Channel 10/2010

OCTOBER 10

The house that Kevin built

Building a greener future

EditorRebecca HaroutunianCommunications manager

Assistant editorPhil MillsCommunications officer

Channel magazine is published every two months by Marketing and Communications.

Channel is available online atwww.brighton.ac.uk/channel.

Alongside this publication our online newsletter eChannel is produced monthly athttp://community.brighton.ac.uk/echannel.

For the latest news about the university, please see www.brighton.ac.uk/news.

For an insight into researchconducted at the university, seewww.brighton.ac.uk/research.

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Front page imageKevin McCloud, designer and tv presenter, page 16. Photo by Andrew Weekes.

Print and reproductionBy DSI Colourworks, registeredto environmental standard,ISO 14001. This magazine was printed using inks made from vegetable-based oils and without the use of industrial alcohol.Ninety-five per cent of the cleaning solvents were recycled for further use and 94 per cent of the dry waste associated with this production will be recycled.

Regular features

October 2010 Channel Magazine

Contents

03

News04–07 Round-up News from across the university

18–19Research briefingNews and grant awards

Lead features12–13Lead feature A new dawn for science and engineering

14–15Lead feature A look at the work of Kevin Mannall, community liaison officer

Features08–10 Team in focusStars of the future

11Opinion The heat is on. An update on applications and admissions

20–21In conversation New director of Estates and Facilities Management, Mike Clark

22–23 Special featureMedical students on board the Magic Train

24Events

22–23

12–13

18

08–10

14–15

16–17

16–17Research featureThe House that Kevin built

UNIVERSITY ROUND-UP

Channel Magazine October 201004

complete with the opening of the new Sports Centre and the demolition of the last 1960s clasp buildings – and of course the AMEX Community Stadium on our doorsteps will be completed by next spring.

At Moulsecoomb, the Huxley Building (behind Cockcroft and next to the station) is now fully operational – a major enhancement to our life sciences infrastructure. And slightly further ahead the second Hastings academic building (UCH2) is scheduled for 2011 completion. Planning for the rebuilding of the Varley residences is on track and the complex partnership projects at Preston Barracks and Circus Street are still very much in our sights.

The Browne Review into student finance and the cuts announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review will significantly change the landscape in which we exist. The whole history of our university (since its small beginnings in the 1850s) has been one of continuous progress and development – we have never aimed for ‘steady state’ nor should we. Of course, not all change is good – the best change is that which we can direct for ourselves – and looking forward it is my commitment to provide the right senior leadership team and the best physical conditions to underpin this.

That way we can stay on the course we have decided and direct change to our purposes in the difficult times ahead.

SMT are committed to providing feedback to members of our community on how these issues will impact on us. To help with this we have launched a series of SMT web pages on staffcentral at http://feedback.brighton.ac.uk/smt. It’s important that we have a shared understanding of this fast, changing environment. I look forward to meeting colleagues at the November open meetings where we will be able to discuss these changes.

Each new academic year brings huge change as over 6,000 new students and many new staff arrive, and I want just to focus on a couple of specific dimensions of change which can affect the character of the university in very different ways.

First we start 2010 with a rather differently shaped Senior Management Team. The retirement of David House as Deputy Vice-Chancellor in May was a huge loss to Brighton in knowledge and expertise – occurring just at the same time as there were strong (externally driven) reasons for seeking to reduce the number of SMT members from seven to six.

In this situation the university is very fortunate to have been able to appoint Stuart Laing to take over as Deputy Vice-Chancellor – as many of you know Stuart has been a Pro-Vice-Chancellor (or equivalent) at Brighton for nearly 20 years and has a wide and detailed knowledge of all aspects of the institution’s operations.

The leadership of our overall academic work will be shared between Stuart and Bruce Brown. Bruce continues as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), will now oversee Information Services and has added Economic and Social Engagement to his portfolio. This latter move has freed Colin Monk (Pro-Vice-Chancellor Business and Marketing) to lead our now absolutely vital effort in international recruitment and partnerships.

To complete the picture, senior management responsibility for Estates and Facilities Management is now with Sue McHugh, Director of Finance, while Carol Burns (Registrar and Secretary) adds oversight of the Personnel department as well as the Sport and Recreation Service, to her range of responsibilities.

2010 also sees further steps in the physical re-making of the university. At Falmer, the replacement of the entire campus will be

CommentUNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTONLooking good!

This is how the new £16m state-of-the-art Hastings Academy will look once it is completed by 2012/13. The university, the lead sponsor, and its partners BT and East Sussex County Council, have named Kier Longley, part of the UK-based Kier Group, as the preferred bidder to build the academies, and work should start early next year. The sponsors said the Kier’s submission was the closest to their “education vision”.

The academy, financed by the Department for Education, will be built on the site of the existing Hillcrest School in Hastings and was given the go-ahead in August. A second project, the St Leonards Academy, to be built on the site of Filsham Valley School in St Leonards, is awaiting funding approval from the government.Professor Julian Crampton said the academy will feature the most modern facilities and features.

He said: “It will provide an innovative environment with a broad range of teaching and learning facilities including drama/performance space, a creative learning centre, a science laboratory, creative information communication technology suites, an amphitheatre and an all-weather sports pitch with fully integrated special needs provision.Physical education provision will be enhanced throughout the site and will be arranged to encourage community use of the sports facilities.”

He said Kier was committed to a robust consultation strategy for the school’s design which will encourage input from students, staff, parents and the community. Professor Crampton said the construction will focus heavily on eco-friendly materials and design: “Key elements are very low energy use, good health and wellbeing, giving a comfortable environment with good day lighting, and using a range of materials that are highly rated in the Green Guide to Specification.

Professor Julian Crampton, Vice-Chancellor

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October 2010 Channel Magazine 05

“Attendees were encouraged to sign up to the Family and Friends programme – administered by the Development and Alumni Office – where they will receive regular news and updates from the university, including details of general student activities and achievements.”

FACULTY OF ARTSHomes fit for the future

The university is coordinating a €6.3m scheme to equip social housing schemes in the UK and France with energy systems that combat climate change.

Professor Mike McEvoy, from the university’s School of Architecture and Design, is coordinating Innovation for Renewal (IFORE) which is being financed by the European Regional Development Fund’s Interreg programme. This pioneering project is a partnership including two large and innovative housing associations, Amicus Horizon from the UK and Pas-de-Calais Habitat in France, and scientists specialising in building from the Université d’Artois. Pas-de-Calais Habitat has a wealth of experience of the technical issues involved whilst Amicus Horizon is contributing its skills in community engagement.

IFORE will search for the most efficient low-carbon methods by trialling different systems in 100 homes on the Isle of Sheppey, off the Kent coast, and in houses at Outreau near Boulogne on the northern coast of France.

Batches of homes will be fitted with different renewable energy systems, such as solar thermal and solar electricity systems. Eventually the approach could be rolled out in thousands of homes in the UK and France.

Professor McEvoy, Professor of architecture at the university, said the target is to reduce carbon use in the homes by 80 per cent.

UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTONWelcome

The university welcomed several hundred family members and friends of new students to special information sessions in Brighton and Eastbourne over the arrivals weekend.

The sessions offered any reassurance or guidance that people needed and highlighted that our new students’ supporters are themselves members of the university community.

Colleagues from across the university worked over the weekend to help at the events and at each session, short speeches were made by a member of the Senior Management Team, Students’ Union sabbatical officers and a member of the alumni community.

Sam Davies, director of Development and Alumni, said: “The sessions received a lot of positive feedback and it was clear that our efforts to welcome our newest students’ friends and family in their own right were greatly appreciated.

“This is very exciting news and we are delighted that Kier is joining us for what will be a major advancement in the education provision for young people in Hastings.”

Professor Crampton expressed disappointment when the government delayed until the autumn a final decision on the St Leonards Academy, which will incorporate Filsham Valley and The Grove schools.

The sponsors remain optimistic and Professor Crampton said the Hastings Academy Trust, which is responsible for both the Hastings and St Leonards academies, is continuing to “lobby hard” for a positive capital funding for the St Leonards Academy.

Above: Hastings Academy, pictures courtesy of Kier. These are initial competition images and are subject to further design work and planning consent.

UNIVERSITY ROUND-UP

Channel Magazine October 201006

UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTONStaff survey

Last November, all staff had the opportunity to give their views on working at the University of Brighton by completing our staff survey. Results were communicated and published on the staff survey website in March 2010 and were featured in a full page spread in the April/May edition of Channel. The staff survey steering group has been gathering responses to the results from across the university to form an action plan.

Carol Burns, registrar and secretary, said: “Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback over the past months, as your thoughts and opinions have proved invaluable in helping us put together this action plan in partnership with UCU and Unison.”

The staff survey action plan will shortly be published and the next edition of Channel will include a more detailed focus on the agreed actions and commitments and progress made so far in implementing these. Your thoughts and comments on the staff survey are encouraged and you are welcome to email these to [email protected].

PLUMPTON COLLEGEJapanese visitors

The college hosted a visit from students from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. They learned how the university’s partner college has been delivering agricultural and land-based training since 1926 and were told about opportunities for international students to achieve a work-focused degree and study.

Dr David Stokes, deputy principal, informed them of the latest developments in forestry, countryside and environment, outdoor adventure activities, garden design and horticulture.

“Today, we have more than 2,000 students enrolled on a variety of courses from undergraduate, masters-level and professional doctoral programmes. We now employ more than 150 academic and research staff, plus administrators and technicians. “We also work with hundreds of schools and colleges and a host of other institutions and local authorities with the aim of improving the learning experiences and achievements of children and young people.” For more information about the Voices and Visions conference, and all of the other centenary events that have taken place over the last year, go to www.brighton.ac.uk/education/conference.

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION100 years of teaching

Photographs and stories from the past featured during the day-long conference Voices and Visions, marking 100 years of learning in the university’s School of Education. More than 150 people including past and present students, staff members and teachers from schools and organisations across the south attended the event at the new £24m Checkland Building at Falmer. Keynote speakers were Professor Andrew Pollard, Teaching and Learning Research Fellow at the Institute of Education, and Professor Sir David Watson, Professor of Higher Education Management at the Institute of Education, Principal of Green Templeton College, Oxford and a former Vice-Chancellor of the university. The conference marked the culmination of a year of celebrations and documented how teacher training in the School of Education had reached its 100-year milestone. Centenary research fellow Suzanne Hyde researched the school’s history and uncovered a wealth of artefacts and photographs documenting the growth of teacher training, from its roots on Brighton seafront to the move to Falmer.

Suzanne also filmed many oral history interviews where current and previous students and staff reflected on how it was in their day, current relationships with the school and hopes for the school’s future. A selection of this material was on display during the conference in an exhibition curated for the anniversary. The school has had several different names over the years Lorraine Harrison, head of the School of Education, said: “It was in 1909, in Richmond Terrace, Brighton, that Brighton Municipal Training College was opened – with 38 female and 19 male students, and five staff.

Top: 1909–1911 class, Brighton Municipal Training College.

Bottom: Richmond Terrace where the college originated.

UNIVERSITY ROUND-UP

October 2010 Channel Magazine 07

The visitors toured the estate, visiting the farm to see milking in progress, and met staff engaged in animal management and veterinary nursing, machinery, engineering, equine centre and the wine science centre, where they sampled some of the winning wines.

UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTONNo excuses – get sporty!

A new £6m sports centre at Falmer opened at the beginning of October to provide state-of-the-art facilities.

The building, designed by S&P Architects and built by Leadbitter Construction, provides a large fitness suite, two activity studios, a six badminton court-size sports hall, a seminar and meeting room and office accommodation for the university’s Sport and Recreation Service and Active Sussex, the external body responsible for sport development in the county.

Sport Brighton, the partnership between the Sport and Recreation Service and the Students’ Union, is encouraging more people to be active, and the new sports centre will provide an array of opportunities. It will cater for all levels of fitness from those competing at a high level to those who want to have fun and keep fit at the same time.

Head of sport, Sarah Hogg, said: “This is a tremendous asset for the university. The investment supports student and staff recruitment and retention and will, hopefully, encourage more of the university community to make physical activity a part of daily life.

“It is an absolutely fantastic building, with high-quality finishing touches, and it will greatly enhance the quality of our provision and the opportunities we are able to offer.”

FACULTY OF ARTSNational recognition for archives

Design archives at the university have received national recognition with grants totalling £180,000.

The funding, £60,000 in each of the next three years, has been awarded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). This is the first time Brighton’s archives have received HEFCE funding and it positions the university alongside well established museums and collections such as the Whitworth Art Gallery at Manchester and the Fitzwilliam at Cambridge.

The archives, housed in the Faculty of Arts in Grand Parade, hold 18 collections of visual and textual designs aimed at enhancing understanding of the designed environment, the design profession and design practise.

Their main focus is British design in the twentieth century and there is much of significance relating to the graphic and industrial design professions internationally.

Photographs and documents from the archives are used regularly in exhibitions, publications and for teaching and research.

Dr Catherine Moriarty, curatorial director, said: “Building a group of archives that are now recognised as having international significance is a major coup. We have argued and demonstrated their research value long and hard and it is a real achievement for our small team, for the faculty and for the university.”

The funding followed a review of university museums and galleries, led by Sir Muir Russell, which resulted in HEFCE widening the remit of the university collections eligible for funding. Among other new names receiving recognition are the Women’s Library at London Metropolitan University and the British Cartoon Archive at Kent University.

You can find more about the university’s design archives by going to: http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/collections/design-archives.

Above: Dr Catherine Moriarty, curatorial director of the design archives.

08 Channel Magazine October 2010

TEAM IN FOCUS

Its current work includes two large European Commission research projects, one on eliminating back pain by regenerating the invertebral disc that degenerates due to age and disease and the other on bone regeneration through the stimulation of stem cells and the formation of new blood vessels.

In addition, the group is developing several products, including one for dental implants and has just begun work on an £89,000 government-sponsored project which would allow stem cells to be grown in culture in a safe and consistent way.

The projects represent a lot of investment for a core team of just six people, but, according to Santin, the compactness of the team is part of the reason for its success.

“The group is kept deliberately small so that it is sustainable,” said Professor Santin. “Each member is fully involved and everyone benefits from learning and contributing to the projects.”

“It is clear to us that the building represents a big investment by the university in our work,” says Professor Matteo Santin, leader of the group. “It’s a building with facilities that will give us a huge opportunity in terms of the quality of research we produce.”

Their two labs at the top of the Huxley Building are modern and clean and have access to cutting edge facilities. “It’s a significant improvement in the standard of facilities we had before which were built in the 60s,” said principal research fellow Dr Gary Phillips.

Since 2003 the team has won research grants in excess of £3m, from the EC, industry, UK bodies and charities. The team has contributed to the filing of 10 patent applications.

The team’s activity focuses on finding technical solutions to problems linked to the behaviour of cells and encouraging cells to form new tissue.

IN FOCUS...

The start of the academic year brings a return to the routine for many, but for the Brighton Studies in Tissue-mimicry and Aided Regeneration research group (BrightStar) it is all change. The team moved into the £24m state-of-the-art Huxley Building over the summer and is looking forward to the future.

The team also has a key teaching role, with Professor Santin and Dr Phillips delivering modules and tutorials at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences and at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, supervising 12 undergraduates a year for their final-year projects in addition to several PhD students and masters students.

“We do not just supervise our students. We offer them the full research team experience,” said Professor Santin.

BY PROFESSOR MATTEO SANTIN

TEAM IN FOCUS

09October 2010 Channel Magazine

“It’s a sign of our success that so many undergraduates choose to stay with us through to their masters degrees and PhDs,” added Dr Phillips. “We are keen to develop these talented young scientists for the future of the group.”

One of the team’s two technicians Joe Lacey, for example, has been with the team since his undergraduate days and is now undertaking a part-time PhD. The other technician Valeria Perugini is also being developed for future progression as a part-time PhD student.

Experienced members of the team are research fellows Anna Guildford and Steve Meikle. Anna’s PhD, which she completed in 2005, was supervised by Professor Santin. She has worked her way up from a research officer to a research fellow and now works part-time three days a week, overseeing the biological and histological aspects of the team’s research and teaching.

Her role, in an emerging field, includes developing clinically reflective testing of cells and biomaterials.

Above: (left to right) Valeria Perugini, Steve Meikle, Professor Matteo Santin, Dr Gary Phillips, Anna Guildford and Joe Lacey

Each member is fully involved and everyone benefits from learning and contributing to the projects.


TEAM IN FOCUS

She said that her duties span from planning the team work to reviewing data, providing student supervision, and offering consultancy to industrial collaborators.

Steve has been at the university for more than 11 years and focuses mainly on the chemical aspects of the team’s research, training and teaching of undergraduate, postgraduate and research staff. He started as a research assistant, then become a research technician, continuing with a PhD at the university and worked as a research officer before being appointed a research fellow in 2007.

He works full-time and has a desk beside Anna’s so they can confer regularly. In addition to all his other responsibilities, Steve is in charge of lab safety and is heavily involved in the launch of the Young Scientists’ Forum for the UK Society of Biomaterials.

The forum objective is to provide the young UK scientists with opportunities to debate issues of importance to them, such as the difficulty of having to work on successive short-term contracts – the norm in science – and to establish contacts with companies who will be interested in their skills.

The BrightStar team was originally a division of the internationally renowned Biomedical Materials Research Group, led by Professor Sergey Mikhalovsky, until it became an independent group at the start of 2010. It still, however, has some overlap with the Biomedical Materials Group, with whom it shares laboratory space and facilities.

Both Dr Phillips and Professor Santin have been with the team since it was part of the Biomedical Materials Research Group. Dr Phillips has the longest links to the university. He was an undergraduate at the university in the 1980s and stayed on.

Professor Santin, who is originally from Italy, arrived for the first time in 1994 on a European Commission fellowship. His supervisor allowed him to register as a part-time PhD student. He returned in 1998 as a postdoctoral student on a European Commission project. He says he was attracted to Brighton because it was “a young environment, with a high degree of freedom to develop my own career path. It was a unique opportunity to combine research in an emerging university with a lovely place to live,”.

Professor Santin’s and Dr Phillip’s roles revolve mainly around research and teaching as well as project management, including keeping to budgets. Despite the economic situation, Professor Santin said he is confident that the research contracts recently secured will give stability to the team for the next three years. Increasingly, he said, he is being asked to speak at conferences and join expert panels, such as an EC panel that was responsible for “writing the road map“ for regenerative medicine over the next 15 years.

Dr Phillips’ said. “You have to invest in people and build expertise in the long term,” he commented “in order to retain highly motivated, skilled people. They need to feel ownership of what they do.”

He added that, since the team hosted the European Society for Biomaterials’ international conference in 2007, its reputation has been growing around the world. “The university is now on the map as having one of the most successful biomaterials teams in Europe. All our hard work is paying off and it is my belief that further investment in people, rather than just facilities, will take us to the next level.”

Above: Vascular cells under a microscope – the group has just begun work on an £89,000 government-sponsored project which would allow stem cells to be grown in culture in a safe and consistent way.

11

Brighton, like most universities, cannot afford to over-recruit and have money clawed back, and equally cannot afford to undershoot and face a reduced Modernisation Fund payout.

Hundreds of staff play their part – on the phones, in the offices, by email from home and abroad – in negotiating, helping, letting down (either gently or with the cold water of realism) and accepting up to 10,000 would-be students.

Parents drive through the night or email the Vice-Chancellor to secure accommodation, make excuses for the A-level that went wrong or to congratulate university staff for their help.

This year’s experience of 2010 admissions at Brighton may turn out to mark a significant change towards what will need to be a much more coordinated process.

October 2010 Channel Magazine

OPINION

August 2010 – over 37,000 applications (an 18 per cent increase) have been received by the university, the sector is faced with draconian penalties for over-recruitment, and A-level results are improving all the time.

Almost all courses at Brighton are now selecting rather than recruiting – some for the first time in living memory. And then there is the latest set of additional targets (the University Modernisation Fund) – the last desperate throw of an outgoing government to stave off electoral disaster, but kept on by the incoming coalition.

The heat is on for undergraduate admissions. Professor Stuart Laing gives an update and outlines some of the challenges ahead.

If you follow media reporting on the likely impact of the Browne Review, we can also predict a further influx of applicants for 2011. This will present yet another huge challenge.

The prospects for casual over-recruitment in one school to damage the position of all the other schools are now much, much greater than they ever were in the heyday of New Labour.

But the major change to recognise here remains that facing every individual student. Each of the 5,500 controlled government targets for Brighton is someone leaving home for the first time – or making a life-changing gamble to become a mature student – or committing to a profession for life. Whatever the systems or the pressures we have to cope with it is this kind of change on which we must, most of all, concentrate – and must get right. And that story is just beginning.


LEAD FEATURE

The new school brings together research strengths in automotive engineering, computer science, nuclear physics, information sciences and applied mathematics and enables us to broaden our research base through collaborations between mathematicians, engineers and computer scientists. Over the next few years the school will seek to grow new areas of research which are relevant to the evolving academic portfolio and the existing areas of research strength, whilst seeking to develop research collaborations across the university with subject areas such as social science, business, education and environmental sciences. The School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences moved into the Huxley Building over the summer. Huxley houses state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities for the school as well as new teaching facilities, including a 350-seat lecture theatre, for the Moulsecoomb campus.

Furthermore, although it will be important to carry on with our work to develop the human‐computer interface, much of the technological growth is likely to be at the interface between computer science, mathematics and engineering through the wider utilisation of electronic monitoring control and management systems. These systems are already impacting on healthcare, domestic appliance monitoring and building management, and the new school is an opportunity to embrace this as the course portfolio and research base evolve over the next few years. An example of where this will have immediate impact is the opportunity for software engineers to contribute to the recently launched Automotive Electronic Engineering MSc.

The merger of the School of Computing, Mathematics and Information Sciences with the division of Engineering and Product Design, previously based in the School of Environment and Technology, to form the School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, consolidates three relates academic areas. This will provide significant opportunities for the development of innovative courses and diversification of our strong research base across these disciplines. The evolution of courses at the interfaces between these disciplines will allow the school to address head-on the global demands for highly skilled, innovative and creative specialists in engineering and technology for today’s world. For example, in the field of media technology, the school will be able to capitalise on the recent development of the digital media technology and expertise in product design to embrace the needs of the mobile technologies industry.

The new academic year heralds major changes in the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Professor Andrew Lloyd, the faculty’s dean, reflects on the new opportunities presented by the developments.


In addition to providing a much enhanced learning environment for students, the school has already begun to capitalise on the enhanced teaching facilities by launching three masters programmes targeted at the international market and which build on the strong research base in biomedical, pharmaceutical and pharmacological sciences. The broadening and strengthening of the school’s master’s portfolio will underpin the strong research base and will further enhance the international reputation of the school as a centre of excellence in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. The school’s relocation also paves the way for the refurbishment of the Cockcroft Building over the next few years. We are aiming to provide a consolidated enhanced working and learning environment for all staff and students in the faculty. These developments not only enable us to enhance the relevance and currency of the faculty’s academic and research portfolio but will increase opportunities for us to build on our significant contribution to economic and social engagement, both regionally and

LEAD FEATURE

internationally, as we continue to develop partnerships with colleges and universities, industry, public sector bodies, governments and healthcare providers in the UK and overseas. For example, Huxley houses a recently-purchased, state-of-the-art electron microscope which will not only support research and teaching within the university but is being made available to local companies, universities, schools and colleges, and other organisations to support education and research and provide a broader analytical resource within the region as part of the faculty’s commitment to supporting the broader regional community. The faculty’s commitment to sustainable development is also underpinned by these developments by both reducing the environmental impact of the faculty through the provision of more energy efficient buildings and by better aligning our subject portfolio to encourage the development of sustainable technologies through research and knowledge partnership.

As we move into an increasingly more uncertain world, the university is increasing demand for science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates, and the research base to support future global innovation and wealth creation to underpin long term economic growth. In growing our transnational research base and knowledge exchange partnerships we hope to not only contribute to knowledge discovery but to the application of this knowledge for economic and societal benefit. Through the development of inspired, innovative, creative and highly skilled individuals across the science and engineering disciplines the university will not only enhance the potential employability of its graduates but they will have the potential to contribute even further to global recovery through their long-term contribution to society.


LEAD FEATURE

Three years ago problems with students were the main grumble of people living in the Bevendean area of Brighton. Now students do not even figure in the top three concerns of residents. Much of the transformation is due to the work of community liaison officer Kevin Mannall.


He said: “Increasing numbers of students living in university towns has been a problem around the country and Brighton is no different. People in Bevendean had a negative image of them as noisy, transient and changing the community for the worse. They said they put young families off from living in the area and spoke of a ‘loss of community’. They perceived all young people who caused problems as students.”

Because of the rising tensions, he was appointed two and a half years ago to engage directly with the community and to act as a point of contact with them if they had complaints. As well as dealing with negative perceptions of students, he also helps to promote a more positive image by being the middle man between community organisations which need help with anything from painting murals to cleaning parks and volunteer student groups like Active Student, and the Community University Partnership Programme, which can provide that help.

Kevin started trying to turn residents’ hostility to students around by attending community meetings. He said that, at the time, feelings were running so high that residents would shout at him that their area was being turned into a student ghetto.

Slowly and after hard work, he has noticed a change for the better. “The secret is good communication,” he said. “Letting people know what the university is doing, for example, building more halls so there are fewer students in private accommodation.”

He attends at least one community group meeting a week in all the areas where University of Brighton students live, including Brighton, Hastings and Eastbourne. As well as handling complaints from residents, he acts as a contact point for students who claim to have been harassed by members of the community and works with student groups, such as the Students’ Union.

Student representatives are also encouraged to attend community meetings so they are seen to be part of the community. Ironically, despite his success at reducing anti-student feeling, the number of complaints Kevin receives has increased because residents now have someone to channel complaints to and can communicate their concerns, rather than quietly seething.

For this reason, he now has two other people helping him out – a part-time community liaison/housing adviser and a police officer who is assigned to the university.

Kevin trained as a probation officer and worked previously in the Brighton & Hove community safety team. This gave him a good background in multi-agency work and has helped with his current role. “I am the main contact between the university and the community, including police and environmental health.” He added: “It’s all about engaging with the community, building new links and reassuring people.”

Aware of budget pressures in the current economic climate, Bill Gandey, chair of the Bevendean Local Action Team, warns, however, against thinking that the lessening of community hostility to students means the university can cut back on the service.

“They must be given the facilities and support to continue to develop,” he said. “Students need to be able to recognise themselves as part of the local community and just as importantly the community needs to recognise the students as part of their community. The chasm between the students and the community has been crossed but the bridge is of a fragile nature.”

LEAD FEATURE

RESEARCH FEATURE


RESEARCH FEATURE


The House that Kevin Built was constructed live on TV in six days in 2008 for Channel 4’s Grand Designs Live, and was heralded as the UK’s first low-energy prefabricated house made from eco-friendly materials. The house was later dismantled but the concept is being reborn in the courtyard of the university’s Faculty of Arts in Grand Parade, Brighton. Kevin McCloud, the British designer who presented the TV programme, is backing the idea along with Brighton & Hove City Council and the Building Research Establishment (BRE), the construction industry’s research and consultancy organisation. He said: “I’m very pleased that the University of Brighton is committed to exploring new low-carbon methods of building. It’s exciting to think that the campus could have its own practical demonstration building and I’m delighted to be connected to the university through this innovative piece of construction.” The house will be built with cutting edge methods and materials to the point where the structure captures more carbon than it uses and cuts out waste. Walls, for instance, will be made with panels filled with straw bales to keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer. The house will be regularly evaluated and new research will provide improved techniques and materials for the house over its predicted five to ten-year lifespan.

Professor Stuart Laing, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said: “The house will be a working exhibit for people to view but it will also be a place for children, youth clubs and adults to meet, talk and learn about environmental issues, healthy living, reducing the use of carbon and tackling climate change. “It will be for university and community use as an experimental venue for research, student workshops, conferences, exhibitions and events that would draw the city and the university together around a shared concern for a more sustainable city.” The house was designed by architect Duncan Baker-Brown, a senior lecturer in architecture at the university and also a director of BBM Sustainable Design. He is now working with Kevin McCloud, Dr Catherine Harper, head of the university’s School of Architecture and Design, and Anne Boddington, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, to give the house its new home. A planning application has been submitted to the city council. Duncan is working with the Development and Alumni office to find the supporters that are needed to help raise the £300,000 required to build the house. Professor Laing said: “This is an exciting project that we hope will become an example for sustainable construction around the UK and one that will produce far-reaching benefits for the university and the community as a whole. If all goes to plan, work on building the house could begin next Easter.”

Duncan Baker-Brown said: “As a university we are a signatory to the 10:10 campaign to reduce carbon emissions by 10 per cent and we have also set a target to reduce our overall emissions by 50 per cent in five years – this project will act as a beacon to show how these kinds of reductions can be achieved.” The university’s development manager, Andrew Scanlan said “We hope construction companies, DIY businesses, environment groups, energy firms and individuals will join with us in this project by donating. All donations to the university are eligible for both Gift Aid and the government’s matched funding scheme. This means that every pound we receive is worth nearly twice as much to the university, at no extra cost to our supporters.” For more details including how to support the project go to www.brighton.ac.uk/thehousethatkevinbuilt.

A house of the future that captivated millions of TV viewers is to be rebuilt at the University of Brighton’s Faculty of Arts.

RESEARCH BRIEFING


In the wider contexts of global climate change, a world population of nine billion and growing, competing food production systems and diet-related public health concerns, are there new concepts for urban and rural planning capable of supporting sustainable and equitable food systems?

The Second European Sustainable Food Planning Conference, run by the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP), aims to promote cross-disciplinary discussions between active researchers and practitioners in response to this question, and to address related issues which emerged from the first conference last year in Almere, Netherlands.

Working at a range of scales and with a variety of practical and theoretical models, the conference will review and elaborate definitions of sustainable food systems, and begin to define ways of achieving them. To this end four different themes have been defined as entry points into the discussion of sustainable food planning: • urban agriculture• integrating health, environment and society • food in urban design and planning • urban food governance.

Andre Viljoen, principal lecturer in the university’s School of Architecture and Design, said: “The conference themes will enable an articulation of the manifold problems associated with, and possible solutions for, food provision in urbanising societies in developed and developing countries.” The two-day conference started on 29 October and keynote speakers included Professor June Komisar, from Ryerson University, Toronto, and Professor Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University, London. For more information go to: http://tiny.cc/tysjo.

Planning for sustainable food production and consumption is an increasingly important issue and one that has attracted top names in the field to a University of Brighton conference which hopes to define ways of achieving those goals.

GROWING NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD

TURNING GREENHOUSE GAS GREEN

A breakthrough in ways to neutralise greenhouse gas is a step closer thanks to a £150,000 donation from a retired businessman.

MANAGING UNCERTAINTY

The British Sociological Association’s Work, Employment and Society (WES) conference took place at the Brighton Dome and the University of Brighton.


RESEARCH BRIEFING

British Bookshops and Sussex Stationers founder, Michael Chowen, read a newspaper article about the University of Brighton’s research and immediately telephoned the university to commit his support.

He said: “I’m more than excited about this research. It’s a dream come true and wonderful to see so much dedicated hard work going into something that is both cutting edge and also that has so much potential to combat global warming. This is vital for the future of the planet. Mr Chowen, a long-term supporter of the university, praised the research team and in particular project research fellow Ortrud Aschenbrenner for her “implementation of what has proved a difficult project”.

Dr Ray Whitby, from the university’s School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, and Prof Toru Maekawa from the Bio-Nano Electronic Research Centre at Toyo University,

Japan, collaboratively developed a system of breaking down the CO2 by firing a laser at the gas separates it into its harmless components of oxygen and carbon.

Dr Whitby said the RoCOCO (Reduction of Critically Opalescent CO2) project was still in the laboratory stage but he said he hopes to see large-scale trials within the next five years.For more information go to www.brighton.ac.uk/research/films.

VALUING VALUES

How do you measure values? wevalue.org is making ground-breaking values-based indicators and assessment tools for measuring values accessible to businesses, civil society organisations and faith-based communities worldwide.

We Value is a collaborative community and web platform, launched in early September. It is home to over 170 values-based indicators developed as the basis for the measurement of values within organisations around the world. The We Value platform and community stems from the ESDinds project, a two-year collaborative research project funded by the EU based on the concept that values can be usefully measured and that this information can help organisations in their efforts to develop successful and sustainable programs and business models. Professor Marie Harder, academic lead and head of the Sustainable Development Coordination Unit (SDeCU) at the University of Brighton believes that, “improved understanding in how we see and value ourselves and the world around us is essential to creating a sustainable, just and responsible society. The We Value platform has been created to help us, as civil society organisations, businesses and faith communities, to explore and share what we value through values-based indicators which are adaptable.” We Value also creates a collaborative research and learning space. It aims to build a community of practice that will continue beyond the research project itself. We Value membership is open and free.

Visit wevalue.org to get involved.

The conference theme of Managing Uncertainty: A New Deal? examined the impact of the current economic turbulence on employment across the globe.

Hosted by the newly-established Centre for Research on Management and Employment (CROME) at the Brighton Business School, the conference attracted over 370 delegates. According to Dr Patrick McGovern (LSE): It was a “stellar line up” with international speakers from the US, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Professor Jacqueline O’Reilly, Director of CROME, said: “WES 2010 brought together sociologists, economists, political

scientists, anthropologists and those working in management and business schools. Intellectually it was really enriching experience. And we had a lot of fun organising it, with a really great support team. It was fab.”

Maura Sheehan, from the Brighton Business School, said: “The breadth and depth of the discussions really put the school at the cutting edge of debates about what is happening to the workplace and how it is affecting us.” Podcasts of the conference presentations will soon be available on the CROME website: http://tiny.cc/sugbn.


Mike Clark joined the university this April as director of Estate and Facilities Management. He tells Channel about his first impressions, the projects he is now working on, what the future might hold and why the university estate is vital for attracting and retaining staff and students.

My job involves not just the day-to-day management of the estate, but planning for the future. Communication with key stakeholders, including the council, local residents, as well as students and staff is vital. We also need to be mindful of the impact of our developments. For example, first year students on a course affected by building works will probably see the benefit of the finished building, whilst third year students might just see building work as a disruption. I am hopeful that opportunities will arise in the future where students studying related disciplines could benefit from shadowing the planning and building process and learn from it.

What is the likely impact of the recession?Both the previous and new government believe there is great potential in the public sector estate to help it reduce the deficit. It seems very keen on advocating shared facilities as a way of reducing costs.

How does this job differ?Before becoming director of Estate and Facilities Management at Brighton in April, I was head of Estates Development at London Metropolitan University. This was a similar sized estate, but concentrated in two distinct locations and only 26 buildings. Brighton’s estate is spread across seven sites and about 100 buildings which brings up issues such as consistency of student-staff experience and how to travel efficiently between them.

The department’s responsibilities includes caretaking, capital projects and development, cleaning, day-to-day maintenance of the estate’s building fabric and building services, energy purchase and management, postage, telecommunications, transport, security, space management and waste management.

IN CONVERSATION


IN CONVERSATION

Public sector organisations in Brighton, including the council, Sussex Police and the NHS met in October to discuss how this is likely to impact on the local property landscape.

Another view is that we can all use our buildings more efficiently, so we therefore need to ensure that our space policy reflects this. The need to reduce our carbon footprint will also necessitate changes in current practice to ensure we are squeezing every last usable square metre out of the estate.

What are the current projects you are working on?There are a number of projects. The state-of-the-art Huxley Building, the university’s new biosciences building, has just been completed and research groups have moved in over the summer.

With its green roof and solar heating, it has a BREEAM Very Good rating. It includes a 350-seat lecture theatre, 60 seminar rooms which can be converted into small teaching rooms and research and teaching labs.

The Checkland Building houses the Faculty of Education and Sport, the School of Education, the Falmer element of the School of Humanities, Media Services, Registry and Finance for Falmer campus and Student Services. It has been designed to minimise its carbon footprint, and also has a BREEAM Very Good rating. It has been open since last November and it is generally thought that it takes between 2–3 years for people to get used to a new building and its facilities.

The Falmer Sports Hall development, complete with badminton, basketball, netball, volleyball and cricket facilities, will open this term after work was delayed earlier this year due to bad weather. Ringmer House, home to Falmer’s Students’ Union, is in phase 2 of its refurbishment.

We are still involved with the Circus Street and Preston Barracks sites and we now have planning consent to progress with the first phase of the redevelopment of Varley Halls.

The summer vacation is one of our busiest periods as we undertake an immense amount of work that would otherwise be disruptive to staff and students alike. The caretakers and cleaners are also busy as the university is used for summer bookings by language schools, conferences and alumni events.

In December 2009 we introduced the Estate and Facilities Management Help Desk (http://staffcentral.brighton.ac.uk/estateandfacilities/helpdesk) and colleagues should now use this to make facilities management requests and to report faults/repairs job logging with the department.

What are your future plans for the university?The Estates Strategy is a key policy which is being revised and there is also the ongoing Carbon Management Programme.

We will also be implementing the university’s approved Travel Plan. One issue is transport around the university’s buildings and to a major extent we are reliant on good public transport links and a safe cycling environment to help us achieve this. There is also likely to be further consultation on the future of car parking at the university to ensure we stay abreast of current policy.

Another issue is how we ensure our learning and working environments keep in touch with technological advances and the need to operate efficiently. Some colleagues are happy with a laptop in an open plan workplace, but others prefer their own office. We need to handle these issues sensitively.

Technological advances affect everything from the architecture of the building, furniture in seminar spaces and the teaching environment. We need to think about whether our teaching environments are still relevant and, as things move so fast, there is the risk anything we do now will be redundant in a few years’ time. The spaces we create therefore need to be agile to provide a number of different settings.

How important are a university’s estate to students and staff?Good quality learning and teaching environments help attract and retain both students and staff. The estate sells the university as people want to learn and work in high quality buildings. It makes for a more positive and productive atmosphere. People think good quality design is costly, but if it is done right you can get a lot of bangs for your buck!


Many of the patients could never reach a hospital or afford the life-changing and life-saving operations.

Charlotte from Brighton, said she heard about the train on the grapevine: “I always wanted to go to India for my six-week elective. The country has a good reputation for medicine and it is such a culturally interesting country.

“I was drawn to working on the train because I think it is such a brilliant idea – it makes such a profound impact on so many people’s lives. It brings specialist surgery to small rural communities that is not usually available outside of big cities.

“It sounded really exciting and I wanted to get involved. I also like the idea of becoming integrated into the train’s small team, rather than joining a large hospital team.”

Charlotte found details for the train in a medic’s guide and contacted the non-government organisation, Impact India Foundation, which launched the service in 1991 in collaboration with Indian Railways and Health Ministry. It is funded by charities including the Impact Foundation UK, based in Haywards Heath, West Sussex.

Charlotte, a fourth-year student at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) has joined the Lifeline Express in India, a hospital train known by grateful patients as the Magic Train.

The train has two operating theatres, recovery rooms, offices and accommodation, and each requires a team of volunteer doctors, surgeons and nurses who give their services for free. Surgical operations including procedures to repair cleft lips or limbs disabled by polio, or to improve hearing and to restore sight damaged by cataracts, are carried out on poor people in rural areas while the train is standing in stations.

SPECIAL FEATURE

Student doctors are expected to work in hospitals for six weeks as part of their training but Charlotte Pay has chosen instead to board one of the most unusual trains in the world.


They accepted her request and Charlotte is now assisting in operating theatres and recovery rooms. Before leaving, she said: “When I arrive, the train will be at a station near the Holy city of Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges. Then it will move to another station about three hours away. The train stops for four weeks at each station.

“I’ve had some experience at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and although I am a little apprehensive I’m also very excited. This will be an experience of a lifetime and a chance to join something so worthwhile.”

For more information about the Impact and the train go to www.impact.org.uk/index.asp or www.impactindia.org.

SPECIAL FEATURE

VICE-CHANCELLOR’S OPEN MEETING

Tuesday 2 November C122, Checkland Building, Falmer 12 –1pm

Thursday 11 NovemberUniversity Centre Hastings 4–5pm

Friday 12 November Sallis Benney Theatre, Grand Parade 12–1pm

Tuesday 16 NovemberWard Hall, Eastbourne 1–2pm

Wednesday 24 NovemberHuxley 300, Moulsecoomb 1.30–2.30pm

INAUGURAL LECTUREProfessor Richard FaragherThree score years and then?

Date Friday 19 November Venue Huxley Lecture Theatre, Huxley Building, Moulsecoomb, University of Brighton Time 6.30pm

EventsLeft: Inaugural lecture poster for Professor Richard Faragher.


Three score yearsand then?

Richard FaragherProfessor of Biogerontology

Friday 19 November 2010 6.30pm

Huxley Building, room 300University of BrightonLewes RoadBrighton BN2 4GJ

Inaugural lecture

All are welcome – if you would like to attend please email [email protected]

Channel 10/2010

Documents

Transcript of Channel 10/2010