SWANSEA INSTITUTE ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

INTOUCHISSUE 8 I DECEMBER 2007

Swansea’s Metropolitan UniversityPrifysgol Fetropolitan Abertawe

A NEWUNIVERSITY

FORSWANSEA

Swansea Institute is setto become the UK’snewest university.

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Swansea Institute’s Townhill campushosted a very special reunion. 17 paststudents of the School of Educationreturned to the Townhill campus exactly50 years ago to the day on which theybegan their teacher training courses. They recalled that when they began theirstudies in 1957, it was the first year thatmen were allowed to enrol on what wasoriginally an all female course.The 50th anniversary also coincided

with the start of term for many newstudents studying on the BA PrimaryEducation course. 17 new studentsjoined the 17 past students for theiranniversary visit, to hear how thingshave changed 50 years on.The Swansea School of Education at theInstitute was established in September2004, creating one of the biggestproviders of teacher training courses inWales. However, the Institute’s

predecessorcolleges haveprovided highquality teachertraining sincebefore 1900. Rhoda Murphyand Stella Taylorstudied on theteacher trainingcourse in 1957;they said: “Weloved everyday ofour course; itwas a breath offresh air. We have

all enjoyed long and successful careers inteaching and still meet up regularly torecall on our experiences of training toteach and teaching in Swansea. “We were delighted to come back to theTownhill campus on this special day andit is a joy to see so many students stillenjoying the course, it has certainly grownand prospered since we were last here.”Ken Jones, Dean of the Faculty ofHumanities commented: “It was a truepleasure to welcome the ladies back tothe Institute. We now consider ourselvesas the home of teacher training in Walesand it’s great to see how our success hasstretched back over all these years.”Vicki Onions, a mature student who isjust starting out on the BA PrimaryEducation course, mixed with the paststudents during their visit; she added:“Although I was apprehensive at firstabout returning to education, it has beengreat to meet and chat with everyoneand to listen to their wonderfulmemories. It is very reassuring to hearhow much they loved the course andtheir careers that followed.”

Swansea Institute is proving to bepopular with older students. Recordsshow that for the 2006/7 academic year,the Institute had over 4,000 studentsover the age of twenty-one. Twelvehundred of these students were also overthe age of thirty-five. The Institute prides itself on attractingstudents of all ages and offers a wideranging portfolio of coursesencompassing full-time and part-timestudy. From HNDs and degrees topostgraduate, professional and researchqualifications, Swansea Institute boastsan eclectic mix of students. The figuresshow that higher education is not ageist.

There are students ofall ages studying forqualifications; someof them studying forenjoyment, some re-training and othersstudying to enhancetheir careers.Last year, SwanseaInstitute awardedthree septuagenarians at its annualgraduation ceremonies. Avery Stevens,Arthur Warden and Austin Leend, with acombined age of 222, graduated withhonours degrees after spending 6 yearsstudying part-time for their

qualifications. Mrs Stevens aged 71graduated with a degree in Ceramics.Mr Warden aged 77 and Mr Leend aged74 graduated with degrees inArchitectural Stained Glass.

TEACHERS PAST AND PRESENTGATHER FOR ANNIVERSARY

Swansea Institute is set to become the UK’s newest university. The Institute is seeking permission to change its name aftercompleting the required consultation exercise. The Institute, whichhas been serving the people of Swansea and the surroundingregion for more than 150 years, submitted its application forUniversity Title following the recommendation for the award ofTaught Degree Awarding Powers.“After a year-long and rigorous inspection from the QualityAssurance Agency we are now able to apply for universitytitle,” said Principal Professor David Warner.“We now wish to include ‘University’ in our title to better

reflect the status we have held for many years now. We aredelighted to be able to apply to become the UK’s newestuniversity and Swansea’s second but in fact we have a longtradition of academic excellence stretching back more than 150years. Our School of Art was established in 1853 and teachereducation in 1872.”“There has been unanimous support for ‘SwanseaMetropolitan University’.This is an exciting development not only for the Institute, butfor Swansea and the community at large,” added ProfessorWarner.

A NEW UNIVERSITYFOR SWANSEA

Counselling and Psychotherapy is emergingas one of the cutting edge Social Sciences ofthe 21st century. The newly established Centre forPsychology and Counselling will be addingto the substantial range of Counsellingmodules already being offered to includefor the first time a Certificate inCounselling skills. The Centre will bemoving forward with its aim of providing awide and diverse range of courses by

offering this practice based training withinthe Centre. The Certificate in CounsellingSkills will be available to current studentswithin the Centre and also will be offeredto students who wish to study for theCertificate on a stand alone basis. Thecourse will be offered for the first time inSeptember 2008 and take two years parttime. The course will be suitable for anyonewho is currently working or who intends towork within the field of supportive

communication andhelping, which could bea health care setting,voluntary agencies, andpersonnel departments. TheCertificate in Counselling Skills course willalso provide students with the necessarycriteria to undertake a ProfessionalCounselling Diploma qualification. It is theCentre’s aim to offer a PostgraduateDiploma in Counselling in due course.

INSTITUTE POPULAR WITHOLDER STUDENTS

EXCITING NEW COURSE ON OFFERAT THE NEW CENTRE FORPSYCHOLOGY AND COUNSELLING

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Staff and students at Swansea Institutewelcomed successful Welsh TV Star,Richard Mylan, to the TownhillCampus, as he formally launched a newcentre of learning. Richard Mylan is best known as Oliverin the hit BBC Comedy, sitcom,“Coupling”. He has also starred inpopular dramas such as Where theHeart is, Bad Girls, The Bill and MyFamily to name but a few.Richard opened the new Centre forPerformance and Literature(incorporating Film Studies) inSeptember. The Centre is one of twonew Centres at the Institute to beestablished this September, toaccommodate growing numbers ofstudents seeking to study in thesepopular areas. As well as formally launching andopening the Centre, the afternoonincluded show reels of short video clipsfrom the work of former and currentstudents, many of whom were alsopresent at the event. This landmark event gave students ofpast and present a chance to meet up

and share stories and experiences, asmany graduates have gone on to gainemployment as teachers, actors,technicians and arts and mediapractitioners in organisations includingReal Radio, the Sherman TheatreCardiff, the Taliesin Arts Centre and thePontardawe arts centre.

Dr Richard Knapp, Head of the Centrefor Performance and Literature(incorporating Film) said, “We are allthrilled Richard Mylan was able to openour new Centre, the day was amomentous occasion.”

Lloyd Rees, of the Faculty of Humanitieshas a new volume of poetry beingpublished in the Spring. It’s entitled“Simple Arithmetic”, published byCinnamon and the launch date is 23April 2008. It is his fourth volume ofpoetry and contains poems written overthe past six years or so. Lloyd said “Ithink it is my best work, but let mequote a pre-publication reviewer:” “Lloyd Rees has earned a considerablereputation over the past 15 years withthe publication of two novels (one of

which gained him a BBC Wales Writerof the Year nomination), three collectionsof verse and a play (performed duringthe UK Year of Literature). His lastcollection, Mangoes on the Moon, waspraised for its intelligence, clarity, verbaldexterity, humour and imaginativevision. These were poems of pain andyearning, the hopes and fears of daily lifeexpressed in a style totally devoid ofpretence, yet wry, subtle, rich in poeticforce. Now, with Simple Arithmetic herevisits some of his former themes with

poems about memory, the changingseasons, the ephemerality of love - theneed to struggle on despite the frailty andvulnerability of the human frame ... tocreate a more complex and emotionallytruthful world of honesty and depth.”(Alan Perry)Perry also comments on individualpoems, for instance: “The title-poem is awhimsical attempt to measure theconstituents of life - the journeys made,the miles travelled, houses lived in,cigarettes smoked, movies seen, carsowned, novels read, children fathered -the impossible aim to measure life andwith it, the worth of things” He decidesthat it is overall an impressive,emotionally powerful book whichdemonstrates Lloyd Rees’s “exceptionalversatility as a poet.”

SWANSEA STAR LAUNCHEDNEW CENTRE!

INSTITUTE POETPUBLISHES FOURTHVOLUME

Swansea Institute welcomed a largenumber of international students thisyear with a specially arranged inductionprogramme. Principal Professor DavidWarner spoke to over 100 internationalstudents at the Institute’s MountPleasant campus before the studentswere given a full programme of events. An eclectic mix of students have enrolledon a wide range of courses for the newterm and some have come from as faraway as China, India, Germany andScandinavia.The induction programme included guestspeakers who gave advice about living inSwansea and the UK; the studyingdifference between here and abroad andthe different methods of study.After a buffet lunch, the students wereshown around some of Swansea’shighlights such as Mumbles, Caswell,Langland and Rhossili. Coordinating thewelcome programme was the Institute’sPhillipa Davies, she commented: “Thestudents enjoyed the programme ofevents, especially the trip to the Gower.They also received lots of helpful

information from the Police, localbanks, and other guest speakers.”Professor David Warner told thestudents: “We hope you have anenjoyable time in Swansea, finding newfriends and networks. Many of you willbe studying in your second or even thirdlanguage which is difficult and we saluteyou. The city will be indebted to you for

your contribution. Welsh students willlearn from you as you bring the worldto Swansea, and with it, differentcultures and different ways of life.”In conclusion, Professor Warner said:“It is wonderful to see more and morestudents opting to study in Swansea.We have students studying at theInstitute from all corners of the world.”

WARM WELCOME FORINTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

NEW INTERNATIONALHEAD FOR INSTITUTESwansea Institute Senior Lecturer, Brian Griffiths has recently been appointed as the Headof the Institute’s International Office.Brian joined the Institute in 1992 as a lecturer on the Leisure and Tourism courses; sincethen he has progressed considerably and was Acting Head of the Centre of Leisure,Tourism and Sport for the last academic year.Brian brings to his new position a wealth of experience and is hoping to meet thedemands of the international student market, as he explains: “There is abig demand at the moment, especially from far eastern countries, forstudents who want degrees and masters degrees from a BritishUniversity.“I can hopefully help to satisfy that customer need by extending ourlinks in these regions. As a smaller institution, Swansea Institute isable to offer the support that overseas students can require. Wepurposely run smaller class sizes in order to improve interactionbetween lecturers and students. This can be a great benefit tostudents who struggle with the language barrier,” said Brian.

Dr Richard Knapp pictured with Richard Mylan

Principal, Professor David Warner greeting our International Students

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Swansea Institute awarded five honorary fellowships at this year’s graduation ceremony.

Joining the long list of current Institute fellows is Wales football coach John Toshack, BBC

Newsreader Huw Edwards, S4C Chef Ena Thomas, Chief Executive of the Welding Institute

(TWI) Dr Robert John and playwright and novelist Professor Bernard Knight.

Wales football coach John Toshack

joined the students on the Brangwyn

Hall stage to receive his fellowship.

Toshack will be forever remembered

in Swansea as the man who took

Swansea City from the fourth

division to the first division in four

successive seasons. During this time

he was awarded the OBE for services

to football. His successes in football

both on and off the pitch are rivaled

by few and envied by many.

Chief Executive of TWI, Dr Robert

John, received a fellowship. Robert

is one of the leading world experts

on the development of welding

consumables and welding processes

and their commercial exploitation.

He has established new technology

centres in South Yorkshire and in

South Wales.

Two of Wales’s most endearing TV personalities were

also awarded fellowships. BBC Newsreader Huw

Edwards and S4C’s Ena Thomas. Since January 2003,

Huw as been known to millions of viewers as the

presenter of the BBC’s Ten O’Clock News. Huw’s

contributions to broadcasting have not only gained him

an avid army of admirers but also led to him receiving a

number of academic distinctions from a wide range of

HE institutions.

Ena Thomas, known as the Delia Smith of Wales, was

born in Felindre, Swansea. After gaining an enviable

reputation in Welsh cuisine circles, Ena was asked to

be S4C’s resident television chef. In this role she

travelled all over Wales with rides in army tanks,

motorbike sidecars and hot air balloons amongst her

most famous roles. She has also written several books

on cookery which depict her Welsh heritage. Ena

Thomas’s son received the award on her behalf.

An honorary fellowship was awarded to novelist

and playwright Professor Bernard Knight.

Bernard’s first crime novel was published in

1963. Since then, he has written more than thirty

books. These include contemporary crime

fiction, historical novels about Wales, biography,

non-fiction popular works on forensic medicine

and twelve medico-legal text books. He is the

acclaimed author of the Crowner John Mysteries;

a series of 12th Century historical mysteries for

Simon and Schuster.

INSTITUTE HONOURSFIVE OF THE BEST

A L U M N I N E W S L E T T E R

A Surface Pattern Design student fromSwansea Institute has enjoyed multiplesuccesses recently, graduating from herdegree, scooping two awards andgaining employment with a prominentWelsh company. The work of Adele Richardson,originally from Bath, was recentlyrecognized in a competition run by theInstitute’s Creative Industries Researchand Innovation Centre (CIRIC) andbaby accessory company, Inch Blue Ltd.Students were asked to design motifs fora new range of baby shoes and createconcept sketches for a children’s book.

Adele won both competitions and hassince been offered a job with thecompany.Successful completion of the SurfacePattern Design degree at SwanseaInstitute and the competition success hasseen her join Inch Blue, carrying outdesign and illustration work for babyshoes and clothing.Institute lecturer Beate Gegenwart said:“We are delighted for Adele. She was adeserving winner of the CIRIC and InchBlue competition and she has beenrewarded with a fantastic job at asuccessful Welsh company.”

GRADUATE HAS DESIGNS ONAN INCH PERFECT CAREER

Every final year student on SwanseaInstitute’s BSc 3D Computer Animationcourse has been snapped by VFX giant,Moving Picture Company (MPC).MPC are one of the worlds leading VFXcompanies, whose film credits includethe Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter.They have also worked on commercialsfor Audi and 3 mobile phones, whilstproducing music videos for Razorlight,Basement Jaxx and the Killers.The students are Ashley Bernes fromSurrey, Adam Davis fromNottinghamshire, Ahmed Gharraphfrom Hampshire, Heather Goodenough

from Wiltshire, Liam Griffin fromWorthing and Robert Tovell fromSomerset.For his final year project, Ashley was theLead Technical Director on the recentSony Bravia TV advert, which picked upBest Commercial of the Year 2006 at theCampaign Magazine Awards. He willjoin MPC’s Commercials Section.Liam and Ahmed will start their careerson the next instalment of the Chroniclesof Narnia by CS Lewis. Following the2005 success of the The Lion the Witchand the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian is duefor release in 2008.

Adam and Robert are to become CrownTechnical Directors on another 2008release, 10,000B.C. It is a prehistoricepic that follows a young mammothhunter’s journey through unchartedterritory to secure the future of his tribe. Heather will take up the prominentposition of Associate Producer workingon both commercials and film.At the recent opening of the School ofDigital Media showcase, MPC Head ofRecruitment, Matthew Sagar said:“MPC has built up a good relationshipwith Swansea Institute and we now havemany graduates on our books.“We are confident of their abilities tothrow them in at the deep end. Last yearwe took on a Swansea Institute graduatewhose first job was working withacclaimed director Tim Burton, on amusic video for The Killers!”If you are interested in studying DigitalMedia at Swansea Institute, pleasecontact Martin Capey on 01792 481117,email enquiry@sihe.ac.uk or visitwww.sihe.ac.uk

GRADUATES LAND TOP JOBS

A husband and wife who left their life inCanada to study at Swansea Institutecelebrated their graduation success.David and Meredith White, from OntarioCanada, donned their caps and gowns toreceive a Masters Degree in Photographyfrom the Faculty of Art and Design atSwansea Institute, after two years of study. Their affinity with Wales comes fromDavid’s maternal family who, forgenerations, lived in the seaside town ofTenby, Pembrokeshire. David andMeredith, along with their six year olddaughter, have a residence in Tenbywhich they regularly visit. It was duringone of their visits to Wales that theyheard of Swansea Institute’s reputation inthe arts and decided to leave good jobs inCanada to study in Wales.“This was an excellent and fascinatingcourse and we are sad it’s over,” saidDavid. Meredith added: “We wouldcompare our experience at Swansea

Institute to agreat Indiefilm. Unlike amainstreamblockbuster,Indie films areinteresting andintimate.”Both Davidand Meredithnow havelecturing positions in the SheridanInstitute, one of Canada’s premier highereducation institutions, but will continueto visit Wales on a regular basis.Dean of Faculty of Art and Design atSwansea Institute, Professor AndreaLiggins said: “Both David and Meredithhave done really well. Meredith ismaking a big name for herself in theworld of art.”During the summer, Meredith had anexhibition in the National Portrait Gallery,

London which included the likes of worldfamous harpist, Catrin Finch. Some ofthe portraits could also be seen at theNational Museum of Wales in Cardiff.It is through my experiences at SwanseaInstitute that I have had the opportunityto exhibit in such revered galleries. MyMasters project has been received reallywell and I am currently looking atpossibilities with other galleries,” saidMeredith.

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Teacher training at Swansea Institute has come topof a poll surveying student satisfaction across theUK. The National Student Survey, undertaken bythe Higher Education Funding Council for England,showed that Swansea Institute has the most satisfiedteacher training students in the UK. The poll surveyed 148 higher education providerswho offer teacher education courses.Head of the Swansea School of Education, JohnParkinson, commented: “We are delighted to havecome top of this poll especially as it covers the wholeof the UK.”The Swansea School of Education at SwanseaInstitute is one of the largest providers of teachereducation in the UK offering a wide range of degrees,postgraduate and professional qualifications.Swansea Institute Deputy Principal, Professor KenReid said: “Teacher education programmes atSwansea Institute and Swansea University merged in2004 to create the Swansea School of Education atSwansea Institute. The Institute has since investedmillions of pounds into the refurbishment of teachereducation at the Townhill Campus. We are verypleased with the result of this poll.”

TEACHER TRAININGTOPS UK POLL

CANADIAN COUPLE A PICTUREOF SUCCESS

Are you considering setting up yourown business? Lots of our graduatesdo, especially once they have had ayear or twos’ experience. If youwould like some help and advice we’dbe pleased to hear from you. We mayeven be able to point you in thedirection of grants and other forms ofassistance, to help you get your ideaoff the ground. Alumni of the Institute can still takeadvantage of funding to help starttheir own business. TheEntrepreneurship Scholarship isavailable to alumni who havegraduated within the last three years.It offers a grant of £144 per weekpayable for up to 36 weeks. Since the

fund was launched in 2000 over 50Entrepreneurship Scholarships havebeen awarded to students fromSwansea Institute.

Help is also available under the WalesSpinout Programme which offerssuccessful applicants an interest freeloan of up to £25K. To be eligible forthe Spinout Programme there must bea link between the new company andthe HE institution. So if you’ve graduated in the last threeyears and are thinking of setting up abusiness in Wales, contact us to seehow we may be able to help you. For further information contact:

Kathryn PenalunaEnterprise Manager, Swansea InstituteMount Pleasant, Swansea SA1 6ED

Tel: 01792 481199Email: Kathryn.penaluna@sihe.ac.uk

SWANSEAINSTITUTESUPPORTINGENTERPRISE

Former Swansea Institute student MoGreen enjoyed afternoon tea with theQueen after being invited to a GardenParty at Buckingham Palace. Mo, from Port Talbot, received theinvitation in recognition of hercommunity work in the region throughthe MOre Green Re-use Re-cycleProject. MOre Green is an initiative thattakes unwanted items such as furniture,restores them and distributes them topeople in need. In addition, the projectcarries out a variety of eco basedservices and environmental workshops.Environmental Conservation graduateMo explains: “The main aim of theproject is to divert perfectly good itemsaway from the increasingly overflowingland fill sites and give them to those lessfortunate in the area.”

During her visit to the Palace, Mo andcolleague John Fry were singled out bythe Queen for an extended chat.After, a delighted Mo said:“She was really interestedin what we were doing.It was marvelous thatone individual canmake a positivedifference to theenvironment and hercommunity, and gainrecognition from theQueen.”The MOre Green Re-use Re-cycle Project has received a series ofawards in recent years including twoprestigious Green Apple Awards and aBTCV Special Achievement Award.Elizabeth May, Swansea Institute

Environment Manager and one of Mo’sformer lecturers, said: “We’re all really

proud of Mo. She startedoff recycling cans and

bottles in ourrefectory and nowis involved incommunityenvironmentalprojects inSwansea which

have gainedSwansea and UK-

wide recognition. Shestill visits the Institute and

is part of our waste committee.”

After a not so good summer this year,Wales was however Bloomin’ in theTheatr Brycheiniog, Brecon. “Bloomin’Wales” art exhibition saw an excitingand colourful display which brought thesummer back to Wales with handpainted canvases and printed textiles offlowers in bloom. The exhibition ranfrom the 9th October 2007 to5th November 2007. The artist behind the work was HelenSimons; an up and coming Welsh artistwith her sights set on interior accessoriesfor the home, which are bothfashionable and affordable. This wasHelen’s first solo exhibition and tookinspiration from nature with specific

interest in flowers. Helen explored anew modern style of painting andcreated a range of canvases that are bothstriking and contemporary. Helen had previously exhibited at TheTruman Brewery in Brick Lane, Londonand at Swansea’s Grand Theatre. Helenhas a firm background within the artsector, previously studying at SwanseaCollege and then at Swansea Institute ofHigher Education within thecontemporary applied arts sector. Shehas now come full circle and isemployed by Swansea Institute withinthe CIRIC department, which supportsartists and designers.Helen said “I have had an interest in all

aspects of art since a young age and wasvery flattered that the theatreapproached me after seeing someexamples of my work”. “As an artist, Iam constantly developing my style andexperimenting with colour.”Cathey Morgan the Education &Outreach Officer Theatr Brycheiniogsays “Helen’s designs are fresh andlively, ideal for complementing the lightof summertime and for transforming adull wintry day into a warm mellowone. Each of the canvases are handpainted with care and attention andcreates an interesting focal point in anyroom.”

QUEEN SERVES GREEN TEA

WALES BLOOMS IN ANEXCITING EXHIBITION

A former student of Swansea Institutehas shot to success since graduating in2002 and is now working as EuropeanSales Manager for the FDI Magazine,part of the Financial Times Group inLondon. Oliver Wheatley, 26, recently returned toSwansea Business School where hestudied for four years, to give a

presentation to current students abouthis role at the Financial Times.Originally from Surrey, Oliver came toSwansea Institute in 1998 to study abusiness degree and to join his olderbrother who was also studying at theInstitute. He took a year out as part ofhis course to gain some valuable work

experience beforereturning tocomplete histhird year.Oliverworked at

Marsh Inc in London, the worldsleading insurance service and riskconsulting company.Oliver stated: “I value my degree fromSwansea Institute very highly; it hashelped me considerably in establishingan excellent career.”Oliver was head hunted by the FinancialTimes whilst working in London andhas been there for the past 14 months.Oliver talked to Swansea BusinessSchool students about his role at theFinancial Times Group and some of thenew projects he is currently on includinghis new creation, the FDI Atlas.The event was organized by SwanseaBusiness School Marketing Lecturer, VicSaunders, he said: “The presentationwas fantastic and gave students a taste

of what’s to come with their careers!"Oliver commented on his return to

Swansea: “Working for a foreigninvestment journal at theFinancial Times, I instantlyrecognized a huge developmentto the city. Swansea has changeddramatically in these five shortyears. I am delighted to be backand I won’t be leaving it 5 yearsbefore my next visit.”

A Swansea Institute animation graduate has landed a key special effects rolein Hollywood’s next big budget instalment of Batman. On graduating, Jenni Eynon from Swansea will join fellow Swansea Institutegraduates who work for leading VFX company, Double Negative. Over thepast six months alone the company has worked on films such as Hot Fuzz,Casino Royale and World Trade Center, while currently working on HarryPotter and the Order of the Phoenix.Jenni said: “I’m delighted to be part of the Double Negative team, where Iwill be animating, modeling and texturing. My first project will be the nextBatman film, The Dark Night, due for release next year.” The Dark Nightsees the return of Welsh actor Christian Bale in the lead role with HeathLedger, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine also starring.

STUDENT’S RETURNPROVIDES INSPIRATION

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BATMAN CALLS FORSWANSEA ANIMATOR

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opyright: Helen Sim

ons 2007

In a performance even Lewis Hamiltonwould have been proud of, SwanseaInstitute’s Formula Student Team haveconfirmed themselves as best in Wales andtop sixteen in the world after the 2007Formula Student competition at Silverstone. Formula Student promotes careers andexcellence in engineering, by challengingstudents to design, build, develop, marketand compete as a team with a small singleseater racing car. It blends academic workand learning with the development ofpractical engineering skills.This year’s international competition sawover 70 university teams from across theworld converge onto the famous Silverstonecircuit, one week after the British GrandPrix. Each competition car was rigorouslytested in areas such as endurance, speed andbusiness viability.Swansea Institute saw off stiff competitionto be announced the best design team in the

competition, maintain its position as the topWelsh University, secure a place in the UKtop five and become sixteenth in the worldrankings.Motorsport management student and teammember, Nick Michell from Swansea said:“We were twenty-fifth in the world last yearso to break into the top twenty is great.”

The event is the biggest of its kind in theworld and is sponsored by big names in theautomotive field such as Honda F1, Shell,National Instruments and the IET.

POLE POSITION FOR INSTITUTEFORMULA STUDENT TEAM

Swansea Institute has said a fondfarewell to one of its long serving andmuch loved members of staff TonyLamb, Head of Library and LearningResources has retired after nearly 27years at the Institute.

Tony, who has always hada passion and excitementfor books, joined theInstitute back in 1980 asthe Head of Library andLearning Resources,which as he explained,was quite a different jobback then. When Tonystarted at the Institute theTownhill campus onlyoffered two degrees andthe Mount Pleasantcampus was a muchsmaller establishment and

the Dynevor campus didn’t exist. Withthe help of his supportive staff Tony wasable to help the Library and LearningResources grow as Swansea Institutegrew and prospered.

Tony said: “I have certainly seen somechanges over the years, mostly in thegrowth of my Department and indeedthe whole Institute. I’m sure there aremany more great changes ahead as theInstitute seeks to change its name toSwansea Metropolitan University. I’msorry I won’t be here to experience thatchange and I will miss the Institute andthe people greatly, but I am lookingforward to being shy and retiring asmost librarians are.” A specially arranged farewell gavemembers of staff the chance to wishTony well in his retirement, includingPrincipal Professor David Warner whodescribes Tony as: “An oasis of calm andgood judgment who will be sadlymissed.”

LIBRARIAN RETIRESTO QUIETER TIMES

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Swansea Institute business student AmyCornelius jetted off to the Big Apple ofNew York for a unique work experienceopportunity at the New York StockExchange. The Institute’s Swansea Business Schoolhad been in major talks with the NewYork Stock Exchange (NYSE) in order tosecure a unique placement for one of itsstudents.After much deliberation, Amy wasselected by NYSE for the experience, anhonour that no other UK university hasbeen afforded. 25 Swansea BusinessSchool students applied for the positionand Amy was chosen because of thequality of her CV and statement.Amy stated: “I would like to thankSwansea Institute for this fantasticopportunity along with John and DebbieBall and Owen Lewis who made thispossible.”Amy had been to New York twice beforeas part of Swansea Business School’s

annual December trip, sohad no problems finding herway around. During hertime in New York she stayednear New York Universitywithin the financial district,which ensured that sheexperienced the New Yorkstudent lifestyle.During her time at the NYSEAmy learnt about theworkings of the world’sbusiest and most liquid stockmarket and she was placedin different departments togain as much experience aspossible. She worked withspecialists and brokers andtook part in the day to dayexcitement of the stock exchange.The NYSE is the world’s busiest andmost liquid stock market and trades $1.6billion shares a day with a turnover of£33 trillion.

While in New York Amy got engaged,her boyfriend flew out and proposed toher, which she readily accepted.

Senior Lecturer Dr John Ball has developed close links with NYSE in recent years throughannual trips with his students to New York’s business and financial district. Dr Ball also attended a summer school at NYSE last year and was given the rare opportunityof ringing the bell in order for the NYSE to start trading.“We are privileged in the fact that no other university in the United Kingdom has receivedsuch an invitation,” he said.

AMY SET HERSIGHTS HIGH

BUSINESS RINGS BELLS IN THE U.S.A.

Dr John Ball of SwanseaBusiness School is picturedringing the bell at NYSElast year to start trade

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‘KEEP IN TOUCH’Letter Box Service

If you have lost touch with an old friendfrom the Institute we may be able tohelp reunite you. We will try our best toput you in touch with other graduateswith whom you have lost contact. Justforward your request to the AlumniOffice with as many details as possible(eg name, (maiden name if appropriate)subject studied, graduation year)Alternatively you can email us with yourmessage asking for it to be forwarded. All information held is in accordancewith the Data Protection Act 1998 andtherefore personal information cannotbe released without consent.

The Alumni-in-Business Project is a pilotproject seeking to develop knowledgetransfer activities with our alumnicommunities. It is a collaborativeventure between Bangor University,Aberystwyth University, and SwanseaInstitute of Higher Education. We’reaiming to identify the best ways ofengaging alumni in knowledge transferactivities and share that know-how. Each institution is hoping to build upnetworks to enable students, alumni,and academics to interact with eachother. We are particularly hoping toidentify alumni who have set up theirown businesses, and can share theirexperiences and expertise with studentswho may be interested in going intobusiness themselves. Other schemes may

include enabling alumni to accesscutting-edge technology being developedby the universities and find ways ofexploiting it commercially for theirmutual benefit. We could also tap intothe knowledge and experiences of ouralumni to help inform the research anddevelopment agendas of researchgroups.Another aim of the project is to identifymentors from the alumni bodies whowould be willing to help students, eitherto advise them on following a particularcareer path, or on practical issues ofgoing into business. Some may bewilling to offer one-to-one mentoringover a length of time, or come in onceand give a talk to a larger group ofstudents. We are interested in our

alumni whetherthey graduatedlast year, or as longas thirty years ago. We hope to build up a culturein our institutions where our alumni arerecognised as a valuable resource forenterprise and knowledge transfer, andtheir contribution valued and appreciated.This project is funded by the WelshAssembly Government and theEuropean Social Fund.For further information pleasevisit the website:

As part of the Alumni-in-Business Project Swansea Institute’s Alumni Organisationis to launch a new vibrant and dynamic website The website will enable its former students to have even more opportunity to stayin touch, access links to organizations and businesses and gain up to the minutenews and information.Numbers have grown over the past few years since the organisation was establishedwith many graduates from afar such as India, Australia, Malaysia, Greece, Finlandto name but a few. To add to the success of the Alumni organisation, through itsmailings and discounted offers, many of our former students have returned for asecond visit to further their studies in postgraduate and professional courses at theInstitute.New members can sign up to the Alumni Organisation or update their details atwww.sihe.ac.uk/alumni

ALUMNI ON THE WEB

Whether you are returning from travelling,planning a career change, considering furtherstudy or seeking a new job later in life all alumniare welcomed back by the SIHE Careers Serviceto use its facilities and expertise. We have a rangeof services and information sources to help.

Visit www.sihe.ac.ukServices for Students/Careers Service for contactdetails and further information

Careers Centre staff will be pleased to answer anyof your queries. Enquiries to careers@sihe.ac.uk

AT YOUR SERVICE...Congratulations to the Student Services Department at the Instituteon achieving the Matrix Quality Standard. The ‘Matrix Standard’ isthe unique quality framework for the effective delivery ofinformation, advice and/or guidance on learning and work and wasawarded to the whole of Student Services which covers careers,counselling, dyslexia / dyscalculia / English language / study supportand health care.

“This award recognises the high level of support provided by theteam in Student Services at a time when the widening participationprogramme creates new and demanding challenges” said CaralindaJefferies, Head of the Student Services Department.

Matrix Accreditation

REUNIONS

The Alumni Office is happy to help witharrangements for Reunions.We can assist with the mailings of anylost contacts, help with the venue,catering etc. Out of term overnightaccommodation can also be arranged atdiscount prices.If you are planning a reunion get intouch and we will give you all thesupport we can.We hope that all Swansea Institutegraduates will remain interested andinvolved in the long term developmentof the College. We welcome members’suggestions for new services andactivities. We would also like to hearfrom you with your news, achievementsand reminiscences. If you have a ‘goodstory’ to tell please let us know.

ALUMNI PILOT PROJECTAlumni-in-Business

15

www.bangor.ac.uk/alumni/KnowledgeExchangeAlan Breacher, Texas(BA Combined Studies - Graduated 1987)

“I am currently working as a cost engineer atExxonMobil Development in Houston, Texas. Mywork consists of analyzing project schedules andcreating reports for management. I also createnew project schedules and develop cost reports.I started this work earlier in 2007 after workingfor 18 years as a technical writer in the oil andgas industry, so this is a career change positionfor me. I moved to Texas in 1989 but am stillinterested in developments at SIHE. Being astudent there opened up a lot of opportunitiesfor me!”

Michael Jones, Cheshire (BSc Computing and Information Systems -Graduated 1995)

“Currently the Change, Configuration andRelease (CCR) Manager within the IT Servicesdepartment of Cheshire Constabulary, studyingfor the ITIL Manager’s Certificate in IT ServiceManagement”

Helena Ross, Berkshire (BA Architectural Glass - Graduated 2004)

“I am in the process of setting up my ownbusiness in Glass. I have been making jewellerythat I have found sells well at the craft fairs Igo to and also through wholesalers. I am alsomaking leaded glass window panels andundertook my first commission earlier this year”

Hannah Edwards, Wiltshire (HND Business and Marketing -Graduated 1998)

“I am now the Marketing Executive for Dolby.I travel internationally and manage all events,literature, partner relations for Europe”

Hayley Acreman, Newport(General Illustration - Graduated 2006)

“Working for myself as a freelance Illustrator.My first book due to be publishedSeptember/October 2007”

Eleri Richards, Neath(PGCE - Graduated 2006)

“Currently employed as Fractional Lecturer atBridgend College. Also Supply ConsultancyServices to Awarding Body as External Verifier”

Gareth Powell, Swansea (BSc Construction, Project Management -Graduated 1999)

“Regional Construction Director PersimmonHomes and Charles Church Homes (Wales).Responsible for construction of approximately1400 new homes per year throughout SouthWales.”

Teppo Kettula, Finland(MBA - Graduated 2006)

“Program Manager at Technology CentreConsulting Company”

Roger Moody, West Yorkshire (Photography in the Arts - Graduated 1996)

“Press Photographer since leaving Swansea in2005 - now freelance based in Yorkshire. Workincludes Press, PR, Arts and EventsPhotography”

Ceri-Ann Davies, Aberdare(BA Primary Education - Graduated 2002)

“Teaching Year 4/5 in SS Gabriel and RaphaelR C Primary School, Tonypandy. Loving theJob.”

Tony Barber, Carmarthenshire(Technical Illustration - Graduated 1998)

“Running Commercial Management Consultancyand Interior Design and Manufacturing Company”

George Henry, Arkansas (Transport Management - Graduated 2005)

“Operations Manager for Transplace, out ofDallas Texas. Budget of approximately $100million per annum”

Philip Jones, Pontypridd (M A Education - Graduated 2003)

“Headteacher at Heolddu Comprehensive School,Bargoed.”

Tuomas Petelius, Finland (BA General Illustration - Graduated 2005)

“I work as General Country Manager for aEuropean-wide printing concern, Finnish Branchin Helsinki, Finland”

Kelly O’Mahony, Sydney (BA Tourism Management - Graduated 2003)

“I have been working and living in Australia sinceApril 2005, working as an account manager for anevents and promotional agency in Sydney”

Where are you now?

Where are you now?If you would like to be included inthe next issue of Intouch pleaseprovide details about what you aredoing now via the Websitewww.sihe.ac.uk/alumni underUpdate your Details or email directto alumni@sihe.ac.uk

Contact: Julie Reed,Alumni Co-ordinator,Telephone/Fax: 01792 481217E-mail: j.reed@sihe.ac.uk

INTOUCHISSUE 8 I DECEMBER 2007

DON’T FORGET THE ALUMNI GOODIESAs a member of the alumni organisation you will be able to use the following facilities and services free of charge:● Use the Institute Libraries for reference purposes.● Use the Townhill Fitness Centre - so long as we have space!● Have continuing Careers counselling, find out about job opportunities throughout Wales and the rest of the UK,

and use the Careers ICT Service.● Get the latest information about Institute Bursaries and Scholarships● Use our student accommodation, when available at low, low rates.● Use the Institute’s conference, catering and other facilities for your events at reduced rates.● Gain the latest information about business incentives in South West Wales● Intellectual Property Rights Advisory Service

Swansea’s Metropolitan UniversityPrifysgol Fetropolitan Abertawe

The annual graduate destinationsurvey (DLHE) is an anonymisedsurvey undertaken by SIHE CareerService on behalf of the HigherEducation Statistical Agency(HESA) which is a governmentagency. HESA collects informationfrom HEIs in the UK at the requestof organisations such asGovernment Departments andResearch Councils (RCs). The DLHE survey asks graduatesabout their current activity sixmonths after graduation, whetherit be employment (and what typeof employment), further study,looking for work, travelling orunemployment. The information you provide helpsinform researchers, teachers oradvisers with responsibility forcareers guidance, young peopleconsidering higher education as anoption or parents concerned abouttheir child’s future prospects. The questionnaire should only takea few minutes to complete. Pleasehelp us by returning it as soon aspossible.N.B. Further information can befound in ‘What Do Graduates Do?online at:www.prospects.ac.uk/links/wdgd

DID YOUGRADUATEIN 2007?

NO FEES FOR THE UNWAGEDPart-time students who do not receive a wage or salarywill have their tuition fees waived. It is this group whoneed most help to enter the job market with recognisedqualifications behind them and this initiative is aimed attaking some of the worry away from students who justdon’t have the money to spare.

You will however, be liable to pay registration fees orcharges for facilities, equipment and materials, residential courses and weekend elements,where these are requirements of the programme.

OTHER HELP WITH FEESThere are some other ways in which you can get help with the costs of your course.

SPONSORED BY YOUR EMPLOYERA letter of authorisation is required, if a student is being sponsored by their employer.The letter should state that the company is liable for payment of tuition fees for theacademic period with the correct company address and department, contact name andtelephone number for invoice purposes. If a sponsor letter is not presented on enrolment,then the student will be liable for payment of fees.

HE GRANTThe Government will pay a contribution towards your fees and also provide studentswith a grant towards course costs. This grant is means tested. Contact your LocalEducation Authority for application forms. Part-time students have to be studying for aset number of credits per year to be eligible.

FREE TUITIONPart-time courses are free for students who are also registered on full-time courses at theInstitute.

HELP WITH SPREADING THE COSTFor those who have to pay we give as much help spreading the cost as possible,including: Some fees may be paid by instalments please ask for details.

FINANCIAL CONTINGENCY FUNDING AVAILABLESome funding is available from the Institute for those who may not be able to continuewith their full or part-time course because they are facing some form of financialhardship. Application forms are available from the Reception areas in the Institute.Part-time students have to be studying for a set number of credits per year to be eligiblefor funding.

PART-TIME FEES - SPECIAL OFFERS