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Buckingham in the news
December 2005 update
| International news | National news | Radio, television and other appearances | Local news |
International news
Idris secures position as Senator. An announcement that Buckingham alumnus Datuk Idris Buang (LLB '82) has been elected as a Senator by the Sarawak state assembly in Malaysia. The Star Online, 1st December.
Ferrari in "fine form" – Gene. Buckingham alumnus and Ferrari test driver Marc Gene (Business Economics '96) is quoted in this article as saying the development for Ferrari's 2006 car is "going very well indeed". F1racing.net , 2nd December.
In a working partnership. This is a feature, both personal and professional, about the life of Buckingham alumna Agnes Murgor (LLB '87). She has set up Murgor and Murgor Advocates, and is running the company with her husband in Kenya. Style and Substance , 2nd December.
Democratic process will be successful and beneficial in Kazakhstan – Great Britain observers. News that Buckingham Professor Dennis O'Keeffe and a number of representatives from the UK have been to Kazakhstan to assess the development of the country's economic system. Kazinform , 3rd December. A similar article appeared on EurasiaNet on 5th December.
The Thomas Cook captain. This is a feature about Ashwini Kakkar, CEO and MD of Thomas Cook India Limited. He talks about his company and its development, and also mentions a training link with Buckingham as the only university to offer a Master's and PhD in Service Management. Express Travel World , 7th December.
Military / civil governance: a comparative account. This is an account written by Buckingham alumnus Olagunsoye Oyinlola (LLB '03) about his experiences and positions held in Nigeria. These include military administrator of Lagos State, Military and Civilian Governor of Lagos and Osun and much more. Daily Independent (Nigeria), 25th December.
National news
Serve them right. VS Mahesh is quoted in an article which looks at the service offered by high street retailers, and how customer experience can be improved. Mr Mahesh explains how he has "identified 21 different components of service that inform a customer's perception of a store before they even walk into it." Buckingham alumnus Gordon Stoddart (Service Management '02), who is Director of Consultancy at training company Innergy, is also quoted in this article. Learning and Development , December 2005.
Anyone can whistle. In an article which looks at the declining numbers of people who whistle, Anne Earls provides "a charming description of an absent-minded, whistling professor at the local university who is perpetually lost, and can be heard, like a disorientated Pied Piper, whistling away as he meanders aimlessly down corridors." Yours , December 2005.
Lack of staff threatens physics.
Research by
Professor Alan Smithers
and
Dr Pamela Robinson
,
showing a lack in physics teachers across the UK, is mentioned in
this article.
Laboratory News
, December 2005. The same
research is also mentioned in
The Independent
and
SEC ED
on 1st December, and in the
Yorkshire Post
on 8th December.
Private Eye
(first December issue) published a cartoon based on this
work.
Read the news article:
Physics crisis linked to lack
of qualified teachers
"If students are really going to keep their noses to the grindstones for 40 weeks a year, they won't have much time to earn money on the side." This article looks at the benefits of 2-year degrees. The author, Professor Alan Ryan, the Warden of New College Oxford, writes, "So, two-year degrees are not a quick fix financially and would be something of a nightmare to introduce. On the other hand, Buckingham University has been offering them ever since it opened its doors, and there is much to be said for letting students who want to get on and get out do exactly that." Times Higher Education Supplement , 2nd December.
Why childcare experts need a good smacking. Dr Terence Kealey looks at 20th century childcare advice. The article was prompted by the magazine Nursery World publishing past advice and mistakes on how to care for children. An example, from 1936, concluded that the solution to an eighteen month old baby crying at night was to smack it until, after three weeks' punishment, it would provide "undisturbed nights of rest". Dr Kealey describes how the evolution of concepts of childcare mirrored the development of scientific hypotheses. The Times , 8th December.
How to benefit from the Christmas bash. Miranda Leslau, public relations consultant and lecturer in PR for Boston University ( US ) British Programmes and the University of Buckingham, offers some advice on how to organise a successful, and career-furthering, Christmas party. Recruiter , 14th December.
Nursery tantrums. Written in response to Dr Terence Kealey's article earlier in December, which was entitled Why childcare experts need a good smacking , the THES worried that: "We all know that university leaders have to keep one eye on the future of their graduates in secondary schools - but is Dr Kealey taking it too far?" Times Higher Education Supplement, 16th December.
The A-Z of Business Schools 2006. Buckingham receives an excellent profile in the non- AMBA section of this annual review of Business Schools. The profile said: "Students benefit from a cross-cultural perspective" and also explains that students will receive a "demanding and fulfilling experience" in return for their investment. Independent on Sunday, 18th December.
Schools offer diplomas in beauty as part of reforms. News of a study showing that 40% of teenagers will abandon GCSE s within the next 10 years, in favour of vocational courses such as leisure & tourism and engineering. Professor Alan Smithers comments that, if this is to happen, employers have to have input into the design of these courses and be prepared to offer jobs on the back of them. Daily Telegraph, 18th December.
Radio, television and other appearances
Law School
- Mr James Baker and Ms Zara Broadley triumphed against Brunel University in the first round of the Oxford University Press Mooting Competition. The theme of the mooting problem was contract law.
Professor Norman Barry
- was interviewed on 6th December on BBC Three Counties Radio Breakfast Show regarding the Tory leadership battle between David Cameron and David Davies.
- gave a lecture entitled Confusion in Modern Liberalism to the Department of Human and Environmental Studies at Kyoto University in Japan on 27th December.
- appeared on BBC Radio 4 on 8th December to discuss long-distance versus part-time learning.
Harin Sellahewa (Information Systems DPhil student)
- was interviewed for a feature on the situation in Asia one year after the Boxing Day tsunami. The programme was aired on BBC Three Counties Radio on 26th December.
Mr V.S. Mahesh
On conclusion of several research projects leading to dissertations by the 2005 cohort of MSc Service Management students, Mr Mahesh made presentations to:
- the board of Directors of Jungheinrich- UK on what needs to be done to use after-sales service as a lever for improvement (with Paul Wilson and Viktor Peters, both MSc Service Management students, 2005)
- the Chairman and Managing Director of THEN GmbH , Schwäbisch Hall, Germany with recommendations for achieving increased market share (with Georg Baur, MSc Service Management, 2005)
- the top management of MK Dons Football Club on the results of an extensive survey, leading to recommendations for growing and retaining a much larger fan base in and around Milton Keynes (with Caspar Schmick, MSc Service Management, 2005)
- the senior and top management of Thames Water on the desired cycle of service expected by their customers with a recommended set of customer-defined service standards (with Deneise Dadd-Spalding, MSc Service Management, 2005).
Later, Mr Mahesh visited New Delhi, India, where he held two public workshops under the aegis of the Growtalent Virtual University:
- The first was on the theme of "Market leadership through service excellence", on 15th and 16th December.
- The second was on the theme of "Attracting and retaining talent through service excellence to internal customers", on 19th and 20th December.
He also held an in-company workshop for Hutch Wampao top management at Bangalore, India, on "ten critical approaches to generating customer focus through enhanced service levels" on 22nd December, followed by a one-day workshop on "Owning your customer through quality service". This was held in support of a charity fundraising campaign organised by the Rotary Club of Madras Coromandel in Chennai, India, on 29th December.
Local news
Business Link's chain of events. News of a number of events held by Business Link, some of which took place at Buckingham. The Bucks Fizz breakfast is also mentioned. Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser, Bicester Review , 2nd December.
Could we lose physics? This article looks at the research, carried out by Professor Alan Smithers and Dr Pamela Robinson, which revealed the shortage of physics teachers across England. Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser, Bicester Review , 2nd December.
Cinema rolls out red carpet.
News of the
success of the launch of The Film Place – a cinema based in
the Ian Fairbairn Lecture Hall.
Buckingham & Winslow
Advertiser, Bicester Review
, 2nd
December.
Read the news
article:
Curtain
goes up on Buckingham's new cinema
Gene expects Ferrari glory. News that Buckingham alumnus Marc Gene (Business Economics '96) will embark on another season of testing for Ferrari. Marc and his teammate predict that the Italian team will be back on their best form for the 2006 season. Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser, Bicester Review , 2nd December.
Former chief's views wholeheartedly received. News that Professor Chris Woodhead made a visit to Chigwell School to observe one of the students on the Buckingham PGCE course ; he then went on to speak to staff on teaching and learning in the classroom. Dr Paul Burd, Third Master at Chigwell School, said, "Chris' views were very well received by the staff, most of whom whole-heartedly agreed with his distaste for much of today's educational jargon which can only be described as gobbledygook." Wanstead & Woodford Guardian , 15th December.
Festival of films at new cinema. News of forthcoming films to be shown at The Film Place in early 2006. Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser, Brackley & Towcester Advertiser and Bicester Review , 23rd December.
Help to deal with stress. A workshop on work-related stress and how to deal with it is to be held on 12th January at the University. Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser, Brackley & Towcester Advertiser , 30th December.
University of Buckingham news in the Buckingham & Winslow Advertiser, Brackley & Towcester Advertiser and Bicester Review :
-
2nd December
- News of Professor Norman Barry receiving the Liberty in Theory Lifetime Award.
-
9th December
- A message from the University of Buckingham wishing all the townspeople a happy new year, and bringing news that January will see the next intake of students
-
16th December
- A look back on developments at Buckingham during 2005: Enterprise Hub, PGCE with QTS , new courses, cinema and much more.
-
23rd December
- News that it is nearly a year since the Asian tsunami, and that the University's committee, set up to help those affected, has raised nearly £1,500.
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