plan and how to improve your carbon footprint can be found on our website: www.durham.ac.uk/greenspace

GREEN TRAVEL In preparation of the new car parking permit scheme which will be introduced during Summer 2012, renovation and reconfiguration of existing car parks is underway. As part of the environmental improvements to the science site, car parking is being moved to the periphery.

A new car park has been opened at Mountjoy. Over Summer, three existing car parks are being refurbished, creating more parking spaces and clearly defined parking bays: the Large and Small ‘Engineering’ Car Parks on the Science Site, and Elvet Hill Car Park (on South Road, adjacent to Trevelyan). These car parks have now been taken out of commission and will be ready for the start of the new academic year.

Apologies for this temporary inconvenience, and every effort is being made to minimise the impact of these improvements while they are being carried out. Staff who are not ‘blue badge’ holders, but who nevertheless have difficulties with a short walk from a parking space to their place of work, can obtain a special ‘University’ permit which allows them to park in our disabled bays.

Although these renovations are being carried out over the summer when there is less traffic, it is recognised that these works will, temporarily, reduce the number of parking spaces on the Science Site. However, with the additional parking at Mountjoy, and plenty of spaces in the Hill Colleges such as Grey, Collingwood and St Mary’s, there should be sufficient alternatives a short walk away. Please see www.durham.ac.uk/map/durham for a map showing all University Car Parks.

Please be sure to plan and book spaces for visitors in advance by emailing car.parking@durham and requesting a visitor parking permit using the on-line application form www.durham.ac.uk/estates/carparking/visitorcarparkingrequestform Staff who wish to consider using public transport, including the intercampus bus service and the Park and Ride Schemes, can find information on the Greenspace Travel Website www.durham.ac.uk/greenspace/travel

LOOKING TO PUBLICISE NEWS, EVENTS OR RECENT SUCCESS? The University’s new social media channels provide a highly useful additional platform for disseminating news, events and recent successes from across the University community.

For many people, these channels are now a first port of call for news and updates – whether that’s links to press articles, video content and other interactive features, or simply interesting facts and figures.

We’re always looking for a wide range of interesting stories to engage stakeholders via our social media channels. Collectively, these stories demonstrate the sheer breadth and diversity of activity going on around the University. So, whether you’re looking to let people know about an accolade or award, promote a TV or radio appearance, plug a forthcoming event, or simply let students know that you’ve launched a new department video, do get in touch via marketing.team@durham.ac.uk We’d equally love to hear from you if you have recently set up your own departmental social media presence and would like this linking to the main University profiles.

RECYCLING & WASTE We are committed to reducing, reusing and recycling our items and to this end a number of initiatives and policies are in place across the University.

As there are many office moves taking place over the next few months we thought it would be helpful to remind all staff of the University’s furniture re-use scheme.

If you have any items of unwanted office furniture please use the University furniture re-use scheme. This scheme can also be used if you are looking for items. More information can be found on the furniture re-use scheme website www.durham.ac.uk/greenspace/waste-management/furnitureresuse This will aid those staff moving offices over the next few months.

For all waste related queries please email waste.collection@durham.ac.uk

THE UNIVERSITY’S SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES CAN BE FOUND AT: twitter.com/durham_uni www.facebook.com/ durhamuniversitystudents

Don’t forget to visit www.durham.ac.uk/dialogue

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UNIVERSITY CATERING TAKES STRATEGY ON THE ROAD University Catering worked with the HR Training Team to develop a fun and interesting way of communicating their 5 year strategy to all its team members.

Tasks included an interactive feedback session to understand what challenges team members face in their roles; blowing up balloons to illustrate the Department’s carbon footprint; a game of Chinese Whispers to show how easily communication breaks down; building the ideal team member by identifying the key characteristics required to deliver excellent customer service and completing a large graph to show the key milestones that have been reached in the quest for financial sustainability.

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With over 350 team members serving more than 500,000 meals per month, across over 20 outlets and two campuses; catering is one of the largest operational departments in the University.

informed food choices. We will promote our sense of community by encouraging social and academic interaction amongst staff, students and visitors alike by creating a ‘third place’ environment.

The catering operation is managed and co-ordinated by a central, pan-University team that was formed in 2008-09, following an external review of the University’s catering operations. Over the past two years, the Department has undergone major restructuring with team members experiencing significant amounts of change.

The vision will not only rely upon its communication, but the communication of the strategy and key objectives to all catering team members, hence the creation of the roadshows.

A new vision for the future has been created; we will be recognised internally for delivering a first class, forward-thinking and socially responsible catering service that encourages customers to make

Five strategy roadshows were held across Durham and Queen’s Campus, with more than 250 team members attending.

This is a great achievement given the operational nature of the Department and shows the ongoing commitment of University Catering team members to improve the service we deliver.

MAKING CONNECTIONS A major international, ecumenical conference on diaconal ministry in the contemporary church is being held at St John’s College in Durham on 8th and 9th September this year.

The conference will explore the remarkable reemergence and growth of diaconal ministries across many church denominations, and their implications for the Church and its relationship with wider society. Speakers will consider themes such as the diverse range of Biblical, historical and denominational understandings of diaconal ministry; the relationships between different ministries; and what can be learnt from contemporary diaconal practice.

The conference will also include a presentation and discussion of emerging findings from a major two-year research project being led by Andrew Orton, based at the Wesley Study Centre in Durham, and funded by the Methodist Church of Great Britain. The participatory methods used in the project included working alongside deacons in the Methodist Diaconal Order to critically explore their understandings of diaconal ministry.

FIND OUT MORE For more details and booking forms please contact: Mrs Penny Bissell, Administrator t: 0191 334 3850 e: p.a.bissell@durham.ac.uk or from the Wesley Study Centre website: www.durham.ac.uk/wsc.online

CARLOS FRENK WINS INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED GRUBER COSMOLOGY PRIZE Professor Carlos Frenk, Director of the University’s internationally-renowned Institute for Computational Cosmology, has won “the greatest accolade in cosmology” for collaborative work recreating the growth of the Universe.

Professor Frenk was one of four scientists to share in the 2011 Cosmology Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation.

He joins Marc Davis, a Professor in the Departments of Astronomy and Physics at the University of California at Berkeley; George Efstathiou, the Director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmology in Cambridge; and Simon White, a Director of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany, in sharing the $500,000 (£304,850) award.

Efstathiou is a Durham PhD graduate, while White is a former Visiting Professor at the University who also received an honorary doctorate from Durham in 2007.

The official award citation recognises the scientists – nicknamed the “Gang of Four” by their colleagues – for “their pioneering use of numerical simulations to model and interpret the large-scale distribution of matter in the Universe”.

The Gruber Prize recognises both the discovery method they introduced as well as the collaboration’s subsequent discoveries.

Find out more at www.durham.ac.uk/ news/newsitem/?itemno=12172

Davis, Efstathiou, Frenk and White – collectively abbreviated as DEFW – will each receive an equal share of the award, along with a gold medal, at a ceremony this autumn. They will also deliver a lecture.

Don’t forget to visit www.durham.ac.uk/dialogue

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OUR BEST YEAR YET Sport continues to take place at Durham but the season is gradually drawing to an end and it is clear that we are going to finish fourth in the British University Sport League table, our joint highest finish but, perhaps more notably, with our highest ever points total by quite some margin.

We believed that we had a strong chance of breaking into the top three institutions for the first time in our history. We had set ourselves a point target which, in most other years, would have secured a top three finish and we are on course to beat that by over 200 points. Credit must therefore go to our opposition who also had great seasons. We will end the year around a 100 points off second place and with a series of developments ongoing over the next few months, we believe that we will score heavier again next year.

It will be very interesting and exciting if we do.

Our cricket season is still in full flow.

Thus far our men’s season has been most notable for outstanding individual batting displays with Chris Jones’ (Grey) two double centuries in the space of twelve days being the pick of the crop.

Congratulations should also go to Tom Westley (St. Cuthberts Society) and Luke Durrant (Collingwood) who were the eighth and ninth students in our history to score a First Class century for the University. The men had a frustrating year at BUCS level with the weather and a bit of bad luck working against them.

The 2010 MCC University League Champions are still in the hunt to retain that title however.

Our girls look on course to have a great year but it might be remembered as one which could have been even better.

The girls missed out on the Semi Finals

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of the Championship on run rate despite a feeling within the camp that more could have been achieved. They have cruised into the Final Four of the Trophy and are favourites to go all the way resulting in them being on course to be ranked as the fifth best side in Britain.

You would perhaps be forgiven for thinking that the rugby season should be over by now. It is now, but only just. Rugby Sevens is a very different game to the 15 a-side version but it didn’t seem to matter to us this year. Manchester proved to be of little concern in the Quarter Finals and whilst the score was close (12-5) in the Semi Final against Loughborough it always looked like the Palatinates would have too much. The final was a re-run of the 15 a-side version with UWIC once again standing in Durham’s way. The match itself was also little short of a re-run with the Palatinates coming from behind to secure a last gasp victory – again!

It has truly been a great year for sport and this was recognised at our annual Palatinate Dinner which was attended by more students and more clubs than ever before. Club of the Year went, quite rightly, to Men’s Rugby who can do little better than having an unbeaten season – credit must of course go to Alex Keay, the Senior Coach, who only started in August 2010.

Ed Sidgwick (Trevelyan) of the Boat Club was the recipient of the Director of Sport award, an award designed to recognise the outstanding club captain/president of the academic year. Whilst the Boat Clubs university season is now complete they do, of course, have a series of external competitions over the coming weeks and months and Ed and his fellow students will remain rather busy for a good few weeks yet.

Sportswoman of the Year went to Iva Saric (Ustinov). She played number one for the women’s tennis first team who were crowned national champions for the first time in over 50 years. Iva was unbeaten all season and also went on to win the National University Singles Championship.

Sportsman of the Year was shared between Daniel Coultas (Hockey) and Chris Jones (Cricket). Dan has competed for Scotland at Senior Level for the past twelve months and was also one of the senior players in the Durham University First Team who reached the BUCS final and were a single goal away from reaching the England Hockey National League Premier Division. Chris Jones’ (Grey) record of scoring two double centuries and a further 100 sandwiched somewhere in the middle speaks for itself – a tremendous and unique achievement.

FIND OUT MORE Visit www.teamdurham.com

REACH ALL CORNERS OF THE WORLD WITH DRO Durham Research Online (DRO) is a valuable means of disseminating research output as the case study below demonstrates.

Mamtimyn Sunuodula is a part-time researcher here at the University, investigating the dynamic relationships among different languages in the linguistic minority regions of China.

Mamtimyn collaborated with colleagues in the UK, Hong Kong and China and recently published his research results in a book chapter with a specialist publisher. However, he was aware that publishing in a printed book reduced the chance of his work being discovered and read.

Mamtimyn contacted the DRO team to enquire about making his work available. The DRO Team then contacted the publisher who agreed that the final peerreviewed manuscript could be deposited straightaway.

Mamtimyn also translated the abstract into Chinese, thus

further improving the article’s discoverability by readers in China – his target audience – and emailed the DRO record link to his project colleagues, a number of scholarly mailing lists and participants of a forthcoming conference.

Mamtimyn said: “I was amazed and delighted by the response, attracting attention from unexpected corners of the world.

I have to admit that previously, I was not fully aware of the potential of DRO to help me disseminate my research output.

Now I will seek to make all my research available open-access via DRO.”

CONGRATULATIONS Lena Dominelli has been awarded an Honorary Professorship by the East China University of Science and Technology for her contribution to the development of the social work profession in China.

Anoush Ehteshami (Government and International Affairs) has been invited to join the World Economic Forum’s key policy-shaping body, the Network of Global Agenda Councils 2011-12.

John Gluyas (Earth Sciences and Durham Energy Institute) has been asked to be Chairman of the joint EPSRC/NERC working party on establishing a National Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage.

Ruth Gregory (Mathematical Sciences and Physics) has been awarded the prestigious Royal Society/Wolfson Research Merit Award.

Nayanika Mookherjee (Anthropology) has been invited to speak at a House of Commons seminar on the ‘Bangladesh War Crimes Trial’.

David Hunter (Medicine and Health) has been invited to give evidence to the House of Commons Health Select Committee on its latest inquiry into the Government’s health changes.

Liz Nue (former PhD, Chemistry) has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Dalton Young Researchers award.

Tom McLeish (PVC Research) and David Milner (Psychology) have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society.

Josh Beaumont (St Aidan’s) has been selected for the England U20s County Rugby team to play the Scotland U20s.

Steph Elliott (Collingwood), Sophie Hawkins (Collingwood) and Anna Thompson (Hatfield) have been selected for the England U21 hockey squad.

Don’t forget to visit www.durham.ac.uk/dialogue

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UNDER INVESTIGATION

WHAT’S ON…

DAVE HUNTER, DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

…AT THE UNIVERSITY

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED AND WHY? August 1976. Joke! Many of us have a good sense of humour at work. At times we all need it. One of my granddaughters invented a new word. When putting up a resistance to her mum telling her what to do, her mum responded “you will do as I ask”. My granddaughter replied, “I willn’t”.

WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD? A bus driver or chef until I became a school science monitor. My eyes were then opened for other possibilities.

HAVE YOU GOT ANY PETS? Two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Riley (8) and Tammie (1).

WHAT SKILL OR TALENT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO ACQUIRE? Wood working.

WHAT ARE YOU READING AT THE MOMENT? Jeremy Clarkson. How hard can it be?

Christmas present.

WHERE WILL YOU BE GOING FOR YOUR NEXT HOLIDAY? Touring Scotland in my mobile hotel.

Enjoying some breathtaking views, quiet roads and good walks. I find it very relaxing and it regenerates the batteries.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR EPITAPH TO BE? “He tried to make a difference.”

WHICH HISTORICAL FIGURE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO BE? Robert Stephenson-Smyth Baden-Powell, BP, from his foundation of the Scout movement, it has grown into the largest youth movement in the world.

WHAT WAS THE FIRST RECORD YOU BOUGHT? Please Please Me, The Beatles, about 1963. I was never sure if this was to get me ‘into’ The Beatles or to keep my mother happy.

WHAT ACHIEVEMENT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? I have been proud of my many achievements throughout my career.

I was extremely proud, in my voluntary work, of receiving the Medal of Merit for outstanding service from the Scout Association.

WHAT WAS YOUR BEST SUBJECT? Chemistry.

GIVE ME A PICTURE OF YOUR IDEAL DAY: Two cups of tea in bed. Going downstairs to be greeted by affectionate dogs. Coffee whilst sitting comfortably, looking at the garden and watching the visiting birds.

Long dog walk. Finishing that little job I started. Being visited by friends or family.

Enjoying the grandchildren running riot in my house and garden. Having a lovely meal preferably cooked and eaten outdoors.

Relaxing as dusk appears in front of a blazing chiminea fire. Bedtime.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE IN THE WORLD? British Isles. Different parts for different reasons.

WHAT LUXURY ITEM WOULD YOU TAKE TO A DESERT ISLAND? Swiss Army knife (basic). Yacht (luxury).

PASS THE BUCK: FINALLY, WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE HOT-SEAT? Mr Bryan Matthews, Facility Manager Estates and Buildings.

Editor: Jayne Pavitt, Acting Corporate Communications Officer.

Editorial Assistant: Michelle Richardson, Marketing Projects Co-ordinator.

Contributions: Craig Barclay, Curator, Museums; Karen Barrie, HR Policy Support Officer; Sharon Battersby, Communications Officer, ITS; Heather Ewington, Library Assistant; Yvonne Flynn, Green Travel Plan Co-ordinator; Kristina Hagen, Societies and Student Development Officer, DSU; Stina Maynard, Business Development Executive; Loraine Richardson, Wesley Study Centre; Quentin Sloper, Assistant Director of Student Sport; Paul Taylor, Deputy Head of University and Colleges Catering.

Design: crombie, www.crombiecreative.com Printing: Statex Colour Print, www.statex.co.uk

JULY The Return of the First Folio 16th July – 11th September Wolfson Gallery, Palace Green Library The exhibition telling the remarkable story of the theft and recovery of Durham’s own copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio is back by popular demand.

Eating Through Time 9:30am to 4:30pm, Saturday 30th July Rosemary Cramp Lecture Theatre, Calman Learning Centre & Dawson Building A day of public talks and practical sessions exploring how archaeologists learn about food in the past, and the effects of diet on the human body.

Part of the Festival of British Archaeology events.

AUGUST Teddy Bear Picnics Wednesdays 3rd, 10th & 17th August Botanic Garden, Hollingside Lane, Durham Bring your Teddy Bear and picnic along to join in with all day events and special activities, throughout the summer.

Streets of Durham Friday 26th & Saturday 27th August Durham City The ‘Streets of… Summer Festival’ returns bigger, brighter and bolder than ever before. For 24-hours the festival transforms Durham’s streets and fills interesting and intimate venues with some of the most exciting talent from across the globe.

SEPTEMBER Heritage Open Days Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th September Old Fulling Mill, Palace Green Library, Oriental Museum Take the opportunity to explore some of Durham University’s wonderful buildings and museums free of charge.

Check out the What’s On Guide for summer holiday family activities at Oriental Museum, Old Fulling Mill and Botanic Garden.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on these and other events happening at the University, go to www.durham.ac.uk/whatson