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BGU social enterprise founder meets Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
The founder of a social enterprise based at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln met the newly engaged Royal couple in Nottingham this month. Lizzie Jordan, founder of BG Futures-based social enterprise Think2Speak, was invited to meet Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle at the Royal couple’s first public engagement together. The visit to Nottingham on World AIDS Day (1 December) honoured lives lost to HIV. It also marked the medical progress made in the fight against the virus and acknowledged individuals and organisations working in the sector. Lizzie Jordan, who became a mother, a widow and discovered she was HIV positive all within 18 months more than a decade ago, was amongst the invited guests. She was one of the first to meet the couple to share the work Think2Speak does with young people. Lizzie’s son Jay and fellow Think2Speak directors Alan Searle and Matthew Stringer also attended the event. Speaking after the event Lizze said, “It’s testament to Harry that he’s really following in his mother’s footsteps and flying the flag for things that many others would rather shy away from. “It’s just a shame that 30 years on we’re still having to bang the drum and talk about this issue. I go into schools across the country every week and the young people I meet don’t have the awareness of the Diana era. “We have got a generation where HIV isn’t on their radar and Think2Speak are working hard to change that!” The Royal couple are understood to have wanted to make the Terrence Higgins Trust World Aids Day charity fair the key moment for their first outing, after Prince Harry previously attempted to help break the stigma by taking an HIV test in public. Lizzie’s son Jay said, “It was funny because Meghan recognised my Mum and knew our family’s story from the BBC One documentary The Truth About HIV, that Prince Harry was also in. “Harry asked me what I knew about HIV and if I was proud of my Mum. I was so proud to be able to talk to them both about the work that she does.” Becky Goodman, Enterprise Development Manager at BG Futures said, “We are extremely proud of what Lizzie is achieving with Think2Speak, and this is testament to her dedication and drive.” Learn more about Think2Speak. -
WATCH: BGU lecturers' TEDx talks
Lecturers from Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln spoke at a new TEDx event in October. Lincoln hosted its first ever TEDx event, TEDx Brayford Pool, on 28 October 2017. The theme of TEDx Brayford Pool was 'Past. Present. Future' and the event highlighted the best and most current ideas generated in Lincoln and Lincolnshire. Lyndsay Muir, Senior Lecturer in Drama Education at BGU, discussed self-identified trans people creatively orchestrating conversations with the wider population. Dr Jack Cunningham, BGU’s programme leader for Theology and Reader in Ecclesiastical History, presented a keynote talk about Robert Grosseteste. Dr Elinor Vettraino, programme leader for Business and Enterprise at BGU, explored self directed learning in a university setting. Andrew Whitehall, who delivers short courses at BGU, explored what neurodiversity can teach us about the way we learn. Lizzie Jordan, founder of BG Futures-based social enterprise Think2Speak, delivered her talk 'Let's Talk About Sex, Baby'. Lewis Smith, BGU graduate in Education Studies with Special Educational Needs & Inclusion, reflected on whether it's schooling or education that makes you who you are. Click here to read more about the event. -
BGU Welcomes International Delegates
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) welcomed government officials and industry leaders from the Chinese province of Hunan as they visited campus for a tour of facilities. Exploring the BGU campus as a part of their wider visit to Lincoln on 18 April, the delegates were particularly interested in the work of BG Futures, who are dedicated to supporting small and start-up businesses, as well as the exciting projects and hard work being undertaken by BGU’s Business Team Entrepreneurship students. With many of the delegates coming from the Province’s food industry the entrepreneurial efforts of BGU students setting up their own food based companies were something of a show-stopper. Hunan is largely agricultural, making Lincolnshire an ideal location for business partnerships, and has a population of around 70 million, bigger than the entire UK. Recent focus within the Province has been on developing its machinery, steel, tobacco, food processing and electronics sectors in addition to its traditional rice and cotton growing and now industry leaders are looking to expand their international connections. Wayne Dyble, International Manager at BGU, highlighted the importance of the visit to a number of BGU’s ongoing projects around the world: “The International Team at BGU have been working incredibly hard to bring the University to the wider world. We are already engaged in projects throughout Hunan Province with Hengyang Normal University (www.hynu.edu.cn) and Hunan First Normal University and it’s fantastic to see our endeavours continue to grow with today’s visit.” You can find more information on BGU’s international projects on their website. -
LiNCHigher inspires local young people to enter higher education with week of events
This week LiNCHigher is participating in events to help around 800 local young people and their influencers understand higher education options as part of a nationwide week of action. In Lincolnshire, young people are less likely to go into higher education than in other areas of the country despite similar GCSE results. LiNCHigher works across Lincolnshire as part of the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP), funded by the Office for Students (OfS), to change this. It brings together Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) and the University of Lincoln with 45 schools, colleges and other local organisations to understand how to best create tailored activities and events that give inspiration, increase aspiration and support young people in years 9-13 to plan their future education. This week’s events will give these young people an opportunity visit a university campus, participate in motivation workshops, learn new revision techniques and try online tools to help them make decisions about future courses and jobs. Naomi Prendergast, LiNCHigher Project Manager, said, “It’s really important for the local area and our young people that they are supported to achieve their full potential. There are some excellent further and higher education institutions in Lincolnshire where young people can gain the skills, experience and qualifications to succeed in the work place. Our Project Team work in schools and in the community throughout the year to raise aspirations and give young people the tools they need to progress onto higher education. We understand the importance of teachers, parents and carers in this journey and are committed to supporting them too.” The NCOP week of action (4 – 8 June) shines a spotlight on the national network of partners and will be accompanied by social media activity as well as events across the country. For further information, please contact Helen Lee on 01522 585623 or email helen.lee@bishopg.ac.uk Planned Activities Monday 4 June Goal Mapping – Lincoln Christ Hospital School: year 9 (Positively Mad) University of Nottingham visit – Lincoln Christ Hospital School: year 10 Motivation workshop - Barnes Wallis Academy: year 10 (Luke Staton) Goal Mapping – The Priory Witham Academy: year 8 (Positively Mad) Motivation workshop - Giles Academy: year 10 (Luke Staton) Tuesday 5 June UCAS Workshop – Walton Girls High School: year 12, 13 (Nottingham Trent University) Career Investigator – Giles Academy: year 9 Progress and pathways evening - The Priory Witham Academy: year 12 Summer school meeting – Bishop Burton College Wednesday 6 June Improving attitudes – Haven High Academy: year 9-10 (First Story) Progression evening – Walton Girls High School: year 12 Exam preparation and motivation workshop – Sir Robert Pattinson Academy: year 12 Road Hog Bus – Tunnard Street, Boston Meeting with Justin Brown, Lincolnshire County Council Thursday 7 June Motivation Workshop - Skegness Grammar School Student Voice - Walton Girls High School: year 9-12 Medical Mentee Induction – Kestevan and Grantham Girls School Futures Club – Giles Academy Parents Evening – Peele Community College: year 10 UCAS evening – The Priory City of Lincoln Academy: year 12 Friday 8 June Inspirational Speaker morning - Kamal Hyman – Lincoln Christ Hospital School: year 9 Heads of year meeting – University Academy Holbeach 2Engage Performance at Manchester Met University Student voice – Lincoln Christ Hospital School: year 9-13 EMWPREP Steering Group and Meeting – Loughborough University -
BGU Courses celebrate graduation of their first cohorts
Graduation is always a special time at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), offering an opportunity to celebrate the hard-earned achievements of students and staff. -
BGU Teenage Market Brings Entrepreneurs and the BBC to the Heart of Lincoln
Last week the Lincoln Teenage Market, organised by Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), took over the City’s Castle Square offering young entrepreneurs the opportunity to take their first steps in the business world. -
BGU Signs Armed Forces Covenant
Today Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) Vice Chancellor the Reverend Canon Peter Neil was joined by Lt Col Rich Forsyth, Commanding Officer Army Training Regiment (Grantham), as he signed the Armed Forces Covenant. -
Enterprising students triumph with Tenner challenge
The Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) Enterprise Club hosted the first ‘Tenner Challenge’ of the year during freshers week. The challenge sought resourceful individuals to come together to generate enterprising ideas to turn a profit from a ‘tenner’ in under 36 hours. The event was a resounding success with the teams involved not only returning their tenner and making over £25 per team profit, but also donating £1 each to the Young Enterprise charity which empowers young people to harness their personal and business skills. The event was organised and run by staff from BG Futures, BGU’s Careers, Employability and Enterprise service, who commended the enterprising talent showcased. One team decided to produce and raffle off a chocolate hamper which proved so successful that, within the first hour of the challenge, they had managed to sell enough tickets to break even. Other teams purchased cookies and sold these to their fellow students, friends and family generating an income of over £40. The BG Futures team are hosting several enterprise initiatives throughout the year including The Lincoln Teenage Market, where performers and traders aged between 10 and 29 can showcase their creative talents for free, Global entrepreneurship week, which runs in November, and various other events hosted at BGU Enterprise Club. For more information on all these events and how you can get involved contact the BG Futures team at enterprise@bishopg.ac.uk. -
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. -
From unemployment to full time study at BGU
How the MOVE project helped one woman achieve her goals. The MOVE project is an ESF and Big Lottery funded project and Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) is one of 24 partners across Lincolnshire. The project aims to work with people who have been out of work for a long time or who are economically inactive. The project began in 2016 and the first participant was Mandy. Mandy came to the project after many years of unemployment and ill health; she had ideas about what she wanted for her future but no idea about how to get there or if she could. Mandy’s background had involved a difficult childhood and involvement in drug misuse. When she came on to the project she was very anxious and a little bit afraid of what would happen next. Thankfully, she was able to put her trust in the team at BG Futures and with their ongoing support and structured inputs, she was able to make progress. These inputs included in-depth careers advice and guidance to help explore and develop career aims, psychometric tests to identify work strengths and abilities, life coaching to deal with social anxiety and ongoing regular support. They were also able to find her a suitable volunteering placement with Addaction and Mandy has been volunteering with the Amy Winehouse Foundation for 18 months. This involves going into secondary school in Lincolnshire to help educate young people about drugs and their effects. Through her time on the MOVE project Mandy has added to her qualifications and studied an Access course at Lincoln College, ultimately applying to BGU and securing a place to study for a degree in Health and Social Care. A year and 10 months after starting her MOVE journey, in September 2018, Mandy enrolled at BGU. She is now well into her first year, enjoying the course and even the challenge of assignments. Not all MOVE participants end up in Higher Education. The point of the project is to help people to identify and achieve their goals towards employment and learning through a tailored one: one approach that helps with self-confidence, motivation and wellbeing alongside employability skills and goal setting. Seeking support from MOVE is voluntary and therefore will not impact any benefit claim and there is also the opportunity for financial help to cover expenses including child care, respite care and travel. If you want to find out more for yourself or for someone you know: contact the MOVE team on 01522 583900 or email moveproject@bishopg.ac.uk
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