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Issue 16 Autumn 2012 - Brunel University

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AUTUMN <strong>2012</strong> :: <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>16</strong><br />

Made in<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> <strong>2012</strong><br />

Former record-breaking<br />

sailor Dame Ellen<br />

MacArthur tells Express<br />

about her interest<br />

in design and her<br />

bold ambitions for a<br />

sustainable future<br />

National Student<br />

Survey<br />

Union of <strong>Brunel</strong> Students<br />

ranked top in London<br />

London <strong>2012</strong><br />

Round Up<br />

Kate Walsh brings<br />

home bronze<br />

<strong>University</strong> of<br />

the Year?<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> nominated for<br />

major THE award<br />

Graduation<br />

Week<br />

Class of <strong>2012</strong> goes<br />

out in style


CoNTeNTs ANd CrediTs :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

2<br />

3 Round up: National<br />

Student Survey and<br />

<strong>2012</strong> league tables<br />

4-5 Feature: London<br />

<strong>2012</strong> round up<br />

6-7 Latest news from<br />

across campus<br />

8-11 Feature: Graduation <strong>2012</strong><br />

ExpRESS TEAM<br />

Editor Rachel Turvey<br />

Features Emma Filtness, Joe Norman<br />

Design Andrew Hill<br />

photography Sally Trussler,<br />

Neil Graveney, Mark Shearman<br />

print <strong>Brunel</strong> <strong>University</strong> Press<br />

12-13 Feature: Strategic<br />

plan <strong>2012</strong>-2017<br />

14-15 photo feature:<br />

Introduction to the Eastern<br />

Gateway Building<br />

<strong>16</strong>-17 Student and graduate<br />

news round up<br />

18-19 Feature: Made in<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> <strong>2012</strong><br />

CoNTACT US<br />

Communications Team<br />

communications@brunel.ac.uk<br />

01895 265588<br />

Express is available to read and<br />

download on our website:<br />

brunel.ac.uk/news/express.<br />

Extra printed copies are available from<br />

the Communications Team.<br />

20-21 Interview: Dame<br />

Ellen MacArthur<br />

22-23 Staff news round up<br />

24-26 Research news round up<br />

27 Feature: International<br />

pathways and<br />

Language Centre<br />

28 The Gallery<br />

8 10 14<br />

18<br />

26<br />

27<br />

75<br />

75%


NSS <strong>2012</strong>:<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> Students’ Union<br />

voted best in London<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> has maintained a good performance in this year’s National Student<br />

Survey, with outstanding success for the Union of <strong>Brunel</strong> Students (UBS)<br />

whose members are the most satisfied in London and the fifth most<br />

satisfied in the UK with their Union’s work.<br />

As an institution the <strong>University</strong> has sustained the remarkable performance<br />

achieved last year. The percentage of students satisfied with their<br />

experience at <strong>Brunel</strong> has improved in five out of the seven categories<br />

surveyed, and we achieved an overall student satisfaction rate of 86%. In<br />

this category and in five others <strong>Brunel</strong> is ahead of the sector average, and<br />

overall we remain in the same band of institutions as last year.<br />

Students’ satisfaction with their Union was a new theme for <strong>2012</strong>, and<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> students’ responses mean that UBS is ranked 5 th in the country, and<br />

top in London.<br />

The outstanding result rewards an exciting year at UBS. The Union was<br />

one of only 14 in the country to achieve a Gold award for the quality of its<br />

Olympic-related student activities, and one of only <strong>16</strong> to receive funding to<br />

run Student-Led Teaching Awards.<br />

UBS President Promise Phillips said: “We are delighted with the NSS results<br />

for <strong>2012</strong> both for the <strong>University</strong> and for UBS, which demonstrate the value<br />

our members place on the quality of services we provide. We work very<br />

hard every year with the <strong>University</strong> to ensure that our members receive<br />

the best environment for studying, the highest levels of academic and<br />

pastoral support, and a student experience that rivals any in the country.<br />

We are delighted to be in the company of other prestigious Unions and<br />

are proud to have achieved this result on a significantly lower budget.”<br />

Further survey highlights for the <strong>University</strong> include a second successive<br />

year ranked 13 th in the country for students’ satisfaction with learning<br />

resources, and a 10-place climb to 30 th for satisfaction with the <strong>University</strong>’s<br />

organisation and management.<br />

At the time of going to press, subject specific rankings were not available:<br />

check the web at www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-events for full details<br />

of the NSS <strong>2012</strong> results.<br />

The NSS is a national survey including all institutions and all subject areas,<br />

in which students report on their experiences at university. All final year<br />

undergraduate students (Home/EU and international) are eligible to<br />

participate.<br />

LATesT NeWs :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> earns<br />

significant<br />

improvements<br />

across the university<br />

league tables<br />

The <strong>University</strong> has been delighted<br />

to record dramatic improvements<br />

across all the major UK university<br />

rankings published in the last year,<br />

with significant jumps in a number<br />

of individual subject areas.<br />

The Good <strong>University</strong> Guide<br />

(published in The Times)<br />

An improvement of 77 places for<br />

student satisfaction elevates <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

to 17th in the UK, and the <strong>University</strong><br />

rises 8 places overall to 43rd . Art and<br />

Design is 6th out of 79 institutions<br />

and Sports Science is 17th out of 78.<br />

The Guardian<br />

<strong>University</strong> Guide<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> is the biggest climber of any<br />

<strong>University</strong>, jumping from 82nd to 44th place and with 19 of the 22 subject<br />

areas ranked higher than in 2011.<br />

Social Work programmes are ranked<br />

1st out of 77, Art and Design is 2nd out of 81, and <strong>Brunel</strong> is in the upper<br />

quartile for History and History<br />

of Art, Anatomy and Physiology,<br />

Sports Science, Music and English.<br />

The Complete<br />

<strong>University</strong> Guide<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> is 41st overall, up nine places<br />

since 2011 in the biggest positive<br />

rank move of all last year’s top 50<br />

universities. Art and Design is ranked<br />

5th out of 78 and Sports Science is 10th out of 76. There are also significant<br />

rank improvements in Nursing, Social<br />

Work, Business Studies and Drama.<br />

The Sunday Times<br />

<strong>University</strong> Guide<br />

Published in September 2011, the<br />

latest Sunday Times ranking sees<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> climb 10 places to 39th . Art<br />

and Design is ranked 2nd out of 73,<br />

while History and Archaeology,<br />

Biology and Business are also in<br />

the upper quartile. There are<br />

significant improvements for<br />

Management (up 50), Media Studies<br />

(up 45), Sociology, Social Policy<br />

and Anthropology (up 25), Biology<br />

(up 20) and Business (up 20).<br />

Time Higher Education<br />

Top 100 Under 50<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> is ranked top in London, 6th in the UK and 35th in the world in<br />

the first world ranking of the top<br />

100 universities founded in the last<br />

50 years. The <strong>University</strong> is 6th in<br />

the world, 3rd in Europe and 2nd in<br />

the UK for international outlook.<br />

3


FeATUre :: LATesT NeWs :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

4<br />

Golden success credited to <strong>Brunel</strong> training<br />

Athletes and staff from Korea,<br />

Canada and the Caribbean who<br />

trained at <strong>Brunel</strong> in the lead up<br />

to the Games have been united<br />

in their praise for the campus<br />

facilities and the welcome<br />

received from staff and students.<br />

Triple Olympic Champion Usain<br />

Bolt and his training partners<br />

Yohan Blake and Warren Weir<br />

(pictured right) won gold, silver<br />

and bronze in the men’s 200m,<br />

capping a glittering Games for<br />

London <strong>2012</strong><br />

round up<br />

The nation was gripped by olympic fever over the summer of <strong>2012</strong>,<br />

and on campus at <strong>Brunel</strong> we were right at the heart of the action.<br />

Crowds on the concourse cheered the olympic Torch Relay<br />

in July, and as the olympic and paralympic Games unfolded<br />

we kept on cheering for our eleven student and graduate<br />

competitors, our staff and student volunteers, and for those<br />

athletes from around the world who had trained at <strong>Brunel</strong>.<br />

on these pages we celebrate their achievements, and look back<br />

on a summer that many have seen as one of <strong>Brunel</strong>’s best.<br />

photo credit: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images<br />

Racers Track Club which is based<br />

at <strong>Brunel</strong> each summer. Speaking<br />

to the BBC, Bolt said: “<strong>Brunel</strong><br />

is awesome! The <strong>University</strong> has<br />

done great for us. We come<br />

here every summer and we get<br />

a lot of support from everybody<br />

there, so thank you guys.”<br />

The Chief Delegate of the Korean<br />

team echoed the Jamaican<br />

star’s praise, highlighting their<br />

pre-Games training at <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

and in the London Borough of<br />

Hillingdon as the most important<br />

factor in achieving an outstanding<br />

fifth place in the medal table.<br />

Quoted in The Korea Times, Lee<br />

Kee-Heung said: “This is the best<br />

thing we have done at these<br />

Olympics. The training base<br />

allowed athletes to train with<br />

proper partners, served them<br />

delicious and nutritious Korean<br />

food, and offered medical care.<br />

We will open a similar camp<br />

for the 20<strong>16</strong> Olympics in Rio.”<br />

Kate Walsh captains<br />

GB hockey team to<br />

olympic bronze<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> graduate and honorary<br />

fellow Kate Walsh withstood<br />

a horrific injury to captain<br />

Great Britain to bronze<br />

in women’s hockey.<br />

Kate (pictured left, front row, far<br />

right) fractured her jaw in the<br />

opening game of the competition,<br />

undergoing surgery to fit three<br />

titanium plates before returning<br />

just six days later to lead the<br />

team. After losing their semifinal<br />

to Argentina, Team GB<br />

went on to beat New Zealand<br />

3-1 in the bronze medal match.<br />

The British hockey team have<br />

overhauled their training, lifestyle<br />

and culture in recent years in<br />

a bid to reach the top of the<br />

international game, and their<br />

success marks the end of a 20 year<br />

medal drought in the Olympics.<br />

The fourth most capped<br />

Englishwoman in history, Kate<br />

has been captain of England<br />

and Great Britain for nine years.<br />

She graduated with a BSc in<br />

Sport Sciences in 2003.


Torch Relay brings crowds to campus<br />

The olympic Torch made its way through <strong>Brunel</strong> on Tuesday 24<br />

July, carried by DJ and producer Mark Ronson and singer Katy B.<br />

Students and staff and their family members enjoyed the sunshine and<br />

live music on the Quad, alongside visitors from the local community<br />

and local schools who lined the concourse and the surrounding<br />

streets. The Torch’s arrival also coincided with day two of this year’s<br />

Graduation week, creating a truly celebratory atmosphere on campus.<br />

The relay finished at the Olympic Stadium at the Opening<br />

Ceremony on Friday 27 July, where it lit the spectacular<br />

cauldron that burnt throughout the Games.<br />

FeATUre :: LATesT NeWs :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

5<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> volunteers<br />

and performers<br />

take centre stage<br />

Staff and students from across the<br />

<strong>University</strong> were selected as volunteers<br />

to help make the Games happen.<br />

More than sixty <strong>Brunel</strong> students were<br />

selected as specialist Games Makers, and<br />

a number of talented staff and students<br />

auditioned for the Opening and Closing<br />

Ceremonies as performers or marshals.<br />

Express talked to Emma Winchester,<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong>’s Active <strong>University</strong> Co-Ordinator,<br />

who took part in both ceremonies.<br />

How did you get involved?<br />

I applied after seeing an open advert.<br />

After the first audition I got a call back<br />

for a role on drums, and it was then a<br />

long wait until January <strong>2012</strong> to find out<br />

if I had been selected. Luckily I was!<br />

What were the rehearsals like?<br />

Rehearsals started in May, and it was<br />

a massive commitment. At the first<br />

rehearsal I found out that I’d be part of<br />

the ‘pandemonium’ drumming during<br />

the Industrial Revolution segment<br />

of the Opening Ceremony, and then<br />

acting as a marshal during the athletes’<br />

parade. Danny Boyle presented his<br />

vision for the Ceremony to the group,<br />

and explained how we would fit in.<br />

We practiced on up-turned buckets,<br />

sometimes in the pouring rain.<br />

How did you feel on the<br />

night of the Ceremony?<br />

It was really hard to take everything in.<br />

We’d been practicing for so long, and<br />

to think that billions of people were<br />

watching us was hard to comprehend.<br />

What was your highlight?<br />

I had a great view of the cauldron<br />

being lit as I was marshalling the<br />

parade, and it was great to meet so<br />

many of the athletes. It is something<br />

I will never forget and I feel very<br />

lucky that I was a part of history.


LATesT NeWs :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

6<br />

LEE FRoM<br />

STEpS<br />

TEACHES<br />

SUMMER<br />

SCHooL<br />

STUDENTS<br />

SELF-DEFENCE<br />

Hillingdon school students<br />

attending this year’s<br />

Widening participation<br />

Summer School had a<br />

surprise assistant instructor<br />

for their self-defence<br />

session – Lee Evans from<br />

the pop group Steps.<br />

A keen martial artist and<br />

kickboxer, Lee assisted<br />

regular instructor Dave<br />

Gentry from Streetwise<br />

Fitwise in running a taster<br />

session, before signing<br />

autographs and posing<br />

for photos with his fans.<br />

The session was part of<br />

a three-day programme,<br />

designed to give Year 9<br />

students who have no<br />

family tradition of higher<br />

education a taste of the<br />

range of academic and<br />

recreational activities<br />

available at university.<br />

The students also attended<br />

workshops in areas such<br />

as critical thinking and<br />

problem solving, and<br />

an academic lecture by<br />

Professor Heinz Wolff.<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> makes the shortlist for<br />

<strong>University</strong> of the Year <strong>2012</strong><br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> <strong>University</strong> has been shortlisted for the prestigious Times<br />

Higher Education <strong>University</strong> of the Year award for <strong>2012</strong>.<br />

The nomination comes on the back of strong improvement in the<br />

annual university league tables throughout <strong>2012</strong>, alongside teaching<br />

and research highlights such as the launch of 40 new academic posts,<br />

the arrival of household names including Will Self and Benjamin<br />

Zephaniah, and the award of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize.<br />

Outgoing Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Jenks commented: “This<br />

is a great testament to the hard work done across the institution in<br />

recent years. We have a clear vision to become a research-intensive<br />

university and to have the benefits of this cascade down to influence<br />

teaching, employability and student experience. It is great to see this all<br />

coming together with the <strong>University</strong> performing better than ever.”<br />

Shortlisted in three categories overall, <strong>Brunel</strong> was also nominated<br />

for Best Business School and Outstanding Student Support.<br />

Advances in <strong>Brunel</strong>’s Business School have included the development<br />

of the ‘Business Life’ employability programme, the growth of<br />

the MBA and the School’s doctoral programmes, and significant<br />

improvements across the subject-based league tables. The Student<br />

Support nomination recognises the support provided to students by<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> <strong>University</strong> Library, particularly the creation of the Academic<br />

Skills Service (ASK) which offers flexible and varied study support.<br />

The winners will be announced at an awards<br />

dinner in London on 29 November.<br />

rent a car on campus from<br />

only £5.50 an hour<br />

Students and staff can now hire<br />

one of a range of cars from the<br />

<strong>University</strong> Car Club’s expanded fleet.<br />

Membership of the scheme is free, and<br />

it takes just a few minutes to sign up.<br />

You can then can book online, over<br />

the phone or using a smartphone,<br />

and hire a pay-as-you-go vehicle<br />

from only £5.50 (Fiat 500), £6 (Ford<br />

Fiesta), £6.50 (Ford Focus), or £7.50<br />

(Alfa Romeo MiTo) per hour. Rates<br />

include insurance, tax, 20 miles of<br />

fuel, congestion charge and VAT.<br />

Cars are accessible 24/7 via a key fob.<br />

By hiring a car only when you need<br />

it, you can save money, avoid parking<br />

difficulties and help reduce the number<br />

of cars used in and around <strong>Brunel</strong>.<br />

To join, you must have a driving licence<br />

valid for the UK and be over the age of<br />

19. Under 21s must be a named driver<br />

on an insurance policy and have driven<br />

accident free for at least one year, and<br />

will also pay a £2 per hour surcharge.<br />

To join, call 08708 454545 or<br />

visit www.hertzondemand.com.<br />

Quote promotion code 1085 to<br />

ensure free membership.


What’s on<br />

Highlights for the <strong>Autumn</strong> Term on campus<br />

inaugural Lecture series<br />

When? Tuesday 2 October,<br />

23 October and 13 November,<br />

and Thursday 6 December<br />

Where? Hamilton Centre<br />

What is it? Inaugural Lectures let our<br />

community experience the range of<br />

research carried out at <strong>Brunel</strong>. Book<br />

your place at www.brunel.ac.uk/<br />

news-and-events/events/lecture<br />

Stay up-to-date with all the latest events on Intra<strong>Brunel</strong><br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> Fireworks<br />

When? Monday 5 November<br />

Where? Kingston Lane Pitches<br />

What is it? <strong>Brunel</strong>’s annual fireworks<br />

display returns following 2011’s<br />

Olympic-themed event. Details to<br />

follow at: www.brunel.ac.uk/<br />

news-and-events<br />

LATesT NeWs :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

BRUNEL<br />

WELCoMES NEW<br />

VICE-CHANCELLoR<br />

professor Julia Buckingham<br />

took up her post as <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong>’s new Vice-Chancellor<br />

and principal on 1 october <strong>2012</strong>.<br />

Professor Buckingham joins <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

from Imperial College London,<br />

where she was Pro-Rector for<br />

Education and Academic Affairs. A<br />

specialist in Pharmacology, Professor<br />

Buckingham is currently President of<br />

the Society for Endocrinology and<br />

a Trustee of the Royal Institution<br />

and the Society of Biology.<br />

Express wishes Professor<br />

Buckingham a warm welcome<br />

and we look forward to working<br />

with her in the coming months.<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> has also bid farewell to<br />

its outgoing Vice-Chancellor<br />

Professor Chris Jenks over a<br />

series of events in September.<br />

Professor Jenks left the <strong>University</strong><br />

at the end of September after<br />

eight years, including six as Vice-<br />

Chancellor. He oversaw a hugely<br />

successful period for <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

including Royal visits, international<br />

research acclaim and a continued<br />

rise up the university league tables,<br />

and his final lecture was a fitting<br />

opening for the new, state of the<br />

art Auditorium at the heart of<br />

the Eastern Gateway Building.<br />

Production: The Best Little<br />

Whorehouse in Texas<br />

When? 6 December<br />

Where? Howell Theatre<br />

What is it? <strong>Brunel</strong> Music Theatre<br />

Workshop presents a new musical about<br />

small-town vice and politics in Texas.<br />

Tickets available online:<br />

www.brunel.ac.uk/artscentre<br />

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Graduation <strong>2012</strong><br />

The <strong>2012</strong> Graduation Ceremonies coincided with a week of hot, sunny<br />

weather and the arrival of the olympic Torch Relay on campus.<br />

As well as the traditional bands, birds of prey and the moving <strong>Brunel</strong> statue<br />

which returned this year to entertain graduating students and their guests,<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> was buzzing with anticipation during Graduation Week in the build up<br />

to the Olympic Games. Members of the Korean Olympic team could regularly<br />

be spotted enjoying the campus atmosphere, and the arrival of the Olympic<br />

Torch Relay on Tuesday was one of the highlights of this year at <strong>Brunel</strong>.<br />

As ever, the Events team and all the staff and students that supported<br />

them made sure everything ran smoothly and ensured that one<br />

of the busiest weeks in <strong>Brunel</strong>’s history went without a hitch.<br />

These pages give you a flavour of Graduation <strong>2012</strong>, as well as<br />

introducing this year’s Honorary Graduates and Fellows.<br />

MAiN FeATUre :: LATesT NeWs :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

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10<br />

As well as celebrating the achievements of our students, Graduation<br />

Week gives us the opportunity to recognise others who have made<br />

outstanding contributions to the community or to the <strong>University</strong>.<br />

Honorary<br />

Graduates<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> awards Honorary Doctorates in recognition of outstanding<br />

scholarly achievement, outstanding service to the local, national or<br />

international community, or outstanding service to the <strong>University</strong>.<br />

professor John Brewer<br />

Awarded the honorary degree<br />

of Doctor of Social Sciences<br />

Sociologist and academic who has<br />

taught reconciliation workshops<br />

in Sri Lanka, advised on policing<br />

reform in South Africa, and worked<br />

on the Northern Irish peace process.<br />

professor Conor Gearty<br />

Awarded the honorary<br />

degree of Doctor of Laws<br />

Practising barrister and<br />

academic who lectures and acts<br />

as an advisor to judges, public<br />

authorities and practitioners<br />

in the field of human rights.<br />

professor Rajiv Hanspal<br />

Awarded the honorary degree<br />

of Doctor of Science<br />

Specialist in rehabilitation medicine<br />

who led the development of the<br />

Alderbourne Unit at Hillingdon<br />

Hospital and founded the Amputee<br />

Medial Rehabilitation Society.<br />

The Rt Hon Baroness<br />

Hayman GBE<br />

Awarded the honorary<br />

degree of Doctor of Laws<br />

Founded the charity Maternity<br />

Alliance and held senior roles<br />

in healthcare, before becoming<br />

the first elected Lord Speaker<br />

of the House of Lords in 2006.<br />

Dr Robert John oBE<br />

Awarded the honorary degree<br />

of Doctor of Engineering<br />

Metallurgist and Director General<br />

Emeritus at TWI, the renowned<br />

research and engineering<br />

institute which now has a fruitful<br />

relationship with <strong>Brunel</strong> via the<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> Innovation Centre.<br />

Judith Knight MBE<br />

Awarded the honorary degree<br />

of Doctor of Humanities<br />

Founded of Artsadmin, an<br />

internationally recognised<br />

company initiating and<br />

supporting some of the UK’s<br />

most innovative arts projects.<br />

Rory Sutherland<br />

Awarded the honorary degree<br />

of Doctor of Letters<br />

Vice-Chairman of the advertising,<br />

marketing and PR group Ogilvy<br />

UK, proponent of behavioural<br />

economics and author of The<br />

Spectator’s ‘Wiki-Man’ column.<br />

Thomas Webb<br />

Awarded the honorary degree<br />

of Doctor of the <strong>University</strong><br />

Highly successful former MD<br />

of the London Tourist Board<br />

and Convention Bureau, who<br />

served as Chair of <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong> Council until 2011.<br />

Lee Mack<br />

Awarded the honorary<br />

degree of Doctor of<br />

Humanities in recognition<br />

of his outstanding<br />

services to the arts<br />

Receiving his honorary<br />

doctorate marked a happy<br />

return to <strong>Brunel</strong> for alumnus<br />

Lee Mack, who graduated<br />

in Drama with Film and<br />

TV studies in 1996. He<br />

commented that his time at<br />

<strong>University</strong> literally changed<br />

his life; not only did it inspire<br />

him to take the plunge into<br />

comedy, but <strong>Brunel</strong> was also<br />

where he met his wife Tara.<br />

Talking about his time at<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong>, he said: “It was<br />

during my time as a student<br />

at <strong>Brunel</strong> that I started<br />

performing stand-up<br />

comedy. I was worried that<br />

my ambitions wouldn’t fit<br />

in with the ethos of such<br />

an academic institution,<br />

but they couldn’t have<br />

been any more supportive,<br />

regularly letting me turn<br />

part of their building into<br />

a stand-up comedy club<br />

where I performed many of<br />

my early gigs. I am proud<br />

to have been honoured<br />

by and associated with<br />

such an institution.”<br />

Lee first came to prominence<br />

in 1995 when he won ‘So<br />

You Think You’re Funny’<br />

at the Edinburgh Festival<br />

Fringe. He has since<br />

appeared on TV and radio<br />

shows both in the UK and<br />

the USA, including the BBC<br />

One sitcom Not Going Out<br />

and popular panel shows<br />

such as Have I Got News For<br />

You and Would I Lie to You.<br />

He has also performed at the<br />

Royal Variety Performance,<br />

and a recent highlight was<br />

his appearance as a compere<br />

at the star-studded Queen’s<br />

Diamond Jubilee Concert<br />

outside Buckingham Palace.<br />

Lee still lives in west<br />

London with his wife and<br />

their three children.


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11<br />

Honorary<br />

Fellows<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> awards Honorary<br />

Fellowships to local<br />

people or others who<br />

have established a close<br />

working relationship<br />

with the <strong>University</strong>, and<br />

have thereby made a<br />

significant contribution<br />

to its development.<br />

This year’s Honorary<br />

Fellows included longserving<br />

former members<br />

of staff Marianne<br />

Bevis, Denise Bufton,<br />

Sue Curley and Bob<br />

Westaway, former<br />

member of <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

Council Robert Lougee,<br />

and <strong>Brunel</strong>’s Visiting<br />

Professor of Corporate<br />

Communications from<br />

Harvard Business<br />

School, professor<br />

Stephen A Greyser.<br />

In addition, a<br />

number of this year’s<br />

Fellowships celebrated<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong>’s partnerships<br />

with businesses and<br />

external organisations.<br />

These were awarded<br />

to: Carol Bagnald,<br />

HSBC’s Regional<br />

Commercial Director<br />

who spearheaded<br />

the bank’s corporate<br />

relationship with<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong>; John Thirkettle,<br />

Vice-Chairman of the<br />

Hillingdon Federation of<br />

Community Associations<br />

and founder of <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

Sports Centre’s over 50s’<br />

programme; education<br />

law specialist John Hall,<br />

who was Eversheds’<br />

client partner for <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

for many years; and<br />

former student peter<br />

Hall, Trustee of the<br />

Water Conservation<br />

Trust which offers two<br />

bursaries to <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

MSc students.


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12<br />

New strategic Plan guides<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> through to 2017<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong>’s new Strategic plan will launch this <strong>Autumn</strong><br />

after 18 months of planning and preparation, forming a<br />

framework to take the <strong>University</strong> forward to 2017.<br />

The Plan is founded on a<br />

commitment to evolution, not<br />

revolution, and aims to help us to<br />

build on the successes achieved<br />

so far. Its key tenet is that <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

should remain a self-determining<br />

<strong>University</strong> which aims for quality in<br />

all aspects of its academic provision.<br />

It also focuses on making the<br />

<strong>University</strong> more outward-looking<br />

by opening up internal and interinstitutional<br />

boundaries, building<br />

new partnerships, and encouraging<br />

both staff and students to reach<br />

out into our community.<br />

“The plan is<br />

characterised by our<br />

desire to consolidate<br />

our strengths”<br />

The Plan’s introduction outlines<br />

its underlying ethos:<br />

“Driven by our dedication to<br />

excellence and quality in everything<br />

we do, this Strategy for <strong>2012</strong>-2017…<br />

has been designed to confirm<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong>’s place in the top third of UK<br />

Higher Education Institutions, as<br />

a <strong>University</strong> with a robust plan of<br />

development, a strong aspiration<br />

to greatly improve its educational<br />

and research activities, and a clear<br />

sense of self-determination. The<br />

pathway that runs through the<br />

Plan is characterised by our desire<br />

to consolidate our strengths, to<br />

integrate further our research<br />

and educational activities, to<br />

optimise our infrastructure<br />

and accelerate our success.”<br />

Agreed by Council in July, the<br />

Plan has been through a<br />

development process involving<br />

extensive consultation, drawing<br />

in the views and opinions of<br />

students and staff from across<br />

the <strong>University</strong>. It will now be used<br />

to inform new three year plans<br />

for all Schools and administrative<br />

departments, as well as a series<br />

of supporting plans concerning<br />

key topics such as learning and<br />

teaching, research, academic<br />

profile, and the <strong>University</strong>’s estate.<br />

Supporting plans for staff and<br />

students are also being developed.<br />

Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Strategy,<br />

Development and External<br />

Relations Professor Dany Nobus<br />

commented: “Over the past five<br />

years, <strong>Brunel</strong> has gone from<br />

strength to strength as a broadbased,<br />

research-intensive higher<br />

education institution, and this is<br />

evidenced by our greatly improved<br />

position in the university rankings.<br />

“Although the higher education<br />

landscape is constantly changing<br />

and the uncertainties in the current<br />

marketplace of education will need<br />

to be carefully managed, <strong>Brunel</strong>’s<br />

<strong>2012</strong>-2017 Plan is indicative of<br />

our confidence and it shows our<br />

determination to build on our<br />

recent successes. It will inspire all<br />

staff and students to work together<br />

on enhancing our academic profile<br />

and our international reputation,<br />

taking <strong>Brunel</strong> through its fiftieth<br />

anniversary in 20<strong>16</strong> and onwards.”<br />

Find out more about<br />

the Strategic plan<br />

Professor Nobus will be visiting<br />

Schools and departments<br />

during the <strong>Autumn</strong> Term to<br />

bring the <strong>University</strong>’s Strategic<br />

Plan to its staff and students.<br />

The <strong>University</strong> is also building<br />

a Strategic Plan website to<br />

launch in the <strong>Autumn</strong>. The site<br />

will be interactive, with videos,<br />

podcasts, images and information<br />

available for download. Staff<br />

will be encouraged to build<br />

this content into their own<br />

external facing materials.


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Strategic priorities for<br />

the coming years<br />

13<br />

The Strategic Plan is founded on three major<br />

Priorities, each of which comprises a number<br />

of Objectives.<br />

n Advancing Excellence in our<br />

Academic provision<br />

• Building on our research<br />

successes to meet global<br />

challenges of the 21st century<br />

• Securing the benefits of a researchled<br />

education for our students<br />

• Improving the quality of learning<br />

opportunities for all our students<br />

• Competing more effectively<br />

n Crossing Institutional Boundaries<br />

on the Basis of open Innovation<br />

• Expanding our reach<br />

n organising for Success<br />

• Providing an enabling culture<br />

in which all students and staff<br />

feel that they can excel<br />

• Ensuring the <strong>University</strong> is an attractive,<br />

safe and inspirational place<br />

• Communicating our successes<br />

• Ensuring the <strong>University</strong> is financially<br />

and environmentally sustainable<br />

and beneficial to society<br />

Mission, Vision and Values<br />

The <strong>University</strong>’s Mission and Values have<br />

changed to reflect the momentum created<br />

over the last five years, while the overarching<br />

Vision remains unchanged.<br />

our Mission<br />

To create knowledge and advance<br />

understanding, and equip versatile graduates<br />

with the confidence to apply what they have<br />

learnt for the benefit of society.<br />

our Vision<br />

To be a world-class creative community that is<br />

inspired to work, think and learn together to<br />

meet the challenges of the future.<br />

our Values<br />

Quality | Ideas | Integrity | Clarity |<br />

Empowerment | Community | Sustainability |<br />

Partnership | Self-determination


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14


Photo Feature:<br />

eastern Gateway Building<br />

The Eastern Gateway Building creates a stunning entrance to the campus<br />

on Kingston Lane. It houses Main Reception (top left), a cafe (middle<br />

left) and a a circular zinc-clad auditorium (bottom left) around which<br />

are wrapped the academic offices of the <strong>Brunel</strong> Business School.<br />

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15


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<strong>16</strong><br />

“I was on the tube<br />

when the characters<br />

in the book suddenly<br />

appeared inside my<br />

head. They were<br />

having an almighty<br />

row and I just had<br />

to write it down.”<br />

“I relish the challenge<br />

to develop the<br />

outreach of BUCS to<br />

its membership and<br />

to the community.”<br />

Creative Writing student secures<br />

international book deal<br />

School of Arts research student Liesel Schwarz has been offered<br />

a spectacular three-book international publishing contract by<br />

Random House.<br />

The contract, for Liesel’s belle époque steampunk trilogy The Chronicles<br />

of Light and Shadow, is one of the most impressive in British publishing<br />

this year. The deal is the first international signing for a <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

student and includes publication in the UK, USA and Germany.<br />

“I am absolutely delighted,” said Liesel. “As an author one hopes against<br />

all hope to be published one day and I am humbled by the amazing<br />

feedback I’ve had so far. It has exceeded my wildest expectations.”<br />

Opening with A Conspiracy of Alchemists, The Chronicles of Light<br />

and Shadow is a series of fantasy novels set in an alternative<br />

Europe in 1903 and focusing on the adventures of airship pilot<br />

Eleanor Chance. The series has been described as a fast-paced<br />

romantic adventure within a richly textured and complex world,<br />

where the forces of Shadow and Light battle for power.<br />

Liesel began writing the first book during her MA in Creative Writing<br />

at <strong>Brunel</strong>, and is currently working on the second book for her PhD.<br />

“I am a lifelong fan of 19 th century Gothic fiction and steampunk,”<br />

she said. “One day I was travelling home on the tube past Baker<br />

Street when the characters in the book suddenly appeared inside<br />

my head. They were having an almighty row and I just had to write<br />

it down. The scene I wrote was part of my MA Elements of Fiction<br />

coursework and following the feedback I had from that, I developed<br />

the novel. The first draft of the book was also my MA dissertation.”<br />

Random House will publish A Conspiracy of Alchemists in November <strong>2012</strong>.<br />

Vp Student Activities elected<br />

as national student officer<br />

Gary o’Brien, the Union of <strong>Brunel</strong> Students’ Vice-president for Student<br />

Activities, has been elected one of the four national student officers for<br />

British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS).<br />

The role involves representing over <strong>16</strong>0 BUCS-affiliated universities by<br />

ensuring that communications are transparent and in depth and meet the<br />

needs of the UK’s students.<br />

“After giving the National Union of Students a lot of attention in my first<br />

year of office, I wanted to turn my priorities to BUCS for my second year,”<br />

said Gary. “I relish the challenge to enhance and develop the outreach of<br />

BUCS to its membership and to the community.”<br />

BUCS is the national governing body for higher education sport in the UK,<br />

and aims to enhance student performance, competition and participation.<br />

Over 100,000 students regularly compete in BUCS competitions, leagues<br />

and events in 50 different sports.<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> is currently second out of 29 institutions in London in the overall<br />

BUCS rankings.


Hard rock band Terminal Gods, led by<br />

MA student RoBERT CoWLIN, topped<br />

the European Alternative Charts over<br />

the summer with their single Electric<br />

Eyes, overtaking acts such as the Foo<br />

Fighters and Noel Gallagher’s High<br />

Flying Birds. “It’s nice to know that<br />

people care enough about our music to<br />

place it highly in their weekly rankings,”<br />

said Robert. The Chart is based on votes<br />

submitted by DJs and music industry<br />

representatives across the continent.<br />

The Language Café returns this October,<br />

giving international students a chance<br />

to showcase their language and culture,<br />

including authentic snacks and drinks.<br />

Organised jointly by the Graduate<br />

School and <strong>Brunel</strong> International, the<br />

Language Café takes place every last<br />

Tuesday of the month – the next event<br />

is on 30 October (open to all <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

students and staff). A different group<br />

of student hosts leads each evening,<br />

Emily Danvers, Manager of the Academic Skills<br />

Service, ASK, won the inaugural Ken Darby-<br />

Dowman Memorial prize this summer in recognition<br />

of her exceptional work to help <strong>Brunel</strong> students<br />

improve their academic and study skills.<br />

The ASK team are at the frontline of enabling<br />

student learning, and provide vital support to<br />

students throughout their <strong>Brunel</strong> careers. Emily<br />

(pictured centre, with the ASK team) was selected<br />

for her work in leading and developing this service<br />

and for her absolute commitment to improving the<br />

experience and skills of <strong>Brunel</strong>’s students. She received<br />

nominations from across the <strong>University</strong> praising<br />

her commitment, energy, drive and enthusiasm.<br />

The annual Prize recognises <strong>Brunel</strong> staff who are<br />

committed to improving the student experience at<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> – a value that was personified by the work of<br />

our much missed Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Ken<br />

Darby-Dowman who sadly passed away in 2011.<br />

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and there are plenty of opportunities<br />

to chat with like-minded language<br />

enthusiasts. Email katharina.stirland@<br />

brunel.ac.uk or charlotte.zittel@<br />

brunel.ac.uk for more information.<br />

Multimedia Technology and Design<br />

graduate MINA NISHIMURA won a<br />

New Designers Associate Prize for<br />

her final-year project ‘Shopstar’, a<br />

time and money saving personal<br />

shopping assistant in the form of a<br />

web application. The judges praised<br />

the project’s excellent user experience,<br />

and Mina’s prize included a Raspberry<br />

Pi credit card-sized computer and<br />

three months’ work experience with<br />

the digital agency Cyber-Duck. Prizes<br />

are awarded each year to the most<br />

talented new graduates that take part<br />

in the New Designers exhibition.<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> celebrated the success<br />

of students who combine work<br />

with study at the annual Student<br />

Employee of the Year Awards, part<br />

of a UK-wide competition run by<br />

the National Association of Student<br />

Employment Services. Twenty-two<br />

exceptional students were nominated<br />

from across <strong>Brunel</strong> and by external<br />

employers. Congratulations to our<br />

Student Employees of the Year:<br />

THIAN HoNG (International Student<br />

Category); SUSAN MCGoWAN<br />

(Job Shop Category); and pETER<br />

BRooKS (On Campus Category).<br />

Pictured: Peter Brooks with Director<br />

of Academic Services Chris Chang.<br />

outstanding support for students rewarded with inaugural prize<br />

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18<br />

‘Journeys<br />

fuelled by<br />

ideas’<br />

dame ellen MacArthur launches<br />

Made in <strong>Brunel</strong>’s seventh<br />

successful show<br />

Dame Ellen MacArthur addressed an audience of students, staff and<br />

industry specialists at this year’s Made in <strong>Brunel</strong> design and engineering<br />

showcase in June.<br />

Formerly a record-breaking sailor and circumnavigator, Dame Ellen<br />

launched the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in <strong>2012</strong> to inspire a<br />

generation to re-think, re-design and build a positive future, after five<br />

years of research into the global economy and its reliance on finite<br />

resources. She presented some of the Foundation’s ideas at Made in<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong>’s Pecha Kucha event on Thursday 14 June, before which she<br />

spoke to Express about her work and her lifelong interest in design<br />

(see page 20).<br />

Around 300 innovations were presented and demonstrated to<br />

consumers, producers and service providers over the course of the<br />

annual showcase, which is run by <strong>Brunel</strong>’s graduating design and<br />

engineering students. Returning to the dramatic Bargehouse on<br />

London’s Southbank, the exhibition also included: workshops such as<br />

the Masters Creative Workshop, in which participants visualised and<br />

solved design challenges using Lego; alumni networking events bringing<br />

together students past and present; and numerous opportunities for<br />

students to discuss their work through presentations and seminars.<br />

Among the designs vying for attention this year were a chocolate<br />

pen and 3D chocolate printer, a device which recycles water wasted<br />

when running the hot tap, and an intelligent toy for cats which moves<br />

away on approach. Other concepts included the development of new<br />

sustainable roofing technology, a process which enables HIV positive<br />

mothers in sub-Saharan Africa to see that their breast milk is safe before<br />

feeding their babies, and a study looking at the potential construction<br />

of a Thames Estuary airport.<br />

Creator of Made in <strong>Brunel</strong> Paul Turnock revealed the thinking behind<br />

this year’s theme, ‘journeys fuelled by ideas’. “The journeys our students<br />

make through their degrees are what shape their outlook as graduate<br />

designers and engineers,” he said. “For <strong>2012</strong>, ‘journeys fuelled by ideas’<br />

represented our aim of sharing the process and development that<br />

goes into all of the projects, the progression of the students and Made<br />

in <strong>Brunel</strong> itself. The students worked exceptionally hard to get their<br />

products and concepts ready for public exhibition.”<br />

Traditionally, Made in <strong>Brunel</strong> provides an excellent opportunity for<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> students to find employment. Last year’s cohort landed design<br />

and engineering jobs at companies including Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche<br />

Design, Dyson, Chanel, Hasbro, Burberry, Reiss and lastminute.com, with<br />

some also setting up their own businesses upon graduation.


…the most detailed designs ever made<br />

for a Thames Estuary airport hub<br />

With the UK’s air traffic capacity<br />

currently a hot topic, a group<br />

of final year Design students<br />

were inspired to create a<br />

detailed engineering and design<br />

masterplan for a new airport to<br />

improve London’s global transport<br />

connectivity.<br />

Bedir Bekar, Marshel Weerakone,<br />

Adam Greenland, Baltej Sidhu and<br />

Volkan Yildirim exhibited a physical<br />

architectural model of the Thames<br />

Estuary international airport hub<br />

at Made in <strong>Brunel</strong>. Their extensive<br />

masterplan – the most detailed<br />

ever produced around this topic<br />

– takes construction methods,<br />

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environmental impact mitigation<br />

and economic growth into account<br />

on an equal footing.<br />

Explaining the idea, Weerakone<br />

said: “London is the economic<br />

heart of the United Kingdom<br />

and a fulcrum of the global<br />

economy. However, with London<br />

airports operating at 99% capacity,<br />

the economy will suffer if the<br />

increasing demand for air travel is<br />

not met.<br />

“We have produced a construction<br />

scheme for a working artificial<br />

island platform upon which airport<br />

infrastructure can be built.<br />

19<br />

This has been done effectively in<br />

other parts of the world such as<br />

Hong Kong.<br />

“The benefits of this plan, as<br />

opposed to the expansion of<br />

Heathrow Airport, are huge.<br />

Not only would it provide<br />

much needed employment and<br />

economic growth around the<br />

Kent and Essex area, but it would<br />

also make the most of the UK’s<br />

specialist engineering knowledge<br />

and intelligence. We believe this<br />

scheme would have a similar<br />

impact to the Olympics in terms of<br />

benefits for the architectural and<br />

engineering industries.”<br />

…a low-cost household device<br />

to stop water wastage<br />

on show...<br />

Design student Mitch Gebbie’s water saving device could help<br />

households reduce waste and save money.<br />

Gebbie’s small, low-cost and easy-to-retrofit design recycles wasted cold<br />

water that cools in the pipes after the hot tap is used, and then flows<br />

from the tap when it is next turned on while the user waits for the water<br />

to heat up. Sitting below the sink, it diverts the cold water back into the<br />

storage tank until sensors detect that the temperature has risen.<br />

The working and proven device guarantees a saving of almost 10 litres of<br />

water per day for the average household, halfway towards the 20 litre<br />

daily reduction which Defra has pledged to achieve by 2030.<br />

Gebbie’s inspiration for the device, called ‘Waste Not’, stems from<br />

growing up in a large rural Victorian home where he worried constantly<br />

about the amount of water he and his family wasted while waiting<br />

for the hot tap to warm up. He is keen to see the project through to<br />

manufacture and adoption across the UK.<br />

“This is a timely solution to the UK’s water shortage and responds to the<br />

need for households to take control,” says Gebbie. “As the impacts of<br />

climate change are felt across the ever-more connected and shrinking<br />

global village, the Western world is effectively pouring desperately<br />

needed water down the drain.”


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20<br />

Made in <strong>Brunel</strong> <strong>2012</strong>: ellen MacArthur<br />

praises <strong>Brunel</strong> as a national “design hub”<br />

Before taking part in the Made in <strong>Brunel</strong> pecha Kucha event, in which she explained some of the<br />

principles behind the work of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Dame Ellen spoke to Express about<br />

the development of her interest in design and her bold ambitions for a sustainable future.<br />

How and when did your<br />

passion for sailing evolve<br />

into a passion for design?<br />

Design has been a theme in<br />

my life ever since I was a kid. I<br />

got really passionate about<br />

sailing after I first sailed when<br />

I was four years old – I used to<br />

save my school dinner money<br />

for boats. From the ages of<br />

eight to seventeen I went<br />

through three different boats,<br />

but I never had much money<br />

so everything I needed to<br />

improve them I made myself.<br />

I spent all my time designing<br />

bits for boats – on the bus going<br />

to and from school I’d be there<br />

with a notepad designing things.<br />

I spent all my time in my dad’s<br />

garage working with wood and<br />

glass fibre, and putting things<br />

together with screws and joints.<br />

When I left school at 17 I sailed<br />

round Britain with a little boat<br />

that I’d done a lot of work<br />

on. It worked! It didn’t look<br />

that beautiful, but it worked<br />

– and it’s still working now.<br />

As the sailing project progressed<br />

I got involved in the design of<br />

the boats themselves. I worked<br />

with the boat designer to plan<br />

the layout and how things<br />

would work, and I’d be messing<br />

around with CAD drawings<br />

for 12 hours at a time!<br />

I still love making things. I even<br />

built a house three years ago<br />

which I designed with my partner,<br />

and it was really interesting.<br />

I’m fascinated by design.<br />

Were you concerned<br />

with sustainability when<br />

you started sailing?<br />

No, not at all. I was involved<br />

in the design of boats in their<br />

entirety, from the electrical<br />

system, computer system and<br />

autopilot system right through<br />

to the form, layout and sail plan<br />

of the boat, but all these aspects<br />

had only one object, which was<br />

to break a record or win a race.<br />

When you sail round the world,<br />

you take with you everything<br />

you need to survive. You have<br />

all the food you need and all the<br />

diesel you need for the generator,<br />

and if you run out of something<br />

you’re 2,500 miles away from<br />

the nearest town. There’s no<br />

more, and you learn what ‘finite’<br />

means. I had never translated<br />

that to life on land, but at the<br />

end of the second trip round the<br />

world I started to think about<br />

the nature of the resources<br />

that we have available to us.<br />

About six years ago I started to<br />

do some research and collect<br />

evidence from educators,<br />

scientists, CEOs, farmers and<br />

designers, to understand how<br />

we use resources. I have always<br />

been passionate about design<br />

but now I absolutely believe that<br />

design is the key to the future.<br />

We have finite materials and we<br />

need to design business models,<br />

systems and manufacturing<br />

processes to establish a whole<br />

system for the biological and<br />

technical cycle of nutrients.<br />

[See the information box on<br />

the Circular Economy, right.]<br />

What do you think is the<br />

role of students and young<br />

designers, like the students<br />

exhibiting at Made in <strong>Brunel</strong>, in<br />

creating a sustainable future?<br />

It’s absolutely key. Walking<br />

round the exhibition you see all<br />

the stages of the product – it’s<br />

a journey of evolution, but<br />

right from the beginning when<br />

that first prototype was made,<br />

when that first line was put on<br />

a piece of paper, the designers<br />

knew exactly what they were<br />

trying to achieve. When you<br />

see a student or young person<br />

have an idea and then follow<br />

it through, it’s so inspirational.<br />

Your long voyages were very<br />

individual endeavours but<br />

now you focus on joined-up<br />

thinking and collaboration.<br />

How do you balance individual<br />

aspirations with team thinking?<br />

I wouldn’t say that the sailing<br />

projects were individual at all!<br />

Physically on the boat I was<br />

on my own, but I spent a year<br />

and a half working closely with


the designers and builders. It<br />

is very much team-driven, and<br />

when I think back to my last<br />

round the world race, the<br />

strongest memory I have is the<br />

amazing team that worked<br />

together to make it happen.<br />

Sailing is all about systems<br />

thinking. You have to think<br />

about keeping the boat running,<br />

keeping the batteries charged,<br />

rationing food, keeping the<br />

boat the right way up in the<br />

water, keeping the boat going<br />

as fast as possible. Every single<br />

decision you make is vital – if<br />

your batteries ran flat you would<br />

be upside down in five minutes.<br />

Then as well as managing<br />

the boat system you’re also<br />

connected to a system that is<br />

much bigger all around you:<br />

the weather, the elements, the<br />

water temperature, the icebergs.<br />

This whole bigger system affects<br />

the smaller system that you are<br />

managing. And that’s exactly<br />

how the economy works. The<br />

economy is about our system<br />

within a much bigger system.<br />

iNTervieW :: sTUdeNT ANd GrAdUATe NeWs :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

This year’s Made in <strong>Brunel</strong> is<br />

inspired by journeys and you’ve<br />

had a long and interesting<br />

one to get to where you are<br />

now. do you have any advice<br />

for our graduating students<br />

on reaching their goals?<br />

Just believe that anything is<br />

possible. When I first sailed when<br />

I was four years old, I knew<br />

there and then that I wanted<br />

to sail around the world, but<br />

I never thought I would be<br />

doing what I am doing today.<br />

You don’t always end up at<br />

the destination you intended<br />

but you’re still on a journey.<br />

What’s your greatest<br />

achievement – your sailing<br />

records, or this project?<br />

I believe that your greatest<br />

achievement is always<br />

in front of you.<br />

The Foundation brought out an<br />

economic report in January this<br />

year that we worked on with<br />

our founding partners and with<br />

21<br />

the management consultants<br />

McKinsey and Company, which<br />

highlighted a huge economic<br />

opportunity of $630bn for<br />

Europe through transition to the<br />

circular economy. By September<br />

next year we’re aiming to get to<br />

2,200 secondary schools in the UK<br />

with the materials we’ve been<br />

writing, piloting and testing for<br />

the last 18 months. In universities<br />

have developed a postgraduate<br />

certificate which is now running<br />

at Bradford <strong>University</strong>, and<br />

we’ll have a MBA next year.<br />

The idea is to train up as many<br />

people as possible with the idea<br />

of the circular economy and<br />

spread it as quickly as possible.<br />

That’s why I’m here at Made<br />

in <strong>Brunel</strong>. <strong>Brunel</strong> is such an<br />

amazing design hub university<br />

in the UK – ‘university’ is almost<br />

not a broad enough word these<br />

days, because it’s just a mass<br />

of energy and ideas, a creative<br />

centre. To bring the circular<br />

economy in here and challenge<br />

a few people’s thought process<br />

– that’s what I want to do.<br />

The Circular<br />

Economy<br />

The circular economy is a generic<br />

term for an industrial economy<br />

that is, by design or intention,<br />

restorative. In this model, there<br />

are two types of material flows:<br />

biological nutrients, which<br />

are designed to re-enter the<br />

biosphere safely; and technical<br />

nutrients, which are designed to<br />

circulate at high quality without<br />

entering the biosphere.<br />

The circular economy is<br />

characterised by a shift from<br />

selling goods to selling<br />

performance, and towards<br />

renewables and recognising the<br />

value of diversity and whole<br />

system design. Find out more at<br />

www.thecirculareconomy.org<br />

Ellen MacArthur was speaking to Express editor Rachel Turvey


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WILL SELF’S<br />

UmbrElla MAKES<br />

BooKER SHoRTLIST<br />

A new novel by <strong>Brunel</strong>’s professor<br />

of Contemporary Thought<br />

Will Self has been shortlisted<br />

for the Man Booker prize.<br />

The Booker aims to promote fiction<br />

from the UK, the Commonwealth<br />

and the Republic of Ireland,<br />

and is considered the most<br />

prestigious award for literary<br />

fiction after the Nobel Prize for<br />

Literature. This year’s winner will<br />

be announced on <strong>16</strong> October.<br />

Self’s novel, entitled Umbrella,<br />

begins when the psychiatrist Zack<br />

Busner finds a successful treatment<br />

for encephalitis lethargica, or<br />

sleeping sickness. It weaves<br />

together incidents from the life of<br />

one of Busner’s patients, Audrey<br />

Death, and of her brothers Albert<br />

and Stanley, and was inspired by<br />

psychiatrist Oliver Sacks’ 1973 text<br />

Awakenings, in which he describes<br />

his attempts to rouse encephalics.<br />

Using an analogy from nuclear<br />

physics, Self describes the process<br />

of drawing together ideas when<br />

planning a novel: “They become<br />

like a kind of fissionable lump –<br />

like the critical mass of plutonium.<br />

When you’ve got enough of a<br />

chunk it goes boom, and then<br />

it’s really happening. All the<br />

time as a writer you’re pushing<br />

things together, and seeing if<br />

they reach a critical mass.”<br />

pCC staff dedicate 200 hours to Harlington Hospice<br />

As part of <strong>Brunel</strong>’s staff volunteering<br />

initiative, staff from the placement and<br />

Careers Centre (pCC) have dedicated<br />

a combined total of over 200 hours<br />

since March <strong>2012</strong> to support Harlington<br />

Hospice.<br />

Kate Croucher, Acting Director of the<br />

PCC, said: “Many PCC staff are already<br />

active volunteers in their communities,<br />

but we wanted to come together<br />

as a department to support a local<br />

project. <strong>Brunel</strong>’s staff volunteering<br />

policy has enabled us to do this.”<br />

Work completed by the 15 staff members<br />

has included redecorating the hospice’s<br />

treatment and counselling rooms and<br />

staff offices, as well as gardening and<br />

preparing for their summer garden party.<br />

“As a group we were able to make much<br />

more of an impact for an extremely<br />

valuable and under-resourced project,”<br />

said Kate. “It has also been a great<br />

team building exercise, and great fun!<br />

The work we have done is just the<br />

start and we are keen to build on our<br />

relationship with the staff and service<br />

users at Harlington Hospice.”


starters and Leavers<br />

Express says goodbye to some of the<br />

staff who have departed from <strong>Brunel</strong> this<br />

summer, and greets some new faces.<br />

Welcome to…<br />

Richenda Brewer Admissions Manager | professor Graeme Evans Chair in Design<br />

| Emma Filtness Publications Officer | Sue Henshaw Staff Development Trainer<br />

| Caroline Kenealy PA to Pro-Vice-Chancellors Professor Dany Nobus and Dr<br />

Mariann Rand-Weaver | Aash Khadia Deputy Director (Academic Profile), Planning<br />

| Ross Lennon Senior Examinations Officer | Dr David Machin Reader in Journalism<br />

| Lynn Martin Senior Timetabler | Leanne Moseley Development Officer (Trusts<br />

and Funds) | professor Shyama Ramani Chair in Entrepreneurship | professor<br />

Frank Skinner Chair in Corporate Finance | Joanna Steele PA to the Director of<br />

Academic Services | phil Thompson Interim Human Resources Manager (Systems)<br />

Farewell to…<br />

Andrew Aanonson BURA/Research Manager, Library | Linda Attram Equality<br />

and Diversity Manager | professor Rachel Brooks Professor of Education | Vikki<br />

Cannon Admissions Manager | Mary Cunning Learning Environment Manager,<br />

Library | Barry Edwards Reader in Drama | Niki Khoroushi Marketing Manager<br />

(Publications) | professor Andrew Lyddiatt Professor Associate, <strong>Brunel</strong> Institute<br />

of Bioengineering | Rachana patni Course Leader, Social Care | Rachel Russell PA<br />

to Pro-Vice-Chancellors Professor Dany Nobus and Dr Mariann Rand-Weaver |<br />

Karthikeyan Shanmugam Senior Web Systems Officer | Charlotte Taylor Marketing<br />

and Recruitment Manager, Law School | Lindsay Topham Volunteer Services<br />

Manager | Santanu Vasant eLearning Technologist | professor Adrian Woods<br />

Foundation Chair in Management Studies | Dr Mark Young Reader in Design<br />

Covers a selection of starters and leavers between April and August <strong>2012</strong><br />

ACADEMIC pRoMoTIoNS<br />

The Committee for Academic Staff promotions is pleased to announce that Council<br />

has approved the following list of promotions for the academic year 2011-12.<br />

Promotion to senior Lecturer<br />

School of Arts Dr Elizabeth Evenden | <strong>Brunel</strong> Business<br />

School Dr Afshin Mansouri | School of Engineering and<br />

Design Yunting Ge, Dr Atanas Ivanov, Dr David Smith<br />

| HERG Dr Subhash Pokhrel | School of Information<br />

Systems, Computing and Mathematics Dr Laurence Brooks,<br />

Dr Dmitry Savin, Dr Allan Tucker, Dr Veronica Vinciotti<br />

| <strong>Brunel</strong> Law School Dr Maurizo Borghi<br />

Promotion to reader<br />

sTAFF NeWs :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> Institute for Bioengineering Dr Svetlana Ignatova |<br />

School of Health Sciences and Social Care Dr Mark Pook<br />

Promotion to Chair<br />

IN BRIEF<br />

School of Social Sciences Dr Matthew Hughes |<br />

School of Information Systems, Computing and<br />

Mathematics Dr Julie Barnett | Wolfson Centre<br />

Dr Karnik Tarverdi (Promotion to Chair (Enterprise))<br />

23<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> London <strong>2012</strong> Gold Medal<br />

awards have been presented to<br />

staff who made an outstanding<br />

contribution to the success of<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong>’s Olympic and Paralympic<br />

activities. Michael Bak, Simon<br />

Carroll, Steven Exley, Helen Fisher,<br />

Gwyn Jones, Sheila Killen, Jeung<br />

Lee, Iain Liddell, Karen Moseley,<br />

Sally preece, Matthew Ralph,<br />

Chris Stock, Liz Woodward and<br />

Neil Young all received individual<br />

awards, alongside a number<br />

of teams and departments<br />

across the <strong>University</strong>.<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong> has achieved an Athena<br />

SWAN Bronze Award for its<br />

efforts to promote the equal<br />

representation of female<br />

academic and research staff in<br />

science, technology, engineering,<br />

mathematics and medicine. <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

is one of only 42 universities to<br />

have received a bronze award.<br />

professor Saeed Vaseghi cycled from<br />

London to Belfast in May <strong>2012</strong> in<br />

aid of the ovarian cancer charity<br />

Angels of Hope. Professor Vaseghi,<br />

who lost his partner to cancer<br />

earlier this year, aims to complete<br />

another charity bike ride in 2013.<br />

Find out more or donate at www.<br />

justgiving.com/saeed-vaseghi<br />

A new book on academic essay<br />

writing by Blackboard Learn Project<br />

Manager Alex osmond will be<br />

published by SAGE in spring 2013.<br />

Academic Writing and Grammar for<br />

Students focuses on clear, accessible,<br />

and practical advice around good<br />

writing techniques and practice.


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BEAM <strong>2012</strong>:<br />

high-tech music brings the<br />

festival spirit to <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

The second annual <strong>Brunel</strong> Electronic and Analogue<br />

Music (BEAM) festival gave music-lovers another<br />

fascinating weekend on campus in June, exploring the<br />

physicality and live creation of electronic music.<br />

International aficionados of electronic music, including cuttingedge<br />

musicians, academic researchers, amateur hackers and coders<br />

and emerging artists, turned the Antonin Artaud building into<br />

a playground for strange and exciting sonic experimentation.<br />

This year’s guest curator was professor Atau Tanaka,<br />

professor of Media Computing at Goldsmiths, <strong>University</strong><br />

of London. “What I like about BEAM is the community<br />

that comes together here,” he said. “We’ve got all the<br />

facilities to turn an academic discipline into a festival.”


“The computer itself becomes the instrument”<br />

Describing his vision for this year’s event, professor Tanaka explained that<br />

he wanted it to “cover the whole spectrum from popular electronic music to<br />

academic study,” and “connect the beginnings of electronic music with the<br />

latest developments, where the computer itself becomes the instrument.”<br />

This new level of electronic music was exemplified by Benoît and<br />

The Mandlebrots, a German band specialising in ‘live coding’. This<br />

innovative performance practice combines algorithmic composition –<br />

using algorithms to create music without human intervention – with<br />

improvised, interactive computer programming by a live ‘laptop band’.<br />

Many artists also use electronic interfacing to manipulate the sound of acoustic<br />

instruments using a laptop. This can create new instruments that go on to<br />

be successful in the public sphere as commercial musical instruments, such<br />

as the Reactable, which has been used by Bjork ( www.reactable.com).<br />

BEAM attendees were privileged to experience the premiere performance<br />

of the Hackspace Big Band, who used digitally-altered acoustic instruments<br />

to perform a long, varied instrumental piece with accompanying<br />

visuals, generated live using a turntable-mounted projector.<br />

Kaleidoscopic, impressionistic and fluid, the visuals perfectly complimented<br />

the diversity and spontaneity of the band’s music, which developed from<br />

grandiose cinematic montages of uneasy-sounding strings, punctuated<br />

by electronic bleeps and glitches, and swelled to a crescendo of<br />

howling feedback and surging noise. The finale, dropping from a<br />

maelstrom of computer destruction to a fragile percussive ambience,<br />

showcased the potential of such an unusual musical collective.<br />

https://london.hackspace.org.uk<br />

SYNTH-A-SKETCH: creating sonic drawings<br />

Raphael Arar’s SYNTH-A-SKETCH is based on the Etch A Sketch<br />

drawing toy, but with its mechanical functions rendered digitally.<br />

The similarities between Raphael’s device and the Etch A Sketch mean that<br />

operation is intuitive for anyone who has enjoyed the original toy. The user<br />

creates images by turning knobs and shaking to clear, and the SYNTH-A-SKETCH<br />

produces changing sounds alongside the images drawn, creating ‘sonic drawings.’<br />

Arar describes his work as centring on ‘the synthesis of nostalgia and novelty,<br />

resulting in sonic alloys indebted to the past’, and this idea is exemplified<br />

by the SYNTH-A-SKETCH. The installation is intended as a comment on the<br />

transience of modern society, as none of the user’s sonic drawings can be saved.<br />

http://raphaelarar.com<br />

Visualising sound<br />

Lewis Sykes showcased his Augmented Tonoscope project, an attempt<br />

to build “an instrument to visualise sound in such a way that what<br />

you see and what you hear are analogues of each other.”<br />

The Tonoscope is based on cymatics, a term derived from the Greek word<br />

for ‘wave-like’ and which describes the effect that sound and vibration have<br />

on materials. Sykes uses sound to vibrate a drum skin covered with sand: the<br />

sand shifts into specific geometric shapes and patterns at certain frequencies.<br />

Explaining the purpose of the project, Sykes stated that by connecting<br />

visual and audio aspects, the Tonoscope may shift our perception of sound<br />

and image so that we can “see/hear an object/sound simultaneously”.<br />

Drawing upon the results of his experiments with the Tonoscope,<br />

he aims to produce an interactive installation in which a<br />

certain tone corresponds to a specific pattern or shape.<br />

http://blog.lewissykes.info<br />

http://vimeo.com/lewissykes<br />

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25<br />

Natural soundscapes:<br />

a BEAM sleepover<br />

From midnight on Saturday for 12 hours,<br />

the main room of the Antonin Artaud<br />

building turned into what Tanaka<br />

described as a ‘black box space’, where<br />

delegates spent the night immersed in<br />

the natural soundscapes of Norwegian<br />

sound artist Jana Winderen.<br />

Winderen’s work takes her to some<br />

of the most beautiful and remote<br />

corners of the globe to capture ‘unseen<br />

sources of sound’, such as the ‘audio<br />

topography’ of the ocean under the<br />

Norwegian glacier Brenndalsbreen, and<br />

‘the depths of ice crevasses’ from the<br />

icefjord Kangia, Greenland.<br />

Tanaka praised as the unique sleepover<br />

format of the concert as increasing our<br />

awareness of the ubiquity of sound:<br />

“We can close our eyes when we sleep<br />

but we can’t close our ears – we sense<br />

sound and hear in a different way.”<br />

www.janawinderen.com<br />

‘playing’ the<br />

piano: open call<br />

performances<br />

The festival culminated with a slot<br />

reserved for those artists selected<br />

from the Open Call for proposals,<br />

where home musicians and<br />

professionals alike vied for a chance<br />

to perform. Highlights included a<br />

performance by Tychonas Michailidis,<br />

who played a grand piano without<br />

striking the keys: instead, he used<br />

haptic (touch) technology, placing<br />

computer-linked motors onto the<br />

strings and affecting their vibrations<br />

by moving a special glove over the<br />

piano. The resulting composition<br />

was as elaborate and graceful as the<br />

performer’s gestures that created it.


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26<br />

“The project focuses<br />

on how postcolonial,<br />

diasporic audiences<br />

consider film to<br />

have shaped their<br />

ideas and values<br />

about community.”<br />

“I came into the world with a beautiful<br />

wound”, by Jayne Wilton<br />

“The literary essay is<br />

a strange mode. It’s<br />

not like an academic,<br />

critical essay, nor is it<br />

purely entertainment<br />

– it’s somewhere<br />

in between.”<br />

Collaboration with the British Film<br />

Institute explores how film shapes<br />

culture and community<br />

Dr Sarita Malik, from <strong>Brunel</strong>’s School of Social Sciences, is collaborating<br />

with the British Film Institute (BFI) to explore the ways in which film<br />

shapes audiences’ ideas and values about ‘community’.<br />

Dr Malik’s project, entitled ‘Diasporic Film in Communities’ and<br />

funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, examines the<br />

relationship between screen culture, stakeholders and communities,<br />

and seeks to better understand the concept of community in<br />

the modern, multicultural world. It focuses on how postcolonial,<br />

diasporic audiences – consisting of people belonging to one culture<br />

which has been dispersed from an original location – consider<br />

film to have shaped their ideas and values about community.<br />

Events so far have involved African-Caribbean, South Asian and Chinese<br />

audiences and have included film screenings, Q&A sessions with directors<br />

and screenwriters, and cultural celebrations such as a martial arts<br />

workshop and calypso singing. Audiences and community partners have<br />

discussed screen culture and how it shapes their values: for example, the<br />

Chinese group described the way in which particular films build up their<br />

sense of pride in ‘being Chinese’. Groups also expressed interest in the<br />

significance of how their culture or community is represented in film,<br />

and in the draw of film itself as a medium that mobilises communities.<br />

Dr Malik completed her PhD at the BFI, examining the history of<br />

black and Asian representation on British television. She said: “I’m<br />

really thrilled to be working with the BFI again. The Institute is<br />

central to how we develop cultural knowledge about our visual<br />

history – not just as researchers, but also as a society.”<br />

Will Self re-imagines the literary<br />

essay for the digital age<br />

<strong>Brunel</strong>’s professor of Contemporary Thought Will Self has developed<br />

a new form of literary essay re-imagined for the digital age.<br />

“Kafka’s Wound”: A Digital Literary Essay is an examination of Franz Kafka’s<br />

work through the lens of one of his stories, A Country Doctor (1919), and<br />

in particular through the aperture of the wound described in the story.<br />

The project, commissioned by the London Review of Books,<br />

brought together a team of web developers, editors, researchers,<br />

academics and artists, led by Self. They explored the possibilities<br />

offered by digital media to fashion a new kind of literary<br />

essay, interspersed with music, animation, film and text inspired<br />

by Kafka’s story and to document the creative process.<br />

“The literary essay is a strange mode,” explained Self. “It’s not like<br />

an academic, critical essay, nor is it purely entertainment – it’s<br />

somewhere in between. We had just twelve weeks for the project,<br />

so we invited people along and they pitched to be involved.”<br />

A host of <strong>Brunel</strong> staff and students were among over 70 contributors to<br />

the essay, which includes readings by Professor Johannes Birringer, a game<br />

designed by Professor Tanya Krzywinska, and art created by the School of<br />

Engineering and Design’s Professor Akram Khan and artist-in-residence<br />

Jayne Wilton. Self described the result as “a collectivisation, rather than a<br />

collaboration. The standard of work produced at <strong>Brunel</strong> was very high.”<br />

The essay is available online and through smartphone, tablet and<br />

connected TV, and will be exhibited at The Space, a new digital arts<br />

platform developed by the Arts Council in partnership with the BBC.


international Pathways and<br />

Language Centre:<br />

what’s on this term?<br />

The International pathways and Language Centre (IpLC) provides Academic<br />

English support for <strong>Brunel</strong> students whose first language is not English,<br />

as well as Modern Foreign Language tuition for students and staff.<br />

The International Admissions team recommends applicants to the IPLC if<br />

they have yet to meet the English language requirement for their course.<br />

Students are introduced to British academic culture as well as improving<br />

their knowledge of English for Academic Purposes, through the<br />

Pre-sessional English or English@<strong>Brunel</strong> programmes, or the International<br />

Foundation/Pre-Master’s in Engineering. Courses last from six to 50 weeks,<br />

and students can then continue to develop their language skills via the<br />

In-sessional English programme which runs throughout term-time.<br />

During the last academic year, 962 students attended In-sessional<br />

English courses and more than 1,000 students benefited<br />

from one-to-one academic consultation sessions.<br />

In-sessional English<br />

In-sessional Programme Leader<br />

David Jones and his team<br />

provide academic English<br />

support for all students whose<br />

first language is not English.<br />

“The most important classes are<br />

academic writing in term one<br />

and dissertation writing in term<br />

two,” said David. “We are here<br />

to help students bridge the gap<br />

between being able to write<br />

a 300 word IELTS essay and a<br />

3,000 word academic essay.”<br />

David also organises specific<br />

classes tailored to the needs of<br />

particular courses and Schools, as<br />

well as one-to-one sessions where<br />

students meet with a teacher for<br />

individual advice on the English in<br />

their written assignments and job<br />

applications. Both these services<br />

are provided free of charge.<br />

The following In-sessional classes<br />

and courses are on offer in the<br />

<strong>Autumn</strong> term: Academic Writing;<br />

Academic Speaking and Listening<br />

Skills; Academic Grammar with<br />

Vocabulary; Professional English;<br />

Academic English for Research<br />

Students; and Pronunciation<br />

and Social Conversation.<br />

Booking for In-sessional English<br />

courses opens during the week<br />

of 1 october and students can<br />

enrol online at www.brunel.<br />

ac.uk/international/currentstudents/insessional-english<br />

Modern Foreign<br />

Languages<br />

The IPLC also offers Foreign<br />

Language programmes for <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

staff and students, which provide<br />

useful transferrable skills and<br />

open doors to new cultures.<br />

Karin Hayes, Head of Modern<br />

Foreign Languages, and her team<br />

offer an extensive Modern Foreign<br />

Languages programme, with classes<br />

taught by qualified, native speakers.<br />

Upon successful completion of<br />

the course, students receive a<br />

Certificate of Achievement.<br />

Registered <strong>Brunel</strong> students can<br />

attend these classes free of charge,<br />

and there are two free staff<br />

places on each course. Once free<br />

places have been allocated, other<br />

staff applicants will be offered<br />

a discount on the course fees.<br />

The following courses are available<br />

in Terms 1 and 2: Modern Standard<br />

Arabic; French; German; Italian;<br />

Japanese; Mandarin; Portuguese;<br />

Russian; and Spanish. A taster<br />

course in Polish will run in Term 2.<br />

Booking for foreign language<br />

courses is now open at<br />

www.brunel.ac.uk/<br />

international/foreignlanguages<br />

Classes start on 8 october <strong>2012</strong>.<br />

FeATUre :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

27<br />

A British Council inspection<br />

of the IpLC in February<br />

<strong>2012</strong> recognised eight areas<br />

of strength at the Centre,<br />

including teaching, course<br />

design and quality assurance.


iN PiCTUres :: eXPRess MAGAZINe<br />

THe GALLerY<br />

The Korean olympic team and Canadian paralympic<br />

athletics team held their pre-Games training camps<br />

at <strong>Brunel</strong> over the summer of <strong>2012</strong>. Both teams<br />

held open sessions to give the media both in the<br />

UK and back at home a taste of life on campus.<br />

1 Korean media representatives surround members of<br />

the Olympic Boxing team. The training camp at <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

attracted huge media interest in the Republic of Korea,<br />

with a number of top TV channels and newspapers<br />

covering the team’s arrival and preparations on campus.<br />

1<br />

2<br />

See your photos here!<br />

Want to see your images published in Express? Submit your best pictures of anything <strong>Brunel</strong><br />

and you could see them in the Express gallery. Email your high resolution photos (ideally 1MB+)<br />

to communications@brunel.ac.uk or submit them on <strong>Brunel</strong>’s Flickr or Facebook pages.<br />

2<br />

The Korean Olympic Handball team practice in <strong>Brunel</strong>’s<br />

sports hall.<br />

3 Taekwondo players train in the Sports Centre. Taekwondo<br />

is the national sport in the Republic of Korea, and the<br />

team went on to win a gold and a silver medal at the<br />

London Games.<br />

4 Canadian Paralympic wheelchair racers practice on the<br />

outdoor athetics track. Racer Michelle Stilwell won gold in<br />

the T52 200m and silver in the T52 100m in London.<br />

3<br />

4<br />

136920B 240912

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