Epsteam Brief Newsletter July 2014
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makes its London debut—page 6 debut—page its London makes Our Gorgosaurus Our Gorgosaurus EPS Team Brief Newsletter July 2014 Welcome News and achievements What’s happening? Our staff Get in touch Welcome! Welcome to your Team Brief for July I hope you enjoyed last month’s staff survey special—as we look ahead in the next academic year we will be featuring more actions that have taken place at a Faculty and School level to show how your responses really have made a difference. Keeping in the same vein, in the staff survey many of you said you would like more two-way communication opportunities with senior managers. Therefore, I am encouraging you all to attend Colin Bailey’s next Faculty Open Meeting which is taking place on 16 July at the Rutherford Lecture Theatre, Schuster building, 13:00–14:00. This is your opportunity to ask our Vice-President and Dean any questions you have and also hear what’s happening and what’s planned across the Faculty. Thank you for your continued feedback on Team Brief, there will be no August edition but we will be using the time to work to improve our communications channels for all staff. Find out more on page 6. Rachel Brealey Director of Faculty Operations. 2 Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Team Brief Newsletter June Welcome News and achievements What’s happening? Our staff Get in touch News and achievements Green Impact 2013/14 Awards EPS had another great year at the University’s annual Green Impact Awards which were held on 11 June with our Faculty earning 15 Awards, including seven Gold Awards. School of Computer Science—Working Towards Award School of Mathematics – Working Towards Award Dalton Nuclear Institute—Bronze Award EPS HR—Bronze Award Structured Fluids Laboratories—Bronze Awards Electron Microscope & XRD Laboratories—Silver Award Organic Geochemistry Laboratories—Silver Award School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences—Silver Award The Cosmochemistry Cleanroom Suite, laboratories—Gold Award Corrosion and Protection Centre—Gold Award D29 AkzoNobel, laboratories—Gold Award Geochemistry, laboratories—Gold Award Geomicrobiology, laboratories—Gold Award H Floor Pariser, School of MACE—Gold Award Manchester Analytical Geochemistry Unit, laboratories—Gold Award Daniele Atkinson, Social Responsibility Manager, said: The Green Impact Awards are a great opportunity for cross-team working and even in the older laboratories and buildings it is possible to make positive changes to reduce our impact on the environment. As part of the Faculty’s Social Responsibility actions we are aiming to have 20 teams in total in 2014/15 and 12 labs teams. If you would like to get involved next year, even if you are not sure about going for an award, but would just like to try and make a difference, please contact me to find out more. 3 Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Team Brief Newsletter June Welcome News and achievements What’s happening? Our staff Get in touch Distinguished Achievement Awards Rachel Brealey, Director of Faculty Operations, and Colin Bailey, Vice-President and Dean, hosted a lunch on 26 June for PSS staff that were nominated for the University’s Distinguished Achievement Awards to thank them for their contribution to the Faculty over the last year. The nominees were as follows: Large team » Research Support Services Team » Faculty Web Team » Research Excellence Framework Administration Team (award winners at University level, this has pan-University membership—EPS members are Victoria Holt and Rupa Sharma) Small team » UNIX and Computer Science IS team » Maths admissions team Individual » Mike Hughes, Laboratory Technician, Chemistry (award winner at University level) » Cath Davies, School Safety Advisor, Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science » Richard Cutting, Technical Services Manager and School Safety Advisor, Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences Rachel Brealey, Director of Faculty Operations, said: The Awards recognise outstanding performances and significant contributions to the University. Having so many nominations is a great achievement which deserved recognising at a Faculty level. The Distinguished Achievement Awards is one way the University is addressing your feedback from the 2013 Staff Survey. There are also many other way you can recognising and reward hard work or a job well done from sending a Thank You card and achievements News to applying for a gift from the Thank You Scheme which allows managers to arrange gifts, from flowers to vouchers, to say thank you. 4 Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Team Brief Newsletter June Welcome News and achievements What’s happening? Our staff Get in touch Welcome to our new apprentices Our new business administration apprentices started their one-year employment with us last month. Diane Masterston-Kerr, Head of School Administration for Maths and Adrian Parker, Director of Operations at the Dalton Nuclear Institute have been leading this new initiative. Adrian said: EPS are trailblazing again, hosting the University’s first wave of Business Administration apprentices. Their recent induction day, a mix of introduction to the University and Faculty together with some light-hearted construction activity, got this new initiative off to a great start. Each young person will undertake two six-month placements during this year-long programme, commencing in Physics, CEAS, Maths, MACE and Dalton. If you work in one of these areas do look out for your department’s apprentice and take time to explain your role and how we work together, as well as using the opportunity to find out how they’re doing. The group of five will be studying for a NVQ in Business Administration whilst completing their placements. Our apprentices and their first placement are: » Ramez Karim, Mathematics » Nathan Mannion, Dalton Nuclear Institute » Melody Mahan, Chemical Engineering & Analytical Science » Nicole Burke, Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering » Horiya Chishti, Physics & Astronomy News and achievements News Our apprentices will begin their second placement after the 2014 Christmas break. Information about other apprenticeships offered within EPS are available here. Group shot from left to right names: Ramez Karim, Nathan Mannion, Melody Mahan, Nicole Burke and Horiya Chishti. 5 Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Team Brief Newsletter June Welcome News and achievements What’s happening? Our staff Get in touch Our Gorgosaurus makes its London debut Coming soon For those who attended May’s Celebration of our Queen’s Anniversary Prize you may have spotted a 7.3 meter Gorgosaurus dinosaur nestled in the corner of the ... simplified Team Brief and a new internal room. Our researchers, led by Professor Phil Manning, have been using our award communications channel for all EPS Staff! winning 3D x-ray imaging facility to unpick the life story of this 70 million year old relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex. Our Gorgosaurus will be making its London debut at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition (1–6 July). Visitors will be able to play dinosaur CSI, piecing together the life of what seems to have been a very accident-prone Gorgosaurus. The dinosaur appears to have survived a brain tumour, broken The Communications and Marketing Team have received some very fibula and a growth inside one of its legs, among other injuries all of which has constructive feedback on the Team Brief over the recent months. Although staff been uncovered by our researches. find the new format and content really interesting, Managers and Team Leaders Visitors will also be able to take a #dinoselfie with the gruesome creature to are finding it difficult to present during their staff meetings. In response to this, share on social media. from the next edition (September 2014) Team Brief will be transformed into a more simple document, written for easier presentation and will include all of After its trip to London our Gorgosaurus will take up permanent residence at the the ‘need to know’ information for PSS staff. Manchester Museum. The content that’s had the most encouraging feedback is mainly stories that all staff, PSS and Academic, would find interesting. Therefore, over the summer a new all staff channel for EPS Got a seminar, event or will be piloted. Its current format is workshop to promote? still to be decided and a few different Rather than sending an all staff email approaches may be tested until the via ListServ forward your message right one for our Faculty is found. to Rachel Hobson who will include it in the new channel. By reducing As always, your feedback on the the number of all staff emails and Faculty’s internal communications is combining them into one channel we extremely valuable. Please send any hope to reduce the frustration that comments or ideas to Rachel Hobson, many staff feel about the quantity of News and achievements News Internal Communications Manager. emails they receive, and thus your The new channel will be fortnightly so message is more likely to be heard. please give as much notice as possible. Phil Manning with the Gorgosaurus 6 Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Team Brief Newsletter June Welcome News and achievements What’s happening? Our staff Get in touch UK National Women in Engineering Day EPS celebrated the first UK National Women in Engineering Day with an event held in late June at the Concorde Hangar at Manchester Airport. Dr Helen Ryder, Athena SWAN Co-ordinator, said: This was a great event with students, research staff, academics, and industrialists covering science, technology and engineering disciplines being able to meet women who are already in successful Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers coupled with the opportunity to hear inspirational stories, discuss challenges and share personal experiences. The keynote speech was delivered by Dr Danielle George, Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning and Reader in EEE, who shared her passion for research and journey in academia.