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New Waste & Recycling FAQs published
BG Green is pleased to announce the publication of new Waste & Recycling FAQs on the University’s sustainability webpages. Amongst other things, the FAQs describe what types of waste can be disposed of where, and what happens to university waste & recycling when it leaves campus, in a bid to help staff, students, and the wider BGU community with their recycling on campus. BG Green, the University’s working group on sustainability and ethical practice, was established in April 2022 and meets monthly. Its purpose is to seek to reduce the University’s carbon footprint by developing and delivering projects and initiatives for environmental sustainability and ethical practice. Recent work by BG Green has included the establishment of a ‘Swap Shop’ where members of the university community can exchange items like clothing, footwear, and useful household items; knitting classes, with free knitting supplies, to show people how to make scarves and hand warmers; and the publication of a new Sustainable Food Policy. To find out more about BG Green, or to ask a question about sustainability and ethical practice at BGU email BGGreen@bishopg.ac.uk. -
SENI Students Experience the Power of Inclusive Leadership
Special Educational Needs & Inclusion (SENI) students from Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) had the opportunity to boost their leadership and management skills with a trip to Eon’s Blackburn Meadows Renewable Energy Plant in Sheffield. As part of their degree course the group of Level 6 students have been studying the benefits and practices of inclusive leadership with the visit to Blackburn Meadows offering an opportunity to see it in action at a multi-company. Following a presentation on organisational management by David Lowles, Blackburn Meadows’ Asset Manager, the students were given the chance to tour the plant’s educational centre and production areas. Along with the hands on experience of inclusive leadership the trip, to one of the only renewable energy plants in the country, offered the students the chance to gain knowledge in a number of new educational areas including renewable energy, environmental protection and off site learning. Dr Julia Lindley-Baker, Programme Leader for SENI at BGU, was delighted with the range of experiences enjoyed by the students: “On top of the fascinating presentations from the staff at Eon; our students were able to gain a unique insight into environmental sustainability and understanding of different leadership styles which allowed them to reflect on graduate opportunities in a diverse educational setting. “It was also fun exploring how waste wood is turned into electricity for both domestic and district heating systems. Now we know how Ikea flat packs and snooker tables keep the city warm!” You can find out more about the opportunities available on our SENI courses by visiting our website or by contacting our Enquiries Team. -
Student Volunteers use Animation to Promote Climate Change Education
Bishop Grosseteste University’s BG Futures team recently hosted a series of events as part of Student Volunteering Week (SVW) to celebrate the impact of student volunteers and encourage students to engage in civic life. As a part of these activities BA (Hons) Geography students Connor Price and Dan Knibbs engaged with the national initiative by hosting an event on animating climate change. The event challenged other students and members of the local community to create animations highlighting the importance of climate change and green thinking. Speaking at the event Dan discussed why he and Connor put the event together: “I wanted to run the workshop as this is something I am extremely passionate about and believe that the importance to reduce plastics in the oceans is crucial for marine life sustainability. Therefore, by running this workshop, it hopefully has educated a number of people on how they can change their lifestyles to reduce their impacts on the marine environment.” Cassie Rainey, BG Futures Administrator, praised the two for creating an event that brought different groups together in support of an important initiative: “This event saw students, teachers, and the local community come together to learn from Connor and Dan and was both engaging and informative. The hands-on activity of creating an animation meant that the learning aspect was almost subliminal and for this reason in particular I’m excited for them to deliver this to children. Not only do I think the children will really enjoy it they will learn about how to get involved on an incredibly important issue” Becky Goodman Enterprise Development Manager at BGU added her excitement at the potential impact on the Lincoln community created by the event: “It was great to support Connor and Dan to put on this event and I am excited to see how they build on this with their Programme leader Sarah Hemstock as they roll this event out to The Diocesan Board of Education and their partner schools” Connor and Dan will also be including this learning activity in the International Symposium on Climate Change and the Role of Education which is being held here at BGU on the 12th and 13th of April. Contact Sarah via email sarah.hemstock@bishopg.ac.uk. The mission behind SVW is that ‘When learners are supported to tackle social challenges, learn about issues and connect with each other, both communities and students benefit’. If you’d like to become involved in volunteering, or to find out more information about BGU’s Volunteering Award speak to a member of the BG Futures team. -
How to make a rubbish trip brilliant
As part of the University’s wellbeing approach, Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) Centre for Enhancement in Learning and Teaching organised a visit to Lincolnshire’s Energy from Waste facility for Geography students to help them see how they could create a sustainable campus. The waste facility (FCC Environment, Lincolnshire EFW visiting centre) is the largest in Europe and provides a sustainable, safe and affordable waste treatment solution and allows energy to be produced from waste which isn’t recycled or composted. The plant receives up to 190,000 tonnes of residual waste per year and uses the waste to generate electricity and other by product materials that can be used safely in road construction and recycling. During the trip students learnt why the facility is important due to its forward thinking attitude, low carbon footprint and ability to divert waste away from landfills along with how they could implement those qualities into their own activities both on and off campus. Mark Charlesworth, Associate Tutor for Geography at BGU, who accompanied the students said he found the trip an interesting and engaging opportunity: “The viewing facilities were fantastic. It is important to recognise that currently a large amount of waste is created by society and it is better to recover energy from waste with as little pollution as possible, and this plant demonstrated efficient waste disposal and energy creation” Claire Thomson, Head of the Centre for Enhancement in Learning and Teaching (CELT), discussed the wider benefits the trip could offer the BGU community: “This trip was a fantastic way for students and staff to raise their awareness of global sustainability and the role we can all play in this. In addition it builds on our ongoing work with the University’s wellbeing steering group to raise awareness of the importance of a sustainable campus” As part of these efforts to create a sustainable, mentally positive campus CELT and the wellbeing steering group have been working with the University’s Estates team to craft a series of quiet spaces across BGU. They have also collaborated with the Chaplaincy team on the ‘Blooming Marvellous’ project, and with BGSU and BG Lincoln ltd. on the drive to replace paper cups and plastic straws. Further improvements to its campus and facilities to reduce its carbon footprint and make the campus more sustainable carried out by BGU include: Initiatives include: Solar control glass to reflect the heat from the sun which results in a cooler, more comfortable, internal room temperature which in turn reduces the need for air-conditioning A rainwater harvesting system in the Library which reduces mains water usage A hot water solar system in the sports hall, BG Futures and the refectory which reduces gas consumption If you’d like to be a part of BGU’s drive to create a sustainable and positive campus you can join our student community by visiting our website, talking to our Enquiries Team or by coming along to one of our Open Days. -
Students tackle food waste and social problems in ‘Make Your Mark’ challenge
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) students recently had the chance to devise solutions to the global issue of food waste as part of the ‘Make Your Mark’ challenge. Sponsored and hosted by the Centre for Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT), and supported by BG Futures, the ‘Make Your Mark’ challenge asked the students to think of improvements that could be made at BGU to help limit food waste. While the University’s BG Lincoln Ltd. team have made great strides in this area, they still face the difficulty of balancing these efforts with customer demand for a varied menu as John Hodson, Operations Manager at BG Lincoln Ltd., explains: “Over the past 3 years we have reduced our in-house waste by 28%, resulting in savings of around £14,000 in total. To achieve this, we have focused on an efficient menu, cooking within managed periods of time to meet projected demand, however, we are aware that students desire an expansion to the menu choice.” With this in mind students were asked to think about how about the menu choice could be expanded upon in catering outlets at BGU whilst improving waste control further. They were also asked to reflect on the sustainability of any of these initiatives and whether they could be developed/run as a social enterprise venture. The group of students who took part generated a raft of ideas from different portion sizes and a “lite bites” menu, to generating compost and introducing of ‘doggy bags’ to helping the disadvantaged through food bank donations. Amongst all these fantastic concepts, the winning solution suggested the development of an online app which releases a pre-bookable, weekly food plan. Devised by student Kim Lucia Spielmanns, who won £150 for her idea, the app would allow a higher percentage of food to be pre-booked by staff and students. Speaking at the event she explained her motivation: “Even though our in-house sustainability has greatly improved, I wanted to focus on a solution which could reduce our carbon footprint and better manage the volume control institutionally. My app idea means that more meal tickets can be pre-bought which can better inform buying decisions.” Two runner-up students also won a £20 Amazon voucher for their overall contributions. All the suggestions put forth by the students have been disseminated to the relevant BGU staff and will be built upon further in the New Year. John Hodson is keen to work with students further to ensure their voice is central to the menu offer and their ideas are incorporated into future plans and will be setting up dedicated focus groups in the New Year. Linette Wallace, CELT co-ordinator, led the event and has plans to expand its impact beyond BGU: “I am pleased that this event was so well received by our students and I believe there is a growing need for a pool of social entrepreneurial talent. Next academic year, we hope to be able to run this type of challenge with a group of local secondary schools and will be sending out invitations in the New Year.” For further information on the activities being carried out by the CELT team email CELT@bishopg.ac.uk If you'd like your school to be involved in future Make Your Mark challenges, fill out the below form and a member of our Outreach Team will be in touch with more information. -
NQT Experiences to be Explored as BGU Academics Secure British Academy COVID-19 Research Funding
Academics from Bishop Grosseteste University Dr Emma Clarke, Dr Phil Wood and Aimee Quickfall have secured British Academy funding for a ground-breaking project looking into the experiences of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in 2020/21; a cohort of teachers who have been impacted greatly by the COVID-19 pandemic. The highly competitive British Academy funding process resulted in just 6% of bids being approved. This project considers the experiences of newly qualified teachers, taking up their first career role having missed part of their work-based practice prior to employment. This project will follow NQTs through their first year of teaching to understand the challenges and opportunities they face, how they can be better supported professionally and emotionally, to inform practices and policies to ensure sustainability within the sector during and after the pandemic. Dr. Clarke commented on the project, explaining: “This research will help us understand the complex processes at play for NQTs and is important in ensuring that this cohort thrive in their careers. With a recruitment gap already apparent in English education, any adverse impact on this group of teachers moving forward will play a major role in exacerbating that problem.” It is hoped that the impact of the study will also reach beyond the teaching profession. Dr. Wood explained: “This research project will offer insights into how the wider public sector has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the training of a new generation of professionals.” The project is part of the Well-being and Workload in Education Research and Knowledge Exchange Unit. If you would like to know more about the work of the Well-being and Workload in Education RKEU, please contact aimee.quickfall@bishopg.ac.uk -
Online software offers an ‘Evolution’ in learning for Entrepreneurship students
Although for some the COVID lockdown has created feelings of isolation and disconnect, it has provided the Team Entrepreneurship (TE) students at Bishop Grosseteste University the opportunity to trial world-class simulation software that allows remotely and virtually 'run' an entire company. The software, called ‘Evolution’ allows participants to 'take over' a virtual company which has a trading history, product in development, staff and premises. As its new managers, they must use all of the information available to them in order to make decisions that affect staff, buildings, raw materials, sales and ultimately profitability, running the company over a number of virtual years. As in real life, all decisions impact on profitability and bad decision can have an adverse effect. Senior Lecturer Chris Jackson discusses how the software, created by a York based company called Simventure, became an invaluable tool on the course: "I had come across their product online while researching materials for both the TE course and the new MSc International Business and noticed that it's used globally by some big business schools. I wanted to know more, so I just picked up the phone and struck up a conversation with the company. It turns out that their CEO and I share similar backgrounds and are pretty passionate about entrepreneurship. The programme seems a perfect fit for the MSc, where we'll now be using it as the backbone of one module." "With the continuation of lockdown after Christmas, we realised that there was a possibility that Team Entrepreneurship students could struggle to create the learning experiences needed for them to be able to complete assignments - the Evolution programme seemed to be a perfect compromise, and we'll be introducing this to our learners in the next few weeks.". "We want to keep our students' learning as real as possible while encouraging them to try new strategies and tactics. Of course, things may go wrong, but then unlike real life, Evolution has 'pause' and 'rewind' features!" Alongside this, students are currently testing their business thinking and planning capabilities by using another online tool called Validate. Not only can this be accessed remotely, but it encourages learners to share their work with their peers and with supervisors. It doesn’t take students long to realise that the answers that they are looking for are neither in their heads of in text books - by gamifying their learning they are challenged to take their thinking outside of the classroom. Unlike many traditional models of venture creation, Validate also features sustainability in the initial stages and challenges the learner to map their thinking to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). Now also introduced as an integral part of future business courses, this is another way in which BGU can combine ethical and sustainable thinking in our programmes. If you'd be interested in experiencing a 'virtual' business experience for your students or staff, you can contact Chris Jackson at chris.jackson@bishopg.ac.uk. To find out how you can create your own successes in our collaborative learning community, visit our website, speak to a member of our Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days. Image credit (©Simventure) -
Programme Leader facilitating 'Guardians of Creation'
Dr Mark Charlesworth, Programme Leader for Geography, is contributing to facilitation of a 'Catholic Diocesan Sustainability Transition Framework for England and Wales' to allow the Catholic Church to become better 'Guardians of Creation' via a generalisable framework for sustainability transition in the Catholic Church. The framework will be implementable at the diocesan level. It will cover the practical elements of sustainable change, like carbon accounting and environmental management within a diocese. It will also engage with issues relating to the social and theological aspects of sustainability in the Catholic Church. The project is developing this framework over a two-year pilot case study of sustainability transition in Salford Diocese. The lessons from the Salford project are being translated into a toolkit that any other diocese can use. Mark is focusing on the technical and data acquisition aspects of the project but also has theological insights to offer such as on ecological virtue. He says: "As part of my ecumenical and inter-faith research and civic engagement I am delighted to be contributing to this exciting project aiming to put Laudato Si into practice via 'integral ecology', ecological virtue, the wise use of the latest technology and innovative management ideas." You can read more on the project and its goals by clicking here. To find out how you can create your own successes in our collaborative learning community, visit our website, speak to a member of our Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days. -
‘Fantastic work’ sees Carers Award Re-Accredited for Second Year
At the start of 2020 Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) was delighted to be a awarded a Carers Quality Award by Every-One, the carers’ charity. Just over a year on from that achievement, the “fantastic work” of those involved in carers support at BGU has seen the award re-accredited for a second year. The teams driving carers awareness and support have been working on a number of innovative initiatives over the last year including: Carers passportsPull up carers bannerCarers pin badgesCarers newsletter (which has a number of opportunities for staff and students to get involved)Carers videos have also been produced with staff and students highlighting the support offered by the carer’s community at BGU The goal of all of these initiatives has been to promote a Carers community where inclusivity of staff and student carers is a priority as Leanne McHugh, Senior Lecturer in Health and Social Care at BGU, who leads the overall project, explains: “Having a robust system in place where annually the 5 standards of the Carers Quality Award are reviewed ensures the sustainability and longevity of the projects. This was the first year we have been through the re-assessment process where evidence was required against each area of the standards criteria. As the carer’s initiatives have grown from strength to strength, we welcomed this opportunity. Being offered this platform to share our developments and new initiatives since our first recognition enabled best practice to be shared with others, building network of Carers support across Lincolnshire.” And the group’s efforts, in addition to achieving re-accreditation, also received high praise from Julie Goy, Quality Development Lead Every-one.org.uk: “What fantastic work you continue to do to support Carers at BGU, just amazing” To find out how you can get involved with the ongoing Carers projects at BGU, contact Leanne McHugh at Leanne.mchugh@bishopg.ac.uk To find out how you can create your own successes in our collaborative learning community, visit our website, speak to a member of our Enquiries Team or join us on one of our Open Days. -
Bishop Grosseteste University launch employee salary sacrifice electric car scheme
Staff at Bishop Grosseteste University will be able to lease electric vehicles through a salary sacrifice scheme.
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