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New Head of Teacher Development Takes Up Post at BGU
Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln has appointed Dr Nick Gee from the University of East Anglia to lead its School of Teacher Development. The university has now made three appointments to take charge of its new Schools of Teacher Development, Humanities and Social Sciences. Under the new academic structure Dr Graham Basten is Head of the School of Social Sciences while Dr Andrew Jackson is Head of the School of Humanities. BGU has been a pioneer and a leader in teacher education since its creation in 1862 and Dr Gee says he is looking forward to building on its strong reputation in the field of teacher training. "Speaking as someone who’s been involved with teacher education for over 11 years, BGU has a great reputation and heritage and I’m delighted to be joining an institution that has such strong traditions,” he said. “I’m excited about the fact that as an institution we’re at the start of a process of change; our new Five-Year Strategy was launched recently and I’m pleased to be arriving at a time when there’s an ambition to move forward and develop both the international and the research agendas.” Dr Gee joins BGU from the University of East Anglia, where he held the positions of Associate Dean in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Senior Lecturer in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning. He graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA (Hons) in Geography and holds a PGCE and EdD from the University of East Anglia. His primary research interest is outdoor education, and he is also a higher education representative in national consultations on assessment reform. “I am really looking forward to working with with partnership colleagues and strengthening our links throughout the region,” he said. The university’s Five-Year Strategy was announced in October 2014. -
BGU Goes Global as Conference Celebrates Internationalism
Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln celebrated the breadth of its international activity by staging a BG Global conference on campus yesterday (22nd April). The keynote speaker was Vivienne Stern, Director of the UK Higher Education International Unit, who spoke about issues affecting the higher education sector in internationalisation and attracting international students to the UK. The conference also provided an opportunity for BGU to launch its Internationalisation Strategy, which has been developed by the university’s new International Manager Wayne Dyble and a group of colleagues from across the institution. Dr Ruth Sayers, Executive Dean for Learning Teaching and International at BGU, welcomed the delegates, some of whom were the university’s students. She described the range of activities represented at the conference as impressive, including presentations on international research activity, mobility programmes overseas, institutional partnerships and special projects. BGU has a long history of working with partners in many international settings, including China, Nepal, Thailand, the Gambia, Norway, Uganda, Brazil, Tanzania and India. The conference also offered academic staff an opportunity to discuss how they are internationalising the curricula in innovative ways, supported by a project led by the Higher Education Academy. “The conference represents a sea change in our international work,” said Dr Sayers. “We celebrate the many activities that have gone before, but we look forward to a much more strategic future, in which internationalisation will permeate all our activities and the new International Office will drive forward the strategy that was launched at the conference.” -
soundLINCS Continues Hitting all the Right Notes
It has been announced by soundLINCS that they have been awarded £776,569 - following a competitive grant application process - by the National Foundation for Youth Music (Arts Council). Bishop Grosseteste University was a partner in the bid and will participate in this exciting three year project across the East Midlands. Dr Pat Beckley, Early Years’ specialist within the School of Teacher Development, and Professor Chris Atkin, Head of Educational Development & Research are the two academic leads from our university. Our participation builds on an existing project with soundLINCS focusing on early years’ music curriculum materials. -
Pioneering Degree Course for Would-Be Entrepreneurs
Students on a pioneering new business degree course at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln won’t spend their time sitting in lectures and reading books on business theories. Instead they will call themselves team entrepreneurs, create their own start-up companies and take part in business coaching sessions in creative labs. The new Business (Team Entrepreneurship) degree course starts in September and Elinor Vettraino, the new Academic Co-ordinator for Business and Enterprise at BGU, is busy recruiting students. “Team Entrepreneurship is a very exciting opportunity because it straddles the business world and the academic world,” said Elinor. “It’s pioneering: we’re only the fourth university in the country to offer a course of this sort. We’re part of a small, select group of like-minded institutions which want to push the boundaries of business education away from traditional delivery and towards a full experiential learning experience. “Our students will be known as team entrepreneurs – that’s important because they will see themselves as being business people. Our job is to help them balance the duality of being an entrepreneur and being a full-time student. We will coach the team entrepreneurs how to run their own business; their job is to learn by doing.” BGU intends to recruit 20 first-year students of all ages and from all backgrounds to make up the first cohort in September. “We’re marketing the course not only to schools and colleges but also to more experienced people who may want to set up their own business,” said Elinor. “It would be lovely to get a mix of ages as people with a bit more experience have a better understanding of life and can contribute different things to the group.” Unlike other students, who attend lectures and tutorials, take exams and write dissertations, BGU’s team entrepreneurs will set up their own businesses in order to make real money. “The idea is that by the end of the course they will have made enough money between them to send every student on a round-the-world trip for six months. The target is 10,000 euros each.” But the Team Entrepreneurship course is not about making a profit at the expense of everything else. “The students will also need to understand the social responsibility aspect that goes along with running a business, and they’ll be working with Karen Lowthrop from the social enterprise Hill Holt Wood near Lincoln to develop that,” said Elinor. “It’s very important that the team entrepreneurs get excited about giving something back to the community. In their third year, for example, they will go overseas and support a social enterprise.” The academic discipline known as Team Academy originated in Jyväskylä in Finland in the early 1990s and now there is a global network of academics running this kind of programme. -
Three New Heads Appointed Following BGU Restructure
Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln has made three new senior academic appointments following a major restructure. Dr Graham Basten has moved to BGU to head up the new School of Social Sciences, while the new School of Humanities and the new School of Teacher Development will be led by Dr Andrew Jackson and Dr Nicholas Gee respectively. The new School of Social Sciences is launching a suite of new courses including Health and Social Care, Sociology, Psychology, and Counselling. “This is an exciting and timely phase for BGU given the recent news of devolved health and social care budgets to the Greater Manchester region, a model which could be rolled out across England, putting BGU graduates at the heart of this new initiative,” said Dr Basten. Most recently Dr Basten was Acting Head of The School of Allied Health Sciences at De Montfort University in Leicester, where he was responsible for strategic leadership and management of a complex, broad, multidisciplinary and fast-growing school. He joined DMU in 2007 and has significant experience in teaching, learning, research and knowledge transfer. He secured both a Royal Society grant to look at science in primary schools and funds to deliver projects with charities, sports clubs and local government. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the Institute of Biomedical Science, and a DMU Teacher Fellow interested in translating primary education methods to higher education and the use of technology and democracy in learning spaces. He holds a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry from the Institute of Food Research (University of East Anglia) and a BSc in Biomedical Science from the University of Wolverhampton. He has previously worked at the Medical Schools of the University of Sheffield and the University of Nottingham. “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the team at Bishop Grosseteste University,” Dr Basten said. “It is a university with a powerful vision based on sound values, and I very much look forward to playing my part in its onward journey.” Dr Nicholas Gee will move from the University of East Anglia to BGU next month to become Head of Teacher Development. Meanwhile Dr Andrew Jackson now leads the School of Humanities and was formerly Head of the Department of Culture and Creative Arts at BGU. The university’s new academic structure has been put in place as part of BGU’s Five-Year Strategy which was announced in October 2014. -
Chance to Train as an Early Years Teacher
Teachers who want to become outstanding specialists working with the youngest children can now undertake professional training at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. In September last year, 13 trainees were the first to begin the new PGCE Early Years with EYTS (Early Years Teacher Status) programme at BGU – and the university will recruit another cohort this autumn. The course has been tailored to suit both those working in early years settings who can be released for study and those who are studying full time. It enables trainees to gain the recommendation for Early Years Teacher Status which is equivalent to QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) through 120 days teaching young children from nought to five and 10 days looking at the progression children make into Key Stage 1. “The new Early Years Teacher Status introduced by the Government is an important development because there is clear evidence that high-quality early education and childcare can have a powerful impact on young children and can fully prepare them for school and later life,” said Amy Stancer, Academic Co-ordinator for the Early Years Programme at BGU. “The new programme is a good fit with our other courses which include QTS (working with ages three to 19 years) and teaching in the lifelong learning sector. Early Years Teacher Status broadens the scope of our training so that we’re now teaching people to teach all age ranges, from babies to pensioners.” Places are still available on the EYTS programme for this September – and two students currently on the course can thoroughly recommend it. Ryan Gilbert (30) from Halifax graduated with a degree in primary education from Leeds Metropolitan University (now Leeds Beckett University) and was working as a supply teacher in West Yorkshire when he decided to enrol on the EYTS programme at BGU. “During my time with the supply agency and in settings when I was studying for my degree I found a fondness for early years more than Key Stages 1 and 2,” said Ryan. “Add to that the comments I had from schools about how positive it is to have a male teaching in early years, and I firmly decided that I wanted to become qualified to teach within the age range. When I wanted to progress more into early years Bishop Grosseteste University was the only university which responded promptly and guided me through its application process. I have enjoyed the course immensely, from the dedicated team of lecturers at BGU to outside professionals who have come to speak to us and the passionate members of my course who really do want the very best for young children. Being surrounded by all these makes me want to continually improve my own skills, passion and knowledge relating to early years.” Ryan continued: “I have learned far more than I realised I would, and I’m still only halfway through the course! I am truly shocked at just how little I knew about early years and how the course content from my degree did not even begin to scratch the surface of what I now know.” Jenna Farrow (22) from near Sleaford volunteered at a nursery between lectures and coursework while studying for a degree in Visual Communication at Birmingham City University as she had always taken a keen interest in how young children learn. “After I’d worked there for a year the manager signposted me towards a new postgraduate opportunity that specialised in the early years,” said Jenna. The course so far has been an enormous learning curve, enabling me to build on all areas of my professional development. The opportunity to work with all ages from birth to seven in a range of placements has given me a clear insight into how the process of the early years practice supports foundations in school. “I would highly recommend this course to others interested in working with young children as it has broadened my knowledge and understanding of the wider social context around early years practice and how early learning must be understood and fostered as a vital component to support our next generations.” To find out more about the PGCE Early Years with EYTS programme at BGU contact Amy Stancer on 01522 527347 or email enquiries@bishopg.ac.uk. -
Research at BGU Recognised as ‘World Class’
Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln is celebrating after learning that research undertaken by its staff and students has been judged to be ‘world-leading’. Results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014), a system used to independently assess the quality of research undertaken in all UK higher education institutions (HEIs), have been published today (Thursday). They show that research in Education, English Literature and History and have been judged to be world-leading and given the highest possible 4* rating.The University’s Vice-Chancellor, the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, said: “We are delighted with the outcome. To have our research in these key subjects judged by experts to be world-leading is a fantastic achievement.” Professor John Sharp, who led the submission to REF 2014 on behalf of the university, paid tribute to his colleagues’ hard work, over several years, to develop the research. “Bishop Grosseteste University is committed to undertaking research that can be applied in ways that benefit our students and the general public and is useful to others,” he said. “The dedication and passion for research shown by staff and students from across the university has been rewarded by this result; to be recognised as undertaking research that is judged to be world class is very pleasing indeed.” The REF 2014 outcome is a further boost to Bishop Grosseteste University’s plans to grow its research as part of its overall new five-year strategy. -
Extra Funding to Encourage Young People into University
More young people will be encouraged to study at university thanks to new government funding which has been secured by Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. Today (Thursday 8th January) the university was promised £24,000 over two years to support its collaborative work with other universities and colleges to widen participation in higher education. The money will be used to extend and increase BGU’s widening participation activities across the region and enable the university to engage with pupils from more schools. BGU is involved in three networks which work to improve access to higher education to young people from all backgrounds. “This new funding of £24,470 from HEFCE (the Higher Education Funding Council for England) will provide a great boost to our widening participation activities,” said Karen Richardson, Head of Student Recruitment and Admissions at BGU. “Hopefully we will be able to reintroduce summer schools and help to raise the aspirations of students who would not otherwise think that studying at university was for them.” Lincolnshire is characterised by comparatively high attainment at GCSE but low levels of participation in higher education – only 32% of 18-year-olds go on to higher education courses at university or college compared to the national average of 38%. * BGU’s widening participation activities target people from disadvantaged socio-economic areas, people with no history of higher education in their family, black and minority ethnic groups, males (for teacher training courses) and mature students. The university currently runs two access to HE programmes: First Steps 2 Study and Next Steps 4 Study. First Steps 2 Study is aimed at Year 9,10 and 11 pupils and involves a student ambassador from BGU, campus visits and a visit to the school, while Next Steps 4 Study targets Year 12 and 13 pupils who take part in debates, workshops, seminars and presentations both at school and at the university. BGU is a member of three networks involved in widening participation: the North East Midlands Collaborative Outreach Network, the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers, and Magna Carta – Education for Liberty (which is led by the University of Lincoln). Other partners in the Magna Carta – Education for Liberty network include Lincoln College, Boston College, North Lindsey College, Grimsby Institute and Grantham College. Partners in the North East Midlands Collaborative Outreach Network include BGU, the University of Nottingham, the University of Derby, Nottingham Trent University, West Nottinghamshire College, Central College Nottingham, Loughborough College and Stephenson College in Coalville and Nottingham. The funding announced today is part of a new £22 million national scheme involving 226 higher education institutions and reaching 4,300 secondary schools and colleges. The National Networks for Collaborative Outreach (NNCO) will deliver a nationally co-ordinated approach to working with schools, universities and colleges to help people access higher education. Greg Clark, Minister for Universities and Science, commented: “A record number of students entered higher education in 2014, with entry rates for students from disadvantaged backgrounds increasing by over 10% to its highest ever level. “However there is still more work to do to ensure all students who want to study hard can benefit, irrespective of their background.” * Latest HEFCE statistics for 2011/12. -
Awards for Heritage Sites Helping Visitors to Learn
They range from the grand (Chatsworth House) to the modest (Cottage Museum, Woodhall Spa), and from the famous (Titanic Belfast) to the obscure (the Museum of Hatting). But they are all award winners, and on Friday 4th December 52 heritage sites in the UK and Ireland will receive a Sandford Award in recognition of their education work. Museums, forts, galleries, houses and archives will be among those represented at the annual Sandford Awards for Heritage Education which this year take place at the London Transport Museum, which also won an award this year. The Sandford Awards are jointly managed by Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln and the Heritage Education Trust, and BGU’s Vice Chancellor, the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, will present the awards this year. The 2015 winners, which represent a cross-section of heritage sites from across the country, include The Collection in Lincoln, Arbeia Roman Fort in South Shields, Black Country Living Museum in the West Midlands, Stockport Air Raid Shelters and the World Rugby Museum at Twickenham. Dr Tracy Borman, Sandford Co-ordinator at Bishop Grosseteste University, said: “The Sandford Awards pay tribute to education excellence and we look forward to honouring another outstanding crop of heritage sites next month. For the first time this year we will also award a special prize: the Frances Garnham Award for Innovation in Heritage Education. “We’re looking forward to another enjoyable ceremony and we’d like to congratulate all the sites who have been successful this year.” The awards ceremony begins at 11.30am on Friday 4th December and the Sandford Award Winners 2015 are: Arbeia Roman Fort, South Shields Battle of Bannockburn Bingley Five Rise Locks Black Country Living Museum, Dudley Bruce Castle Museum, Haringey Burghley House, Stamford Canterbury Roman Museum Castell Henllys Iron Age Village Chatsworth House Clitheroe Castle The Collection, Lincoln Colne Valley Museum Cottage Museum, Woodhall Spa Danelaw Centre for Living History, York Discovery Museum & Tyne and Wear Archives Experience Barnsley Falmouth Art Gallery Foxton Locks, Market Harborough Framework Knitters Museum, Nottingham Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hall Place & Gardens, Bexley Harvington Hall, Kidderminster Hatton Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hatworks: The Museum of Hatting, Stockport The Higgins Bedford Holdenby House,Northampton Hopetoun House, Edinburgh The Judge's Lodging, Powys Keats House, London Kent Life, Maidstone Kerry County Museum Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Locomotion, County Durham London Transport Museum Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre National Maritime Museum Cornwall National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port Parliament Education Service Pollok House, Glasgow Queen Street Mill, Burnley Richmond Cultural Education Partnership Science Museum, London Segedunum Roman Fort, Wallsend Sheffield Cathedral Shipley Art Gallery South Shields Museum and Art Gallery Stockport Air Raid Shelters Tatton Park, Cheshire Titanic Belfast Wolves Museum, Wolverhampton The Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere World Rugby Museum, Twickenham -
BGU Chaplain to Join Cathedral Community
The Dean of Chapel and Chaplain at Bishop Grosseteste University is to be installed as a Priest Vicar of Lincoln Cathedral next week. The Rev Dr Peter Green will be installed at a ceremony in St Hugh's Choir at Lincoln Cathedral at 5.30pm on Tuesday 3rd November. “To be invited to be a member of the foundation of one of the most stunning architectural statements of Christian faith in the world is a wonderful privilege and opportunity,” said Peter, who has been in post at BGU since 2012. “The way that universities use cathedral titles to describe some of their officers, such as Chancellor and Dean, shows the hugely important role played by the church in the development of higher education in Europe. It is wonderful therefore that a university like BGU with its Anglican foundation is being given a chance to deepen its relationship with the cathedral – especially given that it is the resting place of our namesake Bishop Robert Grosseteste. “I hope to use this role to encourage all who use our chaplaincy to participate more fully in the life of the cathedral, both spiritually and educationally.” Priest Vicars at Lincoln Cathedral support the worshipping life of the cathedral by occasionally leading worship and its pastoral outreach and help to support those who come to the cathedral looking for spiritual support.
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