TOP STORIES

Exeter Academy of Nursing launched

The launch of our University of Exeter's new Academy of Nursing was a huge success. The academy, launched on May 31, will combine outstanding research, education and professional development to foster a community of constantly curious and innovative nurses in the South West. It will develop nurses so they are at the forefront of regional, national and global advances in care. Congratulations to everyone involved in the launch. Read more here.

Medical research at Exeter rises in influential global rankings

We are delighted that the University of Exeter Medical School has entered the world top 30 for Biomedical and Health Sciences in the influential CWTS Leiden Ranking 2018. The subject climbed in seven places to 28th, making it the highest ranked subject at the University of Exeter.

The rankings provide a measurement of the scientific impact and performance of over 1,000 major universities worldwide and their involvement in scientific collaboration. Read more here.

All-staff summer party

To celebrate our achievements so far this year, we hope you'll join us at a party for all staff in a marquee on the quad on the evening of 17th July, to extend the graduation celebrations that day. We'll be in touch with more details soon - for now please save the date!

Congratulations

Congratulations to:

Professor Maggie Shepherd, who has been selected to receive the prestigious Arnold Bloom Lecture Award at next year’s Diabetes UK Professional Conference.

Dr Hanieh Yaghootkar, who won the best abstract prize at Diabetes UK’s Innovators in Diabetes programme in May. Hanieh is using genetics to unravel the aetiology of cardiometabolic diseases and their causal links.

Dr Jonathon Brown, who has been awarded a research grant of over £70,000 by the National Centre for the Replacement Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research to help implement a wireless approach to recording electrical signals from the brains of mice. This will significantly improve animal welfare and help us to understand changes in the brain’s circuitry in Alzheimer’s Disease.

Drs Noreen Orr and Rebecca Abbott, who won the Images of Research competition. Images of Research is an innovative way to highlight the wide range of research that is taking place at the University of Exeter and an opportunity to look at research in a new and exciting way.

Dr Claire Eatock at the Medical School's European Centre for Environment and Human Health, based in Truro, who recently won Cornish Open Ladies Champion for kayaking. As a result she now gets a ranking for the UK and the world championships are in Peru this year. You can watch her kayaking online.

Postgraduate research successes:

Congratulations to the following intercalating Medicine students:

Izzy Fitzgerald (Masters by Research) for being selected as the winner of the 2018 Royal College of Emergency Medicine Undergraduate Essay Prize. Izzy also won the best poster prize (STEMM) at the recent University of Exeter Postgraduate Research Showcase (intercalating 2017-2018).

Flora McGarry for being awarded a £5,000 grant from Kidney Research UK for her Masters by Research intercalated year with Professor Angela Shore (intercalating 2018-2019).

STAFF NEWS

Exeter researchers meet fundraising target for charity cycle

Congratulations to Drs Mark Tarrant and David Llewellyn who have reached their fundraising goal of £1,550 for Alzheimer's Society. Mark and David will be cycling from London to Paris in July to raise money for the dementia charity. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far – your contributions will help fund work to gain new insights into dementia. If you were not able to contribute, there is still time to donate.

Mark and David will also be auctioning tickets for the forthcoming Mitsibushi Motors Rugby 7s event taking place in Exeter on 7-8 July, with the money raised going towards their fundraising. The event is part of the Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series and will include the England sevens team.The tickets retail at £30 each. If you are interested in these tickets, while also supporting their fundraising, please email an offer to Mark by 2pm on Monday 11 June. Tickets will be given to the highest bidder. In the event of a tie, names will be drawn from a hat.

Professional Services Recognition Awards

Congratulations to all those who have been shortlisted for this year's Professional Services Recognition Awards. We look forward to celebrating the outstanding achievements of our professional staff, who are central to the University’s success, on Friday 22nd June.

The awards complement other methods of reward and recognition, in particular the University's Above and Beyond Scheme for all staff. This year’s Awards feature two new categories – Apprentice of the Year and an Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Award.

In the news

Medical School research has made headlines this month, including:

Research led by Drs João Delgado and Janice Atkins which found that older people with very low heart disease risks also have very little fraility, appeared in the Telegraph.

Dr David Llewellyn was interviewed on BBC Spotlight about the 'Caring about Care – Improving the Experience of Care for People with Dementia in Hospital' Project. Watch from 12:30 minutes.

Research led by Dr Pamela Bowman which found that babies born with neonatal diabetes can now successfully be treated with tablets instead of injections over the long-term, appeared in the Guardian.

STAFF OPPORTUNITIES

Make a difference by giving your time to help our students

Can you join us to help with some of the key activities on campus for our students? From exam invigilation, graduation, confirmation and clearing, through to our PGR showcase week, volunteering can provide a new perspective on the student experience and the life of the University and make a real difference to the delivery of these key events.

With activities throughout the year, you can pick an event or activity that works best with your calendar. Click here to see upcoming events, then fill in our online form to register your interest.

The People Development team are offering several great courses and workshops this summer term:

Customer Service Skills 
This course is open to all staff and aims to build upon what you might already know about customer service and provide a useful refresher on the skills, behaviours and attitudes required. Please visit the course page for more information.

Embracing Change
This course is open to all staff and has received fantastic feedback. It discusses practical options for managing yourself within a changing work environment. Please visit the course page for more information.

Introduction to Higher Education – Today’s universities: Tomorrow’s Issues
This is an extremely popular session that is useful to both new and current staff. It examines the most pertinent topics in Higher Education and covers how we arrived where we are today, what universities do (teaching, research, enterprise) and how they are funded. Please visit the course page for more information.

Bitesize Learning Opportunities
These are a number of smaller sessions that aim to provide an overview of various subjects and to signpost staff to additional resources. Please click on the title below to book a place:

- An Introduction to Sharepoint
- Outlook Tips and hints
- CV Writing

RESEARCH NEWS

Islet Biology Exeter opens lab doors

Professor Noel Morgan and the Islet Biology Exeter Team recently opened the doors of their lab as a thank you to Diabetes UK fundraisers who help support their groundbreaking research.

Islet Biology Exeter study the factors that cause people to develop diabetes. To read more, visit the Exeter Diabetes research website or follow #ExeterDiabetes on Twitter.

STUDENT NEWS

Medicine student wins Course Rep of the Year

Congratulations to fourth-year Medicine student, Oli Glaisyer, who won Course Rep of the Year at the Falmouth and Exeter Students' Union (FXU) Student Voice Awards. The award recognises a Department Rep that has gone above and beyond to bring about change that has a positive and tangible impact on the academic experience of their peers. Read more here.

Medical Imaging secures research grant

Congratulations to Medical Imaging student, Steven Cox, who has been awarded a CoRIPS research grant from the College of Radiographers. Steven has also been invited to be one of the Council of Deans of Health 150 leaders – an opportunity for selected students and future healthcare leaders with particular leadership potential to further develop their skills through a four-month long programme.

Academic Representation and Engagement Awards

It was a successful night for the Medical School at Exeter Guild's Academic Representation and Engagement Awards, with Medicine Student Naomi Fuller winning 'Outstanding College Officer'.

Our Inspiring Spaces project also won 'Students as Partners Project of the Year'. A very big thank you to our students who worked together with our staff, Michelle Garrett-Martin and Dr Stephanie Bull, to transform our buildings into inspiring and motivational spaces!

EQUALITY & DIVERSITY

Exeter Respect Festival

The Exeter Respect Festival, an annual celebration of the city’s diversity, is taking place in Belmont Park on Saturday 30 June and Sunday 1 July. Exeter Respect uses the performing and creative arts to engage the wider community in saying no to racism and all forms of prejudice.

The Medical School is proud to be sponsoring a stall at the Festival, where we’re aiming to recruit volunteers from a diversity of backgrounds to join our Public Involvement in Medical Education (PIME) group and the Exeter 10,000 project. PIME will be on the stall on Saturday, and the Exeter 10,000 on Sunday. Entry to the Festival is free on both days – if you see our stall, please come along and say hello!

STAFF INFORMATION

Wellbeing Services

Are you aware of the University's Wellebing Services? There’s various support available to staff, including access to free and confidential advice, tips for dealing with stress, and discounted complementary therapies, as well as guidance for managers.

Action is underway following the Employee Engagement Survey

Since the last Employee Engagement Survey back in 2016, colleagues have been working together to make improvements based on your feedback.

In the Medical School we are:

- Developing a network of promotion mentors
- Sharing opportunities of interest to staff on short term contracts
- Developing teaching skills and core management skills 

There are more examples on our webpage. Action is being taken across the University on five key themes – stress/wellbeing, change, the Vice-Chancellor’s Executive Group, personal development and shared spaces. The latest update on this will be available on this in June’s Team Brief and online.

Participation in Summer Graduation 2018

Graduation ceremonies celebrate the achievements of all graduating students and their success while at the University. Our academic colleagues have always played a big part in these celebrations and we hope that you will continue to support these events by choosing to attend. Feedback from students indicates that academic participation at these events and at the receptions following the ceremonies is very much appreciated and really adds to the occasion.

Exeter ceremonies will take place in the Great Hall at Streatham Campus, 16-20 July, and Cornwall ceremonies will take place in Truro Cathedral, 23-24 July. The Medical School's ceremony is on Tuesday 17th July in the afternoon at Streatham Campus.

In order to register your attendance at the ceremonies, please complete the registration form before Thursday 28th June.

EVENTS

APN event: Responding to informal student feedback: creating a constructive dialogue: Dr Lisa Alberici
Mon 11 June, 13:00–14:00
Seminar Room A/B, Old Library, University of Exeter, Streatham Campus

Social Mobility Conference
Tue 12 June, 09.30–16.00
Alumni Auditorium, Forum, University of Exeter, Streatham Campus

Creative Communications Seminar Series: Graphic Medicine
Thu 14 June, Seminar 12:00 – 13:30 and Workshop 14:00 – 16:00
South Cloisters 2.13, St Luke's Campus, with video link to Portland Square C403 and Knowledge Spa F10, Truro

Looking Ahead in Progress Testing Conference
Fri 22 June, 09:00 – 17:00
Xfi Building, University of Exeter, Streatham Campus

Global Systems Institute - Creating Transformative Solutions
Mon 2 July, 12:15 – 15:00 & Tue 3 July, 9:00 – 15:00
Forum Building, Stocker Road, University of Exeter, Streatham Campus

International Clinical Education Seminar on Social Media and Gamification in Medical Education: Dr Marco Antonio de Carvalho Filho
Wed 4 July, 12:30 – 14:00
South Cloisters 3.06, St Luke’s Campus, with video link to Knowledge Spa F10, Truro

APEx: 4th Barbara Starfield Lecture - Professor Jeannie Haggerty
Thu 5 July, 12:30 – 14:00
3.06 South Cloisters, University of Exeter, St Luke’s Campus

Sharing experiences to help transform practice: Interdisciplinary education for our students – Dr Greta Bosch
Fri 6 July, 13.30 – 14.30
Northcote House Council Chamber, University of Exeter, Streatham Campus