Northumbria University News - Summer 2018 by Northumbria University

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Shortlisted for THE University of the Year 2017

Summer 2018 • Northumbria.ac.uk

Issue 16

AMSTERDAM PARTNERSHIP

BEST EVER RESULT

THE GREAT EXHIBITION IS HERE

Northumbria strengthens its global presence through a partnership with Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Pg. 3

The University has been rated 6th in the UK by students, its best ever result and a rise of 64 places since 2017. Pg. 5

The ‘greatest’ event of 2018 is here. Read all about the North’s cultural extravaganza in our four-page special. Pg. 19-22

NORTHUMBRIA GRADUATE ENTREPRENEUR CHLOE WILSON IN HER NEW BUSINESS, NU TO GO

We’re No.1 in the UK According to the latest report by the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey (HEBCIS) 2016/17, turnover from Northumbria graduate businesses reached £80.3 million – this is £10 million more than the previous year and over £30 million higher than the second placed institution. This success reflects both the entrepreneurial strength of Northumbria’s graduates, and the University’s support for enterprise. Northumbria provides students and graduates with services including free skills training, workshops, enterprise placements and additional

Northumbria’s reputation for enterprise has reached new heights after being named the UK’s top ranked university for graduate business start-ups based on turnover, for a second year running. It means the University has now held the leading position for four out of the past five years. start-up support. Financial assistance to help existing startups and SMEs in Tyne and Wear to recruit graduate interns is also available through the Europeanfunded Northumbria Enterprise Business Support Scheme (NEBS). Professor Andrew Wathey CBE, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive at Northumbria, said:

“The consistency and level of our success measured against other universities are evidence of the wealth of entrepreneurial talent and creativity here at Northumbria. Our graduates are building thriving new enterprises and creating employment opportunities across a diverse range of industries and sectors.

Through our graduate start-up support services and initiatives we will continue to support them as they build their businesses regionally, nationally and globally.” Continues on Pg. 2

“OUR GRADUATES ARE BUILDING THRIVING NEW ENTERPRISES AND CREATING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS A DIVERSE RANGE OF INDUSTRIES AND SECTORS.” PROFESSOR ANDREW WATHEY CBE

NEWS

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

IN THIS EDITION SUMMER 2018 NEWS

FEATURES

Best ever result, Page 5 Amsterdam partnership, Page 3 & 8

GREAT EXHIBITION OF THE NORTH Page 19-22

Holiday club benefits more than just food, Page 4 No escaping the law, even in space! Page 10

Page 6-7

HEALTH

BUSINESS

Commonwealth Games success for Northumbria psychology student, Page 38

Business School advises on international trade, Page 23

CULTURE

BIG INTERVIEW

University Gallery reopens, Page 28

SCIENCE

SOCIETY

Lucy Winskell OBE, Page 9

Northumbria to lead €4.7m European project, Page 5

NO MORE WATER STAINS

SPORT Page 25

We’re No.1 in the UK – continued Graham Baty, Enterprise Manager at Northumbria, added: “Heading the rankings for a second year running reflects Northumbria’s focus on sustainability. Our emphasis is on helping our graduates secure long-term business success, and not on the number of new start-ups. We can provide a range of services and support, including mentoring from industry experts to get startups to the point of trading, but more importantly, we continue to support businesses in the early years of trading, typically up to three years.”

CONFRONTING CLIMATE CHANGE

Business Leadership and Corporate Management graduate Hasan Hamid set up GYB (Grow Your Business) as a social media marketing agency in 2017. His enterprise helps businesses grow their customer base through social media. Clients come from a multitude of sectors including restaurants, hotels, e-commerce and the professional sectors. Hasan said: “The Northumbria Enterprise team has been a tremendous help. Not only has Graham acted as a mentor, but through his extensive network

and connections he has been able to provide crucial support for our start-up in areas such as marketing and PR, legal, finance and business growth planning.” Since 2009, Northumbria has supported the development of more than 200 graduate businesses, which currently employ over 1,000 people and now have a combined annual turnover in excess of £80 million.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/nebs

Tackling success head on, Page 40

(L-R) NORTHUMBRIA’S ENTERPRISE CAMPUS MANAGER GRAHAM BATY AND GRADUATE ENTREPRENEUR HASAN HAMID.

NEWS

#TakeOnTomorrow

Northumbria goes Dutch AMSTERDAM

The University has strengthened its global presence through a partnership agreement with Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS). At a time of increasing global interconnectivity, collaboration will help both Northumbria and AUAS expand their international reach and build on existing partnership networks in the UK, the Netherlands and internationally. The long-term goal of the collaboration is to explore further cooperation between the two universities to create additional research and teaching opportunities with existing partners. It will promote an international outlook and global mindset among students and staff, and allow both universities to exchange complementary strengths. Professor Andrew Wathey CBE, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria, said: “This mutually supportive collaboration brings together two research-rich and business-focused institutions with a shared focus on quality.

It will deepen our research, educational, business and community engagement links not only between the UK and the Netherlands, but also across Europe and internationally. “The partnership also extends Northumbria’s global reach with a presence in Newcastle and London in the UK, and internationally including Jakarta, Hong Kong, Singapore and now the Netherlands. We look forward to working with colleagues at AUAS and to deepening our partnership.” Professor Huib de Jong, Chairman of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Executive Board, welcomed Northumbria to Amsterdam. “Our slogan is Creating Tomorrow. A slogan that matches perfectly with the values of Northumbria. The complementary strengths between both universities in our core areas of education and

research is fundamental for the proposed collaboration. “Amsterdam is traditionally the Netherlands’ connection to the world city network, linking many different businesses, people and organisations together. Northumbria recognises this, and at a time of increasing internationalisation and rapid societal and technological change, both universities agree that collaboration across national boundaries is benefitting to both students and staff, offering better access to knowledge and understanding in order to meet future challenges. “Our universities, therefore, seek to work closely together to create a partnership which brings benefits to our students from all over the world and from all kinds of disciplines, offering them programmes, minors and opportunities to participate in research projects, to collaborate with fellow students and with our

partners both in the Amsterdam region and in the international arena.” The first collaborative courses in Northumbria’s partnership with AUAS will launch in September 2018. Find out more on Pg. 8. Following the announcement, Northumbria appointed Professor Robert J. de Boer as Director for its new European campus based at AUAS. Turn to Pg. 8 to hear from the campus’ first Director and to read about his background. Meanwhile, for an exclusive interview with Pro ViceChancellor (Partnerships and Employability) Lucy Winskell, about Northumbria’s plans for global partnerships turn to Pg. 9.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ amsterdam

AMSTERDAM

178

Nationalities

165 Canals

1m+ Bikes

110,000 Students

Museums

NEWS

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

CHILDREN ENJOYING HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

Holiday clubs help parents The largest study of school holiday clubs in England has found that, as well as helping to combat childhood hunger, they also deliver a number of previously unreported social and health benefits, including providing a safe place to play.

KEY FACTS

600+ Children

Aged between

5-14

3,000 Breakfasts

7,000 Lunches

Academics from Northumbria University’s Healthy Living Lab were enlisted to undertake a major evaluation of 17 holiday clubs. They were asked to explore the potential relationship between club provision and children’s health, nutrition and wellbeing, as well as the impact clubs had on parents.The clubs were organised and run by the North East Child Poverty Trust and Children North East. They provided a varied and stimulating programme of activities during the summer 2017 holidays. These included growing and cooking foods, arts and crafts, sports and games, storytelling and day trips to beaches and cultural areas, such as local National Trust sites. More than 130 parents shared their experiences of the clubs

“OUR FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT HOLIDAY CLUB PROVISION OFFERS THE POTENTIAL TO HAVE A FAR WIDER IMPACT THAN PREVIOUSLY EVIDENCED ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH, WELLBEING AND EDUCATION.” PROFESSOR GRETA DEFEYTER

with the research team. This highlighted how holiday clubs helped to alleviate parental stress and improved overall parental health and wellbeing. In addition, parents stated that clubs provided their children with safe places to play, opportunities to learn new skills, and to engage in a range of new experiences. Professor Greta Defeyter, Director of the Healthy Living Lab, said: “Our findings suggest that holiday club provision offers the potential to have a far wider impact than previously

HOLIDAY CLUBS

evidenced on children’s health, wellbeing and education. “The consistent theme of ‘safety’ highlighted by children, parents and staff was quite remarkable and something not previously reported. The clubs provided parents with the peace of mind that their children were in a safe environment and not unsupervised or on the streets where they could become targets of abuse or violence.” Mike Worthington, Chair of the North East Child Poverty Trust, said: “The findings of the research are powerful. Because of this, we hope that this will not just be a one-off project, but the beginning of something big.” Northumbria’s Healthy Living

Lab is already well-known for its research into childhood hunger. Research from the centre has helped to evidence the need for school breakfast clubs and free school meals to alleviate hunger and improve educational attainment. Experts from the centre have been called upon to present their findings to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hunger, which is looking into the extent of hunger amongst children during the school holidays.

DISCOVER MORE www.healthylivinguk.org

NEWS

#TakeOnTomorrow

Best ever result

NORTHUMBRIA STUDENTS

Northumbria University picked-up its best ever result in the recent WhatUni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs) 2018, coming 6th in the UK in the University of the Year category – a rise of 64 places since 2017.

EUROPEAN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS. PROFESSOR KEITH SHAW (BELOW).

Northumbria to lead €4.7m European project An international consortium led by Northumbria University has been awarded €4.7m funding from the EU’s Horizon 20/20 programme to study how Europe is governed. The three-and-a-half year project will see Northumbria working with nine universities, municipalities and private companies from seven European states, including the UK, France, Holland, Denmark, Croatia and Slovenia. The funding will be used to explore new approaches to involving communities in the governance of public services across Europe, including the use of digital technologies. Northumbria’s Professor Keith Shaw, from the Department of Social Sciences, is leading the COGOV (co-production and cogoverance) project. “The award not only confirms Northumbria’s commitment to European-wide research and

teamworking but illustrates how, in the present context, Northumbria is excellentlyplaced to continue leading successful European bids,” he said. A particular focus of this new research will be detailed questionnaires and face-to-face interviews to examine how the sector has been able to employ new approaches to public management and engagement in the face of austerity and related changes in government strategies. Professor Shaw, an expert in urban governance and community engagement, added: “The project emphasises that taking a strategic approach – in

the most fundamental sense – to the renewal of organisation and management of European public administrations is a key requirement for improving participation in public governance across Europe. “The project aims to locate, explore and diffuse leading edge experiments in new and more participatory approaches to public administration, which are becoming evident across various countries in Europe, including the cultural sector which is a key part of the knowledge-based economy and society that is now developing. The project relies on a strong pan-European collaboration of academic and policy partners and is strongly

connected to, and informed by, practice.” Professor David Gleason, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation) in Arts, Design and Social Sciences, added: “This grant success highlights the University’s continued commitment to partnerships with universities across Europe to help solve European challenges through high-quality research.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ socialsciences

The WUSCAs are an annual celebration of student satisfaction in higher education. Each year, the awards are based on reviews from current students about their institution, which help prospective students make informed decisions on the University they might want to study at. This year the awards gained more than 36,000 reviews from students across the nation. Adam Dunlop, Marketing Director at Northumbria, said: “We know that WhatUni is an influential outlet for potential students when they are researching their options, so I am delighted that our students have taken the time to give the University such a ringing endorsement.” This result follows Northumbria maintaining its ranking in the 2019 Guardian league tables where it was rated 48th in the UK for the second year running. A number of Northumbria’s subjects were also ranked within the top 20 in the UK by the Guardian, including: health professions (4), journalism (10), physics and education (11), nursing and midwifery (12), architecture (15) and building, town and country planning (17).

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/courses

ENVIRONMENT

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

WHEN WILL A GLACIER COLLAPSE? Researchers from Northumbria’s Cold and Palaeo Environment research group are helping to #TakeOnTomorrow as they undertake major international investigations into how climate change is affecting the world’s glaciers. The group carries out research around the globe, covering the heat of the tropics to the chill of the arctic regions, where they investigate both modern and ancient environments. In recent months, academics from the group have hit the headlines for their research at the South Pole, which will help scientists around the world track the potential impact climate change will have on global sea levels.

The Natural Environment Research Council has awarded Northumbria academics £754,000 to take part in one of the most detailed and extensive examinations of a massive Antarctic glacier ever undertaken. The funding is part of a new £20 million UK-USA research collaboration to gather data on the Thwaites Glacier, which is approximately two thirds the size of Britain. Its collapse could lead to global sea levels rising by between three and five metres. The glacier is already losing ice into the ocean, and with worries that this will accelerate in the future, Northumbria academics are working to gather data that will establish whether the glacier will collapse over the next few decades or centuries. Several US and UK universities are involved in the project and Northumbria University has received the largest amount of funding awarded to any UK university, reflecting the University’s growing international reputation for research into cold, palaeo and extreme environments. Hilmar Gudmundsson, a Professor of Glaciology and Extreme Environments in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, is

the principal investigator on a project called PROPHET, which will develop new computer modelling processes to model the history and evolution of the glacier and its ice-flow. This will allow the group to understand what has driven change in the glacier and will enable them to make predictions on how it will evolve in future. Meanwhile Professor John Woodward, Associate Pro ViceChancellor for Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Engineering and Environment, is co-investigator on the GHC project, which is sampling bedrock beneath the ice sheet. The GHC team will be working to identify if and when the glacier retreated in the past; and if so, how it recovered and how it is currently responding to environmental conditions. Professor Gudmundsson explained: “Understanding the dynamics of the Thwaites Glacier and quantifying its future impacts on global sea levels is not only a challenging and exciting scientific problem, but also a question of great societal significance. This region of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing ice at an accelerating rate, and the reasons for this ice loss are not fully understood.”

#TakeOnTomorrow

ENVIRONMENT

NORTHUMBRIA RESEARCHERS EXPLORING ANTARCTICA

DISCOVERING UNKNOWN CANYONS UNDER THE ICE Three huge valleys and mountain ranges have been discovered buried deep under the South Pole ice, thanks to research from Northumbria University. Satellites do not routinely orbit over the South Pole as they do over the rest of the world, meaning there were large gaps in what was known about the region’s landscape. As a result, the British Antarctic Survey and the European Space Agency joined forces in 2015 to undertake a major collection of radar and gravity data to map the landscape beneath the ice sheet. A team led by Northumbria’s Dr Kate Winter examined the radar data – which effectively provided an x-ray of the ice sheet – and published the very first findings to emerge from the project in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. These hidden valleys – the largest of which runs the distance from London to Manchester – are buried under two kilometres of ice.

“THE FACT THAT NORTHUMBRIA IS INVOLVED IN TWO OF THE EIGHT FUNDED PROPOSALS REFLECTS THE WORLD-LEADING STRENGTH OF THE SCIENCE IN THIS FIELD AT NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY.” PROFESSOR JOHN WOODWARD

“These troughs channelise ice from the centre of the continent, taking it towards the coast. Therefore, if climate conditions change in Antarctica, we might expect these troughs to flow a lot faster towards the sea. That makes them really important, and we simply didn’t know they existed before now,” explains Dr Kate Winter. “The data we have gathered will enable ice sheet modellers to predict what will happen if the ice sheet thins, which will mean we can start to answer the questions we couldn’t answer before.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/extremeenvironments

INTERNATIONAL

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

Amsterdam Director appointed

AMSTERDAM FROM ABOVE

STUDY OVERSEAS

AMSTERDAM’S FAMOUS CANALS

Northumbria has appointed Robert J. de Boer as Director for its new European campus based at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS). Currently a Professor of Aviation Engineering at AUAS, Robert takes up his new role in August. After training as an aerospace engineer at Delft University of Technology, Robert established a career in management and consulting, gaining operational and engineering leadership experience with both Unilever and Fokker Technologies. As Director of Engineering at Fokker Technologies from 2002, he worked with leading engineers on design projects across the globe. Robert has been a Professor of Aviation Engineering at AUAS since 2009. He received a PhD in 2012 with the Delft University of Technology. Robert said: “Opening a Northumbria campus here is an exciting development that offers students from all over the world the chance to study for highly valued UK-accredited degrees

in Amsterdam. The partnership between Northumbria and AUAS also provides opportunities for students and academics from both universities to take part in overseas study, exchange programmes and to collaborate on research and other activities. I am looking forward to working with colleagues in the UK and Amsterdam as we prepare for our first cohort of students in September.” Lucy Winskell OBE, Pro ViceChancellor (Employability and Partnerships) at Northumbria, added: “We are delighted to have appointed Robert as Director. His leadership skills, academic record and experience with multinational companies are a huge asset. They will undoubtedly help us deliver a successful campus in Amsterdam. Our focus is on providing an outstanding learning and teaching

environment where students and staff can develop an international outlook and global mind-set, so beneficial in today’s increasingly interconnected world. “Our new campus and wider collaboration with AUAS helps us do just that – it brings together two universities with shared values and a focus on quality, research-led teaching and academic excellence.” For the full story about Northumbria’s partnership with AUAS turn to Pg. 3 .

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ amsterdam

ROBERT J. De BOER DIRECTOR OF NORTHUMBRIA’S AMSTERDAM CAMPUS

The first collaborative courses in Northumbria’s partnership with AUAS will launch in September 2018. Northumbria students will be able to study in Amsterdam on Masters programmes in Business, and also in Project Management, with the courses delivered collaboratively by Northumbria academics and AUAS colleagues. A one-year programme in International Business will also be available to existing Northumbria undergraduate students from across disciplines as a study option. This will give students the opportunity to study overseas in Amsterdam and the potential for careerenhancing opportunities through consultancy projects with business clients in the Netherlands. In addition, an institutional Erasmus agreement between Northumbria and AUAS will provide students and staff with valuable exchange opportunities across a wide variety of disciplines. Academics at both institutions will explore further collaborations including research, symposia and summer schools, with more news to be announced in the coming months.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ amsterdam

THE BIG INTERVIEW

#TakeOnTomorrow

The Big Interview: Global partnerships Who are the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences? AUAS is an outstanding university located in the heart of Amsterdam. Northumbria has built a strong relationship with AUAS and like us, they are an international and business-focused university with a real emphasis on quality and research underpinning learning and teaching. They have seven faculties and 46,000 students, approximately three percent of which are international. There are around 3,000 colleagues at AUAS, and the University offers up to 80 bachelor and master programmes.

LUCY WINSKELL OBE

Northumbria University is establishing a campus in the Netherlands through a partnership with the Amsterdam University of Applied Science (AUAS). Northumbria University News asks Lucy Winskell OBE, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Employability and Partnerships,) what opportunities it offers Northumbria’s students, academics and partners. Why are we opening a campus in Amsterdam? Opening a campus in Amsterdam supports our overall internationalisation strategy and our ambitions to develop global partnerships. As well as our UK campuses in Newcastle and London, we have partnerships across the world in places including Jakarta, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Caribbean - and now with AUAS, we will be able to offer an outstanding campus experience in the Netherlands. Our partnership with AUAS

establishes a strong presence for us in Europe, builds on our global reputation and expands our offering to international and UK students. We want to provide our students with every opportunity to develop an international outlook and global mind-set, so important for graduate employability and career success in today’s interconnected world. Having a campus in the Netherlands and a strong partnership with AUAS helps us do just that. It also maintains a positive relationship for us in Europe.

What is involved in the partnership? We are starting modestly. From September this year, we will offer courses in both Business with International Management, and in Project Management. Opportunities will also be open for Northumbria undergraduate students from across all disciplines to enhance their degree by taking an additional year to study on our International Year in Business course. Students on this course will spend some time here at Northumbria and the rest in Amsterdam working on real business consultancies with Dutch students and academics. We are looking to involve colleagues from our London campus in these programmes as well. At the same time, we will be welcoming students from AUAS to study here at Northumbria as part of ongoing exchange opportunities. Our longterm goal is to offer additional masters and undergraduate degrees – some of which will be dual degrees – and to develop deeper cooperation between the two universities, for example through additional student and staff exchange programmes and research collaborations. What can students expect from the new campus? On a practical level, students who study at our Amsterdam campus will have access to all the facilities you would expect from a high-quality university. Between Northumbria and AUAS this will include excellent learning spaces, library services, welfare support and sporting facilities. Northumbria’s campus will be based in the Amsterdam International Business School at AUAS, where students will see Northumbria branding at the welcome desk. We will have our

own classrooms and meeting rooms, and teaching will be by our staff working in collaboration with AUAS colleagues around particular disciplines. Studying at our Amsterdam campus will enrich the learning experience of students, and help enhance their career prospects in a competitive and increasingly international jobs market. Northumbria has a strong track record for graduate employability in the sector, and we will be looking to build on this through our partnership and new campus. What does it mean for colleagues at Northumbria? There will be some excellent opportunities, not only for academics involved in the teaching, but through areas such as staff exchange programmes and research collaborations. As our relationship with AUAS develops, there will also be opportunities to host international conferences and symposiums in Amsterdam. Both Northumbria and AUAS have extensive partnership networks in the UK, the Netherlands and internationally. Together we can build on these complementary strengths to offer greater collaboration opportunities for our colleagues. I would also add that despite the uncertainties over Brexit, the partnership with AUAS would help maintain close ties in Europe – both for Northumbria and indeed for individual academics. Are there opportunities for Northumbria’s business and cultural partners? Amsterdam is traditionally the Netherlands’ connection to the world city network, linking many different businesses, people and organisations together. Our partnership with AUAS will help us tap into this interconnectivity, opening doors for Northumbria and indeed for our partners as well. Furthermore, collaborating on research with AUAS will support some of the knowledge exchange partnerships we have with businesses, helping them innovate and develop new products and technologies. As I said earlier, the agreement with AUAS is as an example of how we can maintain and expand positive relationships in Europe post-Brexit – an approach that could offer a pathway for other organisations including our business partners to explore.

Northumbria has just appointed a campus director in Amsterdam, Can you tell us about him? We have appointed Robert J. de Boer as our Amsterdam Director, and I am delighted to say he will take up his new role in August. Robert is currently a professor of aviation engineering at AUAS. He trained as an aerospace engineer at Delft University of Technology, before establishing a career in management and consulting and working in senior roles at both Unilever and Fokker Technologies. As Director of Engineering at Fokker Technologies, Robert worked with leading engineers on design projects across the world. His leadership skills, academic record and experience with multinational companies will be a huge asset. Are there any examples of existing collaboration between Northumbria and AUAS? This partnership is about building opportunities and deepening cooperation. As an example, from next year students from the Amsterdam School of International Business at AUAS, and Newcastle Business School’s Business Clinic at Northumbria, will be working together. Both Northumbria and AUAS already run very successful business clinics where students learn by providing a free consultancy service to businesses and other organisations. From February 2019, students and staff from both universities will be collaborating in Amsterdam to provide business consultancy to companies from the UK, Netherlands and beyond. As well as enriching student learning, a primary goal of the initiative will be to provide real benefit to companies based in the UK who are seeking to expand their European reach. It is the first of what I am sure will be numerous exciting and successful projects resulting from our new campus in Amsterdam and wider collaboration with AUAS.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ partnerships

NEWS

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

NORTHUMBRIA HAS ONE OF THE UK’S LEADING EXPERTS ON SPACE LAW

No escaping the law – even in space Northumbria space law expert Professor Christopher Newman was invited to give a keynote speech at the Edinburgh International Science Festival – one of the sector’s most influential and anticipated events.

With the recent passing of world-famous physicist, Professor Stephen Hawking, earlier this year, the twoweek science festival attracted heightened media attention worldwide and was an ideal showcase for Professor Newman’s expertise. The Northumbria academic is one of the UK and Europe’s leading experts in space law and policy. Leading a field of experts, he examines fictional and theorybased topics including space law, ethics and ownership of the moon. His work also involves examining the Government’s recent UK Space Legislation Act, which came into force on 15 March. Together with specialist space lawyer Joanne Wheeler,

Professor Newman hosted a 90-minute talk at this year’s festival entitled ‘Space Outlaw’ examining the relationship between law and space ethics, and wider theories surrounding the Universe and life itself. They tackled space exploration theories never discussed publicly before, as well as the legal issues that may influence them. Professor Newman said: “The International Science Festival is for everyone from leading panellists and academics to members of the public who simply have an interest in space and the Universe around us. “Our aim was to open our industry up to everyone and encourage people of all ages to examine the many mysteries

that still exist. Over recent years, the likes of the late Professor Hawking and Professor Brian Cox have done a great job doing so and engaging a much wider and younger audience. “Science, especially space exploration, is a very thought provoking subject as it opens up a plethora of avenues in terms of celebrated works that we have come to know and understand, as well as new scientific theories examining what the future may hold. Of course, everyone has their own opinion which again lends itself to fantastic conversations and discussions.” This year’s event explored the theme of ‘Life, the Universe and Everything’ and contemplated the diversity of life in all forms on

Which university is keeping astronauts fit and healthy for their journey to Mars?

Earth and beyond. Now in its 30th year, the Edinburgh International Science Festival also supports a wider STEM curriculum, in particular, how science, technology, engineering and mathematics can help to sustain the planet in the future. Professor Newman is actively engaged in space law research and is due to release his new book Frontiers of Risk shortly. He has been teaching space law for over 10 years and is part of an internationally recognised network of academics and legal practitioners who communicate on space and policy issues.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/law

NEWS

#TakeOnTomorrow

EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY ASTRONAUT, ALEXANDER GERST, IN PREPARATION FOR HIS MISSION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

An internship – and beyond! A Northumbria University student has secured an out-of-this-world internship at the European Space Agency in Germany, beating applicants from across the continent. In May, third-year Sport and Exercise Sciences student, Callum Blades, began his prestigious three-and-a-half-month long internship at the European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Astronaut Centre in Cologne. Competing against student applicants from across Europe, securing this coveted placement will provide a unique chance for Callum to work at the heart of European spaceflight operations. Callum will complete a space medicine-related research project during his internship, as well as working alongside flight

surgeons, astronaut trainers and astronauts themselves. Speaking before embarking on his internship, Callum said: “I’ve been fortunate enough to secure an internship with the European Astronaut Centre and I see that as a brilliant way to translate what I have learned in my Sport Science degree into a different setting. At the European Astronaut Centre I’m going to be assisting with research on bed rest, looking at muscle wastage, but I’m also looking forward to getting involved in other projects and gaining experience in a very large

European organisation.” Callum was supported through his application by Dr Andrew Winnard, who himself completed an internship at ESA’s Space Medicine Office prior to coming to Northumbria University to study for his doctorate. Dr Winnard, who is a Lecturer in Clinical/Musculoskeletal Biomechanics at Northumbria and leads the University’s Aerospace Medicine Systematic Review Group, said: “Callum has worked incredibly hard to secure this placement, achieving high marks throughout his

degree enabling him to prove his academic skills and compete for these international opportunities. Callum will now be spending his summer at the heart of European human spaceflight operations, working alongside Europe’s flight surgeons, astronaut trainers, exercise specialists and international space station controllers. “Callum follows in the footsteps of several of the sport science course alumni that have also gone on to work at the European Astronaut Centre. That our students are repeatedly able

to gain these opportunities and careers, demonstrates the excellent employability and beneficial transferable work skills taught during courses here at Northumbria.” Northumbria has a long association with the ESA’s Space Medicine Office, both through its ongoing research collaborations, as well as graduates who have gone on to work for the organisation. While a number of students have completed internships at the ESA Space Medicine Office over the past eight years, the University has also been working closely with the ESA to house studies undertaken in aerospace medicine in one place, through its Aerospace Medicine Systematic Review Group.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ biomechanics

#TakeOnTomorrow

FEATURE

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

Over the last decade, Northumbria University has invested more than £250m in its estate, working closely with students to put their feedback at the heart of new campus developments. Northumbria University News takes a look at the University’s latest investments, from the recently completed £7m Computer and Information Sciences building, to the Architecture Studios currently under construction, and a brand, new 24/7 student hub set to open later this year.

AN ARTIST’S IMPRESSION OF NORTHUMBERLAND BUILDING 24/7 STUDENT HUB

COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE BUILDING

NEW 24/7 SPACE FOR STUDENTS IN THE HEART OF CAMPUS This summer will see the creation of a new 24/7 open access IT hub for students in the heart of our city centre campus in Newcastle. Based on the ground floor of Northumberland Building facing the University Quad, this new space will put students right at the centre of campus, with unique features such as: • 24/7 access and open to all students. It will have more than 100 high-spec PC’s and 15 Apple Mac computers. • To support the University’s 80 IT labs across campus, the new hub will offer the most in-demand specialist apps and software from across the University in one space – as well as all the existing software included in the Library and our other open access areas.

• The hub will trial new technology called CloudPaging (sometimes referred to as AppsAnywhere), which is a next-generation app for sharing software to any device, on or off campus, including students’ own devices – all delivered without the hassle of installation and updates. Speaking about the announcement of this new 24/7 space – the latest development in more than £52m of campus investment in the last 18 months – Northumbria’s Director of Campus Services, Damon Kent, explained how this latest development will literally put students at the centre of University life. “This new open access IT area will further enhance the student quad in the heart of our

city campus. Based on the same design principles as Student Central, this new space will be stylish and contemporary, and will feature a number of unique and sophisticated IT facilities, which will be available for all students, 24/7. “Alongside existing buildings in the quad such as Student Central, Sport Central, Sandyford Building and the Students’ Union, this new hub will make this area into an even more vibrant ‘town square’ for students.” This exciting project will also include a coffee outlet and refurbishment for the University shop overlooking the Quad. The Northumberland Student hub is due to be completed for the 2018/19 academic year.

“IT’S GREAT FOR THE STAFF AND STUDENTS IN CIS TO BE LOCATED IN THE HEART OF CITY CAMPUS IN SUCH A MODERN AND WELL-EQUIPPED BUILDING.” PROFESSOR SHAUN LAWSON, HEAD OF DEPARTMENT FOR COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCES (CIS)

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WORLD-CLASS ARCHITECTURE STUDIOS COMING SOON

ARCHITECTURE STUDIOS Work is currently underway to create new, purpose-built studios for Northumbria’s flagship Architecture and Built Environment programmes. The new studios will be part of an ambitious

CREATING THE CAMPUS OF TOMORROW

BUILDING A BETTER NORTHUMBRIA THIS SUMMER

STUDENT CENTRAL, CITY CAMPUS

A STATE-OF-THE-ART NEW HOME FOR COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCES Earlier this year, the University’s new £7m Computer and Information Sciences building opened its doors. The building will officially open for teaching in the 2018/19 academic year, but students and staff have already been enjoying the new state-of-the-art space. “The students have really made the space their home already, which is brilliant to see,” explains Professor Shaun Lawson, Head of Department for Computer and Information Sciences. “We had students using the facilities as soon as the doors opened and the feedback has been extremely positive. “It’s great for the staff and students to be located in the heart of City Campus in such a modern and well-equipped building.”

The building has a stylish entrance with a bright and airy atrium, which will allow for events and presentations from students and employers, as well as additional student study space. Other floors will see a mix of research spaces and specialist teaching as well as multiple break-out areas, which will allow students to informally collaborate, test and work on new ideas and projects. As a low carbon and sustainable ‘Smart Building’ complete with a specialised Building Management System, including its heating, cooling and ventilation, it will be able to run itself efficiently and sustainably. This ‘Living Lab’ will also support student learning and link into the Digital Living and Future Engineering

extension of the University’s Grade II listed Sutherland Building – an historic and prestigious redbrick building located on pedestrianised Northumberland Road in the centre of Northumbria’s City

Campus in Newcastle. Designed by leading architects, Page-Park – who have won more than 150 international awards – the new Architecture building will create 1400m² of studio space, a new student hub, and academic staff offices, transforming the ‘industrial’ courtyard to the rear of Sutherland into worldclass new architecture studios. Professor Ruth Dalton, Head of Department for Architecture and Built Environment, said: “Page-Park Architects have produced an intelligent and sensitive scheme, knitting together the existing, historic Sutherland Building, with innovative, light-filled, flexible and stimulating studio spaces that will ensure the very highest student experience for our students for years to come.”

research areas. The building will also be home to the department’s activities as a founder member of the newly announced £40m Institute of Coding. The world-class consortium of 25 universities has been launched nationally by the Government to plug the digital skills gap and give UK an edge in the global digital economy, with Northumbria set to play a leading role.

To watch a time-lapse video of this stunning new building being created, scan this QR code now:

Northumbria’s campuses will be alive with activity over the summer as the University works to provide world-class facilities and technology for students at both City and Coach Lane. From refurbishment of teaching rooms to the creation of brand new spaces, the University’s plans for campus life have been directly informed by student feedback. One of these new developments will be a Student Skills Centre at Student Central, City Campus Library. The flexible multi-functional space will be created over the summer to provide a wide range of professional support for students at all levels. The summer will also see a brand new university entrance developed opposite the Newcastle Civic Centre on Sandyford Road. This will provide improved access, as well as a more direct route to the University Quad. Meanwhile at the University’s Coach Lane campus, just a short bus ride from Newcastle, work is also underway this summer with Manor House’s Forensics wing undergoing refurbishment. This project will create a new blood pattern analysis lab and specialist teaching spaces to improve the Continued Professional Development (CPD) and

training provision at Coach Lane. Reflecting on a busy summer ahead, Northumbria’s Director of Campus Services Damon Kent explained this was just the beginning, with more exciting announcements to come. “We’re at the end of our current estates strategy and it has delivered a number of hugely exciting new developments across our campuses. Over the next year, we will be revealing our vision for the future as we develop our next estates plan, alongside the launch of the new university Strategy, to ensure that our campuses, buildings, facilities, and student accommodation, match our bold ambitions as a global university ready to take on the Top 30 institutions in the UK.”

“OUR ESTATES STRATEGY HAS DELIVERED A NUMBER OF HUGELY EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS OUR CAMPUSES.” DAMON KENT DIRECTOR OF CAMPUS SERVICES

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ buildingabetternorthumbria

HEALTH

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

From Newcastle to Tanzania

(L-R) CHRISTINE CALLENDER, AWARD JUDGE; JOY CAMPBELL, MODULE LEAD; MAGGIE COATES, PROGRAMME LEAD; CECILIA TAYLOR; RTP MIDWIFERY STUDENT; JENNI MIDDLETON, NURSING TIMES EDITOR.

Nursing does the double

A trio of Northumbria alumni from St George’s University, have been taking part in a pioneering research project in Tanzania. Medical students Zoe McKinnell, Gillian Richmond and Renee Wong spent the first year of their degree studying at Northumbria as part of the Keith B Taylor Global Scholars Programme (KBTGSP), which gives students from St George’s in the Caribbean the opportunity to complete the first year of their degree in Newcastle. Since returning to St George’s, the trio have been handpicked to help with a research project by a Newcastle doctor who taught them during their time in the North East. Dr Clive Kelly, a physician from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, is leading research into the effects of altitude on people in different global regions and invited the students to join him in Tanzania having been impressed with them at Northumbria. The research focused on the physiological adaptations to altitude seen in climbers from different parts of the world. Alongside supporting

Northumbria’s excellence in developing the next generation of nurses and helping others return to the profession has been recognised at the annual Student Nursing Times Awards. The University won the Return to Practice Course of the Year title, while a Northumbria student nurse was also shortlisted for his innovative work with elderly patients. Return to practice courses are an essential way of bringing former nurses and midwives back into the profession, including those who have taken career breaks to look after their families. Northumbria offers a part-time course to update skills and knowledge that fits around existing personal commitments and also provides an access module that helps to boost students’ confidence ahead of returning to study. Also at the awards, Northumbria student Gary Hall from Crook, County Durham, was shortlisted in the new Student Innovation in Practice category. This award seeks to recognise a student who has made an exceptional

contribution to their placement by inspiring, leading or carrying out an innovative project that improves patient or service user care, experience or outcomes. Gary was nominated by the nursing staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, where he is working on placement on the elderly care ward. He has worked to improve care for patients, carers and service users by creating a dynamic information wall on the ward that promotes the advice and support services available to them. Gary’s display has generated positive feedback from carers who feel the wall has given them greater access to the support available to them. Professor Alison Machin, Head of Northumbria’s Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, said: “As the largest provider of nurse education in the North East of England, we play an essential

role in not only training new nurses and midwives, but also in supporting their continual professional development and refreshing their skills to meet changing NHS needs and guidelines. We are delighted to see that our work in supporting former staff returning to work in the sector has been acknowledged through our award for the Return to Practice course of the year. “We are also extremely pleased to see Gary’s success in his shortlisting for the Student Innovation in Practice award. His academic and placement tutors have been hugely impressed with his attitude during his first year of study and we wish him all the best.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ nursingmidwiferyhealth

TANZANIA

this comparitative study, the students also assisted Dr Kelly’s teaching programme for junior medical students at a Tanzanian hospital. “It was great to have Zoe, Gillian and Renee involved in this international research project, both for their own development and for the contribution they made in the field,” said Dr Kelly. St George’s student Gillian applied for the Northumbria programme because she was interested in studying healthcare systems around the world. “It was really interesting to go into a teaching hospital as an outsider and learn about healthcare in an international context,” Gillian said. “Joining St George’s programme at Northumbria University was the best decision I’ve made. I’ve made lifelong friends and my experience in Tanzania will be a helpful bridge to my teaching responsibilities as a resident next year.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ stgeorges

HEALTH

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A decade of dietary research

(L-R) ELLEN SMITH AND HANNAH AVERY

HEALTH FOOD SOURCES

Northumbria University prides itself on undertaking research that benefits individuals, communities and the economy, and our Brain Performance and Nutrition Research Centre is a perfect example of this In its tenth anniversary year, Northumbria University News takes a closer look at the work of the Centre, and speaks to students who work alongside our academic experts undertaking world-leading research. Huge international organisations such as GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, Kelloggs and Nestle regularly collaborate with the Centre to undertake research trials. They commission our research teams to investigate the impact that dietary and nutritional foods and supplements can have on the brain and body of people of all ages. To date, the Centre has carried out research worth almost £4m and has demonstrated the positive health and wellbeing effects of diverse products such as ginseng, vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids and cocoa flavanols. The Centre is always looking for volunteers to register to take part in their research projects. People of all ages, abilities

The results of many clinical trials have gained worldwide attention, including:

Multivitamins reduce fatigue in working women

Fish oils improve memory

Resveratrol increases blood flow to the brain

Sage improves cognitive performance

Berocca can reduce feelings of tiredness and stress

and in good or poor health can register their interest and will be contacted when relevant studies require them. Most research takes place in the lab on Northumbria’s City Campus, with many studies offering payments to participants for their time.

Anyone interested in taking part should register their details by emailing: bpnrc@northumbria.ac.uk or by calling 0191 243 7252.

Unlike many other centres, the Brain Performance and Nutrition Research Centre also provides students with opportunities to join the team and gain experience as research assistants. Northumbria University News spoke with Ellen Smith and Hannah Avery to find out about their work… PhD student Hannah Avery, 26, joined Northumbria after finishing her masters in medical science at Newcastle University. She wanted more experience working in research to support her long-term aim of working in academia. “I began working as a research assistant, carrying out a study investigating the bioavailability of omega-3 fish oils over a 24-hour period,” she said. “Seeing these nutritional intervention studies first-hand brought to light my desire to carry out research of my own in the field of women’s health, and I was awarded a PhD studentship to investigate the impact of iron and vitamin C on women of reproductive age.” She added: “I’ve gained numerous invaluable skills including being able to use complex machinery, phlebotomy, conversing with industry sponsors and working one-to-one with participants ranging from the ages of 18-80. These transferable skills will hopefully work to my

advantage in future when it comes to thinking and working upon novel and innovative research studies.” 22-year-old Ellen Smith is also studying for a PhD, after joining the centre as an intern during the second year of her psychology degree. She explained: “When looking at different universities, it was really important to me that the course was flexible and that I could adapt it to suit my specific interests in the subject. I was also interested in doing a work placement. Unlike a lot of the redbrick universities, Northumbria had a huge range of option modules and they also offered placements. “In my second year I was chosen to complete a paid summer internship in the centre and I completed my placement, honours project and masters thesis there too. I feel incredibly lucky to have been given this opportunity to work in a world-leading research centre throughout the course of my studies. I undoubtedly wouldn’t have been given this opportunity at a different university, at least not in a research centre of this standard.”

DISCOVER MORE www.nutrition-neuroscience.co.uk

HEALTH

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

Northumbria’s X-ray vision

NORTHUMBRIA’S CLINICAL SKILLS CENTRE

Northumbria has invested in a state-of-the-art X-ray machine to enhance its research expertise in Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation. The Department’s new DEXA (DXA) scanner is a special type of X-ray that measures bone mineral density. DEXA scans are often used in clinical settings to diagnose or assess someone’s risk of osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones and makes them more likely to break. This is a specialist piece of equipment, not commonly seen in universities across the UK, giving Northumbria the edge over competitors in the research field of health and wellbeing. As well as being quick and painless, a DEXA scan is more effective than normal X-rays in identifying low bone mineral density. The scanner allows a wide range of studies including fractures in the spine, hip and wrist as well as providing detailed information on a patient’s fat, lean muscle mass, and bone density.

At Northumbria it will benefit a range of sport, exercise and health research projects, including quantifying leg mass among endurance runners, identifying the relationship between typical sleep duration and body composition and assessing the effect of physical activity on bone mineral density in patients with Crohn’s disease. The Hologic Horizon W DXA scanner has been provided and fitted by hospital equipment supplier, Vertec Scientific. Senior Lecturer Ian Walshe, whose research interests include sleep, exercise, nutrition and inflammation, said: “We are really excited to have the DXA scanner within the Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation. The DXA scanner will certainly improve the quality of our research in optimising human performance and promoting good health and wellbeing.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/health

Innovation in education recognised A leading light in simulation-based education (SBE) at Northumbria has been awarded a Fellowship for his contribution to healthcare education. Alan Platt, Academic Lead for SBE and Clinical Skills at the University, was awarded the Fellowship by the Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare (ASPiH) for his renowned work in teaching students a variety of healthcare skills using simulation technology. Frequently used in healthcare teaching, SBE encompasses a broad range of methods and allows students to practice and perform particular clinical tasks using a manikin, a full-body model designed for scenariobased patient care training. This allows students to learn essential medical skills and emergency procedures in a safe environment, ensuring they are competent, safe and confident

to deliver high quality care after they graduate. Alan has an extensive background in intensive and critical care after qualifying as a registered nurse in 1988. He was appointed by Northumbria as a senior lecturer in adult nursing in 2006. Since then, he has developed a national and international reputation for the development of SBE as a learning and teaching methodology and its integration into the University’s nursing programme. He is currently undertaking a Professional Doctorate on the use of SBE in healthcare education. Speaking about his award, Alan said: “I am passionate about simulation-based education and

I feel honoured that colleagues, who I have held in high esteem, awarded the Fellowship to me.” Alan served on the executive committee of the ASPiH from 2010 to 2014, and as National Simulation Development Officer from 2012 to 2014. Northumbria’s Clinical Skills Centre has been at the forefront in the advancement of simulation-based education as a learning and teaching methodology. The Centre underwent a £750,000 makeover in the summer of 2017, which saw the facility become one of the biggest and best in the country.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/health

THE NEW DEXA SCANNER

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IN THE MEDIA

NORTHUMBRIA’S GLOBELYNX CAMERA AND STUDIO

Globelynx is an international broadcast system that directly connects Northumbria academics with TV news providers around the world who are looking to interview experts about breaking news stories. Northumbria University News talks to Dr Michelle Carlin, Senior Lecturer in Forensic and Analytical Chemistry, who has appeared on the likes of BBC News, Sky News, France 24 and TRT World. Northumbria’s Dr Michelle Carlin became the worldwide authority on toxicology during the Russian spy-poisoning saga that dominated the news earlier this year. A Senior Lecturer in Forensic and Analytical Chemistry, Dr Carlin was interviewed by news channels around the world in response to the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, in Salisbury. An expert toxicologist, she provided the media with her chemical knowledge of the nerve agent, Novichock, which was used in liquid form to poison the Skripals, who were found unconscious on a bench on 4th March 2018. She was able to discuss the effects of Novichock on the human body after someone has been exposed to the nerve agent. Dr Carlin has given interviews to news channels including Sky News, BBC World, ITV,

France 24, TRT World and Fox News among others. In print media, she has led discussions in the likes of The Guardian, The Independent, The Times and the New York Times. She was subsequently asked to join the Science Media Centre database; rooted in the influential House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee, Dr Carlin now provides expert comments to journalists around the world on emerging science stories. Speaking about her media experience, Dr Carlin said: “The level of media requests for a toxicologist after the poisoning of the Skripals with nerve agents was unexpected; however it resulted in a lot of TV and radio coverage for me personally and for the University globally. “I have received a lot of requests from other media outlets and bodies such as the Royal Society of Chemistry

DR MICHELLE CARLIN

“IT HAS HAD A HUGE IMPACT IN TERMS OF RAISING MY PROFILE AS A RESEARCHER, BUT ALSO IT HAS BEEN GOOD FOR THE UNIVERSITY.” DR MICHELLE CARLIN

and Homeland Security in the US. It has had a huge impact in terms of raising my profile as a researcher, but also it has been good for the University.” Dr Carlin joined Northumbria in 2009 where she carries out research in analytical toxicology and the role of toxicology in death investigation. Her prior experience includes research in the toxicology department of the Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale (IRCGN) in Paris, using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS). Michelle also managed a workplace drug testing laboratory in the North East, before becoming a lecturer.

GETTING READY FOR THE SPOTLIGHT

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/news

LAW

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

Justice is done with student win

PROFESSOR TIM WILSON

Law professor advises House of Lords A Northumbria law academic has warned members of the House of Lords that the risks of cross-border crime in the UK will not diminish following Brexit. Professor Tim Wilson also said the Government was right to prioritise UK criminal justice cooperation with EU member states and institutions. A member of the Northumbria Law School’s internationally recognised research group, The Centre for Evidence and Criminal Justice Studies (NCECJS), Professor Wilson gave oral evidence earlier this year to the Lords European Union Select Committee. He was contributing to the Committee’s inquiry into the proposed UK-EU Security Treaty, which had begun with oral evidence from Rob Wainwright, the Head of Europol. Commenting on his evidence, Professor Wilson said: “I supported the Government’s conclusion that it is in the clear interest of all citizens that the UK and the EU sustain the closest possible cooperation in tackling terrorism, organised

crime and other threats to security now and into the future. Such cooperation needed to be wide ranging and would hopefully include a treaty between the UK and the EU that would allow continued access to criminal justice data sharing and judicial measures such as extradition through the use of the European Arrest Warrant.” Professor Wilson also advised on the structure and scope of EU cooperation post-Brexit, and that it should extend to the Schengen area of Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, to the benefit of people in those countries, including UK citizens when working, travelling or living there. Looking ahead, he suggested that the existing laws allowing criminal justice cooperation would need to remain effective beyond the 21-month Brexit implementation period to the end of 2020, for a further and specific legal cooperation

A project run by law students to provide free community legal support has recently won a major national award. The Family Justice Project at Northumbria Law School was named Best New Pro-Bono Activity at the LawWorks and Attorney General Student Awards 2018, held in the House of Commons. Run by national charity LawWorks with the support of the Attorney General, The Rt Hon Jeremy Wright QC MP, the awards recognise and celebrate outstanding pro-bono work by law schools and students across the UK. The Family Justice Project launched in 2017, in response to a surge in demand for pro bono legal advice and representation in family law matters following the reduction in the availability of legal aid. Led by senior law lecturers and practicing solicitors, Ana Speed and Kayliegh Richardson, The Family Justice Project provides extensive and high quality free legal advice and support to vulnerable and minority groups. Paul McKeown, Director of the Student Law Office at Northumbria Law School, said: “These are hugely significant awards within the legal sector and we are immensely proud of everyone involved in The Family

Justice Project. The legal support provided has been recognised at the highest level for its quality, and for fulfilling a growing need for pro-bono legal assistance. It also provides our students with an outstanding learning experience that they can take with them into their future careers. Winning the award is richly deserved, and testament to their commitment and skills as legal practitioners. We also thank the partners that worked with us on this project, Ben Hoare Bell LLP, the Angelou Centre and Impact Family Services.” Professor John Wilson, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Business and Law, added: “This is a superb achievement and I congratulate all our students and academic colleagues behind the project. We pride ourselves on our pioneering approach to clinic-based learning and the career-enhancing opportunities it can offer our students. Pro-bono work is part of this. It is integral to the Law School and to how we contribute to the local community, and it can be incredibly rewarding.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/law

transition period until the new treaty arrangements could be in place. Professor Wilson gave evidence to the House of Lords alongside Dr Helena Farrand-Carrapico, the Co-Director of Aston University’s Centre for Europe, and Professor Anthony Glees, the Director of Buckingham University’s Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies. A leading expert in evidence and criminal justice studies, Professor Wilson has been a regular adviser to the Government. His research and collaboration with colleagues through the NCECJS has received international recognition. Turn to Pg. 23 to read about another of our Business and Law academics who has recently been appointed to advise the Government.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/law

(L-R) LAW LECTURER ANA SPEED, LAW STUDENTS STEPHANIE WILSON AND DANIEL RUDDICK AND LAW LECTURER KAYLIEGH RICHARDSON.

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Welcome to the greatest event of 2018 If you thought the Royal Wedding was great then you haven’t seen anything yet! The Great Exhibition of the North is here – and Northumbria’s staff and students are right at the heart of the action.

The biggest cultural extravaganza of the year has arrived. This summer, the Great Exhibition tells the story of how the North’s innovators, businesses, artists and designers have shaped our present and how they are inspiring our future. The 80-day-long exhibition in Newcastle and Gateshead is underway now and will run until Sunday 9 September. Three million people are expected to take part in Great Exhibition activities, making it the UK’s biggest event this year, and Northumbria is playing a key role. Northumbria’s programme of events and activities highlight the University’s excellence in diverse areas, from art, design and innovation, healthy eating and nutrition, computer science and gaming, to the experiences of volunteers in conflicts and emergencies. Turn to Pg. 22 for a full list of Northumbria’s exciting programme of events for the Great Exhibition. The exhibition is free throughout, although some events and activities must be booked in advance. Visitors begin their journey at one of three iconic venues – the Great North Museum, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Sage Gateshead – before joining three interconnected trails through 30 world-class venues and public spaces, on either side of the River Tyne. The trails have been designed to celebrate the North’s achievements in art and

culture, design, and innovation, and will feature key locations across Newcastle and Gateshead, including Northumbria’s City Campus. Turn the page to view the Great Exhibition map and read more about the three trails. The University’s annual REVEAL exhibition is at the heart of Northumbria’s trail. REVEAL, which takes place at the end of every academic year, showcases the outstanding talents of final year students from a range of creative courses. You can read more about the launch of REVEAL on Pg. 26-27. As part of the Great Exhibition’s opening event, visitors will experience the UK’s largest water sculpture on the Quayside; a brand new film about the North of England; performances from the Kaiser Chiefs and a live presentation by Lemn Sissay of his newly created anthem for the North. On Sunday 9 September, the world’s largest half marathon, the Great North Run, will form the centrepiece of the closing weekend. The Great Exhibition of the North is expected to bring a £184m boost to the North East, showing how cultural investment can benefit and inspire entire communities.

DISCOVER MORE www.getnorth2018.com

FEATURE

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

The Great Exhibition of the North is here The UK’s biggest event of 2018 has arrived. Northumbria University News explores the highlights from an 80-day programme of amazing exhibits, live performances, displays of innovation, new artworks and unforgettable experiences taking place until 9 September.

Three trails create pathways of discovery across Newcastle and Gateshead including a number of stops on Northumbria’s City Campus, which forms part of the official Design Trail. Another two trails following the themes of Art and Innovation can also be followed across the City, showcasing the North’s cultural highlights.

“NORTHUMBRIA’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF THE NORTH WILL SEE THE UNIVERSITY TELL ITS STORY,” PROFESSOR STEVEN KYFFIN, PRO VICECHANCELLOR (KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE) SAYS. “NOT ONLY ABOUT TODAY, BUT HOW WE’RE TAKING ON TOMORROW TO BECOME A CREATIVE, INNOVATION ENGINE FOR THE NORTH, THE UK, AND THE WORLD.”

Get Innovation Venues along this route epitomise the innovative spirit of the North. Once you’ve explored the bold Which Way North exhibition at Great North Museum and come face-to-face with the groundbreaking innovations of the North, it’s time to see some of the places where the magic happens. From medical breakthroughs at the Centre of Life to historic hotspots including Stephenson’s Quarter, where the Rocket was designed and built, and the Mining Institute, witness to many engineering world firsts, the Innovation Trail demonstrates the ongoing inventive spirit of the North.

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Get Design Walking in the footsteps of design gurus and writing greats, the Design Trail starts at the Great North Museum and steps into a world shaped by the best of Northern design. This route trails directly through Northumbria University’s City Campus, with a plethora of inspiring exhibitions, displays and events exploring a range of themes from healthy eating and nutrition to the lives of volunteers in conflicts and emergencies. The trail continues on to other iconic design locations including Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books, the Biscuit Factory, Britain’s biggest commercial gallery, and the Northern Design Centre, home to a new generation of entrepreneurs exporting design and digital gaming content to the world.

Northumbria students and staff Get North

Get Art The Art Trail begins its journey at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. The whole gallery and outdoor spaces are packed with the very best in Northern visual arts. The trail continues close by at BALTIC’s stunning neighbour Sage Gateshead where you’ll discover a whole world of wonderful sound. Following the trail across the Gateshead Millenium Bridge you can check out our elegant and historic cultural spots including the Theatre Royal and Laing Art Gallery and enjoy iconic pieces of Northern art, including George Stubbs’ world-famous painting of the Yorkshire racehorse Whistlejacket on display at Great North Museum.

Behind the Great Exhibition of the North magic, there are hundreds of Get North volunteers bringing the ambitious event to life, including a proud bunch of Northumbria University staff and students. Earlier this year, event organisers NGI put a call out across the region for passionate and enthusiastic volunteers to join the event team. The volunteers will play a crucial part in enhancing visitors experience and adding to the story along the way. In true Northumbria spirit, staff and students from across the University signed up to get involved and will be taking to the streets of Newcastle and Gateshead to help run the Northern extravaganza.

FEATURE

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

The Great Exhibition of Northumbria Northumbria is proud to be playing a key part in the Great Exhibition of the North and staff and students have been working hard to bring a programme of inspiring events and exhibitions to the official Design Trail. Northumbria University News lists some of the University’s key events. Volunteers in Conflicts and Emergencies Where: Student Central Commons When: 9 July – 9 September What: Step inside this interactive walkthrough exhibit to explore the lives of volunteers in conflicts and emergencies and find out how to support them.

Business and Creativity Where: City Campus East When: 9 July – 9 September What: Find out how final year undergraduates from Northumbria are working with artists, performers, designers and innovators to add value to their businesses.

1upNorth Where: Computer and Information Sciences Building When: 2 July - 15 July What: A two-week showcase of the best gaming from across the North, featuring multiplayer games, competitions and leader boards, workshops, hackathons and careers in the gaming sector. This is free, but ticketed. Visit www. getnorth2018.com for more information.

Full of Beans Exhibit Where: Check website for details When: 2 – 9 August What: An interactive exhibit designed to provide advice on how to increase fruit and vegetable intake, and physical activity levels and create healthy menus for children.

REVEAL Where: Across City Campus, check website for details When: 14 June – 30 June What: A sneak preview of up and coming creative talent as Northumbria University opens the doors to its 2018 degree shows, featuring everything from animation and architecture to fashion and fine art.

Craft Values in Digital Making: Handthought Where: City Campus East When: 22 June – 9 September What: View a selection of new wooden tableware that explores the value of digital tools and technologies in the creation of beautiful design.

RTC Design Journey Where: Ellison Block A and Northern Design Centre When: 22 June – 9 September What: Join us on a journey through the creative process that allows you to be the designer and your product to be the end result. Follow the trail throughout the City, passing through Northumbria and other iconic venues before ending at the Northern Design Centre. Visit the website for full route details.

Tools for Everyday Life Where: Sport Central When: 17 July – 9 September What: An exhibition highlighting the importance of 3D design in the creation of rewarding products and furniture.

“NORTHUMBRIA WILL BE TELLING A STORY OF INNOVATION ACROSS OUR CAMPUS THROUGH OUR DESIGNERS, GRADUATE START-UPS, COMPUTER SCIENCE AND GAMING STUDENTS, OUR BUSINESS SCHOOL, OUR HEALTHCARE AND NUTRITION PROJECTS, OUR ARCHITECTURE AND ARTS INSTALLATIONS, AND MUCH MORE. DON’T MISS IT!” PROFESSOR STEVEN KYFFIN

Our inspiring exhibits continue: We also have a number of exhibitions and installations that form part of the ‘Inspired by’ programme, an extended programme with contributions from organisations across the North. From theatre performances, fashion showcases, a sculpture trail and more. www.northumbria.ac.uk/ getnorth

BUSINESS

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“THIS IS A PRESTIGIOUS AND WELL DESERVED APPOINTMENT FOR ROSELINE, AND FOR NEWCASTLE BUSINESS SCHOOL. HER DEEP KNOWLEDGE AND MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THIS SECTOR ALSO BENEFITS OUR STUDENTS BY ENRICHING THEIR LEARNING EXPERIENCE, AND IN TURN ENHANCING THEIR CAREER PROSPECTS.” PROFESSOR JOHN WILSON DR ROSELINE WANJIRU

Northumbria advises government on international trade A Newcastle Business School academic has been appointed to the UK Government’s Export Guarantees Advisory Council. As part of her new, high-profile role, Dr Roseline Wanjiru will advise the Secretary of State for International Trade on UK export finance operations. This will include environmental, social and human rights risks, as well as sustainable lending, compliance and transparency considerations. The work of the Export Guarantees Advisory Council ensures that viable UK exporters have sufficient access to finance or insurance beyond the private market. It also provides finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil and receive payment for export contracts. Dr Wanjiru is a senior lecturer and Programme Leader for Business with International Management and Business with Economics at Newcastle Business School. She holds a

PhD from the University of Leeds and has interdisciplinary research interests in economic development, trade and industrial policy, foreign direct investment and innovation strategies. Commenting on her appointment she said: “The government has an ambitious trade agenda, and the Export Guarantees Advisory Council plays a vital role providing policy advice to ministers as they look to realise this agenda. I look forward to playing a part in ensuring best practice in trade finance support for the UK’s exporters.” Professor John Wilson, Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Business and Law at Northumbria, added: “This is a prestigious and well deserved appointment for Roseline, and

for Newcastle Business School. Her deep knowledge and more than 20 years of experience in this sector also benefits our students by enriching their learning experience, and in turn enhancing their career prospects.” Newcastle Business School’s academics work closely with a wide range of organisations nationally and internationally to provide expert advice and consultation. Turn to Pg. 18 to read about another of our Business and Law academics who has recently been appointed to advise the Government.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ newcastlebusinessschool

NEWCASTLE BUSINESS SCHOOL Located in an iconic £70 million city centre campus, Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University offers an outstanding learning environment. It is part of an elite group of business schools worldwide, and the first in Europe, to be accredited in both business and accounting with the international Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Newcastle Business School is a former winner of the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Business School of the Year Award. It is recognised as a pioneer in experiential clinic-based learning where students

offer free consultancy to real clients, and for developing innovative courses in entrepreneurial business education. Northumbria’s Newcastle Business School became the first institution north of London to provide a full electronic trading suite, offering students hands-on experience of real-world finance and access to realtime data. With a strong international focus, Newcastle Business School has partnerships and collaborations in areas including Europe, US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Qatar, China and South Korea – providing students with exciting overseas study opportunities.

NEWS

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

Latvian links strengthened

MS BAIBA BRAZE

Following the University’s recent announcement of its partnership with AUAS, Northumbria also hopes to forge new partnerships with the Republic of Latvia, following a successful visit by the country’s ambassador. Ms Baiba Braze, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, met with Northumbria staff to discuss potential collaborations. She also visited the University’s new £7m Computer and Information Sciences building at City Campus. Speaking about the ambassador’s visit, Northumbria’s Director of International Development, Rob Carthy said: “This visit marks the next step in a developing relationship between Northumbria University and the Republic of Latvia, with students here on campus, and the opportunity for the creation of a computer science collaboration with key Latvian institutions. It also marks a clear commitment from Northumbria University to maintain its engagement with Europe, through partnership, collaboration and mobility.” Ms Braze added: “There are about 100,000 Latvians living in the UK; contributing to the country’s growth, and relations between our people go back to pre-Hanseatic times. To maintain this relationship in the future it is necessary to further develop cooperation between institutions and businesses,” she said. “Newcastle is famous for its universities and their quality and there is a great potential in developing bilateral links with Latvian universities, which will be particularly important after Brexit.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ international

NORTHUMBRIA GRADUATE MUHAMMAD UZAIR

Northumbria alumnus claims top spot in Asia Northumbria graduate Muhammad Uzair has gained international recognition after winning a prestigious British Council award celebrating the achievements of UK alumni around the world. The Mass Communication and Business graduate won in the entrepreneurial category of the British Council Study UK Alumni Awards 2018 for the South Asia region. Earlier in the year, Muhammad claimed the national stage of the awards in his home country of Pakistan. This latest success sees him join an elite group of 21 other winners from seven global regions, including South Asia, the Americas, East Asia/Pacific, Europe, Wider Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa. He will now compete in a global final later this year. All finalists are alumni from UK universities who have been recognised for their outstanding achievements as business professionals,

entrepreneurs, community leaders, and for strengthening collaborative ties with the UK. As the co-founder of Peshawar-based business Blimp, Muhammad impressed the judges by developing his enterprise into the region’s fastest growing digital marketing agency. The company provides web development, content and PR, and graphic design services for small and medium sized enterprises across Pakistan. Muhammad, who graduated in 2011, has also co-founded a social enterprise called Peshawar 2.0, and a working space named Basecamp, to help other entrepreneurs and start-ups. Muhammad said: “I have always had an interest in

information and communication technology from my school days, and was introduced to coding in seventh grade by my computer science teacher. From that day, I continued learning and exploring different aspects of ICT. At the same time, I had a growing interest in marketing. I was able to connect the dots early on, and started using ICT as a marketing tool for non-profit organisations run by family and friends. This included developing websites and using social media for fund raising. “Education in the UK helped me build further on my experience, and Northumbria offered the perfect course and learning opportunity for me. After working in a social media

agency in Leeds, I moved back to Pakistan with a vision to establish a digital marketing agency in my hometown of Peshawar.” He added: “At Blimp, we use technology to do good. For example, we used it to bring 150 students and 22 teachers online to create virtual classrooms using Google for Education when schools were forced to close down after the deadly terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar in December 2015.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ international

SCIENCE

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No more water stains The unpredictable way that water droplets dry on different surfaces can range from a minor annoyance in everyday life, to a major problem when it comes to the complex engineering of mobile phones and computers. However, researchers from Northumbria’s Smart Materials and Surfaces Laboratory, have discovered a new way to control the shape and location of water droplets as they dry. They have named their discovery ‘snap evaporation’. Watermarks – such as those on the surface of a car – are very hard to predict or control. One of the main reasons for this is not the behaviour of the droplets themselves, but the variations in the microscopic roughness of bare solid surfaces. However, in a new collaboration

with The Open University’s School of Mathematics and Statistics, Northumbria’s research team discovered how to control the way water droplets dried by creating a special surface that combined wavy solid geometry with an ultra-smooth treatment. As Northumbria’s Dr Gary Wells explains: “An egg-box is an example of wavy solid geometry: it has repeating peaks and valleys that form a wavy pattern. We 3D printed such a wavy pattern and covered its rough surface with a thin lubricant layer. The resulting

WATER DROPLETS

composite surface keeps the wavy shape, but becomes ‘ultrasmooth’. “When we left water droplets to evaporate on these wavy surfaces, they initially retracted from the solid in a smooth way, as one would expect for a perfectly smooth solid. However, the wavy surface makes the droplets ‘snap’ at specific points, changing their position and shape. This is a new mode of evaporation, which we have named ‘snap evaporation’. “Remarkably, this process is highly reproducible, and we have found that the actual design of

the wavy pattern can control the position and shape of the droplet.” Associate Professor, Dr Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar, added: “The implications of our study can have an impact in many everyday applications, and we are currently working with industrial partners that can benefit from our research. “For example, we are working with Jaguar Land Rover to develop new strategies that minimise watermarks on the surfaces of cars. Another example is our collaboration with Sustainable

Energy Systems, who can benefit from our results by improving the efficiency of heat-removal systems used in microprocessors such as CPUs and GPUs.” The full findings of the research can be found in Nature Communications, an open access journal in the natural sciences which publishes ‘important advances of significance to specialists within each field’.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/physics

Northumbria working on wearable ‘smart’ tech to save lives Scientists from Northumbria are developing a wearable diagnostic device or ‘patch’ that could save lives by speeding up the diagnosis of illnesses.

LAB-ON-A-CHIP TECHNOLOGY

Northumbria’s Smart Materials and Soft Matter research group is working to create a noninvasive, mechanically flexible device after receiving £433,000 worth of funding to develop the new technology. “Our aim is to create a biosensing device which could be applied directly to the skin and analyse different body fluids to give a quick and accurate diagnosis of a person’s health,” Northumbria’s Professor Richard Fu explained. “Acoustic wave-based labon-a-chip technology is already widely used but applying it to a thin, flexible material is a new concept and one which could revolutionise how diseases are diagnosed in future.”

The group’s work is being supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with further funding from a Royal SocietyChina Exchange Grant, and the special interest group, Acoustofluidics, under the UK Fluidic Network. Professor Fu added: “We hope to work with medical organisations to see how this type of technology could be used to deliver potentially life-saving benefits to people across the world.” The device would feature biosensors to detect, record and transmit physiological information; analysing different body fluids to give a quick and accurate diagnosis of a person’s

health. The smart material used to create the device will also contain microfluidics to control the movement of liquids such as samples of sweat. By incorporating this technology onto a thin, flexible material, it could be applied directly onto the skin as a patch or bandage. Although the research is still in the early stages, the technology could have a wide range of applications, including helping to diagnose illnesses, screening blood samples and analysing the effectiveness of drugs.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/physics

CULTURE

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

REVEAL Students’ creative talent on show Every summer, final year students from Northumbria’s Arts, Design and Architecture courses showcase their creative talents during the University’s annual REVEAL event – a two-week long exhibition which takes place across the City Campus.

This year, REVEAL took on an extra dimension after being named as an official event in the Great Exhibition of the North programme – shining a global spotlight on the work of Northumbria’s talented students. In the Department of Arts, work by students from Northumbria’s Animation, Film and TV Production, and Fine Art courses, was on show. In Northumbria’s School of Design, final year students from Fashion, Fashion Design and Marketing, Fashion Communication, Graphic Design, Interactive Design, 3D Design, Design for Industry and Interior Design showcased their work. Meanwhile, in the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, students graduating from Architecture and Interior Architecture programmes also exhibited their final year projects. In addition to REVEAL, individual degree shows have been taking place for many of the programmes, both across Newcastle and further afield, bringing the work of Northumbria students to the attention of industry experts and potential employers.

SETTING THE STAGE

Two thought-provoking plays were performed at the Northern Stage theatre in Newcastle by graduating Performing Arts students during their final degree shows. The performances of Anthony Neilson’s play The Wonderful World of Dissocia and The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Elisabeth Hauptmann, provided students with an opportunity to showcase their skills to potential employers and industry professionals. The Threepenny Opera was directed by Fiona MacPherson, senior lecturer at Northumbria. Commenting on why it was chosen she said: “A piece like The Threepenny Opera is timeless and therefore has something to

say about today. The students have really embraced the ways in which an opera from 1928 can still reflect the world in which we live. I’ve seen the cast develop as actors, singers, and theatre makers. They have made this a most enjoyable experience.” Steve Gilroy, playwright and principal lecturer at Northumbria, directed The Wonderful World of Dissocia. He said: “I saw the Anthony Nielson production of The Censor while working at the Royal Court Theatre in 1997 and was impressed with the audaciousness and complexity of his writing. The same is the case with The Wonderful World of Dissocia – not only is it a brilliant play for student actors to explore and perform; it is

also a challenging, provocative and hilarious work that defies categorisation.” The plays marked the end of the students’ three-year Theatre and Performance BA (Hons) degree programme and aimed to replicate the experience of auditioning for, rehearsing and staging a professional theatre performance. Both Steve and Fiona have extensive professional experience working within the performing arts, including directing, writing and running their own production companies, meaning students have been able to benefit from their industry connections and advice.

CULTURE

#TakeOnTomorrow

RIGHT: Northumbria University’s stand at Graduate Fashion Week, showcasing work from students across all three Fashion programmes.

GFW WINNERS It was a successful year at Graduate Fashion Week for Northumbria University students, with 13 shortlisted for awards, three runners-up and two winners.

BOUX AVENUE SWIMWEAR AWARD: Winner: Lucy Nolan, Fashion Design and Marketing BA (Hons)

FASHION MARKETING AWARD: Winner: Daisy Ratcliff, Fashion Design and Marketing BA (Hons)

DAVID BAND TEXTILES AWARD: Runner up: Holly Watson, Fashion BA (Hons)

VISIONARY KNITWEAR AWARD: Runner up: Penny Gibbs, Fashion BA (Hons)

BOUX AVENUE LINGERIE AWARD: Runner up: Amelia Wilson, Fashion Design and Marketing BA (Hons)

LEFT: Fashion student Sarah Patterson’s collection, backstage at Graduate Fashion Week

KEY FACTS

ABOVE: A model wearing one of Fashion student Emelia Erland’s designs prepares to take to the Graduate Fashion Week catwalk

ABOVE RIGHT: Northumbria’s catwalk show

SHE’S IN FASHION Final year students from Northumbria’s Fashion, Fashion Communication and Fashion Design and Marketing programmes recently travelled to London to showcase their work at the world famous Graduate Fashion Week event. Celebrating the creativity of students and graduates within the fashion industry, Graduate Fashion Week features catwalk shows, exhibitions and a Gala Award Show, as well as live talks and workshops delivered by leading names from the fashion industry. The event attracts 30,000 guests, including representatives from major brands, designers, fashion industry representatives and the media. Northumbria was one of 36 of the UK’s leading

fashion institutions selected to take part in the event this year. One of the highlights of the week was the Northumbria catwalk show, which saw collections by 23 Fashion BA (Hons) students take to the runway in front of a 600-strong crowd. Work by Fashion Communication and Fashion Design and Marketing students was also on show throughout the week on Northumbria’s exhibition stand. Just over a week later, Fashion students were wowing the crowds once again, this time closer to home at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, which played host to Northumbria’s annual Newcastle Fashion Show.

2 23 138 36 13

NORTHUMBRIA WAS ONE OF

Northumbria students won awards at this year’s Graduate Fashion Week

Fashion BA (Hons) students chosen to showcase their collections in the GFW catwalk show

individual looks sent down the runway

universities selected to exhibit at Graduate Fashion Week

students shortlisted across 10 different award categories, with 2 winners and 3 runners-up

CULTURE

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

Picasso and Hirst come to Northumbria LEFT: SPIN SKULL Damien Hirst

“THE GALLERY WILL FURTHER POSITION THE UNIVERSITY AT THE HEART OF THE CULTURAL SECTOR IN THE NORTH EAST OF ENGLAND – AND AS A GLOBAL DESTINATION FOR ENGAGING WITH WORLD-CLASS ART.” PROFESSOR ANDREW WATHEY CBE

BELOW: A JIZHOU ‘TORTOISESHELL’ GLAZED BOWL, CHINA, SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY, CIRCA 12TH – 13TH CENTURY,

Northumbria University News takes a look at the University Gallery’s exciting plans to develop Northumbria’s global standing as a dynamic, world-leading centre for art. The University Gallery will reopen this summer in a new home in Sandyford Building on City Campus. The refurbished space will include the new Woon Gallery of Asian Art, which will include rare and unique Buddhist and Asian art together with contemporary pieces by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol. This new gallery will operate alongside contemporary exhibition space Gallery North and the University’s Art Collection. Associate Professor Jean Brown, Director of the University Gallery, explains the Gallery’s

new structure and its ambitious plans for the future. “The refurbishment of the gallery spaces is the start of an exciting new period with a focus on widening participation and external engagement for the University and for Newcastle as a city,” Associate Professor Brown said. “The University Gallery will now comprise Gallery North, the University Art Collection and the Woon Gallery of Asian Art. “Gallery North is an experimental space used to showcase contemporary arts through a regular programme of practice research events and exhibitions. The University

Collection is made up of around 3,000 paintings, drawings and sculptures as well as the archives of artists such as Norman Cornish and Charles Simms, which are used to support teaching, learning and research. “The Woon Gallery of Asian Art presents The Woon Brothers Foundation Collection of Asian Art on long-term loan to the University alongside a number of contemporary pieces by Picasso, Warhol and Hirst. Together, these developments represent a hugely exciting new era for the University Gallery at Northumbria.”

CULTURE

#TakeOnTomorrow

LEFT: A JADE SEATED BODHISATTVA PENDANT MOUNTED IN GOLD, GANDHARA, CIRCA 2ND / 3RD CENTURY

RIGHT GENEVIÈVE AU TRICOT MARIN Pablo Picasso

LEFT ABOVE: A GILT BRONZE SEATED MAITREYA, TIBET OR NEPAL, CIRCA 14TH CENTURY

LEFT BELOW: AN ARCHAIC BRONZE WINE VESSEL (LEI), CHINA, SHANG DYNASTY (CIRCA 1600 – 1046 BC)

Due to open this July, the Woon Gallery of Asian Art is the latest chapter in the University’s long and successful relationship with Singaporean businessman and Northumbria alumni Mr Wee Teng Woon and The Woon Brothers Foundation. Created through the generous support of the Woon Foundation, the new gallery space at City Campus will open this summer and will house 47 rare and unique items from The Woon Brothers Foundation Collection to support research and public exhibition in the region. Each item has been selected for its contribution to the understanding and application of craft and making, as well as the relationship of Buddhist art to culture and religious belief, practice, and devotion. In selecting items from The Woon Brothers Foundation, Northumbria has specifically chosen depictions of the Buddha from different cultures and periods in order to bring a fresh perspective on the interpretation of Asian and Buddhist Art. The collection also includes contemporary artwork by celebrated artists including Damien Hirst, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. Together, these pieces will be used as an education and research resource and will support Newcastle’s Cultural Strategy, providing wide and inclusive access to unique items of artistic and cultural significance. It is hoped having this

collection on campus will support wider religious and cultural understanding, building on similar work currently taking place with Northumbria’s partners at the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas in Newcastle. Staff and students have been working with the church to explore the nature of the sacred across the major religions and on spaces where cultures and communities can intersect. Professor Andrew Wathey CBE, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Northumbria, said: “The Woon Gallery of Asian Art at Northumbria University’s City Campus will house rare and unique Asian and contemporary art, generously on loan from The Woon Brothers Foundation Collection. “The gallery will open in July 2018 and will introduce a new dynamic resource for teaching, research and public engagement at Northumbria, further positioning the University at the heart of the cultural sector in the North East of England - and as a global destination for engaging with world-class art.” Through the Woon Gallery and this unique collection of art, Northumbria will extend and build on key relationships between Singapore, China and the UK through greater cultural understanding. The Gallery and Collection will also be a dynamic centre for teaching Northumbria programmes including Conservation; Fine Art; Creative Industries Management; Visual

An artist’s impression of the Woon Gallery of Asian Art (interior)

Cultures; Fashion; History; and Design. It will also be used to develop a programme of workshops and school visits, which will be supported by educational materials.

MR WOON SAID: “MY BROTHERS AND I LOVE ART. WE SEE ART AS HAVING NO BARRIERS, BORDERS OR BOUNDARIES. “It is the universal language and the natural expression of the human mind, heart and soul. We believe that students should benefit from a liberal and broad-based education with art included,” Mr Woon added. “Accordingly, we believe that the Woon Gallery of Asian Art and its collection will inspire and enrich students and provide real impact on research, teaching and scholarship for Northumbria. We are confident that it will create new collaboration opportunities with other museums and overseas universities as well as positioning Northumbria as a world-class destination for art.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/arts

MR WEE TENG WOON

The Woon Foundation Art and Sculpture Prize The winner of this year’s Woon Prize will be announced at a prize-giving ceremony at the opening of the new Woon Gallery of Asian Art. Delivered jointly by Northumbria University, Newcastle, and BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, the Woon Foundation Prize is one of the UK’s most generous prizes for artists and has a total value of £40,000. The first prize is a £20,000 fellowship with a 12-month studio space in the Woon Tai Jee studio in Newcastle city centre. The yearlong fellowship includes mentoring from staff from both institutions and a final exhibition with catalogue at the end of the fellowship. There are also two generous runner-up prizes of £9,000 and £6,000. Last year’s first prize winner was the artist Joy Labinjo who

acted as one of the four judges for this year’s prize and who helped choose the 10 finalists. Professor Dean Hughes, Head of Northumbria’s Arts department was also among the judges for this year’s prize. “To be one of the judges for the Woon Prize in 2018 has been a thrilling experience. We saw a marvellously diverse body of work sent to us from undergraduate fine art students across the UK,” he said. “What I found particularly compelling was the drive to locate, and find, new ways and forms of creative expression, which was evident in much of the work we saw.” The winner of this year’s prize will be announced at a ceremony in the new Woon Gallery of Asian Art, Sandyford Building, City Campus, on 9 July to coincide with the opening of the new space.

CULTURE

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

Skills pay the bills

A PEACEFUL PROTEST

SKILL MILL WORKERS

Tackling religious hate crime on campus Northumbria has been named as a national partner in a new scheme to fight religious hate crime on university campuses. The University is one of 11 in the UK to receive a share of £480,000 funding from the Office for Students (OfS) as part of a new national network. Working together with students, the 11 universities will develop a series of innovative projects to counter religious-based hate crime and harassment. The projects will cover a wide range of activities, including training, awareness raising, and new approaches to prevention and reporting. Professor Mike Rowe, from the Department of Social Sciences, is leading Northumbria’s project. “We are delighted that Northumbria is working with the Office for Students and other universities to address problems of religiously-motivated hate crime on campus,” Mike said. “Our project involves us working closely with students to better understand the nature

of their experiences and to develop support for those directly affected. More widely, we will be developing ‘myth-busting’ materials around religious faith that will be used to promote a climate in which free and open debate can be had about sensitive matters, but in a manner that is respectful of different religious perspectives. “We want to help create an environment in which respect for students and staff who have religious faith, and those who have none, is fundamental. We will reconcile this with principles of free speech, dialogue and debate that are at the heart of university education.” The funding comes after 2016’s ‘Changing the Culture’ report by the Universities UK Harassment Task Force revealed the nature and scale of student safeguarding issues in higher education, and highlighted a clear need for

institutions to respond more effectively. Mike adds: “Much of what we will be doing will be based directly on work with our students, including those from overseas, working with our colleagues to help create learning and teaching materials. Our aim will be to boost understanding about different religious faiths and promote dialogue among our communities. In addition, it is exciting that we will be contributing to a network of colleagues from across the country to shape good practice in the sector more widely.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ socialsciences

“WE WANT TO HELP CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH RESPECT FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF WHO HAVE RELIGIOUS FAITH, AND THOSE WHO HAVE NONE, IS FUNDAMENTAL. WE WILL RECONCILE THIS WITH PRINCIPLES OF FREE SPEECH, DIALOGUE AND DEBATE THAT ARE AT THE HEART OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION.” PROFESSOR MIKE ROWE

A social enterprise project using research by Northumbria academics has received a share of £28m funding for its work supporting young ex-offenders into employment. The Skill Mill provides former young offenders aged 16 to 18 with paid jobs doing environmental work, improving their chances of long-term employment, and benefiting ther physical and mental wellbeing. It was set up in Newcastle as a partnership between the City Council and Environment Agency, and has since expanded across the UK and internationally. The Skill Mill is now set to receive funding from the Government’s Life Chances Fund, which launched in July 2016 to tackle social issues and help people who face significant barriers to leading happy and productive lives. Northumbria’s Department of Social Sciences has been supporting the Skill Mill by evaluating the impact of the project and will now lead an international team of multidisciplinary researchers to further assess this innovative idea as it expands following this latest funding. Sarah Soppitt, Faculty Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Learning and Teaching (Acting) said: “We have a Criminal Justice System in England that brings many young people into its fold, yet even when they are no longer offending rarely are they offered an opportunity to be seen or treated like young people. The label of an offender dominates. “The Skill Mill gives these young people the opportunities that are otherwise lacking, and ultimately the chance to lead a rewarding, crime-free life. Having been involved with The Skill Mill since its development, I am excited to be involved with this next stage, and to see if more young people can have positive life chances.”

DISCOVER MORE www.theskillmill.org

CULTURE

#TakeOnTomorrow

BAFTA nomination for mobile game Research has shown that one of the early symptoms of dementia is increased difficulties in finding your way around. In a search for new ways to understand how and when these changes in the brain occur, architects from Northumbria University were enlisted to codesign an interactive computer game, which has been helping to answer these questions. Sea Hero Quest was specifically designed to help advance understanding of how our brain can compute spatial navigation by monitoring people as they find their way around different levels and mazes in an underwater world. To date, over two million players have given permission for their gaming data to be used to measure their navigational abilities, helping researchers find new ways to test for symptoms of dementia. Sea Hero Quest was designed in collaboration by Northumbria

University, University College London, the University of East Anglia, Alzheimer’s Research UK, ETH Zurich and game designers, Glitchers. As a result of its intended use, it was shortlisted for the Game Beyond Entertainment title at BAFTA’s British Academy Games Awards. Professor Ruth Dalton, Head of the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, is an expert in building usability and ‘wayfinding’. She helped the game developers to design virtual levels which examine how people are finding their way around without getting lost. She explained: “In architectural research, we have developed a number of tools that can be used to measure how easy it is to navigate a particular building,

ARTWORK FROM SEA HERO QUEST

neighbourhood or street. We used these techniques to help create a series of increasingly more complex game levels, which act as a controlled environment to test people’s navigational ability. “The initial findings from the game play have been fascinating. To date, more than two million people have played the game, providing us with vast sources of data about how they move around and find their way in new environments. These findings

will enable scientists to establish a benchmark of normal ranges of navigational ability for people of certain ages, genders and nationalities, which can then be used to create data-based tests to check for any dementia-related decline. “We knew we were working on an innovative project, but to find out we have been nominated for a BAFTA award has been a real surprise. I’m sure this must be a first for an engineering department in a university!”

“TO DATE, MORE THAN TWO MILLION PEOPLE HAVE PLAYED THE GAME, PROVIDING US WITH VAST SOURCES OF DATA.” PROFESSOR RUTH DALTON

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ architecture

Festival reveals facts behind crime fiction Detectives, forensic scientists, lawyers and criminologists gave crime writers and readers a unique insight into their investigative expertise during Crime Story 2018 at Northumbria University.

AUTHOR DENISE MINA

Hosted by Northumbria and delivered in partnership with New Writing North, this innovative festival was headlined by Denise Mina, the awardwinning author of The Long Drop, Gods and Beasts and The End of Wasp Season. The day-long event featured sessions led by 15 experts, including Professor Dame Sue Black, one of the world’s leading forensic scientists, Detective Superintendent Steve Barron, and His Honour Judge Timothy Gittins. Crime Story also paired established writers with crime

experts to offer four unique creative writing workshops. These included Northumbria lecturer and author Tony Williams, teaming up with Professor Peter Francis, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Northumbria University and a leading criminologist, to deliver a session on writing from the victim’s perspective. Academics from Northumbria Law School also contributed to the workshops. Crime Story is a biennial festival and first took place in 2014, headlined by Ann Cleeves (Author of the Vera series). Two years later, the headliner was Paula

Hawkins, the best-selling author of The Girl on the Train. Professor Katy Shaw, Northumbria’s Professor of Contemporary Writings, chaired this year’s event: “I was delighted to host Crime Story 2018. This unique event unites leading experts from the fields of forensics, psychology, literature and policing to offer new and vital perspectives on why and how 21st century British society writes the crimes of our times.”

DISCOVER MORE www.crimestory.co.uk

FEATURE

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

The Conversation is a collaboration between news editors and academics to provide informed news analysis and commentary that’s free to read and republish. At Northumbria, our academics have been working with The Conversation to produce independent, quality current affairs journalism on some of the latest topics to hit the news. HERE ARE SOME OF OUR TOP PICKS

Will Self: why his report on the death of the novel is (still) premature

Leadership of unionists and loyalists that agreed peace in Northern Ireland is sadly lacking today

Katy Shaw, Professor of Contemporary Writings, discusses the ‘death’ of literary fiction and whether or not novels can withstand the challenges that the 21st century social media age throws at them.

Twenty years since the Good Friday Agreement, Connal Parr, Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, writes about the ongoing failure to restore devolved powersharing in Northern Ireland, and how it appears to remains easier to rely on old animosities than to lead people towards peace.

These ants have evolved a complex system of battlefield triage and rescue

Daryll Rowe’s sentence could change the law’s approach to HIV transmission

Mike Jeffries, Teaching Fellow in Ecology, looks at ant behaviour, and in particular Matabele ants, which have adopted a battlefield-like comradeship having been monitored by German researchers.

Cases like Daryll Rowe’s are very rare, but they have the power to transform both the law and public opinion. He was found guilty of intentionally infecting other men with HIV and was given a life sentence with a minimum of 12 years in prison. Cameron Giles, PhD Candidate in Law, looks at the case in detail and the law’s approach to HIV in the future.

Gene therapies are proving their worth, but with million dollar price tags, it’s not clear who should pay for them

Outrage at state violence buts Nicaragua’s president on notice

Gene therapy is increasing being used to treat a list of rare diseases, but this still raises the issue on how this can be made affordable. Sterghios Moschos, Associate Professor in Cellular and Molecular Sciences, discusses the financial implications of developing gene therapy treatments, and the successes and challenges that are faced for both researchers and patients.

By remorselessly crushing political dissent, Daniel Ortega has squandered his people’s goodwill and eroded his power base. With violent protests being carried out against social security reform, this has prompted a violent crackdown in Nicaragua. Hilary Francis, Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow in Global Challenges, discusses political discourse in Nicaragua and the government crackdown in violence.

#TakeOnTomorrow

FEATURE

Refugees can actually create jobs for locals in growing cities – if given the chance

Frederick Douglass: the ex-slave and transatlantic celebrity who found freedom in Newcastle

Aisling O’Loghlen, Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow in Global Challenges, looks at how city authorities can take straightforward measures to help refugees settle into cities and help existing residents at the same time.

Brian Ward, Professor in American Studies, discusses the African American abolitionist and ex-slave and celebrity, Frederick Douglass, who crossed the Atlantic 200 years ago and found freedom in the North East of England.

Could resurrecting mammoths help stop Arctic emissions?

Dating apps are in danger of confusing the justice system

Paul Mann, Senior Lecturer in Geography and Environmental Sciences, uncovers a 20-year-old experiment testing whether filling the Arctic tundra with animals could keep carbon trapped in the ground in a bid to tackle global climate change.

People are rarely honest when it comes to dating, especially when internet is involved. Cameron Giles, PhD Candidate in Law, discusses issues that surround dating apps and the justice system regarding online evidence.

How to talk about politics with your family

Earliest ever evidence of lead pollution found in the Balkans – from 3600BC

Billy Clark, Professor of English Language and Linguistics, Graham Hall, Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics/TESOL, and Sarah Duffy, Senior Lecturer in Languages and Linguistics, talk about the do’s and don’ts when discussing politics around the dinner table, and how to tackle tricky topics.

Vasile Ersek, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography at Northumbria University, and former PhD student Jack Longman, discuss their work which suggests the important role of the Balkans in medieval mining due to newlydiscovered evidence of lead pollution.

Civilisations: BBC reboot of Kenneth Clark’s 1960s classic is more diverse – but is it less challenging?

No more water stains – we found a new way to control evaporation using maths

Five decades on from when the original series was broadcasted, our idea of what makes civilisation has broadened. Matthew Potter, Reader and Associate Professor in Art and Design History explores the differences that the new series brings, and reflects on contemporary culture.

Microscopically engineering surfaces could stop water leaving behind rings of residue as it dries. Rodrigo Ledesma-Aguilar, Associate Professor in Engineering and Environment, discusses his involvement in the research of liquid droplets that cause water marks and how this could have an impact on every day applications.

BUSINESS

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

ABOUT ENACTUS

EBM STUDENT JONNY FORSEY

Northumbria students turn surplus supermarket food into business

Enactus is an international nonprofit organisation dedicated to inspiring students to improve the world through entrepreneurial action. Members of Enactus create and run community development projects that put people’s own ingenuity and talents at the centre of improving their livelihoods. The UK alone has over 59 Enactus teams, with over 2,690 students involved.

Jonny Forsey is an Entrepreneurial Business Management (EBM) student at Northumbria. He is also President of the Enactus Society – an international not-for-profit organisation dedicated to inspiring university students to improve the world through entrepreneurial action. Speaking to Northumbria University News, the 22-year-old explains how he has combined study and society work to help refugees turn surplus supermarket food into a business. “I have always been very entrepreneurial. When it came to university I wanted to do something different, so when I heard about Northumbria offering a degree around entrepreneurship, where students are encouraged to start their own businesses, it sounded perfect. During my first year I had the opportunity to start an Enactus Society at Northumbria (See About Enactus sidebar - right of page). Setting up the Enactus team was my first experience of managing people. In the first month we went from three members to 27 students. You could certainly say I felt I was way out of my depth. I had to find things for everyone to do! Fast forward one year and we now have 42 active members, running two social enterprise projects, which are creating

opportunities for refugees in our local community and also creating affordable desalination units for people who live in rural areas of Ghana. Our first project, Food4Future began late last year when we started volunteering at the Comfrey Project, a charity which works with refugees and people seeking asylum in the North East. Many have escaped the horrors of war and persecution in countries like Syria, Iran and Eritrea. Through a shared passion for gardening and the power of friendship, the Comfrey Project aims to increase their general wellbeing, confidence, selfesteem and purpose. Every Wednesday we would go to the Centre, talk to the refugees and have lunch with them. Being a student, I was used to eating ready meals and

tins of beans, so when I first tried the food at the Comfrey Project you could say it was somewhat of a shock to the system. It was so incredible! All the ingredients used were home-grown from the Centre’s garden. We had soups, curries, pastas and many other delicious dishes, often inspired by the refugees’ home countries. We soon learnt that many of the refugees were incredibly entrepreneurial. We had masseuses, cooks and gardeners and lots of other people who were highly skilled. However, they lacked the confidence and the knowledge to turn these talents into a commercial business. That is how we came up with an idea. What if we could combine the food from the Comfrey Project with a project that would give them

the relevant skills needed to set up their own businesses? And this is how we came up with Food4Future. We now work with Comfrey Project members to create and sell dishes, inspired by their own countries, through various popup events and in market stalls in and around Newcastle and Gateshead. We also wanted the project to be 100% sustainable, so through FareShare, we partnered with Tesco to receive their surplus food on a Monday night. Although it is still early days for Food4Future, we have successfully run a number of pop-up food stalls which have generated valuable income for the Comfrey Project, helping them to fund 12 weekly travel passes for their members. We have also offset 36kg of food from landfill and aim to

increase this further to 150kg. In addition to raising vital funds for the charity, the most rewarding aspect is seeing how the enterprise has helped to increase the confidence, business skills and sense of purpose for members on the group. We are now working with the Comfrey Project to expand our selling channels, so that we can provide more opportunities for the members to gain experience and generate new revenue streams. I feel as though the Food4Future project is off to an incredible start, the impact that we are making has been incredible and over the next six months we hope that this will increase dramatically.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ebm

BUSINESS

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(L TO R) NORTHUMBRIA BUSINESS STUDENT BETH KNIGHT WITH MICHAEL FARNSWORTH, MD AT BAM WORLDWIDE, ALONGSIDE BUSINESS CLINIC PROJECT PARTNERS JACK CALLAGHAN, LIAM COBLE, JOSEF CASSAR AND WILLIAM JOHNSON, MD AT BAM WORLDWIDE.

Online accessories retailer welcomes advice from business students BAM Worldwide Ltd, the North East-based company behind successful men’s online lifestyle accessory brand TORRO, recently teamed up with business students at Northumbria to explore diversification and new routes to market. Business partners William Johnson and Michael Farnsworth launched BAM, which specialises in the design, manufacture and delivery of premium quality leather cases and covers for mobile devices, in 2014. In just five years, the TORRO brand has secured a loyal customer base with sales worldwide and a turnover in excess of £2 million per annum. Aware they have only touched the surface of the e-commerce market and keen to keep innovating, William and Michael approached the Business Clinic at Newcastle Business School for advice. They tasked a team of four

final year business students to research growth potential, and conduct a feasibility study into the company’s plans to evolve the brand by adding complementary products to its range. William Johnson, BAM Worldwide managing director, said: “Working with the Business Clinic has been a great experience for us. Enlisting the support of bright young minds along with the knowledge and insights they bring has been a transformative process for us. We are a small team and when you work at the coalface it can be difficult to step out and see the bigger picture to create new opportunities. We created TORRO

to cater to style conscious men, who want good quality products at affordable prices. “We wanted to know if our strategy to create a new and exclusive range of gents’ leather accessories would enable us to sell at a higher price point. Our project brief focused on two key elements. Firstly, how can we boost our online presence in the USA and Europe, and secondly, to look at how we can take TORRO from the internet to the high street in a manner which fits our brand values. “The report and recommendations the team produced are excellent, realistic and implementable. I think

the Business Clinic model is a great idea that everybody benefits from. It has been fantastic for us to tap into emerging business talent, and to know that we are helping the students with their studies.” The Business Clinic involves groups of students forming a ‘consultancy firm’ to provide free advice to clients. The service is available to all types of businesses from SMEs and multinationals to charities and third sector organisations. Nigel Coates, Director of the Business Clinic, said: “BAM Worldwide and their TORRO product range is a North East success story and we are extremely

At which university did the designer of the iPhone design an award-winning phone?

proud to work with them. Since we launched the Business Clinic five years ago we have seen over 900 students work with and advise more than 220 organisations. “The Business Clinic is an extremely innovative education scheme, providing our students with an invaluable opportunity to develop advantageous skills and ultimately improve their chances of securing highly-desirable jobs when they graduate.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ businessclinic

SCIENCE

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

Reach for the stars

A BLACK HOLE

Magnetic fields of expertise What do the Rings of Saturn, black holes and hurricanes have in common? The answer, in this case, is Northumbria’s Dr Oleg Kirillov. The mathematical physicist has been researching the impact of magnetic fields on the movement of gases and liquids, including the rotating flow of particles found in weather systems like hurricanes and tornadoes. These flows are called ‘Keplerian’ because the particles obey Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, which describe the movement of planets around the sun. Dr Kirillov’s latest findings have been featured in Proceedings of the Royal Society A – The Royal Society’s research journal for Mathematical, Physical and Engineering sciences. His work builds on research carried out by the physicist and Nobel prize winner Lord Rayleigh, the results of which were coincidentally published in the same journal 100 years ago. A Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow at Northumbria, Dr Kirillov has explored the impact a magnetic field, such as that found around planets, stars and galaxies, has on the

flow of electrically charged particles. In particular, he looked at the difference it made when the material rotating was either a good or a poor conductor of electricity. The results of his work could have real world impact in a broad variety of areas, including helping meteorologists to more accurately predict the formation of cyclones. “In astrophysics, almost every celestial body has a magnetic field, and this can affect the ionised matter around it, meaning it can change the direction and speed the matter moves at,” Dr Kirillov explained. “This process occurs in industry as well as nature, with a magnetic field often used to control the flow of liquid metal when casting for example. “It is quite natural therefore to mimic the movement of electrically charged particles around a star or planet in experiments with a rotating flow of a liquid metal. My academic colleagues in Germany conduct

such experiments in order to find magnetic fields that would make turbulent the otherwise stable Keplerian flows, as was already predicted by Lord Rayleigh.” He added “In my work, I have developed a theory helping to specify such magnetic fields without expensive numerical calculations. My latest research investigates the subtle role that a competition between the losses of energy, due to electrical resistivity and viscosity of the flow, plays in finding the correct parameters of the destabilising magnetic field. “It turned out that a singular surface known as the ‘Whitney umbrella’ governs the right choice of the parameters and can guide both the experimental and numerical research no matter whether the material of the rotating flow is a poor or good conductor of electricity.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/physics

DANIEL K INOUYE TELESCOPE IN HAWAII

Physicists from around the world have gathered at Northumbria to discuss the development of the world’s largest solar telescope. Northumbria is one of eight UK institutions involved in the $344 million (£220m) Daniel K Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) project. The telescope, which is currently under construction in Hawaii, is expected to be in use from 2020. With a four-metre diameter primary mirror, DKIST will provide scientists with never-beforeseen views of the surface of the Sun and help increase our understanding of phenomena such as solar flares. During the recent event at Northumbria, global experts from around the world came together to discuss the questions DKIST should address when it becomes operational. Northumbria has invested £100,000 into the project and is part of a UK consortium, led by Queen’s University Belfast, which is working to support the development of the telescope’s instrument detectors. Dr Eamon Scullion, of Northumbria’s Solar Physics

research group, said: “Northumbria’s role in the project is to develop software which will be used to extract data from the telescope, providing key insight into the physical mechanisms responsible for energy transfer in the Sun’s atmosphere and how this relates to solar variability. This includes the generation of space weather, including solar flares, which can disrupt communications and even affect electrical power supplies on Earth.” Professor Glen McHale, Northumbria’s Pro ViceChancellor (Engineering and Environment), added: “Our courses are at the forefront of current knowledge and practice and are shaped by worldleading and internationally excellent research. “Being involved in the DKIST project means our academics and students have the opportunity to take part in truly ground-breaking research, both during this construction phase and once the telescope is operational.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk

SCIENCE

#TakeOnTomorrow

THE UNIRACER TEAM WITH DR ULUGBEK AZIMOV (CENTRE, STANDING)

The Formula for success A team of engineering students are racing to build an electric car for the national Formula Student competition. A multi-university competition managed by the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Formula Student (FS) is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their creativity and engineering skills by designing and building a small ‘Formula One’ style racing car. Northumbria’s team is made up of Mechanical, Automotive and Electrical Engineering students John Mills, Alex Damms, Louis Matthews, Matt Capon and Nathan Washington and has been named UNIRACER (University of Northumbria Intelligent RAcing Crew of Eminent Reputation). The team is supervised by Dr

Ulugbek Azimov, Northumbria’s’ programme leader for Automotive Engineering. “Formula Student is a fantastic competition that teaches students so much about the practical application of engineering. The competition provides a platform to learn mechanical and automotive engineering theories and develop new techniques,” Dr Azimov said. “In the majority of institutions, the actual design and build of the FS car is separated out of the academic activity and is the role of volunteers. For Northumbria, however, FS activities have been

integrated into the automotive engineering curriculum. “The project provides an opportunity for students to produce concept designs, and develop these into detailed designs and build a physical car prototype. The FS activities also respond to a growing need from industry for university courses to provide experience in applying theoretical understanding to real problems. “As FS is delivery focused, the students are required to make design decisions and, more importantly, make them work. FS is teaching the students to

make sensible decisions and offering a ‘work-like’ experience to team members prior to their graduation.” Although FS activities at Northumbria are linked to specific modules the students are currently studying at the University, the project is open to any academics and students who are interested and would like to get involved, especially those with skills in electronics, control, body design, aerodynamics and manufacturing. The student team has also received support from Northumbria technicians, in particular Phil Donnelly,

David Sibbald, Sam Hutchinson, Simon Neville and Martin Purvis. As well as designing and building their car, the UNIRACER team also needs to raise funds for the project and they are currently looking for sponsors and industrial partners to help. To find out more contact Dr Ulugbek Azimov at ulugbek.azimov@ northumbria.ac.uk.

“FORMULA STUDENT IS A FANTASTIC COMPETITION THAT TEACHES STUDENTS SO MUCH ABOUT THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF ENGINEERING.” DR ULUGBEK AZIMOV

DISCOVER MORE www.imeche.org/events/ formula-student

#TakeOnTomorrow

SPORT

Northumbria University NEWS • Summer 2018

“MY MASTERS AT NORTHUMBRIA OPENED THE DOOR TO SO MANY UNBELIEVABLE EXPERIENCES” ALISON GORRELL

ALISON GORRELL

Bringing out the best of the best

AUSTRALIA’S GOLD COAST

After preparing elite athletes for this year’s Commonwealth Games in Australia, Sport and Exercise Psychology student Alison Gorrell talks to Northumbria University News about her key role as mental coach for Scotland’s international volleyball team. Alison, who chose to pursue her Masters in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Northumbria, works closely with the Scotland Men’s National Beach Volleyball team. The team competes in tournaments around the world and most recently took part in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She also works as the mental coach for Sunderland AFC Ladies. Passionate about working with athletes at an elite level, Alison combines her physical prowess as a professional basketball player with her skills in sport psychology. “The main functions of the sport psychologist can vary depending on the nature of the sport,” she said. “For beach volleyball, because there are only two people on a team, it is imperative for them to have a high level of communication and cohesion as they depend on each other at every single point and need to be on the same page, so that was a huge focus the past year.

“For the Commonwealth Games I did individual sessions, group player sessions and team sessions alongside coaches, a physiotherapist and the strength and conditioning coach. These sessions included how to deal with pressure, team cohesion, mental preparation, goal setting, and other mental training. “Before competitions we would have visualisation sessions and mental preparation talks. I would also use relaxation techniques to help players shut off from the hectic environment.” Alison, who plays for Team Northumbria in the Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL), chose Northumbria to further her studies after completing a Bachelor of Arts at Florida Atlantic University in the United States. “I chose Northumbria initially for the basketball programme,” she said “I was fortunate to get in contact with Team Northumbria coach Chris Bunten after my senior year in college in

America and accepted the offer to be able to play in the WBBL and complete my masters. “After completing my degree I plan to continue playing basketball professionally in Europe for the next couple of years. While I play I hope to continue working with athletes as their mental coach and when I finish playing basketball I hope to pursue a career in coaching or sport psychology further.” A masters degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Northumbria provides the first stage of practitioner training needed to become recognised as a Sport and Exercise Psychologist. This British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited masters degree will help students to develop the advanced psychological knowledge needed to understand critical issues in sport and physical activity, from recreational to elite level. “My masters at Northumbria opened the door to so many

unbelievable experiences,” added Alison. “I was able to get hands-on experience and meet a lot of high-level athletes that have high aspirations. “It opened my eyes to greater opportunities within the industry while providing me with the academic foundation required to become a Sport and Exercise Psychologist. Having international work experience as well as a masters degree will help jumpstart my career.”

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbria.ac.uk/ sportandexercise

Team Northumbria Women’s Basketball Coach Chris Bunten was selected as England’s Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in April. Chris joined England player Hannah Shaw, who is also a Leadership & Management student at Northumbria. The pair formed part of England’s silver medal-winning team, narrowly missing out on gold to the home nation, in the final of the women’s basketball tournament.

SPORT

#TakeOnTomorrow

COLIN STROMSOY DIRECTOR OF SPORT

SPORT ON THE BALL Northumbria’s sports stars have celebrated another landmark year. More than 400 students and staff came together at Newcastle’s Civic Centre for the annual Northumbria Sports Ball. Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) Professor Jon Reast recognised another 12 months of sporting success for the University in his opening speech, before handing over to Northumbria student sport president for 2017/18, KerryAnne Hastings. Reflecting on her tenure as student sport president, she said: “I have enjoyed four amazing years here but the last 12 months in my current role has really capped it off. “It’s been an amazing year for sport at the University and I’ve loved every minute – meeting so many inspirational student athletes, passionate coaches and incredible staff. “Every one of the award winners deserve recognition but sport at Northumbria is about celebrating success across the board.” A total of 14 award winners were revealed on the night, following a year packed with sporting successes. Northumbria hope to finish in the top 10 of the BUCS national rankings with eighth place in their sights,

and they also defeated fierce rivals Newcastle University by a record margin to claim a fifth successive Stan Calvert Cup win. Northumbria University’s Director of Sport Colin Stromsoy said: “I am so proud to be in this role and to work with so many committed teams and individuals. “Everyone involved with Northumbria Sport epitomises the ethos of Take On Tomorrow and the annual Sports Ball is evidence of a community striving for excellence now and in the future.” Alongside Northumbria’s performance sport teams, the University offers a range of courses in sport, including specialist programmes in exercise and rehabilitation and sport management. These cutting-edge courses, informed by pioneering sports research and the success of the University’s sports teams, has helped build Northumbria’s reputation as one of the UK’s leading institutions for sport.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbriasport.com

THIS YEAR’S WINNERS The Commitment To Sport award was won by Team Northumbria basketball star and Volunteer Zambia student Jack Preston. The Northumbria Sport Volunteer award went to Hannah Dawson, recognising her dedication to the Northumbria Sport Foundation’s Knockout Sisters project and her involvement with this year’s Volunteer Zambia team. The NORTH Individual Performance of the Year went to powerlifting’s Stephanie Carrillo-Chavez after she broke seven divisional and eight regional records this year on her way to selection for the Great Britain team. The Team Northumbria Individual Performance award

AWARD SPONSOR, AND ALUMNUS ROSS LINNETT OF ARCH (CENTRE) PRESENTS THE TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD TO VOLLEYBALL.

was won by BUCS Super Rugby captain Oli Robinson. Turn to the back page to read more about the University’s rugby success. NORTH Coach of the Year went to boxing’s Callum Blades after he oversaw the growth of the programme from 30 students to 67. Dave Goodchild won the Team Northumbria Coach of the Year prize after he guided his men’s and women’s volleyball squads to nine out of 10 domestic titles in 2018. Other awards included Stan Calvert Performance of the Year, which went to the Men’s Tennis second team. NORTH Karate claimed the Club Competitive Performance of the Year award. The Women’s firsts table tennis team

completed the treble in 2018 and their efforts were rewarded with the Team Northumbria Team of the Year prize. Men’s and women’s volleyball firsts clinched the Premier Tier/ National League Team of the Year. Meanwhile, coach Claire Harper picked up the NORTH Club of the Year prize after wheelchair basketball enjoyed a standout 12 months. Rugby League were popular winners of the Team Northumbria Sport of the Year award and the awards came to a close with the presentation of Sports Personality of the Year to women’s football star Lizzie Patterson.

DISCOVER MORE www.northumbriasport.com

BRINGING OUT THE BEST Summer 2018 • Northumbria.ac.uk

Issue 16

Northumbria Sport student helps train Commonwealth Games volleyball stars. Page 38

RUGBY UNION SUCCESS

Tackling success head on Northumbria’s rugby players have capped an outstanding year by winning a series of prestigious awards, including UK student club of the year. During a hugely successful 2017/18, the University’s men’s first team finished runners-up in the British Universities Colleges and Sport (BUCS) Super Rugby season and made the quarterfinals of the playoffs. Following the season, four Northumbria players were named in the final England Students squad to face France in two internationals. And at the end of season awards, Northumbria was officially recognised as the most improved team in the country after being named Rugby Union (RFU) student club of the year. The team’s skipper Oli Robinson also received the coveted 2017/18 Player Of The Year award, with votes cast by Super Rugby coaches and captains across the UK.

Northumbria’s Director of Sport, Colin Stromsoy, said the men’s first team, coached by Darren Fearn, deserved their awards success for their impressive progress across the board. “There is no doubt that Rugby Union has been one of the biggest success stories of the year,” said Colin. “The progress that Darren and his players have made has been nothing short of outstanding and the club fully deserves these plaudits. I don’t think anyone outside Northumbria expected such a successful season but a strong work ethic and determination to improve has paid huge dividends. “Northumbria has a strong heritage when it comes to

student Rugby Union and we are here to stay.” Oli Robinson, Josh Bragman, Will Muir and George Wacokecoke all made the BUCS Super Rugby Team Of The Year, an award recognising the best players in each position nationally. In addition, teammate James Christie was named on the bench. Meanwhile, Robinson, Bragman, Wacokecoke and Jake Ellwood trained with the England Rugby Students national team last month ahead of international games against France. The University’s achievements in student Rugby Union follow another hugely successful year for Northumbria Sport, which included a landslide victory win in the Stan Calvert Cup.

Each year, this month-long, multi-sport competiton sees Northumbria take on rivals Newcastle University, with this year’s competition ending in a 80-22 victory for Northumbria. This was Northumbria’s fifth victory over Newcastle University in five years.

“THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT RUGBY UNION HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST SUCCESS STORIES OF THE YEAR.” COLIN STROMSOY DIRECTOR OF SPORT

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