July 2000
University and East 15 Acting School to
merge
The University is set to merge with East 15 Acting School, in Loughton, Essex, a drama
school with an excellent international reputation.
The moves follows an agreement from the Higher Education Funding Council for England
(HEFCE) to meet the University’s request for the necessary capital funding and 130
funded undergraduate places.
Subject to approval by the University’s Council, the merger will bolster the
University’s plans to increase its student numbers and enhances the University’s
existing provision in drama, literature and theatre studies. The high quality and
complementary nature of the provision at both institutions provides a sound foundation for
the merger, which will take effect from September 2000.
An East 15
production
East 15’s philosophy is based on the work begun in Joan
Littlewood’s famed Theatre Workshop. The School was founded in 1961 and is
international in outlook, regarding itself as a bridge between the best of British and
Continental acting traditions. Its alumni include Alison Steadman and numerous actors,
directors, playwrights and teachers around the world.
The University has recently developed undergraduate drama provision and has a
successful Centre for Theatre Studies, with established MA programmes.
The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ivor Crewe, said: ‘This is a
milestone development for the University. We have relationships with other colleges in the
local area for example Writtle College and South East Essex College, but this is the first
occasion upon which the University of Essex will be on a site outside Colchester.
‘It will enable the University to extend its activities in west Essex and to offer
opportunities for continuing education, with progression to University of Essex degrees,
at the Loughton site.’
Although East 15 will keep its existing name, it will become a new Department within
the University’s School of Humanities and Comparative Studies. The acting teaching
will also continue at its Loughton site with its unique campus together with considerable
rehearsal space and technical facilities.
John Baraldi, Executive Director of East 15, said: ‘A merger with Essex offers our
School a sustainable future, with the opportunity to continue meeting the demand for
acting degree courses and attract more students, take advantage of new facilities and, in
time, develop more integrated degree schemes involving other departments at Essex. In
academic and artistic terms, the merger offers very exciting possibilities.’
Trail blazing e-commerce degree to meet
hi-tech skills shortage
A unique new MSc in E-Commerce Technology - the first degree of its kind to be
announced in the UK - has been launched by the University.
Due to start in October, the new MSc programme already has strong and ever developing
links with industry. Senior e-commerce and business managers, from major blue-chip
companies as well as dot.com start-ups, have enthusiastically engaged in discussions about
the overall structure and design of the degree, and about their future support for the
programme.
Industry players will also help deliver aspects of the course, giving students every
opportunity to experience cutting-edge technology and industry thinking on e-business.
Martin Henson, the Director of E-commerce Studies in the Department of Computer
Science, said: ‘E-commerce is a challenging and dynamic area of computing where
change, growth and innovation are the norm. This fusion of computing and internet
technologies with commerce and business is growing at an unprecedented rate. It is already
beginning to revolutionise the new economy and the business world, and to be a major
source of wealth creation and employment in our knowledge-based society.
 The aim of the degree is to provide graduates, who possess a solid technical
background in computer science or a related discipline, with the training necessary to
design and build e-commerce and e-business systems, and to develop their understanding of
current trends in this rapidly-developing new technology.
Gwyneth Gibbs, President of Omnis Software, said: ‘People who understand the
complexities of integrating various software technologies to produce leading-edge
e-commerce solutions are always in short supply. This course will certainly help us find
the people we need.’
Andrew Herbert, Director of Advanced Technology, Citrix Systems, Cambridge, said:
‘These courses are timely. I am impressed by the tailoring to the e-commerce theme:
these are not off-the-shelf IT courses re-badged with a trendy label. The inclusion of
business and ethical aspects alongside pure technology is also to be commended.’
For further information or an application form, visit www.essex.ac.uk/ecommerce
Interactive art helps to explain how our
ears work
Dr Chris Plack, from the Department of Psychology, has collaborated with the artist
Kate Tierney to promote the public appreciation of acoustics and auditory perception.
Artist Kate Tierney
and Dr Chris Plack at the 'Year of the Artist' Launch. Credit: Timothy Allen
The collaboration came about as part of the Art’s Council ‘Year of the
Artist’ which aims to encourage artists to work in unusual places.
Kate Tierney was linked with Radio 4’s ‘Today programme’ and created a
8-ft high installation of a head and shoulders photograph of the well-known
‘Today’ presenter John Humphrys projected onto a huge computerised screen.
The video art installation was the centrepiece of the launch of ‘Year of the
Artist’ at the Lux Gallery in London on 30 May.
The interactive work, which dominated an entire wall, shows different facial muscles
responding to different sounds.
Dr Plack, a psychoacoustician, provided the scientific expertise for the installation.
In an interview on ‘Today’, Dr Plack, explained: ‘When you use your
voice to make a particular sound at a particular frequency or pitch, you can see the
muscle movements in the face – a certain noise moves the right eyebrow, another makes
the left eye wink! You can also get the face to make a deep scowl, but that is quite
hard.’
Similar interactive exhibits arising from the collaboration will be displayed at the
forthcoming Greenwich and Docklands Festival.
This is an on-going project, sponsored by Sun Microsystems, which has an
interest in graphics technology.
QAA Subject Review of Nursing
The Health and Social Services Institute (HSSI) has scored 20 out of 24 for the quality
of its teaching in Nursing. The QAA Subject Review assessors were at the University four
days in June.
The HSSI was established in 1996 to develop health and social care related education
and research. HSSI offers a range of programmes including short courses within a credit
accumulation framework as well as a number of postgraduate degrees. HSSI is unusual in
that it does not provide education leading to initial professional qualification. For a
new and still small provider of nurse education, the outcome is commendable (the Royal
College of Nursing achieved the same score). The scores for the six aspects were as
follows:
- Curriculum design, content and organisation (3/4) The review team praised the
educational philosophy, which underpins the courses.
- Teaching, learning and assessment (2/4) The review team noted that the
contributions made by experienced practitioners as Visiting Fellows helped to ensure the
currency of the curriculum. The teaching that was observed during the visit was of high
quality. Visiting lecturers ensured that input was diverse and relevant to practice. The
team had some concerns about the nature and format of assessment, which brought down
overall score on this aspect.
- Student progression and achievement (4/4) The review team commended the HSSI on
the high completion rate for short courses. The strong integration between theory and
practice, the promotion of enhanced skills and reflective practice were also noted.
- Student support and guidance (4/4) The review team commented on the high quality
of academic support provided by tutors. Students also cited the administrative support as
being particularly valuable to the learning experience.
- Learning resources (4/4) The team commended the HSSI on the range of learning
resources that were made available to students.
- Quality management and enhancement (3/4) The team felt that internal quality
assurance within HSSI was strong. However, these systems should be further integrated with
those of the University.
The next Department to be reviewed will be Philosophy in November.
Summer Ball 2000 - the biggest yet!
The seventh Annual Summer Ball proved to be the biggest yet with a record attendance of
more than 3,000 students, staff and guests partying throughout the night.
 This year,
there was a massive 30,000 square-foot marquee, a casino, two gigantic bars, amusement
machines and karaoke.
The entertainment was provided by two chart topping groups the Honeyz and Hepburn who
made special appearances, along with BBC Radio 1 DJ Mark Goodier and the soul band
Atlantic Soul Machine.
There were also a variety of fun fair rides including dodgems and waltzers to keep the
revellers occupied.
The evening, which began with a champagne reception and four-course banquet, ended with
a survivors photo and certificate for those who managed to last out until 5am!
Exam results on the web
A new initiative means that examination results for undergraduate students are now
available via the University website.
Results will normally be available within 48 hours of the meeting of the relevant Board
of Examiners.
The timetable of Boards of Examiners and instructions for students on how to obtain
their results are at http://www2.essex.ac.uk/results/
Joanne Tallentire, Assistant Registrar, Academic Section, said: ‘Students should
be aware that they can only access their own results via their Essex username and
password. As an additional security check, they will also need to provide their date of
birth.’
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