UCLan jumps in The Times 2015 Good University Guide

UCLan has jumped a massive 11 places from 88th to 77th in The Times 2015 Good University Guide.

This is a tremendous achievement and great recognition of all of the work UCLan has put in to ensure the best possible student experience, improve the facilities and undertake vital research.  Well done UCLan!

Take a virtual tour of UCLan's facilities here; http://www.foundationcampus.com/uk/university-of-central-lancashire.htm 

You can see a full list of The Times 2015 Good University Guide rankings here; http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/University_Guide/

UCLan Shortlisted for Highly Prestigious Educational Award

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has been shortlisted for a highly prestigious educational award.

The Preston-based institution has beaten off stiff competition from an array of UK higher education providers to make the final list for Entrepreneurial University of the Year in the 10th annual Times Higher Education (THE) Awards.

John Lonsdale, Head of UCLan Innovation and Enterprise, said: “We’re delighted to have made the Times Higher Education’s shortlist. It’s great recognition for us as we’ve worked very hard to make UCLan a truly entrepreneurial, enterprising and innovative University.”

In the past two years UCLan has invested in an Innovation and Enterprise team to create a stronger enterprising and entrepreneurial environment throughout all areas of the institution. Newly created initiatives are removing the barriers to these activities and are enabling staff and students to make their ideas a reality. These schemes have also allowed access to funding, commercial and legal support and training.

To read the full article click here.

The winners will be announced on Thursday 27 November 2014 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Good luck UCLan!!

Manchester United Season Tickets at UCLan FoC!

Do we have a treat in store for our 2014/15 cohort!

This year we have three season tickets for Manchester United football games.  Students will be able to see their favourite Premiership players in action at Old Trafford.

A little good work certainly deserves a reward so we hope our students enjoy the tickets as much as we've been enjoying them before they arrive.

Satisfied Students Give Thumbs Up to UCLan

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has maintained a high level of student satisfaction for the second year in a row with nearly eight-and-a-half out of ten students saying they are happy with the quality of their overall educational experience.

The results of the latest National Student Survey have been released today, 12 August, and show that UCLan has retained an overall satisfaction rating of 84%.

A range of academic areas have seen an increase in satisfaction over the last year with learning resources now at 90% and up 2% from 2013, academic support is also up 2% to 82% and personal development has risen to 85% from 84% last year. The University is also ranked 26 out of 159 for its assessment and feedback.

UCLan has also seen three subject areas ranked in the top ten for overall satisfaction; general engineering is second in the country out of 17, marketing is fifth out of 61 and imaginative writing is eighth out of 35. A wide range of other subject areas including business studies, forensic and archaeological science and sports science achieved high levels of satisfaction with 11 ranking in the top 20 nationally.

You can read the full article on UCLan's news page here; http://www.uclan.ac.uk/news/nss_2014.php

UFP Art

Our Art students have clearly been busy this year.

Students have the opportunity to progress through either a Creative or Technical Art course in order to develop their knowledge, skills and techniques in preparation for their chosen future Art based degree.

History of Art is integrated into both courses and students have the opportunity to progress onto a wide variety of undergraduate degrees.  This year we have had students going onto BA (Hons) Fashion Promotion with Styling, BA (Hons) Interior Design, BA (Hons) Graphic Design, BSc (Hons) Architecture, BA (Hons) Fashion Photography, BA (Hons) Animation, BA (Hons) Fine Art and BA (Hons) Games Design - to name but a few!

Topics included natural forms, pop art, recycled materials and other cultures and students adapted the topics to meet their discipline.

Take a look at a just a few of finished pieces;

Queen's Award for Cambridge Education Group

UCLan FoundationCampus teachers, Christine and William, at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge with the award (the glass bowl) for the Queen’s Award for Enterprise given to Cambridge Education Group (CEG) for outstanding contribution to International Trade.

UCLan FoC is one of a number of university-based centres run by Cambridge Education Group, along with sister companies CATS College and Stafford House Study Holidays.

The bowl was presented to Fergus Brownlee, CEG's CEO, by the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Hugh Duberly.  It was signed by both the Queen and Prime Minister David Cameron.

Congratulations to all involved in achieving this award which is great recognition for the work of CEG's Senior Management Team and all of the staff.  A fantastic day was had by all.

BAE Systems Industry Day

Omani students studying at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) yesterday attended an Insight Day at BAE Systems’ Military Air facility at Warton in the North West of England. 

Insight Days are a unique opportunity for students to visit BAE Systems to explore and learn how international organisations operate, in order to broaden their commercial understanding.

The twelve students, who are studying Engineering, Computing, Business and Law at UCLan, were given the opportunity to spend the day with senior executives from BAE Systems to explore the world of work, whilst learning about the company and its history in Oman. 

Focused talks from BAE Systems’ executives on engineering, law and aircrew equipment were accompanied by visits to the Eurofighter Typhoon final assembly line and the simulator.

Sir Simon Bryant KCB, CBE, Vice President (Oman), BAE Systems, commented: “We are delighted to have hosted the Omani students at Warton, the home of Eurofighter Typhoon.  We were keen to give them an insight into the way we work but, more importantly, relate it back to their learning. 

“BAE Systems relationship with Oman goes back many years and with both Hawk and Eurofighter Typhoon coming into service in Oman before the end of the decade, we look forward to strengthening our ties even further, providing both education and training for young Omanis to support that programme.”

Shadhan Hamood Ali Al-Rashdi, studying Mechanical Engineering, was delighted with the visit: “The Insight Day at BAE Systems gave us an excellent opportunity to learn more about how an organisation works, particularly from an engineering and legal point of view, both of which are studied by my colleagues and me.  As an engineering student, I found the assembly line for Eurofighter Typhoon, which will be in Oman in the not too distant future, particularly was extremely interesting and we were amazed to think those aircraft will fly across the jebels of Oman.”

In December 2012 Oman purchased 12 Typhoon and eight Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers from BAE Systems.  The first Hawk aircraft will be delivered to Oman in 2017.

Chemistry Practicals

One of the big benefits to studying a foundation programme is having the opportunity to use the University's facilities before joining the degree programme.  Students studying science subjects with us use UCLan's laboratories during the foundation year as part of assessed practical work.

Here are just a few pictures of our latest Chemsitry practical experiment;

Calling all aspiring journalists!

''UCLan Magazine Journalism Scores Hat-Trick;

For the third year running the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has scooped the Oscars of the magazine industry after a graduate won the coveted prize at the Professional Publishers Association awards.

This year the Most Promising Student (undergraduate) award was won by Andy Biddulph for the work he produced while studying on the BA (Hons) Journalism magazine course under the guidance of Course Leader Cathy Darby. He graduated last year and is now working as a freelance music journalist for Rock Sound and a range of other titles.

This hat-trick means only UCLan has won this award since its launch three years ago.

Andy, who beat two other nominees from Bournemouth University, said: “It was nice to be rewarded for all of the time and effort I've put in over the past year, and the fact that a UCLan student has won this award three years running is an indicator of just how valuable UCLan's magazine journalism route and Cathy Darby's expertise can be.”

Catherine, who was Andy’s module tutor, rejoiced at Andy’s triumph. She said: “I was so pleased that my student Andy entered the competition as winning this award gives a wider platform to his undoubted talent and engaging writing style. I am sure his freelance career can only benefit from such an accolade from industry experts. And, personally, I am thrilled that UCLan magazine students have secured the remarkable achievement of being the best in the UK for the third year running.”

Guests at the industry’s prestigious event, which was held in London earlier this week, were told: “The judges were impressed by the consistently excellent standard of Andy's work. They found his writing captivating, despite having little or no knowledge around the subject areas themselves. Andy is an excellent storyteller who has developed his own voice in a very short amount of time. A very talented writer, said one judge, who takes on big challenges with real confidence, resulting in poignant, mature pieces way beyond his years.”''

Congratulations to both Andy and UCLan for their success.  If you are interested in studying a foundation coursse leading to any of UCLan's Journalism degrees visit www.foundationcampus.com/uclan for more information.

Internationality Hospitality Management Visit at UCLan

We try and arrange for all of our students to visit the department at UCLan where they will study once they progress and to meet the Course Leader so they know what to expect and they become familiar with the place and the people. This is really helpful for students to lessen the feeling of first day nerves when they return after a summer break and start their degree programmes.

Yesterday a number of our UFP students who are due to progress onto BA (Hons) International Hospitality Management at UCLan next year met with the Course Leader, Dorota Ujma.

Students were given a presentation by Dorota about the course and what to expect during the 3 or 4 years they will study there.  They also had a chance to ask questions and look around the School in which they'll be based.


UFP students with Dorota (second from left)

UCLan was rated 3rd in the country for their Sports, Tourism and the Outdoors degrees in The Times Good University Guide and this includes the BA (Hons) International Hospitality Management programme. This is a fantastic achievement for UCLan and is a great opportunity for our students to study on such a revered course. Students also have the opportunity to undertake a year placement in Year 3 of this degree increasing their employability in the future.

UFP Business Teamwork Fashion Show

As part of the UFP course a number of modules require an element of teamwork.  Group presentations, group experiments and group business plans are all forms of assessment which are used by us which reflect some form of assessments that are used as part of degree programmes.

 

In UFP Business students worked together to put on a fashion show, creating clothes from magazines and bits of newspaper. 

 

First they had to discuss what item of clothing they could make, create a sketch of the item then make it using the materials given such as foil, newspaper and trimmings. 
 

 

One student acted as a model and represented the group at a 'fashion show' in which teams were judged on their creativity, style and performance.
 

 

The activity led into a discussion on Belbin's theory of team roles and students could then look at the role they each played in the team and the contribution they each made.  Belbin's theory is intended to look at group dynamics and the strengths and weaknesses of each role.  Improving the students' understanding of teamwork and also their self-awareness is intended to improve their teamwork skills for the group assessments throughout this course and in the future.

 

This was a very fun-filled and interactive activity, demonstrating the importance of working as a team, what can be achieved when a team works well together and discussing the different roles and jobs the team members carried out.

UCLan Physiotherapy Open Day

Yesterday our budding Physiotherapy students from the Undergraduate Foundation, Life Sciences, Programme went to the Physiotherapy Open Day at UCLan to meet their Course Leader, Heather Stewart, and have a closer look at the course and the department.



Foundation students join other Physio
applicants for the Open Day tour

Firstly, students were taken on a campus tour (many of the other students visiting are not current UCLan students but hopeful to join the degree programme in September) and were shown around the department by third year students. 

Students were given a great Q+A opportunity and Yoshihito, one of Physio applicants, was pleased to hear how much his tour guide was enjoying the programme.

The group was given a short presentation about the course by Heather which explained the different modules since the course was redesigned for September 2012.

She talked about the advantages of studying Physiotherapy at UCLan; the new look programme has a great practical element which prepares graduates for work after the course.  Physio students get the chance to apply theory based learning to real life situations during the work experience placements that they will undertake as part of the course.  There is also a great social programme and an opportunity to study abroad for selected students.

After the presentation there was another opportunity to ask questions to current first and third year students about their time on the course.

Our students had a very positive experience and Jay said the open day was uplifting.  Our students must now prepare for their interviews which will take place in a few weeks before they find out if they have secured a place on the course.  Good luck guys!

Alfred, Jay and Yoshihito at the Open Day

She said yes!

This week we had an extra special treat at UCLan FoC.  Two of our past students who studied on the Undergraduate Foundation Programme in 2010/11 returned to the place they first met and became engaged.

Willam Waters, who is currently studying BA (Hons) Communication Studies at UCLan after passing the UFP, surprised girlfriend Lijing Chen, a Business and Management student, by arranging a small party with some of their friends from the foundation course.  He presented her with a film of photographs of them since their first meeting in Vernon Room 69 on the first day of induction back in September 2010 before getting down on one knee in the same room where they first laid eyes on each other.

Congratulations to the happy couple!  Everybody at FoundationCampus UCLan wishes you a wonderful future together and we are delighted that we could be a part of your special day.

January Enrolment Day 2014

Today our January term began and what a busy day it has been. 

Our returning students from the September cohort have been coming in to collect new timetables, sign back into the college and discover their Module 1 results.  Welcome back everyone!  It is great to see you and we hope you've had a good rest over the last 4 weeks and are now ready to tackle Term 2 head on.

We have also welcomed our January students to the centre.  They will be joining our ongoing English programmes and starting Undergraduate and Master's Foundation Programmes which begin next Monday following this induction week.

After this morning's welcome talk and centre enrolment students have taken their own campus tour, following a map to find their way around and taking pictures and videos of the University campus. 

We are looking foward to getting to know you all over the next 9 months and wish you all the best for your time with us.

European agents visit UCLan and FoC

Last month we were visited by a number of agents from Russia and Kazakstan.

They visited us here and UCLan and had presentations about Sports, Tourism and Events Management, Journalism, Media and Communication (including a visit to a TV studio) and the School of Languages where they had a translation demonstration.

They also had a Christmas-themed buffet complete with crackers and heard fomr our current students and Russian alumni who talked about their experience of FoundationCampus, UCLan and what it is like to be an international student in Preston.

We are very excited to potentially welcome new students from different parts of the world to maintain a good mix of different nationalities at FoC and look forward to working closely with these agents in the future. 

We hope they had a very interesting visit and enjoyed their stay in Preston.



Agents with Mary Wade, Centre Head (back far left)