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BGU Academics Present at the International Nurse Education Today (NET) Conference
Two academics from the Health and Social Care team at BGU presented at the international Nurse Education Today (NET) Conference which is an annual event run by the Advance UK (formally the Higher Education Academy). NET provides a unique opportunity for delegates to engage with the latest worldwide research evidence, developments and thinking with educators, practitioners, and students. Papers are arranged in themed sessions where delegates participate in in-depth discussion and debate on a topic, facilitated by skilled convenors. Nicki Walsh (Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer) and Leanne McHugh (Senior Lecturer) presented on different themes. Nicki presented under the theme of “Educational Enhancement” showcasing her work supporting UK, the general practice nursing workforce (previously published). Her paper reviewed current drivers within practice and higher education, to support and develop the current and future workforce. It examined several initiatives that Nicki was involved with, from the support of General Practice to provide placements for undergraduate nursing and health and social care students, to the development of educational programmes to support nurses working in practice, or who wish to have a career in General Practice, with their continued professional develop and career enhancement. Leanne presented under the theme “Student experience, engagement and achievement”. Leanne shared an overview of the carers project at BGU. The presentation took the participants through the project’s development and planning stages and considered the student and staff engagement opportunities which this project presented. Consideration was given to how to craft the narrative of the project which focused on the question “What would it feel like to be a carer at the university?” “How can we identify a shared language, so we all hear your story?”. Future strategies to enhance the Carers project were also shared with the participants seeing the future vision, which is to consider, “What an active Carers community will look like”. During the question and answer session, feedback from the participants was really positive, offering networking opportunities and possibilities of increasing the awareness of the BGU Carers Community. Related publications Book Chapter - Chapter One – Contemporary General Practice Nursing – Editors Welsh, M. and Brooks, S., Elsevier Walsh, N and Mason, R., (2018) “Hitting the Ground Running": An Evaluation of Management Placements for Student Nurses with UK General Practice. Primary Health Care. Vol. 28 No.7 pp34-41 . doi: 10.7748/phc. 2018.e1443 Walsh, N., (2017) Using community education provider networks to develop general practice nursing. Primary Health Care. Vol.27, No.4, pp26-29 -
Dr Amanda Arbouin
Dr Amanda Arbouin joined Bishop Grosseteste University as an Honorary Senior Fellow in Education Studies in August 2021. She has expertise in the Sociology of Education, with a particular focus on the effects of race, class and gender in education and employment. -
BGU Officially Welcome New Students at Annual Matriculation Ceremony
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) formally enrolled over 1000 students and welcomed nearly 600 of those students at the annual Matriculation Ceremony on Friday 8 October 2021. Now in its seventh year the welcoming ceremony has become an established and popular part of the academic calendar. All newly enrolled students are invited to the ceremony, held in the grand surroundings of Lincoln Cathedral, which gives both undergraduate and postgraduate students the chance to meet University staff and each other. This year’s ceremony began at 3pm with a procession of over 100 BGU members of staff before the new students were officially welcomed to the University by the University’s Chancellor, Dame Judith Mayhew-Jonas, the Vice-Chancellor, the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, the President of the Students’ Union, Erin Bell and the The Vice-Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, The Reverend Canon Neil Burgess. As a symbol of their belonging in BGU, all students were given a specially designed gold badge. The Vice-Chancellor explained why the event has become such an important part of the student journey at BGU: “The Matriculation Ceremony marks our students’ formal entry into the University. In addition to offering a friendly welcome to all those who are starting their studies here this year, it marks their entry into BGU’s academic community, of which every student is an integral member. It is also emphasised that we are all there to guide and support the students throughout their time with us. This year feels particularly special, as it is the first time we have gathered together in the Cathedral for almost two years.” The ceremony closed with a performance from the BGU choir followed by speeches from Harry Mill, second year Education Studies and Mathematics student, and Bethany Mcallister, second year English Literature student. If you would like to become a part of the BGU community visit our website to find out about all the exciting courses available to you or contact our Enquiries Team today. You can watch this year’s ceremony and find a photo album on our Facebook page -
ARCH Blog - Introduction from Blue
ARCH Blogs – Transition to Higher Education -
Perceptions of Death in Collective Memory: Numbers | Spaces | Texts (2021-22)
Research by Sibylle Erle Death is an abstract concept. I have always been interested in Death; not because I am morbid but because I want to live a better life. Having co-organized Academic and Creative Responses to Death and Dying (since 2017) with Peter Green at BGU, I realised that I needed to move on as well as back into my own discipline. I wanted to contemporize my interest in Death, which is rooted in the Romantic period where it connects to my research on Mary Wollstonecraft, Joanna Baillie and Mary Shelley. This is how it happened. In conversation with Dr Makrina Agaoglou, from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (ICMAT) in Madrid, I realised how Mathematics could inform and teach non-mathematicians about how mathematical modelling can give some inside information on what is happening and if and how outcomes can be predicted. Sophie Ungerer a London-based architect and designer working at the University of Brighton, on the other hand, showed me how COVID-19 has affected the way we move in our minds and through our cities, including the spaces designated for preoccupation with death, such as graveyards, (makeshift) morgues or memorials. In my head I quickly moved from “What is the maths behind the current pandemic?” to “How should we inhabit public spaces – as well as the intimate space between us”. Our project seeks to explore the perceptions of death in the context of COVID-19 and how they were affected by the pandemic. COVID-19 has been represented by mathematical graphs describing a global phenomenum, that are abstract and not always easily processed by the public; the data, moreover, is counterpointed by a plethora of individual stories about loss, mental health and lockdowns. Yet, though the threat of death is omni-present and has shaped our societies and lives irreversibly, many still have not experienced death first-hand. Death is well-documented in the public eye, but all too often the dying had to die alone to ensure the safety of their loved ones and related communities. This disconnect - between the public and the private - has to do with how we process ‘the facts‘. Through our project we want to take stock of how the current situation is poised; it is not about knowing or not knowing, it is rather to do with accepting or rejecting ‘the facts‘. Using interdisciplinary collaboration, we aim to explore the perceptions of death: from the abstract, for the general public, the parameters that affect the spreading of the virus and thus define social distancing, to how empirical experience of death may be represented in text and space. Our project is funded by AlumNode (a collaboration between the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation (HLFF) and the German Scholars Organization (GSO), funded by the Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS). Facts rarely produce empathy; and this is where the TEXT (Literature) comes in. For any information contact Sibylle Erle, FRSA, FHEA, who is Reader in English Literature and lead of RKEU Literature and Literacies. She teaches on the English programmes as well as on MA Children’s Literature and Literacies. Our first event on 2 November brings together Speakers from different disciplines who will explore ‘Death’ from different angles: we will have short presentations, a round table and a creative workshop; This will be lead by artist Marina White Raven, who I have been working with since the first Lockdown on a story titled, 'What did you do during lockdown?' - Find out more about that story here. What remains? Each point or number on those graphs holds its own story. Is it personal stories that will compete with the trends in the formation of the collective memory of the time we are now living through? How do we perceive, construct as well as represent Death in our daily lives? For details: https://www.icmat.es/congresos/2021/PDM-NST/index.php To register: https://predictiondeathmemory.eventbrite.co.uk -
Dr Ursula McKenna
Dr Ursula McKenna is Senior Research Fellow in Implicit Religion at BGU where she is located within the Department of Theology and the World Religions and Education Research Unit. Upon completion of her BA (QTS) she was awarded an Economic and Social Research Council MA studentship and obtained an MA (with distinction) for her work on religious education for children with special educational needs in the primary school. While combining a part-time research post with a job-share class teaching position she then completed her doctorate. Her research was an evaluation of the Building E- Bridges programme, a project which advocated the use of email in primary schools to promote interfaith dialogue amongst pupils across the UK. For fourteen years Ursula taught across the primary age range and as research fellow at the University of Warwick (1999-2021) she contributed to the PGCE Primary and Early Years Religious Education module and the MA in Religious Education by distance learning course. She has undertaken supervision of dissertation students on BA and MA Education Studies degrees and has co-supervised research students. For twelve years she was editorial assistant for the British Journal of Religious Education, co-ordinating the refereeing process for all submissions and special issues. -
Reflections on Black History Month at BGU
Throughout October, Bishop Grosseteste University hosted a month-long programme of free events to celebrate Black History Month. The events included academic lectures, story-telling session and exhibitions that highlight the contribution of Black poets, educators, activists, athletes amongst others during this global month of celebration. Each of these sessions were designed to be educational, but also to engage and entertain in different ways while challenging received ideas and knowledge and were available to staff, students, guests and the wider public via live-stream where applicable. Dr Sheine Peart, Reader in Access, Equality and Inclusion and Project Lead for Black History Month at BGU, said: “As we reach the end of October I would like to offer some personal reflections on Black History Month at Bishop Grosseteste University 2021 which has been a resounding success in countless different ways. “The month-long programme of events was planned by a multidisciplinary University wide team and from the outset the ambition was (borrowing words from the BBC charter) to entertain, educate and inform while at the same time celebrating the multiple ways the global community has been enriched by contributions of people’s from the African diaspora. Benefiting from the skills and knowledge of University colleagues and invited contributors, each event fed into this ambition and provided new insights to the participating audiences while simultaneously honouring the common bonds which unite us and engaging with the challenges which confront us. “Through poetry, music, song, film, thought-provoking talks and story-telling sessions the audience learned of the ways Black peoples had enriched local, national and international communities including the innovative education strategies of Beryl Gilroy (the first Black Headteacher in London) and the ways the Reverend Sonia Baron in her work with the national government is currently challenging inequalities in work based and other spaces to provide better opportunities for everyone. “BHM at BGU will return in 2022 with another programme of events which will be open to students, staff and the wider public. We look forward to welcoming you to our next celebration and invite you to keep watching for future announcements.” -
Second BGU Participatory Autism Research Symposium - October 2021
On 13th October, BGU hosted the second in its series of Participatory Autism Research Symposia, which featured presentations from members of the current BGU community and alumni. Attendees joined in with the online event from as far afield as Sweden, Canada and Malaysia, and heard presentations from four researchers. The first presentation described the artistic and academic journey taken by a current BGU staff member and an autistic BGU alumnus who created a short film called “Broken” (Rimmer, 2020) to detail an autistic pupil’s experience of trying to communicate with his teacher that his glasses were broken. This film has been used as a tool to support trainee teachers’ understanding of fluency issues in autistic pupils in the mainstream classroom. It can be viewed here. Sophie, a BGU alumnus then shared details of her participatory PhD research project which focuses on autistic women's experiences of university, with specific regard to wellbeing. As she is particularly interested in the use of creative methods as a research tool, Sophie asked project participants to create creative pieces such as poems or artwork which expressed barriers to university and a desire for universities to be more inclusive. In 1990, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop published an essay outlining the importance of children’s books as both ‘windows’ and ‘mirrors’: books that are windows enable children to learn about the lives of others, and those that are mirrors support children to see themselves reflected. Clare, a PhD candidate at Cambridge University who is supporting three members of BGU’s academic staff with a research project into the representation of black autistic characters in picture books provided information on the study, which critiques this representation both from a Black and from an autistic perspective and investigates how these books work both as windows and mirrors. Finally, Dan, a PhD candidate at BGU gave a short presentation on the BGU Autism Resources Community Hub (ARCH), which aspires to be a one-stop starting point for all members of the BGU autism community (autistic students and staff, family members, friends and allies) to access information about autism at BGU. This community-based, exploratory work aims to build a positive resource that emerges from our autistic community. The ARCH web pages can be found here. If you missed the first Participatory Autism Research Symposium, you can view the recording on the Participatory Autism Research Collective Website here. -
Revd Canon Professor Leslie J Francis
Leslie Francis holds the part-time post of Professor of Religions, Psychology and Education. He works with doctoral students in fields that connect religious studies, theology, psychology, and education. Before joining Bishop Grosseteste University he held chairs in Pastoral Theology at Lampeter, Practical Theology at Bangor, Religions and Education at Warwick, and Religions and Psychology at Warwick. Currently he holds visiting positions in universities in Pretoria and Newfoundland and serves as Canon Theologian at Liverpool Cathedral. -
International Men’s Day 2021
To celebrate International Mens Day, academics from across the University have highlighted influential men within their fields that have made a difference in their subject area.
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