QMStudentSeptember2010

September 2010

Queen Mary sees rise in student satisfaction According to the 2010 National Student Survey, the overall satisfaction rate among students at Queen Mary, rose from 85 per cent to 86 per cent, four per cent higher than the national average.

geography (98%), film studies (97%); English (95%), law (94%), history (93%), drama (92%), physics and astronomy (92%) and mechanical, production and manufacturing engineering (92%).

Following a steady two-year improvement, Queen Mary is now ranked joint second among multi-faculty higher education institutions in London.

“The College pays very close attention to its National Student Survey results and works consistently to ensure that all students have the best possible learning experience at Queen Mary,” says Professor Morag Shiach, Vice-Principal and Executive Dean (Humanities and Social Science),

The College also achieved high satisfaction in many subject areas, including: human

“We were particularly pleased to see significant improvements in students’ levels of satisfaction with assessment and feedback and with academic support, as these are areas on which we have focused over the past couple of years.”

Over 252,000 final-year students took part in this year’s National Student Survey (NSS), which is published annually by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce).

Online jobshop for Queen Mary students goes local Students at Queen Mary can now access a new improved online vacancy system for part time and full time work, graduate schemes, internships and voluntary opportunities.

QM JobOnline can be viewed at www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/jobs.

The database, which is updated every day, contains hundreds of opportunities. This autumn there will also be jobs on-campus and local to Queen Mary. You can search by job sector and job type to find a position that best suits your needs.

Emily Huns, Head of Queen Mary Careers says: “We’re really pleased the QM JobOnline site now has a dedicated section for jobs on-campus and in the local area. Part-time work is of prime importance to our students; not only does it provide much needed extra cash, it can build the sorts of skills and work experience needed for graduate employment.”

For more information about this and other careers services on campus, go to www.careers.qmul.ac.uk

Queen Mary Student: a newsletter for you

Latest news

Celebrating Summer 2010 Graduation!

“ From day one I found great social networks to be formed within my classes and within other aspects of the student population. I will cherish the memories and savour the moments.”

Michael Jones (Geography, 2010)

“ My three years here have been very memorable and have nurtured me to achieve things that were previously unknown or seemed impossible to me.” Cheen Peen Khoo (PhD Medicine, 2010)

“ With all that Queen Mary has offered these past three years, and the lifelong friends I have made, I will miss every aspect of my time here immensely.”

Mehreen Khalid (Biomedical Sciences, 2010)

Queen Mary Student: a newsletter for you

Latest news Facebook mentoring proves to be a popular resource For those undergraduates embarking on a year abroad as part of their degree, it is money management, worries about whether their language skills are up to scratch and loneliness that top the list of concerns, according to research by the Learning Institute at Queen Mary.

Of those students surveyed, researchers noted that 96 per cent already use Facebook, so decided a dedicated page on the social network site was a good way to ensure those students could stay connected, and keep up to speed on departmental news, despite their geographical distance from staff and from each other.

As Facebook is a social space, researchers were aware that students might feel a sense of conflict if academics or departmental administrators encroached on the site to answer queries or post information. Researchers therefore decided on an e-mentoring model, working with the modern languages departments at Queen Mary to hand-pick suitable fourth-year students who had completed the year abroad programme who could work as ‘mentors’ on the Facebook page. For one hour a week, mentors answer questions posted on the group’s page, and keep discussions flowing. For further information on Facebook mentoring, please contact Graham Thomas, graham. thomas@qmul.ac.uk.

Library update New Teaching Collection of in-demand books created at Mile End Library A new collection of the books most indemand by undergraduates is being created at Mile End Library, which will provide easy access to high demand books included on course reading lists. The Collection is currently on the Second Floor in the North Reading Room of the Mile End Library, but will move to new purpose-built accommodation on the Ground Floor when it re-opens following the refurbishment.

Changes to Library service hours There have been some minor changes to Library Welcome Desk service hours, particularly at Whitechapel Library.

Check the Library website at www.library.qmul.ac.uk for more information about these or any other services the Library provides.

Queen Mary Student: a newsletter for you

Latest news Queen Mary Photography

Competition 2010

The Queen Mary Photography Competition 2010 is now open for entries. Please visit the website at www.photocomp.qmul.ac.uk for more information.

There will be an overall 1st prize of £400, with runner-up prizes of £100 in each category.

The closing date for entries is Thursday 11 November 2010.

Winners will be announced on Thursday 2 December 2010.

To enter all you need to do is capture life at Queen Mary in any of the 6 categories: • Queen Mary CAMPUSES • Queen Mary PEOPLE • Queen Mary AT WORK • Queen Mary RESEARCH • Queen Mary AT PLAY • East London LIFE Entrants can each submit a maximum of three photos in total.

The website will give you further description of the categories, which we encourage you to make reference to before taking your photo/s.

If you have any queries, please contact Kate Ashenden, via k.ashenden@qmul.ac.uk.

Interested in a career in the City?

Are you a graduate or undergraduate living in Hackney? Do you want to know which skills you need for a career in the City? Then you can register, free of charge, for a place on the...

Wednesday 20 October 1.00pm – 3.30pm Spaces are limited, so register now.

Deadline 12 October 2010

Royal London Asset Management For more information and to book (RLAM) Networking Skills Workshop a place please call Dean Robinson RLAM is one of the UK’s leading fund management companies, managing investment, pension fund and other assets on behalf of a wide range of clients. RLAM are offering local undergraduates and graduates a unique insight into networking skills and how to network including the benefits of networking, where to start / leave a group, face-to-face networking, electronic networking, using your contacts and when networking goes wrong.

on 020 7068 6960 or email dean.robinson@elba-1.org.uk

The workshop is part of East London Business Alliance (ELBA) City Business Club Programme. City Business Club, is funded by the City of London Corporation as part of its commitment to bridging the gap between the City and its neighbours.

Queen Mary Student: a newsletter for you

Research brief Eating a sensible diet improves lung health research shows Research led by Seif Shaheen, Professor of Respiratory Epidemiology at The School of Medicine and Dentistry, has revealed that steering clear of full-fat, fried, and processed foods is not just good for overall health, it could help prevent chronic lung conditions.

The study – involving 1,551 men and 1,391 women with an average age of 66 – showed that those whose diet favoured fresh fruit and vegetables, oily fish and wholegrain products had far better lung function than those who chose a diet high in fat, sugar and processed food.

The first arrivals ancient Britons were the earliest North Europeans Delving deep into our past, archaeologists and palaeontologists have unearthed the earliest evidence of human occupation in Britain.

Ancient humans occupied Britain over 800,000 years ago, marking the first known settlement in northern Europe, far earlier than previously thought. The new evidence was unearthed by a team with scientists and archaeologists from the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, Queen Mary, and University College London at an archaeological dig in East Anglia.

Physical geographer Dr Simon Lewis, from the School of Geography, has a geological role on the Happisburg dig.

Involved in the project since 2005, Dr Lewis is responsible for describing and interpreting sediments and establishing the sequence in which the archaeological and environmental evidence is placed.

Synthetic bone graft recruits stem cells for faster bone healing Professor Joost de Bruijn from the School of Engineering and Materials Science along with collaborators from the University of Twente, Netherlands, have developed a material for bone grafts that could one day replace the ‘gold standard’ natural bone implants.

A new study shows how particles of a ceramic called calcium phosphate have the ability to stimulate promising bone regrowth by attracting stem cells and ‘growth factors’ to promote healing and the integration of the grafted tissue.

Queen Mary Student: a newsletter for you

Research brief Scientists hope Cosmic Vision will find distant planets The UK Space Agency has awarded £3.65million to help scientists prepare for three new space missions, including one hoping to find Earth-like planets in deep space, supported by Queen Mary.

Professor Ian Roxburgh from Queen Mary’s Astronomy Unit is working with scientists from five other UK institutions on the PLATO (PLanetary Transits and

Even bees need a break Bees observe strict working hours even when the sun shines all day and night, according to new research from the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences. Professor in Sensory and Behavioural Ecology, Lars Chittka, and researcher, Ralph Stelzer, made the discovery while studying bumblebees (Bombus terrestris and Bombus pascuorum) in northern Finland, where the sun shines 24 hours a day, for several weeks during the summer.

Chittka and Stelzer speculate that the bees have a way of telling the time without relying on the obvious change between day and night. “Our discovery suggests the insects may be sensitive to light intensity and quality or subtle changes in temperature,” said Chittka.

Speaking about the possible advantages gained by taking some time off, the researchers said, “Despite the light, temperatures do fall during the Arctic ‘night’, so it may be that the bees need to return to their nests in order to warm their brood. Also, it has been suggested that a period of sleep helps the bees to remember information gained during the day’s foraging.”

Oscillations of Stars) mission that seeks to identify potentially habitable ‘exoplanets’, which orbit stars other than our own Sun. In June 2011, the scientists will learn which two of the three missions will be built and launched between 2017 and 2020 as part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision programme.

Festival reveals why Shakespeare is German Queen Mary is collaborating with the Globe Theatre and the Goethe-Institut London on an autumn season of events celebrating Germany’s great love of Shakespeare, beginning on 7 October 2010.

“It might surprise people to know that more Shakespeare plays are performed on German stages than in the Bard’s home of England. His work has been translated and popularised by many German literary giants of the past 400 years, from Goethe to Nietzsche,” explains Professor Rüdiger Görner, Head of the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film at Queen Mary. “Much German vocabulary comes from Shakespeare and he is so revered in Germany that he has been adopted by the German people as one of their own heroes in literature.”

Queen Mary Student: a newsletter for you

MySIS Welcome to MySIS - Student Information System Queen Mary has recently started using a new Student Information System (SIS) to handle the records and processes relating to your programme of study and personal details. You are now able to access and amend parts of your record yourself, and it is important that you do log-in to check that your personal details, such as address information, are correct.

MySIS The student-facing part of the SIS is called MySIS, and holds all of the central information associated with your studies. You can log-in to MySIS with your usual computer username and password at https:// mysis.qmul.ac.uk As well as updating information, MySIS also holds many of the key processes that you need to complete as a student, including preenrolment (for new students), re-enrolment (for returning students), and module registration. Check your Queen Mary email account regularly for messages telling you the start and end dates for these processes.

You will re-enrol in September this year. Make sure that you check your College email account regularly, as we will send you more information and a link to re-enrolment in MySIS over the summer. New students were asked to pre-enrol online during August and early September.

Module registration

Re-enrolment

This year will be the first time that you will be able to select your modules online, through MySIS, rather than filling in forms. Any compulsory or core modules will be pre-selected (you cannot delete or change these), and you will also be able to select from a specified range of modules appropriate to your programme of study. You can submit comments with your selection to assist your adviser in the approval process.

The first thing that returning students will be able to access through MySIS will be re-enrolment. All returning students need to re-enrol at the start of each academic year. Re-enrolment is already an online process, but you will find that the screens look slightly different in MySIS this year.

You will also be able to ‘undo’ your initial selection and submit a revised selection for re-approval, but your final module selection must be confirmed by the specified deadline and when you undo your selection you will risk losing your place on popular modules,

so you should avoid or limit the use of undo if you can.

Once you have made your selections, you will need to submit them for approval by your adviser or departmental administrator. The final outcome of your selections will be confirmed to you by email.

Personal details and programme maintenance MySIS will let you update your address and contact details online throughout the year, saving you a trip to Registry. Just log-in to your MySIS account, and make the changes.

We are also working to let you manage changes to your programme of study online in the future, which will let you make amendments at a time that is convenient for you.

Resitting Assessment If you have the option of resitting assessment from the previous academic year, you can log-in to MySIS to confirm whether or not you want to take up the opportunity.