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keele:NEWS
University
Personal
Best for
Emma at
Commonwealth
Games
Keele graduate Emma Jackson (2009
Accountancy/Finance) ran the race of
her life at the Commonwealth Games to
record a new personal best of 2:00.46 in
the 800m final in Delhi, finishing fourth.
The City of Stoke AC runner, who gave up
her teacher training course in Mathematics
at Keele in October to concentrate on
reaching the London Olympics, won her
heat with a time of 2:01.63, beating Kenya’s
Olympic 1500m champion, and eventual
gold medallist, Nancy Langat. However,
despite a brave effort in the final, she
just missed out on the bronze medal.
Emma said: “I ran a personal best, which
was a first at a major competition, so I
have to be happy with that. I enjoyed it
so much and now I have experienced the
atmosphere, I can’t wait to do it all again.”
Emma at the World Junior
Championships in Beijing in 2006
Student of the Year
The 2010 winner of the Neil and Gina Smith Student of the Year Award was
Darrell Simkins, a 23-year-old student in Music and Educational Studies.
Darrell performed exceptionally well
academically, achieving firsts in every
module studied. He was invited to present
his dissertation, ‘Inside and Outside ‘The
Campus Bubble’: A comparative research
project of study abroad programmes at
Keele University and The University of Leeds’,
at the International Conference of Education
in Canada, a sign of the high standard of
Zane Lowe
opens refurbished KUBE Radio studio
Radio 1 DJ superstar Zane Lowe has officially opened KUBE
Radio’s refurbished studio during a visit to Keele University.
Keele’s award-winning student radio
station has undergone an overhaul of
its technical equipment and a massive
refurbishment of the studio facilities.
A new desk has been specially built and
designed for the studio by Oxford Sound
& Media. New microphone stands have
been installed, alongside new chairs
and headphones in the studio.
Most of the £4,500 refurbishment was
funded by alumni donations to the Keele
Key Fund, with the rest of the costs
being made up by income generated
by the general society membership.
Zane Lowe, who is a strong supporter of
student radio, came to Keele University
Students’ Union as part of his DJ Hero Tour 2.
He cut the ribbon on the studio marking
the official reopening of the updated
facilities and shared some inspirational
words with the assembled KUBE
scholarship and research skills Darrell has
attained through his studies at Keele.
Darrell took the opportunity to pursue
part of his studies in a partner university, in
the Faculty of Fine Arts at York University
in Toronto, Canada. In recognition of
his academic excellence, Darrell was
awarded the Royal Doulton scholarship
to support his study abroad experience.
committee and members before signing
posters for the ‘KUBE Wall of Fame’.
The current KUBE committee have
worked tirelessly over the last year
to fund the renovations to the
studio for future generations.
The original studio was opened by Maxi
Jazz of Faithless, and then later reopened
by Kerrang! Radio’s James Walshe when
KUBE moved into its new studio.
KUBE Radio press officer Holly Beaumont-
Wilkes said: “Zane even called the studio
‘awesome’, which made everything the
committee has been working on feel worth
all the wait and hard work. These renovations
will mean that KUBE members will be able to
have a higher quality output for this coming
year, and hopefully many years after that.”
Listen to KUBE Radio online at
www.kuberadio.com
While at Keele, Darrell participated in
extra-curricular music programmes, both
on and off campus, and made a significant
contribution to musical life at Keele and in
the local community. He was even invited to
conduct the Keele Bach Choir, Philharmonic
Orchestra and Choir, a considerable
honour for an undergraduate student.
“Extraordinary”
Scholarship for Kenyan Pharmacy Student
A young Kenyan from a
“humble background” has
been given the chance of a
lifetime to study pharmacy in
the UK, thanks to a unique
sponsorship scheme drawn
up by Keele University
and global pharmaceutical
company Sanofi-Aventis.
Myron Odingo began his studies at
Keele in October after winning the
fully funded place at the University.
He had to undergo a rigorous selection
process to be awarded the Sanofi-
Aventis Scholarship for the four-year
MPharm Pharmacy degree at Keele.
The scholarship covers the cost of tuition
fees, on-campus accommodation, a
contribution to living expenses and airfares.
Professor Steve Chapman, Head of the School
of Pharmacy, said: “Even with bursaries, many
gifted young students from Kenya just can’t
afford to come here to study. This is an
extraordinary offer that allows an exceptional
student the chance to study here in the UK.”
Hundreds of candidates from Kenyan state
schools applied for the scholarship but
only 20, who met the stringent selection
criteria, based on academic excellence and
experience of a broader contribution to the
Myron Odingo with Vice-Chancellor Professor Nick Foskett
community, were invited to sit a written
examination. Five were shortlisted for
interview and a presentation, and 19-yearold
Myron was selected for the place.
Myron, who studied at Starehe Boys’ Centre
in Kenya, said: “I come from a humble
background – my father is currently jobless
and my mother runs the family, while still
doing her studies under minimum wage.”
While studying, Myron gave up full vacations
to do voluntary community service work in
hospitals and a municipal library. He has been
working for a volunteer service programme
conducting interviews in the Kibera slums to
help in research aimed at “improving the living
conditions of the less privileged in society”.
David Wachira, Senior Admissions Master at
Starehe, said: “I strongly recommend Myron
to you as a vibrant, well-mannered, intelligent
and talented young man who will definitely
make good use of this opportunity.”
Ty Hughes, Regional Business Director
Midlands, Sanofi-Aventis said: “Sanofi-Aventis
has a history of working with universities,
such as Keele, that are respected for their
work in the healthcare sector. It gives me
great pleasure today to see the results of this
particular partnership in such a deserving
student as Myron. I’m looking forward
to watching his progress throughout the
programme, and on to his future career.”
African
Institute
appoints Keele
academic in
double first
A Keele academic has become the
first female director of a prestigious
African research institute.
Dr Ambreena Manji, a Reader in the
School of Law, is also the first lawyer to
be made director of the British Institute
in Eastern Africa, a British Academy
School based in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Institute, which was founded in
1959, promotes humanities and social
science research across the whole
of the eastern African region.
During her two-year secondment, Dr Manji
will research the history of African legal
education and in particular Britain’s role
in the founding of African law schools
in the immediate post-independence
period. She will also continue to write
on African land issues and carry out
empirical work on women’s experiences
of new property and mortgage laws
in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
Keele’s Sophie
named Law Graduate
of the Year
Law graduate Sophie Lake
was awarded the 2010
Graduate 100 Law Graduate
of the Year award.
Sophie, who graduated last year in Law with
Politics, said: “Throughout my time at Keele
I have been encouraged not only to get the
most out of my subjects, but also to take
a wider perspective on life and the world
in general. All my lecturers gave me great
support and inspiration. Without them I
would not have been able to achieve a first
class honours degree and certainly would not
have been named Law Graduate of the Year.
“I enjoyed every moment of my three years at
Keele and I am sad that my time there has come
to an end. However, the foundation that my
experience at Keele has given me is invaluable
and will stay with me throughout my career.”
Graduate 100 is an initiative, developed
with leading employers and industry figures,
which profiles and promotes Britain’s highest
achieving final and penultimate year students.
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forever:keele | issue : six : April 2011 issue : six : April 2011 | forever:keele 11