The Brighton Effect Magazine Issue 31

MEET BRIGHTON’S TITANS

Fox Fisher, Emma Howie, Alison Lapper MBE, Carmen Nibigira and Adam Pearson

WHAT’S NEW? 2014 in review

STICK WITH US!

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Welcome

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Welcome to

The Brighton Effect.

It’s been a busy year for me. Highlights have included publishing my fourth novel, and LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER, a massive online project that ended up involving nearly 22,000 members of the public in creating a new memorial to the dead of the First World War. Part of the early development of the project was done right here with students from the University of Brighton and one of them, Emily Duke (English Literature), has just had her contribution published in an anthology drawn from the project alongside work by Andrew Motion, Sheila Hancock and Dawn French. Not bad! Go online at www.1418NOW.org.uk/letter to find out more.

Working with the students on that project reminded me of why I’m so proud to be a Brighton alumnus – and why I was delighted to have been asked to be the guest editor of this issue. Being a Brighton student isn’t just about acquiring employable skills, though the place does a pretty good job of that; it’s also very much about getting yourself equipped to become a fully alive citizen. The stories in this issue are full of achievements that are personal as much as they are professional. Whatever field they choose to work in, the Brighton-educated, it seems, really know how to go for it.

Proud to be one of yours,

Neil Bartlett OBE Honorary Doctor of Arts 2013 www.neil-bartlett.com

Contents 01

Welcome Guest editorial by Neil Bartlett OBE.

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Alumni news There’s been a lot happening over the last year and here’s our roundup of some of your achievements.

Well done all.

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University news

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Alumni services: are you missing out?

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Updates on activities around the campuses and some of the projects where Brighton is leading the way.

There is so much we can offer you after you have finished your studies.

Are you making the most of your alumni association?

Brighton’s titans Be inspired by our some of our alumni who challenge adversity, embrace diversity and rewrite the rules in their quests for success.

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Thrilling times Award-winning author and honorary graduate Peter James on crime, scholarships and why he became a University of Brighton ambassador.

Brighton in the community As a multi-campus university, working closely with our neighbours means a lot.

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The changing face of our campus

We’re moving forwards and here’s how…

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Welcome back!

Nostalgia, networking, camaraderie – just some of the things experienced by our returning alumni this year.

The Brighton Effect is published by the University of Brighton Alumni Association Third Floor, 154–155 Edward Street Brighton BN2 0JG, UK +44(0)1273 642600 alumni@brighton.ac.uk www.brighton.ac.uk/alumni The views expressed in the magazine are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent those of the University of Brighton.

Editor Sarah Grant Designer Sam James, Mark Toynbee, Contributors Faye Brown, Sam Davies, Rachel Fuller, Solveig Grover, Julie Howell, Claire Kidd, Nikki Mason, David Smith, Melissa Turpin Printed by Sterling Cover image Alison Lapper MBE riding Super Ted kindly arranged with the generous help of Mid Sussex Riding for the Disabled (RDA) and Chestnuts Riding School, photographed by Andy Weekes © University of Brighton 2015. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior consent of the publishers.

To enquire about receiving this magazine in other formats, please contact us on +44(0)1273 642600 or email alumni@brighton.ac.uk.

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Alumni news

Congratulations to…

Faik Aktulga (International Event Management MSc 2014) on his interactive enterprise, Wild Fangs, educating children about exotic animals. http://bit.ly/1sWGK7i Maria Allen (Graphic Design BA(Hons) 2011) for reaching the finals of Lloyds Bank Enterprise Awards with her business Maria Allen Boutique. www.mariaallenboutique.com Kelly Angood (Illustration BA(Hons) 2010) on launching her pinhole camera kit, VIDDY, to the public. thepopuppinholecompany.com Wesley Ankrah (Criminology and Sociology BA(Hons) 2012) on organising a taster day at the School of Applied Social Sciences to raise aspirations for the youths he works with at Catch 22 – a charity which works with 16–19-year-olds who have been in trouble with the law or are at risk of becoming so. www.catch-22.org.uk Gemma Antrobus (International Hospitality Management BA(Hons) 2001), on being elected the first female chair of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) Specialist Travel Agents.

Gresham Blake (Fashion Design with Business Studies BA(Hons) 2000) for releasing his first graphic novel, The Time Tailor, The Battle for Fashion. www.facebook.com/ GreshamBlakeLtd Emily Brookes (Product Design BSc(Hons) 2011) on having her Blaze Laserlight listed in The Independent’s 10 best bike lights. https://www.blaze.cc/ laserlight/ David Coleman (Sport and Exercise Science MSc 2014) on being selected for the Team GB Bobsleigh at Sochi Winter Olympics.

Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) (British Studies BA 1985) on the success of Here Lies Love, a revolutionary musical, produced in collaboration with Talking Heads’ David Byrne. http://herelieslove.com/

Rescue effort in Gaza Peter Skelton (Rehabilitation Science MSc 2008) led a team of Britons to rehabilitate patients injured in the Gaza conflict.

As Rehabilitation Project Manager for Handicap International UK, an international aid organisation, Peter joined other British medical specialists to help over 11,000 Palestinians who have been injured during the war between Israel and Hamas. www.handicap-international.org.uk

It’s a rap Jack Derbyshire (Digital Music and Sound Arts BA(Hons) 2012) aka Jakaboski made national headlines when he became the first ever rapper to be admitted to the prestigious Guildhall School of Music. Jack’s impressive audition earned him a place on the Masters in Leadership programme, which encourages musicians to work with aspiring performers in their local community.

Jack commented: “By going to Guildhall I’m not losing a sense of who I am or where I’m from. Guildhall will open doors and give me the opportunity to bring that culture and its ideals to others.” @JakaBoski

Transplant alumna racks up £13k Less than two years after receiving a double-lung transplant, Amanda Chalmers (3D Materials Practice BA(Hons) 2011) ran the Brighton Marathon. Amanda, who was born with cystic fibrosis (CF) and who needed oxygen 24/7 while studying for her degree, raised more than £13,000 for the CF Trust.

Amanda (middle), now a successful jeweller, was joined by fellow graduates Ed Bending (second from right), Yasin Dean (right), Andy Hehir, current student Hannah Jones (left) and friends Amy Baigent and Sarah Walker (second left). Commenting on her achievement, Amanda said: "It was a great day, the atmosphere and the crowds were amazing and I eventually made it round! I would like to thank the rest of the team who did amazingly and in particular would like to thank my organ donor and their family – none of this would have been possible if it weren't for them."

Wheely quick physio Physiotherapist Dylan Woodhead (Rehabilitation Science MSc 2012) uses a novel way to beat traffic congestion to reach his patients.

He shaves as much as 15 minutes off his journey between patients by hopping on his skateboard.

Dylan, who deals with balance issues with his patients, advocated his mode of transport: “Skateboarding is a very apt sport for physios. It requires incredibly good position-perception, balance, muscle strength and agility.”

Alumni news

Honorary graduates

Looking good

Congratulations to…

Grant Crossley (Building Surveying BSc(Hons) 2010) who has been nominated for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) young surveyor of the year.

As always it was a great pleasure to welcome some inspiring individuals to the university community at our award ceremonies this year.

• Professor Dame Valerie Beral DBE – Doctor of Medicine • Paul Bramwell – Honorary Fellow • Martin Faussett – Doctor of Engineering • Simon Fuller – Doctor of Letters • Anji Hunter – Doctor of Letters • Phil Jones – Master of Letters • Alison Lapper MBE – Doctor of Arts • Dame Alison Peacock DBE – Doctor of Letters • Liz Redfern CBE – Doctor of Science • John Shaw – Master of Law • Ian Stewart – Doctor of Science • Wolfgang Suschitzky – Doctor of Arts • Michael Thomson – Doctor of Arts.

Beth Dawson (Sequential Design/Illustration MA 2013) on becoming joint runner-up in the Jonathan Cape/Observer/ Comica graphic short story competition 2014, with her creation, After Life. bethmadethis.co.uk/

Home makeover fans may recognise Sophie Robinson (Wood, Metal, Plastic and Ceramics BA(Hons) 1997) who is one of the judges on BBC2’s The Great Interior Design Challenge.

Sweet success It has been a hectic year for self-confessed chocoholic, Sophie Frost (Textiles with Business Studies MDes 2011) who founded Yucoco – an online shop where you design your own chocolate bar.

With hundreds of topping options, using ethically sourced cocoa, the business is already doing well and was kickstarted with a Virgin Startup Entrepreneur loan.

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Sophie has also visited Downing Street to talk to the Prime Minister’s enterprise advisor about young entrepreneurs. Sophie said: “The world of chocolate has been a little different to fashion! It’s been a busy year after launching Yucoco in January and becoming the first ever crowd-funded competition winners in April, we now have 250 shareholders!” www.yucoco.com

Alumnus Award winner Our youngest recipient yet, Faye McClelland (34), was awarded the 2014 Alumnus Award in recognition of her outstanding sporting achievements and her ongoing support of the university.

Faye (Physiotherapy BSc(Hons) 2013), also the reigning European champion, won her fourth paratriathlon world title in as many years as she led home a British one-two-three in London’s Hyde Park in September 2013. She was awarded the Tata Steel British Triathlon Female Paratriathlete of the Year and this year she was crowned Disabled Sports Personality of the Year at the eleventh annual Sussex Sports Awards.

Since graduating, Sophie has styled a successful career as interior stylist, journalist and TV interior design expert, providing her expert opinion in programmes such as 60-Minute Makeover and Cowboy Builders. www.sophierobinson.co.uk

Alexis Deacon (Illustration BA(Hons) 2000) on winning the Jonathan Cape/Observer/ Comica graphic short story competition 2014 with his graphic short story, The River. http://alexisdeacon.blogspot. co.uk/ Mila Falls (Digital Music BA(Hons) 2008) flamboyant songwriter and performer, for headlining at the Great British Carnival in the Queen Elizabeth Park. www.milafalls.com James Field (Accountancy Studies (ACCA) BA(Hons) 2012) on being voted PQ Magazine’s part-qualified accountant of the year.

Fox Fisher (Sequential Design/ Illustration MA 2005) who presented at TedX Brighton in October.

Sophie Giblin (Music and Visual Art BA(Hons) 2013) on being named 2014’s Most Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the South East for creating Kollektiv, a gallery which transforms empty high street shops into spaces to exhibit local emerging artists’ work. www.kollektivgallery.com/ Ben Hawes (Sports Technology BSc(Hons) 2003), three-time Olympian and former Team GB hockey captain, who was named the new Chair of the British Olympic Association (BOA) Athletes’ Commission.

Julie Howell (Library and Information Studies BA(Hons) 1992) on the publication of her book, Get your public speaking mojo back forever! www.publicspeakingmojo. co.uk

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Alumni news

Congratulations to…

Rave your way into the day

Sina Krause (Theatre and Visual Art BA(Hons) 2003 and Cultural and Critical Theory MA 2009) on being crowned the British Middleweight Chessboxing Champion 2014.

Entrepreneur Samantha Moyo (Business with Marketing FdA 2009) has created an international market for her energetic concept, Morning Gloryville.

Paul Layzell (Illustration BA(Hons) 2011) and his brother Matthew (Layzell Brothers) on being snapped up by animation giants Nickelodeon. http://layzellbros.com/

Her company organises unique, immersive early morning dance experiences where participants dance, stretch, relax and revitalise before facing the workday ahead.

Demand has been high for these popular energisers and the company has now launched in New York, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Brighton, Zurich, San Francisco, Dublin, West London, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney, with initiated expansion to Bangalore and Melbourne. www.morninggloryville.com

Megan Leckie (Film and Screen Studies BA(Hons) 2014) who presented at TedX Brighton in October.

Keith Leech (Education MA 2005) who received an MBE for services to heritage in East Sussex.

Paris Lees (English Literature and Language BA(Hons) 2009) on being named number two on The Rainbow List 2014.

Paul Lennon (Physiotherapy BSc(Hons) 2006) on launching his new clinic, Advanced Physio West. www.advancedphysiowest.ie Cameron Leslie (International Hospitality Management BA(Hons) 1995), co-founder of premier night club, Fabric, on celebrating its fifteenth anniversary this year. www.fabriclondon.com Andy Lord (Rehabilitation Science MSc 2006) previously head physio of Oxford Utd FC, Derby County FC and the RAF who has set up a new physiotherapy clinic in Winchester. www.physioandwellness.co.uk Evan Mackrill (Sports Product Design BSc(Hons) 2013) on launching his own company, Crown Hockey, to manufacture his revolutionary impactreducing hockey sticks. http://crownhockey.com Jacob Miles (Sports Science BA(Hons) 2014) on his appointment as Sussex County FA’s new Referees’ Administrator

pic credit: Carys Lavin

Graduate fashion went global There is always a buzz about our annual graduate fashion shows and the 2014 event drew its biggest audience ever when it streamed live to viewers worldwide.

Principal lecturer Jake Leith said: “This was the first time people all over the world could see what may be the launch of top careers by some of our graduates. Our famous former students include Barbara Hulanicki and Julien Macdonald, and our fashion was judged world class in a global survey by style website, fashionista.com.”

Pictured opposite is a piece from the Wheat Salt Brick and Bone collection from Dean Jennings (Fashion Design with Professional Experience BA(Hons) 2014).

A smart wake-up call Samuel Young (Sustainable Product Design BSc(Hons) 2014), a keen cyclist, came up with the Act Alarm clock as a way of encouraging people to walk or cycle to work: “Good weather reports mean you’ll have time to use sustainable transport, to walk or cycle, and cut your use of carbon fuel.”

The alarm picks up weather and travel reports via RSS wi-fi feed,

calculating the travel time needed to get to work, according to the weather. Instead of setting the alarm for the time you wish to wake, you programme it for the time you want to reach your place of work and let the alarm plan a stress-free wake-up time to incorporate low carbon travel.

Act Alarm clock has three main functions, a projector displaying data on the ceiling when the alarm is triggered, a three-day weather report, and personal incentives

on burning calories and financial savings to make travel easier and less stressful.

Alumni news

MBE for Sadie It was a proud moment for Sadie Mason (Sports Science BSc(Hons) 1985) when she received an MBE from HRH Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge in November 2014.

Sadie's gong was in recognition of her extensive services to sport development. Sadie is Chief Executive of Active Sussex (a charitable trust which develops local sports policy and encourages more people to become physically active) and was a London 2012 Paralympic Games Maker.

She was also a board member of Sport England from 2009–2012,

Congratulations to… but now serves as one of their two nominated Directors on the board of London Sport supporting their governance.

As a former international basketball player, Sadie represented England and Great Britain at junior and senior levels. She was a regional basketball coach, tutor for Basketball England and served a four-year stint as Basketball Scotland's Director (1996–2000).

She has just begun her fourth year as team manager for the England junior women's basketball team which competes at European Championship level.

Xenia Moseley (3D Design BA(Hons) 2013) on being described by The Independent as one of ‘the UK’s freshest new talents’ at The London Design Festival 2014. xeniamoseley.co.uk

Sadie, who is pictured with her husband, Dr David Mason (Assistant Head, School of Computing Engineering and Mathematics) said: "I am proud to be a Brighton alumna. My university supported me in my early international years. It is a great place for students."

Alumni illustrate success Some of the UK’s best-known illustrators – all Brighton alumni – returned to the university in May 2014 for the Brighton Festival. Chris Riddell (Graphic Design BA(Hons) 1984), Emily Gravett (Illustration BA(Hons) 2004) and Mini Grey (Sequential Design/Illustration MA 2000) visited Grand Parade campus for an illustrators evening.

They presented examples of their work alongside illustrator John Vernon Lord, their former tutor and Professor Emeritus at University of Brighton, in the Sallis Benney Theatre.

The university's illustration course is considered among the best in the country and Chris Riddell, who has illustrated books such as Muddle Earth, described the event as a "celebration" of the illustration

course at the university. He added: "This is a wonderful opportunity for us to get together and talk about our experiences on the course and subsequent careers. As a leading figure in children's books, John has been a great influence on generations of illustrators taught at Brighton."

Sad farewells It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of some of our alumni in the last year.

(Godfrey) Thurston Hopkins (Graphic Illustration) 16 April 1913–26 October 2014

Thurston’s long successful career encompassed photographic reportage, book illustration, teaching and painting. As a pioneer for photojournalism, his work for Picture Post in the 1950s was lauded for capturing the spirit of the times. http://tinyurl.com/ thurstonhopkins Edna Edith Mercer (formerly Poole, nee Huntley) 17 September 1911–12 September 2014

As an alumna of Chelsea College of Physical Education, Edna excelled at sports, in particular lacrosse and cricket (representing Cheshire County as its captain in the 1930s).

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In addition to her long career in teaching sports, Edna’s special talent lay in tennis, and she competed at Wimbledon in 1947 and 1948, attracting the sponsorship of Dunlop. As a professional tennis coach, Edna retained an active interest in the sport well into her 80s.

Professor Margaret Talbot OBE (Physical Education BEd(Hons) 1968) 8 September 1946–2 December 2014

A graduate of the Chelsea College of Physical Education, Margaret was a lifelong advocate and activist for equity in sport and physical education, and fought continually to defend the statutory entitlement to quality physical education around the world. Her career culminated in being made the President of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE).

She wrote many books, research reports and international policy documents, all of which expressed her strong sympathy for communities in need, for women, persons with disabilities and children. In 1993 she was awarded an OBE for her extraordinary services to physical education and sport.

Barbara West

Bill Murray (Business and Finance HND 1988) who helped put Shocktoberfest – voted the UK’s number one Halloween event – on the map through his company, Murray Media. www.halloweenattractions. co.uk/shocktoberfest/ Yvonne Powell (Physical Education BEd 1984) Head of Walworth Academy, who was awarded an OBE for services to education.

Guy Riggott (Hotel Catering BA 1992 ) on being appointed Golf Division Operations Director for UK-wide Burhill Golf and Leisure (BGL).

Hannah Shaw (Illustration BA(Hons) 2004) on releasing her newest ‘pic-fic’ book for older children, Stan Stinky. http://hannahshawillustrator. co.uk Richard Simmonite (Dance with Visual Practice BA(Hons) 1999, Design and Technology PGCE 2011 and Product Innovation and Development MSc 2013) founder of Bag Re:Born on making the semi-finals of the National Association of College & University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) Varsity Pitch Competition with his reusable and transformable plastic carrier bag. www.bagreborn.com Stuart Townsend (Physical Education with QTS BA(Hons) 2004) who was recognised with Sports Teacher of the Year Award.

9 November 1913–4 November 2014

Many alumnae will have benefited from the excellent tutelage of Barbara, who taught at Chelsea College for Physical Education during the 1950s through to the 1970s.

Barbara played hockey for England and umpired nationwide.

Her extensive experience and knowledge made her coaching exemplary and inspirational to many of the pupils she mentored.

William Volley (Illustration BA(Hons) 2003) on selling his graphic novel, The Opportunity, to Myriad publishers, due for release in November 2015.

If you have something to celebrate, let us know and we may feature you in the next issue.

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University news

News in brief…

Tackling Ebola

Any questions?

In September the World Health Organisation (WHO) enlisted the University of Brighton’s help in tackling the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

Alumni celebration video Past students, honorary graduates and friends joined in the award ceremony celebrations in summer 2014 by participating in a congratulatory video. You can watch it here: http://bit.ly/1wcsWHt

Professor Huw Taylor, Professor of Microbial Ecology, was asked to join an international panel of experts to develop emergency guidelines based on the latest research at the university’s School of Environment and Technology.

He provided advice on water, sanitation and hygiene advice to help control the spread of the disease with the help of PhD student Emanuel Sozzi.

War on infection University scientists have discovered a potential new weapon in fighting infections by identifying the bacterial genes involved. This insight could lead to new methods of preventing infections and contribute to overcoming problems with antibiotic resistance.

Commemorating WW1 The University of Brighton was chosen to join a consortium to support community events and research projects commemorating the centenary of World War One. As part of the consortium which comprised the universities of Brighton, Greenwich, Kent and Portsmouth, Brighton helped run one of five national engagement centres set up to support and encourage interest in exploring WW1 and its legacy among communities across the UK. Showcasing research In June researchers from the university’s Cultural Informatics Research Group joined teams from 44 other UK universities at the Natural History Museum in London to showcase the best of UK university research. The research team highlighted its work on 3D scanning and the digitisation of precious artefacts as part of Universities Week 2014.

Halting STIs Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) is sharing in a £500k grant to find the most effective behavioural interventions to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Dr Carrie Llewellyn, Senior Lecturer in Health Services Research, Division of Public Health and Primary Care at BSMS, will be working with Dr Richard Gilson from the Centre for Sexual Health and HIV Research at University College London, who is leading the two-year project.

In March 2014, the university hosted an episode of BBC1’s Question Time chaired by our honorary graduate, David Dimbleby.

The topical debate programme included singer-songwriter Mick Hucknall, the chief executive of Next, Lord Wolfson, international development secretary Justine Greening MP, Labour backbencher Diane Abbott MP, and UKIP MEP Roger Helmer. Speaking after the show, based at Falmer campus, David Dimbleby said: “It's great being back at the University of Brighton – I only live up the road and I like this city very much."

Royal praise for student teacher Trainee teacher Andrew Perrin won double gold in the Invictus Games for the one-lap time trial and the 40-minute road race cycling event.

Prince Harry, who is the driving force behind the sporting event for wounded and sick service personnel, was one of the first to congratulate Andrew at the games, held at the former Olympic Park in London.

Andrew is in the first year of the Troops to Teachers (TtT) programme, a government-funded project to train former service leavers to become teachers. The University of Brighton leads the programme and is working with a consortium of six other universities as well as primary and secondary schools to support its delivery.

Global health excellence The Wellcome Trust Brighton and Sussex Centre for Global Health Research, one of just five Wellcome Trust Centres in the UK, was opened at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) in January 2014.

The centre is a partnership between BSMS, the Armauer Hanser Research Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Research Foundation in Tropical Diseases and Environment which is allied with the Faculty of Science at the University of Buea, Cameroon, and the Institute of Endemic Diseases at the University of Khartoum, Sudan.

It promotes interdisciplinary research and supports researchers working in public health and tropical medicine to develop their careers, and fosters interchange between institutions in the UK and Africa. http://bit.ly/1tuYSAM

University news

Rugby World Cup 2015 hosts The University of Brighton has been announced as one of the official team bases for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Sarah Hogg, the university’s Director of Sports and Recreation, said: “The University of Brighton has sports facilities on two of its campuses which meet international team training standards. We are really excited that our high-quality facilities will be used by both teams in the run up to their first match in Brighton at the beginning of their Rugby World Cup 2015 campaign.”

Researching youth unemployment The University of Brighton has been selected to lead a €5m EU-funded youth unemployment study.

Professor Angie Hart (left), representing the university’s Community University Partnership Programme (Cupp), will be involving young people with multiple disadvantages in creating resource materials for other young people on resilience and realising what helps them achieve their aspirations.

The project will run for three-and-a-half years and involve researchers from 19 European countries.

Professor O'Reilly said the overriding aim of STYLE was to provide a comprehensive EU-wide analysis of youth unemployment that is "sensitive to gender, ethnic and class differences and the historical legacies of multilevel institutions shaping relevant policies". www.style-research.eu

Double honour for geographer Phil Ashworth, Professor of Physical Geography, was elected for a three-year term to the Royal Geographic Society (RGS) where he will serve on the Research and Higher Education Committee and the Governing Council.

Also in June, Phil was nominated to become a Fellow of the British Society for Geomorphology, in recognition of his significant contributions to the advancement of geomorphology (study of landforms). Phil’s research focuses on river dynamics, fluvial sedimentology and landscape evolution. He has led recent NERC and oil industry-funded projects in Argentina, USA and Canada and works on some of the world’s largest rivers and estuaries. He has published over 70 articles and edited a book on river processes and forms.

News in brief…

Fat for wound repair Researchers at the University of Brighton and the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation are investigating using liposuction fat to treat wounds.

Successful implications of this research could mean that ultimately the fat cells known as adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) could be used to fill deep or extensive wounds and to recover blood flow and promote peripheral nerve repair and sensation.

We will host both Samoa and South Africa at points during the tournament. With the Samoan team based at our Falmer campus in Brighton, and the South African team being jointly hosted with Eastbourne College in Eastbourne, this gives both the city of Brighton and the town of Eastbourne the opportunity to be part of the world’s third largest sporting event and celebration of rugby next year.

The Europe-wide research project, Strategic Transitions for Youth Labour in Europe (STYLE), involves 25 research partners and over 60 stakeholders across Europe. Professor Jacqueline O’Reilly (right) is heading the research and said: "Understanding what is happening to young people today is so important, and it ties closely to the ethos of the University of Brighton where we give particular importance to widening participation, making education accessible and by creating a synergy between what we research and who we teach."

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Health from the sea Scientists at the University of Brighton are leading a €2m study of marine life that could help develop new ways to fight infections, regenerate damaged skin and combat pollution. The research identifies, isolates and collects marine biomolecules that could bring future medical benefits. Biocare Marine is part-funded by the Interreg IVA 2 Seas Programme which supports economic and social cohesion projects throughout the EU. Heartbeat linked to fear According to new research published by Professor Hugo Critchley and Dr Sarah Garfinkel of BSMS, the timing of our heartbeat influences how we respond to fear. They discovered that the brain’s processing of threatening stimuli, and therefore how a person responds, is dependent on the timing of the heartbeat.

These findings may help identify new solutions for people who suffer from anxiety.

Challenging climate change Hundreds of homes were fitted with energy-saving systems in the UK and France thanks to a University of Brightonled scheme to tackle climate change. The Innovation for Renewal (IFORE) project was coordinated by Professor Mike McEvoy from the School of Architecture and Design. www.ifore.eu

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University news

News in brief…

Hospital redevelopment Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) will benefit from a £420m redevelopment of the Royal Sussex County Hospital (RSCH) in Brighton.

Many undergraduates and postgraduates undertake training and research at the hospital, as well as many lecturers and staff who practice there. The enhanced facilities offered by the redevelopment plans will be a massive boon to the community as well as developing the practical skills of BSMS students.

Personalising asthma treatment Research at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) has shown that a popular inhaler used as first-line treatment for asthma attacks could be less effective or may even make the condition worse for some children carrying a particular gene change. Professor Somnath Mukhopadhyay, Chair of Paediatrics at BSMS, began new trials in autumn 2014 to support his research that personalised medicine in the treatment of children with asthma could improve their treatment.

Chemistry in parliament A team of University of Brighton scientists led by Professor Hal Sosabowski, Dave Campbell and Kurt Charnock gave a vivid display of liquid nitrogen showers and chemical fireballs to MPs in the House of Commons. The event aimed to highlight the need for sustained funding of world-class science in the UK. TV role for professor Professor Peter Lloyd played a leading role in a BBC Four series on the generation of British architects who conquered the globe with their high-tech visions. Peter’s role was as the academic consultant on the three-part series, The Brits who Built the Modern World, which told the story of five well-known British architects.

Delving deep in big data The university is sharing in £4.6m grants with projects to improve the accessibility of digital film production data and to trace people back through history to medieval times.

The DEEP FILM Access Project (DFAP) is one of 21 around the country which aim to make ‘big data’ information more accessible and easier to interpret by the public. Dr Sarah Atkinson, Principal Lecturer in Digital Film and Media is leading the DEEP FILM project and partner organisations are the National Media Museum, BBC, Screen Archive South East, Adventure Pictures and the University of Southern California's Large Scale Video Analytics project.

British film director Sally Potter's critically acclaimed 2012 movie, Ginger & Rosa (picture courtesy of Adventure Pictures), is being used as a pilot for new tools developed by the research.

Dr Atkinson said: "Filmmaking as a process recently reached a scale and complexity where a new role has emerged to manage the data generated by the cameras alone – and this has been further complicated by computer-generated imagery and shooting in 3D.”

DFAP is an interdisciplinary project between arts and computing. Co-investigating for the project is Dr Roger Evans, a reader in the university's School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics. Dr Evans is heading a University of Brighton team in a second Big Data project, 'Traces Through Time', led by The National Archives. It will develop methods and tools to identify and trace individuals across the historical record – back to medieval times.

Conserving the UK’s ecosystems

We mean business

The university joined forces with the government to launch some major research aimed at helping policy makers conserve the UK’s terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.

Fifty partner businesses presented prizes to Brighton Business School graduating students at the summer awards celebration.

The research found that the provision of environmental spaces and people’s access to them varies across the UK. Professor Andrew Church, the university’s Director of Research and Development for Social Sciences and one of the lead researchers on the project, said: “This is a major piece of environmental research and confirms the University of Brighton's reputation for cutting-edge social science research that has an impact on the key problems facing the world. We have benefitted immensely from working with government and large teams of academics from other universities on this project.”

University of Brighton business students earn between £15,000 and £22,000 during their year-long placements with some of the biggest names in commerce and industry. This close link with industry is testimony to the professional focus the business school embeds in its courses and the placement years enhance student opportunities at finding jobs.

The new report provides information and advice to policy makers about how best to conserve the UK’s ecosystems. www.brighton.ac.uk/research/our-research/social-sciences

Head over heels Jack Mallion, a final year physical education student, used his acrobatic prowess to raise over £500 for Football 4 Peace. He enlisted his brother, Andy, to complete an epic sponsored cartwheel 2.5km along Hastings seafront. Jack, who is a student ambassador, described the event as “physically exhausting and a monumental effort”.

If you would like to sponsor a student award, please contact giving@brighton.ac.uk.

University news

Discrimination against diabetes New research by Professor Jörg Huber, the university’s Professor of Health Sciences, together with Dr Jessica Browne at Deakin University in Australia and Mei Lan Fang (University of Northampton) found that 15 in every 100 UK people with diabetes have suffered discrimination.

Latest figures from Diabetes UK show the number of UK people with diabetes has soared to 3.8 million and new strategies are needed to boost their confidence, help overcome feelings of selfblame and resist the judgement of others.

News in brief…

The researchers looked at the stigma attached to the condition – blame and shame – which is associated with stereotyping people with Type 2 diabetes as overweight and personally responsible for bringing the condition upon themselves. Some people with diabetes also suffer anxiety about managing their condition in public and being discriminated against.

Green credentials It has been another great year for the university’s sustainability progress. Our hospitality department was a finalist in the food and drink category of the Green Gown Awards, run by the Environmental Association for Universities for its ‘field to fork’ policy of encouraging local farmers and growers to provide produce for its five campuses.

In August, the University of Brighton became the first higher education institution in the UK to be awarded a new rating for running sustainable restaurants. The University Catering Rating was developed by the University Caterers Organisation (TUCO) and is being run by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) to recognise outstanding achievements of university caterers across the country and help drive best practice.

Professor Julian Crampton, the university's ViceChancellor, said: "For the past two years we have been ranked in the top five UK universities in the People and Planet’s Green League, and we were awarded the title of Green Business of the Year in the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards.

“In June 2014 we launched the Green Growth Platform, a £3m, five-year scheme funded by Higher Education Funding Council for England aimed at driving growth in the environmental business sector in Sussex.

"And we have attracted international media attention following the opening of our innovative Waste House, the UK’s first house built almost entirely out of rubbish.

Sustainability is a challenge which the University of Brighton takes very seriously."

Winning with waste The university’s recently opened Waste House – built almost entirely from rubbish – has scooped multiple accolades over the past year. In July it picked up the Building or Property Project award and the Waste and Resource Management award in the annual 2degrees Champions Awards.

Duncan Baker-Brown said: “This is an amazing achievement and reflects a tremendous amount of hard work and commitment by many people, university staff and volunteers, students, The Mears Group and many contributing companies and organisations.” http://bit.ly/1rSgjQR @WasteHouse

It was also highly commended for The Blueprint Awards’ Best Sustainable Project, a worldwide award, and it was a finalist for The Climate Week Awards Best Education Project in March 2014.

Then in December, People & Environment Achievement (PEA) presented its ‘Best Eco Project Working with Schools’ award to the project and its architect, senior lecturer and alumnus Duncan Baker-Brown (Architecture diploma 1992).

Schools and colleges regularly visit what is Britain’s first waste house and have helped fill cavity walls with discarded toothbrushes and other household detritus which was used as insulation materials during construction.

The house will showcase new technologies and will continue to be retrofitted, allowing designers and students to test their windows, solar panels, insulation and construction materials.

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Investigating pollutants The university beat off competition from institutions across the UK to win an award of £233k to buy a state-of-theart spectrometer. The cuttingedge instrument, an X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS), will allow scientists to probe nanoscale reactions and could help develop new ways to treat sites contaminated with pollutants.

Highway to success In July our first cohort of students graduated from the Highway Engineering Management MSc. The unique masters programme was sponsored by the SE7 group of local authorities, comprising seven county councils – Surrey, East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Brighton and Hove, and Medway – and highways contractors, Kier Group, Balfour Beatty Living Places, EM Highways and Amey. It is now being expanded to county council and highway contractors across the UK. www.brighton.ac.uk/business 40 STEM scholarships The university participated in a publicly funded pilot project to offer 40 fee scholarships to postgraduate students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Welcome to...

Professor Stephen Denyer our new Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) Professor Chris Pole our new Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Malcolm Reed the new Dean of BSMS.

Fond farewells to…

Outgoing Deputy ViceChancellor, Professor Stuart Laing who retired in 2014 and was honoured by the Students’ Union with a special award for lifetime achievement and supporting student engagement Karen Norquay, Head of the School of Art, Design and Media, who retired in 2014.

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Alumni services

Alumni services –

are you making the most of them?

Keep the impact of your Brighton experience rolling with some of the university schemes designed to make your degree go further.

BUZZING ABOUT BEEPURPLE Beepurple is our entrepreneurship network, comprising students, alumni and staff who are interested in developing their enterprise skills and/or their business ideas.

Beepurple runs events to equip you with key enterprise skills, that will help you set up your own business, or when working in SMEs. Successful beepurplers who are currently running their own ventures, as well as established entrepreneurs from the city, regularly visit to deliver guest lectures. Beepurple runs an annual enterprise competition, with a top prize of £2,750 and mentoring from established entrepreneurs. If you have a business idea, don’t just think about it, make it happen with beepurple. http://about.brighton.ac.uk/careers/enterprise/

OVER THE 2013–2014 ACADEMIC YEAR

331

£10,000

93

£1,437.86

people received enterprise skills training.

individuals received one-to-one support to help them set up their own business and social enterprises.

£35,000

was awarded to the winners of our annual ideas competition.

was raised by our entrepreneurial students and alumni for local charity, Brighton and Hove Impetus.

in enterprise growth grants were awarded to student and alumni businesses.

STRENGTHEN YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND UNLOCK TALENT Since 2005, the university’s award-winning professional mentoring scheme, Momentum, has paired hundreds of students with industry professionals for one-to-one careers advice.

Robert Prosser, programme coordinator, explained: “Momentum is for students who lack confidence or come from groups which are commonly overlooked in the job market.

Feedback from students indicates it has genuinely changed their life in terms of job prospects or even staying on their degree course. Being a mentor helps develop your communication skills, empathy and ability to focus.”

Mentor Adele Tomasin (European Business with Technology BSc(Hons) 1996) said: “I get a lot of satisfaction from mentoring.

I’ve always been paired with very bright people who are dedicated and passionate about what they do and want to excel. The feeling of being helpful and being remembered as someone in their life who helped at a critical moment is the highest satisfaction I could get.”

Chris Chesman, who won 2014 Mentee of the Year, told us what value it added to his student experience: “Working with my mentor (Steve Hearsum) helped me develop personally and professionally, with this learning having fantastic bearing on my academic performance and increasing confidence in my abilities. The journey itself was thoroughly enjoyable and has helped me to cultivate a sharper, more positive mind-set. I’d be delighted to have my own mentee and try to pay it forwards.”

FREE CAREERS ADVICE FOR LIFE We are one of the few universities in the UK who pledge this to our alumni. Whether you graduated a couple of years ago or several decades ago, our professional careers counsellors can help; career changes, CV reviews, using our graduate vacancy database or providing guidance on how to use the skills you have gained so far. www.brighton.ac.uk/careers

Save £££s if you return to study here Alumni who completed their undergraduate degrees with us are eligible for preferential discounts of up to 15 per cent off postgraduate courses.

ADD VALUE TO YOUR BUSINESS Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) provide up to 67 per cent grant funding to enable companies to become more innovative and competitive by working in partnership with a university. On average, a company undertaking a two-year project benefits from a £550k increase in net profit and creates four new jobs. http://about.brighton.ac.uk/ccp/ktp/ Set up by Brighton business alumni Chris Cater (Business Studies BA(Hons) 1993) and Dan Hawes (Business Studies BA(Hons) 1994) in 1997, the Graduate Recruitment Bureau (GRB) is a leading UK independent recruitment company based in Brighton. Keen to continue their relationship with the university, Chris and Dan worked with the KTP Centre to set up a KTP project to help expand their services, ensuring they stayed ahead of the competition.

The GRB KTP project is now mid-way through the first year of a two-year project and things are progressing well. The project will develop an innovative profile engineering tool which will enable GRB to capture data on graduates’ skills and experience, which is highly sought after by companies.

Louise Vincent (Business Studies with Marketing BA(Hons) 2011) secured a permanent job through her KTP with Lancing-based firm, Parafix Tapes and Conversions. Louise said: “The KTP was really suited to my business and marketing degree and a lot of support was on hand from the university if I needed it.”

Managing Director of Parafix, Mike Punter said: “As a result of the KTP we now really understand our customers’ needs across 22 different countries, know exactly which markets we want to focus on, and where the high-growth potential lies.”

Brighton’s titans

The Brighton Effect… passing it on The University of Brighton strives to nurture and develop the talents of all of its students, roundly equipping them for their respective careers. It also encourages their growth as socially purposeful individuals, making a difference through their work and their achievements. This issue focuses on some of our alumni who have made great strides in their lives and respective careers and of whom we are very proud. These people don’t just challenge the norm, they defy it and redefine the notion of self-belief. Meet Brighton’s titans…

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Brighton’s titans

Having received over 300 nominations for the Most Positive Role Model in the National Diversity Awards 2014, Adam Pearson (Business Management BA(Hons) 2007) has already made headway on a national scale in tackling the ugly issues of superficial prejudice.

BRIGHTON’S TITANS

Over the past couple of years he has been incredibly industrious in commissioning and producing television programmes confronting public discomfort about disfigurement. Adam’s indomitable perspective has spurred invitations to deliver motivational talks.

Adam has a condition called Neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition that causes excess body tissue to grow on nerve endings, causing noncancerous tumours (called fibromas) to occur.

These can occur anywhere on the human body, although in Adam’s case it has occurred predominantly on his face.

Congratulations on your recent nomination for Most Positive Role Model at the National Diversity Awards. How did you feel about being nominated?

It’s always flattering to get recognised for your work, and whilst acclamation and accolades is never the motivation behind my campaigning work, I was tremendously honoured to be nominated and flabbergasted to make the final shortlist and attend the ceremony. Whilst I didn’t win, I still really enjoyed the event and met a great deal of inspirational people. Would I have liked to have won? Of course: I’m a tad competitive at everything I do. That being said, as long as disability and diversity is given a

platform, I am not really fussed who does and doesn’t win; I’m still proud of my work and the difference it makes.

Who has been a positive role model to you?

Easily my parents: they have always taught me to live the life I have as opposed to mourn the one that I didn’t; that disability or no disability, I could achieve everything all my peers could and more. It is absolutely no exaggeration to say if it wasn’t for the incredible support and belief of my parents I would be a complete shell of the man I am.

Brighton’s titans

You have been incredibly busy since you graduated from Brighton. Can you talk about some of your projects?

I have been really fortunate to have been given amazing opportunities since graduating, ranging from Channel 4’s Beauty and the Beast – The Ugly Face of Prejudice to casting all four series of The Undateables. Most recently I was fortunate enough to be one of the main speakers at TEDxKalamata in Greece, speaking on the subject of limits. That’s not to say that I have nothing in the pipeline – keep watching this space, you haven’t seen the last of me.

Was it hard selling the project to a major TV channel?

Yes, it’s always hard getting a project greenlit, especially in this multichannel, multiformat landscape that now exists. Though it is equally hard delivering the project once it has been commissioned. On Beauty and the Beast – The Ugly Face of Prejudice, we took a battering in the press the day before we had even filmed anything. There is this weird misconception that whenever there is a person on TV with a disability, they are being exploited, and in no way could have made their own decision. This show had an element of added pressure for me, as an on-screen character there was no walking away from it, whether it had been a success or failure, I’m the guy in it, the buck very much stopped here. Even today, five years removed, people still come up and want to talk about it. I guess I’m in the 4oD and YouTube universe forever now.

You appeared in the critically acclaimed film noir, Under the Skin (2013), with Scarlett Johansson. What was that experience like?

Well, bearing in mind that I only auditioned originally as a bit of a laugh, I think it’s safe to say the experience turned out rather well. I didn’t know Scarlett Johansson was attached to the project at the time, all I knew was Jonathan Glazer was directing. As a business graduate I knew all too well who he was, the man, myth and legend behind the Guinness adverts. I’d have been an idiot not to apply. If you read other articles there is the story of my ‘audition’ where I was hit by a car and broke my leg on the way and that I had my ‘audition’ the next day in UCL Hospital, waiting for surgery, laced on morphine. It’s completely true. Outside of that, the experience was great, both Scarlett and Jonathan were a pleasure to work with and the finished film is (I say without bias) a masterpiece.

If people haven’t seen it they should.

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Your career has taken a turn from your original studies, but was your experience at Brighton something that has helped you get to where you are today?

...my attitude has always been that the people who matter don’t mind and the people who mind don’t matter Can you tell us more about your condition and how that affected you growing up? How old were you when you were diagnosed?

I was about five. I knocked my head one evening whilst pretending to be Hulk Hogan or something equally amazing. It came up in a bump, as one would expect it to, but it didn’t go down. It was then that we started asking difficult questions and eventually got the diagnosis. I have memories of spending a great deal of time in hospital waiting rooms and not that much time in maths class (life has its perks). Aside from all the physical symptoms, I have nothing else. Some cases of the condition present with learning difficulties, but I am fortunate to have avoided this.

University is so much more than your end degree. It’s the people you meet and places you go that shape who you become in those years, and the person you become at university is probably going to be the person you become for the rest of your life. I was privileged enough to make many great friends in Brighton, many of whom I have lived with, laughed with and even watch get married. University of Brighton was an amazing experience – those three years made me a better person and whilst I haven’t used my degree as I thought I would, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love Brighton and I miss it so much. The university and the city itself will always have a very significant place in my heart.

The university was incredibly supportive – it seems the higher up the education system you get, the better equipped and more willing it is to facilitate individual need.

Live the life you have, not mourn the one you don’t

Your identical twin also has the condition but it manifests itself differently.

Ah yes, Neil, who is also a Brighton alumnus (Library and Information Studies BA(Hons) 2008). He has the same condition (the genotype) but it manifests itself in a different manner (the phenotype). As a result he has short-term memory loss. It’s a tad crazy that whilst we are genetically identical, we have turned out so utterly different in every way.

In some of your interviews elsewhere, your sense of upbeat determination has really shone through. How do you deal with prejudice from others?

You just do. I really wish I had some kind of scientific formula for this question, or some kind of elixir I could bottle and sell. I figure my attitude has always been that the people who matter don’t mind and the people who mind don’t matter. At the end of the day, as blunt as this may sound, I don’t really care what strangers think of me; if people want to be ignorant then that is their right to do so, but that ignorance isn’t and will never be my fault or indeed my problem. I’m just going to keep doing what I do best and that is raising awareness and hopefully curbing that prejudice.

You are a campaigner for Changing Faces – a charity you sought help from early on. Can you tell us more about it and the work you do?

Changing Faces is the UK’s largest charity that supports people with facial disfigurements and visible differences. I do a great deal of work alongside it, from going into schools and giving talks, to speaking to companies about how to incorporate awareness into their existing company culture. I even jumped out of a plane in the name of charity. It supported me a lot as a child so I think it’s only proper that I pay it forward.

Where do you go from here?

I never wanted to be the guy that spent all his time planning for tomorrow that he missed his whole today. I have one ‘thing’ in the pipeline that I can’t talk about in any detail but other than that we’ll see. I’d like to follow up on my TED talk and do more motivational speaking and see if people find me inspirational or not. If I had to pick one thing it would be to keep raising awareness of disfigurement and difference.

That’s the kind of legacy I want to leave.

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Brighton’s titans

01. One of the smallest countries in Africa, Burundi is landlocked and has an equatorial climate.

02. The national currency is the Burundian Franc.

03. The capital of Burundi is Bujumbura.

04. Burundi gained its independence in 1962.

05. The famous Nile River has its southernmost source in Burundi.

06. It is recovering from almost three decades of civil war.

07. The predominant industry is agriculture.

08. Burundi has the fifth highest total fertility rate in the world but is also one of the five poorest countries in the world.

09. It is a country rich in cultural heritage particularly, crafts and drumming (worldfamous Royal Drummers of Burundi).

10. Kirundi, French and Swahili are the main spoken languages. www.burundi-tourism.com

BRIGHTON’S TITANS

Carmen Nibigira (International Travel Management BA(Hons) 2005) made industry headlines in 2014 when she was appointed Director General of the Republic of Burundi Tourism Board in East Africa.

Carmen talks about some of the challenges she tackled in pursuing her ambition. Her journey is an inspiring story of becoming a change maker through her career and commitment to her country.

Carmen was born in Burundi, the eldest of four girls. Thanks to her father’s influence, she picked up the travelling bug at an early age and was encouraged to explore her native country. This fuelled her desire to see more of the world and its cultures.

When Carmen began her studies at the University of Brighton, Burundi was emerging from 12 years of civil war.

Carmen is committed to putting her home country on the global tourism map and described the difficulties this entailed: “My country went through challenging years but today, more than a decade later, one can say there is hope.

Reconstruction of a post-conflict country takes time; it is about changing people’s mind-set, believing in a vision and driving towards goals.

Brighton’s titans

“Whatever skills we bring home, we are all at the critical turning point of making a significant change to the future of our country. It has been my ambition to serve and rebuild my country.

Carmen’s motivation is deep-rooted and visionary: “For women to progress to a level of seniority in the African workplace, we need to make sure they are competitive, skilled and ready to work hard, as from my experience, today we are all (women) paving the way for our daughters and sisters so that our laws, culture and policies as well as politics give a voice to women.”

“The most significant changes I have seen are peace and stability, a new force in the horizon of people wanting changes, but at the same time, a nation facing lots of challenges; poverty, high unemployment, inflation, but also I saw a country rising from its past with a hunger for peace, democracy and governance.”

TIES WITH BRIGHTON Many alumni remain engaged with the university after graduating and in 2009, Carmen invited Dr Marina Novelli, her lecturer and professional mentor at the University of Brighton, to visit Burundi to research aspects of tourism in postconflict situations of fragility. This work was jointly published in a top tourism journal. Why did Carmen do this?

CLIMBING THE LADDER One of Carmen’s first jobs was as a receptionist in a five-star hotel in Cheltenham. She described it as “a great opportunity to learn how the hospitality industry works from the bottom of the ladder”.

It’s quite a leap progressing from hotel receptionist to a director general of a national tourism board in nine years…

“After graduating from Brighton, I did my masters where I worked for Accor with its brand hotel, Novotel. In 2009, after gaining my masters, I returned to Burundi to work in the tourism sector.

As a growing sector in East Africa, I was fortunate enough to work on different projects in Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo over three years.

“Both my academic and professional experiences helped me return to the academic world when in 2011 I joined Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland as an academic assistant with a goal to do my PhD in tourism management. In 2012 I was accepted for a PhD at Clemson University, USA in parks, recreation and tourism management. At the beginning of 2014, I accepted the position of Director General for the tourism board of my country. The University of Brighton was the starting point of this journey.”

REBUILDING TOURISM IN BURUNDI Despite the relatively embryonic status of the tourism industry in Burundi, Carmen is optimistic about promoting the country’s natural and cultural assets to encourage its growth: “Burundi has a lot of potential and represents some comparative and competitive advantages. Our geographical location, climate and size of country allow us to be a great destination for exploring nature.

Lac Tanganyika, the second largest freshwater lake in the world, represents a great asset for sports and leisure as well as the scuba diving on our beaches.

Our huge population of chimpanzees, endemic birds, flora and fauna is worth exploring. The warm hospitality of local people is also a great asset for cultural tourism, as well as our unique signature products like our legendary drummers.”

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One problem Carmen has encountered is the relative lack of tourism professionals within her native industry. “The challenges are in the lack of resources of developing this sector, protection and conservation of environment as well as securing our image as a safe and peaceful destination. Being part of the East African community, with other strong tourism destinations such as Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, it gives us hope that together we will get far. A unique visa for the whole region is something Burundi is looking to do as well as market the whole region as a single destination.”

“I am committed to making a difference through tourism, as I believe that with the right foundations, Burundi can use it as one of the many opportunities to rise from challenging years of conflicts and instability into a nation embracing its endowed natural and culture assets for the benefits of the whole country.”

EMPOWERING FUTURE FEMALE LEADERS As well as working to put Burundi on the world’s tourism map, Carmen brought something very meaningful to her country through her involvement in the opening of the Akilah Institute for Women in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura.

Carmen explained her passion for this project: “I was instrumental in bringing Akilah to Burundi and I am on the board because I strongly believe that the future of peace and stability in East Africa lies in the hands of young women who have the leadership skills and wisdom to create jobs and build businesses that will lift their communities out of poverty. Akilah brings together the most promising female leaders from Rwanda and Burundi for an innovative threeyear programme that prepares them for professional careers and leadership roles.

“Science changes and evolves, and people working in our field need to remain in touch with the academic world and its resources. There wasn’t a lot of literature about my country in academic papers. We were fortunate because my collaboration with Dr Novelli was published in the top industry journal, Annals of Tourism.”

What value did her course at the University of Brighton add to Carmen’s mission? “I have fond memories of the Eastbourne campus. We were students from Europe, Asia and Africa, and our different perspectives and experiences made our programme so unique and enriching. I was able to learn a lot from my friends, and almost nine years after graduating, some of us are still in touch, following each other’s career paths and supporting each other. The network we built at university is still important and valuable.”

We are all (women) paving the way for our daughters and sisters so that our laws, culture and policies as well as politics give a voice to women.

Her experience has taught her to take a global view of how to use her talents and Carmen offered the following advice to University of Brighton peers: “I encourage students who are coming from abroad to immerse themselves in the culture, be curious, exchange different experiences and build on those networks which are important after you graduate. Remember, you are not confined to work in your country – we are all competitive on the global market.” www.akilahinstitute.org

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Brighton’s titans

I’ve never felt disabled.

All the things I’ve ever wanted to do, I have done.

BRIGHTON’S TITANS

Three things you may not know about Alison Lapper MBE (Fine Art BA(Hons) 1992) – she is fierce, she is a self-confessed flirt and she loves riding horses.

The woman has the energy of a tornado. She doesn’t spin a sob story: she narrates her background punctuated with attitude.

But she defies you to feel sorry for her, maintaining: “I have a drive, I don’t know where it comes from, but it drives me forward. I am not that disabled person that you want to feel sorry for. Don’t feel sorry for me because I will smack you. It’s not me. It’s not what I am about at all.”

ON HER CHILDHOOD Ali’s childhood is well documented in her autobiography, My Life in My Hands. She was born with a rare chromosomal disorder called phocomelia which meant she had no arms, truncated legs, and vestigial feet. Ali’s mother was told that her newborn daughter was ‘disabled, ugly and would probably die’, which resulted in Ali being shipped off to Chailey Heritage School (a residential school for children with complex physical disabilities) when she was six weeks old.

It is hard listening to Ali recall her childhood which she described as ‘weird’ and riddled with physical and mental abuse: “Up until the age of five, I had quite a middle class kind of strange upbringing because we would be taken to tea by Winston Churchill’s grandson on the common, go to their posh house and ride their horses.

And yet the sister on the ward wouldn’t let the nursing staff pick us up and give us a cuddle because disabled babies don’t need cuddling apparently.”

Brighton’s titans

From the age of five, Ali said her childhood was ‘hell’. A member of staff later admitted to her ‘we didn’t see you as people, just as a job’.

But, she said, there were always people in her life who were her rocks, like Mary Shepherd, a nurse at Chailey, who showed her love and whom Ali loved back. Ali couldn’t pinpoint why, but described a turning point at the home, when she was about 10 or 11, when things got nicer.

She ascribed this to staff realising that “we were intelligent little human beings”.

ON GROWING UP Ali acknowledges that things have changed for the better for people with disabilities although she is adamant that society still has a long way to go. “I wasn’t really aware that I was crippled until I was about 12 or 13 because up to then, we were the majority, not the minority at Chailey.

Our whole world came to us – so surgeons, dentists – everything we needed came to us.”

When Ali was 16 she was taken on by the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World (AMFPA). She recalled: “I won an art exhibition at school. I won a trip to Lourdes to grow my arms – seriously! My arms certainly didn’t grow which was a good job otherwise I would never have been a mouth and foot painting artist, so it was meant to be. How you make yourself whole is in your head. It’s your attitude and your self-preservation to life: because I’ve never felt disabled. All the things I’ve ever wanted to do, I have done.”

By the time Ali reluctantly left Chailey, aged 17, she had made it to headgirl. It took four people to put her on the bus when she was due to leave, dyslexic and under-confident from all the schooling she had missed due to nearly two years of surgical complications. Ali recalled: “Chailey was all I knew. My friends were there.

My life was there.”

Ali was sent to the Queen Elizabeth Foundation for Disabled People in Banstead, Surrey, which she hated, but reluctantly admitted was what she needed to gain her independence. “That was where Banstead served me well. I learnt to drive and obviously that was like somebody had given me a pair of wings. From there I kind of blossomed.”

ON UNIVERSITY LIFE At her interview for a place at Brighton, Ali concentrated her efforts on winning over Bill Beech, then Head of Art (whom she refers to with profound affection): “I said to him: ‘Right, you’re the head of art, give me three months and then you can chuck me out.’ But I didn’t get chucked out. I came out with a first, so I must have done something right.”

During her time at the Grand Parade campus, Ali piloted some of the practical considerations for students with disabilities. “I did have to ask for help. I used to get stuck between fire doors, be late for things…stuff like that. Students have come up to me since and said it’s because of me that the University of Brighton is now so good with disabilities. So that is a really nice legacy to leave.”

ON BEING A CONTROVERSIAL MUSE So how did she become a naked, heavily pregnant icon adorning the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square? Ali was a reluctant muse and initially turned down sculptor Marc Quinn’s first approach with great suspicion, only agreeing later when she was pregnant.

When her effigy first went on the plinth, the negative publicity was horrendous. “They were vile to me. I just kind of thought this is going to really kick off, this will get people talking. I loved the fact that it was controversial, that it was going to kind of put disability on the map a little bit and that people were going to have to confront the fact that I was naked, pregnant, disabled…if I’d been black and gay I’d have done it all!

“Then everybody turned a full circle on it. In the end I was getting phone calls from newspapers who had slated it, apologising, saying they wanted to do an interview, so it was a complete turnaround.”

At about the same time, Ali participated in a BBC documentary, Child of our Time. She explained: “The reason that I agreed to do it was because I felt that nobody disabled back then had done a mainstream documentary with other able-bodied people and I still felt that I needed to prove that I could have Parys and that I could be a good mum.”

I am just Ali, being loud and brash and me really.

ON SINGLE MOTHERHOOD Putting her parenting under national scrutiny took a lot of courage and must have impacted upon many parents, able and disable-bodied.

Ali explains why she needed to do it: “You could see I was vulnerable. You could see I went through very bad depression after I wrote my book. I did it because I needed to show social services, look – this is me doing it. If it’s all out there in the open, what can you possibly take him off me for? I did it for my own security.

“I remember one social worker saying ‘if we don’t take him off you now, we’ll have him off you soon. And if we don’t, by the time he is 12 he will be your carer.’ No he won’t – he’ll be in America diving I expect. I don’t expect that of Parys.”

Ali’s beloved son, Parys, is now 14 and she is clearly amused by his typical teen attitude: “At the moment he won’t even walk with me, he goes five paces behind. He cracks me up, asking me to ‘turn my volume down’. I love my son so much and I have never experienced that kind of love before. All I want to do is protect him and give him a good life.”

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Ali was determined to raise Parys independently in spite of requiring 24/7 support from dedicated personal assistants (PAs). The coalition government’s reduced support for people with disabilities makes her flinch: “Doing it on your own… people are so critical. The last two years have really been an eye-opener for me. And I think I might have another fight on (excuse the pun) my hands. The government taking my care off me is the next thing I think. It just makes me angry. I pay tax. I do contribute.”

ON HER WORK It was an image of the Venus de Milo which ignited Ali’s artistic journey around the whole perception of disability. She uses photography, digital imaging and painting (with her mouth) to produce her artwork which is sold in 73 countries around the world.

She is also in high demand for public talks and interviews. She was particularly touched during a recent radio interview, when one man phoned in and said he asked his wife, ‘who has the most recognisable body in the UK?’ and she replied ‘Ali Lapper’. To Ali, that was amazing: “It blew my mind. I was really proud of that and yet I feel that we are still living in a world where your body image is so scrutinised.”

Gawky adolescents have a sympathetic champion in Ali, whose next exhibition, scheduled for June 2015, focuses on teenage boys and readresses the common societal intolerance of them: “Having a teenage son it’s completely in my face. I need to do something about this. They go through a stage from about 13 to 18 before they blossom into men and they are the most beautiful things.”

ON HER AWARDS In 2003 Ali was awarded an MBE for her services to art. At first she thought it was a joke: “I didn’t believe it! I got an MBE. What for? What did I do?” The awards continued when in 2014, Ali received an honorary doctorate from the University of Brighton and moved the auditorium with her acceptance speech. She also picked up a Woman of the World Award in Vienna – something she modestly swept over until Sally, her PA, pointed out that it was accompanied by a standing ovation.

Ali celebrates her fiftieth birthday in 2015 and it is a milestone she is embracing with gusto.

This confident, spirited artist has hit her stride and is maintaining her momentum, without apology: “I am sure I have peeved a few people off in my time…most strong women do. I still don’t see myself as this amazing woman. I am just Ali, being loud and brash and me really.

And enjoying it – that is the best bit – actually enjoying being me. How many people if they are able-bodied can say that?”

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Brighton’s titans

BRIGHTON’S TITANS

If you haven’t heard of Fox Fisher yet, you may do soon. Fox is following hot on the heels of fellow Brighton alumna and trans campaigner, Paris Lees (whom Fox cites as one of his role models), in bringing transgender equality to the main stage. Fox describes himself as a creative transguy. Assigned female at birth, Fox “walked the line of gender” for many years before medically transitioning.

Growing up in Saudi Arabia and then later in Hastings, Fox experienced a difficult and anxious childhood in what he described as ‘the wrong puberty’: “Not only did I have absolutely no concept of transmen existing until I was around 20, I also had a lack of male role models to look up to. So naturally, it took me a long time to realise that I could be my own definition of male.

As a consequence of not feeling comfortable in my own body (or at home) I lived in a dream world and read a lot of books.

“I know it’s a barrel of clichés but if I could talk to my younger self, I would say: ‘You are safe. You are loved. You are smart and beautiful and you can be or do anything you want to be. It’s ok to be who you are.’”

THE BRIGHTON EFFECT In 2004 Fox enrolled on a masters course at the University of Brighton. “I had worked for weeks on my design and illustration portfolio, but I was accepted to Brighton based on my film work, which I thought was unpolished, not brilliant.

“I had a lot to learn and I was missing a few pieces: screen printing and my transition. I enrolled full-time and my only regret about the course was not doing it part-time, to savour the course and lectures.”

Fox described the impact his Brighton education had: “I loved the visiting lecturers and the course was the perfect mix of small set tasks and being left to really focus on my final project. For an entire year, I worked on my graphic novel, where the main character was a guy called Ralph Tiger.

At the time, I was still living out my preferred gender through comics and drag king personas, so it was luxurious to focus on my imagination and experiment with ideas.”

While at university, Fox attended counselling sessions which he described as “pivotal”.

He graduated from the University of Brighton in 2005 with an MA in Sequential Design/ Illustration. After graduating, Fox signed up for one of our evening adult education courses in screen-printing, which he credits with changing his life.

ART IMITATING LIFE Fox’s career has been dual-fold both as a successful screen printer and creator of limited edition and one-off prints, but also with his filmmaking and media campaigning.

Brighton’s titans

In addition, Fox has worked on short films for the Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES)/NHS on trans issues and is a contributor to All About Trans – a project which looks at creative ways to encourage greater understanding between trans people and media professionals to support better, more sensitive representation in the UK media.

He contributes to many national panels and projects and has made numerous public speaking appearances in support of trans issues (including London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Stonewall and National Student Pride) and TedX Brighton, as well as being a patron for Gendered Intelligence, FTM Wales and an ambassador for All About Trans.

NATURAL-BORN CAMPAIGNER? What prompted Fox to campaign for the rights of trans and LGB people? “I cannot bear injustice.

I’ve found the most effective way to instigate change is to do something about it! There are ways to engage with people and to find common ground. I don’t think protesting is anywhere near as effective as having a conversation with an influential mover and shaker (politician, senior staff at a newspaper etc). I have made friends in some very interesting circles, just by being open.

I call these people my ‘unlikely allies’.

In 2011, Fox participated in Channel 4’s My Transsexual Summer and since then has made numerous television appearances to represent trans issues. “So much has changed for trans rights over the past few years. My Transsexual Summer felt like the start of a wave of rapid change. Overall, the programme had a very positive effect in raising awareness and starting a dialogue with the nation about trans issues.”

2014 HIGHLIGHTS

I’ve found the most effective way to instigate change is to do something about it!

His films are mostly non-fictional; documenting the lives of UK people transitioning. Fox is currently directing and editing My Genderation – an independent documentary film series exploring gender variance, and Patchwork (25 short films scheduled to be broadcast on 4oD).

Fox has had an incredibly productive year, including being nominated for the University of Brighton Alumnus Award 2015 and the Rainbow List Award 2014. Fox explained what that meant to him: “I’ve worked so hard this year so an acknowledgement is always appreciated. There are loads of LGBT people who work really hard and never get recognised for that, so it’s by no means the definitive list, although it can help with funding and promotion by being on it. It was unexpected being nominated for the Alumnus Award as well – really means so much! I am very proud to be a Brightonian.

“There have been quite a few highlights this year. I hosted Trans Pride Brighton, a three-day event. Also, being on the front cover of Gscene Magazine was pretty cool, as was being featured in The Guardian a few times over the year.

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Stay conscious! Question everything. Stay positive.

“My Transpose talk at the Tate Modern was incredibly special. Getting to screen-print on to someone’s flesh pushed the boundaries of conventional printing and was an engaging practical demonstration. It was such a thrill to do it in front of many surrealists’ work, including Man Ray and Salvador Dali.”

ADVOCATE Fox is also a committed mentor. He explained: “Earlier this year, I mentored a 14-year-old transguy from Brixton. This was through Gendered Intelligence, which is a fantastic national (and predominantly London-based) support group mostly for teenagers. The guy I mentored was having a really difficult time, having been expelled from his school, and had made some bad choices by getting in with the wrong crowd. I was there to chat with him, motivate him and to help him to start to see a possible future.”

WHAT NEXT? There has been discussion in the media about 2014 being a tipping point for trans people; with LGBT bigotry making global headlines but also an increase in positive media portrayals of high profile trans people. What are Fox’s hopes for eradicating prejudice? “All of the work this year has been part of that tipping point. I would say we’ve passed the pivot and we’re on to the momentum now.”

WHAT IS NEXT FOR FOX FISHER? He has plenty of projects in the pipeline including presenting a programme on gender variance on Channel 4, 12 music videos for a compilation album of new trans songwriters and spoken word poets and filming with Mermaids (national charity for trans youth and their families). He just changed youtube.com/mygenderation to become a daily vlogging channel as well.

Having come so far, so young, what is the biggest lesson Fox has learned to date? Fox replied: “Finding my own inner voice and creating my own happiness now, not when.

There’s no specific way to be a man or a woman. Look to others for inspiration, but get to know the authentic ‘you’ and live by that moral code. Be good to yourself especially when you’re feeling bad about yourself or your situation. Stay conscious! Question everything.

Stay positive.” www.foxfisher.com

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Brighton’s titans

NO FAIRYTALE However, for much of her teens Emma struggled with low self-image and was dangerously underweight. “Having a strive for perfection attitude was a curse for me,” she said.

“I was in a controlling relationship and involved in a life-changing accident at the age of 17 and I think that had a massive impact on taking control of my life. When you feel you have none, you grasp at whatever control you can get. I channelled it into the way I looked because I could control that and I felt that if I looked perfect, people wouldn’t question my personal life. Almost a distraction I suppose.

“Being in control of my body by not eating and getting thinner and thinner made me feel good. I liked being thin and I liked how I looked; a warped view of my image I can see now, I looked horrific.”

BRIGHTON’S TITANS

Sometimes you don’t know your own strength until you have battled to turn things around. Emma Howie (Fashion, Media and Promotion 2012) has propelled herself to the very top of the UK bodybuilding industry and is well on the way to making an impact as a gym fashion entrepreneur.

Emma’s family encouraged her to make changes in her life that would boost her self-esteem and she began to surround herself with role models to whom she could relate.

She has a message for students who may be struggling with their own selfimage: “Take a step back and look around you. Think about what makes you happy and what you want to do with your life. Be practical about your choices, but don’t be afraid to try something new.”

A NEW DIRECTION At 18, Emma enrolled for a diploma in media art with Northbrook College.

While studying for her diploma, Emma discovered a talent for photography and was encouraged by her tutors to pursue photography as a career. Emma also enjoyed the aligned skills of fashion design, creative writing and video production. When she came across a leaflet advertising a degree course in fashion, media and promotion at Northbrook, she applied right away.

Photo credit: James Leighton Burns

Brighton’s titans

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I want to be as much of an inspiration to women as my mentors have been to me

Emma achieved bronze in the British finals. Her next goal is to compete at the Arnold Classic European competition in Madrid in 2015.

Emma described the mental discipline she has developed with regard to her appearance: “Having competed three times now, I still find it incredibly difficult to accept my body changing from stage lean to ‘soft’. I am slowly letting go of the pressure I hold on myself. I know my body dysmorphia will never go, but it is definitely better!”

Initially, Emma was drawn to a career in fashion publishing and undertook work experience at Conde Nast (You & Your Wedding magazine). What she had assumed would be her dream career turned out to be anything but. Emma recalled: “I soon realised that I would have to intern for years before I would have the opportunity to be creative.”

During this period Emma had a chance meeting with University of Brighton 2012 Alumnus Award winner, Julie Howell, at a conference dedicated to the encouragement of women professionals.

When Julie mentioned that she was available as a mentor, Emma approached her for help.

“Julie has been a constant source of support, encouraging me and reminding me of the things I have achieved,” said Emma.

POWERING UP Whilst at university, Emma joined her local gym, where she met her partner Sam Bird, a personal trainer. Sam taught Emma how to look after herself by exercising properly and eating healthily in a way that was fun and empowering.

Strong is the new skinny became Emma’s inspiration and after leaving university she decided to compete as a bikini fitness athlete.

Emma worked hard for 18 months to build her body to competition standard and attracted sponsorship from sports nutrition company, Muscle Fury. During this time, Emma graduated with a first class honours degree in Fashion, Media and Promotion.

Her dedication was rewarded in 2013, when she won her first competition, UKBFF Stars of Tomorrow. A year later,

In parallel with her sporting career, Iron Candi is Emma’s brand of fitness apparel for women. Previously frustrated by the lack of opportunity to express her creativity when she worked in the magazine industry, Emma said: “I developed the branding in an afternoon and just went for it!”

What ambitions does Emma have now?

“My mantra is live life to the fullest with no regrets. I want to be as much of an inspiration to women as my mentors have been to me.”

Could you be a mentor to one of our students?

Find out more at http://bit.ly/1s4ocCP.

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Thrilling times

Deep in the Sussex countryside, Peter James sits with his dogs, Oscar and Phoebe, penning his latest Roy Grace novel. But there’s a lot you may not know about this international best-selling British writer of crime fiction. Born in Brighton to Cornelia James, the former glove maker to Queen Elizabeth II, Peter is a University of Brighton Ambassador and was involved in the establishment of the Peter James Scholarship, a £500 award to both the best first and second year English Literature/Language students, funded by Peter’s publishers, Pan Macmillan.

medium to get comfort if they lose something.

What if a mother lost her son in an accident and through the medium discovered that her son had murdered his girlfriend? I wrote that as a novel called Possession which came out in 1988 and it was an instant success. It went to number one.

It went out in 26 languages and suddenly I found I was a writer!

What is the most challenging part of being an author?

Would you recommend your career to a student or graduate?

The toughest thing is deadlines and you have to pretty much write a novel a year to keep in the public eye. My Roy Grace novels come out every June in time for fathers’ day which is the biggest week of the whole summer. If I miss that, I am missing a massive opportunity, so there’s that kind of constant pressure. I spend probably a quarter of my year on the road either in England or in some of the other countries where I am published, doing promotions.

Why did you become a writer?

When I was a kid I wanted to do three things in life: write books, make films and race cars.

I wrote three novels in my late teens, got an agent, but didn’t get published. I went in to television then film and spent 20 years doing a combination of writing scripts and producing movies.

It wasn’t until I was in my late 20s that I saw an article that there was a shortage of spy thrillers. I thought ‘I could write a spy thriller’, so I had a go and to my amazement the book got published.

It was called Dead Letter Drop and to my even bigger amazement it didn’t sell. I wrote two more and they didn’t sell either. I poured my heart out to a friend at Penguin.

My recommendation is to follow your heart. My dad was wonderful in that he always said: “You must do what you really feel in your heart that you want to do.”

She said: “Well why are you writing spy thrillers darling? What can you ever know about the world of spies when you are up against people like John Le Carre who have come out of the security services? You’ve got to write about something you can access and research.”

It was the best piece of advice I have ever had in my life.

It’s tough. I jokingly say I am an overnight success, but it took me 25 years. It’s very hard to make a living as an author in those early years but I absolutely love the freedom of it. I have got a huge amount of curiosity. I love research and I am in the lucky position where I have a great relationship with Sussex Police and they invite me to go out with them and I learn so much. I’ve just been out with the Fire Brigade for my most recent book and their world is just amazing.

I had always been interested in the supernatural and in crime, the police, and around that time the son of a very good friend was killed in a car crash and the parents started going to a medium. It gave me an idea…people go to a

I love the opportunity to immerse myself in things that passionately interest me and then write about them. It is a fantastic career but it is

Thrilling times

AWARDING TALENT The Peter James Scholarships are awarded annually to the highest performing first and second year English Literature/Language students at the exam boards. The £500 prizes are provided by Pan Macmillan (Peter’s publishers). One of the 2013 winners Jack Thurland (English Literature first year) was delighted to receive his award from the man himself!

By establishing the university as a hub for innovation – in partnership with the city – we can continue to attract the most creative and driven students, academic experts, businesses and industry leaders to our region. We are doing it with transformational projects such as our £150m regeneration of the former Preston Barracks on Lewes Road which includes the development of academic buildings, student accommodation and homes.

When asked what inspiration he has taken from receiving the award, he responded: “It was an honour! I’m really grateful to have been rewarded for all the hard work I’ve put in to my studies, and this has motivated me to keep up the level of enthusiasm for the future.

Plus Peter James told me to contact him if I ever need any help. It’s not every day you can add a bestselling author to your speed dial list!”

Which actor would you want to play Roy Grace if he ever took to the silver screen?

With all fingers crossed, we are in the process of bringing Roy Grace to television, hopefully starting in 2015. It’s been a long journey because I’d rather it was never done than done badly. I can think of three people who could play the role really well. Top of my list is Rafe Spall.

I think he is a little bit young but he is terrific.

At the other end of the spectrum I like Dominic West a lot. I think he could be brilliant. And third, who I think could possibly do it is Clive Owen.

What encouraged you to become a donor to the university?

I really liked the people that I met at the university and the culture of the University of Brighton so I agreed to become an ambassador.

BE AN AMBASSADOR FOR THE BEST OF BRIGHTON University of Brighton Ambassadors make a real difference to our students, our city and our region as a whole. By becoming an ambassador, you will have a unique opportunity to be part of a drive for positive and ongoing change which has the university at its heart.

A self-confessed “unexpected fan” of Wuthering Heights, Jack has loved reading Blake, Emily Dickinson and Kate Chopin during his course, and has taken such inspiration from his lecturers that he is warming to the idea of going into academia and perhaps becoming a lecturer himself.

hard and there are not many writers who make a decent living at it, so it is a gamble. My advice to anybody is to do what I did which is to have a day job. I wrote my first 15 books at nights and weekends before I was really secure. I found that having a day job keeps you grounded as the real world moves on. I think that vital contact is what gives your writing its realism.

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I guess particularly being given the massive honour of my doctorate, I felt that I must give something back and I love doing that.

How did you feel when you were awarded your honorary degree?

Well, I left Charterhouse with three grade Es in A-level and I think it put the biggest possible smile on my face when I was asked if I would accept an honorary doctorate. I just wished my mother and father had been alive because they would have been so proud. I think it was one of the very proudest moments of my life. I still like to see those initials after my name. Occasionally I get called Dr James and I think ‘yeah’!

Your Roy Grace novels are set around Brighton and the surrounding Sussex area. Do any of them feature the University of Brighton?

Not specifically, but I have been planning to have one set in the academic world in Brighton and I‘ve got ideas of a really horrible murder in a University of Brighton setting which is fomenting slowly…

As an ambassador, you will join an active network of influential people and businesses focused on building a stronger future for our university and local area. This will include the opportunity to: • engage with the Vice-Chancellor and senior members of the university, leading academics and students • receive regular invitations to exclusive ambassador events and network with fellow opinion-formers, entrepreneurs and industry leaders • get regular updates on our latest development plans and activities.

You can join our network of innovators and leaders by donating £1,000 or more annually. With gift aid, this donation is worth £1,250 and higher rate tax payers can claim tax relief that significantly reduces the actual cost of the donation.

For those wishing to give via their company, the university can provide a donation invoice and relief can be claimed on corporation tax.

All of our ambassadors receive an exclusive membership. To find out more about the impact of the ambassadors’ network, please contact Nikki Mason on 01273 878381 or email n.f.mason@brighton.ac.uk.

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Brighton in the community

The Brighton effect reaches beyond the walls of our campuses through various collaborations. Our projects impact on the community in many ways to enhance the experience of neighbours, partner institutions and businesses.

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STUDENT VOLUNTEERS IMPROVING THE COMMUNITY Active Student is the university’s award-winning volunteering service which provides volunteering placements in the local community that are rewarding, safe and supported. Brighton students volunteer with a wide range of community, voluntary, public sector and not-for-profit organisations in and around Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings.

Fine Art students Hannah Kynock (left) and Rosie Hancock (right) painted characters from children’s literature to inspire local schoolchildren. The Zone at Moulsecoomb Primary School is where year 6 pupils buddy up with pupils from year 3 to help them improve their reading and is the centre for the Brighton and Hove Every Child a Reader programme which aims to raise attainment in literature. Hannah and Rosie undertook the project through Active Student.

Beth Thomas-Hancock, Student Volunteering Manager, said: “We encourage students to join the programme – engaging with the community and helping where we can is a major part of the university’s ethos. It can improve a student’s CV and their employment prospects.” www.brighton.ac.uk/volunteering Physical education student, Chloe Braybrook, received the highest Duke of Edinburgh Award – a gold award – for her work helping run residential camps for disadvantaged children.

Chloe works with the Chelsea Children’s Camp, run from the university’s School of Sport and Service Management in Eastbourne.

The non-profit group was set up by university students and staff in 1961 and runs annual residential trips for young people. It works closely with social services and child right’s and education welfare departments and is partnered with the welfare organisation named Right Resolution which provides care workers to support the young people and students.

ENHANCING REGIONAL EDUCATION The university is a partner to further education colleges in the region and validates their university-level provision. We offer bursaries to help some young people from low-income backgrounds to study at the university, and our widening participation programme includes collaboration between schools and colleges to support lifelong learning and to maximise the contribution of learning to local regeneration.

In November 2014 the university launched a new academies trust to support and sponsor schools in the Sussex area wishing to convert to academy status. Our plan, approved by the Department for Education, invited discussions with all types of infant, primary and secondary schools which were interested in becoming academies.

The project builds on our successful sponsorship of six primary and two secondary schools with the Hastings Academies Trust launched in 2008.

The Hastings and St Leonards academies replaced three underperforming secondary schools, and were among the first in the country to receive ‘good’ ratings by Ofsted with in two years of opening.

The University of Brighton Academies Trust aims to enhance the performance of schools in the Sussex region through a consultative process. Professor Julian Crampton, Vice-Chancellor, said: “We will help build on the strengths of schools which join the trust by providing opportunities for sharing good practice and by working together we aim to make further improvements to children’s educational achievements.

“Our work in teacher education provision has been rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. We want to share this expertise and our education research with new academies to benefit pupils and staff.”

Brighton in the community

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS GROWTH

One example is Waterblade, a device that fits to a tap and reduces water consumption by up to twice as much as a standard eco-aerating nozzle.

The platform has helped inventor Nigel Bamford go from initial idea to exploring entry to market, through an innovation grant that enabled him to work with the university’s product design team and through connections made with large businesses in his sector. Nigel said: “Many thanks for being instrumental in making this happen!”

About 260 local companies have already benefited from the university’s Green Growth Platform. The initiative contributes to our long-term commitment to supporting local economic growth and the move to a low-carbon economy by creating a network of proactive, like-minded companies.

Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Green Growth Platform leads a number of innovation, research and development projects, to develop new products and services that will contribute to a greener economy in Sussex.

A Green Growth Platform MSc module has been developed which will give students the opportunity to take part in an accredited placement with member businesses. The platform has also facilitated 15 green internships, placing recent graduates with green sector businesses. www.greengrowthplatform.co.uk

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MAKING EDUCATION MORE ACCESSIBLE In 2014 the University of Brighton Compact grew to over 50 members. The Compact is a partnership between the University of Brighton and over 50 schools and colleges. The Compact offers practitioners, students and parents throughout Sussex, and the wider south-east, practical and impartial information, advice and guidance on progression into higher education. The Compact is delivered through workshops and activities which are tailored to the requirements of schools, colleges and their students.

Our Compact Plus programme is an enhanced package of support that gives students from under-represented groups priority access to lectures and workshops, summer schools, student shadowing and more. Students who meet entry requirements from Compact or Compact Plus can benefit from guaranteed standard offers or interviews for some University of Brighton courses and may also be eligible for a Compact Plus bursary and opportunities to work part-time for the university.

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Working closely with schools and colleges is part of the university’s ethos to support students and especially those who are from backgrounds currently underrepresented in UK universities. The Compact programme is growing from strength to strength and this is in no small part due to the hard work and dedication of university staff, ambassadors and our colleagues in schools and colleges. www.brighton.ac.uk/compact

BOOSTING LOCAL BUSINESSES

Brighton’s Initial Teacher Training programme is one of the largest in the UK and we arrange 2,500 student placements each year in over 450 schools and colleges.

Through School Direct we partner with a large number of lead schools to deliver teacher training to graduates they have recruited as trainee teachers for their primary and secondary schools.

Support includes help with applying for business growth grants, knowledge exchange and development programmes for business owners and managers, internships and training courses focusing on key areas such as managing innovation and internationalisation. All of the programmes are funded up to approximately 60 per cent through a variety of funding streams including the government’s Regional Growth Fund.

The university is also leading a programme, Troops to Teachers, a government-funded project to train service leavers to become teachers. Brighton is working with a consortium of six other universities as well as a range of primary and secondary schools to support its delivery.

The university won over £400,000 funding to help businesses in the region to grow. Our new business growth programmes includes support options for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) that are looking to expand, for companies in environmental and low-carbon sectors, and for those wanting to encourage growth through learning and development.

Chris Baker, Director of Economic and Social Engagement said: “Hundreds of companies, particularly SMEs, will be able to access support from the university which might previously have been beyond their financial reach.” http://bit.ly/1rOh7jZ

ACTIVE HEARTS For 10 years the School of Sport and Service Management in Eastbourne has offered its expertise to members of the local community through its Active Hearts cardiac rehabilitation programme.

The service is open to anyone in Eastbourne and the surrounding area who has had treatment at hospital for a heart condition and who is referred by the hospital’s cardiac rehab team or GP. Participants are put on an exercise programme specifically designed to help those with certain heart conditions to improve their health.

Ken Tompsett, who attended the programme, said: “When I first had heart problems I wasn’t very confident about getting back to normal life, but rehab has given me support and supervision – guided

by Rob Jones, Dr Louisa Beale and their team of students – to get back to as normal a life as possible. I thank them all for caring for my needs.”

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The changing face of our campus

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The University of Brighton is a forwardfocused institution and we constantly strive to improve our offering to students, staff and the wider community. As your academic home, we want to be the first to bring you news about how your university is changing.

of attractive and effective academic facilities; creating a better experience for staff, students, visitors and the wider community. Each campus will have a distinct identity and offer consistent quality of learning, workplace and recreational spaces for our students and staff across all campuses.

Our new vision will see significant investment in campuses across Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings to identify improvements to existing buildings, requirements for new buildings, and the necessary enhancements to external spaces and infrastructure to ensure a university fit for the future.

MOULSECOOMB (01)

Our strategy has been informed through extensive consultation with student and staff focus groups. The projected outcomes are affordable building projects which support crossuniversity changes in services and development

The university is a partner in the redevelopment of the Moulsecoomb site in Brighton. The redevelopment will provide new academic accommodation of around 175,000 square feet, split equally between Mithras House and Watts Building car parks, Brighton Business School and a Central Research Laboratory which will comprise a 55,000 square feet business incubation centre, a cutting-edge facility to support hi-tech and design-led manufacturing and to commercialise university research.

The government has granted £7.7m to the University of Brighton to develop the world’s first near-zero emissions engine. This funding will boost research opportunities including the search for the near-zero emissions internal combustion engine (ICE) which the university has been working on closely with Shorehambased Ricardo, world leaders in technical and environmental consultancy and specialising in the development of low-carbon vehicle technology. This Centre of Excellence for engineering will be based on the Moulsecoomb campus and will deliver leading automotive and environmental engineering training and research.

Plans also include student accommodation with 1,316 bedrooms, plus 350 quality new homes and 25,000 square feet of retail space. Our hope is to regenerate the landscape of our Lewes Road facilities and roll out these benefits to the surrounding community.

The changing face of our campus

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COCKCROFT (02) For those who studied at Cockcroft, you may be interested to learn that the building has undergone a complete facelift and refurbishment. It is being transformed into stateof-the-art facilities including learning spaces, laboratories, workshops, offices, restaurant facilities and the Students’ Union.

GRAND PARADE (03)

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The private development in Circus Street, Brighton (of which the university is a development partner), will include a new library and teaching/research space, lecture hall, café and public gallery that will form part of the university’s city campus proposal. This will improve facilities for staff and students and create an arts hub within Brighton’s cultural quarter.

As part of this scheme, the university acquired the former American Express building in Edward Street, Brighton, for a media, photography and film centre. Number 6 Dorset Place was acquired in 2012 and houses the University of Brighton International College (UBIC), the School of Art, Design and Media and research activities.

NEW SPORTS RESEARCH CENTRE IN EASTBOURNE (04) Leading figures from the world of sport attended the opening of our new sports research centre at Eastbourne in November 2014. The new Centre for Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine will concentrate on ways to help sport’s ruling bodies to beat the cheats, while helping sport stars to beat world records.

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Our team of academics based at the centre have a world-renowned reputation for their research into sport, exercise and health and it has already been involved in some key projects to advance sport: • the development of new generation antidoping tests • the sub2hr project dedicated to helping marathon runners to break the two-hour barrier • the implementation of community-based interventions to tackle childhood obesity.

Professor Yannis Pitsiladis, Professor of Sport and Exercise Science, explained the significance of the centre: “As well as pioneering research into the next generation of anti-doping tests and helping athletes aspire to levels of performance that were previously unimaginable; there’s also a growing desire amongst funders to prioritise lifestyle-related research that potential to have a positive social impact on the general public.”

HASTINGS (05)

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The Hastings campus has undergone dramatic changes in the last decade with the investment in the existing Havelock Road and Priory Square teaching buildings. These will soon be complemented by a third teaching building following the purchase of Lacuna Place in Havelock Road. We are also actively seeking a suitable site to develop additional student accommodation.

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Welcome back!

BRIGHTON BUSINESS SCHOOL LAW NETWORK LAUNCH (MARCH)

CLASS OF 1963 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING REUNION (APRIL)

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES ALUMNI RECEPTION (JUNE)

Around 80 alumni, students, staff and local professionals convened at Mithras House, the home of Brighton Business School for the inaugural law network event. Professor Aidan Berry, Dean of Brighton Business School, welcomed attendees who included judges, lawyers and business experts, before handing over to the evening’s host, Zoe Swan, alumna, course leader and senior lecturer. Zoe set up the law network to maximise the opportunities for current students, alumni and industry professionals to exchange knowledge and best practice to promote lifelong learning. Hospitality for the event was generously sponsored by two local law practitioners, Lynne Passmore and Jo O’Sullivan who both attended the event and volunteered as mentors to our students. @bbslawnetwork http://linkd.in/1nWXPvv

Dr Dal Koshal (Assistant Head of School, Computing, Engineering and Mathematics) took 16 alumni for a tour of Cockcroft, after which the group networked and reminisced over lunch in the canteen. This was followed by a tour of Huxley building in the afternoon.

Two-hundred-and-fifty guests joined us at our reception for arts and humanities alumni on the opening night of the degree shows. Tickets for this popular event were snapped up in just under four hours!

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

Feeding back on the day, one of our alumni said: “I am writing to thank you all for such a marvellous day as you put on a show that was far beyond our expectations. The first surprise was to discover the records that you had retained which jolted memories and reminded us of the long forgotten.”

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING EVENT (APRIL)

CLASS OF 1964 PHYSICAL EDUCATION REUNION (MAY)

CLASS OF 1994 TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY REUNION (MAY)

Over 70 alumni, students and staff gathered for a successful networking event at the new Amex building courtesy of alumnus Stuart Green (Software Engineering BSc(Hons) 2002), Director of Global Customer Service Capabilities. Entitled Networking – what works for me?, guests heard from an expert panel on how to maximise their networking skills as well as having professional photos taken for their LinkedIn profiles.

The Physical Education class of 1964, led by alumna Pearl Holt, made their way back to the University of Brighton, Hillbrow campus where they studied at the then Chelsea School of Human Movement. The 35 alumnae caught up, took a tour of the campus, watched a dance display and learnt about alternative sports now taught on the curriculum. Commenting on the high-spirited day, one alumna said: “Some of us have not seen each other for 50 years and so it was wonderful to catch up with everyone. We’ve had a wonderfully memorable day and the dance display was outstandingly good. Thank you for making our reunion a huge success.”

A very successful group of alumni joined us in the Culinary Arts Centre for their 20-year reunion.

It was great to hear how well they had done in their careers and it was clear they certainly hadn’t forgotten how to throw a party.

Welcome back!

It has been a busy year for alumni get-togethers and it has been great seeing so many of you returning to campus.

1960S BRIGHTON STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION (BSA) FOOTBALL REUNIONS (JULY) Our sporty alumni staged two reunions to include alumni who travelled from as far as Australia to join them. According to Brian Tipler (1962) it hardly felt as though 50 years had passed when they met up to reminisce on their football days.

JULY

CLASS OF 1964 PHARMACY REUNION (OCTOBER) Pharmacy alumni who met 50 years ago on their degree courses made a weekend of it to celebrate the occasion. They were greeted by Andrew Lloyd, Dean of Science and Engineering and Claire May, Senior Lecturer (Pharmacy) for a tour of the Cockcroft building where they studied.

We would love to see more of you coming back to the university. Contact us about how we can assist with your alumni-led reunions: alumni@brighton.ac.uk T: 01273 642600

CLASS OF 1967 PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHING REUNION (SEPTEMBER) Seventeen ladies joined us to celebrate 50 years since they stepped foot on the Chelsea College campus. During their day they browsed through a memorabilia exhibition; were invited to participate in an oral history project; took a campus tour; had a Q&A with a student ambassador and Fiona Smith (Principal Lecturer) on PE teacher training today; viewed a practical session for one of our charitable projects – Football for Peace; as well as watching a dance tutorial.

Organiser Diane Bradfield said: “Thank you so very much for organising such a splendid day yesterday.

All your teams made us feel so welcome. The talks certainly promoted a lot of discussion at our evening meal. We all thoroughly enjoyed our day and I am very grateful for the time and effort given.”

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

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OCTOBER

SABBS NETWORK INAUGURAL DINNER (OCTOBER) Fifteen former sabbatical officers of Brighton Students’ Union gathered for a special network launch hosted by alumnus and honorary graduate Harvey Goldsmith CBE at the Hotel du Vin. Chand Nazir (SU President 2003–2004) commented: “I had a brilliant night and it was really lovely to catch up with the others. Also, what a great choice of guest speaker as well!

Harvey was brilliant and he was really interesting to chat to – very inspiring for me as an individual.

It’s given me a great boost in what I do.”

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

CLASS OF 1989 PHARMACY REUNION (OCTOBER)

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS (NOVEMBER)

A group of just over 50 alumni attended the class of 1989 reunion in Huxley Building on Saturday 11 October. The group enjoyed refreshments, a tour of Huxley – including a demonstration of a SimMan (a realistic, full-body adult, wireless patient simulator) as well as a wonderful talk by Paul Gard (Interim Head of School, Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences) on the latest updates in the school. Organiser, Susan Gilbert (nee Wilkinson) said: “We all had the most amazing time at the weekend. I have had many messages of thanks and appreciation to pass on. Everyone had a wonderful time – thank you so much for your great service.”

Group Captain Mark Hunt (Mechanical Engineering BEng(Hons) 1993) returned to campus in November 2014 as the new and youngest ever President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). Mark came back to deliver his presidential address and was warmly welcomed by Dr Dal Koshal, Assistant Head of the School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics.

Mark’s talk addressed the challenges facing engineers: to grow the profession, to make it more inclusive and diverse, to champion an enterprising spirit, and to inspire the next generation to work towards becoming engineers. Mark said: “Engineering is a virtuous profession. In our hands it has the power to create wealth or to destroy it, and the gift to generate joy or to deny it. This is a power we must use wisely if society is to prosper […] Engineering has never been so exciting nor so rewarding, a reality we are harnessing to inspire the next generation.”

Psst…

Want to save money?

Did you know that all University of Brighton alumni can apply for the NUS Extra card, irrespective of when they graduated?

The card qualifies you for discounts of up to 25 per cent at retailers including high street shops, entertainment, travel and online purchases. On a student’s budget alone, it is estimated the card saves you over £524 a year.

What’s more, every card sale raises funds to help Brighton Students’ Union services – which means you are creating a better experience for today’s students.

It’s a win-win situation – you save money and support our students at the same time.

Email alumni@brighton.ac.uk or visit http://bit.ly/1vKl6Sa to get your card today.