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Wednesday 11 October 2017

Staff Newsletter Issue 54


 

Contents

  • Announcements
  • News
  • Opportunities
  • CTIL news
  • Academic Skills
  • What's on
  • Blogs
  • From the editors

 

Announcements

 
 

Stephen Fry Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement with Research - now open

The 2018 Stephen Fry Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement with Research is now open for applications. These annual awards recognise the work of our outstanding staff and students in communicating the University's research to a wider audience.

The deadline for applications is 1pm on Fri 1 December 2017. The winners of the Stephen Fry Awards will be announced at Discovery Days 2018 on Fri 12 January. Staff and students can self-nominate or nominate others from the University, who they feel should be celebrated. Access the nomination form here.


 

Doctor's clinic at the University Health Service

From Mon 16 to Fri 22 Oct there will be no Doctor's Clinic due to annual leave. You can find information about the University Health Service here or if you need medical assistance please visit a GP or visit www.nhs24.scot/


 

The Archies book is now available to buy

The Archies book by the Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer Dr Paul Fettes, is now available to buy at www.archie.org Alternatively, you can buy it at Waterstones, Nicholson's cycles in Dundee, and The Watermill in Aberfeldy. All of the money from the book goes to the Archie Foundation.

The book tells the story of the Archie Challenge and explains the Archies, the 1000m Mountains of Scotland. Foreword by World Record-breaking round-the-world cyclist Mark Beaumont, original photos of the Scottish Highlands and a free A3 HarperCollins map of all 130 Archies. 


 

Specialist software on more student desktops

Your students can now access Autodesk software on more campus PCs, including in popular study zones. Find out more information.


 

Update: network migration

After an extensive investigation, Dell has provided a solution that means IT can continue to move locations onto the new network. Go to the latest blog post for the list of upcoming migrations set to start in mid-Oct.


 

Do you use a managed Mac?

Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac will no longer be supported as of Tue 10 Oct. Still using this version? Please upgrade to the 2016 version to ensure you continue to receive security updates.


 

Box by numbers

Did you know you have access to free unlimited file storage?
• Login: uod.box.com
• 13,374 of you are using it
• 123.4 TB of data is stored in it
• 887 logins are made to it on an average day
Make sure what you put in Box is compliant.


 

News

More news stories and press releases at www.dundee.ac.uk/news

 
 
Scientists at the University have identified the structure of a key enzyme that protects the brain against Parkinson’s disease.

Dundee scientists make Parkinson’s breakthrough

Scientists at the University have identified the structure of a key enzyme that protects the brain against Parkinson’s disease. The result of a decade of work, the research team said that solving the 3D structure and inner workings of the PINK1 enzyme represented a major breakthrough. Read the full story here.

 

 
Students at the University

Careers Service rated amongst the best

Students at the University of Dundee have ranked our Careers Service as among the best in the UK. Dundee came 3rd in the Career Service 2017 Awards. Read the story here.

 

 

Opportunities

Survey requests

 
 

Staff Survey 2017

The University's Staff Survey will open on 30 October 2017 and run until the end of November. All staff will be invited to participate.  It is an opportunity to tell us how you feel about your working life at the University.  The University is committed to gathering regular staff feedback and running a university-wide survey every two years allows us to see how we are doing and the areas we need to improve on. 

A lot of activity has taken place since the last survey in 2015 and the University is committed to responding to your feedback again this year. 

You will be hearing more about the 2017 survey over the next few weeks – please look out for this information.


 

Reminder: Race Equality survey

As part of the participation in Equality Challenge Unit’s (ECU) race equality charter mark, we are seeking confidential feedback to ensure that the University is inclusive to all regardless of ethnicity, cultural or national identity. 

Please take part in the following survey which will help shape and inform what actions should be taken to advance race equality and further promote equality and diversity in the University. Take the survey here.


 

RSA Student Design Award - Working Well

Fourth-year student Rebecca needs your help. 

Her research 'Working Well' asks for a solution to be designed that could help tackle mental health issues. This solution should result in better productivity in the workplace. To help Rebecca find a solution please take a moment to fill out the survey found here.


 

Centre for Technology and Innovation in Learning (CTIL) News

 
 

Questionmark: Move to On Demand

The digital assessment service Questionmark Perception, which is used for delivering both formative and high-stakes assessment is being upgraded to a new, cloud-based service called ‘On-Demand’. This project had previously been delayed but is now ready to move forward again. Read about the new project timeline on this post on the CTIL blog.


 

Academic Skills Centre (ASC) News

 
 

Academic Skills Week - on now!

Please tell your students about this week’s series of free, drop-in group workshops or one-to-one tutorials run by the Academic Skills Centre and DUSA. Crucial academic skills such as report writing, giving presentations and time management will be covered. Details can be found here.


 

Sharing Good Practice Seminar Series (Wed 25 Oct)

How to Teach? Insights from Cognitive Psychology

The first speaker in ASC's new seminar series, which will be focussing on Scholarship. Dr Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel (School of Social Sciences), who will present an overview of the most successful teaching strategies that resulted from years of rigorous research in cognitive psychology. More information and to book a place

12:30-13:45, EduZone, Main Library. Light lunch provided.
Dates for subsequent seminars, speakers to be confirmed, can be found here.


 

Sharing Good Practice Workshops

There are several staff academic development workshops coming up, delivered by a mix of internal and external facilitators, with topics as diverse as voice care, student transitions and writing for publication. For more information and to book visit the Academic Skills Centre website.


 

What's On

For all University events, visit www.dundee.ac.uk/events

 
 

In Conversation: representing the BME community (Fri 13 Oct)

Black History Month 2017
 

Join the University in celebrating Black History Month with a twist.

In Conversation sees Graham Campbell, Glasgow’s and Scotland’s first ever African Caribbean Councillor, Satnam Ner, the first black President of the STUC and Ade Aibinu, Glasgow’s first-ever black councillor, talk about what it’s like to represent the BME community as councillors. Join the conversation on Friday from 6pm in Dalhousie LT 1. Find out more information.

 

 

Do you have what is takes to be a Brave Runner? (Tue 17 Oct)

Have you heard of Tough Mudder? Do you want to participate in a fun run/obstacle course with friends/family? Look no further, this is the place, here at the University of Dundee we have created Brave Runner. 

This event is for everybody - Student, Staff, Dundee Community, it's for anyone who wants to take part. All we ask is for a small donation of £3 - this will go towards the referral programme at the University for Mental Health as part of the Healthy Body Healthy Mind project. 

The event will kick-start the University's Minds Matter month in November. Find out more information.


 

Strategic Insights and Values into Action (Mon 30 Oct)

With the launch of the new University strategy, it’s more important than ever to understand our core values which underpin all that we do.
Come along to Strategic Insights and Values into Action. Book your place here.


 

Christmas Lecture: Dame Katherine Grainger (Sat 18 Nov)

One of the University’s most recent Honorary Graduates, Dame Katherine Grainger, returns to give this year’s Dundee Christmas Lecture in partnership with Dundee City Council.

Katherine has enjoyed phenomenal success throughout her career and will talk about what she believes are the essential elements in forming a successful team and how this has helped her become one of Britain’s most decorated athletes. Book tickets.


 

Blogs

A snapshot of blogs from around the University

 
 
Diwali - the festival of lights

Student blog: The lead up to the festival of lights!

Sandhya Prem, a Medical student, talks about Diwali - the festival of lights. 

Read Sandhya's blog. 

 

 
SRC

OneDundee: A look back at 1960s student politics

During our 50th year we’ve been speaking to many of our alumni including the very first president of the University of Dundee Student Representative Council, Pete Thomas. He looks back on his time at University in 1967. Read the blog here.

 

 
Women in research lab

RIS: Dundee is playing its part in the largest experiment in the world!

It’s 5 years since the discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN, the so-called God particle that is helping humanity understand the most fundamental building blocks and forces in our universe, and ultimately allowing us to determine the fate of the universe. 

The University of Dundee has now entered the world of CERN, contributing to the world’s largest experiment to help answer some of the biggest questions about our universe, around antimatter, dark matter and dark energy. Read the full story here.

 

 

Web: Our first sprint

One of the principles that is the foundation of the University's web project is the ability to not only be open in what we do, but also to make things available early and often and continually assess how we’ve performed as a team

Read more on the Web team blog.


 

From the editors ...

 
 

If you wish to communicate around the University, this fortnightly newsletter is just one way to do that. Please check our Methods of Internal Communication webpage, and feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

The next newsletter will be distributed on Wednesday 25 October - the deadline is 4pm on Friday 20 October.


 

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