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Students Craft Tall Tales and Wondrous Environments to Create a Unique Learning Opportunity
Last week first year BA Primary Education with QTS students at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) offered a unique educational experience, including the creation of wondrous learning environments, to 100 local school children. The day-long event formed part of a larger Story Telling Project being undertaken by the BGU students. Each had previously been paired with a local primary school pupil for whom they wrote a short monster story. These stories then formed the foundation of the day’s activities. The morning saw the BGU students taking the pupils to Lincoln Cathedral where they aided them in becoming “Monster Detectives”, searching for the famous Lincoln Imp across the Cathedral. They then moved to BGU where the students had created a fantastic world of colourful and imaginative learning spaces for the pupils. Each of the learning environments offered a space for the students to share their monster stories and guide the children through innovative learning activities they had planned. The creation of these spaces, along with the rest of the Story Telling Project, is designed to craft the students’ teaching skills helping them learn how to organise activities that engage with and motivate children. For this reason, as Emma Rogers (Senior Lecturer in Primary at BGU) explains, the Project is an important part of the BA Primary course: “This project marks their first steps to becoming teachers. Through it they’re able to gain experience of both the logistics of running learning activities for children as well as the human skills required. Because their stories and environments are based on the specific children they’ve been paired with they gain experience building relationships with their pupils and crafting their efforts to get the best out them.” Molly Harrison, one of the BA Primary Ed with QTS students involved, was full of praise for what the Project offered her and her course mates: “The project is a fantastic opportunity to learn how to read the responses of pupils to the activities we’re setting for them. Every child is different, what this project is teaching us is how to adapt our efforts to support a variety of pupils to ensure they get the most out of education.” For Andy Dickinson, also a Senior Lecturer in Primary at BGU, the Project is not just a vital learning opportunity for trainee teachers but also an invaluable experience for the pupils it supports: “The Story Telling Project is a chance to work 1:1 with pupils, learning how to engage with and inspire them. Story telling is such an incredibly important tool to help children learn. For some of these children, the books our students have created might be the only ones they ever get so this project is vital.” The Story Telling Project is just one of an array of innovative learning activities carried out by the School of Teacher Development at BGU. If you’d like more information on how to begin your adventure in the world of Primary Education, visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team today. -
Local Heritage Sites in Line for Sandford Award
Lincolnshire’s International Bomber Command Centre and Belton House are among 49 heritage sites across the British Isles set to receive the prestigious Sandford Award. -
BG Futures Tenant Case Study - Reflective Therapies Ltd.
By Cassie Rainey, BG Futures Administrator BG Futures is Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) is Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) purpose built business incubation centre. The centre provides office space, facilities and business expertise to people wishing to start up their own businesses. This month we sat down with one of our tenants, James O’Shea, a UKCP registered psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and talked to him about his business Reflective Therapies Ltd. as well as his experiences as an entrepreneur. James worked in the NHS for 30 years and for the last 11 as a Senior Adult Psychotherapist at the Lincoln Dynamic Psychotherapy Centre. After he was made redundant from this role in 2016, James took the exciting (and frightening) leap to becoming a business owner. He now operates through Reflective Therapies Ltd. offering individual, couples and group Psychotherapy to adults. Additionally, James had the opportunity to teach 3rd year Psychology undergraduates as an Associate Lecturer at The University of Lincoln for two years; expanding his skill set into academia. At first James found it difficult to assimilate to self-employed life, particularly when trying to understand jargon business terms and fully adapting a business owner mind-set. He did however refine his knowledge through great support in the business community, as well as that offered by BG Futures. Although he had met with adversity, the benefits of being self-employed were clear to James; receiving word-of-mouth recommendations from clients gave him the opportunity to build a strong client base, as well as providing a needed boost to the start of his self-employed journey that continues through to today. Looking back on his experiences over the last two years James’ advice was budding entrepreneurs to take the plunge: “I would encourage anybody to not be scared to try starting their own business. Reflective Therapies Ltd. has been given the chance to grow and thrive thanks to the platform BG Futures has given the business; through great opportunities and helpful staff, passionate about business growth.” For Becky Goodman, Enterprise Development Manager at BG Futures, following James’ journey has been incredibly rewarding: “It’s great to see businesses such as James’ flourish during their time with us at BG Futures Business and Enterprise Centre. James’ work is vital in assisting individuals to move forward in life and we are pleased to have been able to offer him an environment in which has supported his success." If you’d like to know more about James and Reflective Therapies Ltd. you can visit his website or if you’re keen to follow in his footsteps and begin your own business contact the BG Futures team today. -
BGU Teenage Market Celebrates its Second Anniversary
The Lincoln Teenage Market, organised by BG Futures at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), once again took over part of Lincoln’s City Centre offering young entrepreneurs the opportunity to take their first steps in the business world this month. This particular event marked two important milestones. Not only was it the Lincoln Teenage Market’s two year anniversary, it was the tenth Teenage Market that organisers Nikki Smith, BG Futures Careers, Employability and Enterprise Advisor and Diane Haines Compliance Officer, have been involved with. For Nikki, the continued success and growth of the market has been incredibly rewarding: “It has been and is a real pleasure to work alongside my BGU colleagues and the wider community to develop the Lincoln Teenage Market. "Our traders and performers now range from ages 10 -29 years of age, and the excellent quality of their products and performances is inspiring to see. Alongside this we have seen a significant rise in BGU student engagement with the market; further reinforcing themselves as talented, enterprising, community driven individuals. "Above all it is very rewarding to see how their self-confidence has grown and continues to grow with every market.” The Market aims to create enterprising opportunities for both BGU students and the wider local community; offering the City’s future traders and business owners the chance to trial their entrepreneurial ideas in a physical retail space. Stallholders included entrepreneurs from the BGU Business (Team Entrepreneurship) course, in addition to students from Linkage and Lincoln College who exhibited their work as part of their coursework. The BG Futures Careers, Employability and Enterprise team are keen to work with the local community to continue to develop opportunities for all across the county. Alongside the colourful and creative stalls, visitors to the market were also treated to an energetic performance by the BGSU Dance Society who were commended by Becky Goodman, Enterprise Development Manager, for their high energy, support for the market, and flair for public performance. The next Lincoln Teenage Market will be taking place on 1 December in the Lincoln City Square Co-op and it will be swiftly followed by another at the BGU Christmas Extravaganza on 2 December. If you would like to find out more information or perhaps get involved as a trader or performer at the next event, please contact the Teenage Market team at: teenagemarket@bishopg.ac.uk. Should you wish to talk to a member of the team about any other enterprise query then please email enterprise@bishopg.ac.uk. You can also follow Lincoln Teenage Market on Facebook. -
BGU Men’s Football Club win the Cathedral Cup
Bishop Grosseteste University Men’s Football Club (BGUMFC) beat the University of Lincoln in a penalty shootout to reclaim the Cathedral Cup at Sincil Bank last week. -
Disability Confident Workshop shows local businesses how to enhance skills and talent with a more diverse workforce
This month, the Business Inspiration Project at Bishop Grosseteste University hosted a Disability Confident workshop in Louth to help local businesses boost their skills and talent by recruiting and retaining staff with disabilities and people with health conditions. Over 50 representatives from Lincolnshire-based businesses attended the workshop, with representatives from JobCentre Plus, the Shaw Trust, Linkage College, Russon Consultancy Ltd and a range of local businesses from a number of industry sectors. Research undertaken by the Business Inspiration Project found that businesses are still unclear of what a difference an employment opportunity can make to somebody living with a disability, and how their skills can have a significant impact, particularly in a small business. The workshop aimed to challenge the current perceptions and mindset of taking on disabled employees, with talks from local businesses who have benefitted from doing just that. Information was also provided on becoming an accredited Disability Confident Employer, together with advice from the Access to Work scheme, which included details of the financial assistance available to support individual employees. Grahame Killey, Project Manager of the Business Inspiration programme, said “We were delighted to see such a positive response from local businesses in their pursuit of being fully inclusive with employment opportunities and accommodating a more diverse range of employees who can have a real impact in their business.” If you would like to hear more information on becoming a Disability Confident employer, please contact julie.fisher@bishopg.ac.uk or visit https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/disability-confident-campaign The Business Inspiration Project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. -
BG Futures networking event proves a great success
BG Futures, Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) Business and Enterprise Centre, recently hosted a networking event enabling organisations in the centre to explore how engaging in effective PR can help them thrive. -
BGU Ambassadors Discuss International Business during Embassy Visit
Staff and students from the Business (Team Entrepreneurship) course at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) were invited to visit the Finnish and Hungarian Embassies in London to discuss opportunities to promote international business initiatives. Chris Jackson, Senior Lecturer and Team Coach on the TE programme, received an invitation from the Finnish Embassy via the regional Honorary Finnish Consul, Camilla Carlbom-Flinn, who is keen to promote the ongoing relationships that BGU’s Business and Enterprise team have built with Finnish organisations. Chris was joined on the visit by his academic colleague Pete Tasi along with students Daria Pipczyenka and Chris Sandham. The main topic of discussion was promoting the forthcoming Team 4 Learning (T4L) event that will be hosted at BGU next February. T4L is an international event that brings together students, team coaches and alumni connected with the Team Academy (Tiimiakatemia) programme (which forms the basis of BGU’s TE course). For next year’s event the team at BGU are planning to broaden the scope to include organisations who are now using Team Academy methods in their everyday business practice. The BGU visitors were received at the Embassy by Special Advisor Minttu Taajamo, who also invited colleagues from the Anglo-Finnish Chamber of Commerce and Business Finland. For Chris the trip offered an exciting opportunity to see representatives from BGU involved at the heart of international cooperation: “Daria and Chris did a first class job as ambassadors for BGU, and represented us well at the Embassy. This was an incredible learning opportunity for them. The Embassy were very supportive and we now need to continue discussions with them to see exactly what this support could look like in practice and how we might be able to collaborate further.” While in London, BGU’s ambassadors were also able to visit the Hungarian Embassy where they met with the Science and Technology attache, who was a colleague of Pete Tasi at the Budapest Business School. A Hungarian national, Pete has joined BGU for a year, to work on both the BA (Hons) Team Entrepreneurship and BA (Hons) Business courses. Pete discussed the positive impact this meeting could have on both the students involved and the wider BGU community: “We encourage our students to get out and meet prospects and build active networks, so it seemed crazy not to make the most of this opportunity and show them the potential of real networking. "We explained about the nature and scope of our work at BGU and it looks as if there are opportunities for us to collaborate further, which is pretty exciting. We already have an invitation to return and meet with some Hungarian start-ups based in the UK at an event organised by the Embassy.” If you’re interested in a future in international business or in starting your own company, our business courses are the perfect path to take. You can find more information on them on our website or by contacting our Enquiries Team. Better yet, why not attend one of our Open Days and experience BGU first hand? -
BGU Students Explore What it Means to Remember
Second Year Students on the History and Theology courses at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) visited the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) as a part of their modules which explore the historical and theological dimensions of war and commemoration. Both modules ask students to reflect on key questions of who remembers, when, where and how, making the NMA, with its 150 acres and over 300 living and man-made memorials, an ideal location to visit. Whilst the students were able to experience a wide variety of different memorials including the Armed Forces Memorial where all those who have lost their lives in service post-1945 are named. Rebecca Newton, a single honours History student, described how seeing this memorial in particular, in the light of the centenary of Armistice, proved a thought provoking and emotional experience for many of the students: “The visit to the National Memorial Arboretum was one of the most emotional and thought provoking trips I have been on with BGU. “It highlighted the significance of the service and sacrifice of all who have lost their lives to war and, on the run up to Armistice this year, this is something I feel should be remembered. “One of the most emotional parts of this visit was the Armed Forces Memorial, more specifically the blank walls ready for more names to be engraved of those who have died in recent conflicts and conflicts yet to come, emphasizing that the cost of freedom is high and despite the immense amount of life already lost, we are still paying the price.” Forming part of the History and Theology courses, both modules encourage students to consider the dynamics of history, religion and politics, and the interplay of these with memory. Through research-led teaching, students explore individual and state responses to remembering during both world wars, associated invented traditions such as the poppy and fields of remembrance, public rituals and the role of symbolism in the creation of national culture and religious identity. The module in particular aims to bust some of the many myths around the First World War that are at present reinforced by popular culture. If you would be interested in joining these discussions visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team for more information on our wide range of courses including BA degrees in History and Theology, our MA in Social & Cultural History and our new BA (Hons) in Military History. -
BGU Collaborate on Original Play and Exhibition to Mark the 2018 Armistice
In the approach to Armistice Day 2018, BGU staff and students have been supporting the production of an important new play to mark the end of the centenary years of the First World War.
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