December 23, 2013 9.10 am
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Reflections 2013: Reshaping Lincoln through education
Making a mark on Lincoln: The University of Lincoln continued its expansion this year, and Vice Chancellor Mary Stuart details the achievements.
Proffessor Mary Stuart, Vice Chancellor at the University of Lincoln, is delighted to be placed so highly in the rankings.
By Mary StuartUniversity of Lincoln Vice Chancellor
The year began on a high for the University of Lincoln; every year we recognise, through the award of a small number of honorary degrees, the outstanding contributions made to our society by individuals who have excelled in their chosen fields.
And as such, we were delighted to welcome BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning actor John Hurt CBE back to Lincoln for our graduation ceremony at Lincoln Cathedral in January.
The University itself is no stranger to awards. In February, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) awarded a commendation to the university for its enhancement of student learning opportunities.
We were delighted with this recognition as the university is constantly developing and enhancing ways in which students can have their say about how they learn.
More recently, the university was highlighted as an example of excellence in an independent report commissioned by the government, and led by Sir Andrew Witty, into how universities drive innovation and business creation.
The report highlighted the significance of the creation in 2009 of the Lincoln School of Engineering, in collaboration with Siemens plc, and the contribution made to small business growth by Sparkhouse, the university’s business incubation centre.
Having gained the education contract for nursing across all of Lincolnshire in 2012, the way we are training the next generation of nurses was praised in a report by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Awarded a rating of ‘good’ in all five areas, this recognises that we have built strong partnerships with placement providers and have solid systems in place to ensure that our student nurses, and their mentors, are well-supported throughout their placements.
This year also saw the first ever Vice Chancellor’s Award and University of Lincoln Scholarships, which awarded almost £30,000 in scholarships to support the academic aspirations of talented new students.
These awards show just how much we are committed to supporting academic progression and helping students advance their learning and reach their full potential.
The university celebrated the 150th anniversary of its oldest predecessor institution with two free public exhibitions at the Greestone Centre in February and The Usher Gallery throughout the summer.
The exhibitions brought together historic works from the Lincoln School of Art into a comprehensive showcase for the first time. This anniversary coincided with the School of Art and Design’s move later on in the year to the new purpose-built building on the Brayford campus.
This year we also won Gold at RHS Chelsea Flower Show for our unique garden ‘Digital Capabilities’. The garden was designed to respond to live Twitter activity and garnered a great deal of press attention highlighting our research into the changing world of computing, working with our Schools of Computing, Psychology and Architecture. The coverage also highlighted the city and the county across the globe which we are delighted to have enabled.
More recently, the university was successful in its bid, along with the Lincolnshire Echo and Lincolnshire Co-operative, for £1 million of funding from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.
Over the coming year the money will be distributed to businesses in the city to create new jobs and grow the local economy.
As always there are a number of exciting developments planned for the future.
The University of Lincoln will be providing more research and development opportunities by creating its new Schools of Mathematics and Chemistry.
The new schools will create provision in these critical subject areas in the region and will reshape our whole Brayford Campus as we evolve into the university of the future.
The fact a £6.8 million investment came from the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) is a sign of the confidence funders have in the University of Lincoln and its capability to respond directly to the needs of local, regional and national employers.
Initial work on the Lincoln Science and Innovation Park is continuing apace with the newly renovated Joseph Banks House on target to open its doors in September 2014.
And at the beginning of the month we found out that we had been successful in a collaborative bid with Kingston University (my old University) in a £14.8 million project to support UK science and engineering students progress onto postgraduate qualifications.
This project is also part of our strategy to ensure we are supporting our students at postgraduate level so they are able to contribute to new knowledge, science and therefore grow our reputation across the world for innovation.
Winning projects like the ones I have described enable us to do more for the city, the county and the region as well as grow and develop as a strong university with excellent students and excellent research.
I am extremely excited about the coming year and look forward to the continued expansion of the university, not only in terms of infrastructure but also in its commitment to pursuing world-leading research. We will continue to put Lincoln on the map with our work. Watch this space!
A very happy festive season to all Lincolnite readers!
Professor Mary Stuart is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln. She is a graduate of the University of Cape Town and the Open University, where she obtained her Doctorate in Social Policy in 1998. Her research interests are focused on life histories, social mobility, higher education students and community development.
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Have I Got News For You star Paul Merton will perform his show ‘Impro Chums’ on stage at the New Theatre Royal Lincoln later this month.
Merton, Richard Vranch, Suki Webster, Mike McShane, and accompanist Kirsty Newton are back on the road, with Lincoln among the stops on the tour for an evening of improvisation.
Tickets are on sale priced at £25 for the show at 7.30pm on Tuesday, May 31 – buy your tickets here.
Merton is a writer, actor, comedian and radio and television present, who is known for his improvisation skill and deadpan humour. He is a founder member of The Comedy Store Players and still appears at the Comedy Store in London most Sundays.
The 64-year-old is also a resident guest on BBC Radio 4’s Just A Minute and his travel series on Channel Five called Paul Merton’s Adventures covered India, China and Europe. Last summer he co-stared with Suki Website in Motorhoming with Paul Merton as part of a six-part travel documentary for Channel 5.
His autobiography ‘Only When I Laugh’ reached the Sunday Times bestseller Top 10.
A 22-year-old man who died in a motorbike crash in Lincoln will be given a final send off with a rip-roaring procession on the way to his funeral.
Connor Peters, 22, tragically died in a crash on the B1190 Lincoln Road on Monday, May 9, as his black Lexmoto motorcycle collided with a white Isuzu van.
He unfortunately died at the scene, and a fundraiser was set up for the “cheeky, loveable rogue” to have the send off “he deserves”. At the time of reporting there is a remarkable £5,000 on the GoFundMe page, which you can visit here.
Connor Peters, pictured here with his mum, tragically died in a crash on Monday, May 9. | Photo: GoFundMe
Now, plans have been made for a motorbike procession to join the hearse taking Connor to his funeral service. The event, titled Connor Peters’ Last Ride, has been organised by his brother Josh.
It will take place at 11.50am on Monday, June 13, starting from Larne Road in Lincoln.
Josh says on the event’s Facebook page: “As a family, we are wanting a full motorcycle procession behind the funeral car, we want as many bikes, trikes, mopeds anything. We want so much noise remove all baffles removed, pops and bangs enough so he can hear from up there.
“Connor was a 22 year old lad that was full of life and was loved by so many, he loved his little 125cc, he thought that he had finally hit the big time but due to a awful turn of events he lost his life doing something he loved.
“For many of us bikers we can understand the love and passion he had for that short period of time. A biker fallen hits us all but we all club together to make an effort to remember those we lost.”
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