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General Practice Nursing Trainees Enjoy Unique Sessions and Guest Speakers
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) welcomed Gill Beardmore this week as she delivered a talk to our General Practice Nurse (GPN) trainees about their funded programme and the motivations behind developing a career as a GPN. Gill is RN & Queens Nurse and works for Health Education England as Primary Care Nurse Workforce Lead in the East Midlands. She was also involved in the development of the NHS 10 point plan to look at novel ways to better train General Practice nurses, of which BGU’s new Post Graduate Certificate in General Practice Nursing (PG Cert in GPN) is a part, and the overall proof of concept for the new GPN trainees. Joining our trainees, who are now a third of the way through their programme, Gill discussed the importance of their course and its potential impact on healthcare training across the UK. The PG Cert in GPN is a completely new model of training for General Practice Nursing covering wider skills and practices designed to futureproof the profession. While the BGU course is currently one of only two on offer across the UK, if it is successful the model will be rolled out nationwide. Following Gill’s presentation the trainees took part in a session exploring blood test interpretation. Led by Dr Graham Basten, Head of the School of Social Sciences at BGU, blood test interpretation is one of the new skills being covered by the course. General Practice nurses would not normally be trained in this area and its inclusion, in addition to being part of the evolution of the General Practice nursing role, is completely unique to BGU. The PG Cert In General Practice Nursing is a fantastic opportunity for health care professionals to up skill and provides a pathway into the developing course portfolio within the School of Social Science at BGU which reflects current and future needs of the health and social care sector. Other current courses include Master's in Health & Social Care Leadership and Primary & Community Care. To find out how these courses can help develop your healthcare skills visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team. -
War injuries and Skinheads take the stage as BGU students share their prize winning research at history conference
Connie Wragg and Lewis Bird, third year History students at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), presented their research and engaged in discussions at the regional Undergraduate Dissertation Showcase. Run by the East Midlands Centre for History Learning and Teaching (EMC), the Showcase drew speakers from across the East Midlands and encouraged discussions on a very diverse range of historical topics, including the cultural history of milk, female poisoners, and the Black Panther Movement. Both Lewis’ and Connie’s presentations focused on their dissertation specialisms. Lewis examined the politicisation of the Skinhead movement, explaining the group’s multicultural origins before discussing the reasons for their later far right associations, with a particular focus on the role of the media. Connie meanwhile provided an overview of her research on perceptions of maxillofacial injury during the First World War, and the impact that losing their face had on these soldiers’ self-identity. Both presentations were well received, with Connie’s sharing the prize for best presentation of the day with Anya Maude (University of Nottingham) and Kieran Blake (University of Lincoln). Dr Hazel Kent, BGU’s steering group representative for the EMC, accompanied Lewis and Connie to the event and praised the pair for their hard work: “This was a truly inspiring event which demonstrated the depth and range of historical research being done at undergraduate level. Lewis and Connie were superb ambassadors for History at BGU and I am so pleased they took this opportunity to communicate their original and intriguing research to a wider audience. The standard of the presentations was extremely high and I am delighted that Connie’s was judged to be one of the best”. If you would be interested in joining these discussions visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team for more information on our wide range courses including a selection of joint honours BA History degrees, our MA in Social & Cultural History and our new BA (Hons) in Military History. -
Lecturer leads on behavioural diversity at European business event
Chris Jackson, Senior Lecturer and Team Coach in the Business and Enterprise Department at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), represented the University at the recent Academic Adventures event at Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) in Finland. Traveling as Part of the Erasmus+ programme, Chris delivered two sessions on the importance of behavioural diversity in learning teams and took part in sessions that discussed how BGU use the Team Academy model of 'learning by doing' in our own BA(Hons) Team Entrepreneurship programme. The event was attended by delegates from across Europe who were keen to explore how self-determined or 'project-based' learning can be used in disciplines other than business, including HR, Physiotherapy and Teacher Education. This is in response to some academic institutions moving away from subject-specific delivery and embracing different models of learning. Returning from the Academic Adventures event Chris commented: "The response from delegates was very positive. This was largely due to the fact that delegates were able to hear first-hand from students and team coaches as to how the methodology is implemented and then acted upon. Just as at BGU, the process of the business course learning is that students have to design and run their own business projects - they're expected to earn as they learn!" "However, Team Academy methods aren't restricted to learning about business within higher education. Other disciplines may well want to explore business or enterprise elements, but then it's possibly more about adding value and difference than making money. "The way that this process works in academia is that projects are designed and executed by students in ways that address a particular issue. As the process evolves, they identify gaps in their knowledge - they discover what they don't know. The thing is, this differs from project to project and student to student, making the individual learning very relevant. As projects progress, learners are encouraged to underpin their experience with relevant academic theory - their experienced combined with their academic learning provides observable and assessable criteria." Finland are world-leaders in education and BGU have been using methodology closely aligned to the Tiimiakatemia model of business learning for four years. 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. -
Academics complete international project exploring personalised learning
Academics from the School of Teacher Development at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) have completed work on an Erasmus+ project this month, attending the final meeting in The Netherlands to showcase their output. The Erasmus+ project, on Personalised Learning in Primary and Secondary education phases, included research teams from The Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Finland and the BGU UK team. The academics involved from the School of Teacher Development were; Dr. Emma Clarke, Kevin McLaughlin, Shaun Thompson, Dr. Jonathan Wainwright and Aimee Quickfall. The BGU team joined the project in January this year, taking over from a school partner in Lincoln, and quickly became part of a strong research group across Europe during visits to The Netherlands and Sweden in the spring. Their output is the 'teacher profile' - a tool for teachers across Europe to assess their own level of personalised learning practice, with advice and targets if they wish to increase their level of skill in this area as Dr Clarke explained: “The toolkit is deliberately non-judgemental, for teachers to use individually or with peers. It avoids suggesting that some teaching approaches are better than others - but will support practitioners who wish to develop key personalised learning skills.” As part of the final project meeting, the Erasmus+ team presented to teachers and leaders in The Netherlands. Returning from the meeting Aimee commented: “It has been a pleasure to be involved in this European project, with researchers who have different backgrounds, settings and perspectives, but who share a passion for improving education and professional development for teachers. We have built relationships with our partner teams and hope we can continue to develop our links and projects.” The completed project will 'go live' in the autumn of 2019. If you’re interested in a future in education, our BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS (3 year undergraduate degree), BA (Hons) Primary Teaching Studies with QTS (15 month top up degree), and PGCE courses are the perfect ways to begin or continue your adventure on the path to becoming a fantastic teacher! If you have any questions, our Enquiries Team are ready to help. Contact them today or visit our website to find out how to take your next steps. -
Students get hands on with Lincoln’s rich history at annual archaeological dig
Archaeology students at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) have been joined by international colleagues to explore Lincoln’s historical past at the annual BGU Archaeological Field School. Taking place in the grounds of the Lincolnshire Open Research and Innovation Centre, on Newport, the focus of the dig is to find and explore the remains of the medieval marketplace ‘Newport Green’. Some evidence of the site was discovered in the previous year’s dig and Dr Duncan Wright, Programme Leader for Archaeology and Heritage at BGU, explained why they had returned to uncover it further: “This dig is giving us the opportunity to celebrate and explore the historic development of Newport as suburb. In this sense Newport is very unusual and not as well developed as other medieval suburbs however, it has a potentially unique enclosure surrounding the entire community which we’re excited to find more evidence of and hopefully contribute to the growing discipline of suburban archaeology” The team are also hoping to discover more evidence of a collection of Roman buildings on the same site. Over the course of the four week dig around 60 students and volunteers from around the world will come to the site to support the exploration. Two of the BGU students taking part in their first dig are Saskia and Chloe, who discussed their excitement at being able to put their skills to the test: “It’s incredible to be given such an in depth and hands on opportunity in the first year of our course especially on a site that turning up finds from so many different eras, we’re already uncovering Victorian and some medieval archaeology and might only be a few more feet away from Roman finds” Fellow students Sam and Phoebe, on their second and third digs respectively, praised the annual digs for bringing people together: “These digs are a gift, we’re working with students and archaeologists from all over the world, it’s an experience you just wouldn’t be offered anywhere else. We’re not only honing highly employable skills, everything from digging through to processing and curation, we’re making real connections with fellow archaeologists.” One of those international colleagues is Ellie Roach, who has travelled over from America for her third dig with BGU: “I love coming back for the annual field schools at BGU, the supervisors are incredibly knowledgeable and supportive and the sites themselves allow you to explore regions of history that just aren’t accessible in the states. As a classicist, being able to get hands on with Roman and Medieval archaeology has been brilliant” You too can get a first-hand experience of our Archaeological Field School at the annual open day on Saturday 29 June. The site will be open to the public from 10am-4pm and our students and lecturers will be on hand to discuss the site and their finds. To find out how you can get hands on with history at BGU, visit our website, contact our Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days. -
BGU Exhibition Joins Lincoln City Football Club to Celebrate Women’s Team Launch
Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) ongoing exhibition into the history of Women’s football in Lincolnshire travelled to Sincil Bank this week to join in the celebrations as Lincoln City Football Club officially relaunched their Lincoln Women team. The team, who will play in the FA Women's National League Division One Midlands, were formally launched last night having previously been known as Nettleham Ladies and at the event they were supported by BGU’s vibrant exhibition celebrating the history of the women’s game in Lincoln so far. Chloe Brock-Taylor, Lincoln City Women Captain and PGCE student at BGU, shared her excitement about being part of the ongoing journey of women’s football in Lincoln: “I’ve been involved with Lincoln City since I was a kid so it’s amazing to be back here today to relaunch and lead the women’s team. It’s great that BGU have been able to support the relaunch with this exhibition and I’m really pleased that it’s here today. It’s fantastic to see the history of women’s football in the city being celebrated and I’m excited for me and my team mates to become a part of that story” Terry Hibbard, Media Manager at Lincoln City Football Club, explained why the Club felt it was important to have the exhibition at the event: “There is a rich history of women’s football in both Lincoln and the wider county which the exhibition from BGU captures superbly. On a day like today we felt it was vital that that history and those traditions be championed to give people an understanding of everything the women’s team has accomplished so far and what it’s capable of achieving.”Dr Andrew Jackson, Head of Research at BGU, expressed his delight at seeing the continuing impact of his team’s exhibition on the Lincoln community: “When we were in the early stages of putting the exhibition and play together we hoped they might help towards the reestablishment of the Lincoln Women’s team so it’s great to be here now seeing that become a reality. We’re excited to see the new Women’s team succeed and hopefully we’ll be able to add this new chapter into our exhibition in the future” The exhibition is currently on display and open to the public at the Lincoln Central Library. The Research Team at BGU are dedicated to preserving and championing the history of Lincolnshire and its residents. You can keep up to date with all their activities via our website or, if you would like to get involved yourself, you can contact our Enquiries Team to find out how to start your new adventure. -
Doctoral Student presents special education research at international conference
Sue Wood, EdD Doctoral Student at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), presented her research manuscript ‘Assessment in Special Education: Improving Professionals’ Skills Using Video Footage’ at the 5th International “New Directions in Multidisciplinary Research & Practice” (NDMRP) Conference. The NDMRP invites scholars, scientists, engineers, researchers, practitioners and students to come together and share the new innovative trends in their respective field. This common platform is expected to provide the bases for joint venture among different fields to serve society in a better way. Sue’s research explored the value of video analysis and observation assessment in order to record the communication skills of non-verbal children with severe physical disabilities. Discussion focused on intervention strategies to improve communication and social skills of children with severe disabilities. Sue was joined at the conference by her co-author and research supervisor Dr. Maria Efstratopoulou, Senior Lecturer in SEND at BGU, who praised her professional performance in what was her first international conference presentation: “It was a unique experience for Sue to present a part of her research in front of a multicultural audience and it has been a great pleasure to have positive feedback from participants concerning Sue's research - which I supervise as part of her Doctoral studies at BGU.” “I strongly believe that we – as academics – need to motivate and support our students to actively participate in International Conferences in order to share their research findings and knowledge and exchange ideas with Colleagues and Academics from other Universities.' You can find more information on how to pursue your doctorate at BGU on our website or by contacting a member of our Enquiries Team. -
BGU to explore Georgian culture at triennial Burney Society conference
On 30 and 31 July, Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) will host the triennial conference of the Burney Society (UK), which brings together academics and members of the public interested in the life and works of members of the Burney family in the Georgian period. The Burney family included the novelists Frances and Sarah Harriet Burney, musical historian Charles Burney, explorer Captain James Burney, and many more. The conference will consider how the Burneys and their circle engaged with or constructed narratives of marginality and/or centrality; their relationship to marginal and/or mainstream culture and society; and the imaginative use they made of such categories. Keynote speakers at the conference include Dr Gillian Dow (University of Southampton, former director of Chawton House Library) and Professor Lorna Clark (Carleton University, Canada). There will also be an opportunity to hear some of Charles Burney's compositions during a musical interlude. Anyone wishing to know more about the conference can contact the organiser, Dr Cassie Ulph (Lecturer in English), or alternatively visit the society's website for full programme and ticket information (discounted registration rate available for BGU staff and students). Alternatively, tickets and accommodation for the event can be booked on the BGU e-commerce site. BGU regularly welcome guests from all the world to thought-provoking and intriguing events, you can keep up to date with all the exciting ones still to come on our news and events pages. -
BG futures business centre gives hr professionals a flying start
Human resource professionals, Amica HR, credit BG Futures with playing a key role in putting them on course for commercial success. The business incubation complex on the Bishop Grosseteste University campus provided the former home-based consultancy B&G HR with the perfect premises and support to supercharge their success. Following rapid growth B&G HR rebranded and expanded to become Amica HR (with a sister venture Amica Legal). Now they have two offices in Lincoln, a third in London along with a newly opened fourth office in Humberside. When B&G HR started out, Director David Grech brought more than 10 years’ experience of human resources, employment law and leadership experience of working with SMEs and management teams going through rapid change, to the table. He was joined by fellow Director Suzanne Tricker, an accomplished and committed HR professional, added a further 20 years’ experience in delivering HR solutions to clients across the public and private sectors. This encompassed transformational advice on change management, restructures, outsourcing, TUPE transfers and redundancy situations. Both were passionate about building meaningful partnerships with companies by providing them with a wide spectrum service, irrespective of their business sector. They also knew that B&G HR needed a respected business address which made the BG Futures centre an ideal location, as David explained: “BG Futures Business & Enterprise Centre is a brilliant complex for fledgling businesses. With its professional reception, on-site support and its mix of tenants, means it offers ambitious businesses a safe starting point. “Initially, we rented a small office in keeping with the size of our client base, but we also had enough room to take on an intern. A year later, we realised we needed twice the room to service our clients, but we were easily able to switch to a bigger office within BG Futures. “What was so fantastic about this aspect was that we could upgrade without suffering any downtime or disruption to our day-to-day operations.” Suzanne was also full of praise for the opportunities offered by BG Futures: “We are convinced that starting out with a professional office helped us to attract more business and grow faster than we would have done otherwise. Usefully, BG Futures units are also come furnished and they are cost-effective to rent. “It was great to build relationships with other businesses and to have other commercial expertise on site. We were also able to assist BGU by writing the HR Module for the Undergraduate Business Degree course, which will be taught to this year’s students.” David and Suzanne know first-hand how challenging it can be when you are just starting out in business. They said it is vital to start out with the right attitude, a clear plan for growth and the right premises: “Our advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is – believe in yourselves, write a clear business plan, base your business in premises tailored to your needs and which, ideally offer on-site support services. After that you will be able to concentrate on building trust in your clients and those word-of-mouth referrals will follow!” Nikki Smith, Careers, Employability and Enterprise Advisor at BG Futures, expressed congratulations to Amica HR on their well-deserved ongoing expansion and success and praised them for their work with the BGU community: “Whilst running their very successful business they always had time to encourage any of our students who were interested in or wanted to find out more about the world of Human Resources. Since their relocation, they have continued to offer this support. We’re thrilled that Amica HR are still actively engaging with BGU.” If you have got a vision for your own business but aren’t sure where to begin then the BG Futures team are the perfect place to start. With facilities and expert support available in their incubation centre, they’ll be able to get you on the road to success. Visit our website or contact them today to see how you can start your own adventure. -
How Learning While Earning Created New Adventures for Me
How Learning While Earning Created New Adventures for Me By Ryan Hinson (MA in Professional Studies - now called MA in Professional Practice with Children, Young People and Families - student at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) – also former FdA and BA Professional Studies student) I’ve always been the kind of person who is seeking out the next challenge. I was keen to get a degree but I needed to stay in work which made the Foundation Degree in Professional studies at BGU a perfect option. It’s incredibly flexible and meant I could still pay my bills and spend time with my kids while I learned it was a difficult balance but definitely worth it. That everyone is working part-time while they study (I was working 4 days a week as 1:1 Teaching Assistant in a primary school) is one of the great things about the foundation degree because it means all of us understand each other’s backgrounds and how to provide support. Even though I was the only man on the course I wasn’t left out and I was able to build a connection with the other students on my course. Those connections helped me enjoy the course and build momentum to carry me through onto both the undergraduate and postgraduate professional studies degree courses. The lecturers were also incredibly supportive and offer a wealth of knowledge, they definitely make you feel like they’re alongside you throughout your degree. Completing the foundation degree gave me the confidence to apply for new jobs and I’m now running my own after school clubs, teaching sport and supporting larger groups of children. All my confidence came from my degree, you gain experience giving presentations and you can learn from students around you. Once I finish my master's I will probably stay in the job I’m currently in as I really enjoy it, but I’d also like to write a book on my experiences as a male in Primary Education. I’m a father to two children and would love to explore how my relationship with them has guided my professional work. I definitely feel like it gives me perspective in my teaching role, I try to be calm and empathetic with the children and parents I work with – as I hope people would be with my kids! I find working with children as the most rewarding job available and would definitely recommend more men consider it as a potential career paths. It has huge personal development benefits and the children really respond to male role models. Don’t think of Primary work as just for women, there are loads of amazing opportunities for guys who want to follow that path. Looking back now I’m so pleased I took on the courses at BGU, I’m a different person to when I started and I wouldn’t be where I am, in a job I love, if I hadn’t. If you’re interested in following a new career that allows you to earn while you learn our Foundation Degree courses are the perfect place to start. Visit our website, contact a member of our Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days for more information.
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