Taipei alumni dinner

Last month, Jeremy Qian UEA’s International Officer for Mainland China and Taiwan organized a small dinner for alumni in central Taipei, Taiwan.

Four alumni joined Jeremy for the dinner, includes three alumni of the MSc in Brand Leadership. At the dinner, the alumni shared their beautiful memories of UEA, and particularly referred to the excellent studying experience of the course. Jeremy discussed raising the University’s profile in Taiwan with the support of our Taiwanese alumni network. The alumni provided their ideas respectively, from the perspectives as an independent blogger, a professional branding counsellor; a social media account coordinator, and a graphic designer. This was a very successful alumni event, and we hope that more alumni will join us for the next event.

UEA Fifers Lane Veterans

A Facebook group has been set up, for anyone who lived in the Fifier’s Lane student residences between 1965 and 1994.

Called UEA Fifers Lane Veterans, the group was set up by Richard Buxton and Alex Blagona and is a great place to find and share old photo and stories!

New President of RTPI is UEA graduate

Alumnus Ian Tant has been elected the new President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

He used his inauguration speech to emphasize the vital role played by both planning and planners in addressing important environmental issues and meeting the needs of communities.

Speaking to members of the RTPI’s General Assembly at the RSA in London, the message from Ian Tant MRTPI was that planners should be proud of their role as a force for good in society.

Alumni among UEA Innovation and Impact Award winners

Winners of the Innovation and Impact Awards 2019 were announced last month at a ceremony held at the Sainsbury Centre. The Awards were presented by guests from a range of businesses and organisations that regularly collaborate with UEA, and the ceremony featured a keynote address from Doug Field, Chair of New Anglia LEP.

The Awards celebrate staff and students who have shown a strong commitment to innovation and impact, and recognised vital collaborations between UEA and organisations outside of higher education.

Finalists, UEA staff, guests, and external organisations, attended for networking drinks, a three-course meal, and presentation of the awards. The evening was a great success and a true celebration of the world-changing research and innovation activities taking place at UEA.

One of the highlights of the night was the presentation of the award for Student or Graduate Innovation and Enterprise, which was won by Dr Oskar Wendowski and Dr Thuria Abduljhbar, two recent graduates who founded e-Surgery.com, a novel online GP and pharmacy service (pictured above). Since launching in October 2018 e-Surgery has helped over 1,000 patients and dispensed over 700 prescriptions from their bespoke headquarters in Norwich.

Each finalist received a trophy to commemorate their achievement and each category winner will also receive funding towards a marketing venture for their project, to further their impact and reach.

New science building to train the next generation of scientists

UEA’s new science building is set to open in September 2019. The building is a vital development for the University and the continuation of our work as one of the UK’s top institutions for Science. Not only will this £30m development tackle the shortage of science graduates in the UK and inspire local school children to consider STEM subjects; it will provide a talent pathway for the brightest scientific minds into the Norwich Research Park and beyond.

We are very grateful to our alumni and friends who have generously supported laboratory equipment to help train the next generation of world-class scientists.

Get involved and make a donation today or contact Laura-Jane Ryves at giving@uea.ac.uk if you would like to find out more.

UEA academic giving prestigious lecture series at Oxford

From January to March this year, Professor Mark Bailey from UEA’s School of History is delivering the Ford Lectures at Oxford.

His topic, ‘After the Black Death: Society, Economy and Law in Fourteenth Century England’, allows him to revisit one of the greater crises not just in English but world history.

He becomes the second UEA historian in less than a decade to deliver these prestigious lectures, following the example of Professor David Bates, whose own Ford Lectures, delivered in 2010, were subsequently published as a book: The Normans and Empire.

UEA interns help to futureproof businesses

Businesses across East Anglia are turning to interns and placement students from the University to help innovate, digitalise and future-proof their organisations, with many offering permanent positions for UEA students when they graduate.

The University works with businesses to meet their needs, including providing recruitment support, placements and internships. The UEA Internship Programme contracts are extremely flexible, providing temporary paid workers who can work within a company from three weeks to one year, on a part-time or full-time contract.

Julie Schofield, Joint Head of Careers, Business Engagement at CareerCentral at UEA, commented: “We find that businesses need economic and agile recruitment solutions and quality talent – which is what they can find here at UEA. We work in the most appropriate way to help and if needed we can manage the recruitment process, including advertising to over 17,000 students, sending over CVs, and processing PAYE through our systems – making it much easier to hire a new resource and appreciate their impact right away. We also often have subsidies to help with the costs.”

Chris Sargisson, CEO of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, who encourages work-based learning opportunities between local businesses and UEA, said: “We know skill is one of our region’s biggest challenges and with many businesses struggling to prepare for a digital future, interns and student workers can be valuable assets in a difficult labour market. Businesses can benefit from fresh new talent, with desirable digital and research skills, who can help define new channels to reach customers or identify inefficient processes that could save them resources or money.”

If you think your business could benefit from hiring a UEA intern or placement student, contact UEA Careers Service at access.talent@uea.ac.uk.

“Impossible” UEA physics theory proven in practice after 40 years

A physics theory proposed by a UEA researcher 40 years ago has finally found its application.

Prof David Andrews published his theory in his first few weeks at UEA back in 1979. At the time, a real-world application for his work “could never have been imagined” he says.

But after four decades of pursuit by physicists around the world, researchers at the University of Bath have now have confirmed the physical effect of Prof Andrews’ theoretical predictions.

The technique precisely measures the twist, or chirality, of molecules using lasers. The experiments prove it to be 100,000 times more sensitive than current standard methods. For the first time ever, the Bath research team used a physical effect – specifically the colour-changing of light scattered from chiral molecules – to measure the chirality present, confirming Prof Andrews’ predictions.

Chirality describes the orientation of molecules, which can exist in left or right ‘handed’ forms depending on how they twist in three dimensions. Many molecules essential to life, including DNA, amino acids and proteins, exhibit chirality and the handedness can totally change their function or properties. Therefore knowing the chirality of a substance is often critically important.

For decades scientists had sought to prove that you could accurately determine the chirality of molecules by measuring a colour-changing (nonlinear optical) effect upon illumination with circularly polarised light. In theory, such light at very high intensities should change colour, scattering differently from oppositely handed molecules – but this had never been demonstrated experimentally.

UEA Chamber Choir perform secular choral music through the ages

On Sunday 10 March at 6.30pm, UEA Chamber Choir will perform their Spring Concert in the atmospheric setting of St George’s Church in Norwich.

The 30-strong chamber choir, under the direction of UEA Choirmaster Tom Primrose, will perform secular choral music through the ages. From the exquisite madrigals of the Renaissance to the cheeky glees of the high Baroque, from the sumptuous part-songs of Edwardian Britain to adventurous arrangements of the later twentieth century. Highlights from the programme will include music by Stanford, Finzi, Delius, Tippett and Gabrielli.

The concert is free to attend and all are welcome.

Manga exhibition

The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) is closely involved in the largest exhibition of Manga to happen outside Japan, which will take place at the British Museum.

Open from 23 May until 26 August, the exhibition is curated by Professor Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, Research Director of SISJAC and IFAC Handa Curator of Japanese Art at the British Museum.

The exhibition is accompanied by a magnificent catalogue, edited by Nicole and Matsuba Ryoko, and an extensive associated public programme - including visits from famous Manga artists - some of which will take place in Norwich. Nicole will give one of SISJAC’s highly regarded Third Thursday Lectures about the exhibition on 20 June.

Nicole also wrote a blog post on 'An Introduction to Manga', which you can read here online.

Films in translation – voices for all: audiovisual translation as intercultural mediation

Every day, millions of us across the globe are able to watch films and other media from elsewhere thanks to the ubiquity of translation. Too quickly perhaps we become insensitive to the complex linguistic and cultural negotiations involved.

In her inaugural lecture on Tuesday 12 February, Prof Marie-Noëlle Guillot from UEA's School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies will examine what these negotiations entail, and will seek to do justice to the largely unrecognised expressive possibilities – indeed creativity – of audiovisual translation as an agent of cross-cultural literacy and intercultural mediation.

Inaugural lectures recognise and celebrate the promotion of UEA academics to the position of professor, whilst giving audiences the chance to hear about their research and its impact on society. These lectures are free and open to all, and there's no need to book; simply turn up on the night, or watch live on our website.

UEA appoints Ben Garrod as Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Science Engagement

Biologist, conservationist, author and award-winning broadcaster Ben Garrod has been appointed Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Science Engagement at the University.

Ben regularly appears as a science presenter on BBC TV programmes ranging from The One Show and Springwatch to the documentary series Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur and The Day the Dinosaurs Died. He is a Patron to the Norwich Science Festival and the Youth STEMM Awards, as well as an Ambassador for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.

Over the past decade Ben has lived and worked all over the world, mainly within great ape conservation, spending several years in central Africa developing and managing a leading chimpanzee conservation field site for the renowned chimpanzee scientist Dr Jane Goodall, where amongst other things he was responsible for habituating wild chimps.

Ben, who grew up in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, holds a BSc (Hons) in Animal Behaviour from Anglia Ruskin University, an MSc in Wild Animal Biology from the Royal Veterinary College and a PhD from University College London and the Zoological Society of London.

The new role of Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Science Engagement at UEA includes teaching undergraduate students, and has a strong focus on engaging with the wider public to inform and inspire people about UEA’s research.

New HE advice podcast

UEA has launched Coffee Break, an HE advice podcast for sixth form career leaders.

This month’s podcast discusses all the areas of support that your students can access when they arrive at UEA (as well as during their transition period), from finance and mental well-being to academic support and study skills.

We’re joined by Kamena, one of the co-creators of Open Up UEA, a new app which helps students to build on their emotional resilience, pin down how they’re feeling and how to deal with issues they might face. Not only does the app sign-post all the support provision available at UEA, it also highlights the public services and facilities in the wider Norwich area. It handily includes budgeting tools and cheap recipes to help students manage their finances too.

If you or a colleague would be interested in working with the Open Up team to develop a similar app for your school, you can get in touch with Kamena by emailing openup@uea.ac.uk.

CMP student looking for survey participants

My name is Maria and I am a final year Business Information Systems student at UEA. I am currently carrying out a study into the Effect of Age on Usability Testing as part of my third year project.

I would like to invite you to participate in a questionnaire and usability testing session. The questionnaire should take approximately five minutes to complete and will determine your suitability to participate in the next stage of the study. All data gathered will be anonymous and your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

For any further information, please email me at M.Faud@uea.ac.uk or my supervisor, Dr Pam Mayhew at P.Mayhew@uea.ac.uk.

Please note this study has been approved by the University of East Anglia Computing Sciences Research Ethics Committee.

Find out where a Master's or PhD research degree could take you

Join us at our Postgraduate Open Event on Wednesday 20 March where you’ll have the opportunity to chat with academics about your course choices, and current students about their experiences.

With UEA’s huge selection of courses, some of the very best teachers and researchers in the world, and access to exceptional facilities, a UEA postgraduate degree can help you realise your ambitions.