CITY NEWS

In this edition of City Newsread about our latestresearch, exciting newdevelopments and learnhow changes to ouracademic staff profile willhelp City achieve its Vision.We also have details aboutour upcoming relocationactivities, the Careersservice’s support foracademics and much more.

February 2012 | issue 06

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Academics from City’s Centre for Food Policy are calling for moreGovernment support for cooking skills initiatives, based onfindings from their study of the ‘Can Cook’ social enterprise inLiverpool.‘Can Cook’ encompasses a range of activities aimed at improving cookingskills including cooking classes for adults and school pupils and a regionalsecondary school competition.

The Centre for Food Policy study showed that benefits arising fromparticipation in Can Cook included: increases in vegetable and fruitconsumption; better knowledge about healthy eating and cookingtechniques; confidence in handling and preparing food; and exposure tonew food and tastes.

Professor Martin Caraher, from the Centre for Food Policy, said: "One of thekey influences on decisions related to food choice and subsequent healthstatus is that when people are less exposed to situations where they cangain or learn cooking skills – they become isolated from food.

“With cooking classes in schools declining, this research shows that thereis a need for the Government to ensure that cooking skills are still on theagenda and delivered in multiple settings.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

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Scholarships eveningThe Development and Alumni RelationsOffice recently hosted its fourth AnnualScholarships and Prizes Awards Evening,recognising students of outstanding ability.City was supported by institutions, charitablefoundations, Livery Companies andindividual donors.

Susan Nashjoins CHULProfessor Nash, Dean ofthe City Law School,has been elected to theExecutive of theCommittee of Heads ofUniversity Law Schools(CHUL). Her three-year

tenure representing pre-1992 universitiesbegan on 1 February.

Academic in residenceProfessor Martin Caraher has been awardeda fellowship as academic in residence atDeakin University in Australia. He will workwith its Food Policy Unit and the WorldHealth Organisation Collaboration Centre toanalyse regional developments in the stateof Victoria and Australian government foodpolicy interventions.

Putting cooking skills onthe health agenda

About City NewsCity News is produced for Universitystaff each month by Marketing andCommunications.

If you have any feedback on themagazine or suggestions for content infuture issues, please email:christopher.leonard.1@city.ac.uk

2012 relocation changesThis year will be one of accommodation changes for many Schoolsand Professional Services through the Northampton SquareEducation Projects.A large component is the fit-out and occupation of premises at Myddelton

Street (pictured). Other significant developments include:

• April: The Law Library temporarily relocates to The Pool (CollegeBuilding) and construction begins on a new entrance and receptionarea to the Social Sciences building.

• May: A series of office relocations begins with Property and Facilitiesmoving into Myddelton Street, followed by Information Services,Human Resources and Finance.

• June-July: Divisions in the School of Health Sciences begin relocating toMyddelton Street and West Smithfield.

• August: Work begins on new offices for The City Law School in theInnovation Centre.

• December: The City Law School moves to its new home, joined by theLaw Library.

Benefits of the works in and around Northampton Square include morecollaboration opportunities for staff and better connectivity betweenstudent-facing services and learning spaces.

Project teams are working on these projects and affected staff will besupported through the changes. We will have more details in a forthcomingedition of City News.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

www.city.ac.uk/staff

New City Pro-Chancellor Committee successProfessor Kevin Jones has been elected tothe UK Computing Research Committee, apanel of academic and industry luminariesassembled by The Institution of Engineeringand Technology and BCS, The CharteredInstitute for IT.

New journalism head Professor Suzanne Franks has joined theDepartment of Journalism as Head ofUndergraduate Journalism. Previously aproducer of BBC factual programmes, shewas most recently Director of Research inthe Centre for Journalism at the Universityof Kent.

Professor Maurice JaswonProfessor Maurice Jaswon, Head ofMathematics at City for more than 20 years,died in November aged 89. Professor Jaswondeveloped the boundary element methodwhich helped improve aircraft safety, mobilephone reception and noise reduction in cars.He retired from City in 1987.

BBC drama advisorAmanda Hutcherson, Lecturer in the Schoolof Health Sciences Early Years Division, wasadvisor to the recent BBC drama series Callthe Midwife.

Council held a dinner in the Great Hall in January to bid farewellto outgoing Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council The Hon ApurvBagri. He is succeeded by our new Pro-Chancellor and Chair ofCouncil, Rob Woodward.Mr Bagri (pictured right) stepped down having served the normal nine-year appointment term for Council members.

Mr Woodward (pictured left) has been a member of Council since 2006and Deputy Pro-Chancellor since 2009. He is currently CEO of theScottish Television (STV) Group and has previously held senior roles inUBS, Deloitte and Channel 4. He is a Council member of the NationalYouth Theatre and a trustee of the National Endowment for Science,Technology and the Arts.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Curran said: "I am delighted that RobWoodward has agreed to become Pro-Chancellor and Chair of City’sCouncil. He has been an excellent Deputy Pro-Chancellor and is anenthusiastic supporter of the academic direction we are now taking.”

January graduationsCity returned to the Guildhall for its January graduationceremonies, after a brief hiatus at the Barbican lastsummer.City’s prestigious Honorary Graduands were Ronald Sandler CBE,in recognition of his contribution to financial services; Lord Currieof Marylebone, founding Chairman of Ofcom and formerly Dean ofCass Business School; and the Rt Hon The Lord Mayor AldermanDavid Wootton.

Rob Gratton, graduating with a Masters in Air Safety Management,gave one of the student graduation speeches and touched on how,despite his 21 years’ experience as an air traffic controller in theRoyal Air Force he developed a great deal both professionally andpersonally during his studies at City.

Rob is currently involved in establishing airspace restrictions for theLondon 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

You may have seenpublicity for our surveyseason encompassingCity’s ‘Your Voice’ studentsurveys, the NationalStudent Survey and thePostgraduate TaughtExperience Survey.

Academic staff have beenasked to remind students toparticipate in theseimportant surveys, whosefindings will help to identifywhat is going well or not so

well and, in turn, help the University to improve the student experience.

Surveys are accessible online at: www.city.ac.uk/surveys2012

Student survey season

NEWS IN BRIEF

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Careers Consultants from the Career and Skills DevelopmentService (CSDS) offer comprehensive support to Schools andstudents throughout the academic year.Each School has its own Careers Consultant who can provide tailoredsupport to academics and help design modules on careers educationand employability.

Marlon Gray, Senior Careers Consultant, said: “We help make studentsaware of the right opportunities for them and how to promote themselvesin a competitive graduate market.”

The Careers Consultants are:

• Marlon Gray – The City Law School (pictured left)

• Jennifer Steven – Schools of Arts and Social Sciences (pictured centre)

• Laura Hooke – Cass Business School (pictured right)

• David Gilchrist – Schools of Engineering & Mathematical Sciencesand Informatics (not pictured)

• Kulvinder Birring - School of Health Sciences (not pictured)

Academics already using Careers Consultants appreciate the support.Sarah Gale, Lecturer at The City Law School, said: “Working with theCareers Service has always been a pleasure. Each year they produce aninteresting and varied programme of events for students.”

Dr Andy Denis, Senior Lecturer in Economics, agreed: "Students reallyappreciate the fantastic support they receive."

Tailored careers supportVice-Chancellor Professor Paul Curran last month officiallyopened the new Graduate Library Centre (City NewsJanuary 2012).The Centre comprises 67 spaces for doctorate and taught post-graduate students to meet needs identified by students.

Máire Lanigan, University Librarian, said: “This new Centre is thelatest development in our ongoing work to improve our servicesto students, and in particular it will provide additional facilitiesfor the doctoral students being recruited under Phase One of ourStrategic Plan.”

Graduate Centre opens

Life support training

Modular courses for IT Senior IT professionals who already hold anaccredited MBA can now take modules fromCity’s Master of Information Leadership to helpthem meet the challenges of their roles anddevelop an understanding of emerging areas.

How Schools Do PolicyLast month, Sociology Lecturer Dr AnnetteBraun launched her new book, How SchoolsDo Policy – Policy Enactments in theSecondary School, co-written with ProfessorStephen Ball (Institute of Education) andProfessor Meg Maguire (King’s CollegeLondon). Based on a qualitative study ofsecondary schools, it analyses how schoolsand teachers enact policy.

Music students on BBCRhythms of the City, a City-based Sambagroup led by Visiting Lecturer BarakSchmool, recorded music for the BBC showZingzillas broadcast earlier this month. Thegroup includes past and current City studentsas musicians and dancers.

Rush wins F1 prizeProfessor Sanowar Khan presented Rush – ateam from Robert May’s School in Hampshire– with the top prize at the London andSouth East Regional Final of F1 in Schools(www.f1inschools.co.uk), held in City’s GreatHall this month.

St Valentine’s Day saw City launch its Heartstart programme,promoting life support training workshops for staff andstudents and introducing the Automated External Defibrillatorsbeing installed in six University buildings this spring.If you are interested in learning important life-saving skills, you cansign up to one of the two-hour workshops being held between Marchand June. Search for ‘Heartstart’ on our staff intranet to find out more.

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Enterprise at City

www.city.ac.uk/staff

The City Law School has launched City Enterprise Services, aninitiative to help its students gain important work experience byoffering free legal advice to small businesses in weekly clinics.Following a grant of £1,600 from the Higher Education Academy,advertising was distributed throughout Islington, Camden and Hackney.Student interest in participating was ‘overwhelming’ according to DavidCollins, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director Graduate Entry LLB.

In the first four clinics held in the College Building, students assisted 29local enterprises with advice on legal and business issues and providedinput into business plans, supervised by professional solicitors,accountants and business planners. The students also benefited fromlectures in small business planning and funding.

The idea for the initiative was developed by David Collins with Cityalumnus and recently-qualified solicitor Eric Klotz. They recognised theneed for helping law graduates gain practical experience and also aneed for commercial legal advice for small businesses with limited funds.

David Collins explains: “London has several free legal advice clinicsgiving students the opportunity to practise (including some operatedby The City Law School), but they are focused on providing personallegal advice on issues such as housing or benefits rather than thosefaced by businesses.”

David Collins and Eric Klotz hope to continue the project next year andwill be seeking funding for advertising and to pay advisers and organisersto ensure continuity of the service.

Advising local businesses

ElectraTherm royalties

by Luke Nava

The Technology Transfer Office has renegotiated a licence agree-ment with American renewable energy company ElectraTherm.ElectraTherm, based in Nevada, manufactures the Green Machine, whichuses screw expander technology developed at City’s Positive DisplacementCompressors Group in the School of Engineering & Mathematical Sciences.

The agreement provides City with royalties for the use of its intellectualproperty in Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) which uses an organic, highmolecular mass fluid with a low boiling point.

Electricity for profitThe Green Machine uses ORC to capture waste heat created by boilers,manufacturing processes, engines and biomass, solar and geothermalresources and turns it into electricity that is fed back into the electricalpower grid for profit.

“If you look at the overall market for using waste heat to generateelectricity, then it is in the billions of dollars,” said Dr Carol DavidDaniel, Head of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation in theEnterprise Office.

Technology and Knowledge TransferThe Technology and Knowledge Transfer team supports academicsto make research commercially viable by:

• Assessing the commercial potential of ideas

• Finding commercial partners, holding negotiations andhandling administration

• Helping protect intellectual property by ensuring patentapplications are filed before papers are published or research ispresented.

Find out more by following links on our staff intranet homepage:Research Support > Knowledge & technology transfer

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We are aiming for a 50/50 balance of academic staff across the Universitywith around half an even mix of educational and research-activeacademics and half research-excellent, undertaking world-leading andinternationally excellent research (3* and 4* according to theforthcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF) definition).

Currently, around a quarter of our academic staff are research-excellentacademics so this is where we must focus our efforts. Our target balancewill naturally vary by discipline, reflecting the diversity of City’s academicportfolio and this will in turn mean that the relative emphasis betweenbusiness and the professions and excellent research will differ bothacross and within Schools.

How do we know the balance?How do we know the proposed balance of academic staff is appropriatefor City and our aspiration to be in the top 2% of universities in the worldby 2016? The balance we seek was derived from analysis and modellingon one hand and a view of what is realistic and achievable on the other.

The analysis was based on our current position by reference to our 2008Research Assessment Exercise performance and our Annual ResearchQuality Monitoring exercise, coupled with sector-wide modelling, todetermine what is required in the REF to achieve our Vision.

This was balanced against what we believe we can achieve given thelimited time before the REF census date in October 2013. The REFoutcome will affect our reputation, discretionary HEFCE Quality-Related(QR) funding and our future global league table performance. Theanalysis involved Deans and colleagues across the University identifyingthose disciplines where it will target investment.

The outcome was reflected in the Phase One professorial recruitmentwhich demonstrated that, while we seek a University-wide proportion ofresearch-excellent academics, it will vary across Schools.

A related question concerns the relative value placed on education asopposed to research and whether investment in research-excellentacademics indicates a shift in emphasis away from education. This isan understandable conclusion but an incorrect one.

Developing a distinctive University: Academicexcellence for business and the professionsPrevious issues of City News have featured City’s Vision for 2016,the recruitment of academic staff and the governance of theStrategic Plan (which will be considered by our Council in March).One question frequently asked by staff concerns City’s intended balancebetween research-excellent, research-active and educational academicsand the related emphasis on research versus education. This is a keyquestion striking at the heart of what distinguishes City in an increasinglycrowded and competitive environment.

Our challenge is to maintain our longstanding focus on business andthe professions while developing our reputation for academic excellence.These activities are complementary rather than conflicting. A focus onbusiness and the professions in the absence of a reputation for academicexcellence is not a sustainable long term position. Similarly, a reputationfor academic excellence without our hallmark focus on business andthe professions is not a suitably compelling proposition for studentsand key stakeholders.

City must get the balance right between the two. Together they are apotent combination with the power to propel City into the upperechelons of universities in the world by 2016, in line with our Vision.

“This country’s universitiesare remarkably similar and sowe find ourselves incompetition with rather toomany of them. Last year wetook the decision to move Citytowards an attractive and lesscrowded part of the highereducation landscape,”explains Professor PaulCurran, Vice-Chancellor (left).

What then, is an appropriatebalance of academic staff forCity and how have wedetermined what it should be?

Tim Longden, City’sDirector of Marketing &Communications,considers the impact ofplanned changes to ouracademic staff profileand addressescolleagues’ questionsraised over recentmonths

7www.city.ac.uk/staff

Education and research areinextricably linked but theUniversity has not previouslyprioritised academicexcellence and thereforeinvested sufficiently in it. Thismeans we underperform interms of research and weurgently need to address this.Moreover, our focus onacademic excellence will helpCity to deliver high qualityeducation by staff who areleaders in their fields,passionate about their subject,engaged in high qualityresearch and who inspire theirstudents.

“Academic excellence is what you are striving for all the time. You wantto be able to do the best possible research you can,” says Dr SarahStallebrass, Associate Dean Civil Engineering in the School of Engineering& Mathematical Sciences (above). “You want to be able to challenge andstretch undergraduate and postgraduate students who come to studywith you. I think that’s what we’re about.”

The investment in academic staff undertaken to date is one crucialcomponent of our Strategic Plan which also proposes significantinvestment in our estate, facilities and infrastructure to supporteducation and research. Last year, Council asked for the investment inacademic staff to be brought forward because of the pressing need torecruit research-excellent academics ahead of the REF. Further investmentwill, we anticipate, be announced following Council approval of the Plan.

Success in the REF is important not just for our reputation and inter-national ranking but also for our ability to attract core (QR) and projectresearch income. This will provide further funding and ‘payback’ forour investment, further supporting a virtuous circle of improvementacross all activities.

Professor Penny Cooper, Associate Dean, The City Law School, says:“Academic excellence is going to be of vital importance. Our studentshave a heightened awareness of where their money is going and what

Academic professional developmentThe Leadership and Staff Development Unit, based within HumanResources, runs a variety of programmes for colleagues to aid theirprofessional development.

The Research & Enterprise Development Programme was launchedlast year in response to City’s research agenda. It includes seminars,workshops, psychometrics, mentoring and coaching run incollaboration with a variety of units. Discuss your developmentneeds with Petra Dodd, Leadership and Staff DevelopmentConsultant, or visit our intranet for more information:https://intranet.city.ac.uk/staff/staff-development

The Doctoral Track scheme supports colleagues wishing to pursuea doctoral qualification. Participants receive help in choosingappropriate routes into doctoral study and when undertakingdoctoral research (through the Research & Enterprise DevelopmentProgramme). Anyone wishing to undertake a doctorate shoulddiscuss their proposed route with a Senior Tutor, or the AssociateDean for Research in their School. More information can be foundon City’s website (search for ‘Doctoral Track scheme staff’).

they want for it and academic excellence is vitalto the Vision that we have for City University London.”

A further question has concerned opportunitiesfor current academic staff to develop theirresearch capacity and capabilities. We recognisethat achieving our Vision will be through bothrecruiting new staff and developing our existing staff.

By the end of this academic year a quarter of academic staff will havebeen involved in the Research & Enterprise Development Programmeand our Doctoral Track Scheme (see box) enables staff to read for adoctorate. It is encouraging that the majority of those currently registeredon this Scheme joined City from business or the professions.

For more information, see our staff intranet:https://intranet.city.ac.uk/staff/cityvision

Academic excellence is what youare striving for all the time. That’s what weare all about.“

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Professor Jo Silvester (left),Head of City’s OrganisationalPsychology Research Group, hashad research published in a newbook on recruiting politicalleaders. Her chapter, Recruiting PoliticalLeaders, designing competency-based selection for UK parliamentarycandidates, appears in The Psychologyof Politicians by Dr Ashley Weinberg.

Professor Silvester‘s research looksinto the history of politicalcandidate selection in the UK and

she continues to work with UK parliamentary parties. She recentlyreceived an invitation to run political leadership workshops for theSocial Democrat Party in Iceland this summer, where she will also givea seminar for political science academics at the University of Iceland.

She says: “There are clearly parallels between recruiting individuals towork in an organisation and recruiting successful politicians. There hasbeen surprisingly little in-depth research into what competency-basedcriteria should be used, however.

“This chapter draws on case studies of the criteria that have been usedby UK parties and seeks to demonstrate what parties should focus on inorder to attract and recruit the most successful political leaders.”

Choosing our politiciansHighlights of recentresearch at CityUniversity London

Research at City

City Research OnlineHave you uploaded your research outputs to City’s researchrepository? City Research Online (City News, November 2011) willraise the visibility and citations of your research and help City tomonitor its research outputs.

Find out more at: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk

Spotting concrete corrosionInnovative sensors have beendeveloped at City for improvingthe ability to spot early warningsigns of corrosion in concrete,caused by exposing steelreinforcing bars to wetconditions.The corrosion sensors are moreresilient and longer lasting thancurrent technology, therebyimproving the monitoring ofstructures such as bridges andcoastal defences and preventingmaintenance closures or, in theworst cases, collapses.

The breakthrough, made by Professor Tong Sun and Professor KenGrattan at City with colleagues from Queen’s University Belfast, followsresearch projects funded by the Engineering and Physical SciencesResearch Council.

City has filed patents for the technology and 10 papers have beenpublished, including in the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers’ Sensors Journal and the American Society of Civil Engineers’Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering.

Unlike similar sensors currently available, those developed by City canwithstand long term placement within concrete and constantly monitorconditions, sending text or email warnings to maintenance teams ifcorrosion is likely.

It is hoped the new sensors could prevent large-scale disruptions suchas those caused by the recent closure of the Hammersmith Flyover – anarterial route into West London – due to concrete corrosion.

Speaking to The Engineer, Professor Grattan (above) said: “Given theamount of infrastructure built in the 1950s and 1960s, there is thepotential for many of these [problems] to crop up over the next few years.

“We want to be sure that such important arteries into our cities can bemonitored and then there’s some chance at least that we can takecorrective action at an early stage.”

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Teaching children with autism to 'talk things through in theirhead' may help them to solve complex day-to-day tasks andincrease their chances of independent and flexible living laterin life, according to research conducted at City. The study, conducted with Durham University and the University ofBristol, has been published in Development and Psychopathology.

The research found that 'inner speech' is intact in children with autism,but not always used in the same way as by children developingtypically. It was found that teaching and intervention strategies forchildren targeted at encouraging inner speech could make a difference.

Mental flexibilityThese strategies, including encouraging children to describe theiractions out loud, have already proven useful for increasing mentalflexibility among typically developing children.

Those with autism spectrum disorder could for example, benefit fromverbal learning of their daily school schedules rather than using a morecommon visual timetable.

Professor Dermot Bowler, from the Department of Psychology, said:"This research highlights the importance of understanding how peopleon the autism spectrum often achieve high levels of task performanceby deploying underlying cognitive strategies that are different fromthose utilised by the typical population.”

New monthly REF newsletterThe University Research Office has started publishing a monthlynewsletter about City's preparations for the Research ExcellenceFramework.

If you haven’t received February’s first edition earlier this month,or want to find out more, contact Jeremy Barraud, InterdisciplinaryResearch Development Manager.

A report by Cass Business School Professors Joseph Lampel(below left) and Ajay Bhalla (below right), with Dr Pushkar Jhafrom the University of Newcastle, has been incorporated intoofficial government policy.Their findings in Model growth: Do employee-owned businesses deliversustainable performance? were quoted at length by Deputy PrimeMinister Nick Clegg when outlining government legislation in January.

The report, commissioned by the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) andEmployee-Owners Associations, found that employee-owned businessesare more resilient than conventionally structured companies: they out-perform the market during a downturn, demonstrate a lower risk ofbusiness failure and have higher rates of sales growth and job creation.

Professor Bhalla said: "Both Professor Lampel and I are delighted to seeour work recognised at governmental level. The research we conductedpoints to the employee-ownership model as a robust and effectivebusiness model."

Talking things through mayhelp those with autism

Model growth – businessesowned by their employees

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Walking along Kingsland Road, one of the main thoroughfaresin Hackney, on a chilly winter’s day you will find Storm in a Teacupnestled among Turkish barbers, charity shops and stores fromall corners of the world.Entering the high fashion vintage clothing store from the street is likegoing into a different world. Grandma’s dusty old dresses and the second-hand Gucci shoes you would expect in a charity store are replaced byexclusive, one-off satin jumpers and heels higher than Sultan Kösen,the world’s tallest man. Immediately a question springs to mind: whyopen a high fashion store on Kingsland Road?

“The local area is developing at quite a staggering rate so we are hopingto be pioneers, raising the bar and encouraging others to do the same,”says Jo Miller, co-founder of Storm in a Teacup. “I think there are greatpossibilities for businesses in the east [of London]. As we are sellingniche items that aren't easy to find, we hope people will be willing tomake the effort to come to us.”

Jars filled with home-made sweets sit alongside clothes from famousnames such as Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier and Maison MartinMargiela, making Storm in a Teacup a new ‘it’ store on Kingsland Road.

Founders Jo Miller and German model Claudia Raba, say the store isstocked with everything that makes them happy: “Sweets, clothes andimpeccable styling.”

The store’s interior is a slightly crazy blend of Wild West saloon, WillyWonka fantasyland and exclusive designer boutique, topped by an old-fashioned candy store counter, making it perfect for fashionable peoplewith a sweet tooth.

Barbara Walshe, a local journalist, thinks Hackney and Kingsland Roadis the perfect place for high fashion retailing: “Since I moved to KingslandRoad in 2005, there's been a real fashion revolution in the area. Peoplelike Christopher Kane [Scottish fashion designer] might disagreeconsidering he's been based in Dalston since the early 2000s, butthings were more underground back then. It [Hackney fashion] hassuddenly become much more overt over the past two to three years.”

Walshe adds: “We have the Sustainable Centre for Fashion on SouthgateRoad, affiliated with London College of Fashion, a smattering ofindependent vintage stores as well as heavy hitters like Beyond Retro.

We're increasingly seeinghigh fashion coming tothis area in the form ofboutiques like Storm in aTeacup.”

It would seem that theperfect recipe for fashionis a litre of creativity, apot of cultural differencesand a pinch of designerinput. But will Hackneyresidents buy it?

In last year’s spendingreview from Chancellorof the Exchequer GeorgeOsborne, the Borough ofHackney suffered budgetcuts of 8.9 per cent. Hackney already has four wards in the bottom 10per cent of the poorest wards in London according to a poverty indicatorproduced by London’s Poverty Profile.

Walshe believes high fashion retailing can thrive in the area as long asKingsland Road stays different and individual and is not taken over bymainstream fashion retailers following in its wake.

She believes Kingsland Road has potential for fashion retailing due toits proximity to the trendy Hoxton and Shoreditch areas and with theOlympics looming it is Hackney’s time to show London – and the world –what it has to offer in the fashion spotlight.

Storm brewing in Hackney

By Kamilla Nyegaard-Larsen

A second-year BAJournalism studentinvestigates highfashion retailing’s firststeps into Hackney

Hackney – a diverse communityHackney is an immensely diverse community bringing togethermany different nationalities and cultures and up to 120 languages.The numbers of mosques, synagogues, churches and temples isevidence of the borough’s religious diversity.

However, Hackney’s reputation tends to be brought down by itscrime rates. For example, in December 2011 there were 206instances of violent crime, 391 of anti-social behaviour and 51 ofpublic disorder and possession of weapons.

Meet yourcolleagues

Name and job titleSandra Partington, Educational Developer and part of the LearningDevelopment Centre (LDC) Blended Learning Team.

What do you do at City day to day?My role is to facilitate the enhancement of the University’s educationalprovision, working with the LDC team and staff across the University todevelop new methods of learning.

The LDC forms a hub connecting Schools and Professional Services,supports and promotes new practices in teaching and learning, initiatesproject work and recognises excellent practice. We like to connect peopleand get ideas flowing.

I work as part of the Blended Learning Team in the LDC developing,promoting and supporting the use of new technologies to enhancelearning and teaching practice, for example, the Moodle Virtual LearningEnvironment. Video production, e-portfolios, web conferencing, lecturecapture and iTunesU all fall under our remit. We work with Schools todevelop a focused and strategic learning environment.

My role is varied and I like it that way. In one week I can be managing aproject, delivering staff development, carrying out research and evaluationor running an event.

The Media Innovation and Learning Lab (MILL) is my main responsibility.The MILL specialises in audio and video production for staff includingvideo making and editing facilities, a TV Studio, learning spaces androoms for attending webinars, using Skype or recording podcasts.

We re-launched the MILL in November 2011 with an event includingdemonstrations and a mini-cinema (popcorn included). Our pop-upcinema has toured ever since, most recently appearing at the LDCShowcase on Tuesday 1 February.

What is your biggest challenge in your job?Juggling day-to-day demands in the MILL while looking ahead for newtechnologies and innovations for enhancing learning and planning theireffective delivery.

Having joined City fairly recently I still need to get to know everyone whatthey like, what they are interested in and what's going on in differentsubject areas and Schools, from the vaults of the engineeringworkshops in Northampton Square to the heights of the MBA floor atBunhill Row.

How do you overcome it?I try to make realistic plans for the year and attempt to leave space forthinking ahead. I am a member of the Association for LearningTechnology. As part of their annual conference committee I readsubmissions and host sessions at the event, which gives me a head starton what my contemporaries are doing and thinking.

Building relationships across City is one of the most important soft skillsfor anyone in my line of work. Although I like to solve technical problemsI attend lots of meetings, committees and events to meet people andhear their needs and concerns in relation to teaching and learning.

If you didn’t do your job what would you be doing?I would be running my highly creative multimedia/education co-operative from an old warehouse in Clerkenwell. Please don’t ask aboutthe business plan but the studio will have astroturf, beanbags and anespresso machine.

What do you do in your spare time and to relax?At the weekend I like to read the papers, drink coffee and meet friendsfor dinner locally in North London. I am an art school graduate so I caneasily disappear into a London museum or gallery, sometimes withsketchbook in hand. Each year, I attempt to run a couple of 10k racesand maybe take an active holiday to balance out the eating and drinking!

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?Old pals scattered around the UK and further afield in New York andHong Kong, plus the odd celebrity for entertainment.

Favourite place in London?It has to be Soho circa 1990.

Favourite films?Clerks (I am not allowed to say Dodgeball).

Favourite book?The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a good read, The Runner’sHandbook by Bob Glover is essential life guidance and A BiggerMessage (David Hockney) by Martin Gayford has iPhone and iPaddrawings, so it is just lovely.

Favourite song or music?Anything by Steely Dan.

www.city.ac.uk/staff 11

Dates for your diary

Rioting in Greece: Responding to the economic crisis16:00-18:00 Thurs 1 March, D427 Social Sciences Building

Dr Marina Prentoulis (University of East Anglia) seminar.

World oil demand in the short and long run: A cross-country panel analysis17:00-18:20 Wed 7 March, D104 Social Sciences Building

Professor Simon Price (Bank of England) seminar.

Opportunities in International Law18:00-21:00 Thurs 8 March, The Pool College Building

Expert panel discussion on international law and The CityLaw School's new LLM in Public International Law.

The Attorney General's Lecture at The City Law School18:00-20:00 Tues 13 March, Atkin Building, Grey's Inn

Lectures and Q&A with the Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP,Attorney General and James Ewins, Barrister.

We, the walking wounded16:30-18:30 Wed 14 March, BG02 University Building

British premiere of documentary on an asylum seeker in Paris.Dr Liza Schuster, Reader in Sociology, provides Englishsubtitles and Director Mohamad Reza Sahibdad will answerquestions after the premiere.

Random and referral hiring17:00-18:20 Wed 14 March, D104 Social Sciences Building

Dr Rosella Nicolini (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona).

Lunchtime Concert: Vasileios Rakitzis (Piano)13:10-13:50 Fri 16 March, Performance Space

City Lights: Stephane Ginsburgh (Piano)19:00-20:30 Tues 20 March, Performance Space

Maritime Law and Policy Postgraduate ResearchConference 201209:00-17:30 Fri 23 March, Northampton Suite

Durkheim and global moral icons16:00-18:00 Thurs 22 March, D427 Social Sciences Building

Professor David Inglis (University of Aberdeen) seminar.

Risk Assessment (Academic Staff in Schools of Artsand Social Sciences)*Friday 2 March

Risk Assessment (Academic Staff in the City Law School)*Monday 5 March

*To be completed in conjunction with Cardinus onlinetraining, Effective Risk Assessment for Academic Staff, onour Intranet (under Training and Development)

Effective Complaints HandlingThursday 15 March

Staff training and development

www.city.ac.uk/events

Lunchtime Concert: Ikuko Inoguchi (Piano)13:10–14:00 Fri 23 March, Performance Space

Vice-Chancellor’s Open House10:00-12:00 Wed 28 March Great Hall, College Building

Hosted by Professor Paul Curran, discussing the University’sprogression with the Strategic Plan.

Social structure and economic performance in micro-credit groups17:00-18:20 Wed 28 March, D104 Social Sciences Building

Nick Sabin (University of Oxford) seminar.

City University London Chamber Choir concert19:30-21:00 Tues 29 March, St Clement Church, King Square

City’s Chamber Choir, conducted by Tim Hooper, performsworks by Pergolesi, Magnificat and Haydn.

The mobilisation of vulnerable groups 16:00-18:00 Tues 29 March, D427 Social Sciences Building

Dr Milena Chimienti, Sociology Lecturer, on social movementsin Europe.

I did that course!Nicola Daniel, Course Officer in the School of Informatics,took the Effective Complaints Handling course. Nicolasaid:

“It was a very useful course, enabling me to adopt skillsto increase first contact resolution and to reduce bothescalation rates and repeat issues.”

Project Management Masterclasses: Starting a ProjectThursday 29 March

Managing Research ProjectsTuesday 3 April

Project Management Masterclasses: Project PlanningFriday 13 April

Recruitment & Selection: Introduction for ProfessionalStaffWednesday 18 – Thursday 19 April

Managing Workloads for AcademicsFriday 27 April

Finance and Purchasing TrainingMonday 19 March

Disability Equality for ManagersWednesday 21 March

For information about staff training email: lsdu@city.ac.ukor visit: www.city.ac.uk/sd/index