Sixth-formers boost their key skills on
campus
Following the success of the past two years, the
University of Essex once again hosted the annual On Campus Key Skills Project.
56 local sixth formers from seven different
schools and colleges across the Colchester and Tendring area participated in the
innovative two-day project which aims to give them an insight into life on campus and
complete part of their Key Skills Award.
Students giving
their presentations
Following recent government changes in the
post-16 education sector and the introduction of Curriculum 2000, Key Skills have become
more of a focus for all students studying for both A-levels and Vocational Certificates in
Education. Lindsey Gill, the University’s Widening Participation Officer, explained
more about how On Campus complements these changes; ‘The tasks carried out during the
two days will allow these students not only to gain experience of university life, but
earn accreditation for skills important for both university applications and future
employment.’
Over the two days the students spent at the
University campus they were given a variety of tasks, including budgeting exercises and
investigating the different types of education institutions. The students also had the
opportunity to interview current undergraduate students about university life along with
academics about higher education.
The project concluded with an evening
presentation at the end of the second day when the students presented their findings and
ideas to an audience made up of parents, local dignitaries, senior representatives from
the University and local businesses, head teachers and Chairs of Governors from the
participating schools.
The project is sponsored by the Learning and
Skills Development Agency and is being organised by the North East Essex Business
Education Partnership (NEEBEP), a local education business link organisation, in
collaboration with the University, EdExcel and local business organisations.
Musicians help students
The Lakeside Theatre provided the venue recently
for a special musical performance with a local theme. Musicians from Colchester County
High School for Girls and Colchester VI Form College performed their own compositions in
collaboration with the University’s renowned Musicians-in-Residence, the Angell Trio.
Students from
Colchester VI Form College and Colchester County High School rehearsing for their
performance with the Angell Trio
Over the past few months the Angell Trio have
been involved in a unique educational outreach programme with sixth-formers studying music
at Colchester County High and Colchester VI College. Through musical workshops the Angell
Trio have worked with the students, helping them to compose and perform their own music.
A selection of these compositions were performed
by the Angell Trio and student musicians at a special performance in the University’s
Lakeside Theatre in front of a public audience including senior representatives from the
University, the Institute and the College.
Formed in 1991 at the Britten-Pears School in
Aldeburgh, the Angell Trio has developed a considerable reputation on both the national
and international music circuit. The Trio have been Musicians-in-Residence at the
University since October 1999 and are a favourite at the University’s
well-established Lunchtime and Evening Concert series.
Christopher Holden, Arts Officer at the
University, said; ‘This unique collaboration between the University’s
Musicians-in-Residence and local students has provided an excellent opportunity for
students to work with professional musicians and to actually perform their own work in a
public setting.
‘This is the first time the
University’s Musicians in Residence have engaged in such an activity and it is hoped
that this event will be followed by more musical educational outreach programmes with more
students, of all ages and abilities at schools across Colchester and the county.’
Full-time work by parents of under-fives
linked to children’s chances of lower attainment
Mothers who spend less time with pre-school
children because of full-time work face a trade-off between the advantages of raising
family income and the risks of reducing their children’s long-term attainment in
school according to new research from the Institute for Social and Economic Research
(ISER).
Professor John Ermisch and Dr Marco Francesconi
conducted the study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation using data on 1,263 young people
from the British Household Panel Study. They have found that those whose mothers worked
full-time for longer periods during their early years were less likely than other children
to achieve A-level qualifications.
Longer periods of full-time working by mothers
when children were aged one to five were also linked to an increased risk of unemployment
as a young adult and the chances of daughters giving birth before the age of 21 were
substantially reduced. However, part-time working mothers appeared to have few negative
long-term effects on children by comparison.
Go-ahead for new degrees in Southend
The University has given the green light to a
number of degrees to be offered by South East Essex College from September. The degrees
will all by validated by the University and offered through the University’s
partnership with the College. This means that students graduating from these degree
programmes will leave with a University of Essex degree.
The degrees that have been validated complement
those on offer at the University and reflect those industries that are growing in Essex
especially in the south of the county. They are:
- Fashion Design BA Hons
- Graphic Design BA Hons
- Interior Design BA Hons
- Business Studies BA Hons (with pathways in
Finance, Human Resources, Marketing)
- E-Commerce Foundation Degree
- Social Studies BSc Hons
- Health Studies BSc Hons
- Sports Studies BSc Hons
- Tourism Management BA Hons
- Computing BSc Hons (with pathways in Information
Systems, Internet
- Technology, Software Engineering
- Media Production and Technology BSc Hons
- Multimedia technology BSc Hons
Russell Pearson, Director of Curriculum for
Higher Education, commented; ‘Now that we are able to offer these degrees, the higher
education provision in south Essex has expanded significantly, widening the choice for
those living in Essex and the surrounding area. The partnership we have with the
University of Essex is still growing and developing. The University will be validating
more degrees including Hospitality, Architectural Technology, Management, Fine Art and
Journalism, all of which will be on offer in 2001. Southend as a university town is now
becoming a reality.’
The University’s Project Officer for the
partnership, Gill Statham said; ‘Staff at both the University and the College have
worked exceptionally hard in a short space of time to ensure a broad range of degree
schemes will be offered at Southend.’ Its is hoped that more than 700 students will
be taking courses validated by the University in September.
£3.6 million to develop research
The University has recently benefited from
funding of more than £3.6 million from the Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF)
administered by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
The funding will be used to develop research at
the University and one option currently being considered is for it to be spent on the
construction of an ‘intelligent building’. This would house research currently
being undertaken in the Departments of Computer Science and Electronic Systems
Engineering, particularly research in the field of internet engineering an area in which
the University has had considerable success in the past year with the development of the
telecommunications spin-out company ilotron.
The grant was part of a £600 million fund for
science and research which was distributed to universities and colleges around the county.
The fund aims to enable high quality research and facilitate the development of emerging
areas of scientific research.
German Ambassador gives lecture to 300
Dr Hans-Friedrich von Ploetz, German Ambassador
to the Court of St James, delivered a lecture to more than 300 people at the University
recently entitled ‘Britain, Germany and Europe: What Counts is the Future’.
The Ambassador was invited to the University by
Professor Emil Kirchner from the Department of Government and addressed an audience
including senior University representatives and local dignitaries.
Dr Hans-Friedrich
von Ploetz (centre)
at a reception following his lecture
Dr Hans-Friedrich von Ploetz holds a PhD in Law
and is a well-known figure in European Affairs, having first joined the German Foreign
Service in 1966. As part of the service he has worked across the world in countries such
as Morocco, Finland and the USA. From 1980-1982 he was Principal Private Secretary to the
German Foreign Minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, and between 1985 and 1988 he was Director
General, responsible for political and security affairs.
From 1989-1993 he was Permanent Representative to
NATO in Brussels and served during the transition from the Cold War era and between
1993-1994 he was Director General for European Affairs. From 1994-1999 he was Permanent
Under Secretary to the German Foreign Office during a period in when Germany held the EU
Presidency twice, and the Maastricht and Amsterdam treaties came into force.
During his lecture, the Ambassador highlighted
what globalisation means for Britain and Germany, how our domestic and foreign policy
agendas will develop in the future, and what the challenges will be for our young people,
in particular with regard to new skills.
