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UNIVERSITY OF GLAMORGAN STAFF MAGAZINE

ISSUE 05WINTER 2010/11

University of Glamorgan

Prifysgol Morgannwg

Let it snowYour snow pictures featured

Jump inStaff portal opens up a

world of information

A room with a viewTreforest Accommodation update

RWCMDOUT & ABOUTIN CARDIFF

29 – 31 MarchDie Fledermausby Johann Strauss II

Composed non-stop in forty-two ‘nights of veritable rapture’, this is the waltz king’smost celebrated and popular operetta filled with intoxicating melodies and infectiousexuberance. Tricked into walking home from a party dressed as a bat (eineFledermaus) Dr Falke is determined to extract revenge on his friend Eisenstein.

Prince Orlofsky’s masked ball provides the perfect opportunity! It promises to be anevening of wicked intrigue and musical high jinks as mistaken identities, flirtatiousliaisons, elegant frivolities and confusion abound.

8pmWeston Studio, Wales Millennium Centre£12/£10

5 – 9 AprilPride & PrejudiceAdapted by Simon ReadeDirector Iqbal Khan

The ultimate romantic comedy, Jane Austen’s story of the five Bennet sisters and theirrelentless pursuit of suitable husbands is one of the best-loved novels ever written.Performed in the dramatic Grade II listed Provincial building in Cardiff Bay.

7.30pmMatinee 7 Apr, 2.30pmThe ProvincialBute Street, Cardiff Bay£10/£8

7 AprilMozart RequiemRWCMD Chamber WindsRWCMD Chamber OrchestraRWCMD Chamber Choir

Meyrick Alexander ConductorAdrian Partington Conductor

RWCMD ensembles combine to present two great masterpieces to round off the termin the beautiful setting of Llandaff Cathedral.

7.30pmLlandaf Cathedral£8/£6

Full details of all our events can be found at

www.rwcmd.ac.ukTickets | Tocynnau 029 2039 1391

The Royal Welsh College of Music & Dramais part of the University of Glamorgan Group.Mae Coleg Brenhinol Cerdd a Drama Cymru

yn rhan o Grwˆ p Prifysgol Morgannwg.

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vice-chancellor’s message

I am delighted to again introduce the latest edition of Staffroom.

Our daily life is hectic at the best of times, but there are occasions when life throws you acurve ball and makes it even more hectic. In recent months, the inclement weather hascertainly impacted on our daily operations, but being Glamorgan, we rose to the challengeswe faced and ensured the impact on the student experience was minimal. Here, I would liketo highlight three recent instances which truly demonstrate the dedication and professionalism of our staff in rising to the challenges thrown at us.

The first was in late November when an isolated mechanical failure on the roof of JohnstownBuilding escalated into the near shut-down of our ICT systems. A freak incident which couldnever have been foreseen was immediately acted upon by LCSS staff with the assistance ofcolleagues across the University to procure new equipment and reinstate systems withunprecedented haste. The calm and controlled manner in which this was undertaken is highlycommendable. As an institution and as individuals, we have learned many things from thisincident, not least of our increasing reliance on ICT to go about our daily working andpersonal lives.

When I was appointed Vice-Chancellor I was light-heartedly advised that of all the difficultdecisions I would have to make, the question “do we close or stay open when the first flakesof snow fall on campus” would be up there as one of the most difficult ones. I do nothowever take this matter light-heartedly. As Vice-Chancellor, I must balance the need tocontinue operations in the interests of both our students’ education and our businessinterests against the duty of care I have for student and staff personal well-being. DuringDecember on several occasions the Director of Estates rang me very early in the morningwith the daily prognosis upon which I had to make my decision. These decisions werecertainly informed to a great extent on the clearance work which the Estates Team had beenable to undertake during the early hours of the morning, when most of us were asleep. I would like to thank those members of staff who provided this essential, unsung service in what were very difficult conditions.

Finally, at the end of term, as we prepared to celebrate the achievements of our students inthe Winter Awards Ceremonies, the snow came back again, with a vengeance. It would havebeen very easy to have cancelled the ceremonies and carry them over to the summer, butbeing Glamorgan, we were determined not to disappoint the students, their families andfriends who had braved the difficult conditions and some of whom had travelled thousandsof miles from their home countries. Once again our colleagues rose to the challenge, takingon last-minute roles, including a cameo by Professor Brian Hobbs as the University‘Chancellor’. This is a situation which hopefully I will not have to repeat as Vice-Chancellor,but should I have to, I am confident you will rise to the challenge yet again – my personalthanks to all those involved.

I am continually impressed by the contribution of staff to making Glamorgan the respectedinstitution that it is in Welsh life and beyond. This was clearly manifested in the recent StaffRecognition Awards and I congratulate those staff whose significant contribution wasrecognised and celebrated. As you know, alongside these celebrations of staff achievement,difficult decisions have had to be made recently in respect to future staffing levels, which willto a greater or lesser extent impact on the daily operations of your faculties and corporatedepartments. I appreciate it is an unsettling time for all of us, but the long-term sustainabilityof the University must be our primary consideration. Alongside our duty to our students, wealso have a duty to our local communities and stakeholders to ensure Glamorgan is aprovider of quality higher education and an employer of significance for years to come.Difficult times require difficult decisions to be made, but working in partnership, I believe wecan indeed ensure Glamorgan’s long-term sustainability for the benefit of all those we serve.

Julie LydonVice-Chancellor

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Contents

1411

16

18

7

News 5-7

Core Issues 8

External View 9

Back to the future 10

A room with a view 14

Green fingers -- 17How you can help

Let it snow 18

2010 Staff Recognition 19Awards

Staff portal 20

Getting to Know… 22

Staff Room is produced under the guidance of theeditorial board: Jeremy Atkinson, Robert Baker,William Callaway, Rob Payne and Maggie McNorton.

Editor: Mike NormansellDesign: Glamorgan Print

For more information, contactmnormans@glam.ac.uk or call 01443 482889.

Staff Room MagazineMarketing & Student RecruitmentUniversity of Glamorgan, Treforest, CF37 1DL .

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Cover image: Glyntaff Campus in the snowtaken by Andy Corps, LCSS.

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news

Even those staff with no direct involvement inUHOVI will have heard of this key strategic andhigh profile initiative in the past few months.

Vice-Chancellor, Julie Lydon said, “In addition tocontributing to the ‘One Wales’ agenda and theeconomic potential of the region, UHOVI candeliver real benefits for the University. UHOVIwill raise the profile of the University and helpensure long term sustainability duringchallenging times. Amidst funding cuts andstudent number caps, UHOVI is the onlyinitiative in Wales to gain additional creditfunding, demonstrating its importance to theWelsh Assembly Government and the partnerinstitutions.”

Academics from across the partner institutionsare currently working on course offerings for theSeptember 2011 intake, which are expected tobe agreed by the end of February, withmarketing activity commencing in Easter.

With so much to do, the UHOVI team hasexpanded to encompass two new roles,including Enquiries and Admissions Assistant,Claire O’Neill and Dr Andrew Rogers, who willcarry out the role of Employer EngagedCurriculum Development Manager alongside hiscurrent work at the University of Glamorgan.

For more information contact UHOVI MarketingManager, Rachel Squire,rachel.squire@uhovi.ac.uk

The Universities Heads of the ValleysInstitute (UHOVI) strategic partnership betweenthe University of Glamorgan and the Universityof Wales, Newport, was officially launched on3rd November 2010 by Minister for Education,Leighton Andrews AM.

The launch event at Llanhilleth Miners’ Institutenear Abertillery attracted a host of key figures,politicians, partners, local employers,intermediaries and Higher Education officialsfrom across the region.

Invited journalists from the national media alsoattended, resulting in press coverage on theBBC Wales, ITV Wales and S4C nationalevening news programmes.

The media attention also boosted theappearance of UHOVI on the front cover ofseveral local newspapers in an advertisingcampaign designed to raise awareness of theUHOVI branding and promote forthcomingcourses.

The message is starting to reach the targetaudience with over 600 students alreadystudying UHOVI courses. Following the officiallaunch, the team behind the project are nowpreparing to meet the challenging targets set forthe next phase of recruitment.

The University’s newest faculty has a name;the Faculty of Business and Society(BusSoc).

The faculty is the result of the merger betweenthe Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciencesand Glamorgan Business School, the newFaculty of Business and Society is home to theSchool of Psychology, the School of Law,Accounting & Finance, the School of Humanities& Social Sciences and the Glamorgan BusinessSchool.

The heads of the schools have also beenappointed: Dr Peter Mayer (School ofPsychology), Professor Michael Stuckey (Schoolof Law, Accounting & Finance), Dr AndyThompson (School of Humanities & SocialSciences), and Professor Gary Packham(Glamorgan Business School).

In addition to their leadership and managementroles, the heads will have a pan-faculty role,taking responsibility for: Research (ProfessorGary Packham), Postgraduate (Dr AndyThompson), Undergraduate (Professor MichaelStuckey), and Recruitment and Retention (Dr Peter Mayer).

Newly-appointed Head of Administration for theFaculty, Diana Stonefield, said, “We are alreadyworking with our colleagues in marketing on anew faculty brand for publicity and marketingmaterials. Our new faculty formally comes intobeing on the 1st May 2011, although fullintegration will not take place until the summer.We look forward to working closely with ourstudents, staff and other colleagues andstakeholders to ensure that the integration is asseamless as possible.”

UHOVI launchmoves projectto next phase

New Faculty is named

Vice-Chancellor, Julie Lydon with Leighton Andrews, AM, and Vice-Chancellor of University of Wales, Newport, Peter Noyles.

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news

More news...Studentapplications up 12.7%Applications to the University ofGlamorgan are up 12.7% on the samepoint last year, UCAS figures in Januaryconfirmed.

The increase is the fourth consecutiveyear running that the University has seena rise in applications from prospectivestudents

At expiry of the UCAS deadline for 2011-12 entry on 15th January this year, thefigures stood at 13,377 new applications.

Across the UK, applications are up onaverage by 4%, against a 9% increasethe previous year.

210,000 students were reportedly leftwith out a University place last year,according to UCAS.

Glamorgan’s Market Researcher, RachelChedzoy explains, “This is extremelypositive, especially when we look at ourcompetitor basket which has seen amuch smaller growth in applications of onaverage 2%. Our competitor basketconsists of Aberystwyth University, UWE,Cardiff University, UWIC, University ofWales, Newport and Swansea University.

“Of our UK applicants, 62% are fromWales, 37% are from England and just1% are from Scotland or NorthernIreland. Our top feeder Institution isGower College with 333 applicants,closely followed by Coleg Glan Hafrenwith 300.”

Director of Marketing and StudentRecruitment, Peter Crofts added, “The priority now is conversion activity so that our applicants accept an offer inpreference to those from otherinstitutions. Applicant days are takingplace from now until May and applicantswill now start to receive e-communications to help them decide upon making the University ofGlamorgan their number one choice.”

UCAS are expected to publish theirApplication Digest in February, withdetailed application data for alluniversities. This data will show exactlyhow the University fares against ourcompetitors. A report will be produced byMSR and circulated in due course.

Glamorgan on iTunes U has reached its onemillionth visitor, just nine months after its launch.

The site achieved the milestone at the end ofDecember, giving the team behind the initiativea welcome Christmas gift.

Almost three-quarters of a million downloadshave already been carried out from the site,which contains more than 44 hours of videosand audios – or nearly two days of solidlistening and viewing on more than 50 subjects,including our Student Showcase.

There are also more than 100 PDFs ofsupporting material to read and soon the sitewill also offer the eBook format to suit longer,text-based content.

Prof Clive Mulholland, Pro Vice-Chancellor(Learning and Student Support), welcomed thenews: “Directorate is thrilled with theinternational coverage that our iTunes U projecthas generated. Universities operate in a globalcontext and this is a great channel fordisseminating the excellent research andteaching that occurs at Glamorgan.”

Coming soon to Glamorgan on iTunes U:Professorial inaugural lectures; Vocabulary forWelsh learners; Guest lectures and workshopsfrom Software Alliance Wales, the GlamorganBusiness School and the Careers Service/GOWales.

For more information, including how to accessGlamorgan on iTunes U, visithttp://itunes.glam.ac.uk/

iTunes U reaches one million visitors

Student Services gets technical

Stargazers were urged to look to the skies inthe New Year with a series of events andtelevision programmes – made possible in partby a project based at the University ofGlamorgan.

BBC2’s Stargazing Live series was headed upby Professor Brian Cox and comedian DaraO’Briain.

The Faulkes Telescopes Project, based at theUniversity of Glamorgan, provided images for all

of the programmes, using its two remote-controltelescopes in Hawaii and Australia, and ranschools’ projects studying asteroids, comets,stars and galaxies.

Dr Paul Roche, a senior lecturer at theUniversity of Glamorgan and the EuropeanSpace Agency’s Space Ambassador for Wales,said: “This BBC event provides a greatopportunity for people to find out a bit moreabout our place in space, and how everythingthat exists around us came to be.”

Sky fans turn to BBC with help ofGlamorgan

Student Services has launched an onlinebooking facility for students to makeappointments with advisers and counsellors.

The system is fully integrated into Glamlife (thestudent portal) and allows students to selectnamed staff at three out of four of our campusesas far as two weeks in advance.

Students can book appointments withCounselling, Careers, Student Money, Disabilityand Dyslexia, and Mental Wellbeing Services aswell as International Student Support Services,provided by the International Office.

The simple to use online form is designed toenhance the students’ experience; users receive

an immediate onscreen confirmation of theirbooking backed up by an email sent to theiruniversity Google mail account. To maximise theattendance at appointments students also receivea reminder email.

International Support and StudentCommunication Manager, Dave Smith, whomanaged the operational side of the project said,“We are able to roll this out to any service usingthe SpectraSoft Diary system. We hope thatfuture developments will also allow students toelectronically ‘arrive’ at one of five advice deliverypoints, similar to systems currently offered bymany GP practices.”

Employabilityon the agendaWork Experience Week 2011

Tuesday 1st March will see the launchof a University-wide initiative to promotethe value of work experience to ourstudents. Building on the success of lastyear’s event, free sessions will be heldthroughout the week in partnership with abroad range of employers and otherorganisations.

A launch event, ‘What it takes to succeed– the John Lewis Experience’, will be heldin the Students’ Union, Treforest onTuesday 1st March, followed by a seriesof events and workshops throughout theweek, including a Work Experience Fair atthe GCC on 2nd March and MediaCareers Fair at the ATRiuM on 3rd March.

Some events are pre-book only, so formore information visit the websitewww.glam.ac.uk/experienceworks

A question of sport

As part of its employability and enterpriseagenda, Glamorgan Business School hasintroduced an innovative new module forits undergraduate degree programmes insports and events. The new module isdesigned to provide year threeundergraduates with practical, realisticwork experience throughout their finalyear of study from both an employed andentrepreneurial perspective.

Students will be expected to spend theequivalent of one full day a week workingin an employer organisation throughouttheir final year which will ideally be spentcarrying out a specific role, working on adiscrete project or carrying out a piece ofresearch identified by the employer.

Alternatively, those students with anentrepreneurial streak will have theopportunity to try out their sport andfitness business ideas with support fromthe University and a bursary schemeestablished in conjunction with SportWales. Successful ideas will receivefunding that will enable students to starta business whilst still studying and whichcould then continue after they graduate.

More information can be found athttp://bus.glam.ac.uk/news.

The University opened a £4.9m centre ofexcellence in January that will help smallerbusinesses in the Convergence areas of Walesto take advantage of emerging mobiletechnologies.

The Centre of Excellence in Mobile Applicationsand Services (CEMAS) is backed by £2.4m from the EU’s Convergence European RegionalDevelopment Fund through the Welsh Assembly Government.

It will provide a unique web-based platform andtelecommunication infrastructure, enablingacademic experts to assist Convergence regionSMEs to create, develop, and test innovativemobile applications and services prior to marketlaunch.

Professor Khalid Al-Begain who heads upCEMAS added, “The Centre will extend itsservices to beneficiaries of all sectors includingICT, business, health, transport, and securityservices in the Convergence region to providemobile technology solutions that improveproductivity and efficiency.”

The Centre conducts awareness sessions toinform SMEs on latest mobile technologies andexplores opportunities for improving their workthrough mobile applications. It will also engagewith SMEs on the whole process of convertingideas into products and taking them to market.

The Centre will appoint seven new highly-skilledprofessionals in addition to existing staff toenable provision of a first-class service to SMEsin the Convergence region of West Wales andthe Valleys.

Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said,“This is a substantial investment in 21st centurymobile technology – an investment in the futureof our economy and another example ofsuccessful collaboration between the WelshAssembly Government, universities and theprivate sector.”

As part of the initiative a dedicated commercialmanager will assist SMEs to identify marketopportunities, help demonstrate products andhelp ensure that their products reach theirintended markets.

£4.9m mobile technologies boost for FAT

news

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A cite for sore eyesA standardised style of referencing forGlamorgan students’ work has been establishedin the Glamorgan Guide to Harvard Referencingcompendium.

The University’s Quality Assurance Committeerecognised the need for a single referencingstyle when it was realised that several versionsof the Harvard style were in use across theUniversity, further exacerbating the issuesstudents often have with referencing their work.

CELT asked LCSS staff to put forward aGlamorgan referencing style which could beadopted as standard by all those subject areascurrently using a variation of the Harvardsystem. LCSS staff in the Education Drop-inCentre (EDiC) and the Library then developedthe guide using their experience of the mostappropriate Harvard variants.

The guide is now available for students and stafffrom EDiC, libraries and faculty advice shops.

Online guides are available from the LCSSwebsite, the EDiC web pages, GlamLife, module and programme documents and arealso available on the CELT website.

Feedback on the guide is welcomed throughout2010-11 and can be given via CELT’sGlamorgan Harvard Referencing blog. Theguide and comments will be reviewed at the endof the academic year and made regulatory normin 2011-12.

Professor Khalid Al-Begain

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mini feature

As a member of staff at theUniversity, there’s no moreuseful a resource than CoreBrief for keeping up to date withthe important news that affectsyou.

The monthly publication wasintroduced in October 2009 toprovide managers and staff with aregular comprehensive briefingstraight from Directorate about thekey issues that are on their agenda– it’s a direct link into what thesenior team are thinking andtalking about.

We send the Brief direct to Deans,Heads of Department, Heads ofAdministration and their secretariesevery month to be added to theagenda of the next departmentalteam meeting where it can bedelivered direct to staff personally –rather than circulate it to all staff viaemail or Inform.

There are two good reasons for this:firstly it is written from a University-wide context not allowing for ‘local’environmental factors. We ask seniormanagers in faculties and departmentsto deliver the content to their staff on apersonal level – rather than just forwardthe email – so that they can put theinformation into context for thatdepartment or faculty whereappropriate.

The second reason is feedback – the CoreBrief is designed to create a two-wayconversation between Directorate and staffacross the University. Every month feedbackis invited from staff with the intention offeeding the information back to Directorate tobe responded to in the following edition – thiscan be done anonymously if necessary. Weask managers to fulfil this role to enable acoordinated two-way conversation to takeplace between staff and the seniormanagement team.

More importantly, Core Brief a unique andinfinitely-valuable channel of communication:Staff Room is a magazine and so by its naturecarries more lighthearted subject matter; CoreBrief, like any good briefing paper gets to theheart of the issues and reports things as theyare, without sugar coating.

The Core Brief is monthly and distributed toall Faculty and Department Heads by 5pm onthe first day of every month.

So please request to have the Core Briefadded to your team meeting agenda andensure that your questions and feedback arebeing delivered by your manager back toDirectorate via the established feedbackinbox corebrief@glam.ac.uk, because ifyou’re not taking part, you’re missing out.

More information and a full list of back issuesof Core Brief can be found athttp://msr.glam.ac.uk/corebrief.

Getting to the

Core of the Issue

A reminder of yourresponsibilitiesLine Managers have responsibility for…• Adding the Core brief to your monthly team meeting

agenda and delivering the content personally• Recording any questions or feedback and sending them back via the Core Brief inbox corebrief@glam.ac.uk

Staff have responsibility for…• Ensuring that your manager is adhering to their responsibilities in delivering the Core Brief on a regular basis.

• Asking questions, contributing, challenging: givingfeedback on items they feel strongly about, don’t understand or don’t agree with.

Directorate have the responsibility for…• Delivering the Core Brief every month on time, every time

• Responding to your feedback via Core Brief or other internal communications channels.

Tuition FeesAs a parent of small children, the likely move to higher tuition fees for auniversity education will impact on my personal life as well as at work –indeed I’m sure the debate about tuition fees has a multiple impact on manyof us at Glamorgan.

Equally, many of us will have strong views about the rights and wrongs ofcharging for higher education. Not so long ago, we all benefitted from a freeuniversity education and access to grants to support us; privileges that seemfantastic in these days of zero grants and tuition fee contributions first at£1000 and now at £3000.

The Westminster Government is determined to bring in higher tuition fees inEngland. They have won important votes in both the House of Commons andin the Lords and it now appears inevitable that this will create a ‘market’where there is differentiation between providers, not only based on entrycriteria for admissions, but also on price.

In Wales the Minister and the Welsh Assembly Government are planning onimplementing something different. The plan is not so much about the creationof a ‘market’ but more about driving the sector more closely around WAGpolicy and protecting students from the higher fees. Whether the plans aresustainable in the long term is yet to be seen, but it seems that Welshstudents are to be shielded from the higher fees at least in the short term. Ofcourse, the English student won’t pay fees up front either, but they will have topay them back eventually in the form of a loan.

The implications for universities if current proposals are ratified areundoubtedly significant. Get your pricing wrong and you have a problem: toolow and you imply lack of quality and you fail to maximise income; too highand you look arrogant, you under recruit and you have insufficient income tomeet your costs.

To complicate matters the sector cannot consult or talk to each other aboutfees. Discussing price with each other could be construed as acting as acartel, which would be anti-competitive and possibly illegal.

What happens next – I am not sure anyone knows but I am sure theUniversity, its staff and students will contribute to the debate and influencediscussions to ensure that both students and the sector in general get thebest possible outcome.

William CallawayClerk to the Governors andAcademic Registrar

External View…

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opinion

William Callaway

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feature

The brand perception survey results andfeedback from the staff consultation exerciseduring Summer 2010 both strongly indicated“employability” and “innovation and businessengagement” as key themes that willdifferentiate the University and could providea focus for shaping innovative, professionalservices that meet the needs of our studentsand stakeholders. The employability of ourgraduates will indeed, going forward, be akey indicator of our contribution to the socialand economic wellbeing of Wales and atangible return on their investment in studyingat Glamorgan. Acknowledgement of ouremerging research capability, for examplethrough membership of the St David’s DayGroup, has been a source of inspiration forour staff in recent years; the key task goingforward will be to channel this capabilitytowards activities that will drive innovationand business engagement, enabling us tomake a major contribution to theeconomic renewal of Wales and beyond.

The outcome of these exercises, allied toconsideration of external and internalsituational analysis and best practice fromother universities and sectors, was thedevelopment and subsequent approval by theBoard of Governors in November 2010 of anew University Strategy. In approving thestrategy, the Board determined that theUniversity must be bold with its vision duringthe period 2010-15:

“By 2015, the University of Glamorgan will beunrivalled for its professional, employment-focused education and research-informedinnovation and business engagement.”

If we are to raise our reputation and profilewhilst ensuring our long-term sustainabilityduring what will be challenging times, we willneed to focus our activities, be distinctive andcreate value for our students and keystakeholders. In addition, focused

collaboration will also be critical; existingpartnerships will be reinforced and innovativecollaborative activities developed.

The new University Strategy – including a newmission statement, core values and strategicpriorities and Critical Performance Indicators– will be implemented based on the balancedscorecard approach. In addition, a “StrategyMap” has been developed to communicatethe strategy across the University.

Go to the back page where you’ll find a copyof the Strategy Map... why not cut it out andpin it to your notice-board for futurereference?

Future ThinkingThe appointment of the Vice-Chancellor in April 2010 provided anopportunity to take stock of our significant progress in recent years within the context of dynamic external and internalenvironments and thereafter fine-tune the University’s strategicdirection, mission and purpose, where appropriate...

Now entering its seventh year, the NationalStudent Survey (NSS) launched at Glamorganon the 31st January 2011.

The NSS needs no introduction – It’s thestudent survey for UK student satisfaction anda significant yardstick for students makingUniversity choices. It’s also a highly visibleyardstick - NSS satisfaction scores aredisplayed on every course page, for everyUniversity on the UCAS website – making it anunavoidable factor in a student’s research andapplication process.

An extensive marketing campaign coincidedwith the launch to encourage early participationand boost response rates figures - fromposters, postcards and coasters, to pcwallpapers and a six-foot goat (and muchmore) all advertising the campaign!

Sir Alan Langlands, Chief Executive of HEFCE,said, “The results of the previous NationalStudent Surveys were overwhelmingly positiveendorsements of higher education. They willenable prospective students to make well --informed choices about their courses. Byproviding valuable feedback on their learningexperiences, today's students have anessential role in helping their successors tomake the right decisions about their highereducation.”

It is important that as many students aspossible provide their feedback for the surveyto generate reliable information. We need toachieve a response rate of at least 50% in oursubjects of study (combined with 23

respondents per cohort) in order for our subjectlevel data to be made publicly available onUnistats.com. Having no data on Unistatsreflects badly on an institution, indicating verylow satisfaction rates.

“Last year we achieved our highest everresponse rate of 70% and we want to do evenbetter this year,” explains Iz McAuliffe, CELT’sStaff Development and Student ExperienceOfficer & the Operational Manager for the NSSat Glamorgan.

Iz continues, “During the week beginning the31st January, our eligible students were sent aninvitation email to complete the NSS. Thosewho do not complete the survey within twoweeks will be contacted by post and ultimatelyby telephone. Early online completion isdesirable for everyone – for students so theyavoid further contact with Ipsos, and for staffso they reach their subject areas’ targetresponse rate early. Online completion ensuresstudents a chance of winning one of ten £50cash prizes, so please make your studentsaware of the NSS and encourage them tocomplete the survey online atwww.thestudentsurvey.com.”

If you have any questions please contact Iz on imcaulif@glam.ac.uk. If your students haveany questions please direct them towww.thestudentsurvey.com or they cancontact the National Student Survey team at Ipsos MORI directly atthestudentsurvey@ipsos.com.

Students havetheir Say

Please make sure that your students:

feel freedom to give their honest feedback on what they liked and did not like about their courseare not asked to fill in the survey while a member of staff is overseeingtheir responses or made to feel that their responses are beingmonitoredare not encouraged to reflect in their answers anything other than their genuine perception of their experience

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feature

The flood of water came from a failure in an‘air handling unit’ located in the attic space ofJohnstown (J Block). The flood of water founda path through the building to J145, causingmajor water damage.

This incident left the University withinsufficient equipment to restore core servicesnecessitating the ICT Disaster Recovery planto be put in place.

The Disaster Recovery plan required theimmediate replacement of £320,000 worth ofessential ICT hardware before restoration ofservices could take place. It is anticipatedthat this will be covered in full by theUniversity’s insurance claim.

LCSS Information Systems staff have beencommended by Academic Board for the hugeeffort that they put into restoring IT systemsand communicating regularly and effectivelywith staff and students. This involvedprocuring and configuring the new equipmentwithin the first three days of the incident, andrestoring a number of key ICT services withinthree to five days. The whole programme wasoverseen by the University’s contingencymanagement ‘gold’ team who prioritised therestoration of core ICT services to minimisethe disruption to business units. Throughout

the contingency management planningprocess, emphasis was placed on minimisingthe disruption to students. The student VirtualLearning Environment, Blackboard, was seenas a critical service and was operational bythe fourth working day after the incident. Abasic version of the student portal was madeavailable on the second working day.

A special meeting of DISAG (DirectorateInformation and Systems Advisory Group) hasconsidered ICT hardware risk assessment forserver, storage, data backup and restorefacilities and has made recommendations toDirectorate for actions to be taken to mitigateagainst future loss of core services anddelays to business continuity.

Professor David Baker, a co-opted Governoron the Estates and Finance Committee, hasalso undertaken an independent review of theUniversity’s Disaster Recovery proceduresand business continuity plans for theresilience of core systems. The outcome ofhis review will be considered by Directorate,alongside DISAG’s recommendations.

After the deluge…- an account of the restoration of IT services

On 28th November 2010, the University’score business units were severely affected as a result of water damage caused to theUniversity’s primary ICT Server and Storageinfrastructure.

J145 after the disaster

Servers are covered to protect them from further damage

The clean-up begins

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feature

Healthcare innovation:commercialising university research

Vice-Chancellor Julie Lydon has highlightedthe need for the University to take a morefocused approach to research anddevelopment and the commercialization ofknowledge: to drive up the impact of researchin order to inform and benefit businesses andsociety.

The Commercial Services Office (CSO) worksclosely with staff across all faculties and

departments to apply their research andexpertise to benefit the Welsh economy.

Biosciences and healthcare has beenidentified as a particular R&D priority area bythe Welsh Assembly Government. Excitinginnovations from the University of Glamorganrecently have been making waves in the fieldof healthcare and medical devices; including

stroke monitoring technology and early-stagelung cancer detection technology.

The short case studies below illustrate howCSO has supported these staff to make themost of their research and how they couldhelp you…

Stroke monitoring technologyTechnology for the early detection and monitoring of life-threatening brain conditions has beendeveloped by Dr. Stuart Watson and the team at the Medical Electronics and Signal ProcessingResearch Unit (MESPRU) in Faculty of Advanced Technology. The system based on MagneticInduction Tomography (MIT) could provide a non-invasive, safer and cost effective means of detectingand monitoring brain bleeding associated with strokes and other conditions.

Over the last 10 years the group has attracted EPSRC grants in excess of £1m for research into MITsystems for biomedical and industrial applications. CSO supported Dr. Watson with A4B early stagedevelopment funding, to provide market and commercial analysis and identify a number of potentialmarkets for the technology. An additional £20k was then secured for further technical and commercialviability work enabling the team to engage with potential clinical and commercial partners andsupporting identification and protection of a patent for the technology. CSO’s support has put the teamin a strong position to secure further funding to allow the team to adapt the system for clinical use.

Early stage lung cancer detectionA new diagnostic instrument for early-stage lung cancer detection is a step closer tocommercialisation thanks to a University spinout company. Prof. Tony Davies (HeSaS) is working on anon-invasive test for detecting early stage lung cancer using Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) that couldsubstantially improve cure rates.

This innovation has come out of research carried out by scientists within Prof. Davies' former researchgroup at ISAS (Institute of Spectrochemistry and Applied Spectroscopy) in Dortmund, Germany.Through A4B early stage development funding, CSO supported Prof. Davies to develop a businesscase and market understanding. The feasibility work was then used to produce a proposal to form aspinout company in order to exploit the technology and its commercial opportunities. Approval wasgranted late last year by the University’s Enterprise Strategy Group and has already attracted privatefunding. CSO is now seeking additional funding support.

To learn more about how CSO can support you with commercialising research, contact Donna March, dmarch@glam.ac.uk ext. 4278. Find out more about Academic Expertise for Business (A4B) funding herehttp://wales.gov.uk/topics/businessandeconomy/

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Mike Normansell views

progress with Project

Manager, Peter Aleman

Standing on top of Snowdon

Hall -- Wow what a view!

Accommopdate

The £18m redevelopment of the Treforesthalls of residence is continuing at a pacedespite weeks of bad weather in Decemberhampering the developers’ progress.

Block A – also known as Snowdon Hall – will be the first block due to becompleted ready for February-start International and postgraduate students.

Contractors Vinci have been battling to stay on schedule against the coldestDecember in over a century for the UK, with the inclement weather causing a number of setbacks to progress.

main feature

Floors had to be replaced in many rooms due to the water damage

View from the top of Block A

NB. Photos illustrate progress as of 20th january 2011.

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Premium kitchen, Glamorgan Court

dation The heavy snow that hit Pontypridd on 17thDecember came at the worst possible timefor the build, just two days before the roof ofBlock A was due to be made fully water-tight.

Temporary coverings designed to protect thebuilding from heavy rain showers were lesseffective against drifting snow; the weight ofthe snow settling on the coverings meltedand found its way into the building causingdamage to some of the fixings already inplace, which had to be replaced.

Accommodation Project Manager, PeterAleman from Estates, explains more; “It wasimpeccable timing on the part of the ‘goodold’ British weather – the snow fall forced usto close down the site for health and safetyreasons, so we couldn’t even get to Block Ato put up additional protection until it wassafe to reopen. Thankfully the water damagewas minimal and we were able to get back towork the following week.”

The site was closed until Wednesday 22ndDecember, when the University itselfreopened, however the contractors put theirtime to good use throughout the closurerallying together to clear the routes oncampus to ensure supply trucks could getthrough. The teams then worked throughoutthe Christmas fortnight to reduce the impactof these delays on the completion date.

Peter Aleman continues, “The University isnow considering a revised completion datefor Block A of about four weeks later thanplanned to allow the building to fully dry outafter the water ingress caused by the badweather and to ensure that the quality of thefinish is not in any way compromised.”

Snowden Hall – aptly named for its position atthe top of campus – is the first of the five newhalls to be completed under the project. Allnamed after mountains of Wales, the othersare expected to be called Pen y Fan, Sugar

Loaf, Caerphilly and Garth. Followingcompletion of Snowden Hall in February, theremaining blocks are due to be completedtogether in line with the project completiondate in August 2011.

The state of the art development will create476 modern accommodation spaces forstudents from September 2011, including 96premium rooms and 20 micro flats,predominantly for postgraduate or couple-sharing students. It will also include a centralcommunal block and open-air amphitheatrefor students.

Workmen install fire proofing to bedroom walls

Alongside the £18m development of thenew halls of residence at Treforest, theGlamorgan Court Halls of residence are alsoundergoing a £3.7 million refurbishment.

The work includes installation of newbedroom furniture, conversion of the showerpods into wet rooms and new and remodelledkitchens to ensure that Glamorgan’s Hallsaccommodation meets the very highstandards of the modern student.

The four year project began in summer 2009with the refurbishment of blocks C,D and E;Blocks P to V were refurbished during thesummer of 2010 and phase three will be

undertaken during the summer of 2011. Theproject is staggered because work can onlybe carried out during the summer in betweenacademic years, once the students havevacated their rooms.

By the time the final phase completes in 2012over 730 bedrooms and 123 kitchens willhave received the upgrade treatment.

The refurbishment also includes theintroduction of green technology into thebuildings, including PIR lighting controls, highfrequency lighting, condensing boilers andthermo-static radiator valves.

Nick Hennessey, Accommodation Manager,said, “This project, running alongside thebrand new Halls development will deliver afirst-class standard of accommodation acrossthe board for Glamorgan students giving us areal competitive edge in being able toguarantee modern halls accommodation tofirst years and provide a range of roomstandards to suit every taste and wallet.

Glamorgan Court refurbishment

It was impeccable timing on the part of the ‘good old’ Britishweather – the snow fall forced us to close down the site for healthand safety reasons, so we couldn’t even get to Block A to put upadditional protection until it was safe to reopen. Peter Aleman

16 staffroom

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New loungeis the business

Postgraduate Centre

The Glamorgan Business School’s new student social lounge,located on the ground floor of the H Block, is now open to studentsand staff.

The new facility provides students with the perfect place to gettogether and study or socialise. Brightly furnished with dedicated workareas, the new lounge has been created to help encourage students tointeract with each other in a comfortable environment.

Dean of the Faculty of Business and Society, Monica Gibson-Sweetsaid, “This facility is a welcome addition to our growing provision oflearning and social space at Glamorgan. I hope that the space willbecome a well-used and valued resource for students and staff alike”

The student social lounge will be open weekdays from early till late:• Mon-Fri: 8.00am-9.00pm • Sat-Sun: Closed

The exciting Phase Two development of T^y Crawshay will deliver a brand new,modern Postgraduate Centre complete withspacious open plan social learning areas,meeting rooms, reception and study areas.

Work began in January on the derelict middleand top floors of T^y Crawshay, formerly theUniversity’s chemistry and biologylaboratories.

Walls and floors are being demolished tomake way for open-plan modern workspaceswhich have been designed sympatheticallywith the 17th century industrial heritage of the

building. Not even the ground floor willescape development, with one of the walls inthe Gallery being knocked through to create a brand new permanent reception area andstaircase to the Postgraduate Centre.

Assistant Director of Estates, Wyn Williamssaid, “It’s quite a complicated remodellingproject involving the removal of brick wallsand chimney stacks among other things – allwhile the building remains in service to staffand students – however I believe the endresult will be a fantastic facility and yetanother important asset for the University.”

The historic T^y Crawshay building dates backto the early 1800s and is the former home ofthe School of Mines which opened in 1913.

Glamorgan Business School’s new social lounge

Work is well underway on the new Postgraduate Centre

Architect’s impressions of the new facility

Vice-Chancellor’s view“I find myself constantly delighted and impressed by the commitment of colleagues at this University to bring together sucha significant and diverse range of capital development projects and deliver them on time and to specification.

“The coordinated effort required to deliver our £130 million capital developments programme is truly phenomenal and it’s atestament to the professionalism and dedication of our colleagues in estates and beyond that we have achieved so much insuch a short space of time.

“My sincere congratulations to all involved in the design, construction and delivery of all our developments to date.”

staffroom 17

feature

Sustainabilityat the University of Glamorgan

When it comes to the environment Glamorgan’s credentials couldn’t be greener.

In recent years the University has established a strong commitment tosustainability, securing our place in the Green League of universitiespublished by the Times Higher Education and People and Planet in 2010,and earning us the badge ‘Greenest University in Wales’.

More recently the Vice-Chancellor has publicly applauded the ‘fantastic’achievements being made by the Sustainability Team in Estates in helpingUniversity staff to conserve energy, recycle more and reduce our collectivecarbon footprint.

Installation of electricity and gas saving initiatives such as PIR lightingcontrols resulted in around 1,930,753 kWh of electricity savings in the 12months between August 2009 and July 2010 alone – that’s enough powerto make 9,653,765 cups of tea or 45,970,309 photocopies.

Further measures, such as reducing cistern sizes from 12 to 6 litres, andgreater monitoring and pro active maintenance to avoid leaks and correctdefective equipment, have greatly reduced water consumption, saving1,365 m3 of water over the same period, equal to around 5,356 baths ofwater or over 100,000 average toilet flushes.

New energy efficient computers and an energy saving automatic shutdown of all University staff computers overnight, introduced by LCSS-IS in2010, has further contributed to our ongoing commitment to energyefficiency.

Far from resting on our green laurels however, the University continues tolook for ways to extend our Green agenda, including plans to install SolarPV Arrays on the roof of Stilts, installation of a Wind Turbine at GlamorganSport Park and installation of Voltage Optimisation Units in G Block.

To help you keep up to date with these developments, the SustainabilityTeam within Estates has launched a new website dedicated to all thingssustainable. Visit http://estates.glam.ac.uk/sustainability/ to find out more.

How youcan helpBelow are some energy-saving tips that you can follow in order to protect and preserve theenvironment:

Dress appropriately for the season; wearlayers of clothing during the wintermonths, then turn the heating down.

Use natural daylight when possible.

Use public transport to travel to workinstead of a car

Keep exterior doors and windowsclosed.

Turn off the lights in classrooms, offices,and restrooms when the rooms are notbeing occupied and report any lightingproblems to the Estates Helpdesk, ext2643.

Open blinds, drapes, and curtains duringwinter to allow sunlight in for solar heatgain. In the evenings, close them toreduce thermal heat loss.

Use hot water sparingly.

Turn off all unused electrical applianceswhen not in use.

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18 staffroom

glamorgan group

St Mary Statue, Penrhys, taken by Kelly Hughes, Marketing & Student Recruitment

Dave ‘Jasper’ Joyce and Stuart Brooks

of the Students’ Union

Treforest Campus, taken by Leanne Crawley,

European and External Resource Office

H Block shows its true colours

Torpantau, taken by Professor Dennis Murphy,

Faculty of Health, Sport and Science

Let it snowBerw Field Hill, taken by Elin Brown, HUman Resources

RWCMD NewsStuart’s BBC Radio role

Acting graduate StuartMcLoughlin has been invitedto rejoin the cast of the BBCRadio Drama Company(RDC). This small BBCrepertory company covers

the majority of acting, reading and narrationroles on all the BBC network programmes.

Stuart first joined RDC in 2004, the year hegraduated, when he won the prestigiousCarleton Hobbs Bursary Award. This five-month internship enables new talent towork with experienced actors in a variety ofradio productions.

Stars of future

Recent acting graduates Remy Beasley(pictured far right) and Katie Elin-Salt (farleft) have both featured as 'rising stars ofthe future' in the Western Mail's annual pickof Welsh talent. Both actors appeared tocritical acclaim in National Theatre Wales’recent Bridgend Love Steals us fromLoneliness shortly after leaving the RoyalWelsh College.

Brass-act

For the third yearrunning, a brassstudent from theRoyal WelshCollege of Music &Drama has beenselected for theRadio 2 YoungBrass Musician ofthe Year semi-final.

Second year euphonium student JamesMcLeod reached the semi-final of thecompetition which was held on 22 Januaryat BBC Manchester.

Your pictures of the heavy snow that covered the UK in December 2010

� Distinguished Employee AwardDr Rachel Taylor (HaSS)“Dr Taylor never hesitates to go the extra mile to ensure high quality… she excels in all areas of her work, as anexcellent administrator; inspired leader and first-class researcher and author. Without her efforts Psychologywould not be the high-achieving division it is today.”

� Customer Service AwardGary Llewellyn (HaSS)“Gary is unfailingly positive and professional: he has the ability to weigh up a situation and see the shortest routeto getting the problem solved and is always willing to listen to suggestions on how to improve studentexperience. It’s a comfort to know that the person at the end of the phone is totally reliable and will deliver whatthey promise.”

� Environmental/Community AwardAndre Clark (GBS)“Andre is quite simply an outstanding individual and an asset to the University – his long track record in servingthe community includes Directing the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) and serving for many years with the BreconMountain Rescue Team – there is no doubt that his actions have saved lives and improved the lives of theunderprivileged.”

� Team AwardHaydn Blackey (CELT), Sue Burnett (LCSS), Barry Richards (LCSS), Beth Pearce (LCSS), Richard Tunstall (GBS), Stuart Jones (CCI), Matthew Sparks (LCSS), Rob Dicks (MSR) andRebecca Moore (MSR)

“The Glamorgan iTunes U Project is a perfect example of what can be achieved when academic and supportstaff collaborate. Their achievement in terms of scale and impact is impressive and their professionalism andattention to detail, remarkable.”

staffroom 19

staff news

Staff Recognition Awards 2010 Colleagues from HaSS, the Business School and LCSS wereamongst those to receive accolades at the 2010 StaffRecognition Awards on 27th January.

NomineesSpecial congratulations were also given by the Vice-Chancellor to all the nominees including: [Customer ServiceAward] Alison Crudgington (HaSS); Natalie Davies (HaSS); Kari Jones (Ac Reg) Rhian Morgan (HaSS), Viv Picton(HaSS) and Gemma Savage (GCC) (Team Award) Education Drop-in Centre (LCSS) and the Estates Department(Outstanding Employee Award) Bob White (Ac Reg) and Glenys Williams (HaSS).

20 staffroom

staff news

The Glamlife-styled staff ‘portal’ website is a step-forward in the provision of staffcommunications and information sharing,with a host of new features and improvedfunctionality to make the user experiencemore friendly and fast. Find out more aboutwhat you can expect below…

DirectoryProbably the single most important and usefulnew feature on the staff portal, the Directoryis an A-Z list of references pages covering(almost) every topic relevant to staff. Thepages are signposts to information, designedto link you to where information is kept, ratherthan contain the information themselves –that’s why every page contains links toappropriate pages and documents. It’s ahuge step forward in facilitating search andshould result in information becoming farmore accessible. The facility will be ‘work-in-progress’ for a time and staff are invited tocontribute via the +feedback function.

PollsThese are instant online staff surveys, askinga single question and giving the choice ofthree responses. Polls will allow staff toinstantly respond to a question via multiplechoice tick boxes; responses areautomatically registered and the collectiveresults can be viewed on the polls pages ofthe portal , which also let you go back andbrowse the results of former surveys. Abooking system will be in place for membersof staff to request a poll which can stay inplace for up to two weeks at a time. ContactMike Normansell in MSR for details.

PromosThe new face of Inform’s ‘editorial box’,Promos are more flexible, allowing up to fouritems to appear consecutively, via a flashydisplay which scrolls between frames on atimed loop like a slideshow, each oneappearing for about 10 seconds. Anotherfantastic step-forward from Inform news, thiswill allow staff to book longer spots of up to a

week for their item without the fear of itgetting knocked off by an importantannouncement, ensuring far more of yourcolleagues will see it!

MarketplaceNoticeboard returns with a name-change andslight improvements, notably self-moderationwhich means no more waiting for posts to beapproved and the ability to report damagingor malicious activity to the administrators.The rules and restrictions on selling certainitems, such as tickets, will also still apply.Other than that the facility remains relativelyunchanged – well if it ain’t broke…

+FeedbackThe staff portal is your facility, so we needyour feedback to make it better. Whateverpage you are on, you can click the +feedback button and send us your ideason how to make the pages better.

Staff communications are getting the 21st century treatment in February as the long-awaitedsuccessor to Inform is finally rolled out to colleagues at the University...

Inform makevastly impr

A ‘work in progress’ view of the new staff portalhttp://academicregistry.glam.ac.uk

http://staffdevelopment.glam.a

http://healthandsafety.glam.ac.uk

ProfessorialInauguralLectures 2010 - 2011Lectures are held on a Tuesday evening in the GlamorganConference Centre unless otherwise stated and start at 6pm.Refreshments are available from 5.30pm.

All lectures are free and open to members of the public.

Knowledge organisation systems and information discoveryProfessor Douglas TudhopeProfessor of Information ScienceTuesday 8 March 2011

Mental health nursing research: what are the risks of thathappening?Professor Paul RogersProfessor of Forensic NursingTuesday 12 April 2011, Glyntaff Campus

From despair to where? The many faces of economic development policyProfessor David PickernellProfessor in Economic Development PolicyTuesday 10 May 2011

The miner’s canary, may it flyProfessor Anthony BeddowVisiting Professor, Faculty of Health, Sport and ScienceTuesday 14 June 2011, Glyntaff Campus

To book your place please call 01443 483345 or e-mail jgarrett@glam.ac.uk

staffroom 21

Who better to tell applicants what life at Glamorgan is really likethan the students who are already here? This was the rationalebehind the recent I Heart My Glam competition. During the autumnterm, students across the University were asked to produce ashort video to show why they ‘heart’ Glamorgan. The brief wassimple, allowing students to show any aspect of their life atGlamorgan with prizes for first, second and third places.

The videos will be judged this term by undergraduate applicantsfor 2011 entry. Katie Hearn, Marketing Executive comments,“Asking current students to promote Glamorgan to prospectivestudents is a great opportunity to gain extra skills. Using peer-to-peer marketing is effective, and inviting prospective students tointeract on Facebook allows us to develop a two-way dialog”. For more information, visit www.glam.ac.uk/iheartmyglam.

i heart y gla

s way for roved service

Channels Behind the scenes, departments have also been creating their ownnew websites, here’s an overview of the latest ones to launch:

http://hr.glam.ac.uk

HR have continued the great work they started on their Informpages by creating a slick-looking website for staff featuringeverything you would need as a new or existing member of staff,including a full list of the University’s HR policies, procedures anddocuments, as applications forms, online calculators and payscales and dates – all accessible via an easy to use A-Z directory.

http://healthandsafety.glam.ac.uk

The Occupational Health and Safety Service (OHSS) have broughttogether a cornucopia of information, policies and documents into asimple and logical structure for staff. Split into the service’sconstituent teams, the site puts you within a couple of clicks of allof the University’s health and safety legislation, forms andstrategies and features a very handy FAQs section in case you needhelp finding something.

http://staffdevelopment.glam.ac.uk

Styled on the already impressive Inform resource, the new StaffDevelopment pages make it easy to navigate your way through thesea of training options the University offers. Search by course titleor use the left hand links to identify suitable training based on yourcircumstances. Thanks to a clever app that displays ‘the nextevent’ on each course information page, you’ll never miss anothertraining opportunity.

http://academicregistry.glam.ac.uk

The result of a massive effort to bring together Academic Registry’swealth of online information, this site is split into two main sections‘for staff’ and ‘for students’, to create a comprehensive one-stop-shop for Academic Registry resources, including everything fromthe University Calendar to room booking forms and academiccertificates.

http://hr.glam.ac.ukac.uk

22 staffroom

profile

Gettingto know......Emma GwynnettManager, International StudentSupport Service (ISSS)

After studying Drama and English at Bretton Hall in Yorkshireand Feminist Theory at Trinity College Carmarthen, I arrived at the University ofGlamorgan in 1999 to study a part-time research degree (in Welsh women’s poetryin English). I worked in the Learning Resources Centre to support myself, which Ireally enjoyed, but in 2003 eventually tore myself away from the library to becomethe Academic Support Adviser for the (then) School of Applied Sciences.

Volunteering trips to Mongolia and India in 2005 and 2006 prompted me to look toways of furthering my career within the international student support field and Ibecame the Assistant International Student Adviser in the ISSS in 2006. I becamea full Adviser for the team 18 months later and was very pleased to be appointedthe team manager at the beginning of this year. I am fortunate enough to reallyenjoy my job. I love the challenge of working with the complexity of the UKimmigration system, but also the opportunities that I get to spend time getting toknow, and looking after, the international students at Glamorgan.

What was your first part-time job? Working on a fruit and veg stall in a market. We weren’t allowed a calculator, so Ibecame very good at adding things up quickly in my head! Very handy when tottingup a bill after a meal.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?The grass is not necessarily greener, it’s just different.

Do you have any hobbies?I am the recently re-elected President of the local Ynysangharad WI. It offers meopportunities to share time and experiences with lots of interesting women, manyof whom I wouldn’t usually get to meet. I’m also planning a vegetable patch,though I’m not too sure how green my fingers are yet.

What’s the best thing about your job?Students! I adore working with international students, they can be very challengingbut they can also be great fun and full of fantastic stories. I have so much respectfor the fact that they have travelled so far and put themselves in a strange cultureaway from their families and support networks. I wonder how many of us wouldhave the courage to do the same?

What’s your happiest moment? At the risk of being ‘cheesy’ I am a genuinely happy person who just loves lifeeveryday. We spend a lot of time laughing in the ISSS!

What car do you drive?A bright green Toyota Townace with fold out double bed (for weekends away andfestivals).

Which one book and record would you take to a desert island?I can’t choose one book – I read voraciously absolutely anything I can get myhands on. Music wise: anything I can dance too, particularly seventies funk anddrum and bass.

What’s your worst overindulgence?I love shopping on ebay for clothes. I have wardrobes and boxes full of variousitems, but due to my partner’s protests I’ve actually starting to list them back onebay now as I have run out of room.

Favourite food?Just about anything. I am addicted to my slow cooker, however… I am ashamed tosay that I am more a gourmand than a gourmet!

Complete these sentences…

I’m good at people.

I’m bad at housework.

’’‘‘At the risk of being

‘cheesy’ I am a genuinelyhappy person who justloves life everyday.

staffroom 23

The Beauty Room opened on the ground floor of the Treforest Students’ Union in October 2010. We offer various treatments, including Waxing,Nails, False Lashes and Spray Tanning, all at greatly reduced prices for staff, no matter what campus people are on.

Salon Manager, Adele Sweet has been in the industry over 10 years and is not only hands on in the salon but also a nail trainer, offering shortprivate nail courses to other beauty salons that want to add nail services to their menu, or for people who want to start their own nail business.

The Beauty Room

The Beauty Room10am-6pm (Tuesdays 10am-7pm)

Call 01443 483 424 for an appointment or just call in!Find us on the ground floor of the Students’ Union building

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