Christmas Carols in the Fresh Air

Teaching awards open for nominations

• The ‘Supporting Student Learning Award’ seeks to recognise all those staff and students who provide the support network for students learning, including admin staff, IT and technical staff, student support officers and students who are involved in peer support schemes to help other students get the most out of their teaching and learning experience.
• The Best Research or Dissertation Supervisor Award seeks to recognise the very individual and valuable teaching role of the supervisor at both postgraduate and undergraduate level in helping their students develop their research skills

 

New Students introduced to volunteering

New Edinburgh University students took a bus tour of charitable projects in the city yesterday as part of the launch of eVOLve, a new volunteering scheme run by Edinburgh University Students’ Association.

 

The vintage Big Red Bus took students to the Risk Factory, an interactive safety centre teaching people how to avoid risks; Fresh Start, a homelessness charity; and the Junction, a young peoples’ health and wellbeing centre.

 

eVOLve, the new service, is designed to give new students a taste for volunteering, boosting their confidence and introducing them to a variety of volunteer opportunities across the city. Every Wednesday afternoon up to 50 students will be assisting local organisations with large scale volunteering projects, from working with the Water of Leith Conservation Trust to preserve a wildflower meadow to helping Edinburgh World Heritage improve signage for tourists visiting the city.

 

Hilary Wardle, manager of the volunteering service said:

“Since we set up EUSA Volunteering in 2010 we’ve matched over 600 students with opportunities around the city. We feel this shows the eagerness of students to get involved with their local community. By running schemes for freshers like eVOLve and our associated Introduction to Volunteering workshops we can reach students right at the start of their time at University, embedding the desire and habit of volunteering in a new generation of students”

 

Emma Meehan, EUSA Vice-President for Societies and Activities, said:

“EUSA Volunteering has been extremely popular, especially with international students who are keen to help out in their new local community. Volunteering is a great way for students to get involved in their local area, and a good way to find out more about a new city. This year we want to get even more students involved and eVOLve makes it easy for students to sign up and start volunteering straight away.”

 

Five things you need to know today

A section of the Scottish Parliament had to be closed yesterday after a concrete slab came loose near to Alex Salmond’s office. According to The Scotsman, about 1000 concrete slabs will now have to be checked.

The NSPCC have launched a text helpline for children in Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland aimed at making it easier for them to report cases of abuse. Our article is here.

Axo Gallery has confirmed to The Reporter that it raised over £1000 at the Silent Auction last weekend for Forest Cafe.

The Edinburgh International Film Festival programme has been launched this morning. You can read about it here, and we will have more on the films coming up for you very soon. Our David McGinty was at the press launch for us.

The Guardian has published its 2012 University League Table today, with three out of four of Edinburgh’s Universities rising up the ranks. The University of Edinburgh was the only university in the capital to fall down the table, albeit slightly.

Heriot-Watt University rose from 32nd place to 27th, Edinburgh Napier University rose from 55th to 52nd, Queen Margaret University rose from 63rd to 56th while The University of Edinburgh fell from 15th to 16th place.

The Guardian measures several factors when compiling the table, including student satisfaction levels, teaching and feedback satisfaction, the student to staff ratio and the chances of a career within 6 months of graduating. The main table measures each University as a whole, although it is possible to search for the quality of education in distinct subject areas, such as Law.

University lecturers on strike today

Members of the UCU across Scotland are striking today in a row over pay and changes to staff pensions as part of a national day of strike action at universities across the UK.

Staff in 15 universities, across the country, ncluding the University of Edinburgh, will walk out in row over a second consecutive real-terms annual pay cut and lack of an agreement on job security. Further for 9 universities, members are protesting plans for greater pension contributions from staff, reduced pension benefits and an increase in the pension age in the USS pension scheme.

UCU members will be on picket lines across Scotland from 8am with many branches joining together to hold regional rallies in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Stirling.

UCU members’ action in Scotland is part of the first UK-wide strike action in universities for five years. The union has received the support of the National Union of Students, despite the likely disruption to their members’ studies.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: ‘Strike action is always a last resort but the attacks on pay and jobs have created real anger and, instead of burying their heads in the sand, the employers need to respond urgently to our concerns. University staff really value their pension rights and those in the USS scheme in Scotland have made their views of the detrimental changes crystal clear.

‘Staff are sick to the back teeth of being told that their pay and pensions need to be cut to pay for an economic crisis created by others.’

Commenting on UCU’s strike action today, Liam Burns, NUS Scotland president, said:

“Today thousands of lecturers across Scotland are standing up for education in Scotland and, up and down the country, students are supporting them in their action. Lecturers could have chosen to go into industry or the private sector to earn more money but instead they are educating the next generation of talented people in Scotland. Pensions make up part of the fabric of being an academic and so employers need to get back round the table to restart negotiations in a way that includes, not excludes, lecturers.

“On Tuesday over 4000 students, lecturers, parents and pupils marched in Edinburgh to launch the election campaign. We hope to put education at the front and centre of the election campaign and at the top of the agenda for the next Scottish Government.

“Staff have supported us in our campaign to stop tuition fees and students are supporting staff today. We have a lot more work to do over the coming time – fighting fees, protecting numbers and improving student support – making sure we protect education as one of the things we can be most proud of in Scotland.

Review: Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show

Set in the beautiful Mansfield Traquair, a restored church whose vibrant colour and open spaces have led to its nickname “Edinburgh’s Sistine Chapel”, the Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show impressed from the start. It was the perfect venue for such an event with low pink lighting, two bars and an interesting sculpture by Charles Myatt, a first year student at the Edinburgh College of Art.

The show opened with the promotional video clip for the [D]evolution campaign, before the catwalk show which saw fashion-conscious students standing along the length of the runway.

The models, all Edinburgh students, confidently strutted down the catwalk despite the distracting cheers from the crowds. Some of the bigger brands worn included Pinko, Pringle and Kakao by K. Some highlights which were most popular with the crowd were pieces by Adil Iqbal and Hannah Ellis, as well as Edinburgh student, Venetia Kronsten, and other students from the Edinburgh College of Art. With such wide variety of styles from high street fashion to more unusual pieces, there was something for everyone.

The After Party on the opening night was kicked off with music by Young Fathers, followed by Taz Buckfaster and Kim Huse. At £20 a ticket, the event was great value for money and all in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. All in all, a well-organised event.

NUS calls for student support

NUS Scotland has called for action to improve student support following the BBC’s Graduation Game investigation into higher education in Scotland which aired yesterday. You can still watch it on iPlayer.

The programme outlined that demand for hardship funds in Scotland – funds for the poorest students in financial crisis – had increased by 40% over the last five years. It also pointed to research which showed on average students are £35 less well off at university than if on benefits.

Now that the vast majority of parties have ruled out tuition fees in Scotland, NUS Scotland is calling for action to protect graduate numbers and improve student support.

Liam Burns, President of NUS Scotland, said:-”Tuition fees have dominated the debate for too long. We now know that any funding gap for institutions is manageable without fees, and almost every party has now rightly ruled them out. However, even without fees many of our poorest students are being priced out of education in Scotland due to not having enough money to get by. We must now move on to how we, as a country, can improve help for our poorest students.

“The status quo isn’t working. It’s simply unacceptable that we allow what amounts to a benefits trap where people would be financially better off on benefits than in studying at university. Now we’ve ruled out tuition fees we must now move on to how we improve the financial help we offer the poorest Scottish students, bringing them at least up to the poverty line.

“Ahead of the elections in May we’ll be calling on every candidate hoping to be elected to commit to not only ruling out fees, but also protecting numbers and improving financial support. Ruling out fees is great, but it is only one step forward. We must ensure that we don’t price out the poorest students through a failing student support system.

On your marks for The Meadows Marathon 6th March 2011

The Meadows Marathon will take place this Sunday. The Reporter is not running, but was interested in how this is all organised by a volunteer body of students. So how did it all start? We asked Jenni Hagan who is the Press Officer for the event. She agreed to write an article for us to explain….

“In 2007 two students from the University of Edinburgh created a half-marathon event for charity.  It was attended by 250 runners, and raised £10 000 for Sport Relief.  Now, 5 years on the Meadows Marathon has grown to be an event firmly placed on the Edinburgh calendar, and last year attended by 1000 runners.

The marathon, like any event of its scale has a team of organisers behind it, who solve every problem from measuring out the track to sourcing prizes for the winners.  However, unlike most other events this team is made up entirely of student volunteers working alongside Edinburgh Students’ Charities Appeals (ESCA).  ESCA is well known in Edinburgh for holding a multitude of charity events, and the Meadows Marathon has grown to become the biggest.  The team is made up of 12 members, and this is the inside track of what exactly goes into the preparation leading up to Marathon Day.

The team behind this year’s event came together in September, some, like the Project Leader Rachel Shaw, and Charities Manager Ben Simmons were returning members who had been involved with the Marathon in the preceding years.  The majority however were new to the Meadows Marathon (and some were new to university altogether – there are 5 1st year students on the committee).
The year started off well for the Committee – the Launch Night for the Meadows Marathon held in November was well-attended, and offered a good opportunity for charities and runners alike to meet up and discuss the event.

But it’s no easy ride to Marathon Day.  The complexities of organising an event on this scale – especially a running event, where health and safety come into serious play – are easily forgotten about in the excitement on the day.  Logistically, the Marathon poses quite a problem; how do you get enough water to supply potentially over 1000 runners, how much IS enough water for 1000 runners?  Luckily, the committee have managed to keep on top of things, and everything is running smoothly (pun intended) for the Marathon.

So that’s the logistical side of the Marathon which has to be tackled annually by the committee; however the team have also been concerned this year with the continuing development and evolution of the event.  A new team event has been added to create more of a fun competitive element in the Marathon – so now rival football teams can also challenge each other on the track!  The publicity campaign for the Marathon has also stepped up a notch, resulting in the event being promoted widely by Bannatyne’s Health Club and ESPC; and the committee are keen to continue partnerships with sponsors, to ensure that the event can continue to be a key fundraising event in Edinburgh.

In the last few weeks, the focus of the Marathon committee has moved outside of the weekly meeting, to more interactive publicising of the event.  It is because of this that any keen observer in the past weeks will have spotted committee members handing out flyers on Princes Street, at sporting events, around the Meadows and perhaps even chasing after running groups in a bid to get their attention!

Another key focus for the team at the moment is the timetable for Marathon day.  Traffic cones and barriers need to be laid out around the course on the morning of the race, which involves coordinating bleary-eyed volunteers at 6am, before an extra briefing on health and safety procedures and the opening of on-the-day registration at 9am.

So a busy day awaits the committee, and numerous plans for each individual are created, changed, scrapped completely, created again, improvised on the day, all in order to create a fundraising platform for Edinburgh that is fun, creative, energetic and altogether an entertaining day out for both runners and spectators.”

Edinburgh students put on Fashion Show

Students at Edinburgh University will be showing a stylish approach to raising money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer when they host their 10th annual charity fashion show extravaganza.

Founded in 2001 by University of Edinburgh student, Annabel Kilner, the Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show (ECFS) is hailed as one of the biggest events of the society calendar, bringing together student creativity with big designer names such as Vivienne Westwood, Pringle and Luella.

Now in its tenth year, ECFS has raised almost £300,000 for a range of charities, with last year’s event donating £37,500 alone to three different charities; Poppy Scotland, Marie Curie and Scottish Association for Mental Health.

This year organisers are hoping to match if not better that figure, with all proceeds going to Breakthrough Breast Cancer – the UK’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives and changing futures through campaigns, research and education.

Each year the show – sponsored by Scotland’s leading lettings portal, Citylets – is based around a different theme designed to capture the creativity of the students and designers – with students also performing as the catwalk models.

This year the theme is based around the idea of (D)evolution.  Titled ‘Welcome to the Islands’, the show promises guests a strange, wild, wonderful and diverse spectacle full of beautiful and fierce creatures.

Chairman of the ECFS committee, Laura Christine – a post-graduate student at Edinburgh University – said: “The [d]evolution idea came from a desire to take the ECFS project as a whole back to its Edinburgh and student roots by incorporating students at every opportunity – from projections and video to photography, art and sculpture.

“This year is pretty exciting as the show is placing emphasis on student creativity, the show is breaking out of its previous mould and showcasing both street style and high fashion alongside student art, music and photography – allowing the students to make the most of their creative resources and put on a show that Edinburgh fashionistas will be sure to remember.”

The show will be launched on 2 March with a launch party at iconic student venue The Caves. Combining fashion and music, this event will raise money for charity as well as increase awareness of the event.

The opening night will then take place on 18 March at the Mansfield Traquair and guests will be treated to a catwalk show before live music and some of Edinburgh’s top DJs.

A VIP night will also take place on 19 March and guests on this night will be treated to a drinks reception and three course meal on top of the previous night’s entertainment. An auction will also be held on the night and guests will be able to bid for a range of prizes including a table for 4 at a live comedy showing by Kevin Bridges and Jack Whitehall – helping raise money for the charity.

In previous years, ECFS has featured designs from British designers Luella and Vivienne Westwood and this year the models are set to dazzle in a collection from Scottish fashion stalwart Pringle and milliner James Faulkner – who made his name making hats out of road kill.

Laura added: “We are very excited to see the show finally come together and were are delighted to have the opportunity to work with some of Scotland’s top fashion labels like Pringle and also support local and student designers.

“Everything in the show has been organised and created by students, from the initial ideas and theme, to the sets, design and lighting. Even the models are all students and we are very lucky to have Martha Braddell, a previous Britain’s Next Top Model contestant walking for us.

“We want to thank everyone who has helped us out so far, the local businesses who have kindly donated prizes for the raffle and auction and especially the team at Citylets who have been our main sponsor for the past two years. They have been a huge help and we couldn’t have progressed to the stage we have without them.”

Thomas Ashdown, the entrepreneur behind the Citylets network, said: “We are delighted to support a student run charity such as this. Citylets itself started in the Edinburgh student community over ten years ago so it seemed fitting that this should be one of the local community events to be involved in.

“Historically, it’s been a great event exacted to a high professional standard and it is well known across Edinburgh, not just within the student community. The team at Citylets has attended for the past few years now and we are really looking forward to seeing the final show and all the hard work that ECFS have put in come together.

“It’s a fantastic event for a worthwhile cause and I hope as many people as possible come along.”

Tickets for all the events go on sale this week and can be purchased online. Tickets for the pre launch party are £6 each. Tickets for the opening night at Mansfield Traquair are £20 and for the VIP tickets start from £75 to £100.

More information can be found at http://www.edinburghcharityfashionshow.com or by emailing laura.christine@edinburghcharityfashionshow.com


Edinburgh MSP slams coalition government’s proposals on student visas

Edinburgh Central MSP Sarah Boyack has condemned the UK coalition Government’s plans to tighten up the issuing of student visas as part of wider restrictions on immigration.

The UK Border Agency has now launched a public consultation on reform of the student immigration system which closes at the end of January.

According to Boyack, the latest published figures on international students studying in Edinburgh’s four universities suggest that there are approximately 11,000 international students studying at university in the city.

Commenting on the proposals the Scottish Labour MSP said:-“Edinburgh’s universities have a deserved international reputation for attracting some of the brightest students from around the world.

“The presence of overseas students enriches the learning culture of these institutions building strong international ties which have benefits that stretch beyond the purely academic.

“Overseas students also provide an important income stream to our institutions, without which there would be less investment in developing facilities and increased pressure on the ability to offer a wide range of courses.

“As Scotland’s population ages we need to ensure that we have people with the skills to grow the economy and overseas students have a role to play in this objective.

“The Coalition’s crackdown on student visas is a direct consequence of their misguided and arbitrary cap on immigration, and shows again their lack of recognition of the particular needs of Scotland.”

The National Union of Students in Scotland said that the proposals by the UK Border Agency to change the Tier 4 visa system will limit the number of international students coming to study in the UK.

“All these measures would dramatically decrease the number of international students coming to the UK and prevent many from making a great contribution to this country.

Around 46 per cent of international students come through some kind of sub-degree preparation course. StudyGroup estimates that 20,000 people who work at institutions offering access to higher education courses for international students could lose their job as a result of the proposed changes.”

The students’ body call on their members to respond to the UKBA consultation on the UK Student Immigration System on their website. They need a body of evidence to enable them to make a case against these changes.

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