glamorgan talent

UNIVERSITY OF GLAMORGAN BI-ANNUAL MAGAZINEAUTUMN/WINTER 2010

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Profit Before PeoPle: the

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TALENT | 3

VICE-CHANCELLOR’S WELCOME

2 | CONTENTS

Welcome to the latest edition of Talent, the University of Glamorgan’s magazine.

The Summer/Autumn period has been a busy time for Glamorgan and myself. As the new Vice-Chancellor, I’ve taken stock of the institution, analysing our external and internal environment in order to determine the University’s Strategic Plan for the period 2010-15. Whilst subject to further refinement, Glamorgan will, going forward, concentrate on three strategic priorities ... our students; our research, innovation and knowledge transfer, and our engagement, particularly with business partners.

One of the many reasons why students choose Glamorgan is the creative and engaging tuition by academic staff at the leading edge of their academic discipline. We are proud of our reputation for excellent learning and teaching which is enriched by the research endeavours of our staff. Books are a very public expression of this endeavour, and here, we

feature two of our latest publications on Atlantic Slavery and the Ghost Story. Another reason why students choose us is our commitment to addressing their aspirational, social and technological needs. That’s not just about our investment in facilities, such as new student accommodation, our new £5m Students’ Union building, and the state-of-the-art medialab at ATRiuM. The real life opportunities we can offer our students are also fundamental to their overall experience. Here, we’ve outlined a couple of examples. Coaching rugby in Harlem and developing a radio play with Hollywood scriptwriter Diane Lake certainly pushed our students “that little bit further”, taking them out of their comfort zone, but ultimately very rewarding for all. Continuing this theme, I outline why employability of our graduates is a critical performance indicator for all universities: giving them the experience and understanding they need to make a success of their careers after they leave higher education.

Research is also an integral part of what we do at Glamorgan, especially applied and near-market research that has direct relevance to the modern economic, social and cultural needs in Wales and beyond. We strive to be distinctive in what we do and how we do it; promoting multidisciplinary research across a range of fields, including the digital economy and security and resilience. Here, we provide details of our participation in Wales’s new supercomputer network, and our ground-breaking disaster management research which is relevant to so many natural and man-made

Julie Lydon introduces this edition of Glamorgan Talent

Vice-Chancellor’s Welcome Julie Lydon introduces this edition

of Glamorgan Talent.

Why Universities Matter The First Minister of Wales writes

exclusively for Talent.

The Power of the Supercomputer

A state-of-the-art High Performance Computing network is powering industrial research at universities across Wales.

Transforming Education The University is one of the driving

forces behind a ground-breaking and exciting new higher education initiative for the Heads of the Valleys.

Telling the Ghost Story Professor finds inspiration in

Glamorgan students for Ghost Story book.

You Tell Us 74% say Glamorgan’s reputation

has grown in last three years.

Success in the Workplace Providing graduates with the

skills they need to find jobs is at the heart of Glamorgan’s ethos.

Harlem’s Rugby Renaissance The New York neighbourhood of

Harlem is known for its jazz, the singing of Paul Robeson, radical politics and its world-famous basketball stars. Now Glamorgan students are building another cultural link with the district.

Grassroots Cricket The opportunity to capture

cricket’s importance in the lives of ordinary people, and celebrate the grassroots game is the focus of an exciting new project between the George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling at the University and MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club).

Reviving the Radio Drama Glamorgan and Hollywood are

working together to revive the golden era of the wireless.

Inaugural Lectures The University of Glamorgan’s

Inaugural Professorial Lecture Series celebrates the academic achievements of our Professoriate.

Understanding the Lessons of Disaster The University of Glamorgan’s

pioneering new centre of expertise is bringing together the skills and experience needed to improve the world’s response to these disasters.

Glamorgan on the World Stage For Glamorgan, the international

dimension of what we do isn’t just confined to welcoming students and staff from across the globe to our campuses in South Wales, it’s about sharing and applying our knowledge and expertise on a worldwide scale.

Rising to the Challenge One of the challenges facing

any university based in Wales is to provide suitable progression opportunities for students leaving Welsh-medium schools and colleges.

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PROFIT BEFORE PEOPLE: THE WELSH BUSINESS

OF SLAVERYIn his latest book, Glamorgan History Professor Chris Evans tells the story of Wales’s

involvement in the slave trade.

Wales, like many regions of Europe, was deeply affected by the forced migration of captive Africans – so much so that Professor Chris Evans has just published a book on the topic: Slave Wales: The Welsh and Atlantic Slavery 1660-1850.

“We tend to think that the business of slavery was something restricted to slave ports,” he says; “places like Bristol or Nantes that sent out hundreds of slaving expeditions over the decades. However, we’re now starting to understand just how far the influence of slave trafficking and exploitation reached into the European hinterland.” The slave trade was a trade, after all. Slave captains had to buy captives at coastal markets in Africa, and for that they needed goods that could act as currency. Welsh-made commodities, like copper and brass from Swansea, loomed large here. “Take a look at the Welsh copper industry in its early phases,” says Evans, “and you’ll find that many of the key people were from Bristol and were also involved in the slave trade.”

Slaves continued to exert a wider economic influence once they had been landed in the New World. Enslaved Africans had to be fed if they were to perform the work assigned to them. This meant that the sugar islands of the Caribbean imported huge quantities of food: salted beef from Ireland and cod from Newfoundland. Slaves also had to be clothed and Welsh woollens were shipped out to the West Indies and North America for that purpose. In fact, weavers in 18th century Montgomeryshire were dedicated to the production of so-called ‘Negro Cloth’. “We think of Welsh woollens

as something homely and traditional, but 250 years ago woollen fabric from Wales was a specialised export good that was used to make uniforms for prisoners in the slave labour camps of Jamaica, Virginia and South Carolina.”

It would be comforting, says Evans, if Wales could be shown to have also played an important role in the abolition of slavery. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The anti-slavery cause made relatively little headway in Wales. Abolitionism was far stronger in England, stronger in Scotland, and stronger in Ireland. Welsh abolitionism really didn’t amount to very much.”

Disturbingly, Welsh involvement in the Atlantic slave system continued even after the abolition of slavery in Britain’s own empire in 1834. Industrialisation required raw materials like copper ore and Welsh copper masters began to scour the world for adequate supplies. In Cuba they found a mine of enormous richness – and they used slave labour to work it. “Swansea’s industrial supremacy in the 1840s and 1850s”, argues Evans, “had as one of its effects the intensification of Cuban slavery.”

“Take a look at the Welsh copper industry in its early phases,” says Evans, “and you’ll find that many of the key people were from Bristol and were also involved in the slave trade.”

Slave Wales: The Welsh and Atlantic Slavery 1660-1850 is published by the University of Wales Press.

Copyright: BFI Stills

UNIVERSITY OF GLAMORGAN BI-ANNUAL MAGAZINEAUTUMN/WINTER 2010

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Profit Before PeoPle: the

welsh Business of slavery

ON THE COVERProfit Before People: The Welsh Business of SlaveryIn his latest book, Glamorgan History Professor Chris Evans tells the story of Wales’s involvement in the slave trade.

08

events across the globe at this time. In future editions, we will review our distinctive research across all fields to, for example, develop new and sustainable energy sources, enhance the care and well-being of those often marginalised in society and formulate policy and enterprise in the creative industries sector.

Finally, I’m delighted that The Rt. Hon. Carwyn Jones AM, the First Minister of Wales, is this edition’s guest writer. Partnerships matter, and his article lays out a compelling case for the need for higher education, business and government to work in collaboration to provide real economic and social benefit to Wales. It’s a message very much in tune with our “engagement” strategic priority here at Glamorgan. We have a strong heritage of working with professions, industry, commerce and the voluntary sector to, for example, ensure that our academic programmes are geared to meeting their needs. This could not be more critical now as we enter an “era of austerity” which will require all employees to be innovative, creative and entrepreneurial to sustain and survive the fiscal restraints across the globe.

I hope you enjoy the read.

Julie LydonVice-Chancellor


Like so many who studied in Wales, I have a high regard for our universities. As well as a tremendous student experience, I gained skills and knowledge which I continue to draw on every day. Now, as First Minister, I have the privilege of visiting campuses across Wales, and I never waste an opportunity to discuss the future of our Higher Education sector with university leaders, lecturers, researchers and students.

I believe that Glamorgan’s Vice Chancellor, Julie Lydon, was right to ask in a recent Western Mail essay “What are universities for?”

There is the teaching mission. Our universities are incubators of knowledge; communities dedicated to developing

the intellectual curiosity and academic skills that enable people to reach their potential. They bring us into the quest for knowledge, whether part-time students on their own path of lifelong learning or Valleys schoolchildren scanning the galaxies for NASA in Glamorgan’s schools astronomy project with the Faulkes Telescopes.

When I visited Glamorgan recently to open the new medialab, I was astounded as ever by the rate of change in technology. That faculty, with its HDTV studio and renderfarm, is pushing the boundaries of technical possibility. As somebody whose computing childhood was spent with the ZX Spectrum, I was truly amazed to see Wales producing such sophisticated media. However, impressive as these facilities undoubtedly are, their true

value comes in the way investment gives young people the environment and tools they need to push their own limits. I saw this first-hand when I talked to enthusiastic and fulfilled students about the wonderful animation they are producing.

University research is not just about keeping up with the very latest technology. There is, of course, a wider mission, of pushing out the edges of our human knowledge. Take the St David’s Day group of universities in Wales. We have Glamorgan scientists at the cutting edge of sustainable energy with Hydrogen research; Nobel prizewinning medical research at Cardiff; Aberystwyth’s research into crops with implications for world food supplies and a supercomputer network linking university research across the country. This is research of which any country or any university would be rightly proud.

Although worthy in itself, research adds greater value when it develops an idea, a technology, or a capability that is commercially viable. Creating a product to sell which can enhance what our businesses have to offer to help us gain crucial advantage in the global marketplace. Applied research is crucial to Wales’s future and economic recovery.

Outcomes matter. That is why we must continue to challenge the way our universities are organised, the institutional arrangements in our HE sector. That debate, which must have critical rigour, is not about cutting the capability of our universities. Rather, it is about doing things better, debating how our universities can be most effective.

This will need real partnership. As the Assembly Government, we play our role with advice, support, capital investment and innovative programmes like Academia 4 Business (A4B). When I visited Glamorgan’s Creative and Cultural Industries facility, developed in partnership with A4B, I was heartened to see the deepening relationships with key companies, from electronics market leaders such as Sony to up-and-coming animation companies like Dinamo. This partnership between business, academia and government is crucial if we are to continue building an economic niche as a smart, small country. In our common effort to rebuild a stronger and more prosperous economy, our universities are undoubtedly part of the solution.

WHY UNIVERSITIES MATTER

First Minister of Wales, Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM, writes exclusively for Talent about the importance of Higher Education in Wales.


THE POWER OF THE SUPERCOMPUTER

HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING

• HighPerformanceComputingrefers to any computational activity requiring more than a single computer to execute a task.

• Supercomputersareusedtosolve advanced computation problems and are employed for specialised applications.

• Majorapplicationsinclude; data storage and analysis; data mining; simulations; modelling; software development; visualisation of complex data; rapid mathematical calculations.

• ThemaincomputerhubsforHPC Wales are in Cardiff and Swansea, linked to spokes at Aberystwyth, Bangor and Glamorgan universities, University of Wales Alliance Universities and Technium business innovation centres around Wales.

A Glamorgan project that is helping a British burner manufacturer and a French gas supplier to improve the efficiency of their furnaces and reduce their pollutant emissions, has been given a boost thanks to Wales’s latest investment in high performance computing.

The High Performance Computing Wales (HPC Wales) gives Wales a supercomputing capacity and network at a scale not attempted anywhere else in the UK or Europe, and is set to create more than 400 jobs across key industry sectors.

HPC technology is used to model and solve highly complex problems across a range of high value sectors. It can handle and analyse massive amounts of data at high speed.

Steven Wilcox, Professor of Intelligent Systems Engineering, commented, “Quite simply, work which could take us up to a week currently could be done in less than an hour. The difference in computer power is that dramatic and it will open up a whole host of new horizons for us.”

“HPC technology is used to model and solve highly complex problems across a range of high value sectors.”

Professor Wilcox explained: “We produce computer models to replicate the behaviour of glass furnaces which produce molten bottle glass. We can use the models to study how to use fuel more efficiently and how to reduce emissions.

“Computational fluid dynamic modelling enables us to see what happens to the natural gas and the air, how the furnace burns and what heat is released. We can produce optimum conditions in a model to ensure we produce the right quality and quantity of glass in combustion conditions, which will ensure we are using fuel efficiently and reducing emissions.”

Glass furnaces melt the glass at temperatures of about 1,500°C for processing into glass sheets for buildings, glass containers and bottles. The work requires a large number of simulations of alternative designs and conditions, so the work is greatly

assisted by the use of high performance computing systems. Professor Wilcox added: “Glass producers tend to run their furnaces for periods of anything up to 15 years, so it is very difficult to get practical time tinkering with how furnaces are set up.

“Computer modelling comes into its own in cases like this. We can use long computational runs to develop algorithms which can then be put to a practical use.

“You need thousands of these runs to train up an algorithm that can be of use on the glass furnace process.

“We are working closely with partners in the glass industry, to develop our work and we are sure HPC will bring huge benefits in this field.”

The team at the University of Glamorgan is also working on other types of furnaces, including steel reheating furnaces.

High temperature gas or oil-fired furnaces are widely used in a range of industrial processes, including the production of steel and other metals, glass, pottery, bricks and chemicals.

These systems are a major contributor to overall energy use in the industrial sector, so the design and control of more efficient furnaces is receiving increasing attention.

A range of computer-based techniques and models are available to simulate the thermal behaviour of industrial furnaces.

However, these models are generally restricted to steady-state behaviour, whereas many practical furnaces operate in a transient manner because of frequent changes in operating and production conditions.

Simulation of the transient performance of a large furnace such as those used in the steel industry is computationally intensive so that increasingly, there is a need to use larger high performance computing systems.

The University of Glamorgan is currently working with Tata to develop a model which can potentially be used to simulate the dynamic control of one of their large furnaces, heating steel bars to a temperature of about 1,250°C.

This requires a model which can operate in at least “real-time”, so high performance computer facilities are vital.

More than 100 innovative collaborative projects between universities and industry that would benefit from HPC technology have already been identified. Other projects at Glamorgan that will benefit from HPC Wales include a project to link findings from archaeological excavations, generating business rules for product data quality assurance and analysis of biological samples used in cancer diagnosis.

A Glamorgan project that is helping industry to reduce it’s emissions has been given a boost by Wales’s investment in High Performance Computing.


PROFIT BEFORE PEOPLE: THE WELSH BUSINESS

OF SLAVERYIn his latest book, Glamorgan History Professor Chris Evans tells the story of Wales’s

involvement in the slave trade.

Wales, like many regions of Europe, was deeply affected by the forced migration of captive Africans – so much so that Professor Chris Evans has just published a book on the topic: Slave Wales: The Welsh and Atlantic Slavery 1660-1850.

“We tend to think that the business of slavery was something restricted to slave ports,” he says; “places like Bristol or Nantes that sent out hundreds of slaving expeditions over the decades. However, we’re now starting to understand just how far the influence of slave trafficking and exploitation reached into the European hinterland.” The slave trade was a trade, after all. Slave captains had to buy captives at coastal markets in Africa, and for that they needed goods that could act as currency. Welsh-made commodities, like copper and brass from Swansea, loomed large here. “Take a look at the Welsh copper industry in its early phases,” says Evans, “and you’ll find that many of the key people were from Bristol and were also involved in the slave trade.”

Slaves continued to exert a wider economic influence once they had been landed in the New World. Enslaved Africans had to be fed if they were to perform the work assigned to them. This meant that the sugar islands of the Caribbean imported huge quantities of food: salted beef from Ireland and cod from Newfoundland. Slaves also had to be clothed and Welsh woollens were shipped out to the West Indies and North America for that purpose. In fact, weavers in 18th century Montgomeryshire were dedicated to the production of so-called ‘Negro Cloth’. “We think of Welsh woollens

as something homely and traditional, but 250 years ago woollen fabric from Wales was a specialised export good that was used to make uniforms for prisoners in the slave labour camps of Jamaica, Virginia and South Carolina.”

It would be comforting, says Evans, if Wales could be shown to have also played an important role in the abolition of slavery. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The anti-slavery cause made relatively little headway in Wales. Abolitionism was far stronger in England, stronger in Scotland, and stronger in Ireland. Welsh abolitionism really didn’t amount to very much.”

Disturbingly, Welsh involvement in the Atlantic slave system continued even after the abolition of slavery in Britain’s own empire in 1834. Industrialisation required raw materials like copper ore and Welsh copper masters began to scour the world for adequate supplies. In Cuba they found a mine of enormous richness – and they used slave labour to work it. “Swansea’s industrial supremacy in the 1840s and 1850s”, argues Evans, “had as one of its effects the intensification of Cuban slavery.”

“Disturbingly, Welsh involvement in the Atlantic slave system continued even after the abolition of slavery in Britain’s own empire in 1834”.

Slave Wales: The Welsh and Atlantic Slavery 1660-1850 is published by the University of Wales Press.

Copyright: BFI Stills


TRANSFORMINg EdUCATION

The University is one of the driving forces behind a ground-breaking and exciting new higher education initiative for the Heads of the Valleys.

UHOVI (Universities Heads of the Valleys Institute) is a strategic partnership between the University of Glamorgan and University of Wales, Newport designed to improve qualifications and skills in the Heads of the Valleys. It is a fundamental pillar of the Welsh Assembly Government’s higher education strategy aimed at improving the educational, social and economic outlook of the region.

Officially launched in November by Leighton Andrews AM, Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning, UHOVI has adopted an integrated approach to planning higher education across the Heads of the Valleys.

Helen Marshall, UHOVI Project Director, said: “UHOVI is dedicated

to collaboration, not only between the two universities, but with Further Education colleges, training providers, local authorities, the voluntary sector and others. By working together and engaging with employers and communities, UHOVI will play an important role in the regeneration strategy for the Heads of the Valleys.”

An industry-focussed curriculum is essential to meet the economic up-skilling needs of the region. UHOVI will coordinate and drive forward new curriculum developments, focussing on a number of sector priorities and indentified skills development areas. This approach will facilitate the growth of a better skilled workforce, ultimately contributing to the regeneration agenda for the Heads of the Valleys and improved job prospects for local people.

A key focus for UHOVI is seamless progression for learners. Opportunities to study locally at every level will grow, with courses ranging from bite-sized modules and work-based learning packages to full Foundation Degrees. Learners will also be able to advance to higher level study with clear pathways in specific subject areas.

Anyone living or working in the Heads of the Valleys can choose to study with UHOVI. The majority of courses will initially be delivered via Further Education colleges and in the workplace. Bite-sized learning will be delivered in community venues and local provision will grow as UHOVI develops.

For more information on how UHOVI is developing and the courses on offer, visit www.uhovi.ac.uk

TELLINg THE gHOST STORY

Professor finds inspiration in Glamorgan students for ghost story book.

The ghost story has long been a favourite of families and literary experts. Now, a professor publishing a major book on the subject has attributed his inspiration to the students at the University of Glamorgan.

Andrew Smith, Glamorgan’s Professor of English Studies, has published his 12th book, ‘The Ghost Story 1840–1920,’ described as the first full-length study of the British ghost story in over 30 years. It examines tales by well- known writers such as Charles Dickens, Henry James and M.R. James, as well as comparatively neglected authors such as May Sinclair and Vernon Lee, and as such it develops a comprehensive overview of the development of the ghost story during the period.

Professor Smith said: “I came to Glamorgan in 1995 and, with the

support of the University, have developed undergraduate modules on the Gothic, and then an MA. The students at Glamorgan have inspired my research in the Gothic and their enthusiastic engagement with the topic has helped focus my own interests in the form. Many graduates from the MA have gone on to further study of the Gothic at MPhil and PhD level. This book has been inspired by their interest and questions about the ghost story.”

Professor Smith is currently co-editing The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the Gothic and co-editing a book on the Victorian Gothic. Next year he will, as Joint President of the International Gothic Association, be helping to organise the IGA‘s four day international conference at the University of Heidelberg.

“The students at Glamorgan have inspired my research in the Gothic and their enthusiastic engagement with the topic has helped focus my own interests in the form.”

The Ghost Story 1840–1920 was published by Manchester University Press on 31st August 2010.

POSITIVE


SUCCESS IN THE WORkPLACEProviding graduates with the skills they need to find jobs

is at the heart of Glamorgan’s ethos.

At Glamorgan, the employability of our graduates is a key indicator of our contribution to the social and economic wellbeing of Wales. The University has a strong record of working with the professions, industry, commerce and the voluntary sector to ensure that our academic programmes meet their needs; producing workplace-ready graduates who possess the higher level skills required by employers to drive forward innovation and remain competitive.

A vital part of this is providing useful, relevant work experience for our students. Our accountancy students studying for professional qualifications whilst working at, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, for example part of the prestigious Johnson & Johnson Corporation; our aircraft maintenance students working alongside engineers at General Electric; and our business students starting their summer work placements arranged by the University, with Rolls-Royce and Microsoft. These are major names in the business world, located in Wales and beyond, providing work experience opportunities because they are, as is the University, conscious of the importance of making students as employable as possible before they graduate.

For other students, work experience could mean undertaking voluntary work for local communities, clinical placements or research projects with external organisations. These experiences may include field trips to international partners or locations, study on work exchanges, internships or Students’ Union engagements. All give the individual student a taste of the

real world, adding value to their degree and helping them be distinctive in the highly competitive employment market.

Our links with the business world are very important. Vice-Chancellor Julie Lydon has been appointed to the CBI Wales Council, which represents all types of businesses across Wales and helps manage relationships between the private sector and the Welsh Assembly Government.

The Vice-Chancellor said: “The attractiveness of Wales to current and new employers will depend on the continued supply of employable graduates; individuals who have the confidence to make a difference and an ability to lead, innovate, embrace new ideas and adapt to change. I firmly believe that meaningful work experience is a key element of graduate employability.

“Turning to research, universities such as Glamorgan have an important role to play because we undertake excellent research that directly informs modern businesses and societies – it is applied, near market and user-valued. For example, our research in hydrogen is a key strand in the journey towards clean, sustainable energy and our integrated communications research, in partnership with Orange and others, is contributing to the development of the next generation of mobile phone systems.

“In increasingly uncertain times for our graduates as they embark on a new stage of their lives, we must continue to develop our academic programmes such that they equip them to succeed and we must also maximise the impact of our research and innovation with partners and within the classroom.”

Nursing student Elena Williams at Glamorgan’s state-of-the-art simulation and training facilities

Accountancy student Craig Williams, on placement at Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho Clinical Diagnostics as part of Glamorgan’s Network75 Professional Academy

YOU TELL US74% say Glamorgan’s reputation has grown in last three years.

Student employability and staff professionalism are key factors behind a major shift in the University’s profile.

In May this year, the University commissioned a major research exercise to review the opinions of key stakeholders, supplemented by a public survey in 10 locations. These views are invaluable in informing the development of the University’s Strategic Plan for the period 2010-15.Representatives from schools and colleges, the media, the business community, Welsh government and the local community were interviewed to ascertain their views on the University, which has undergone substantial change over the past five years.

The main findings show that graduate employability was the most important factor for stakeholders, particularly businesses and schools, who consider this more important than league tables when forming an opinion of a university’s reputation. This is an area where Glamorgan is particularly strong, with 94% of its full-time graduates in employment or further study within six months of graduation. The University’s comprehensive range of vocational courses was also quoted as key, with 44% of businesses commenting that Glamorgan graduates are more employable than those from other universities.

It is also heartening that respondents were impressed with the professionalism and flexibility they encountered in their dealings with University staff. One of the major strengths quoted by all stakeholders was that staff have a ‘can do’ attitude and professional approach across all areas of activity. Our relationships with schools was singled out as particularly strong, with three quarters saying they are more likely to recommend Glamorgan as a university choice now than five years ago.

Julie Lydon, Vice-Chancellor, summed up the report: “The University has

KEY FINDINGS

The new Students Union – part of the £130 million campus development

the overall percentage who said the University’s reputation had significantly improved/improved over past three years. By stakeholder group:

of schools agreed 15% no change 0% got worse

of Further Education colleges agreed 19% no change 0% got worse

of Welsh Assembly Government and public sector agreed 26% no change0% got worse

of businesses agreed 32% no change2% got worse

of journalists agreed 33% no change0% got worse

74%

85%

81%

67%

66%

66%

undergone significant change in recent years, including institutional mergers, academic restructuring and campus developments. It was therefore the right time to find out what our stakeholders thought about us; an opportunity for them to reflect on our development and offer suggestions for future enhancement. These research findings truly reflect the dedication, enthusiasm and professionalism of our staff.

“In a difficult economic environment, it came as no surprise that graduate employability was considered to be fundamental. We intend to extend our engagement with the business community to ensure that we continue to equip our graduates with the higher level skills, knowledge and experience that employers are looking for. Employability is being built into our academic portfolio and will form a central pillar in our new Strategic Plan.

“Overall, we are delighted with the research findings, particularly that our reputation is growing in line with our aspirations. The task now will be to continue our progression through professional, employment focused-higher education that meets the needs of our students, partners and key stakeholders.”

RESEARCH EXERCISE

• Thesurveywasanindependentexercise carried out by Euro RSCG Heist and the public survey by Research and Marketing Plus.

• 385interviewswereconductedwith stakeholders.

• Over1,000face-to-faceinterviews were carried out with members of the public in 10 locations across Wales and the English border.


HARLEM’S RUgBY RENAISSANCE

Students often spend a summer as teachers or camp counsellors in America, but a select group of the University of Glamorgan’s sport students have been on a visit with a difference – they’re coaching rugby union to a wide range of youngsters throughout the Eastern USA, and this includes teaching girls in Harlem to play rugby.

Tom Hatfield, Chris Day, Gareth Redding and Andrew Fern have been coaching alongside the game’s developers in USA Rugby in community ‘grass roots’ projects as part of the ‘East Harlem Outreach Program’, working to develop rugby in New York’s schools. In addition to their daily community coaching, the students have planned, organised and managed a number of tournaments, festivals, championships and talent ID events, bringing a Welsh flavour to some of America’s very best rugby and academic talent. They are developing a brand-new high school Sevens program which will be delivered to elementary and middle schools. Every Welsh rugby fan is an expert on coaching, and the students have been called on to assist with evaluations of local rugby coaches.

The University of Glamorgan Foundation Degree in Rugby Coaching

and Performance and BSc Hons Sports Science and Rugby staff established concrete links with rugby organisations in the USA over the past two years, including USA Rugby, Play Rugby USA in New York, and Indiana Rugby. These connections led to a student placement scheme for summer 2010, with six University of Glamorgan students spending four months working in the USA.

Ben Cullen and Jamie Pincott were working to coach and promote the game in Indiana, holding numerous coaching clinics for elementary, middle school and high school students. They were part of the Midwest Championship-winning All-Star U17 and U19 boys coaching staff, which included taking both teams on a mini tour to Canada to play the Ontario provincial All-Star teams developing an U19 girls All-Star team.

The course leaders at the University of Glamorgan, Dean Parsons and Mostyn Richards, commented: “These students are highly qualified and experienced rugby coaching students. They’ve been wonderful ambassadors for Glamorgan, and for Wales, and the reports we’ve received from the USA make us very proud of the work of these young men. In the true spirit of rugby they have helped us to establish an international partnership that will see other Glamorgan students given the same opportunity in the forthcoming years. Not only have they introduced the game of rugby union to the young people they have met, they have also helped teachers in the region to put rugby into the physical education curriculum.

The New York neighbourhood of Harlem is known for its jazz, the singing of Paul Robeson, radical politics and its world-famous basketball stars. Now

Glamorgan students are building another cultural link with the district.

“They’re drawing on their daily experience here in their ‘work-based learning’ placements with Cardiff Blues and Newport Gwent Dragons, working in schools, clubs and athletic organisations to develop similar grass roots programmes.”

Mark Griffin, CEO of Play Rugby USA and High School Rugby Development Manager for USA Rugby, stated: “The students have been outstanding thus far. Their knowledge of the variant game and ‘how’ to coach skills are, ‘top class’. They are great guys, wonderful ambassadors for the University of Glamorgan, very professional at every turn and suitably mature to handle New York City. They have been exceptional additions to our community rugby coaching programs here in Manhattan, New York state and New Jersey.”

Play Rugby USA and Indiana Rugby personnel funded most of the costs associated with the scheme in America and have worked tirelessly with the students to develop the community rugby provision and, more importantly, quality assure and monitor the work undertaken by the students. All collaborative partners have already made significant steps towards increasing the placement opportunities in New York, New Jersey and Indiana for summer 2011.

To find out more about rugby courses at Glamorgan visit www.glam.ac.uk/hesas


A Technology Strategy Board Knowledge Transfer Partnership funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Taking the Field aims to create a collection of digital media artefacts – short oral histories complemented with music, video and photographs – that reflect the importance of grassroots cricket to local communities in both the UK and Sri Lanka.

Cricket-lover Emma Peplow, who grew up in Bridgend, has been recruited as the Research Associate who will work on the project, which builds on the Centre’s work with Glamorgan County Cricket Club.

She said, “I am really looking forward to working on such an important and exciting project. Taking the Field is an excellent opportunity to combine my love of cricket with my academic background in history.”

The project will run over two years and collect digital stories from local clubs that will be displayed by the MCC Museum both online and at Lord’s. These digital stories will be created using accessible technology with the support of the MCC Museum. The use of digital technology aims to enthuse and engage local communities to create innovative artefacts that will complement the MCC Museum’s existing collection.

These artefacts will document the past from the bottom up and give local clubs the opportunity to portray their history and its changing role in the community, using their own voices, archives and ideas. By display in the MCC Museum, local teams and the communities

surrounding them will be given a worldwide, prestigious platform to document their history. In return, the MCC Museum will expand its collection to further cover both grassroots and international cricket, and use these artefacts to promote the game.

Taking the Field will focus on key themes describing cricket and its place in society; such as the effect of migration, decolonisation, changing women’s roles, and class on the local cricket clubs and their communities. As such, the project will act as a social history of the two countries and attempt to document the long links between them, from the colonial past to current, post-Tsunami reconstruction.

Adam Chadwick, Curator of Collections at MCC, added: “MCC is delighted to be a part of this groundbreaking KTP partnership. The Club is seeking to underline how dynamic its heritage collections can be and Emma Peplow’s work over the next two years will mirror not only MCC’s support for school, club and university cricket, but also its efforts to help communities in Sri Lanka in the wake of the Tsunami.”

Due to the nature of both the content and the medium, the project intends to encourage further contributions from clubs not initially involved in the project through extensive promotion and training. This project aims to be self-sustaining and continue as a stage for clubs to tell their own stories; histories that will then be preserved in MCC’s archive.

Emma Peplow and WG Grace at Lord’s, cricket’s spiritual home

gRASSROOTS CRICkET

The opportunity to capture cricket’s importance in the lives of ordinary people, and celebrate the grassroots game, is the focus of an exciting new project between the George Ewart

Evans Centre for Storytelling at the University and MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club).

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

PARTNERSHIPS

Administered by the Technology Strategy Board, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) are a tried and tested method of enabling companies to obtain knowledge, technology or skills which they consider to be of strategic competitive importance, from the further/higher education sector or from a research and technology organisation. The knowledge sought is embedded into the company through a project or projects undertaken by a good quality individual recruited for the purpose to work in the company.

For further information contact [email protected]


The Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries at the University of Glamorgan is particularly strong in radio expertise: radio provision is prevalent across the curriculum and a number of current staff have had and continue to have professional experience in international radio. Mary Traynor is a former BBC producer and is currently undertaking a pioneering initiative developing community radio in Laos; Sam Boardman-Jacobs wrote The Archers for many years and has published the book Radio Scriptwriting; and Richard Hand has served as a member of the British Library Sound Archive consultation panel and published the book Terror on the Air! Horror Radio in America 1931-51 and has been awarded a prestigious AHRC Fellowship to write a second volume on British radio drama. In the spirit of so much research work at Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries, practice is essential. Since 2005, the creative team led by Richard Hand and Mary Traynor, comprising staff and students from drama, media practice and music, has created all-live broadcasts strictly adhering to the style and practices of the golden age, which have been transmitted on GTFM and Tequila Radio, and have had a popular afterlife on iTunesU.

One such production was The Terrifying Tale of Sweeney Todd, Richard Hand’s new adaptation of the classic urban legend. Screenwriter Diane Lake listened online from Boston in the USA and was so excited by the project and the work of the Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries radio drama team that she got in touch offering her services as scriptwriter.

REVIVINg THE RAdIO dRAMA

Glamorgan and Hollywood are working together to revive the golden era of the wireless.

Live detective plays were once the staple of families’ evening listening. Now, they are making a comeback thanks to a collaboration between a Hollywood screenwriter and the University of Glamorgan. The Casebook of Violet Strange: The Inseparables was written by Diane Lake for Glamorgan’s Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries, is now available to the public through iTunes.

The all-live production, recorded in the radio studios of the University’s Cardiff ATRiuM campus, was directed by Professor Richard Hand, produced by Mary Traynor, the sound effects have been devised by Rob Dean and the music composed by Ben Challis. The performers included Glamorgan lecturers Professor Stephen Lacey and Geraint D’Arcy, as well as drama, music and media students from the University of Glamorgan and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Professor Richard Hands said: “In Britain and America in the 1930-50s, the communication medium of radio had become dominant. The networks in the US and the BBC in the UK broadcast a phenomenal amount of forms, ranging from news and sports broadcasting, reportage and concert broadcasts. One of the most significant forms, was drama across the widest range of genres, whether sitcom or soap opera or classic serial. In that era, broadcasting was a live process and the “on air” broadcast studio was a hectic environment, with voice actors, sound effects technicians, musicians, producers and directors collaborating in the creation of an energised performance event.”

Diane Lake, a working screenwriter since 1993, has been commissioned to write films for Columbia, Disney, Miramax, Paramount and NBC. Diane’s film, Frida, opened the Venice Film Festival in 2002, was named one of the 10 best films of 2002 by numerous top 10 lists, including the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. Frida was also nominated for six Academy Awards in 2003. Diane is also a screenwriting professor at Emerson College in Boston.

The team gladly accepted her offer and she wrote a script The Casebook of Violet Strange: The Inseparables. The play was based on a character created by the American author Anna Katharine Green, Violet is a sleuth and, in Lake’s play, she comes to Britain and uses her charm – and gender – to solve a mysterious series of thefts within upper-class society. The radio team brought the play to full on-air life. The team was particularly delighted that Diane Lake came to the UK to be in the studio for the live broadcast.

The Casebook of Violet Strange: The Inseparables, can be heard online for free from the University of Glamorgan’s channel on iTunes. http://itunes.glam.ac.uk


A JOURNEY THROUGH WAR AND GENOCIDE: A PERSONAL ODYSSEY Professor Alan Hawley

November 9th 2010, 5.30pm Glamorgan Conference Centre

ANALYTICAL SCIENCE... YOUR LIFE IN OUR HANDSProfessor Tony Davies

December 14th 2010, 5.30pmGlyntaff Campus

DETERIORATION MODELLING AND REPAIR OF CONCRETE BRIDGESProfessor Abid Abu Tair

January 11th 2011, 5.30pmGlamorgan Conference Centre

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES – AN ECONOMIC MIRACLE OR MYTHProfessor Peter Robertson

February 8th 2011, 5.30pmATRiuM Campus, Cardiff

KNOWLEDGE ORGANISATION SYSTEMS AND INFORMATION DISCOVERYProfessor Douglas Tudhope

March 15th 2011, 5.30pm Glamorgan Conference Centre

MENTAL HEALTH NURSING RESEARCH: WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF THAT HAPPENING? Professor Paul Rogers

April 12th 2011, 5.30pmGlyntaff Campus

FROM DESPAIR TO WHERE? THE MANY FACES OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICYProfessor David Pickernell

May 10th 2011, 5.30pmGlamorgan Conference Centre

THE MINER’S CANARY, MAY IT FLYProfessor Tony Beddow (Visiting Professor, Faculty of Health, Sport and Science)

June 14th 2011, 5.30pmGlyntaff Campus

INAUgURAL LECTURES

The University of Glamorgan’s Inaugural Professorial Lecture Series celebrates the academic achievements of our Professoriate. This is a defining moment in an academic’s career and is

the first lecture they give following the award of their professorship.

• Lectures are held on Tuesday evening (unless otherwise stated) in the Glamorgan Conference Centre (Treforest Campus), Glyntaff Campus or the ATRiuM Campus in Cardiff and start at 6pm.

• Refreshmentsareavailablefrom5.30pmandlightrefreshments will also be served after the lecture.

• Alllecturesarefreeandopentomembersof the public.

To book your place please call 01443 483345 or e-mail [email protected]


Head of Land Economics at Makerere, Uganda’s foremost university.

Elsewhere across the University, our academics’ credentials are recognised on an international basis. Professor Denis Murphy is Biotechnology Advisor to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, whilst Professor Howard Williamson is an international expert on youth policy, citizenship and social exclusion, and the role of youth work in the personal development and social integration of young people.

As an institution, we recognise that not only do we need to ensure our students have the skills to succeed in an increasingly competitive global environment, but that our academics are involved in projects where they can apply their skills and knowledge to benefit the global community.

gLAMORgAN ON THE WORLd STAgE

UNdERSTANdINg THE LESSONS OF dISASTER

For Glamorgan, the international dimension of what we do isn’t just confined to welcoming students and staff from across the globe to our campuses in South Wales, it’s about sharing

and applying our knowledge and expertise on a worldwide scale.

Working with the people of Uganda to create opportunities for carbon positive investment in their land, and peacefully resolving potential land conflicts, are the key areas of a research project led by Professor David Jenkins in the Faculty of Advanced Technology. It is part-funded by a small grant from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Mbale is one of ten global pilot areas in the Territorial Approach to Climate Change (TACC) project which is being carried out by the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development. TACC aims to develop good practice in relation to land-based climate mitigation/adaptation and to oversee a range of successful interventions. Mbale was also chosen because of its association with the development charity PONT and the support of the Wales for Africa team at the Welsh Assembly Government.

Professor Jenkins had the idea that the kind of property relationships that exist in Mbale might increase and/or reflect strong social cohesion and therefore reduce investment risk for climate change-related investment projects.

Professor Jenkins and his team will interview a sample of land owners in the Mbale region, local academics and surveyors, the Land Registrar and regional Environmental Resources Officers, as well as consulting local records as part of their research. The team also includes Catherine Gateri,

play in investigating and understanding disasters. This is a field of scholarly activity that requires collaborative, collegial and true interdisciplinarity. The silo has no place in the field.”

The role of the Centre is to collaborate and coordinate. External opportunities are sought out and then directed to the most appropriate University group. Professor Hawley adds: “One of our priorities has been to focus on areas of the field that play to the Centre’s and the University’s strengths. Within the wider University of Glamorgan, there are other areas of interest and expertise covering aspects of civil engineering, health care, business applications, narrative, GIS, geology and seismology, climate change and also computer science. By this approach all, benefit from the Centre’s activities.”

At the moment, the Centre has just embarked on a year-long study of the

The news headlines are dominated by natural disasters and civil wars. Questions are regularly asked how governments and the international community can respond more effectively to catastrophic events such as Pakistan’s floods, the Rwandan genocide, and Hurricane Katrina.

The Centre for Disasters and Resilience provides teaching, delivers services, and undertakes research. Its staff has expertise and interests in the relationship between health and conflict, war and disaster, vulnerability as an issue in disasters, resilience and its meaning, and the experience of disaster.

Professor Alan Hawley, who leads the Centre, explains: “The field of disaster studies is immense. It is truly multidisciplinary since all disasters are themselves multi-factorial and dimensional. All disciplines have a role to

meaning and nature of resilience. This is jointly funded by the EPSRC and ESRC, and is being undertaken in collaboration with Cardiff and Exeter Universities. It is a scoping study with the potential for upgrading to a bigger investigation to develop a tool kit for organisations to assess their own degree of resilience. Further applications to research councils and some charities are being prepared for investigations into post-disaster mortality, the perception of risk in populations threatened by disasters, the relationship between resilience and security in Rwanda after its genocide, story telling as a way of exploring the experience of flooding and community resilience in volcano-threatened communities.

“Professor Jenkins had the idea that the kind of property relationships that exist in Mbale might increase and/or reflect strong social cohesion and therefore reduce investment risk for climate change-related investment projects.”

The University of Glamorgan’s pioneering new centre of expertise is bringing together the skills and experience needed to improve the world’s response to these disasters.



24 | TALENT

Catrin Hughes, Glamorgan’s Welsh-medium Provision Co-ordinator, works with faculties and departments to develop Welsh and bilingual provision. “Different methods of delivery will suit different divisions,” she says. “Realistically, nothing can happen overnight, but we must always be moving steadily forward, especially if we wish to be part of regional and national developments. Even where there are no Welsh speaking members of staff in a department, there are still viable options such as e-learning, video lectures, Welsh-medium placements, and assignments which can be woven into our offer.”

Other faculties within the University are seeing progression, with opportunities being developed in Business, Law, Nursing, Environmental Studies, Media, and Police Sciences.

RISINg TO THE CHALLENgE

One of the challenges facing any university based in Wales is to provide suitable progression opportunities for students leaving

Welsh-medium schools and colleges.

Welsh-medium provision has been under-developed in higher education. With the support of the Welsh Assembly, the University has seized the initiative of shaping bilingual provision, particularly in the creative and cultural industries.

Several divisions at the University’s Cardiff School of Cultural & Creative Industries are at the forefront of the march into Welsh-medium opportunities, and are reaping the benefits of bilingual provision.

“We have two members of externally funded staff who are invaluable to the department in terms of what we offer through the medium of Welsh,” says Lisa Lewis, Head of Drama. “We’re providing opportunities that just aren’t available elsewhere in Wales, making us a more attractive and exciting option for students.

“Our Welsh-medium provision has grown over the years and we now offer a substantial percentage of courses in Welsh, and students can configure the linguistic balance of their studies. We’re at the forefront of national developments, and involved in leading, devising and delivering collaborative modules with other HEIs.”

The Division of Sound and Music has structured many of their courses to give students the choice of studying bilingually. Lectures are delivered in English and combined with Welsh tutorials, assignments and seminars. The Division has an externally funded Fellow who teaches through the medium of Welsh and works with a National Music Co-ordinator to develop new modules and resources.

The next few months will see important financial announcements for Welsh-medium provision, including the announcement of bursaries for those who study 40 credits of their course through the medium of Welsh.

Developing Welsh-medium provision is a challenge. Like many challenges, it can bring positive benefits, one of which is the opportunity for regional co-operation. Most importantly, this challenge keeps the University responsive to National Assembly priorities, ensuring that we remain a significant player in national Welsh-medium strategic developments.


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