alumniumThe University of Wales Institute, Cardiff Alumni Magazine

Unlockingnew routes for the blind

pages 8 - 9

Promoting ability page 4

Graduation 2009pages 7 - 8

BAFTA successpage 10

Welsh Artist of the Yearpage 10

Management’s moving!page 12

Cyncoed - 40 years onpage 15 - 16

U N I V E R S I T Y O F WA L E S I N S T I T U T E , C A R D I F F AT H R O FA P R I F Y S G O L C Y M R U, C A E R DY D D

inside...Issue 01 2009

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New Alumni Officer

Hello from the Alumni OfficeI am delighted to welcome you to the new-look alumnimagazine! There have been some wonderful changeshere at UWIC over the past year or so, not least thecreation of the new UWIC Foundation. We are a smallteam, with Alumni and Development working hand inhand to direct support from our friends and formerstudents to the most worthy causes in the institution.

I took over the role of Alumni Officer in January and find it hard to believe how quicklythe time has gone! I have really enjoyed speaking to alumni from around the world,whether that be face to face, on the telephone, via email or online. You are such adiverse group of people with such wonderful stories. If you would like us to include astory in our next magazine, please let us know!

We have worked hard to expand the alumni network to include all former students -we’re in touch with approximately 20,000 of you, but we’re always on the look-out formore. The next step is to make this network work well for all our alumni, through socialengagements, reunions, and business or career-enhancing opportunities. Please get intouch if you have a suggestion of how the network could work for you!

UWIC AlumniQuestionnaire

We emailed a link to theonline questionnaire inSeptember and havereceived a wonderfulresponse. Thanks to allwho have responded.If you did not receivethat email, and wouldlike to let us know youralumni experience, youcan find it on ourwebsite:www.uwic.ac.uk/alumni

UWIC is committed toreducing theenvironmental impact ofsending out our alumnimagazine. If you wouldprefer to receive anelectronic version,please let us know youremail address, andindicate your mailingpreference. If you prefera paper copy, we’d stilllove to know your emailaddress so we can sendupdates through theyear. Please doremember to inform usif you move house, or ifyou no longer wish toreceive the magazine.

Contact DetailsIf you would like to getin touch with the AlumniOffice, you can emailalumni@uwic.ac.uk orcall 029 2020 1590.

We’re based at UWIC Foundation, Cyncoed Campus,Cyncoed Road, Cardiff CF23 6BN

Credits:Edited by Claire Grainger with thanks to theCommunications teamDesign by Sarah Garwood,UWIC Creative Services,Communications & Marketing

Above: Students head to lectures past the newly refurbished College House at CyncoedCampus, where the new alumni office is based.

Above: Claire Grainger,UWIC Alumni Officer

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Vice-Chancellor’s Welcome

With regards to staff, theCardiff School of HealthSciences gains a new Deanfollowing the retirement ofDr Maureen Bowen.Professor Adrian Petershas been with UWIC since1995 and was awarded aUniversity of WalesPersonal Chair in 2005. As Director of Research atthe School, Adrian hasbeen at the fore-front ofthe development of astrong research culture atUWIC and has conductedpioneering research intobiofilm micro-biology, thecontrol of biofilm in foodproduction and theapplication of food safetymanagement systems inthe food industry. We wish Maureen all thebest for her retirement,and welcome Adrian to hisnew role.

We have more excitingchanges to come.

I am delighted to tell youthat UWIC was awardedResearch DegreeAwarding Powers (RDAPs)in August this year. Theauthority to award ourown research degrees todoctoral students followsan extensive and intensivescrutiny by assessors fromthe Quality AssuranceAgency (QAA) who metrepresentatives of ourgovernors, academic staffand postgraduate researchstudents.

Undergraduate taughtdegree-awarding powers(TDAPs) were attained in1993 and were held inabeyance, with studentscontinuing to receiveUniversity of Walesawards. However, havingnow acquired both TDAPsand RDAPs the institutionwill seek university title inits own right.

Accordingly, we willrequire a new name, andconsultation about ourname has already begun.By the time you receiveyour next alumnimagazine, we may wellhave a new name, and theclass of 2011 will begraduating from a newuniversity!

One other big changerelates to our AlumniOffice. We have a newAlumni Officer, ClaireGrainger, who is steadilyexpanding the network toinclude all graduates fromUWIC and its FoundingInstitutions.

Claire works within theUWIC Foundation, whichhas been set up to buildbetter relationships withour alumni and friends andto raise additional fundsfrom these groups, localbusinesses and charitabletrusts.

I attended a recentreunion for the Class of1969 and was delighted tomeet with graduates from40 years ago.

I also met with alumni on arecent trip to Hong Kong.

As we look to the future,support from our alumniand friends will becomeever more important as weaim to position UWIC inthe top 5 of the UK’s newuniversities - attractingoutstanding students fromacross the globe,irrespective of their socialand cultural background.I hope you’ll enjoy readingabout some of our recentsuccesses.

Professor Antony J ChapmanVice-Chancellor

Sitting here in the new lecture theatre at Llandaff, I realize that many of ouralumni would have a hard time recognising UWIC as it stands today. Weoperate four campuses across Cardiff and have partner schools in London,Singapore, Malaysia and Bangladesh. More than 10,000 students from over125 different countries study on over 100 degree programmes. UWIC wasnamed the best new university in Wales in four national polls this year. Weopened the new Food Industry Centre at Llandaff and also broke groundthere for the new Cardiff School of Management building. Welcome from the

Vice-Chancellor

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Peepo

Jason Perkins, 34, whograduated in June 2009with a MSc in AdvancedProduct Design, hascreated a ground-breakingsat nav system designed tohelp blind dog users findtheir way through busystreets and unknownterritory.

Dubbed the Peepo™, therevolutionary handheldGPS allows visuallyimpaired users to speakinto the device, whichthen uses sat navtechnology to finddirections. Followed bysubtle steering by way ofpulse zones and vibrationsat the user’s finger tips,the user is then carefullyguided through to theirdestination, with a

separate sensor notifyingwhen the user is travellingin the correct direction.

The sleek palm sizedproduct fits onto a guidedog’s metal lead withoutcompromising the owner’shandling of the dog. During the 12 monthdevelopment of theproduct, Jason workedwith a focus group basedat the Cardiff Institute forthe Blind to test theproduct along each step ofthe way.

Gareth Loudon is theCourse Director for theAdvanced ProductDesign. He is extremelyproud of his recentgraduate: "Jason's initialinsights came from

research work with peoplefrom the Cardiff Institutefor the Blind and thisresulted in a greatinvention. He has thenmatched that initialsuccess with tremendousdedication and hard workto try and translate theinvention into acommercial reality."

Jason’s innovative devicehas already won thePeople’s Choice Award,voted for by the Britishpublic and was also short-listed for the Sir JamesDyson InternationalStudent Design Award2009. Commenting on hisinspiration behind thedevice, Jason said: “I reallywanted to design aproduct that would

radically enhance people’slives. I've always felt thecompetitors tackle theirdesigns from a stagnantstance, without trulycatering for the users'needs. As a consumercomments, 'it's not onlyparamount to us that aproduct works really well,but also we care how itlooks - just because wecant see doesn't mean wedon't care what we looklike’.”

Jane McCann, a memberof the focus group thattested the product hasfound the deviceextremely useful: “I wishthat I could find my wayaround new placeswithout having to askothers. My hearing isn’t

very good also and whatwith the noisy, busy traffic,I would prefer not to useheadphones - so the GPSis absolutely perfect for me.”

Looking to the future,Jason now wishes toconquer the US market.“I’ve already receivedsponsorship from theWelsh AssemblyGovernment which hasbeen fantastic, but nowI’m looking for a separatefinancial backer in theregion of £10,000, eitherin the UK or NorthAmerica, where themarket gap is widerregarding products for theblind, to get Peepo™where it needs to bemarket-wise.

Unlocking new routes for the blind

How does one describe Product Design? Making something that does its jobwell, while also looking good, perhaps. Advanced Product Design? How about inventing something revolutionary, that looks great - despite the fact its users can’t even see?

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Promoting Ability within Disability

Students studying atUWIC each have anassessment to ascertainexactly what their needsare, and the support givenmakes a huge difference,as Amanda Brassingtonexplains:

“I had an assessment witha disability advisor when Ifirst applied. I was trulyamazed at the amount ofergonomic equipment andsoftware that was availableand was given to me tohelp me with note takingand completing myassignments. I was alsoappointed a learningsupport tutor and abefriender. Without thehelp of either I feel itunlikely that I would haveeither remained on the

Promoting abilitywithin disability

Approximately 1000 students with a declared disability have chosen to studyat UWIC. The disabilities include sensory impairments, mobility difficulties,medical conditions, mental health difficulties and specific learningdifficulties, such as dyslexia and dyspraxia.

course or passed it.”Amanda graduated in2008 with a degree inComplementary Therapiesand is now studying part-time on the PGCE course.

One of the disabilityassessors is himself blind.Stuart Ball, Study Skillsand Technology Assessor,is a well-known figurearound campus, with hisguide dog Yardley by hisside.

“UWIC is a fantastic placeto work for someone witha disability. They just get it.For example, this is thefirst place I’ve ever workedwhere they had a dog pen,somewhere safe andcontained where I know Ican let Yardley off the lead

to do her business. It’ssomething as simple asthat which can make a realdifference to daily life.”

Fine Art graduate JanWilliams picked up theHelen Gregory award (and£500 prize money) for her3rd year painting thissummer. This was a greatachievement for Jan whohas been living withrheumatoid arthritis forseveral years. As a resultof living with this disability,Jan chose to research artand disability for herdissertation, and this, aswell as creating art work,has been very cathartic forJan "it has given me backmy sense of self."

Jan stated that the supportshe has received has beenwonderful: "My tutorshave been incredible: theyknow how I feel and howto treat me and theDisability Service has beenfantastic too."

Once students graduate,they can continue tobenefit from UWICsupport. The institutionhas been working withAccess to Work as part ofa new Jobcentre Plusinitiative to supportgraduates during thetransition from educationto employment.

Sophie Dyment, 24,who is visuallyimpaired and works asa project officer forWales Council for theBlind, has benefittedfrom the initiative:

“The project has givenme a lot of support,and provided me withan enlarged keyboard,laptop and electronicmagnifier, whichallows me to do mywork effectively. Thistype of support reallymakes a difference tosomeone with adisability.”

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Introducing the UWIC Foundation

UWIC Annual FundThe UWIC Annual Fund has recently beenestablished to raise money from alumni, staffand friends of the institution. On an annualbasis, this money is distributed to projectswithin UWIC for:• Enhancing the campus environment for

everyone in our community• Scholarships for those who need our help to

make the most of their abilities• Strengthening research to address the

challenges that face our society• Resources that focus on providing the best

student experience.

Large or small, every contribution to the Annual Fundis greatly appreciated. And don’t forget that your giftto us is now worth twice as much!”

To find out more about the UWIC Annual Fund andour fundraising priority areas, please contact us on 029 2020 1590 or uwicfoundation@uwic.ac.uk or findout more online at www.uwic.ac.uk/uwicfoundation

What we’ve achievedEstablished this year, the UWIC Foundation hasalready raised over £55,000 to support valuableprojects and activity within UWIC.

The projects supported include a sports outreachprogramme for children, the purchase of new equipmentat the Wales Sports Centre for the Disabled, world-leading research on the antibacterial properties of honey,library resources and new scholarships for talentedstudents. We are enormously grateful for all the supportwe have received - it has made a real difference.

We’ve teamed up with JustGiving, the UK’s leading onlinefundraising website, so you can donate and raise fundsfor us online. If you would like to support us, all you need to do is go to:www.justgiving.com/uwicfoundation/donate

Cardiff HalfMarathonAs this magazine goesto press, our AlumniOfficer, Claire, has justrun the Cardiff HalfMarathon in aid of theUWIC Foundation.

Claire insists she’s not agreat runner, finishingtowards the back of thepack, but it makes herefforts all the moreworthwhile. If you wouldlike to support Claire’s run,take a look at herJustgiving page at http://www.justgiving.com/ClaireRunningCardiff

UWIC is Fundraising

So why support UWIC in this way? Education changes livesand UWIC wants to continue to make a difference in Wales,the UK and internationally. Support from our alumni, friendsand organisations can help us to strengthen research toaddress the challenges that face our society, providescholarships for those who need our help or enhance ourfacilities for everyone in our community. Large or small everygift can make a difference. There are many ways you cansupport UWIC so please contact us to find out more.

Matched FundingThere has never been a better time to start or to increase yoursupport for UWIC as the Government has launched a newMatched Funding Programme for gifts to higher education.As a former UWIC student or friend of the institution -wherever you are in the world - this means we can double thevalue of your gift at no extra cost to you. For UK donors thisbonus will be applied both to the gift itself and to the value ofGift Aid that we can claim on your gift, which couldsubstantially increase your contribution to UWIC. A gift of £10.00 would actually be worth £25.30 to us!

Philanthropic support is essential for the advancement of UWIC and the UWIC Foundation has been setup to encourage and steward all such support from alumni, staff, friends and organisations.

Careers Advice

How can UWIC help?

For starters, all recent UWIC Alumni are entitled to use our Careers service aftergraduation. Our dedicated team, led by Alyson Twyman, can help with planning yourcareer, CV and applications advice, job searching and interview practice. For moreinformation see www.uwic.ac.uk/careers or email careers@uwic.ac.uk. Our GO Walesteam also offer placements lasting about 10 weeks with a range of employers, givinggraduates a chance to hone and demonstrate their professional skills while being paidat least £240 a week. The team also offer unpaid work tasters (up to 2 weeks of workshadowing or trying out work you’re interested in) and subsidised professionaldevelopment funding for graduates in small-medium sized companies in Wales. For more information see www.gowales.co.uk or email gowales@uwic.ac.uk.

In addition to careers advice, the Centre for Personal & ProfessionalDevelopment (CPPD) has a wealth of opportunities available to graduateswishing to develop knowledge, gain new skills and pursue a personal interest. Ina recession, having up-to-date skills on your CV can make all the difference, asemployers are increasingly wary of taking on people whose skills look a little‘rusty’. Check out more about the courses offered on our website:www.uwic.ac.uk/cppd.

For education graduates we now have an in-house recruitment agency, Education Specialists @ UWIC, providing professional and ethical solutions for schools and teachers. For more information email educationspecialists@uwic.ac.uk or call 029 2041 6951 / 029 2020 1524

So, that’s how we can help - what can you do?

Our network of graduates provides a great source of support in the manydiverse industries where UWIC graduates excel. In Hospitality, Sport,Design, Podiatry, Teaching - your next boss could well be a UWICgraduate themselves. Make the most of your connections - if you’restaying in your academic field, your lecturers are a strong link to therelevant industries, as are those students who graduated before you.Online, our LinkedIn group continues to grow, providing a vastprofessional network of people who know exactly where you’recoming from. From careers mentoring, informal after-workgatherings, or more formal partnership opportunities, we arecreating a truly active network of hardworking, focused, talentedpeople. You are now part of that network - make it work for you.

So…you’ve got the qualification, but have you got the job?We’ve all heard scary stories about the lack of graduate jobs this year, as therecession squeezes people out of current jobs, and forces companies to cutback on new hires. According to a recent article in the Observer, “Graduatescompeting in one of the most difficult job markets in decades are resorting todoor-to-door selling as many give up hope of finding a permanent job.”

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Recession-busting help isat hand for UWIC Grads!

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Graduations and Honorary Fellows

1. Julie BarrattDirector of the CharteredInstitute of EnvironmentalHealth for Wales, Julie hasbeen instrumental inleading the successfulcampaign highlighting theissues of illegal slaughterand sale of unfit meat inWales, as well as raisingawareness of skin cancerin Wales which hasprompted the removal ofsun beds from some localauthority premises.

2. Professor Iram SirajBlatchford

Professor of EarlyChildhood Education atthe London UniversityInstitute of Education.Professor Blatchford is adistinguished academic

who has earnedinternational recognitionfor her work in earlychildhood education overmany years.

3. Professor PaulGough

Pro Vice-Chancellor andExecutive Dean of theFaculty of Creative Arts atthe University of the Westof England, Bristol.Professor Gough is aleading academic in thefield of art and design inthe UK, with adistinguished record as apainter and writer.

4. Judith IsherwoodChief Executive of theWales Millennium Centre,Judith has more than 27years experience working

in the performing artsindustry. During this timeJudith was the dedicateddirector responsible forthe Olympic Games, whileserving as acting ChiefExecutive at the SydneyOpera House which wasboth a sporting venue forthe 2000 Sydney OlympicGames and the home ofthe Olympic Arts Festival.

5. Graham MackenzieNon-executive Chairmanof Wyndham UK Ltd, andengineering servicescompany in South Wales,Chairman of the BritishAssociation ofReinforcement and mostrecently, appointedchairman ofWolverhampton

Graduations &Honorary Fellows

Students graduating from UWIC this year were guaranteed a day toremember as the ceremonies took place in the picture perfect setting of the iconic Wales Millennium Centre.

More than 3,000 students from UWIC’s five academic schools celebrated theirachievements over the course of the three days. In addition, many students from theLondon School of Commerce were awarded their degrees as part of the uniquepartnership enjoyed by the two institutions.

Honorary Fellows are awarded each year by UWIC to individuals who have distinguishedthemselves and made a significant contribution in their field. This summer we welcomedseven new Honorary Fellows...

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Graduations and Honorary Fellows

Development Company,the governmentsponsored, private sector-led body tasked with theurban regeneration of thenorthern part of the BlackCountry. Graham has alsobeen a member of theUWIC Board of Governorsand Chair of the AuditCommittee.

6. Sir William StewartRecently retired asChairman of the HealthProtection Agency, SirWilliam is also Chairman ofthe National RadiologicalProtection Board and hasheld a number of otherhigh profile appointments.

7. Er Kwong WahExecutive Director of theEast Asia School ofBusiness - Institute ofManagement. He is one of

Singapore’s most eminentcitizens, holding numerousawards and isCommandant dans L’ordredes Palmes Academiques.

UWIC is also pleased toconfirm that future Fellowsto be awarded at a laterdate include JohnInverdale, MatthewMaynard, Gerald Daviesand Abdul Rahman Taib,Minister of Education forthe Government of BruneiDarussalam.

1 2 3

5 6 7

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Alumni in focus

Billed as the place to‘discover the creativeenergy of the nextgeneration’, NewDesigners brings togetherthe very best of UKgraduate design andattracts thousands ofprofessionals from acrossthe sector who are lookingfor new talent.

Melissa Selmin (pictured),graduated in the summerfrom Contemporary TextilePractice with a first classhonours degree and thetop theory prize. Melissawon the Graham & BrownNew Designers’ Award2009 and was awarded£1,500 by Graham &Brown Design Company.

Award-winningArt & Design

The judges selectedMelissa because of herwork’s ‘strong commercialawareness andunderstanding ofcontemporary pattern,composition, colour andfinish’. Graham & Brownwere so impressed withher designs that they havecommissioned two piecesto be commercially printedimmediately. Melissa willgo on to apply for an in-house designer role,hopefully with Graham &Brown themselves.

Melissa’s inspirationcomes from her heritagewhich stems from her half-Chinese, half-Italianorigins. The project she

won the award for isinspired by China and herpersonal appreciation ofJapanese art.

Francesca Loam whostudied BA InteriorArchitecture won the NewDesigners Gleeds Awardwith her design for theinterior of the Habitatbuilding in the Hayes.Judges were delightedwith her ‘creative andsympathetic re-use of anexisting building toproduce a viable andrealistic mixed-use facility.She has made aninteresting use of inter-related spaces to create alogical route to theultimate destination.’

Twenty recent Graduates from UWIC’s Cardiff School of Art & Design(CSAD) promoted their work at the New Designers 2009 exhibition in

London in July.

Stocks of a £60 leopard-print dress designed byJulien Macdonald sold out in a fortnight thissummer - before it had even hit the shelves ofDebenhams.

Julien, who studied onthe Foundation courseat the Cardiff School ofArt and Design in 1994,says “I had an amazingtime at Cardiff artcollege and learnt a lotof new skills andtechniques there - allwhich helped me on mypath to my career inFashion Design. It wasreally a great place tobe and a brilliant periodof my life. I would strongly recommend this course foranyone wanting to have a career in Art or Fashion.’

Julien’s range of designer clothes are proving extremelypopular, especially in the current economic climate, withsavvy shoppers snapping up designer styles at high streetprices. Debenhams said it had never seen a reaction like itand has ordered more supplies of the dress, which is partof the shop’s exclusive Star by Julien Macdonaldcollection.

Foundation fashion fame

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Alumni in focus

Graduate BAFTAsuccess

Richard Jenkins is celebrating after scooping a prestigious BAFTA Cymruaward for interactive work on hit BBC TV show ‘Merlin.’

Richard, a BA Broadcast Media graduate from UWIC is currently the Interactive Producerbehind several hugely popular TV programmes including Ashes to Ashes, Mistressesand Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures and has previously worked onDoctor Who and Torchwood.

As Interactive Producer, he is responsible for producing all of the video, audio andimages for the programme’s interactive platforms including the Web, Mobile phones,Red Button interactive, itunes, iPlayer, BBC Youtube and BBC Bebo.

“This can include anything from producing web games, creating behind the scenescontent to shooting scenes specifically for interactive content. My day can range frombeing on set, to writing ideas for future commissions, to balancing my budgets,”explained Richard.

Commenting on his career plans for the future, he said: “At present I want to stay withthe BBC. I’m lucky enough to work with a great team and Wales is becoming the BBChub for exciting interactive content. We’re also lucky enough to have a stream ofoutstanding network shows that are made here at BBC Wales.”

Highlighting his growing status in the broadcasting industry, Richard, who graduated in2005, was also part of a team nominated for a main UK BAFTA for his work on Merlin andhas previously been nominated for an International Emmy and a main BAFTA for his workon Doctor Who.

UWIC’s Cardiff Schoolof Art and Designgraduate, TimFreeman, has won theprestigious WelshArtist of the Year 2009award.

Tim, a digital artist whostudied Fine Art at bothdegree and masters levelat the school, received theaward and £2000 at aceremony at St David’sHall in Cardiff.

The winning entry ‘HiddenSystem’ beat 500 other

entries to win the title andfeatures a photograph ofhuge industrial pipesrunning through thetranquil setting of the LakeDistrict.

This is the second yearrunning that UWIC hashad a direct connection tothe winner of the awardwith Phillipa Lawrence, aContemporary Textileslecturer at the CardiffSchool of Art and Design,being crowned WelshArtist of the Year in 2008.Tim’s artwork formed the

Graduate awarded Welsh Artist of the Year

centrepiece of anexhibition featuring all theprize winners and more

than 80 short-listed entriesat St David’s Hall.

Calling allAuthors!The Alumni Office iscelebrating our literaryalumni with a dedicatedAlumni Library and weneed yourcontributions!

So far, we have just twobooks: Dai Davies’ memoirsof life as the Wales andEverton goalkeeper, andRussell Deacon’s “TheGovernance of Wales”.If you have written a book -novels, short stories,poetry, fiction or non-fiction- and would like to donate asigned copy, we would beproud to display it in ourgrowing collection.

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Alumni in focus

The Food Industry Centre and HealthResearch Building at Llandaff is now openfor students, and also for our businesspartners.

One of our alumni, Harriet Myers, is the new KITEAssociate, bringing the wealth of expertise and state-of-the-art equipment of the Food Industry centre (FIC) to thefamily-run ice-cream firm Franks, in Ammanford. Harriettells us about her work:

“When I graduated with a degree in Sociology fromSwansea, I realised that I did not relish the choice of jobsthat were open to me. I knew I liked food, and I wanted todo a Master’s in a food-related discipline. However, nothaving a science degree, I opted to do the HND FoodScience and Technology instead, which I hope to top upto a Master’s in the future.

“The KITE programme at UWIC eases you into business,which is great for me, and the access it gives me to theFIC facilities is amazing. Most small companies do nothave sensory analysis suite, or a refractometer, orviscosity measures, etc - it’s like having a huge magicstore cupboard!”

Harriet is involved with benchmarking “to prove thatFranks chocolate ice cream is the best!” She will becoming to Llandaff soon to use the new sensory analysissuite to test Franks’ new chocolate ice cream - here’shoping the alumni officer will get first dibs on the tasting!

Laura Rhys, who graduated from UWIC in 2004 with a BA in InternationalHospitality Management, has been crowned UK Sommelier of the Year 2009. The Head Sommelier at the Hotel TerraVina in the New Forest beat off strongcompetition to win the final held at the Tate Modern in London.

15 semi-finalists were assessed by a high-profile panel of judges headed by MasterSommelier Matt Wilkin, last year’s Sommelier of the Year Gearoid Devaney and top foodand drink writer Tom Parker-Bowles.

Having won her place as one of the three finalists Laura then had to compete in a seriesof tasks including a realistic role-play restaurant scenario which tested the sommeliersability to deal with customers, their management skills and their ability to cope underpressure; a blind tasting; a food and wine matching exercise and an against the clockwine list error spotting exercise.

The grand finale saw Laura and the other two finalists, both of whom were French,having to pour a single magnum of Champagne into 16 glasses, filling each equallywithout returning to any of them.

Laura was inspired to choose a career in wine after undertaking a series of Wine andSpirit Education Trust (WSET) wine courses while studying for her degree. “Winning theaward has given me recognition within the industry and from my peers. It’s been a goalof mine since I started as a Sommelier five years ago and because so few people havewon it, it’s put me into a very select group. It has also given me more confidence in myabilities and that can only be a positive thing for my future career.”

Tasting theFlavours of UWIC

Above: Harriet weighs a tub of Franks’ vanilla ice cream.

2009 Sommelier of the Year

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Cardiff School of Management

Management’s moving!

2009-10 will be the finalyear for the ColchesterAvenue campus. The doors will close tostudents for the finaltime in July 2010, afterover 40 years of educating students in FoodTechnology, Commerce, Hospitality, Leisure,Tourism and Management. The Cardiff School ofManagement will be relocating to a new buildingat Llandaff campus next year.

The new Cardiff School of Management building willenable UWIC to become a leading centre in the UK forteaching and research in subjects including Business,Hospitality and Tourism.

This great new facility will allow us to innovate anddevelop an exemplar of what a modern managementschool should be - strong in learning and teaching,research and enterprise and accessible to the localcommunity.

There will be a “Graveyard Tour” planned for those alumniwho would be interested in saying goodbye to thebuilding, to register your interest, please contact thealumni office.

Did you know... ...that one of the firstuses of the ColchesterAvenue campus was tohost the Tribunal ofInquiry into the AberfanDisaster? It sat for 76days, the longesttribunal in British historyto that time.

A former UWIC student returned this year tocreate our own version of “The Apprentice” - won by Sanket Hiremath from India.

Phil Davies, Managing Director of Hospital Innovationswhich is based in St Mellons, Cardiff created theopportunity for international students on the MBA courseat the Cardiff School of Management. Students weregiven the opportunity to compete for a one yearplacement working on a variety of high profile marketingprojects, including the opportunity for international travel,human resource management, e-marketing and healthand safety management.

Phil has enjoyed a high flying career in the internationalmedical industry since graduating from UWIC’spredecessor (South Glamorgan Institute). Always keen tosupport UWIC, he is the President of the UWIC Men’sRugby Club and was the guest speaker at the first MBAdinner.

“Sanket, you’re hired!”

Above: Left to right, Phil Davies, SanketHiremath and ProfessorAntony Chapman, UWICVice-Chancellor.

This will include a specialdedication engraved on aplaque. This specialdedication will also appearon our website asacknowledgement of yoursupport of the new CardiffSchool of Management.

Each seat costs £200* andyou can name it foryourself, in memory of aloved one or as a gift forsomeone dear to you.

Why not sponsor a seat ?

All the money raised willhelp to support futuregenerations of students toachieve their academicpotential.

Contact us onuwicfoundation@uwic.ac.uk or go towww.uwic.ac.uk/sponsoraseat for moreinformation.

*This does not include any specialseating privileges.

We are offering all our alumni and friends theunique opportunity to sponsor a seat in the mainlecture theatre of the new building.

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International News

In a recent student survey UWIC was ranked top in Wales and fourth in theUK for the quality of its international student experience.

The International Student Barometer (ISB) survey canvassed the views of internationalstudents at more than 80 Universities. With students from more than 125 countriescurrently studying at UWIC, the findings will help UWIC to build on its current successand continue to attract top class candidates from around the world.

John Philips, Dean of International Students was thrilled with the result. “The achievement of such high satisfaction ratings, particularly amongst strongcompetition from universities across the UK, really does highlight our commitment toproviding a first class experience for our international students and it is a true testamentto the hard work of all UWIC staff.”

UWIC was delightedto welcome the KenyaHigh Commissioneras he made his firstvisit to Wales inMarch 2009.

His Excellency Mr Joseph Muchemi, Kenya HighCommissioner to the UK and Switzerland, andPermanent Representative to the InternationalMaritime Organization, hosted the event, with thetheme of “benefiting from your time in the UK”, whichbrought together Kenyan officials and students fromuniversities across South Wales.

The whistle stop tour was organised by George Karani,Professor of Environmental Health at UWIC, who firstmet the High Commissioner in 2004, and has sincebuilt up strong relationships and workedcollaboratively with Nairobi University.

Mr Mulchemi held discussions with UWIC Vice-Chancellor, Professor Antony Chapman, and also metstaff and students from UWIC and other Welshinstitutions. The busy visit also included meetings withthe First Minister for Wales Rhodri Morgan AM, andJane Hutt AM Minister for Children, Education,Lifelong Learning and Skills.

Name: Goitseone Lucy Hopkins

Nationality: Botswana

UWIC Programme: Graduate in BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences and MSc BiomedicalSciences (2002-2007)

Current Employment: Biomedical Scientist, Haematology department, NHS Tayside,Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, Scotland

I first heard about the amazing student life at UWIC through some friends who studiedin Cardiff while I was studying in the University of Botswana. I chose to study BScBiomedical Sciences at UWIC as the course is accredited by the Health ProfessionsCouncil. The knowledge, skills and experience I developed during my studies made memore marketable to employers and I now apply those skills every day in my currentpost.

Studying at UWIC provided the opportunity for me to meet people from all around theworld. Some of my friends have visited my home and family in Botswana and I havebeen to Canada, Switzerland, and France, with friends that I met during my time inUWIC. I am also still in touch with my UWIC lecturers and supervisors as well as theInternational Office.

Since graduating with my MSc I have moved to Scotland with my husband, a UWICFine Art graduate who I met in during my time there. I am now enjoying the challengesof my new career as a Biomedical Scientist in the NHS.

International Alumni Profile

Students experience the best at UWICSouth Wales and Kenyabuild strong links

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International News

Shanghai Alumnigroup is formedFor those of our alumnibased on the EastCoast of China, we arepleased to announce anew Shanghai-basedUWIC AlumniAssociation.

Led by our first officialInternational AlumniAmbassador, AndrewWoods, the group aims to provide a focus for UWICalumni based in the area to meet for social gatherings,talks and networking. Andrew is a Vice President at theShanghai-based JJ Communications, owned by PeterWang and Robin Xie who also studied for the MBA atUWIC.

Andrew can be contacted via the Alumni Office,please email alumni@uwic.ac.uk.

During the visit to Brunei by theInternational Office for the BritishEducation Exhibition in August, 43former UWIC students gathered forthe annual get together.

The dinner, in a local Restaurant in BandarSeri Bagawan, took place during Ramadanand therefore started at 6:30pm, givingeveryone chance to break their fast. Theformer students, including those from themid 90’s through to last year, enjoyedmeeting each other again and talkingabout happy times in Cardiff. The nextmajor event in Brunei will be a visit in theSpring to celebrate the start of a jointlydelivered undergraduate degree in Sportand Physical Education between UWICand the University of Brunei Darussalam.

Hong Kong DinnerProfessor Antony Chapman dined with some ofour Hong Kong Alumni in May, during his brieftrip to Hong Kong University.

The Vice-Chancellor was attending the graduations ofstudents from the MSc Food Safety Managementcourse, which is validated by UWIC.

Pictured below with Professor Chapman are: UWICgraduates Ada Mui and Ryane Wong with Jimmy Yao,and local agent Steffany Lay at the MetroparkCauseway Bay Hotel.

Above: Pictured with John Phillips, Kirsty Bird and Anna Dukes are a large group offormer students including Haji Almumin- MBA 2001, (seated centre) who is the AlumniPresident, Haji Jaffar- BSc Environmental Health 1999 (seated next to Haji Almumin andAnna Dukes) who is the Association treasurer, Adina -BSC Environmental Health 2006(seated next to John Phillips) who is the social secretary and Zul Hasan BSc Food Science2004 ( standing in the black shirt) who is the Alumni Secretary.

Did you know?UWIC has over 70Brunei studentscurrently studyinghere and we are theonly British universitythat has an officialAlumni association inthe country.

UWIC has madecontact with a numberof alumni in differentparts of the world,who wish to developtheir local alumninetworks.

The International AlumniAmbassador Programme(IAAP) has been launchedto provide a framework forvolunteers who wish toorganise local alumnigatherings.

If anyone would like tofind out more about theIAAP, check out theguidelines online atwww.uwic.ac.uk/alumnior email the Alumni Officer onalumni@uwic.ac.uk.

International AlumniAmbassador Programme

UWIC Brunei Alumni Association Annual Dinner

On a wet and windy afternoon in July, 75 members of the Class of 1969 werereunited - some for the first time in 40 years. With the main refectory lookingmuch the same as it had done 40 years ago people re-discovered their longlost friends over coffee and welsh cakes and shrieks of amazement.

A tour of the grounds revealed the many changes since 1969, prompting the obligatorycomment "I remember when all this was just fields." Taffy's Bar and the Students’ Unionbuilding were new to the group, although there had been an active Students’ Union inthe 1960s (see side panel). Other new buildings included NIAC, the Wales Sports Centrefor the Disabled, the tennis centre, swimming pool, Queenswood and Nantes.

The relentless rain failed to put a dampener on the evening reunion, which continuedwith a buffet in Taffy's Bar. The Vice-Chancellorcongratulated the group on their camaraderie of so manyyears before updating the group on some of the manychanges that had happened in the intervening 40 years.

"You'll never find another year group like this" remarkedone attendee, "we all got on, and look, after 40 years, westill do!" Many credited the closeness of their year groupto the fact that they were based in the Heath in theirsecond year. "We were in wooden huts, like army billets,and it was only us second years there, so we were veryclose" said one, while another credited the wonderfulperformances of Oklahoma and West Side Story, as wellas the end of term reviews for the tight-knit communitywhich had been formed. Some photos from the 'old days'were produced for the reunion, played as a slideshow onthe night. One lady broughtthree photo albums alongwith her, all annotated,giving everyone awonderful kick-start to thememories which cameflooding back. Carousinguntil 4am "in a quiet cornerof Cyncoed", the groupcertainly relived their long-lost youth!

Cyncoed - the old and the new...

1969 Students’ UnionPresident: Gwynn Angell JonesMale VP: Paul KeetchLady VP: Olwen WilliamsTreasurer: Dai PughSecretary: Christobel RobertsSocial Secretary: Carol ThomasWelsh Affairs Sec: Dick EvansN.U.S. Sec: Bob Hancock3rd Year Rep.: Kath Morgan

Class of ‘69 Reunion

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Above: Dinner dance at the Old Empire ballroom

Right: Images of Cyncoedfrom the 1970’s.

Left: From left to right: Paul Keetch, David WynneJones, Ron James, Hugh Jonesand Colin Harvey.

Left: Wales and Everton goalkeeper Dai Davies withNick Williams.

Left: Wales and Llanelli scrumhalf, Selwyn Williams enjoys apint with a friend.

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Above: From left to right, Mary Roach, Christabel Roberts, Glenys Roberts, Bethanne Williams and Olwen Rhys.

Above: Cyncoed’s new Campus Centre can be used for reunions.

Cyncoed’s new Campus Centre opens!

Cyncoed - the old and the new...

Left: The National IndoorAthletics Centre, NIAC.

Left: Aerial view of CyncoedCampus.

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Where are they now?

On a sunny Friday lunchtime in August I met up with Kenneth Jones, analumnus from the Heath Training College from 1957 - 59. He produced thebelow photo, with names on the back, and we’re trying to trace that wholeyear group for a reunion in 2010. So, if you were at the Heath in those years,or did the 3rd Year diploma until 1960, or if you recognise one of the un-named men in the photo, we would like to hear from you!

Back Row: M. Owen, Tony Tunstall, Alan Jones, Rod Moody, M Griffiths, Malcolm Miles,Gareth Roberts2nd Row: Dave Martin, John Ley, Barry, unnamed, unnamed, Hugh Davies, unnamed,Idwal Thomas 3rd Row: Dai Lloyd, Ifor Thomas, Derek Blake, Russell Scriven, Bryn James, Danny Prescott, Peter Haswell, E. Hughes, William BellFront Row: Unnamed, Gethin Davies, Kenneth Jones, Eric Williams, Don Williams, Dave Brown, Tony Charles, Randall Bevan [Absent: Geoff Williams, John Simon]

Class of 1959/60Where are they now?

Great Britain Women’s Basketball Point Guard andArchers Captain Stefanie Collins is one of the studentswho has benefited from a sports scholarship.Highlyrecognisable in her No. 21 vest on a Saturday afternoon inthe Archers Arena, Stef is also involved coaching childrenfrom the local community who attend the ArchersAcademy at Cyncoed in the evenings after school. "Thesports scholarship award has been extremely beneficial.With the demands placed on being an elite athlete on topof pursuing a master's degree, the scholarship has easedother areas with free access to facilities and financialsupplementation to create a great environment at UWICto enhance my learning as well as my training."

Stef was recognised for her contributions to UWIC sportwhen she picked up UWIC’s prestigious ‘SportsPersonality of the Year’ award in 2008. She joins the elitefew who have represented UWIC either on Olympic,Commonwealth or top-flight international stage - a veryfitting award for someone who as a UWIC alumni of thefuture will likely lead Great Britain in London 2012.

Howard Tear is one of the Class of 1969 donors, whoincidentally also coaches basketball. Citing his reasons togive, Howard wrote: “I’m grateful of the chance to giveback even just a small amount to the place where I spentthe happiest three years of my life.”

For more information on sports scholarships, orsupporting UWIC, please contact the DevelopmentManager on 029 2020 1590.

Sports Scholarship

Are you in the Class of 1970? Do you see a big anniversary reunion loomingnext year? Enquiries relating to anniversary reunions (25th, 30th, 50th or more!)should be directed to the alumni officer. Reunion events themselves areeasy to book - the hard work is in finding and contacting all the alumnifrom that group.

The Class of 1968 is also looking for their contemporaries for a gathering in 2010 –but we only have five names so far. We'd love to have more, so we need your help! If you, or a partner, friend, colleague or family member was a student at UWIC, or oneof our founding institutions, we would love to hear from you. For smaller groups, wecan arrange a small afternoon tour of the campus and work with you to find a suitablevenue on or off campus.

You can sign up online at uwic.ac.uk/alumni or email the Alumni Officer onalumni@uwic.ac.uk.

Alumni from theClass of 1969 havegenerously providedfunds for a sportsscholarship forstudents who startedat UWIC inSeptember.

The sports scholarshipsare awarded to studentsparticipating in anysport at National orInternational level,regardless of thesubject they study.These students aretraining and studyingfull-time, and thesescholarships provide avital source of funds.

Stefanie Collins (MA SportsDevelopment & Coaching,UWIC ArchersCaptain, GB Basketball)

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What will be your legacy?

UNIVERSITY OF WALES INSTITUTE, CARDIFF ATHROFA PRIFYSGOL CYMRU, CAERDYDD

Make a difference tofuture generations byleaving a gift in your willIf you would like to discuss any aspect ofleaving a legacy gift to UWIC, pleasecontact:

The Development ManagerUWIC FoundationCyncoed Campus, Cyncoed Road, Cardiff, CF23 6BN.

Telephone: 029 2020 1590Email: uwicfoundation@uwic.ac.ukwww.uwic.ac.uk/uwicfoundation

FOUNDATION

Next Step?

Whether you are looking for full orpart-time study, UWIC is an excellentchoice for postgraduate study. Offering a wide range of postgraduate and research opportunitiesacross five academic schools:

Cardiff School of Art & Design

Cardiff School of Education

Cardiff School of Health Sciences

Cardiff School of Management

Cardiff School of Sport

Further i nformation and full course list:uwic.ac.uk/postgraduate029 2041 6044

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