Estates and Facilities Times issue 26 Autumn Term cardiffmet 2013

The Estates & Facilities Times Not just business as usual.

Halls Developments.

Newsletter Date: 01/11/13

Modernising Herbert, Stradling and Pembroke.

Inside this issue:

Over the summer period much needed work was undertaken to redevelop the Herbert and Stradling blocks on the Cyncoed Campus.

These building had barely been touched since they were built in the 1960‟s. Roll the clock forward fifty years and we have taken away the shared showers and baths, and removed the drying cupboards resulting in bright and airy en-suite catered rooms.

by Mr Barry‟s choice of colour scheme!

room with surround sound and giant bean bags.

Plas Gwyn has equally had a major refurbishment of the Pembroke block, making these halls contemporary and competitive with the commercial providers.

These improvements all help to enhance the student experience and importantly from the statistics received to date appear to be encouraging student retention.

Photo Album.

This summers upgrades.

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Students ‘Like’ Facebook.

A social media revolution.

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The social room above Reception has seen the addition of a very popular free pool table and a snug TV

More photos of the recent developments within the Halls and K1 Catering can be seen on page 2.

Life of a Distance Runner.

Sally is pounding the streets.

Eat & Earn.

Catering‟s new loyalty scheme.

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Where’s Wally?

An E&F face in the crowd.

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Reducing your energy bills.

Cheap ways to save pounds.

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Meet your colleagues.

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The good news is that through changing the bathrooms and redesigning the kitchen areas we have gained an extra 5 bedrooms in Herbert and 7 in Stradling. Its been hugely popular with the students, although not all are convinced

The Nick and Mal Show.

Fine dining arrives at Cyncoed Campus.

New look for K1.

A transformation has taken place to the K1 dining area on Cyncoed Campus.

having been refreshed to include healthier and more nutritious meals.

Just about everything from floor Why not pay a visit for this years to ceiling has been removed and Christmas Lunch on either the replaced making it a modern and desirable location to dine.

New counters, coffee machines, serving areas, lighting, tills, extra seating areas, and a hot snack counter have had an immediate impact.

On average the dining area is now attracting an extra 600 visitors a month, with menus

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Fine Dining at Cyncoed.

Chasing a Michelin star!

third or tenth of December? You can have up to three traditional courses and even waitress service if you like. More details are available on extension 6122

Christmas Lunch Starter - Homemade soup of the day served with a crusty roll.

Main Course - Freshly carved turkey served with cranberry sauce. Seasonal vegetables, potatoes, pigs in blankets, stuffing and gravy.

Desserts - Christmas pudding & brandy sauce or Chocaberry pie & cream.

Prices: One course lunch £4.00 Two course lunch £5.50 Three course lunch £7.00 Waitress service & drink £12.00

Cyncoed Halls and Catering Developments.

A new lease of life.

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The Estates & Facilities Times

Students ‘Like’ the Halls Facebook Page.

Conferences are tweeting like a sparrow!

In line with the global revolution in social networking, Estates & Facilities staff have recently undertaken both Facebook and Twitter training.

Following the new student arrival in September, Facebook has been used to supplement the existing Halls communication strategy. Recent announcements have been regarding April saw the launch of the Accommodation Services Facebook page which initially when student halls fees are due, emergency issues, landlord scams, photos of targeted students applying for halls by providing them with regular updates on the new halls and generally informing students about scheduled maintenance. application process, news about Cardiff Met and the city as a whole.

Its become an essential part of how we To date over 260 students have „Liked‟ the interact with students and user numbers continue to grow on a daily basis. page and receive regular updates several times a week. Last month one of the posts reaching 1500 Cardiff Met students with the help of the universities dedicated Facebook page.

To help keep you up to date with all things Halls related, visit and like the page on Facebook by searching for: Cardiff Met Halls & Housing

Since Spring, Conference Services have been tweeting for all they are worth, with over 250 followers to date. Its proving very handy for promoting their events, allowing Conference Services delegates to stay informed and up to date.

Tweeting about the summers European Inferno event resulted in numerous bedroom bookings.

Conferences are also using HootSuite as a vehicle to allow them to manage numerous social network devices and find potential customers who may be organising conferences in Cardiff.

To stay in touch with the latest tweets, follow Conferences at: Twitter.com/cardiffmetconf

A Ticket to Ride.

Met Rider pass production moves in-house.

This Autumn saw the production of Met Rider passes return back to the Cyncoed Campus.

For the past two years production had been via Cardiff Buses Wood Street office. This however by its nature resulted in delays and mistakes due to the cards needing to be collected, processed and returned to the relevant campus. Which in turn led to frustrated students and staff.

To resolve this a decision was taken to invest in smart card making equipment in a joint venture between Cardiff Met and Cardiff Bus.

The Met Rider iff card operates on a similar basis to London‟s Oyster card.

It‟s a card that you keep with your digital image on it that allows you to travel by bus without having to pay with cash each time.

Once they are made the student and staff cards are loaded with unlimited travel credit for either the academic or calendar year. To use the card all you do is place it on the reader when you get on the bus.

The card immediately recognises you and allows you travel anywhere in Cardiff

and as far as Newport and the Vale of Glamorgan.

The iff cards are impossible to forge and allow Cardiff Met to immediately stop their validity if a student losses it or has their pass stolen. This new technology will provide greater management information and will assist in highlighting peak travel times and the busiest routes.

To date around 2000 students and 50 staff have applied and we are still receiving numerous applications. If you would like more details call Neil on ext: 6712.

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The Lonely Life of a Long Distance Runner.

Contributed by Sally Groves - Conference Coordinator You read about these things all the time, how young adults crash in the middle of the night due to excess speed, alcohol or whatever, but never think it will happen to anyone you know. Ian was 19 when he died and had his whole life ahead YES, it is that time of year again when the training starts in earnest for of him.

The charity Brake supported Ian‟s the Cardiff Half Marathon.

For some it is a walk in the park, but family at a very difficult time and there is always someone at the for others like me it takes a lot of end of a phone for support. So, the hard work, not only physical preparation but mental too. It seems decision of which charity to run for this year was very easy for me.

I hit the wall at 10 miles every year Ok, well not so much the long distance runner but in my dreams!

Summer has come and gone and I am sure whilst you have been out you will have seen many people pounding the pavements.

and struggle on the last 3 miles.

Thanks to my fabulous Cardiff Met trainer Dave H, well I call him my trainer and mentor because without his help I would be useless, I hope to improve my time this year and battle through “my wall”.

Why do you do it? I hear you ask.

Well that‟s a very good question.

Obsession and stubbornness are two of the words that spring to mind but also to be a part of a great event and raise money for a very worthy cause.

Any amount however small can make a big difference and money can be donated up to 3 months after the run.

Some of you may have come to watch and support family or friends and if you saw me I hope you gave a big cheer, especially if you were around Roath Park Lake where I certainly needed all the support I could get.

You may have missed me, but if you can recall in the back of your mind someone wearing a very bright yellow running vest and an orange tutu, that would have been me!

Every time I see youngsters driving The photos below are of me in my my stomach flips and if I can help running outfit and my daughter Jenna raise awareness in a shape or form with Ian. then I am going to do so.

So my plea to you all, if you can sponsor me I would be very, very grateful. Please visit my online Just Giving page at:

If you are inspired by Sally‟s story, then why not start training yourself?

We have great facilities at Cardiff Met that are really cheap for staff to use.

www.justgiving.com/Sally-Groves

If you are interested in forming or joining a running group, contact our Health & Well Being group for support and speak to Chris or Emma on ext: 6093

Alternatively I have an old fashioned sponsor form in the office.

This year I will be raising money for the charity Brake.

It‟s not a particularly well known charity, but they support families who have suffered a loss in a road traffic accident. They campaign for safer driving and awareness especially amongst youngsters.

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Last year was a very difficult time in the Groves household as daughter Number Two, aka Jenna lost her boyfriend Ian in such an accident.

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The Estates & Facilities Times

Eatwell Recipe - Carrot & Parsnip Soup - serves 4 Contributed by Rachel Lang - Kitchen Manager Ingredients - 1 large onion, 2 large parsnips, 3 large carrots, 2 pints of vegetable stock, half teaspoon cumin and a tablespoon of olive oil.

Ingredients.

Prep time: 10mins Cook time: 40mins 1. Chop the onion and sweat it, covered in the olive oil for 10 minutes.

2. Add the carrots and parsnips (cubed) and the stock.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Leave to cool for 15 minutes, then whizz up in a food processor. Stir in the cumin and serve with fresh bread and season with plenty of black pepper.

Personalised Timetables.

Approaching Phase 2 The university has previously approved a pilot project to explore the feasibility of deploying student personalised timetables within the University.

The pilot study was limited to students on specific programmes within year 2 in the CSM and year 2 students in the CSS. The objectives were: 1. To produce a personalised timetable for all pilot students via a specific web report and this will be updated in real time

should the student change their module selections.

2. To evaluate and demonstrate the technological options for delivering the timetable to the students, more accessible options to the web report for example a calendar platform or integration with the Cardiff Met mobile app.

3. To identify the prerequisites and changes to associated business processes that would be necessary in a future implementation.

4. To identify scalability of the pilot,

in terms of resource, impact and timescale.

The project group consisted of representatives from each stakeholder areas, including the two Schools, Quality Standards Unit, Academic Registry, Timetabling and L&IS. The project now progresses into its 2nd phase, which will encompass more programmes in the CSM. This should hopefully provide the foundation to roll out the delivery to the remainder of the School and across the University.

Catering’s Testing your Loyalty!

Introduction of a loyalty scheme.

Tesco has one, Waitrose has one, even Chepstow Garden Centre has one, so why shouldn‟t we?

Once you have collected over 10 points you will then be able to redeem them when making a purchase. For example:

October saw the launch of Catering‟s new „Extra Bite‟ loyalty scheme which allows staff and students to collect points on all purchase over £1.

10 points = £1.00

All you need to do to collect points is to simply present your ID card (Met Card) each time you make a purchase and Catering do the rest. You will receive 1 point for every £1 you spend.

Catering have plans to hold double and triple points promotions which will be advertised at all catering venues.

This is the brainchild of Andrew Phelps as a way or rewarding those who spend the most in Caterings outlets.

Cyncoed - K1 and The Bench

25 points = £2.50 35 points = £3.50

The extra bite loyalty card scheme can only be used in the following catering outlets: Llandaff - Coffee Gallery and CSM Atrium

Howard Gardens - Café Oriel.

If you spend on average £4 a day on food or coffees then at the end of the week you get at least £2 off. It really is a no brainer to Please note, that points are not valid to hand over your Met Card every time you be redeemed at Tesco Western Avenue! make a purchase.

Believe it or not a student has asked!

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Estates & Facilities Photo Album.

Cardiff Mets version of Where‟s Wally?

Spot the familiar Estates & Facilities face in the crowd at a Cardiff City match - answer on the back page.

I‟ll give you a clue - they have a scarf on!

Picture courtesy of South Wales Echo.

Conference Events Summer 2014 Contributed by Clare Brockway - Conference Manager It all started in early June with a very important event, Cathy‟s wedding! It was a wonderful day and Sally, Carys and Clare were delighted to have shared it with Cathy and Huw.

including: Public Health Wales, Public Health England, British Association of Community Child Health, National Osteoporosis Society and the Welsh Stroke Association.

Then we all got back to work!

The conference team were delighted to work with colleagues in CSE to host the Reading for Pleasure Conference and CSAD to secure the ArchiCad Summer School at Cyncoed.

Over the summer more than 2000 visitors were accommodated in halls of residence and another 2500 attended conferences and events at Llandaff and Cyncoed.

National and International conferences were hosted on behalf of organisations Page 6

The language school returned to Cyncoed for the third consecutive year. They couldn‟t speak highly enough of the fabulous staff and amazing food which

they described as “gold” (literally translated).

The period ended with the busiest September ever which saw us hosting the ARCOPOL UK Conference, BACCH National Conference, ACUA Summer School, Girl Guides and Merched Y Wawr residential weekends.

The Conference Team would like to thank all their colleagues across the university for making the events such a great success.

We are already taking lots of bookings for 2014 and it looks like being another busy summer.

The Estates & Facilities Times

Home-spun ways to cut bills and tackle energy price rises.

“Winter is coming!”

It looks like its going to be another long cold winter in South Wales. With the cost of heating and lighting your home continually increasing, here are a few tips to help save a few pound. You are advised to seek professional advice where applicable.

Turning down your thermostat by just two Lighting accounts for 19% of the degrees can cut your heating bill by as average household electric bill.

Make sure you turn off the lights when much as 10% saving you around £85 you are not in a room. Its an urban myth that it takes more electricity to UK households spend on average £35 a turn them back on than turn them off. year just by leaving appliances on standby.

Make sure you turn yours off at the plug.

Curtains and draft excluders (snakes) Fill the gaps between timber floor boards make a huge difference and can make Fit individual thermostatic valves to each your home feel warmer immediately. with clear silicone to prevent draughts. radiator to save you from heating empty rooms.

To stop heat going up an open chimney Ensure all your light bulbs are energy install a Chimney Balloon. They cost only saving ones - you can often get these Increase your radiators efficiency by £20 and pay for themselves in a couple free from your electricity provider. placing foil behind the radiators, or via of months. placing foil wrapped polystyrene tiles behind your radiator, it will stop the heat Its obvious and cheap and easy to Always defrost food before cooking it install, but make sure you have loft being lost into the walls. (even if pack states cook from frozen) as insulation. You can lose a quarter of your homes heat via an uninsulated thawed food cooks in half the time.

Use the contents of your hot water bottle roof. to defrost the car windscreen in the If you have a wood burner keep the vents morning. closed when the fire is not in use otherwise Make sure you fill your washing machine every time you use it. If you it draws warm air in all the time.

Place insulation under your bath to prevent must use a tumble dryer, wring out the heat dissipating. clothes first.

Keep plants off South facing walls as they stop the sun warming your house.

Shrink your bills not your laundry! 90% of Don‟t leave your pc or laptop on over a washing machine‟s energy expenditure is night . If its not being used, simply turn Bubble wrap can be cut to size and applied spent on heating the water. Wash your it off and save electricity and the life of to single glazed windows with a dash of clothes at 30 - 40 degrees and save a the product. diluted washing up liquid. Makes a huge fortune.

News in brief.

Stories from around the campuses.

The Blushing Bride

Traveline Cymru Film

Catering’s Barbecue

Congratulations Cathy and Huw.

Over the past seven years, Cardiff Met have worked closely with Traveline Cymru offering in excess of 23,000 students individual travel advice.

During the “heat wave” in June Catering held a successful barbecue lunch which was a huge hit with everyone.

To celebrate this long standing relationship a short case study film starring a famous local actor was recently recorded on the Cyncoed Campus.

You can grab some popcorn and watch the film in the Business Section at: www.traveline-cymrru.info

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Dates For Your Diary: 23/11/2013 - 50 Years of Dr Who - Free event at Mermaid Quay.

30/11/2013 - Wales V Australia at the Millennium Stadium.

03/12/2013 - Christmas Lunch available at Cyncoed K1 06/12/2013 - Cardiff Met Carol Concert at Llandaff Cathedral.

Editor: Neil Woollacott Deputy Accommodation Services Manager & Travel Plan Manager.

Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Cyncoed Campus, Cyncoed Road, Cardiff CF23 6XD

10/12/2013 - Christmas Lunch Number Two available at Cyncoed K1 21/12/2013 - Carols on the Quayside - Free event at Mermaid Quay.

07/01/2014 - Priscilla Queen of the Desert at Wales Millennium Centre.

Welcome on board: Kate Jones who is based at Llandaff Reception.

Phone: 02920 41 6712 Fax: 02920 41 6968 E-mail: nwoollacott@cardiffmet.ac.uk

Martin Nash a new Maintenance Assistant at Plas Gwyn.

John Cappock, the new Chief Operating Officer.

Adrian Jones has moved to Cyncoed Campus.

Alan Evan can now be found at Llandaff Campus.

Wheres Wally answer.

Diane Bryant, Cyncoed Halls Manager can be spotted in the bottom right hand corner - two people across and two people up - in a red scarf!

Meet your colleagues.

Introducing Nick and Mal This edition features two members of Accommodation Services. Who are also partaking in this years Movember.

Mal: Since about 07.50hrs …October 2012 , but I was a Student at Llandaff Technical College From 1973 until 1979 Former Employment: Nick: As an apprentice Pipe Fitter and Welder I was conveniently sent to the Llandaff Technical College from 1974 to 1978.

In 1978 I joined „The Job‟ (South Wales Police) and spent thirty years there in a variety of roles ending up as a trainer, and returning to UWIC to take a PGCE course in 2007.

Retiring from „The Job‟ in 2008 I went full circle signing my contract in the HR Office which is spookily above the actual site of where the old welding workshops were.

Mal: Cardiff Council, Welsh Ambulance Service and Cardiff University Interests:

Names: Nick Drew - Accommodation Services Admin Assistant.

Malcolm Thomson - Accommodation Health & Safety Officer.

Time at Cardiff Met: Nick: On and off since 1974!

Nick: Travel a lot. Kids live in Kent and Stockholm. Have lots of hobbies from steam engines to gardening and Roman history but passionate about rockabilly and swing music and dancing which takes my bride and I all over the world.

Mal: Standing on one leg, having photos taken standing next to strange men!

Normal basic things, travel, reading, baking, Interest in classic cars and WW2 history - particular RAF.

Did you know?

Nick:When I retired we decided to push the boat out and went to Hawaii. Inevitably we found a 50‟s dance to go to where we met a young man called Isaac. When Isaac found out that my bride and I were from Wales, he told us that he knew where Wales was, as he was coming to finish his Phd in Cardiff.

When asked where he was staying he said Pen..somewhere. Penylan we prompted, yes do you know it? Sort of, that‟s where we live. It sure is a small world.

Mal: I have been blessed by a Masai Warrior group who were touring the UK. I also once attempted the World Record for standing on one leg, but found it was too stiff a challenge for me. I think I got off on the wrong foot?

The Estates & Facilities Times has been initiated to keep us all aware of what is going on in each others sections. If there is no article about your area, it is because no one has spoken to me, please contact me yourself! Anyone who wishes to contribute articles, will be greeted with a smiling face and open arms.

A copy of the Estates & Facilities Times is also available in Welsh if required. Any staff who are leaving UWIC for pastures new, let me have a forwarding address and I will send you a copy.

The Estates & Facilities Times next issue will be circulated from April 2014.