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Enjoy Bhajis and Bhangra Beats at BGU Bollywood Evening
Tickets are still available to join in the one-night-only Bollywood bash at Bishop Grosseteste University. This year’s Bollywood-themed evening will take place on Sunday 13th September 2015 to raise money for the Bishop Grosseteste University Foundation Fund. For just £25 guests will be treated to a screening of Bollywood movie Queen, followed by an authentic Indian meal in the Refectory. The evening will begin at The Venue at BGU from 5pm, with the bar open from 4pm. Queen is a 2014 comedy-drama directed by Vikas Bahl and produced by Anurang Kashyap. The film tells the story of a young Delhi girl who decides to travel alone on her planned honeymoon after her fiancé ends their relationship. Hannah Clipsham, Events Manager for BGU, said: “Bollywood is one of the largest centres of film production in the world, so this is a real treat for everyone, whether you are already an avid fan of Indian film and culture or not. “This will be our fourth annual Bollywood evening, which has always been very popular in the past. And as if there were another excuse needed to get involved, we will direct all proceeds from the evening to the BGU Foundation Fund. “This event is co-organised with the dedicated support and generosity of Jasmit Phull, a member of the Bishop Grosseteste University Council, who works hard to make it a success.” The BGU Foundation Fund exists to encourage and enable students and alumni to take part in voluntary or community engagement activities, both here in the UK and overseas. The initiative supports charitable projects that clearly demonstrate enrichment to the students, but cannot be otherwise resourced through the university’s main funds. It also helps staff to develop innovative activities which enhance the student experience and supports the Students’ Union clubs and societies. Over the last year grants have been provided to support many diverse activities, including a visit by one student to Japan to take part in the world Scout Jamboree. Another is travelling to Bangalore, India as part of a visual arts project. Although it is not compulsory, guests are welcome to fully embrace the evening of Bollywood glamour and arrive in traditional Indian or international dress. For tickets or more information please contact Jessica Lyons in the BG Venues Conference and Events Office 01522 583702 or email jessica.lyons@bishopg.ac.uk -
Visiting Professorship at BGU for Australian Health Expert
A leading healthcare expert from Australia has become a visiting professor at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. Professor Amanda Kenny accepted the visiting professorship from Professor Jayne Mitchell, Deputy Vice Chancellor at BGU, at a special lunch in honour of her visit today (Tuesday). Professor Kenny, who is Professor of Rural and Regional Nursing at La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University in Bendigo near Melbourne, Australia, is paying her second visit to BGU this week with two colleagues. She will give a guest lecture and seminar and is working with researchers from the School of Social Sciences at the university on future health research projects. “Professor Kenny has made outstanding contributions to knowledge exchange, education, professional practice and consultancy, principally in the fields of nursing, rural and public health,” said Professor Mitchell. “We recently launched a suite of health and social care courses to complement our counselling and psychology programmes and we are delighted that she has accepted our offer of a visiting professorship.” Professor Kenny said: “La Trobe University and Bishop Grosseteste University have striking similarities in the way they have developed and the successes and challenges they face. We have fantastic opportunities for cross-disciplinary research in such fields as oral health for children and psychosocial cancer care. “I feel privileged that we will be able to work together on collaborative research projects and look forward to staff and student exchanges in the future.” Professor Kenny is widely published internationally and is frequently invited as a key speaker at national and international conferences. The partnership has been facilitated by a former colleague, Dr Janice Pascal, who now works at Bishop Grosseteste University as Academic Co-ordinator for Health and Social Care. -
Eye-opening trip to India for BGU’s Theology Students
Fourteen Theology students from Bishop Grosseteste University and three members of staff have just returned from the university’s latest visit to India. The aim of the 2016 Theology Trip was to experience Indian religion and culture at first hand, supporting modules on the degree course which reference Asian beliefs and culture. Because many of the students plan to be teachers the group also visited schools and universities, including those linked to BGU in a formal partnership. The students also spent some time working with students from three colleges in the Tirunelveli area with which BGU has formal links: St John’s College, St John’s College of Education and Sarah Tucker College. “ These visits to India provide our students with a direct experience of Indian religion and culture, which they have studied in lectures and texts at BGU but which they need to actually experience in order to fully understand,” said Mark Plater, Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator for PGCE Secondary Religious Education at BGU. “ Our visits include first-hand experiences of religion in the community and culture and visits to a range of educational contexts, including local and international schools, centres for special needs and higher education institutions. “ Apart from the more obvious educational benefits, these experiences also confront students with the challenges of developing countries, encouraging them to consider bigger questions about what is most significant in life and the limits of our own habits and assumptions.” The annual visit took place from 23rd February until 3rd March 2016. Highlights included being blessed by an elephant at Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, visiting the children at SDETland, and spending time with Indian students in Tirunelveli. -
City Universities to Clash in Historic Football Match
Lincoln’s two universities will do battle on the football pitch in a new challenge cup competition this month. The inaugural Cathedral Cup match between BGU and the University of Lincoln will take place on Wednesday 10th February under lights at Sincil Bank, home of Lincoln City FC. Organisers hope the game will become an annual fixture. “The footballing gap between the two universities has significantly reduced over recent years, and the University of Lincoln's first team were impressed by our standard this year, so we decided to stage the first competitive fixture between the two universities,” said Callum Ward, President of the BGU Football Society and a former youth team player at Lincoln City. “This game will hopefully develop into an annual fixture and be the students' sporting spectacle that the city craves so much! We aspire to get as many people in attendance as possible because it will be an unforgettable event for all involved,” Callum added. Dr Graham Basten, Head of the School of Social Sciences at BGU, commented: “We’re looking forward to the match next month, which will be a coming of age for our rapidly improving football team. “The fixture will also be an opportunity to showcase our partnership with Lincoln City, which goes far beyond shirt sponsorship and provides opportunities for engagement between the club and our students at many different levels. We work closely with Lincoln City on a number of initiatives, including Football in the Community work, placement opportunities for BGU students and partnerships between the football club and BGU's sports courses. We also work with the Lincoln City Sport and Education Trust to support its work with children and young people in the local area.” University of Lincoln’s Men’s Football President Will Fry added: “It’s taken a lot of hard work by me, Callum Ward and Lincoln City. We are looking forward to a huge event that will hopefully become an annual fixture and draw the students and the city closer together. “It’s huge for the football club to run what has the potential to be the biggest student event in the city.” The match will kick off at 7.45pm on Wednesday 10th February at Sincil Bank. Tickets cost £3 and are available at the Students’ Union at both universities. Bishop Grosseteste University Bishop Grosseteste University was established in January 1862 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2012 It is an independent higher education institution based in Lincoln which awards its own degrees at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate level It changed its name from Bishop Grosseteste University College to Bishop Grosseteste University in November 2012 BGU has over 2,300 students, including undergraduate, postgraduate and research, with over 280 students at collaborative partners across Lincolnshire In 2015 BGU was the second highest ranked university in the UK for employability with almost 99% of our leavers in work or study six months after graduating (2013/14 DLHE) BGU is a main club sponsor and the home shirt sponsor of Lincoln City FC and has has its own sports and leisure facilities as well as a cinema (The Venue) on campus, all open to the public University of Lincoln The University of Lincoln was named among the UK's best modern universities in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2016. It has some of the most satisfied students in the UK, rating in the top 25% nationally in a number of subject areas of the National Student Survey 2015 with Psychology ranked number one It is recognised for its pioneering approach to working with employers, winning a Lord Stafford Award and a Times Higher Education Award. Graduate prospects are strong with nine out of ten of Lincoln’s most recent graduates in work or further study six months after finishing their course In the Research Excellence Framework 2014, more than half of our submitted research was judged to be internationally excellent or world leading, with Lincoln ranked in the UK’s top 10 for quality of research outputs in two major subject areas -
BGU Commits to Greater Public Engagement
To demonstrate its commitment to engaging with the wider community, Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln has joined the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCPPE) and signed up to its manifesto. The move is part of BGU’s wider stakeholder engagement work which forms an important part of the university’s five-year strategy. The term ‘public engagement’ describes the many ways in which higher education, learning experiences and research can be shared with the general public. The NCPPE says public engagement “is by definition a two-way process, involving interaction and listening, with the goal of generating mutual benefit.” The Reverend Canon Prof Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of BGU, commented: “I am very pleased that Bishop Grosseteste University has now signed up to the NCCPE’s Manifesto for Public Engagement. “This is a reflection of our long-term public engagement strategy and of our continuing dedication to our various communities. I am looking forward to encouraging further public engagement efforts by the university and all its members.” BGU has been increasing its investment in staff volunteering, which builds on the successes of its existing student volunteering scheme. High levels of student volunteering have helped BGU to establish itself amongst the top three universities for employability in the whole of UK, as seen from the latest Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey published by HESA, the Higher Education Statistics Agency. BGU also offers public lectures on campus and innovative skills development courses ranging from journalism to paediatric first aid and from writing skills courses to Makaton. The university’s enterprise incubation centre, BG Futures, plays an important role in engaging with the business community and the campus hosts regular national and international conferences. -
Children’s Spirituality Top of the Agenda at BGU
A total of 75 delegates from more than 15 countries converged on Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln for the biennial four-day event. Led by Dr Kate Adams, Head of Research at the university, and held in partnership with the International Association for Children’s Spirituality (IACS), the conference ran from Tuesday 26th until Friday 29th July. Dr Adams said: “There is a significant recognition that the spiritual dimension of life is often undervalued in societies which are consumer-driven and market-orientated. We wanted to explore the many elements of children’s spirituality through dialogue between those from different disciplines and cultures.” Entitled Spirituality and the Whole Child: Interdisciplinary Approaches, the conference attracted many of the world’s leading experts, practitioners and postgraduate students and was a forum for those working in education, social work, chaplaincy, psychology, youth work, ministry and neuroscience. Keynote speakers came from prestigious universities from across the globe and included John (Jack) Miller from the University of Toronto, Canada; Joyce Ann Mercer from Yale Divinity School, USA; and Jacqueline Watson from the University of Exeter, UK. They shared their research, insight and wisdom and stimulated debate on alternative schooling, restorative spirituality for traumatised children and integrated working to support children respectively. An additional 44 papers and workshops were delivered covering themes relating to spirituality in different contexts. These included the early years through to adolescence, music, art, meditation, mindfulness, children’s literature, resilience and religious approaches. During the conference, Dr Adams was elected as Co-chair of the association. “I am honoured to have been voted in to this role by our members,” she said. “IACS is an inclusive community which values the spiritual lives of children and young people, irrespective of their faith or lack thereof. It is particularly pertinent to BGU as a church university to be central to this significant work which is being conducted across the globe.” A series of social events took place during the week and included the formation of a community choir by conference delegates. The choir was led by Frances Kelly, a recent recipient of a British Citizen Award for services to community music-making in Lincolnshire. The delegates also enjoyed a bespoke tour of Lincoln Cathedral as seen through children’s eyes as well as a conference dinner showcasing the outstanding talents of BGU chef Jack Bridges and his team. -
Excellent student satisfaction
BGU is the second highest ranked public university in England for student satisfaction. Figures released today from the National Student Survey show that 92% of BGU students are satisfied with their university experience - that’s 7% higher than last year’s score and six percentage points higher than the sector average. Significantly seven courses reported overall satisfaction above 92%. Education Studies, Theology & Ethics achieved 100% satisfaction while three other courses – Early Childhood Studies, Primary Education with Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status and Applied Studies – all recorded satisfaction levels of 97%. Dr Ruth Sayers, Executive Dean Learning, Teaching and International, welcomed today’s findings: “This is an excellent result for BGU and demonstrates our commitment to working in partnership with our students to improve their teaching and learning experience. We take what our students tell us very seriously and are always keen to hear what they have to say. We’ve introduced a number of initiatives to help give them a greater input including a new student engagement facilitator role which has been created to enhance and further develop a culture of staff and students working in partnership across the university. We’re also delighted with the overall response rate, which was 81% of eligible final year students, and would like to thank the Bishop Grosseteste Students’ Union (BGSU) for their support in encouraging people to take part.” BGSU President Kieran Parrish said he is thrilled with the outcome: “This shows that the students recognise the high quality of service they are actually getting from the university and that the relationship is one which is strong and transparent. From an SU point of view it is excellent to see how engaged and happy the students are, however, we know that there is always room for improvement. We are relishing the chance to build upon this and push ourselves to provide better for the students in the future.” The NSS statistics follow on from a succession of positive results for BGU. In April, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) published its review which found that BGU met its expectations in all areas – academic standards, learning opportunities, information and enhancement. In July, the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey revealed that BGU is one of the top three universities in the UK for student employability with 97.2% per cent of students who leave BGU with an undergraduate degree finding work or continuing to study six months following graduation. Also during the year, Ofsted gave a very positive rating for all of teacher education – early years, primary, secondary and further education – and praised BGU for having a “clear vision and an extremely strong commitment to their engagement with partners in the FE and skills sector”. The Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, said it’s been an extremely successful year. “We’ve achieved some outstanding results this year which show that we provide outstanding facilities and support,” he explained. “It is also worth highlighting that we’ve recorded increases in all of the eight NSS question categories and attained one of the biggest rises in the country for overall student satisfaction. We conduct our own in-house survey every year and receive very positive feedback but it is very encouraging to see our students saying this in public. However, there is no room for complacency and we will keep growing the range of subjects on offer and further invest in improving our up-hill campus so that we can continue giving the students an excellent experience.” -
BGU honorary award nominations now open
For the attention of the BGU community: Each year the University has the opportunity to award Honorary Doctorates and Honorary Fellowships at its graduation ceremonies. Honorary Fellowship is awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to the University; whilst Honorary Doctorate is awarded to those who have made outstanding contributions to academic, local, regional, national or international life. Current Bishop Grosseteste University staff and students, retired staff and alumni and current or former University Council members are invited to nominate candidates for honorary awards. Nominations must be made using the appropriate nomination form, and be received by the Registrar and Secretary by Thursday 15th September. Dr Anne Craven, Registrar and Secretary -
BGU students shadow national book awards
BGU Education Studies students are taking part in the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) book awards shadowing scheme this year. This national scheme takes place annually and offers students the chance to vote for their favourite new children’s book in a range of age group categories, 'shadowing' the official UKLA awards panel which includes teachers and literacy experts across the UK. The author selected by students nationally will receive a special award at the UKLA international conference in July. A group of 17 second year BGU Education Studies students volunteered to meet with lecturer Dr Helen Hendry and children’s librarian Janice Morris for four lunch-time meetings throughout this year’s second semester. They chose the 3-6 age range as the books are quick to read and fun to talk about! The meetings are informal and include time to talk about likes, dislikes and reactions to the text and illustrations. The students have been trying out the books on willing children of friends and family, and during school placements. They also used the official UKLA criteria to consider the relationship between words and illustrations, the author’s use of language, and to try to choose the book which young readers would want to read over and over again. Helen Henry said “involving the Education Studies students in shadowing the UKLA book awards is a fantastic way of widening their knowledge of current high quality children’s literature. This will be important for many of their future careers in education. “Through our informal discussions and consideration of the award criteria they really get a chance to think about what children gain from sharing stories and how picture books can be a powerful tool in the classroom. “This project also highlights the wonderful selection of children’s books and teaching resources in our library and encourages our students to use these when planning creatively on placement in partnership schools. It is a real pleasure to share the books with our students and debate and discuss our favourites!” Two students who respond to the shadowing event in an innovative way, perhaps by involving pupils and schools, can be nominated to attend the UKLA conference and meet the authors. At the end of May the student shadowers can vote individually online for their chosen winner. BGU students clearly know their books for children as last year both of the groups' favourites won their UKLA categories. Richard Byrne's 'This book just ate my dog' won the UKLA Students Award and Alex T. Smith ‘s ‘Little Red and the very hungry lion’ won the overall UKLA Book Award 2016 for its age range. We will find out in July if our students can pick a winner again! Do you want to get involved with the shadow book awards next year? Find out more about studying Education at BGU. -
BGU Lecturers Go Dutch
BGU lecturers Pat Beckley, Yvonne Hill and Tony Luby recently embarked upon an exchange visit to the Netherlands visiting schools in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In their first visit to the country, they found excellent further education practice at ROC van Amsterdam zuid-oost in Amsterdam where students received personalised learning based on their workplace. Outstanding classroom practices and relationships based around Hattie's Visible Learning were displayed in Rotterdam's Emmaus primary school. Tony and Yvonne met with the 16 MA students who will be coming to Lincoln to study at BGU this October. Yvonne said the MA Education course at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences has given her "food for thought" - and with 14 of the students being primary teachers BGU should be able to give them a good experience for their third year stay in the UK. Tony Luby said that "the future looks orange" as he discussed during the visit various opportunities for building international relationships with schools in the Netherlands. The CEO and Principal of the Forge Trust expressed interest in taking forward this scheme which could benefit schools local to BGU. Find out more about teaching courses at BGU.
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