express april 2009

February 2009 | Issue 1

One WOrld WeekThe review

“I am Brunel”sTaFF exhIbITIon

rae 2008a brunel success sTory?

WelcOme tO expressThe new sTaFF and sTudenT magazIne

132181 Express Magazine A4 16pg.indd 1 20/2/09 16:47:28

P14

P4-6 News Round-up

P7 The NSS: Be Heard

What the NSS is all about

and why it’s so important

for Brunel

P8 One World Week

This Year’s One World

Week kicked off with a

jam‑packed schedule of

exhibitions, music, film,

food and fun!

P10 “I am Brunel” Sally Trussler’s first

exhibition captures the real

diversity existing within our

own staff community

P12 The RAE: A Brunel Success Story?

Following the initial flurry

of activity prompted by the

results in December 2008,

what does the RAE2008

mean for the University?

P14 Scope for Change

Web Manager and Project

Leader Gareth Jones keeps

us informed about all the

latest developments with

Brunel’s Web Scoping

Review

creditsExpress is available to read on our website at: www.brunel.ac.uk/news/express

We’d love to hear from you with ideas for news items, stories or features, as well as any feedback. Please email your ideas or comments to [email protected]

Brunel Publications Editor: Jo Dooher Tel: ext 65154 Email: [email protected]

Photography: Sally Trussler Neil Graveney Andrew Hill

Print: Brunel University Press

Front Cover: Fire Jugglers from One World Week

P8

brunel express | Issue 1 |

P10

P12



The guest Foreword Professor Rob Macredie, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience)

It’s that time of year again: the National Student Survey (NSS) is well under

way and is recording student opinions and experiences from across the

country. The NSS is a vitally important process for Brunel and it’s relevant to

each and every one of us – this is by no means just about the students.

On the surface it may seem that its main impact is on how well we do in the

major national league tables. And, of course, we all know the NSS results

can make a big difference to these. From my perspective, however, the most

important aspect of the NSS is its impact on the experience for students here

at Brunel. We use these results as one of the benchmarks for how effective

we are at providing a quality student experience, whether it’s the feedback

students receive from their tutors, or the quality and relevance of their course

content.

Positive feedback lets us know where we’re performing well, while negative

feedback informs us where we need to build and make improvements. This is

why it’s so important that as many students as possible take a few moments

to express their attitudes towards Brunel – good and bad – and fill out the

survey (see page 7 for more information on how to do this).

Staff should get involved too – the more you can engage with what makes

for a high quality student experience, the easier it will become to achieve this.

WElCOmE TO

The brunel news magazine for staff and students

Welcome to the first edition of Express, the replacement for the long‑standing Brunel News.

Express offers something a little bit different from the old newsletter: the main focus will be

on the big themes and issues surrounding working and studying at Brunel, so you can expect

to see lots more in‑depth features and interviews, as well as a round‑up of the latest news

and events happenings.

Express aims to reflect the Brunel community as much as possible, and it’s just as much for

students as it is for staff. We plan to include more student‑themed content as the magazine

develops, so if you’re a student and you’ve a great idea for an article, please do get in touch.

The magazine will be published once every two months, instead of monthly; in between

issues, you can find up‑to‑the‑minute news and events on the IntraBrunel news portal. You

will be able to find Express around the University in many of the communal areas, including

Café Rococo, the Lecture Centre, the Senior Common Room and the Students’ Union.

We hope you enjoy the new style – if you have any ideas or comments, don’t hesitate to

get in touch.

February 2009 | Issue 1

One WOrld WeekThe review

“I am Brunel”sTaFF exhIbITIon

rae 2008a brunel success sTory?

WelcOme tO expressThe new sTaFF and sTudenT magazIne


Jo dooher, editor


One World Week returned this year, bigger, better

and bolder than ever. The Week, which celebrates

the diverse and multicultural community that Brunel

enjoys, featured everything from flamenco dancers

and stunt bikers, to international food stalls and

a perimeter road race. Even senior management

got involved, in several TV-themed challenges:

Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Jenks and Pro-Vice-

Chancellor Professor Rob Macredie cooked up a

storm in the Ready Steady Cook-off, while Pro-Vice-

Chancellor Ken Darby-Dowman bravely participated

in a ‘mouthwatering’ Bush Tucker Trial. For a full

review of the Week, turn to page 8…

one world week:

‘One World, One Brunel’

march 2009 sees the launch of brunel’s first ever Public lecture series: six high profile, yet accessible, evening lectures focused on the themes surrounding the notions of ‘exploring Tomorrow’s world’.

The Series gives the

University the opportunity

to opens its doors to

students, staff, local

community and the

public at large, as well

as providing an occasion

for some of our leading

academics to open up

their exciting, thought-

provoking and sometimes

controversial ideas to a

wider audience.

With each evening taking

a different theme, three

leading experts will

have 20 minutes each

to present their distinct,



puBlIc lecture serIes:

Exploring Tomorrow’s

WorldFamous for his TV series The Great Egg Race and for

turning on a whole generation to the possibilities of

science and technology, Brunel’s Emeritus Professor

of Engineering Heinz Wolff has now put his name

to a physics-based computer game for the Nintendo

DS, Wii and PC.

The eponymously titled Professor Heinz Wolff’s

Gravity is a game with a simple task: to manipulate

objects, build structures and use the laws of

physics – including, of course, gravity – to complete

each of over 100 tasks. An animated Professor

Wolff also pops up during the game with hints

and tips to help you progress through the

increasingly complex levels.

“I like being associated with Gravity, because rather

than promoting violence or putting a premium

on quick reactions, it teaches you mechanics and

physics, makes you think, whilst being fun to play

and is attractive to an age range from 5 to 80 and

beyond,” said Professor Wolff. “Getting children

to think, instead of just reacting, must be a good

thing.”

Profits from the game, which

is launched on 6 March, will

go towards Professor Wolff’s

current research project into

improving the quality of life

of old people through the

application of technology.

Heinz Wolff launches GravIty: The game

Images Courtesy of Deep Silver

and distinctive, insights

into some of the most

fascinating issues of

our time. Key speakers

include performance artist

Stelarc, Heinz Wolff, Fay

Weldon, Vice-Chancellor

Chris Jenks, and cult film

expert Xavier Mendik.

The lectures will revolve

around the

following themes:

• Politics,HumanRightsand the Spectre of Terrorism

• InventingtheFuture

• BigScienceandSmallScience

• ExplosiveFusionsofArtand Science

• SexandtheCiti-zen

• UtopiasandMonsters

The lectures are free and

will run throughout March

intheNewtonRooms.

Everyone is welcome to

attend and no booking is

required; a bar will also

be open for refreshments.

For more information visit

the Public Lecture Series

website, or see the back

cover of Express.

www.brunel.ac.uk/

lectureseries


Photo: Stelarc, ViSiting Brunel ProfeSSor


Brunel study links pollution

with male fertility problems

A study led by the Institute for the

Environment’s Dr Susan Jobling

shows for the first time how

testosterone‑blocking chemicals

are finding their way into UK rivers,

affecting wildlife and potentially

humans.

The study identified a group

of chemicals that act as ‘anti‑

androgens’, meaning they

inhibit the function of the

male hormone testosterone,

reducing male fertility. Some

of these are contained

in cancer treatments,

pharmaceutical treatments, and

pesticides used in agriculture. The

research suggests that when they

get into the water system, these

chemicals may play a pivotal role

in causing feminising effects in

male fish.

£1.6 million project to

tackle ageing taboos

The Brunel Institute for Ageing

Studies (BIAS) is leading a three‑

year project to find ways to

reduce the impact of continence

difficulties for older people, one

of the least socially accepted signs

of ageing. The project will address

treatment, environmental barriers

and assistive technologies, with the

aim of improving the quality of life

for older people. The research will

be carried out by a syndicate of

universities and research institutes

across the UK.

Graduate receives the

Military Cross

Major Alex Burgess, a Business

Studies and Sports Science graduate,

has been awarded the Military Cross

for “inspired leadership” during

a fierce battle in Iraq in 2004. A

Lieutenant at the time, Alex’s

medal citation stated: “His

determination, calm presence

and inspired leadership

allowed those around him to

fight off a numerically superior

enemy in what was a very

confusing and intense battle…

His swift, courageous actions

in hostile circumstances [throughout

the Iraq tour] have saved lives and

been an example to his platoon.”

Talking about receiving the top

military award, Major Burgess said he

was “very chuffed but a bit shocked

and surprised.” He

is now on tour in

Afghanistan.

Brunel Central Archive wins

international accolade

The University has been awarded

the 2008 HP Software Award of

Excellence for its deployment of the

Brunel Central Archive (BCA) for

staff electronic mail. The judges were

particularly impressed by how the

BCA formed a key component of the

University’s information management.

This sizeable achievement was

announced in December at HP’s

Software Universe conference in

Vienna and was officially awarded at

a ceremony at Brunel in February.

Arts Centre star secures spot on

prestigious opera course

Ross Ramgobin, a Music Award

holder and English and Drama

graduate, is celebrating his

acceptance onto two of the world’s

most prestigious postgraduate Opera

courses. The Royal Academy of

Music and the Royal College of Music

have invited him to join their 2009

postgraduate Opera intake, with the

RAM also offering him a scholarship.

Both courses are

exceptionally

competitive

and have

produced

many of the

world’s finest

operatic

singers.

News in Brief




If you’re a final year student, no doubt you will have an opinion about your experience of studying at Brunel: the lecturers, the course content, the support, things you like and enjoy and things that frustrate you. The NSS gives you a chance to express your views on key aspects of your experience. It is an important way of gauging student perceptions at Brunel and other universities across the country. Brunel can also use the results to understand which areas work well and how it can make improvements to the experiences of the students who will follow you.

If you are eligible to take part, you should already have been contacted by Ipsos MORI, the company that independently administers the NSS, with details of how to participate. If you haven’t done so already, we strongly encourage you to take part, make your voice heard and help make a difference for future students. We would like as many of our eligible students as possible to complete the survey so we can gain an accurate picture of your perceptions of life at Brunel.

The survey is open for eight weeks and will take around five minutes of your time. All those who take part will be entered into a prize draw, with Amazon vouchers for the six winners.

You can participate, and read more about the survey, at www.thestudentsurvey.com.

How have we fared previously?

Our students’ responses have indicated that we’ve improved each year that the NSS has been running, with higher scores registered in every category. What’s more, over seven out of ten of our students rated Brunel four or five out of five in last year’s survey. Yet there’s a lot of room for improvement and the University is lower in the rankings than we would like to be.

Pro‑Vice‑Chancellor for the Student Experience, Professor Rob Macredie, is leading the University’s Student Experience project, and has initiated many of the improvements that students – and staff – now enjoy: “We want to provide the best student experience possible and there’s a fair way to go before we reach that target. We have spent a lot of time and effort working with students and staff to improve the campus environment, study support, social amenities and the learning and teaching opportunities, and we hope those changes are apparent.”

If you have any questions for Professor Macredie, or would like to give feedback directly to Brunel, please contact [email protected].

www.thestudentsurvey.com

With the fifth National Student Survey (NSS) now under way, final-year Home and EU undergraduates have the perfect opportunity to make their voices heard about their time at Brunel.

The National Student Survey


1

3

2

One World Week

kicked off this year

with a jam-packed

schedule of activities,

exhibitions, music,

art, food and sheer,

good-natured fun.

Here’s a short

round-up of some

of this year’s

highlights.



45

1 2

3

4

5

One World Week

Vice‑Chancellor Professor Chris Jenks and Pro‑Vice‑

Chancellor Professor Rob Macredie swapped academia

for aprons on the Monday, in the much‑anticipated

Ready Steady Cook event. Armed with bags of food,

a well‑stocked kitchen and student assistants, Athena

and Goldbert, they had 20 minutes in which to

produce the most impressive dishes.

The two had the same ingredients to work with:

chicken, tagliatelle, mango, chocolate, mozzarella

and pak choi. Rob Macredie, who claimed that he

makes “a great beans on toast”, appeared to take

the early advantage when his suggested menu drew

appreciative “Ooohs” from the crowd. However, the

contest started to slip from his grasp when he set off

the fire alarm while ‘caramelising’ the mango!

Professor Chris Jenks, the self‑proclaimed

“accomplished cook”, looked a touch apprehensive at

the start, but grew in confidence throughout to steal

the prize by a narrow 24 points to 21 in the audience

vote. Following his triumph, The Vice‑Chancellor

summed up the unique event: “The international

flavour of One World Week was certainly reflected in

the international flavour of the food. I enjoyed it very

much and will definitely take part again next year.”

He set off the fire alarm while ‘caramelising’ the mango

“ “

Ready Steady Cook – VC vs PVC Ingredients: two members of senior management,

a fascinated audience and a healthy dose of

competition…


Chinese New Year Monday’s traditional Lion dance celebrated

the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Ox.

Other events included a tea party and Chinese

film showings.

Stunt Bikes Two British stunt-biking champions kept

the crowds entertained with a series

of heart-stopping stunts and tricks,

with braver members of the audience

encouraged to try it out for themselves.

Food, food and more food

The international food stalls in the Atrium

were a huge hit, with the delicious dishes sold

out before the end of lunch. The Foodhall’s

international fare was also as popular as ever.

Decorate your Office Competition

Brunel International won this year’s

contest, after persuading Professor Ken

Darby-Dowman to eat ‘kangeroo testicles’

in the Bushtucker trial. He described them as

tasting suspiciously “like lychees”!


“I am BRUNEl”

On the opening day of One World

Week, the Arts Centre launched

“I am Brunel”, an exhibition of Brunel

staff, taken by our own photographer,

Sally Trussler.

The exhibition captures just 60

of the 3,000 staff on campus, yet

powerfully illustrates the diversity of

the community. Placed side by side,

the network of images represents the

reliance we all have upon each other.

Sally’s experiences at Brunel helped

shape her ideas: “As University

Photographer I have visited most

departments across campus, allowing

me to have an insight into the

backgrounds and locations that could

be used to illustrate Brunel working life.

“My aim was to photograph individuals

from a wide range of departments in a

work-related environment. To illustrate

this exciting diversity I used varying

angles of view, ambient lighting and

flash, and a mix of monochrome and

colour.”

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Staff Development)

and advocate of the exhibition,

Professor Ken Darby-Dowman, said:

“The people in the photos all have one

thing in common: they work at Brunel,

they enable the University to function

and they all contribute to fulfilling

our vision. They are Brunel University!

Every time I look at the exhibition I

find there is something new to see. The

photographs provide a powerful image

of the Brunel community and will

command great interest for some time

to come.”

The exhibition will be on display in the Arts Centre for the next few months.

Every time I look at the exhibition I find something new to see

“ “


The Brunel Photographer’s first exhibition captures the real

diversity existing within our own staff community.

Photos L-R, t-B: Parmajeet, emma, Bukola, graham, helen, chriS, mike, Bridget, Peter, george, neil, Yu.


THE RAE: a brunel success sTory?

82% of staff are conducting research

of international standing

10% of staff are rated as ‘world-leading’

37thintheUKintermsof‘ResearchPower’

229 staff rated ‘World-Leading’ (4*)

or ‘Internationally Excellent’ (3*)

21% ofstaffclassedasEarlyCareerResearchers

9 th in the UK in terms of increase in staff submitted

and one of only two in top 10 that were not

RussellGroupuniversities

Our performance: the highlights



For the uninitiated, the RAE (Research Assessment Exercise) 2008 is an exercise to measure the level of research excellence within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Once measured, the results are used to determine how much funding each HEI will get from HEFCE for research over the following seven years.

Although we achieved some solid results in the last RAE in 2001, Brunel’s aim this time round was to improve on its national research standing and emerge as one of the UK’s leading research universities. To achieve this, the University submitted more staff, more Early Career Researchers and more research outputs to more RAE Units of Assessment than ever before.

And it seems that the approach has paid off. Of the 87% of eligible staff Brunel submitted, 82% were rated as conducting research of an international standing. Even more impressively, 10% were rated as conducting ‘world‑leading’ research, the highest possible standard.

Where this placed Brunel in the league tables was, however, open to much interpretation. Because we submitted a higher percentage of staff than the average HEI and didn’t cherry‑pick just the top academics, any ranking system based on the Grade Point Average (calculated by assigning points to each of the grade levels and multiplying them by the proportion of research activity at each grade) suggested Brunel had dropped around 10 places to 63rd place overall. The Times Higher Education and The Guardian both used this method initially.

However, this approach did not allow for the quantity of research excellence, also known as the ‘market share’, which takes into account the number of staff submitted and gives a much clearer idea of who the winners might be once the funding levels are announced. This system, known as the Research Power Ranking, shows Brunel as having risen 10 places to 37th overall, ahead of institutions such as Royal Holloway, SOAS and Goldsmiths. This ranking method has since become the general favourite among universities and the media.

Of course, neither of the league table interpretations guarantees that we will receive an increased level of funding – these are not official RAE rankings, for a start – but they do provide a strong indication that we might. The notion that we stand to benefit is further strengthened by HEFCE’s assertion that they will “reward research excellence wherever it is found”, rather than focusing funding on only the Russell Group universities, who have traditionally won the lion’s share of RAE funding (this also explains the level of concern voiced in the press by those who may stand to lose). Nonetheless, the Vice‑Chancellor Professor Chris Jenks, during his most recent staff talk, tempered expectations by pointing out that although Brunel has performed as anticipated, the level of funding we receive “won’t be a tsunami of luxury”.

We will have a much clearer picture in early March when the funding figures are finally released. But whatever the outcome, we can be sure that Brunel is in an excellent position to make the most of the funding it receives and to continue building on the strong research base already in place.

The arrival of the RAE2008 results in December prompted a flurry of

data, statistics and league tables in the national and education press.

But with every university able to claim some sort of success from the

vast range of interpretations, what does the RAE really mean for Brunel?

Arts 15-fold increase in the number of staff submitted

Business 10% of staff ranked as ‘world-leading’ (4*)

LAw 50% of staff ranked as internationally excellent (4-3*)

engineering And design 95% of staff of an

international standard (4-2*)

HeALtH sciences And sociAL cAre 75% increase in

the number of staff submitted

siscMRankedtopinthecountry,bymarketshare,

in the Library and Information Management Unit

of Assessment

sociAL sciences Twice the number of staff ranked

‘internationally excellent’ (4-3*) compared with 2001

sport And educAtion 30 staff working at an

international standard (4-2*), and 8th in UK by

Market Share.

School highlights



Why are we conducting the review?

Like it or loathe it, the world wide web is now a constant

presence in our lives. Email, instant messaging and Skype

are taking over traditional face‑to‑face meetings and phone

conversations; Google and Wikipedia are the encyclopaedias of

our age; and social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo

are today’s meeting grounds.

The first contact with Brunel for most people is our website, yet,

in the context of the ever‑changing web environment, the current

incarnation of the site was launched an age ago in Easter 2005.

Whilst there has been some evolution over the last few years,

there has been no systematic review of what we use the web for,

what functionality is required on the Brunel websites, and what

direction the University wants its websites to go in.

Feedback so far

We set out to consult as widely as possible with staff and students

through a variety of methods: one‑2‑one interviews with key

stakeholders, focus‑group sessions with targeted user groups;

blogs on our project website; and a short questionnaire.

The response has been great and thanks to all those who have

so far taken part – your feedback will be vital in plotting a route

forward. Over 120 people attended the face‑to‑face interviews

and focus‑group sessions, and we received some 1,000 completed

questionnaires, as well as comments via the website and email.

Although we are still working through the data, some trends are

already apparent, and common requests include:

• Trainingandhelpavailableonline,aswellasacentral

point of contact for errors and omissions;

• Asimplifiedmethodofupdatingwebpages;

• Aworkingsearchengine;

• Moreintuitivenavigationto,andlocationof,content

across all the sites;

• Singlestorageforstudent/staffcontent.

A wider issue that has been highlighted is that our web

presence is divided across a number of different platforms,

leading to confusion as to which site should be used for which

purpose and, perhaps more importantly, which login ID and

passwords to use for each site. On top of the external website

and the intranet, we have IntraBrunel, eVision, u‑Link, webmail,

Library catalogues, School intranets, and the Computer Centre

trial SharePoint site. Providing a clearer approach as to what

information is accessed where is perhaps the key requirement

for our future web provision.

What else does the review cover?

As the University’s web presence is divided across a series of

platforms, the Computer Centre has to support several sets of

server infrastructure. To resolve this, it is logical that the review

also forms part of the wider University value‑for‑money (VfM)

review of IT support services, which is examining whether or not

our IT services are being used in the most efficient manner.

In addition, more data than ever before is accessed via web

browsers, and so creating a divide between what is “web”

content and what is electronic information is artificial and

counter‑productive. Therefore the scope of the project has

broadened out into an examination of how information is

managed and accessed via the internet.

SCOPE fOR CHANgE: The brunel websITe revIew

Over the last four months the University has been conducting an in-depth

review of its external and internal websites to discover how, why and what

we currently use these sites for, and what people want from them in the future.

The project leader, gareth Jones, fills us in on the latest developments.



About the review

The review is sponsored by Paul Thomas, Director of

Resources and Operations, and Andrew Kershaw,

Director of External Affairs. The Publications Unit (as

key content editors) and the Computer Centre (as key

technical support) were heavily involved in establishing

the project parameters and objectives. Our external

partners, MFG, were brought in to provide expertise in

the gathering and analysing of market research and user

requirements, the review of information architecture,

and guidance on web and CMS infrastructure.

The review began in November 2008 and runs until the

end of February 2009. The final report will be delivered

in March and will outline three potential routes

forward for the University, mapping out each of their

indicative costs, timescales and resource requirement.

Recommendations will be presented to senior

management before Easter and we hope to be able

to provide an update on the direction of Brunel’s web

services soon after.

The next step?

This scoping project is just the first step towards

introducing major changes to the University’s web

provision, and not an end in itself. We have been

delighted with the Brunel community’s level of

involvement so far: regardless of the direction in

which we move, we hope to keep this process of

engagement and consultation going.

The project website will remain live, so please refer to

it for the most up‑to‑date information.

For more information:

Please contact the Project Manager or

visit the review website:

[email protected] (Project Manager)

https://moss.brunel.ac.uk/sitedirectory/scoping

ProJecT aIms and obJecTIvesThe general aims of the Scoping Review are to:

• Rationaliseourapproachtoproducing web content;

• Produceanintegratedinformationarchitecture;

• Reducetheinfrastructureandtrainingburden, and;

• Future-proofourwebprovisionforthe next 5-7 years.

The University has already highlighted the need for specific activities and actions to support the Brunel Strategic Plan. These include:

• Developaweb-baseddirectory of expertise;

• Utilisenewmediatopromote research activity;

• DevelopaWeb2.0corporatewebsitetoattract high quality students and partners;

• DevelopaWeb2.0corporatewebsite to compete globally;

• Enhanceourwebsiteforbusinessusers.



Public Lecture

Series 2009Exploring Tomorrow’s World

the big ideas, issues and technologies that will shape the future

Booking and TimesAll lectures are free and start at 7pm. Doors and bar open from 6.30pm. No booking necessary – just turn up.

Lecture DetailsThree renowned speakers present for 20 minutes, followed by audience questions. See: www.brunel.ac.uk/lectureseries

VenueBrunel University, in the Newton Room, Hamilton Centre.

ParkingFree from 5pm. Enter via Kingston Lane entrance, press for security at barriers, then park in a bay with a red dot.

How to Find UsFor maps and travel information: www.brunel.ac.uk/about/where

Politics, Human Rights and the Spectre of Terrorism - Law, Democracy and the Media

10 March 2009 at 7pm

Big Science and Small Science - Principles, Particles and People


Sex and the Citi-zen - Sexuality in Contemporary Novels, Films and Videogames

24 March 2009 at 7pm (Unsuitable for Under 18s)

Inventing the Future - Conceiving New Products, Worlds and Lifestyles


Explosive Fusions of Art and Science - Revolutionary Directions in Technological Arts and Performance 19 March 2009 at 7pm (This event may include some disturbing images)

Utopias and Monsters - Visions of Future Human and Social Evolution


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express april 2009

Documents

brunel p8

brunel good

longstanding brunel

brunel success story

brunel sally trusslers

nss results

edition of express

national student survey