Animation graduate wins Oscar nomination:
Farnham graduate Adam Foulkes was nominated for the Best Animated Short Film Category at this year's Oscars.
Maltese student wins River Island competition:
A bright future in fashion beckons for Rochester fashion student Amanda Abela who has won first prize in a national competition sponsored by fashion brand River Island.
Neil Bottle exhibits Middle East inspired textile collection:
Neil Bottle from UCA Canterbury will open a new exhibition of printed textiles inspired by the landscapes of the Middle East at Contemporary Applied Arts, London, in March.
Maidstones' animation students produce documentaries about local community groups:
Inspired by documentary director/film maker Kim Hopkins, BA Animation Arts students at Maidstone are working with local residents to produce mixed media documentaries about local identity and characters.
Design students scoop plethora of awards:
Students from UCA Epsom have taken away gold, silver and bronze awards in a competition organised by one of the country's largest paper merchants.
Pot luck for Ashley Howard in Winchester:
Ashley Howard, Senior Lecturer in Ceramics at UCA Farnham, has opened his latest ceramics show at Hampshire's Winchester Cathedral. 15 colourful ceramic fonts will be displayed inside the Cathedral until 2 April.
Course leader exhibits prints:
Randal Cooke, Course Leader in Printmaking at Maidstone, was the featured artist at this year's Originals 09, the annual printmaking exhibition held at the Mall Galleries in London.
Mature student snaps top photography prize :
A third year Applied Arts BA student from UCA Rochester is enjoying success having won first prize in a Kent photography competition.
UCA holds green towns talk:
The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD), Farnham is hosting a free talk on the 'transition towns' movement which has seen communities across the globe working together to reduce their dependency on oil and cut carbon emissions.
Advertising pro's go head to head in new lecture series :
KesselsKramer, one of the Netherlands' most prestigious marketing agencies, known globally for its work with fashion brand Diesel, has opened an exhibition and month long lecture series at UCA Farnham.
Performance art study day in Farnham:
The Photography and Fine Art departments at UCA Farnham will present a performance art study day to the Maltings arts centre in Farnham.
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Interview with David Burt, Academic Registrar
David took up his new post as Academic Registrar back in December, and immediately began shaping his vision for the newly formed Academic Registry. Having recently announced his plans for restructuring, he is now keen to share this vision with the rest of the university.
What was your role prior to joining the University for the Creative Arts?
I was Deputy Registrar at Kings College London, a role I held for four years. In total I spent 13 years at Kings College, beginning my time there at Guy's & St Thomas' Medical School working on resource allocation, and then progressing through various roles in registry. Prior to that I began my HE career within the Registry at the University of East London.
What attracted you to the role at UCA?
The university has made some significant achievements since merger – in particular gaining university title.
At interview I was very impressed by Mark Hunt and the other panelists, and in particular the overall vision they had for the university. It was clear that there would be a huge task in reviewing and re-engineering the administrative business processes, and in helping to re-establish registry's role – but it was also clear that there was a real opportunity to make a difference, and I was very keen to take on the challenge!
What were your first impressions on taking up the role?
I was very impressed by the professionalism and dedication of staff, but quickly became aware that there was a lack of harmonisation between the student administration processes in place across the campuses, and that this needed addressing.
I was also very excited about the applicant portal - something that many larger, more established universities would be proud of.
What are your main goals for Registry?
Registry needs to be the owner of all processes affecting the student lifecycle, for example admissions, enrolment, student records and assessment. It is important that Registry managers are the process owners in these areas, and are given the authority to make decisions.
I'm keen that Registry should raise awareness of our processes across the university, so that people have a greater understanding of how things are done and who is responsible.
We need greater collaboration with College Offices, and there is still work to be done in breaking down barriers between student facing roles and the back office function of Registry Services.
We need to harmonise the way student transactions are handled, and extend online provision so that students can quickly and easily update their details.
I hope to make access to student records a lot easier for those people working across different campuses who need access in their roles. Registry Services will develop more of a training role to facilitate this.
How will the restructure of Academic Registry help you achieve these goals?
Registry will take a more holistic approach – a big step forward was made on this front before my arrival in bringing Registry Services, Quality & Standards and Planning together into one department.
In my restructure I have been aiming to create a more robust, linear management structure – at present all staff report to a head of section, which impacts the amount of time heads are able to spend operating at a more strategic level and operates against succession planning and career progression opportunities. The new structure features devolved management and clear reporting lines.
These more streamlined structures will eradicate silos. Registry Services (which will change its name to the Department of Student Administration) will move from five sections to three; home, EU and international admissions will be combined into one office; and we will be combining student records and student systems as there is currently a lot of overlap.
The problem of geographical separation between colleagues working in the same teams needed to be dealt with as it was hindering effective management and communication and contributing to a lack of harmonisation in processes.
Both the Student Records & Systems office and the Admissions office will be co-located at Farnham. Quality and Standards will be less affected as they still need to have a customer facing role, engaging with the academic community throughout the university.
The Study Abroad & International Programmes office will continue to be located at Maidstone. I am very keen to promote the activities of this team more widely, as study abroad offers wonderful opportunities for students and staff, and has a big role to play in enhancing the student experience and in supporting the university's internationalisation strategy.
There is going to be a lot of work involved in getting to where we want to be as a department, and there will be difficult at times ahead. However, I am very confident that we will achieve our aims, and that we can count on the support and cooperation of the rest of the University.
Interview with David Burt, Academic Registrar
David took up his new post as Academic Registrar back in December and immediately began shaping his vision for the newly formed Academic Registry. He is now keen to share this vision with the rest of the university.
UCA secures £1 million from HEFCE to lead Cultural Olympiad
The University for the Creative Arts is leading a consortium of 13 universities to deliver a series of cultural events, known as the Creative Campus Initiative, in the run up to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
ILM Award in Management (Level 5) now available to staff
In January, Learning & Development successfully obtained approved centre status from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), enabling delivery of courses leading to nationally recognised qualifications.
Marketing and Communications shortlisted for two HEIST awards
UCA's Marketing and Communications department has been shortlisted for two HEIST awards - the main marketing awards in the education sector.
Equality and Diversity
Equality and Diversity Advisor Penny Alder gives an update on the issues facing the university.
UCA students to mentor in local schools
School students in Medway and Kent who have the ability to go to university, but not necessarily the expectation or family experience of it, are to be offered mentoring by UCA students.
Students to learn from animation stars
The UCA Farnham animation department is hosting a series of lectures by some of the industry's most renowned animation stars.
Contemporary artists add value to fine arts course
The Fine Arts course at UCA Farnham has launched a lecture series hoping to give students exposure to some of the UK's rising stars of contemporary art.
One tonne electric horse hangs up his acting shoes
A three metre tall horse sculpture made by UCA Canterbury's Anthony Heywood is set to hang up his acting shoes after featuring in a BBC film.
RAE funding outcomes announced
Following successful RAE results, the University has maintained its research funding with an increase of 1.8%.
Medway's first academy school scheduled to open in September 2009
The proposed Strood Academy, of which UCA is the lead sponsor with Medway Council as co-sponsor, will be opening its doors to students in September of this year.
New faces on the Board of Governors
Four new governors have joined the UCA Board of Management.
Appointments to the AHRC peer review college
Kathleen Rogers, senior lecturer for Digital Film and Screen Arts at Farnham, and Dr Judith Rugg, Reader in Fine Art Theory, and Research Coordinator at Canterbury have both been appointed to serve on the Arts and Humanities Research Council peer review college.
Funding for professional qualifications
As part of the University's commitment to a culture of lifelong learning, it runs a Professional Qualifications Funding scheme which, during the current academic year, funded a total of 40 members of staff to study for a professional, accredited qualification.
Explorations in the cultural history of AIDS
Post Graduate Associate Dean Richard Sawdon-Smith was the officially invited artist at an HIV and culture conference in Mexico City.
UCA helping British businesses tackle the economic downturn
UCA Farnham television lecturer Sean Walsh will present a series of live online discussion programmes, specifically designed to help small and medium sized businesses weather the recession.
Lizzie Farey presents Spirit of the Air
Spirit of Air presents a new body of expressive willow works by UCA Canterbury alumnus Lizzie Farey including a series of large scale wall-based and suspended works.
Any Questions at UCA Canterbury
UCA Canterbury played host to BBC Radio 4's Any Questions on 6 February, in a broadcast which saw racism, dancing, and bank bonuses among the topics discussed.
Appointments to the AHRC peer review college
Kathleen Rogers, senior lecturer for Digital Film and Screen Arts at Farnham, and Dr Judith Rugg, Reader in Fine Art Theory, and Research Coordinator at Canterbury have both been appointed to serve on the Arts and Humanities Research Council peer review college.
