www.warwick.ac.uk
CONNECTING THE UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK WITH
ITS NEIGHBOURS IN COVENTRY AND WARWICKSHIRE
CommUnity
SURVEYS REVEAL POSITIVE
IMPACT OF UNIVERSITY
TRAVEL PLAN
The results of the University of Warwick’s
latest Traffic and Travel Surveys suggest
that the University’s Travel Plan is having a
positive impact on staff and student travel
behaviour.
The surveys are essential to measure the
University’s progress against targets laid out
in the comprehensive University Travel Plan
which accompanied the 2008-2018 Campus
Development Masterplan. While the outline
planning permission allowed for the campus
to increase its footprint by up to 40%, it
included an agreement that car trips to and
from the University could not increase by
more than 12% on 2007 levels over 10 years.
PLANTING
AND PAINTING
FOR THE BIG
CHALLENGE 2013
Volunteers from the University of Warwick
and Coventry University joined forces to
mark Student Volunteering Week 2013
with a Big Challenge.
With the support of Santander
Universities over 90 staff and students
spent the day working on three
different projects across Coventry and
Warwickshire.
The survey results show that staff and
student single occupancy car journeys, and all
car journeys during the morning and evening
peak travel times, have decreased again; staff
use of buses is up by 25% in 2 years; and staff
and student cycle and pedestrian journeys to
campus are increasing.
Independent consultants Ove Arup and
Partners Ltd conduct surveys every 2 years
on behalf of the University. In addition to the
on-line travel survey of staff and students,
they conduct a traffic survey using video
cameras positioned at the 13 main access
points to the University. In 2012 the traffic
survey recorded falls in two-way car trips in
both the morning and afternoon peaks of
3.6% and 8.8% respectively. This comes in
addition to the falls recorded between 2007
and 2010 of 18.7% and 21.2% respectively
Spring/Summer 2013
Failure to meet this target would result
in the University paying contributions to
Coventry City Council and Warwick District
Council to fund remedial measures.
However, as Ove Arup conclude: “The
survey results for 2012 demonstrate that the
initiatives and measures implemented by the
University from the Travel Plan are having a
positive impact and have been successful in
influencing and supporting a move by staff
and students to the use of alternative and
more sustainable modes of transport”.
Bob Wilson, University Director of Estates
said: “The campus development plan depends
greatly on the University successfully
implementing its Travel Plan and I am sure
that our neighbours and the local authorities
will be pleased with these results”.
Around 30
volunteers,
including
members of local
conservation group
Friends of Canley
Green Spaces,
planted over
600 oak, cherry,
hazel, field maple
and scots pine
saplings to create
a new area
of woodland
alongside the
railway line in
Canley.
At Coombe Country Park invasive
rhododendron clearance was the order of
the day enabling the more slow growing
native plants to flourish once again.
And at St Peter’s Centre in the Hillfields
area of Coventry, which supports
vulnerable people, volunteers designed
and painted a colourful global-themed
mural to brighten up the meeting space.
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CommUnity Spring/Summer 2013
IGGY HEADING FOR THE
TOP OF THE WORLD
Students from Finham Park School in Coventry visited campus
recently to hear from arctic explorer Mark Wood and to wave him
off on his latest expedition to the top of Mount Everest.
Mark is partnering with IGGY, the University’s international
network for gifted young people aged 13-18, and IGGY members
will be able to take part in various online academic challenges and
to submit questions to Mark during the expedition.
The Finham Park students were able to sample some of the food
Mark will eat and to explore the tent he will be sleeping in, while
Dr Philip McTernan from Warwick Medical School talked about the
effects that extreme physical exercise will have on Mark’s body.
JOIN
AUTHORS, POETS
AND JOURNALISTS FOR
THE FIRST UNIVERSITY
OF WARWICK BOOK
FESTIVAL
Finham Park student Jon Ablett said: “Today has been inspiring and
incredible. Hearing Mark’s stories has made us all see the world
from a different perspective”.
And when Mark reaches the highest point in the world he will fly a
flag designed by an IGGY member.
To find out more about IGGY or to track Mark Wood’s progress see
www.iggy.net
On Saturday 15 June 2013 the Warwick Arts Centre will
play host to the inaugural University of Warwick Book
Festival, on the theme of ‘Worlds of History’. The festival
is open to the public and will feature best-selling fiction
and non-fiction authors, journalists and poets.
Bestselling author, historian and journalist Ben
Macintyre will discuss his latest World War II book
Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies; and
a panel of historians and intelligence experts will
discuss Bletchley Park, the historic site of secret British
codebreaking activities during World War II.
FAMILIES FOR HEALTH
Leading biographer Paula Byrne will discuss her highly
acclaimed new work The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small
Things, published to coincide with the Pride and Prejudice
bicentenary; while Louise Foxcroft will tell the epic story
of our battle with the bulge in her book Calories and
Corsets: A History of Dieting over 2000 years.
As recent statistics show that 20.6% of Coventry
children aged ten to eleven are very overweight,
researchers at Warwick Medical School are offering
a helping hand to families with overweight children
who would be willing to take part in a trial of a new
‘Families for Health’ programme.
Several University initiatives will be showcased at the
festival including: the Warwick Prize for Writing which
is awarded every 2 years to an excellent and substantial
piece of writing in the English language in any genre or
form; the Hippocrates Initiative for Poetry and Medicine
which is awarded annually to an unpublished poem on a
medical subject and has attracted over 4,000 applicants
since its launch in 2009; and The Warwick Review which is
published four times per year by the English Department
and features poetry, prose fiction, essays and reviews from
both emerging and established writers.
‘Families for Health’ aims to help families of overweight children aged six
to eleven via weekly group sessions for both the child and their parent or
carer to explore ideas for healthy eating and staying active. A previous
pilot study of ‘Families for Health’ proved to be a success, but now
researchers need to establish just how effective it is as compared to other
support services available in the region.
For a full programme of events at the festival please
visit www.warwick.ac.uk/bookfestival Tickets are £5
per author or panel session and are available from the
Warwick Arts Centre Box Office.
Any families who volunteer to take part will be allocated, by chance, either
the Families for Health programme or the existing care service, but all will
receive support in their local area, free of charge.
The research is taking place in conjunction with NHS Coventry, NHS
Warwickshire and Wolverhampton PCT and any families in those areas
who are interested in taking part should contact Jo Kirby or Atiya Kamal at
Warwick Medical School on 024 7615 1853 or email FFH@warwick.ac.uk
CommUnity Spring/Summer 2013
Professor Lord Bhattacharyya
and Dr Ralf Speth outside WMG
MUSICAL MAESTRO
MASTERCLASSES
Fifteen children from Wembrook Primary School in Nuneaton
have been spending Saturday mornings undertaking music
masterclasses on the University campus. Musical Maestro has
been created for the Warwickshire Children’s University scheme,
which encourages children from all backgrounds to participate in
extra-curricular activities, and the classes are delivered by three
Lloyds Scholars students at the University of Warwick.
The children have little prior musical experience but over the
course of five weeks have had the opportunity to learn the piano,
bongos, trumpet and euphonium. Student volunteer Harrison
Gould explains: “The children love it, we enjoy running it, and the
feedback from teachers has been fantastic. It makes getting up
early on a Saturday morning all the more worth it, especially as
music is not as accessible to all children”.
It is hoped that Musical Maestro can be taken to more schools in
the coming months through the UK wide Children’s University
scheme, and will ultimately encourage more children to learn an
instrument.
For more information on the Warwickshire Children’s University
see www.childrensuniversity.co.uk
BESPOKE WMG
ENGINEERING DEGREES
FOR JAGUAR LAND ROVER
An innovative educational collaboration between Jaguar Land
Rover and WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group) will see up to
600 JLR employees studying for University of Warwick degrees
in product development or manufacturing engineering over the
next 3 to 4 years.
WMG and JLR are working together to develop a curriculum
which will include lectures, seminars, tutorials and activity
based learning in the laboratory, as well as bespoke internet
based study.
Dr Ralf Speth, the chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover said:
“Jaguar Land Rover has ambitious growth plans which can
only be supported by innovation in new products, engines and
environmental technologies. WMG is the perfect partner to help
develop our engineering community and I am delighted that so
many of our employees will be able to study for a manufacturing or
engineering degree at one of the UK’s leading academic institutions”.
The first group of Jaguar Land Rover staff will begin their studies
in October.
REGIUS PROFESSORSHIP
JOY FOR MATHEMATICS
INSTITUTE
The exceptionally high quality of teaching and research at the
University’s Mathematics Institute has been recognised with the
award of a Regius Professorship by the Queen to mark her
Diamond Jubilee.
On the advice of Ministers and a panel of eminent academics the
Queen has created 12 Regius Professorships at universities across
the country, enabling them to assign the title Regius Professor to an
existing Professor or to appoint a new professor to hold the title.
Professor Colin Sparrow, Head of the Mathematics Institute, said: “This
award is testament to the world-leading quality of the teaching and
research in the department. Regius Professorships have traditionally
been awarded to very old universities, so this is a remarkable
achievement for a University that first admitted undergraduates to
its mathematics courses less than 50 years ago.”
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CommUnity Spring/Summer 2013
UNIVERSITY SNIPPETS
Warwick ‘Top Target’ for Graduate
Recruitment
‘The Graduate Market in 2013’ report
published in The Telegraph found that the
University of Warwick was the number
one target for graduate recruitment by
UK’s largest graduate employers.
Potential new treatment to prevent
strokes
Researchers at University of Warwick
and University Hospitals Coventry and
Warwickshire have identified that a
combination of ultrasound scans and
specific medication could prevent strokes
in patients with carotid artery disease,
one of the major causes of stroke.
The Happiness Effect: Alumni Day 2013
On Saturday 18 May some of the world’s
leading experts will be on campus to help
us understand the causes of happiness,
and how we can find the elusive work-life
balance and be happier. The sessions are
free and open to all, so to find out more
or to book your place see
www.warwick.ac.uk/alumniday2013
Memories of Warwick 1965-2015
Exhibition
To mark the University’s upcoming 50th
Anniversary in two years' time, from 4 –
28 June the Modern Records Centre will
host a public exhibition of photography,
campus designs, prospectuses, student
newspapers and audio-visual materials
covering 50 years of Warwick life.
Warwick researchers are also building
an oral history archive and are keen to
hear from anyone with memories of
studying, working or living near the
University. Please visit www.warwick.
ac.uk/ias for further details of the
‘Voices of the University’ project.
KEY DATES 2013
Summer Term
Monday 22 April – Saturday 29 June
Undergraduate Open Days
Friday 21 June – Saturday 22 June
Warwick Student Arts Festival
Saturday 22 June – Tuesday 25 June
UK Corporate Games
Thursday 4 July – Sunday 7 July
Summer Degree Ceremonies
Monday 15 July – Saturday 20 July
Autumn Term
Monday 30 September – Saturday 7
December
THE UK
CORPORATE
GAMES ARE
COMING TO
COVENTRY
From Thursday 4 to Sunday 7 July the city of Coventry will play host to the UK
Corporate Games, Europe’s largest multi-sport festival for businesses and
organisations. The University is a partner in the event and will play host to a wide
variety of the 22 sports, as well as hosting the Great Games Party and providing
accommodation for many of the competitors. The Games are open to any company
or organisation, from sole traders to multinationals, and some well-known regional
businesses are already signed up including the Coventry Telegraph, Jaguar Land Rover
and Decathlon.
Sports including football, basketball, cricket, hockey, rugby, running, tennis and
squash will be staged at the University and all entrants and teams can select whether
to participate competitively or just for fun.
For further information on taking part visit www.corporate-games.com
Professor Nigel Thrift, Vice
Chancellor and President,
at the official opening of the
Learning Grid Leamington
LEARNING GRID LEAMINGTON
OPENS ITS DOORS
In January the Learning Grid Leamington was officially opened by the University ViceChancellor and President Professor Nigel Thrift and Students’ Union President Nick
Swain. The new learning space is located within Leamington Spa Town Hall and offers
students the use of computers, quiet study areas and a group meeting room, without
the need to travel to campus. Since November 2012 over 10,000 visitors have come
through the doors and made use of the 55 study spaces.
CommUnity
Comments Welcome
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University of Warwick, please call 024 7657 4108 or email: community@warwick.ac.uk
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www.warwick.ac.uk/community
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