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BGU Short Courses Help Develop Employability Skills
Do you want to improve your interview technique or develop skills to help you in the world of work? Two upcoming short courses at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln can help participants do just that. The university is offering two one-day courses: Interview Techniques in February or June, and Preparation for Work in April. Both courses can help a range of people from those already in employment, to those looking for employment or their first job and those going back to work after time away. Interview Techniques on Friday 24 February or Monday 12 June 2017 will give participants the skills to help stand out during an interview, whether it be for work, further education or another venture. Participants will learn valuable interview techniques throughout the day before completing a practice interview to demonstrate their skills. The course is open to everyone and costs £60pp or £50 for BGU students and alumni. The Preparation for Work course can help participants improve communication skills at work, boost confidence and prepare you for the expectations of the workplace. According to the UK Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), "Businesses are looking for young people who stand out from the crowd. They want you to demonstrate that you have a clear idea of where you’re going in life and show signs of having the personal qualities and confidence to get there" This course is designed to help you be aware of your own skills and how you can transfer them to a work environment. Open to everyone, the course on Wednesday 26 April 2017 costs just £35pp. For more information and to book please contact Gemma Fogg by emailing gemma.fogg@bishopg.ac.uk or calling 01522 583621. -
Lincoln Skyline to Feature on BGU’s Knight Sculpture
A pair of talented artists from Birmingham are putting Lincoln on the map by featuring the city’s iconic skyline on the knight sculpture being sponsored by Bishop Grosseteste University. Kieron Reilly and Lynsey Brecknell have called BGU’s statue ‘Knight and Day’, and it is one of 35 knights which will make up this year’s Lincoln Knights’ Trail celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Battle of Lincoln. The event organised by Lincoln BIG runs from 20th May until 3rd September and the knight statues will be unveiled at a launch evening at The Showroom in Lincoln on 27th March. As part of the trail BGU’s knight will be stationed near Newport Arch not far from the university’s campus. “Our design ‘Knight and Day’ shows off Lincoln’s beautifully unique skyline in silhouette form against a bold sunset, including our sponsor Bishop Grosseteste University,” said Lynsey. “Following the success of the Lincoln Barons’ Charter Trail in 2015 we’re sure that the Lincoln Knights are going to be loved by the locals and visitors from across the country, and we are proud to be a part of such an exciting project.” Kieron and Lynsey have very different artistic backgrounds: Lynsey has developed a career in theatre as a scenic artist and set builder while Kieron has a background in animation and now focuses on model making and design. They have successfully collaborated on many public art trails in the past and are looking forward to showcasing their design alongside the other sculptures on the Lincoln Knights’ Trail. “I’ve had a preview of our knight and it’s looking fantastic,” said the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University. “We chose this design because we found it eye-catching and attractive, and also because it features the Lincoln skyline. The artists have adapted this to include the Skinner building on our campus in the silhouette, along with colours in the sky which fade up to BGU purple at the very top. “We think it looks wonderful and we’re looking forward to seeing it take its place as part of the Lincoln Knights’ Trail this summer.” Following the launch on 27th March each knight will be hosted by its sponsor to promote the trail, which will starts on 20th May – 800 years to the day since the Battle of Lincoln. The Lincoln Knights’ Trail is a Wild in Art event brought together by Lincoln BIG in partnership with Visit Lincoln and Education Business Partnership (EBP), in support of local homeless charity the Nomad Trust. Following a call for artists back in September 2016, over 200 innovative designs were submitted. A shortlist of 70 was drawn up and the artists given the opportunity to paint their design onto a miniature knight sculpture. The 35 sponsors then selected their favourite design. Following the trail the knights will be sold at auction at Lincoln Cathedral on 30th September. Two-thirds of the money raised will go to The Nomad Trust and one-third will help to create a new Art and Innovation Fund for Lincoln. The knights were designed and created by Wild in Art’s Creative Director Chris Wilkinson in the style of a chess piece. -
Lincoln City partnership creating opportunities for BGU students
Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) ongoing sponsorship of Lincoln City Football Club is providing students with inspiring opportunities according to a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Education. The Imps are enjoying a memorable season. Not only have they become the first non-league team in 103 years to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, but they are also within touching distance of returning to the Football League for the first time in six years. The season is also proving to be a memorable one for BGU students as the university’s partnership with the club is proving beneficial. Rafe Elliott, Academic Co-ordinator for the new BSc (Hons) Sport, Coaching and Physical Education degree at BGU, said, “We have a fantastic partnership with Lincoln City that gives opportunities for our undergraduate sport students to work alongside elite performers and a professional club across all three years of their studies.” Opportunities for students include exploration of coaching principles, observation of training sessions, an overview of how the club is managed, an introduction to the commercial/business aspects of a professional club, getting an insight into community education projects and opportunities to carry out work placements and research at the club. BGU sports students also had the unique opportunity to be coached by the Lincoln City manager with a session led and delivered by Danny Cowley in December 2016. Rafe said the session “was both insightful and inspiring and was based around key coaching principles. It helped to reinforce some of the learning objectives of the module the students were studying. “The practical demonstrated the intensity and focus of a structured conditioning/coaching session at an elite level. It was fascinating to learn more about the type of data collected and the methods of analysis employed with the aim of creating marginal gains.” Chelsey Grayson, a first year student, thought that “the session gave us really good insight into the daily life of a coach and also all the planning and commitment that goes into it. Danny and Nicky Cowley made sure that all players received feedback whether good or bad and also delivered coaching points while in training. It was good to see a manager/coach in action and will help a lot with my studies and assignments.” Our students were not the only ones who enjoyed the session. Danny Cowley himself welcomed the opportunity. He said, “Coming from a teaching background like we have it’s been great to be able to keep our hand in. Also it’s a great opportunity for us to give something back, which is important for us. It’s a profession that’s very close to our hearts and the opportunity to go back and speak to young, aspiring teachers and tell them what a great profession it is has been something that we’ve obviously enjoyed.” Have you been inspired by Danny and Nicky Cowley and the incredible success of the Imps this season? Find out how you could follow in their footsteps with our new Sport, Coaching and Physical Education degree. -
BGU Looking Eastward to Forge Links in China
Bishop Grosseteste University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor has attended an Educational Exchange in Hunan Province in China as part of Lincolnshire County Council’s endeavours to strengthen relationships and socio-economic prosperity of the two regions. Professor Jayne Mitchell attended the event following the signing of an economic friendship agreement with Hunan Province by the county council. The educational exchange programme focused on developing relationships between universities and strategic bodies such as the education and economic development departments in provincial and county governments. It was co-ordinated by the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Hunan Provincial People’s Government of China and the Hunan Provincial Education Department. The week-long programme involved visits to three cities in Hunan Province (Changsha, Changde and Zhangjiajie), introductions to senior officials in the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office and Hunan Provincial Department of Education, and meetings to discuss collaboration and partnership working with 12 of the region’s top universities. During the visit Professor Mitchell signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hunan First Normal University. The two universities are now planning staff and student exchanges, joint academic programmes, collaborative research projects and cultural exchanges in teacher education. Discussion is also ongoing with several more universities in Hunan about developing similar arrangements in other subject areas and priority sectors for the county. “There are many similarities in the history, expertise and future goals of BGU and universities in Hunan,” said Professor Mitchell. “By working together to share experience, knowledge and resources we can further develop the education and skills of local people and help contribute to the economic prosperity of businesses right across the county. “I would like to thank our hosts for their warm welcome and openness in seeking ways to work together. We have made many new friends and look forward to strengthening these relationships further by extending BGU’s partnership working with both Lincolnshire County Council and universities and businesses in China.” Cllr Colin Davie, Executive Member for Economic Development at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “I’m delighted that Bishop Grosseteste University had a successful visit. This is not just an important step for the university, but it will also help further cement our friendship with the province. “I’m confident that this growing relationship will bring opportunities for other businesses too, with agriculture, engineering, adult social care and culture already earmarked as areas for future collaboration. We have a lot in common and, working together, we can ensure greater prosperity for both regions.” -
Royal Visit to Mark Opening of Landmark Building at BGU
HRH the Duke of Gloucester will visit Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln next week to officially open the university’s latest new building. The £2.2 million extension to Constance Stewart Hall, which has created a new landmark building at the junction of Newport and Longdales Road, will be opened on Thursday 6thJuly. The works have doubled the size of the teaching block and involved building a steel-framed structure on top of part of the original building to give the university an additional seven teaching spaces set over two floors. This approach of building over an existing structure means that BGU will significantly increase its teaching space capacity without increasing the building’s overall footprint, which helps to maintain the green and open feel of the campus. During his visit to Lincoln on 6th July the Duke of Gloucester will also officially open the Battles and Dynasties Exhibition at The Collection. At BGU he will be introduced to dignitaries including the Bishop of Lincoln, the Right Reverend Christopher Lowson; the Mayor of Lincoln, Councillor Chris Burke; Lincoln’s MP Karen Lee; the Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil; and the university’s Chancellor, Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas. On a tour of the campus the Duke will visit the university’s business centre BG Futures, the Victorian chapel and the new Centre for Enhancement in Learning and Teaching which opened in March. He will then officially open the new extension at Constance Stewart Hall by unveiling a plaque at approximately 2.45pm. A bold statement “This iconic addition to our estate really makes a bold statement in uphill Lincoln that BGU is an outward-facing institution,” said the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University. “It’s further evidence of our ongoing commitment to invest in our teaching resources to ensure our students continue to have an outstanding experience.” Steve Deville, Director of Resources at BGU, said: “This fantastic new building reinforces BGU’s commitment to invest in our students and their learning experience. “This building is to be opened just a few months after our new Centre for Enhancement in Learning and Teaching facility and will provide students with flexible teaching spaces and state-of-the-art facilities to aid their learning.” The new teaching spaces will incorporate moveable partition walls, increasing their flexibility, meaning that they can be used not only for teaching but also for a variety of functions and events. Delivered by Lincoln-based architects LK2 and local construction company Robert Woodhead Ltd, the project was carried out in two phases and saw a 7,770 square foot extension added to the Constance Stewart Hall to accommodate new teaching space. The extension is supported by an impressive steel framework made from locally sourced steel and erected by Robert Woodhead Ltd. Throughout the project, contractors pledged to use local resources wherever possible. The project was procured through the empa framework which is managed by Scape Group. The development of the new building on campus was an opportunity to enhance the graduate attributes of BGU students, who were able to gain valuable work experience on the project with Robert Woodhead Ltd. -
BGU lecturers to speak at Lincoln’s first TEDx event
Lecturers from Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln will speak at a new TEDx event this October. Lincoln is hosting its first ever TEDx event, TEDx Brayford Pool, on 28 October 2017. The theme of TEDx Brayford Pool is 'Past. Present. Future' and the event will highlight the best and most current ideas generated in Lincoln and Lincolnshire. Dr Jack Cunningham, BGU’s programme leader for Theology and Reader in Ecclesiastical History, has been selected as one of fifteen speakers and will present a keynote talk about Robert Grosseteste. Jack is a core member of the Ordered Universe Project that brings together scientists and historians to prepare the work of Robert Grosseteste for publication. “I will be talking about Robert Grosseteste, especially his work as a 13th-century scientist, and setting out to explode the myth that the Middle Ages were the ‘Dark Ages’ full of superstition and ignorance,” said Dr Cunningham. “Grosseteste had some very sophisticated ways of looking at the world: he was the first person to know what caused a rainbow and he has been called the first scientist. “Most impressive is his idea about cosmology and how the universe began, which is remarkably similar to the modern Big Bang theory. “I want to show that even though he worked 800 years ago with little access to the modern tools of science, he may well have had an enormous impact on our modern understanding of the universe we live in. “In fact, Robert Grosseteste is the perfect figure to illustrate the fact that the past, present and future are always inextricably linked.” Lyndsay Muir, senior lecturer in Drama at BGU, is also speaking at the event and will deliver a keynote titled ‘Tea with Trans - what's on (and off) the menu'. Her talk will discuss self-identified trans people creatively orchestrating conversations with the wider population. Lyndsay said, “There are all sorts of myths circulating about trans people, so what if you could just sit down and have a chat with someone and find out what they're like? “The problem is where would you start, if you didn't know someone and didn't want to be rude or offend them? The idea is to have a conversational menu that gives you somewhere to start – their name, what they enjoy talking about and what they really wouldn't want to discuss. “In my talk I’ll be explaining how this idea evolved, what it hopes to do and how it has been tried out.” Meanwhile at the event Dr Elinor Vettraino, programme leader for Business and Enterprise at BGU, will be running two 'fishbowl' sessions with groups of speakers focusing on moving forward and future thinking. TED began in 1984 as a conference for Technology, Entertainment and Design, but today covers almost any topic. Independently organised TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world. The talks will take place before a live audience and will be available to view online after the event. TEDx Brayford Pool will take place on 28 October at the Collection and Usher Gallery. -
Monarchy Transformed book publication
Dr Robert von Friedeburg, Reader in History at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln, is the editor of a new book about the long-running debate on state building and social change in Modern Europe. Monarchy Transformed: Princes and their elites in Early modern Western Europe will be published in August 2017 by Cambridge University Press. The book revises substantially older notions of 'state building' in early modern Europe. It is argued that there was as yet no notion of a modern state, but that instead dynasties brought together in a haphazard way dynastic agglomerates - like a family inheriting or buying together very different businesses. As this happened, a new elite aristocracy developed from those noble families able to fulfil functions in these new agglomerates and support the dynasty, in turn profiting from new offices. This is an entirely different notion than the older one of the making of some 'bureaucratic state'. Dr Robert von Friedeburg explains, “The upshot is that the modern state developed primarily not as a reality of power relations on the ground, but from the seventeenth century onwards as a conception in people's heads. The purpose of this conception was to re-stabilize monarchy against dynastic instability. “The other upshot is that we must not overlook or ignore anymore that the huge and substantial increases in the economy of scale of politics, from generally much smaller medieval polities to the considerable larger dynastic agglomerates of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, had major repercussions on the relations of monarchs and elites all over Western Europe.” The book contains more than a dozen articles by senior specialists and is a major revision to current approaches. -
BGU students to present at Lincoln’s first TEDx Youth
Students from the Business (Team Entrepreneurship) course at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln will present a workshop at the inaugural TEDx Youth Brayford Pool on Saturday. The team are running a workshop titled ’10 minutes to make 10k’. They will be using an innovative learning model for entrepreneurship to challenge understanding of business and idea creation in the modern world. Will, Max, Beth and Lewis are a group of students who run a registered company, Kinetic BGU Ltd, as part of their degree programme at BGU. Their business projects have included an Italian coffee brand, men's grooming products, a low-cost supermarket and container fabrication service. They are all individualistic and have different goals in life, but through a modern learning process have come together as a cohesive, efficient and ever-evolving team. Will Nuttall, Director of Kinetic BGU Ltd, said, “Our workshop will push the audiences understanding of business, learning and ultimately making money. 10k in 10 Minutes will hopefully prove to be an immersive and action-packed workshop for all those who attend.“ Also at Saturday's event Lewis Smith, BGU graduate in Education Studies with Special Educational Needs & Inclusion, will present a talk titled 'Exploring Our Future: Schooled, or Educated?' Find out more about studying Business at BGU. -
Celebrating a Year of Improving Access to Higher Education
A scheme which aims to double the proportion of disadvantaged young people going to university will celebrate its achievements so far at an event in Woodhall Spa this week. LiNCHigher is led in Lincolnshire by Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) and is part of a wider national initiative (NCOP) funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to raise aspirations amongst young people. The overall aim is to meet government targets to improve access to higher education and the scheme will run for two years until December 2018, and possibly beyond. Around 50 guests are expected to attend the celebration at Woodhall Spa Manor on Wednesday 1st November, including the Mayor of Lincoln, Councillor Chris Burke and Professor Jayne Mitchell, Deputy Vice Chancellor of BGU. Since its formation in January 2017 the project team, consortium partners and delivery partners have worked to change attitudes towards higher education, improve knowledge of the options available to young people and raise aspirations within communities. “LiNCHigher is committed to offering information, advice and guidance for the young people of Lincolnshire and promoting local opportunities for their futures,” said Project Officer Natalie Poole. “We hope to inspire a new generation of students to grow and realise their aspirations while studying in or outside of Lincolnshire. “Our celebration event will bring together key stakeholders to encourage discussions around skills needs, higher education and Lincolnshire’s business community.” BGU's Professor Jayne Mitchell added: “The LiNCHigher project has made significant progress in engaging with young people, parents and teachers across Lincolnshire. As the success of the project gathers speed, support from partners and the wider community will prove ever more critical. “This celebration event will showcase our successes so far, introduce new stakeholders to the project and discuss plans for the future. It should be a fabulous event and I’m looking forward to welcoming our guests as Chair of the LiNCHigher Governance Board.” -
#12DaysofBGU Day 7: Top 3 in the UK
We announced this year that BGU is ranked third among UK universities for student employability, according to figures published in July. 97.2% per cent of students who leave BGU with an undergraduate degree find work or are continuing to study six months following graduation. Only two other universities – Keele and Harper Adams – have a higher employability figure than Bishop Grosseteste University. The figures relate to full-time first degree graduates leaving in 2014/15 and the national average for all UK universities is 93.9%. The statistics appear in the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey published by HESA, the Higher Education Statistics Agency. “Once again the DLHE survey highlights how well our graduates do when they enter the job market,” said the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University. “It’s very heartening to see BGU right near the top of the national ranking as it shows that we are doing everything we can to prepare for our students for the workplace when they leave us. “We work very hard to ensure that our degree courses are career-focused and most of them incorporate a professional work placement during the period of study. “One example is our new Business (Team Entrepreneurship) degree which requires students to set up their own business while studying with us.” The latest DLHE figures can be found by clicking here. Want to study at a top 3 university for student employability? Discover our range of courses.
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