Become a Buddy in 2014/15 (Biosciences and Psychology)

Remember your first few weeks at uni? Most of the time it's exciting, but sometimes daunting, confusing or even a little bit scary?       

As a Student Buddy you will welcome new first year students to Exeter by meeting up during the first weeks and helping them to settle in to campus life during their first year.

Buddies benefit too. Our Buddies say that they gain valuable experience by volunteering as mentors, and a sense of pride and achievement in sharing the best bits of their university experience with others. By sharing your experiences you will improve your confidence, communication and leadership skills, and enhance your CV. Volunteering as a Student Buddy can be rewarded as part of the Exeter Award. We will provide you with training to ensure you have the confidence to support new students and help them to have the best university experience possible.

If you are a current Biosciences or Psychology student and would like to be a Buddy for a new student in the academic year 2014/15 - APPLY TODAY! The deadline for submitting your application is 28 March 2014.

For more information, visit the Buddy Up page, or contact Sabina Szydlo at s.szydlo@exeter.ac.uk.

Teaching Awards

Teaching Awards recognise the academic and support staff who have an enormous positive impact on your learning experience.
Great teaching comes in many forms, but it can inspire and challenge you, and ensure that your academic experience is everything it should be.
This is your chance to thank those who have made a difference to your time at Exeter.
Last year students nominated lecturers and support staff from three of our subjects as examples of excellence in teaching and support.
This year the nominations will be open between 17 – 28 February 2014. Further information on categories and how to make a nomination will be available on the Students’ Guild website from 15 January 2014. This year you will be able to nominate for individual awards using templates provided online through the Guild’s website.

Make a Change

Students as Change Agents is an ambitious scheme that lets you take an active part in making your time at the University of Exeter even better. You can identify areas you want to improve, and then research solutions with your fellow students, which we will help you put into action as a Change Agents project.  To find out more, visit the Students As Change Agents website, visit ELE page, or email s.szydlo@exeter.ac.uk.

Café Scientifique

Exeter Café Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. Meetings take place on the first Monday of every month at Exeter Phoenix, starting at 8:30pm. For the upcoming events, please see the column on the right, or visit website.

Buddy Up Pre-Christmas Reception

On 12 December 2014, Pre-Christmas reception took place for all Student Buddies. It was a great opportunity for both mentors and mentees to meet and enjoy mince pies. The next meeting will take place on 12 March 2013 in the Old Library 134 at 4pm. To book your place, please email Sabina Szydlo at s.szydlo@exeter.ac.uk.

Sabbatical Elections

The sabbatical elections are underway with voting due to begin on 3 February 2014 when the student body will elect its most senior and prominent representatives for the 2014/15 academic year. The sabbatical officers oversee the strategy of the Students’ Guild, ensuring that University of Exeter students are effectively represented to the university, in the local area and on the national stage. Follow this link for details.

Student Elections

As incredible as it seems, it’s almost time to elect the Subject Chairs and Academic reps for the 2014/15 academic year. As usual, Student Elections will be run through the Guild website.
Nominations in the Student Elections begin on Monday 17 February and run until Thursday 6 March, with voting taking place between Monday 10 March and Friday 14 March.

How did they do it? Business and Beyond

More than 80 undergraduate Biosciences students attended the ‘Biosciences – How did they do it? Business and Beyond’ careers event held on Thursday 31 October. The event featured Dr Sandy Kennedy, former Vice President of Research & Development at GlaxoSmithKline and Dr David Santillo, an environmental scientist at Greenpeace. Also speaking at the event were Ines Castro (The PhD Route), Alison Gibbins (PGCE & NQT Year), Dr Mark Ramsdale (Industrial Placement Year) and Jane Harding (Exeter Mentoring Scheme). After the talks had concluded many students took the opportunity to network with the speakers and discuss careers over coffee and biscuits.

Students noted a crucial piece of advice; to keep up to date with current affairs and recent developments in science in order to maximise their commercial awareness. They also said that the event had developed their appreciation of the importance of networking and the benefits of a proactive attitude towards professional development.

Graduate Futures Event

On Friday 1 November Sport and Health Sciences held a hugely successful ‘Graduate Futures Event’ which featured 9 speakers and 7 exhibitors. The day started with an extremely well attended and enthusiastic keynote speech from a very high profile St Luke’s alumnus, namely Director of Performance at UK Sport, Simon Timson. After, students were given the chance to speak to representatives from regional businesses such as Precision Fitness and Performance, Army Careers and Mindsport Consulting at an employer stand event. In the afternoon a total of 8 talks took place from speakers including Luke Davis (Global Football Marketing at IMG), Dai Carpenter (Devon FA), Hannah Diamond (Sailor for Team GB), David Smith (Equestrian Personal Trainer) and Marcia Stefani (Sponsorship at IMG). The talks were very well received and earned very positive feedback from students, who then proceeded to make their way to The Richards Building for an informal networking session to round off the day.
This term’s Sport and Health Sciences event featured a fantastic depth and variety to its speaker and exhibitor line-up and students reported that they found it very beneficial to engage with people representing a wide range of industry sectors. One piece of advice that many students took away from the day was to take on a variety of roles and responsibilities in the workplace to gain a marketable portfolio of skills.

Dodgeball Tournament

Sport and Health Sciences hosted an engagement event in week 6 including a dodgeball tournament featuring teams from undergraduate, masters and staff level. In addition, current SHS dissertation students promoted and recruited for their studies, while a buffet lunch was enjoyed. The victorious team (pictured) will be looking to defend their title in 2014.

Library Champions

Contact your Library Champion if you feel that extra copies or any additional texts are required. Library Champions have been allocated a budget again this year to spend on the library resources.  This allows them to quickly respond to your needs.

Library Champion in your discipline:
Biosciences UG - Katie Barry at kb374@exeter.ac.uk
Geography UG - Nicky Peck at ngp204@exeter.ac.uk and Jo Hornsey jh568@exeter.ac.uk
Psychology UG - Leanne Ong at lo231@ex.ac.uk
Sport and Health Sciences PG -  Kirsty Brock at kb393@exeter.ac.uk and Chiara Gatoni at cg370@exeter.ac.uk

Athena SWAN

Undergraduate students at the Penryn Campus have been actively engaging with the work that CLES Cornwall are doing towards the Athena SWAN Charter by producing a video that poignantly expresses some of the challenges faced by women in science. Athena SWAN is a nationwide Charter that aims to promote the advancement of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine. Click on this link to view the video for yourself.

FLC Tandem Language Exchange Scheme

Want to improve your Foreign Language with a native speaker?

Why not try this fun and exciting way to engage with new cultures, whilst building upon your existing language skills?

The Tandem Language Exchange Scheme aims to bring together the vibrant international community in Exeter, allowing home students to meet International students, facilitating better understanding of cultural difference, and fostering friendship through language exchanges and cultural events.

Getting involved is simple:
- Go onto our Facebook page - www.facebook.com/FLC. Tandem
- Leave a comment featuring your native language, and the language(s) you would like to learn/practise.
- Wait for the replies from compatible matches to come rolling in!

In addition, look out for us in the Forum 24 January, in which we will be taking sign-ups to trial a new format of the scheme.

Finally, if you haven’t already, make sure to follow the Foreign Language Centre’s new Twitter page for language-learning tips, world news, and FLC updates!

If you have any questions about the scheme, or wish to register your interest now, please contact Fiona Potigny at f.potigny@exeter.ac.uk.

Generation UK: Summer Internships in China

The British Council’s Generation UK internship programme is still offering UK students the chance to gain work experience in mainland China this summer. Placements are available at companies in a wide range of industries, including: accounting and finance, architecture, business, engineering, hospitality, information technology, legal, logistics, marketing and PR, media and creative industries, pharmaceuticals and more. Knowledge of Chinese is not a pre-requisite for Generation UK internships.

Generation UK covers accommodation, STA travel insurance an airport pickup service and dedicated support throughout the placement. Students will need to cover the costs of their own return flights and visa.
Please note: For placements starting in June or July 2014, students must submit an application before Friday 11 April 2014. We strongly advise applying as early as possible as funding is limited and places are expected to be filled quickly.
More information, including details of how to apply, can be found at: www.britishcouncil.org.cn/genuk or for enquiries, please email: gen.uk@britishcouncil.org.cn.

The Mirror

Take part in the student and staff experience swap. The purpose of the Mirror scheme is to enable students and managers to gain an insight into each other’s daily working lives. In the context of learning and teaching it helps to foster understanding and deeper collaboration between professional services staff, academics and students. To apply or to find out more, please visit The Mirror web page.

Newsletter Contribution

If you have anything you would like to contribute to this newsletter, please email Sabina Szydlo at s.szydlo@exeter.ac.uk.