The University of Derby Magazine (issue 2)

Our Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Coyne, prepares for retirement after 11 years at the helm

INSIDE: Booker Prize winner Dame Hilary Mantel, Team Sky’s Sir Dave Brailsford and outspoken campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera

Inspire, Innovate, Impact – The University of Derby Magazine Issue 2 • May 2015

www.derby.ac.uk

Goodbye John

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4 INNOVATE Derby’s industry giants give their view

on the city and what’s in store for the future

7 OPINION The Rt Rev Dr Alastair Redfern, Bishop

of Derby: University – A Family of Faith

8 OUR HONORANDS Jasvinder Sanghera, outspoken

campaigner and founder of charity Karma Nivarna, supporting victims of honour crimes and forced marriages

10 OVER TO YOU Vice-Chancellor, Professor John

Coyne

14 INSPIRE From sales executive to commercial

director, we chat to DCFC’s Lisa Biesty about her rise to the top and love of the club

18 Q&A Two-time Booker Prize winner and

author of Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

20 MY VIEW Professor Margaret Bruce on the

post-recession opportunity Derby has to pioneer a new era of regional economic vitality

22 THE GREAT DEBATE Security vs Liberty?

25 5 MINUTES WITH… Ian Maclean, Managing Director of

John Smedley

26 FEATURE Derby Law School is on the case

28 SPOTLIGHT ON… Sir Dave Brailsford

30 COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS

32 STUDENT SUCCESS

34 LOCAL LINK UP

36 OUT & ABOUT

37 SAVE THE DATE

38 LAST WORD

39 IMPACTcont

ents

Editorial: Rosie Marshalsay, Jeremy Swan, Jenny McNicholas, Adam Mallaby, Kirsty Reynolds and George Allsop

Photography: Richard Richards, Sally Edwards, Jen Miles and Matt Jones

Design: Matt Cartwright

We’re always on the lookout for interesting people to interview for future issues, so if you’ve got a good story to tell please get in touch – [email protected]

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The University of Derby Magazine

Editor’s letter

Well, what a year it’s been (so far) – one full of drama and excitement that’s for sure! The Royals have welcomed a new

baby, Princess Charlotte, into the family, and after campaigning tirelessly up and down the country for our vote, the people have spoken and our government for the next five years is in place.

Closer to home we marked the start of the year with our largest Award Ceremonies to date, where more than 3,400 students graduated at the event held in the new Derby Arena. Rolls-Royce picked up its biggest ever order from Emirates, worth £6.1bn, and hundreds of volunteers from across the city signed up to support the first Derby Book Festival, taking place next week (if you haven’t got tickets there’s still time!).

Working on Issue 2 has been great fun; we’re delighted to have secured some of our most successful and high-profile stakeholders to appear, including Dame Hilary Mantel and Sir Dave Brailsford, so I hope you enjoy reading their stories. It’s a real privilege to work at an organisation that has so many links to interesting people who are willing to give their time to supporting the University.

Finally, I must say a big thanks to all of our stakeholders for your continued support of the magazine. We were thrilled with the fantastic feedback our launch issue received, and are excited to be attending the national

CIPR Excellence Awards in June after being shortlisted in the category for ‘Best Publication’ – fingers crossed!

As always, we’re keen for the magazine to keep evolving, so if you’ve got an interesting story to tell, would like to be part of one of our features, or have some feedback for us then please get in touch.

Here’s to a fantastic rest of the year!

Rosie

It’s a real privilege to work at an organisation that has so many links to interesting people

FeedbackIt’s important to us that this magazine is something that people look forward to and enjoy reading, so we’d really appreciate your feedback, good or bad. You can send it to [email protected] or tweet us using #DerbyUniMag. As a thank you for providing it we’ll enter you into a prize draw to win two Derby Theatre tickets to see a production of your choice*.

*prize must be taken within three months of the winner being announced

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The Future’s Bright for Derby

Writer: Adam Mallaby

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An impressive statement by EPM Technology Group’s Managing Director, Graham Mulholland, whose passion for Derby is undeniable and who understands the importance of embracing and championing what it stands for and is best at – engineering and manufacturing.

His beliefs are backed up by ongoing industry success. Bombardier is currently building a new £12.5m Crossrail factory and working on Aventra – the next generation of trains, while Rolls-Royce recently secured its largest engine order with a £6.1bn Emirates deal. And EPM Technology, which specialises in high performance engineering supporting Formula One, aerospace and defence, has experienced an “explosion of growth” since moving into its new £6m factory in Derby.

So what’s it taken to get this far and what should be done now to build on and secure Derby’s future? I met with some of industry’s big-hitters to find out.

“Our biggest asset is that we are the home of some of the greatest engineering and manufacturing brands in the world and as a city I don’t believe we make the most of that,” says David Bell, Chief Corporate Development Officer at JCB.

“The brands in Derby stand for quality, perfection, skill and innovation, and those qualities need to be associated with the city,” David continues, “we need to keep pushing forward and be at the cutting edge.”

Tony Walker, Deputy Managing Director for Toyota Manufacturing in the UK, mirrors this: “Too much looking back at heritage is not healthy – we need to drive forward. Derby is all about engineering and manufacturing excellence and we should be known for this.”

Derby’s strength also lies in its thought leaders; ambassadors of the city who help to drive it into the future. “We’re a city that can make things happen, and I don’t think many people realise that until they start travelling around the country and experience how others operate,” Graham explains. “We have an idea, we see if it’s viable and if it is we put it into action and deliver it – we don’t just talk about it.” Interestingly, the only other time he’s experienced this was working with the Americans.

Colin Smith, Director of Engineering and Technology at Rolls-Royce, believes that working and living in Derby is an attractive proposition:

“There aren’t many cities in the world that can make Formula One parts, a car every 60 seconds, an aero-engine every day and a train every week, and we should embrace that.”

Clockwise from above: Graham Mulholland, EPM Technology, Tony Walker, Toyota and Colin Smith, Rolls-Royce.

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“We have the highest number of qualifications in any UK city outside London, per capita, and average salaries are better than most cities, driven by industry like ours.”

For Graham, we’re already selling the Derby offering hard: “We’ve got one of the most successful shopping centres outside of London and I can’t think of anywhere else like Derby for its transport links. We have a great momentum and we’re becoming confident, it’s a magic formula.”

So how do we make sure that Derby stays firmly on the map? “We need to blow the trumpet a lot louder and show those going through school that engineering and technology is a good career and has a great future,” says Bombardier’s Chairman and Managing Director, Noel Travers. It’s this talent pool that we need to maintain and the biggest challenge that has been highlighted by all is that such skilled work is imperative to driving Derby forward.

As Graham points out, “clever factories need clever people to make them cleverer,” and it’s now all about “retaining the talent we have in Derby, especially if it has come from outside of the City.” While new initiatives have come on stream over the last five years, including work by the University of Derby, more needs to be done to attract the next generation, including more females, into STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects.

“Raising the standards of all STEM subjects in Derby is hugely important and will give us a great advantage,” says Colin. “We need to get more children taking on

the ‘difficult’ subjects, and the University should work closely with schools to up its game even more in technical subjects, which has been a deliberate policy of John’s (Coyne, Vice-Chancellor).”

Tony believes it’s all about making careers in engineering more aspirational: “We need to convey that engineering and manufacturing offers exciting, interesting and challenging long-term careers. Education needs to prepare young people for employment and not just further or higher education.”

The University of Derby has been making steps towards this and these industry giants are recognising the effect that is having. “I think the University is pulling up trees at the moment; it’s batting well above its weight and is engaging with businesses and schools very well,” says Graham.

David supports this, adding: “Personally, I’m really pleased that the University is getting back into the engineering arena and we’re all keen to support that. All it needs to do now is find its own niche and not compete with the other big engineering universities. That will create the success and bring in the talent.”

This idea of competition is a lasting thought, not just for the University, but for Derby too. Colin believes that, “England is a small country and you need to make sure you don’t have regions competing against each other,” and David agrees: “You’ve got cities in the East Midlands who see themselves as competitors and that makes it hard for us to define who we are. We need to grow the rest of the UK, so rather than just looking at Derby, or Nottingham, we should be looking at the Midlands as a whole.”

If there’s one thing for certain, Derby is definitely on the map. “From a government perspective, we’ve absolutely got a voice and Derby is now seen as a city that makes things happen,” concludes Graham.

And the role we have to play? Let’s all shout about Derby a bit more.

Far left: Noel Travers, Chairman and Managing Director at Bombardier UK

Left: David Bell, Chief Corporate Development Officer at JCB

“We need to blow the trumpet a lot louder and show those going through school that engineering and technology is a good career and has a great future.”

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Universities are traditionally seen as places of learning, where people go to receive an education before venturing into the world

of work. But they can be so much more than this. Has the time now come to embrace a new role for universities at the heart of community life?

One of the most distinguished sociologists of our time, Robert Putnam, is famous for his book Bowling Alone, in which he charted the decline of ten-pin bowling in America as a social activity organised through teams and leagues. He noted how bowling was now often seen as an individual leisure time pursuit and this, he argued, exposed the shift from corporate to individual identity and lifestyle in western civilisation. More recently, Putnam pointed to the disintegration of the family as a major cause of stress, poverty and economic and social instability among particular groups in society. In a world struggling with many of the issues Putnam highlights, the reaction cannot simply be a restoration of the family, desirable though that might be. Amidst contemporary complexities we need to discover new sites for belonging and nourishment.

A university might become one such site. Not just a ‘uni’ – a place where knowledge and truth are brought together – but a place where teachers, students and alumni come together. Building upon the experience of halls of residence, societies and community service, a university might become a site of social networks of more committed and intimate belonging.

It’s interesting to note the word ‘alumnus’, which these

days we use to refer to a former student, originally meant ‘foster child’. In the ancient world, with its enormous uncertainty about personal health and social stability, many people lived in danger of abandonment and loneliness. So the notion of alumnus – fostering a child – was a generous one and implied commitment and intimacy on both sides.

Here then we have the seeds of a university becoming more self-consciously a place for foster children to extend their experience of ‘family’ in living, playing and working together under the structures of an Alma Mater – a nourishing mother. It is here we can continue to offer and develop an ongoing, dynamic space of connection, commitment and belonging. This is one antidote to ‘Bowling Alone’.

Commitment such as this fuels exciting possibilities, but requires us to place our faith in each other as family. Could a university become a more self-conscious ‘Family of Faith’? And what would this look like as ‘foster children’ go out into the wider world to build upon their experience of encouragement to design and inhabit spaces for mutual commitment to a richer future for all?

We face many of the social problems described by Putnam here in the United Kingdom. Universities are well-placed to respond by fostering a Family of Faith where there is support and encouragement. In doing so, our universities will become centres of the community – not just scholarship – and our society would be stronger for it.

The Rt Rev Dr Alastair Redfern, Bishop of Derby

Opinion

University: A Family of Faith

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OURHONORANDSWriter: Jenny McNicholas

CBE, Honorand and the Guardian’s Inspirational Woman of the Year, are just some of the accolades Jasvinder Sanghera has reaped, since setting up Karma

Nirvana – a charity which supports victims of honour crimes and forced marriages.

Established in 1993, Karma Nirvana has been instrumental in developing refuge centres across the UK. More recently it’s been turning heads in parliament

– for all the right reasons. The charity has been working with the government to implement the creation of the new forced marriage criminal offence, whereby the Prime Minister stated how Jasvinder ‘turned his head’ on the issue.

The charity has also worked closely with the government to introduce ‘The Day of Memory for Britain’s Lost Women’, a national day which will take place annually on July 14. The day will remember the

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Jasvinder studied Sociology and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Derby for her contribution to knowledge in the field of forced marriages and honour based violence.

Her achievements include: • A Sunday Times bestselling author for the

‘Shame’ biographies 2007• CBE in 2013 for services to victims of forced

marriages and honour based violence • Guardian Inspirational Woman of the Year

2011• Pride of Britain Award 2009• Global Punjabi Society Award 2012• Woman of Year Award 2007• Asian Woman’s Achievement Award 2007• Ambassador for Peace Award 2008

lives of an estimated 5,000 women across the world killed each year for bringing ‘shame’ upon their families.

“Women can be murdered for the most basic rights – the right to independence, integration, having relationships and even education. This day will honour these women and dishonour the crime, whilst also raising awareness and in turn, I hope, saving lives,” explains Jasvinder.

Born in Derby, Jasvinder has first-hand experience of some of the fears facing these women, having survived escaping her own forced marriage. “I thought there was no point in going to school as my life, as was my sisters, was mapped out before us. I became withdrawn and took an overdose at the age of 15 as I saw no way out. I felt alone and afraid to tell anyone due to the fear of repercussions, and extremely isolated as there was no one I could turn to.

“It was the most harrowing and fearful time of my life but within me I knew that I did not want to marry a stranger.

“When I ran away it was only to make a point and I’d hoped my family would accept my decision, but I never imagined their response would be that I either came home and married or I would be dead in their eyes. The first few years were extremely depressing and the turning point for me was when my sister Robina committed suicide.”

It would have been far easier for her to have walked away, starting afresh with a different career, but Jasvinder has dedicated her life to supporting others in the hope that she can make a difference.

An unstoppable force in her efforts to raise awareness, she recently worked in partnership with well-known women’s magazine Cosmopolitan to devise a powerful cover, conveying the horror of honour killing for the February 2015 edition. The cover, displaying a woman looking trapped, unsettled and in despair, was presented to parliament during a lobbying event hosted by Cosmopolitan and Karma Nirvana. The woman featured represents teen Shafilea Ahmed who was suffocated to death by her parents in front of her siblings for refusing an arranged marriage.

‘The Day of Memory for Britain’s Lost Women’ will be held on Shafilea’s birthday (July 14). This joint campaign gained cross governmental support generating over 110,000 signatures through the Change.org petition.

You don’t have to spend long with Jasvinder to see just how passionate she is about making a change.

“I’m enormously grateful to everyone who has supported me and Karma Nirvana. It’s overwhelming how many opportunities have been presented since I started my journey and it’s fantastic to see The Honor Diaries, a documentary tackling issues facing Muslim-majority societies, becoming internationally recognised, providing a global platform for us to raise awareness about these issues.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think one documentary or magazine cover will make that change by tomorrow, but step-by-step we can, and we will, put a stop to honour crimes and forced marriages.”

www.karmanirvana.org.uk

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“I grew up with the confidence that

if I set my mind to it I could go on to

achieve whatever I wanted.”

As Professor John Coyne prepares for his retirement in July, Rosie Marshalsay asks him to reflect on the ups and downs over his 11

years as Vice-Chancellor at the University of Derby.

“I grew up with the confidence that if I set my mind to it I could go on to achieve whatever I wanted.”

A confidence instilled in John during his childhood, thanks in part to an inspirational head teacher, is one that’s seen him progress through the ranks of business and higher education to his most challenging, and equally rewarding, position as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Derby.

The departure in July of this charismatic and down to earth Yorkshireman, who transformed the fortunes of the University during his tenure, won’t just be felt by colleagues and students, but by a vast number of the University’s stakeholders who’ve met and worked alongside him over the years.

“Never in a million years did I think I’d become a VC; in fact I managed a significant part of my early career without knowing what a VC was!” John told me. So now he’s been there, done that and got the t-shirt (or should I say SU onesie), how does he feel about the last 11 years?

“I suppose the notion of becoming a VC came relatively late to me, I think I thought “ooh I wouldn’t mind being a VC”, and then had the good fortune of it happening quite quickly.

“The role at Derby appealed to me for a number of reasons. It was an institution I always had an eye on and at the time didn’t enjoy the best reputation. People had been surprised when it became a University and consequently it had an uneasy transition into one, so it was often the butt of jokes as the new kid on the block.

“However, it was an institution I thought I knew a little bit about and it was in a region I was deeply embedded into. Also, and I hope this wasn’t arrogant or too overconfident, I thought it was an institution with potential that had the capacity to be much better than it was given credit for, and I had the confidence that I could do it.

“So the moment I learnt the job was up I thought “I’ve got to get that”, and I wanted it with a passion.”


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John Coyne

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John got what he wanted, “I had to pinch myself”, and was appointed Vice-Chancellor Designate in 2003, beginning his role as VC in August 2004.

“It was an awfully long time to be a VC in waiting. Some of the apprehension had gone by the time I started, so it was like ‘wow’, there was excitement, a bit of wonder, and I think I’d got a spring in my step. It was a good feeling; I was really, really ready for it.”

John faced challenges from day one – having to recruit three quarters of students needed through Clearing in his first month sticks in his memory, as does having the realisation that Derby wasn’t, and wouldn’t be, a high impact university if things didn’t change.

“In those early days the external environment was fairly stable, but internally the institution needed sorting out - I knew we would only succeed if we forged a very clear direction that we would not be a university of last resort, but would be a popular, university of choice.

We’ve made great progress and Kathryn Mitchell, the new VC, will have a bit of freedom internally because we’re academically strong, financially stable and will have recruited well. Her biggest challenge will be coping with the potential uncertainty and instability of the external environment. I think we’ve had a successful period in the last five to ten years but I still think the best ten are ahead.”

It’s not only the University that’s changed significantly since John took up the role – he’s experienced first-hand the impact that modern technology has had on the organisation.

“The biggest difference is the extent to which our students are savvy about technology and social media, using multiple devices for study and recreation, so there’s more transparency, more visibility and more risk

of exposure.

“I’ll give you a classic example. At my surprise party to mark my ten years as VC, the Student’s Union gave me a onesie – it would have been churlish not to try it on. When I arrived here in 2004 I could have tried on a onesie, we’d have had a laugh, and “did you see the new VC in a onesie” would have got around through word of mouth.

“On this occasion I just slipped my shoes off, popped it on over my suit and posed for a photo. Within 15 minutes my wife’s had a Whatsapp from my daughter, who was in Birmingham at the time, asking “what’s Dad doing in a onesie?!”

When he’s not involved in the more light hearted elements of his role, John does a remarkable job running the University; and must be the person that everyone expects to have the answer. So does he?

“You do find yourself in a position where people expect you to have the answer to everything and to have the answer immediately. I don’t think actually it’s quite as complex a job as people perceive, especially if you have a good team around you and an institution that knows what it’s doing.

“It’s not unusual to get something coming out of left-field that you don’t know which direction to go with. When you’re faced with that, the answer is you find someone who will help you navigate through it. I think VC’s who think A, they’re always right, and B, they always have the answer and that their answer is right, always right, and never wrong, won’t survive. I think the crucial thing is to have confidence to work with people to find the right path.”

And, as VC, John’s certainly come into contact and worked with a huge amount of people from across the globe and from all walks of life. He places great importance on the relationships that have been forged.

“A university can’t exist or prosper without understanding by, support from, and a feeling of worth by the people that populate the geography it shares. If you’re not actually conscious of who your stakeholders are, conscious of what they look to you for as an organisation, and then set your stall out to exceed their

“A university can’t exist or prosper without understanding by, support from, and a feeling of worth by the people that populate the geography it shares.”

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expectations, in my view you’d never succeed.

You’re nothing without your stakeholders. If you get it right they become your ambassadors and the mouth piece for what the university does. Get it wrong and you deserve the slap down that you’ll get.”

It’s hard to believe that directing the institution through both calm and choppy waters is a job almost done for John. So what’s next for John and Julie, his wife of 43 years?

“We promised ourselves our own version of a grown up gap year. Not just setting off and travelling for a year, but having the ability to pick off, at times of our choosing, some of the travel and experiences that we’ve wanted to do but have never had time to squeeze in. Ideally it’s going to start in China, with the World Athletics Championships in Beijing, and it’ll finish with the Olympic Games in Rio.

“I’m also going to keep an intellectual interest. I’m going to take on a non-exec role at our local Community NHS Trust and we’ve just bought a grade II listed property in the Peak District which is going to be a bit of a ‘doer upper’ project so I can work with my hands.”

Are you good at DIY? I ask.

“I can paint, I can tile, I can hammer things straight. I would never attempt anything that might electrocute me, cause a flood or blow me up, but I quite like doing all the other bits.

“We’re not going to be short of things to do and there will be much more of a balance, where doing the things

that Julie and I like to do will come first, fitting the other things around it - and that’s never been the case for virtually all my professional career. It’ll definitely be nice to have a bit more freedom, and a bit more time.”

And when it comes to leaving the building for the last time what do you think you’ll be thinking?

“I’ll probably think “how the hell am I going to get off this campus when I can’t see the road for all the tears running down my face.”

You might need Julie to come and pick you up then, I commented.

“I think I probably will. I’ve loved every minute!”

John’s…

Best piece of advice – be yourself and know yourself.

Highlight – the surprise party for my ten years. Nothing could ever or will ever top that, that colleagues would do that for me. I found it emotionally very touching.

Lowlight - when Bobby Zamora scored for QPR at Wembley last year – because running a university is so much easier when the team of your city is in the Premier League. I thought I was going to get an easy final year in post and it was all taken away from us so cruelly.

Greatest achievement – I’ve got a huge reflective pride in the institution’s achievements, finally getting some recognition in the league tables, and knowing my successor will inherit an academically strong, financially sound, viable institution.

Regrets – (breaks into song) “regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention” – no, in the professional context I’ve always tried to make sure I’ve had no regrets, play what you see and try to make the best decision you can.

“You’re nothing without your stakeholders. If you get it right they become your ambassadors and the mouth piece for what the university does. Get it wrong and you deserve the slap down that you’ll get.”

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Rosie Marshalsay chats to Lisa Biesty, Derby County Football Club’s commercial director, about her rise to the top and love of the club.

“We’re a community asset first and foremost; regardless of who owns the club it’s always going to be Derby County. Not one person working at the club, whether they’re in the office or a player, is more important than the club itself and it’s very important we don’t forget that.”

Passionate words from Derby County’s only female senior executive, who’s been at the city’s beloved football club for 14 years.

A Derby fan from an early age, “I followed them avidly throughout the Arthur Cox years”, Lisa fondly recalls the latter part of her childhood spent chatting to customers and football supporters at the pub her parents owned.

Shifts behind the bar, and subsequently seeing her parents build their own property portfolio, instilled in Lisa the importance of sheer hard work and determination if you want to succeed.

“I had a family relatively young. At 20 I was married with a baby girl, Kelly, and by 26 I was a single parent. I held a sales job for the AA and I was there for nine years working my way through the ranks to a sales trainer.

“I had an opportunity to take voluntary redundancy; saw a position for a sales executive at Derby County, applied and got the job.”

Working for the club was to pay off for Lisa, who hasn’t looked back since.

“I walked into a role that was completely different to the one I’d left; it was certainly a culture shock and I think it’s fair to say that football clubs at the time had some relatively old school views.

“It’s different now. For the last seven years we’ve had a very structured ownership group and Sam Rush has brought so much in terms of experience and football connections, which is what we were lacking at Derby. He’s transformed our standing within football; thanks to Sam we’ve had players on loan from Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid, plus Steve McClaren as coach, who Sam appointed.

“We also appreciate that we are very lucky with the support that we receive compared to other clubs. We’re proud to have such amazing fans and some great businesses in Derby that are very supportive of us.”

INSPIRELISA BIESTY, DERBY COUNTY FOOTBALL CLUB


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“At the end of the day if you’ve got business acumen, commercial drive, the right personality and can adapt to change then I think anyone can succeed, regardless of whether you’re a man or a woman.”

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Lisa’s unwavering loyalty to the club, as well as the respect she holds for her colleagues, is evident, and it’s these values that she inspires in her team.

“Football’s quite notorious for people moving around, so I have a role in keeping my team together and keeping that belief in the club regardless of what happens on the field. I’m Derby born and bred so I couldn’t imagine for one instance going to work for a certain club down the road. It’s just not in my make-up.

“My dad instilled old-fashioned manners and respect in me, and I’m very aware of the importance of communication. It pains me to see some of the younger people I come into contact with, mainly on a match day, and how they struggle to hold a conversation. I’m quite traditional, which I’d put down to my strict upbringing, but it’s important as I think we’re in danger of a generation coming through that doesn’t even know what a ‘value’ is.”

Traditionally football has been seen as a ‘man’s game’ (although try telling that to Derby’s female fans who make up 33% of the supporter population), so it’s impressive for a woman to achieve a senior position at DCFC, but has it been easy?

“There are certainly challenges. I remember going to my first commercial managers meeting for the Football League. I walked into the room and back in the day there was an older establishment of mainly gentleman. I was greeted with the comment “oh no, not another one”, in reference to me being a woman, but as soon as I explained the offside rule I think they thought “she probably knows a bit about football” and that was that.

“At Football Awards dinners you can sit around a table and you won’t see a 50/50 split but that is changing as more women are holding senior management positions within football. If you go through football’s boardrooms you’d probably find that women represent quite a low percentage, but there are a couple of female CEOs now. Personally at Derby I’m lucky that I’ve never faced a barrier because I’m a woman.

“At the end of the day if you’ve got business acumen, commercial drive, the right personality and can adapt to change then I think anyone can succeed, regardless of whether you’re a man or a woman.”

And what about women who’d like a career but have a family to support too – can you have both?

“Yes, but I think it’s absolutely important that first and foremost they’re able to manage both. A great career doesn’t necessarily mean reaching director level; you can be successful and enjoy what you do at any stage. A title is just that at the end of the day. It’s what you do on a day to day basis that’s more important, I genuinely believe that.

“You also can’t feel guilty. You’ve got to be able to deliver everything for your family when you’re with them, and everything for your career when you’re doing that. When I was starting out I had immediate family to help out but not everyone has that support. You need to enjoy both elements and if you’re not, speak to your employer, as there’s nothing worse than sitting there and worrying about it.

“And never give up because who knows what’s around the corner.”

Do you have a career highlight?The lowlight was definitely at Wembley last year – when we missed out on promotion – I’m still scarred from that! But being offered the position of commercial director was a real personal highlight for me.

What keeps you awake at night?Football results to be honest!

Any regrets?No. I’ve made mistakes but you should learn from them and move on.

Is personal appearance and style important?Yes, although you could look a million dollars but it means nothing if you haven’t got the ability to communicate with people. I have a lot of black and white dresses but not one red one in my wardrobe.

What make a great employee?Loyalty and a drive to succeed.

What do you enjoy doing in non-work time?Watching football! I genuinely do love it. And travel, I’ve been to some absolutely great places.

“I have a role in keeping my team together and keeping that belief in the club regardless of what happens on the field. I’m Derby born and bred so I couldn’t imagine for one instance going to work for a certain club down the road. It’s just not in my make-up.”

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call 01332 594000 or visit our website to find out more.

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When did you first decide to be an author?A year after I graduated, in 1974. Conventionally, one begins with a slender volume of semi-autobiography. I began with an 800 page novel about the French Revolution. It took me years to write and many more years to get published. Luckily I wasn’t looking for quick results. My first published book was Every Day is Mother’s Day, a contemporary novel. I was writing for roughly 12 years before there were any results in career terms.

What was it about Thomas Cromwell that made you want to write about him?He was a rare example of creativity in politics. He was clever, deep, audacious and a game-changer; he altered the face of the nation. He was also suitably ambivalent and puzzling. Enough to keep me, and the reader I hope, entertained through a trilogy.

How did you go about bringing Cromwell’s character to life in Wolf Hall?I read his letters until I could talk like him, looked at the pictures I thought he might have seen, visited the places he went (what remains of them) and generally tried to worm my way into his world picture by any means available.

Last year you published a collection of short stories under the title The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher. Do you see any parallels between Cromwell and Thatcher?Only that they both lived in the present moment, I think. Neither was introspective. It is a challenge to write from the inside of the head of someone who is not introspective.

What was it like working with the Royal Shakespeare Company to bring Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies to the stage? Has this changed your approach to writing at all?It has opened up a new trade for me, in potential. It doesn’t change the third book of my Cromwell trilogy in any obvious way – it doesn’t, for example, change the style – but having a sort of experimental Cromwell in the shape of actor Ben Miles has been a weird privilege, and produced much insight. The plays have evolved through various versions and are now on Broadway; we have been together as a cast for two years, and the whole company has shown flexibility and commitment to the shifts involved. It is unusual to perform an adaptation of a work while that work is unfinished, and we all feel the ripples that energise the emerging text and the plays in performance.

Would you like to write plays in the future?I have several books projected, but yes, it may be that some of the stories I thought should be novels should be plays.

What are the biggest challenges faced by women in the public eye? For my generation, it was to sustain self-belief, and to learn that you can’t always be liked. Some women thrive on antagonism, of course, but I think we were brought up to resolve conflicts rather than ride to power on them. That should be a good thing, but it’s not useful to be an appeaser, or to evade conflict if the evasion keeps you out of office. The whole business is fraught with paradox, and when you try to generalise, you find you are only talking about yourself. I am aware that young women now are a different breed. They don’t put up

Jeremy Swan quizzes Dame Hilary Mantel, author of the Man Booker Prize-Winning bestsellers Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, which were recently adapted for television and broadcast on BBC Two. Mantel was born in Derbyshire and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Derby in 2014.

Hilary Mantel

with the nonsense their mothers had to endure. They are different and men are different. Negotiations in private life seem to be fairer and more honest than ever before. I am very hopeful about the future.

There was some controversy a couple of years ago when your comments about the Duchess of Cambridge were misinterpreted. What do you think this incident revealed about the level of public debate in Britain?People enjoy cheap outrage and are happy to find a new source. Certain papers are willing to feed them. Politicians are more afraid of not making an instant response than they are of looking foolish in the medium term. Indeed the medium term barely exists.

Would you say writers have a duty to challenge their readers as well as entertain?I don’t know about duty. I don’t seem able to help it.

Where do you find inspiration?I read a great deal, on all subjects. I think about what I read. I try to look at what’s before me without rushing to interpretation. I listen to people. I listen to myself. That’s it really.

Which of your own books is your favourite and why?Always the next one.

www.hilary-mantel.com


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“I am aware that young women now are a different breed. They don’t put up with the nonsense their mothers had to endure. They are different and men are different.”

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As the UK City of Innovation, Derby is well-placed to pioneer a new era of regional economic vitality, says Professor Margaret Bruce, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research,

Innovation and Academic Enterprise.

The time has come for the Midlands to rediscover its enterprising roots and to become a leading economic powerhouse for the UK.

One of the things I love about Derby is our ambition; we are a high-tech hub in the heart of the UK, and we’re right behind this as a university, not least because it speaks to our core values: Inspire, Innovate, Impact. We’re an ‘Anchor University’: creating wealth, employment and ensuring our graduates are prepared to pursue a successful career here in the Midlands.

I believe there are two strands which we, as a university, can draw upon to help this city live up to its great potential. Firstly, as an education institution, our role is to inspire the next generation to think creatively and make a difference. We work hard to provide a first class learning environment and placement opportunities to ensure our students leave education, not just with a degree, but work-ready, with an enterprising mind and the practical knowledge and experience that is so vital in the world of work.

We’re mindful of the need to attract more females to the STEM subjects, and we’ve adopted the Athena Swan approach to ensure our research environment supports the engagement and career development of young talent. But it doesn’t end there. For those wanting to build their own businesses, we work with a network of established entrepreneurs to run ‘Boot Camps’ designed to give them the best possible start.

And we’re about to launch our ‘Enterprise Charter’ that will announce a fund to support young talent, a mentor

scheme, and provide access to our business incubation units. It’s little wonder, then, that almost 97% of Derby graduates are in work or further study six months after graduation, with 60% in graduate employment.

The other strand is about helping local business thrive. Derby is home to world-leading companies and the University works with these to raise our game collectively.

Through our RGF funded £16.5m ‘Invest to Grow’ scheme, the University can invest in companies to support innovation, growth and job creation. We’ve provided almost £4m for 22 projects so far, and by this time next year we’ll have provided £12m to fund projects forecast to create over 1,300 jobs in the region. Through the Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Engineering (IISE), and similar research centres, we can support industry partners through knowledge exchange, product testing and staff training. We’re also heavily involved in the development of new innovation clusters, where we’ll provide targeted technical and business support to businesses at Infinity Park and in Chesterfield.

Inspiring tomorrow’s workforce, resourcing today’s businesses: these are the ways in which the University of Derby contributes towards building a vibrant local economy. And I know that if we work together, we can build something truly unique.

Working here, I am sometimes reminded of our Latin motto, experientia docet, which urges us to learn from our experiences. Yet I believe it could equally apply to our region. Experience has taught us that the Midlands must become a more powerful engine of economic growth; experience has taught us that we can do it.

www.derby.ac.uk/business-services

Business and University: a powerful combination for innovation

INVESTTO GROW

www.derby.ac.uk/investtogrow

The Invest to Grow programme is designed to support established private sector businesses to innovate, grow and create jobs.

· Grants or loans - according to the needs of the business - are available for around 30% of the cost of investment to help create long term sustainable job growth. The business has to find around 70% of the project cost.

· Minimum award size is £15k, so the minimum project cost is likely to be £50k. Maximum award size is £1m.

· £16m of Regional Growth Fund monies are available to businesses in the East Midlands through this programme.

· The programme is aimed at growth sectors such as Transport Equipment Manufacturing, Medicine/Bio-science, Construction, Food & Drink Manufacturing, Logistics, Low Carbon and Creative Industries.

· The Invest to Grow programme is now inviting companies to contact the team to find out more.

W: www.derby.ac.uk/investtogrowT: 01332 597907E: [email protected]

Contact us:

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Writer: Jeremy Swan

The debate is not new. George Orwell famously warned against the Big Brother state in his book Nineteen Eighty-Four, and his predictions came chillingly close to realisation in East Germany during the Cold War, when the Stasi had ‘one informer per 6.5 citizens’*. On the other hand, the nature of security threats faced by western countries in the 21st century means that intelligence gathering is more important than ever.

“No matter where you draw the line it will always change because it’s an ethical problem”, says Kevin Bampton, Head of Law and Criminology at the

University. “It’s about the least bad outcome and that has to be judged on a case-by-case basis. The idea of surveillance makes a lot of sense at the strategic level. You have limited resources and capability, and a high level of potential threat.”

Mick Creedon, Derbyshire’s Chief Constable, points to three tests set out by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act: “Is it lawful, necessary and proportionate? Whilst sometimes the public may have concerns, as a police officer I am accountable to the law and so long as these tests are properly met, it’s absolutely right to carry out surveillance. The public would expect that if we think someone is a paedophile grooming and potentially abusing kids, for example, then we’ll be on their email, social media, looking at their mobile phone usage and tracking where their car is going.”

However, an over-emphasis on surveillance can be counter-productive when it comes to terrorism, warns Paul Weller, the University’s Professor of Inter-Religious Relations. “If particular groups feel highly targeted then you risk losing the community co-operation needed for effective early interventions of a

Edward Snowden divided opinion around the world when he leaked classified American intelligence to the media in 2013. Regarded by some as a traitor and others as a hero, his actions nonetheless opened up a debate over the limits of government surveillance and individual liberty.

“The idea of surveillance makes a lot of sense at the strategic level. You have limited resources and capability, and a high level of potential threat.”

Kevin Bampton, Head of Law and Criminology

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Jeremy Reddington / Shutterstock.com

kind that might be positioned to re-channel the often idealistic ends of those who are seduced to violent means. We need a dialogue that engages with those groups who might have some credibility with those attracted to terror – providing they disavow violence.”**

Kevin is unconvinced: “It’s a nice idea to say we’ll all have an open dialogue, but the majority of people in terror recruiting, for instance, are very adept at keeping on the right side of the debate in public. All you’re doing is giving them a platform.”

“Terror that draws its inspiration from religion can be particularly dangerous”, says Paul. “It’s too simplistic to say that recent acts of terrorism have nothing to do with religion – they do – and the danger is that what is a very complex conflict in Syria, for instance, could get transplanted onto the streets of Britain. But we do need to draw a distinction between ‘extremism’ and

‘violent extremism’. Sometimes it’s good to be radical and perhaps our society needs a strong critique from minorities of all kinds.”

“What we’re seeing now is the radicalisation of individuals from afar”, Mick points out. “You don’t have to go to an overseas training camp anymore; people have been radicalised in their bedroom on the internet and sadly sometimes those who seek to radicalise prey on those who might be vulnerable and easily influenced. We need people who think differently and sometimes challenge us, but to take radical thought to the next level and commit a crime – and even mass murder – cannot be right although we also need to be very careful not to stifle freedom of speech.”

One of the issues uncovered by Edward Snowden was the US National Security Agency’s ‘collect it all’ approach to data. This seems “utterly impractical” to Mick in the ever growing world of cyberspace and digital communications: “I can see why the public might be concerned if this were going on, but I think it’s far better to know who you’re looking at and why,

“Is it lawful, necessary and proportionate? Whilst sometimes the public may have concerns, as a police officer I am accountable to the law

and so long as these tests are properly met, it’s absolutely right to carry out surveillance.”Mick Creedon, Derbyshire’s Chief Constable

“We need a dialogue that engages with those groups who might have some credibility with those attracted to terror – providing they disavow violence.”

Paul Weller, Professor of Inter-Religious Relations.

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and then work out what intelligence, evidence or information you need about them.”

Kevin is more relaxed: “It’s a robot searching through data, looking for patterns. When you compare that with invasive old-fashioned techniques, such as a wiretap, you’ll find it’s a lot less intrusive. If you can’t gather intelligence digitally then you are forced to use the old-fashioned intrusive surveillance methods – that’s the biggest threat to liberty.”

But should we really be worried about the level of state surveillance? Mick notes that, “commercial surveillance is probably far greater and more intrusive than what the state is able to do, and they do it on an industrial basis. The reason supermarkets have store cards is not about being nice, it’s to track our shopping. They know exactly what we’re doing – and we’re okay with it.”

Kevin agrees: “We kind of expect to have privacy from the state but not from companies like Google or Facebook. I think we’ve also reconfigured our idea of liberty around a more public way of living. Social media is not private, it’s communication by megaphone.”

Should such companies be legally compelled to co-operate with the security services? “I think the answer is, ultimately, yes” says Mick. “For me, a condition of a company’s activity in a country should be, with

the right level of authority and the appropriate legal application, to hand over the data.”

Kevin believes that companies that sell technology that could be used for criminal purposes should have to justify whether they are doing something socially useful. “It’s a bit like selling guns. There’s probably a need for guns somewhere, but should they be held accountable and have restrictions on their sale? I think most people would say yes.”

Is there any truth in the saying “if you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear”? “In truth, I’d say so, yes”, says Mick. “I think having a legally based and transparent framework that has the right authority, checks and balances, and scrutiny, is quite different from a Big Brother society. In the UK policing in this area is overseen by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners, the applications and product can and is tested in Court and the public should be reassured by what we do to protect those who others seek to harm. I don’t think for one minute we should be routinely monitoring 60 million people.”

*John O. Koehler, Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police (Boulder, CO, 1999), reproduced at https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/k/koehler-stasi.html; accessed 23 April 2015.** For more information see ‘Deradicalization by Default: The Dialogue Approach to Rooting out Violent Extremism’, Dialogue Society (2009), reproduced at http://www.dialoguesociety.org/publications/Deradicalisation-Policy-Paper.pdf; accessed 5 May 2015.

Ian Maclean is the Managing Director of John Smedley, the family-run luxury knitwear brand founded in Derbyshire in 1784. They are based in the oldest working factory in the world, the original

John Smedley Mill at Lea.

Is it true that John Smedley invented the ‘Long Johns’? There are a number of claims out there but I’d like to think we have as good a claim as any! Over the last five years we’ve done a lot to organise our company archive and we now have 8,000 garments dating back over 150 years. In fact, the oldest piece in our archive is a very elegant pair of gentlemen’s Long Johns dating from 1850.

How do you balance John Smedley’s enviable historical pedigree with the need to be forward-thinking as a brand? We believe it’s important that John Smedley’s garments are seen as contemporary, stylish and high quality. Our heritage underpins the values inherent in the product – the quality, craft, colour and detail – but our overall outlook remains fashion-forward. Each season we get the chance to create a new story about John Smedley.

The recession proved to be a testing time for John Smedley. What did this experience teach you?As Dickens wrote in David Copperfield: “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.”

The main lesson I learned from the dark days of 2009 was that you need to pick up signals of a downturn in business as quickly as you can, and react quickly. Don’t wait.

What difference does the ‘Made in Great Britain’ tag make to John Smedley? A few years ago we decided that ‘Made in Great Britain’ should be at the very core of our company’s values. It plays very well in foreign markets, because of Britain’s reputation for creativity,

style, pop music, and heritage. All of this undoubtedly helps with our exports.

You’ve won a number of UK Fashion Export Awards in recent years. What challenges and opportunities are there for UK export businesses? For small businesses, exporting is costly as it requires trips abroad, exposure to long payment terms, volatile exchange rates, and potential bad debts. An effective web shop is a window to the world, and makes it possible to begin exporting to many countries quite quickly.

What’s your top tip for running a successful business? Build the best team of people you can and get them to embrace and manage change as a good thing. The difference between a good business and a bad business will never be the money, or the machines, it will be the people.

How can the Government best encourage regional economic growth? Run a stable and efficient economic policy, lower taxes, and build a world-class education system that values technical education as much as intellectual education. On top of that, regions should be allowed greater autonomy in investment decisions – using for example regional growth funds – if they can demonstrate good management.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received? I was once told by a successful businessman that I should do five different things in five years at the start of my career. I completely ignored his advice, but maintain a romantic notion that if I had my time again I could easily have joined NASA, learned the piano, climbed Everest, lived in Japan, and gone into advertising. As it was, I went to work for a bank in Brighton!

www.johnsmedley.com


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The prestigious Derby Law School has been re-launched to mark twenty years since the first cohort of Law students graduated from the University of Derby. Jeremy Swan

spoke to those behind the new investment in legal education in Derby.

With a recent investment of £1.5m in advanced facilities, a prominent guest lecture series and a unique teaching programme covering all the skills needed for aspiring lawyers, Derby Law School is steadily gaining a reputation for excellence in legal education.

Legal professionals, academics, alumni and current students celebrated the re-launch at a two-day event in May, which featured tours of the new facilities and culminated in the annual black-tie Law Dinner at the Cathedral Quarter Hotel in Derby.

Professor Malcolm Todd, Dean of College of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences, said: “These are interesting times, as there are significant changes taking place in the legal professions and what it means to be a ‘lawyer’ is becoming increasingly complex.

“Derby Law School is well-placed to play a key role in educating the legal professionals of tomorrow. Our students develop a sound and relevant base of knowledge, often making a real difference in society by providing much-needed legal services for the clients of our partner organisations. They gain academic credit for their real-world experiences and can hone their professional skills in our state-of-the-art facilities.”

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DERBY LAW SCHOOL IS ON THE CASE

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The University of Derby Magazine The University of Derby Magazine

Sir John Mummery, former Lord Justice of Appeal, opened a new £80,000 Crown Courtroom at Derby Law School in April. An exact replica of a real courtroom, the new facility will help law students practice their mooting skills in mock court cases. Students will also have access to new crime laboratories and witness interviewing suites on site.

Andrew Cochrane, Senior Partner at Flint Bishop, said: “Derby Law School’s reputation has grown considerably in the last few years because of their sterling work. They’ve attracted high-profile speakers, built great new facilities and have gone out of their way to engage with the legal community in Derby – the connection between the Derby Law School and the profession is much tighter now.

“At Flint Bishop, we’ve been mentoring students from the University of Derby for the last three years. Having real-world experience on your CV is absolutely essential for those wishing to pursue a career in law, as there’s a very competitive jobs market out there. When we work with students we try to find the areas they’re interested in and we provide support to help develop their knowledge and skills. In some cases, we’ve been able to offer paid work experience on live projects.”

Professor Todd added: “Our credibility as a law school

continues to be enhanced by our growing capacity in research and thought-leadership across a range of contemporary social and legal issues. For example, we are acknowledged to be a hub of expertise in relation to modern slavery.

“Our growing reputation is also allowing us to form relationships with a range of international institutions and organisations. Through these, we will develop exciting new learning opportunities for students, and innovative research partnerships, meeting our aspiration to be a law school with truly global reach.”

Academics from Derby recently teamed up with the Home Office to devise a scheme to help tackle modern slavery. Karen Bradley, then Minister for Modern Slavery and Organised Crime, visited the University to discuss the initiative.

She said: “The fact that slavery still exists in the 21st century is shameful. If we are to abolish it everyone needs to play a part. I am grateful for the vital work being carried out by the University of Derby and the Home Office, to help consign slavery to the history books where it belongs.”

www.derby.ac.uk/law

“Derby Law School’s reputation has grown considerably in the last few years”

Andrew Cochrane, Senior Partner at Flint Bishop

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Jeremy Swan speaks to Sir Dave Brailsford, the coach who led British cycling to gold medal success at two Olympics, and who guided Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome to Tour de France victories in 2012 and 2013. He stepped down from his role in British Cycling in 2014 to concentrate his efforts on leading Team Sky.

Have you noticed an increase in support for cycling in recent years?Without a doubt. It’s grown massively in popularity in the last five to ten years – beyond all recognition of the sport I grew up in, that’s for sure! People are more aware of it now, thanks to success in the Olympics and Tour de France, and more and more people have taken up cycling for health reasons too.

What would you like to achieve in the next five years? You can’t look backwards in sport; you’ve always got to look forwards. I think personally for me, I’d like to be more successful in the next five years than in the last five. That’s a pretty good goal for us at Team Sky. It gives us a target and I’d like to think that over the whole decade we can be recognised as the best team in the world.

How do you go about keeping things fresh and guarding against complacency?I think you’ve got to be very careful. It’s easy to get to the point where you think you’ve cracked things and you know what’s going on. You’re in very dangerous territory if you let success go to your head. Team dynamics are a living entity and change all the time. The same solutions will never give you the same results every time, so you have to innovate. I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can renew things and create an environment where people have a real sense of purpose, drive and hunger. Ultimately, that’s the pre-requisite for success.

You’ve spoken before about marginal gains. What’s the big idea and what difference does it make?It’s a philosophy we’ve used to go from no-hopers to world-beaters. It’s about breaking the sport down into its constituent parts and then saying: can we improve each one of these areas by a small amount?

SPOTLIGHT ON...

Of course we can. That process becomes quite contagious, so the improvements that you make begin to stick and you get this massive momentum when you cobble it all together. It’s quite a daunting thing to demand a perfect performance, but most people will genuinely believe they can get a little bit better. One step in a thousand miles seems inconsequential, but they add up over time.

What are your top tips for building a successful team?First and foremost you have to spend time looking at what success looks like, so you have a very clear target that you are working towards. You then need to recruit a diverse team with the right attitude, experience, knowledge and mix of skills. Then you have to pull the group together and work out your values and beliefs as a team. You need to figure out, right from the off, what you’re all about. As a leader, you have to set the standard of expectation and make sure everybody within your team understands their role and has got a clear plan. Then you can use the carrot to encourage them to perform.

How do you balance experience in your team with the need to develop young talent for the future?You can’t fast-track experience, but you can focus on it. You can encourage younger athletes to be engaged proactively so they can gain experience as efficiently as possible. I think the older and more experienced people in the team also need to recognise their mentoring role.

What do you think the role of technology is in boosting performance in sport?Personally, I’d say it plays a massive part in modern sport and it will continue to increase. Equally, sport is a human endeavour, so the numbers are there to inform, not to dictate. Knowing how to use numbers, data and technology is important as well. It’s never going to replace the human aspect, but it can inform the process and make us more refined and better at what we do.

Our city’s brand new velodrome, the Derby Arena, opened earlier this year. What impact do you think it will have on cycling as a sport?I think like any sport, you can’t get away from the

fact that you need great facilities. Having seen the velodromes in Manchester, Newport and Glasgow, I’m sure the impact of Derby Arena on the community will be terrific. But what we do need is a vibrant and welcoming coaching club environment to make it easy for people to get into track cycling. The opportunity that presents is huge, especially for schools and the younger age group.

How can we make our cities safer places for cyclists?Most cyclists drive and lots of drivers cycle, so there’s a mutual respect that could occur to make things safer without anything being spent on infrastructure. I was recently at a race in Maastricht and the system there is just perfect, it just felt safe. The road layouts were well-designed and cyclists and cars were aware of each other.

What makes a winner? Is it all about inspiration or hard work?You have to have a talent, obviously, and then hunger. They’re the two things, really. You have to have this desire and hunger which allows you to work for a long time in a very arduous fashion and hard work will then reap the reward. I think that’s the difference with people who become champions – they’ve got what it takes and they understand how much they need to put in. There’s no going away from the fact that hard work is absolutely essential.

What’s been the most memorable experience in your career so far?Well, I’ve had a few to be honest! I’ve been very lucky. But I think the one moment that stood out for me was the night of the opening ceremony at the London 2012 Olympic Games. I was there with Bradley [Wiggins] and he walked out and rang the big bell to start it all off. For a British rider, wearing the yellow jersey of the Tour de France, to be chosen to do that in front of billions of spectators…it was like that moment captured so many different aspects and that’s probably one of the most memorable really.

www.teamsky.com

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The University has partnered the Malaysian government to provide academic representation for every officer in the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP).

The first graduation ceremonies took place in March at the RMP College in Kuala Lumpur. 1,067 constables received their diplomas in policing from Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, Derbyshire High Sheriff, David Coleman, and Professor John Coyne.

The partnership will see 113,000 police officers gain an accredited qualification alongside their official police rank.

Derby is also offering a BSc (Hons) Police Science for sergeants and a Postgraduate Certificate in Police Leadership for those at inspector level and above. The training will be delivered by police trainers in Malaysia and overseen by lecturers at Derby. Law, suspects’ rights and leadership are just a few areas which officers will receive training in.

Kevin Bampton, Head of the Department of Law and Criminology, said: “We believe it’s the first time a UK university has done something of this nature. It is an enormous task, training tens of thousands of officers per year, but the Malaysians are committed to embedding the highest professional standards and we are here to support them.”

University holds first graduation ceremonies for Royal Malaysian Police Officers

Highlights

Forensic Science students

Team Derby Motorsport

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News Round-up• In January the College of Life and

Natural Sciences officially opened its first Forensic Training Facility (FTF). Professor John Coyne, Chief Constable of Derbyshire Constabulary, Mick Creedon, and the High Sheriff of Derbyshire, David Coleman, declared the £410,000 custom-built facility open to Forensic Science students. The house has seven replica crime scenes hidden inside its walls, along with a blood pattern analysis room.

• A new research study co-authored by psychology lecturer Dr Zaheer Hussain has revealed the psychological characteristics of smartphone usage. The study Smartphone Use, Addiction, Narcissism and Personality: A Mixed Methods Investigation was published in the International Journal of Cyber Behaviour, Psychology and Learning.

• In March nursing students held the East Midlands regional NHS Change Day conference to raise awareness of dementia. 170 people, including dementia champions and campaigners, NHS staff and citizens, attended the conference at Kedleston Road. Speakers included; NHS nurse and Change Day volunteer, Joan Pons Laplana, dementia carer and campaigner, Tommy Whitelaw, and clinical nurse specialist and nationally renowned speaker, Andy Tysoe.

• Engineering students will race against 135 teams from 28 countries in the biggest student motorsport competition at Silverstone this July. The Formula

Student 2015 will take place from July 8-12. Run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the competition challenges students to design, build and race a single seat racing car in one year. Ross Brawn, Former Team Principal of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 will return as patron. Ambassadors include Paddy Lowe, Executive Director AMG Petronas F1, Willem Toet, Head of Aerodynamics Sauber F1, former Formula 1 driver David Brabham, and BBC science presenter Dallas Campbell.

• Three Hospitality Management students won a debating contest at the Institute of Hospitality’s annual Passion4Hospitality conference in March. Derby competed against the Hague Hotel School where each team had to prepare a case for and against a motion. The students argued that social media was not a force for good in the hospitality industry.

• Culinary Arts lecturer Rob Stordy received first prize at the Salon Culinaire competition with his margarine sculpture of Bo-Peep. The competition was run by The University’s Caterers’ Organisation at Blackpool with staff from universities across the UK invited to enter.

• Tristram Hooley, Head of the International Centre for Guidance Studies, and Visiting Professor, David Andrews, have published a report for Teach First. Teachers and Careers explores the role of school teachers in supporting young peoples’ career development and helping them to make successful transitions.

RMP graduation ceremony

Nursing students at the NHS Change Day

Official opening of the FTF

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STUDENT SUCCESS

University of Derby BA (Hons) Fashion Studies student Nicole Wells has recently been awarded ‘Young Designer’ at the 2015 St Andrews Young

Designer Awards (YDA).

Nicole’s concept for the submission was based around integrated technology; how the immersion of our everyday life into technology shapes our environment as quickly as we shape it. The collection was deliberately asymmetric and oversized to incorporate not only different forms of technology but the industrial material that she was able to source for the garments from a local recycling company.

Nicole said: “The process of developing my concept to finished product in only ten weeks gave me a real taste of how production house deadlines operate.

“As hard as the judging was it was definitely worth all the work when I attended the St Andrews Charity Fashion Show. Not only was I able to speak to current

designers but I sat in the corporate area and could view my whole collection as it was showcased on the catwalk.

“Developing my collection for this award has been a real culmination of all the experiences and skills I’ve gained on my course so far, including my year’s placement.”

This is the first time Nicole has developed a menswear collection and she hopes to move further into this area in the future.

University of Derby students have a great track record at the YDA having won the award over two consecutive years, with Joshua Swinnerton winning in 2014 as well as student Courtney Blades being shortlisted in 2013.

The St Andrews YDA are organised by the St Andrews Charity Fashion Show which for 24 years has been a force for philanthropy in Scotland, giving over £380,000 to a variety of worthwhile charities and causes across the UK.

www.standrewsfashion.co.uk

Fashion student wins prestigious Young Designer Award

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Online learner balances studying whilst tackling Ebola in Sierra Leone

University of Derby Online Learning (UDOL) student Duane Stapleton has been working as an Environmental Health Technician, trying to help eliminate Ebola in

Sierra Leone.

Duane is currently studying an MSc in Environmental Health and has recently returned to Portsmouth from Sierra Leone, where he set up a separate laboratory as part of a medical treatment unit to treat both military and non-governmental organisation (NGO) entitled personnel.

Since the outbreak of Ebola in March 2014 the disease has killed almost 11,000 people in six countries; Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the US and Mali. This epidemic has rapidly become the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976.

During his time in Sierra Leone, Duane provided advice

on infection control, hygiene monitoring and infectious diseases to prevent the spread of Ebola further.

“Studying online enabled me to learn whilst I was out in Sierra Leone. I value the convenience and challenge of studying without having to enter a classroom.

“My studies have made me more aware of the regulations and my responsibilities surrounding health and safety, disease surveillance and reporting. As a microbiologist, I now understand the role that the Environmental Health Officer plays in disease prevention and my role in diagnostics.”

Duane’s degree will assist him in becoming a health and safety manager as well as a Bio Safety representative in any laboratory. He added: “Experience in diagnostic microbiology and environmental health knowledge is an invaluable combination, which I hope will enable me to achieve my future goal.”

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Local Link-up The East Midlands is a fantastic part of the country and, as an integral part of the community, the University of Derby is always on the lookout for ways to support it. Here are just some of the ways we’re active in the community.

Don’t Miss The Derby Book Festival!

The first Derby Book Festival is taking place from May 31-June 7, featuring internationally acclaimed and best-selling authors, and confirming Derby’s reputation as a

festival city.

The Festival aims to bring Derby’s residents together in a love of books and inspire a new generation of readers.

The University is proud to be an official Festival partner, working alongside the city’s major arts and cultural partners, including Déda, QUAD, Marketing Derby, Derby City Council and Derby College, who are all supporting the event.

Headline authors include David Nicholls, Sarah Walters and Katie Fforde.

Rosie Marshalsay, Head of External Relations at the University, said: “The Festival is a perfect example of the city pulling together to put on a fantastic event for

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the whole community and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed working alongside our stakeholders to help make it a reality. I’d encourage anyone who loves books and reading to take a look at the programme, book tickets and come along to join in the fun.”

Professor John Coyne and former Labour MP and writer, Roy Hattersley, will be at Derby Theatre on June 7, where John will guide the audience through Roy’s remarkable career in politics during which his love of books has been a constant companion.

www.derbybookfestival.co.uk

Community Fund Makes A Difference

In October we launched our Community Fund and to date have given £5,000 to worthwhile community projects and organisations, with another £5,000 to be awarded by July.

So far the Fund has supported the Blue Box Community Group, Friends of Markeaton Park, St Alkmunds Church Youth Group, Vibez Danceworks and Derby Child Contact Centre.

Blue Box provides youth activities on the Belper Parks Estate in Amber Valley. Earlier this year a fire damaged their building so the funding allowed them to continue running their multi sports club project, whilst offering educational workshops around drug awareness for young people.

The Derby Child Contact Centre provides a safe environment for children to meet their non-resident parent, grandparents or siblings. The centre was awarded £2,200 towards the building of a new tea bar.

Jill Albiston, who volunteers at Derby Child Contact Centre, said: “There isn’t a kitchen available so the tea bar will provide drinks and snacks for the parents and children who visit the centre. It’s vital to offer a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere for our clients.”

Applications for the fourth round of funding are open from June 1-30, with organisations and individuals able to apply for up to £2,500.

For more information visit www.derby.ac.uk/communityfund or email [email protected]

New Education Centre at Chatsworth

When Chatsworth House, home to the University’s Chancellor, the Duke of Devonshire, officially re-opened in March, visitors had the chance to view

the renovations to the north wing of the house and the new outdoor ‘Stickyard’ education centre.

The ‘Stickyard’ includes several buildings and a large open space and was originally built in 1880 as a cartshed. Having been used as storage space in recent years it has undergone a complete restoration and conversion into an education centre for school groups, families and people of all ages using a £170,000 donation from the Derbyshire Charity Clay Shoot.

Family Fun Day A Big Success

Despite the unsettled weather this year’s Family Fun Day was a huge success with hundreds of visitors turning up to try out a range of exciting activities and taster

sessions. Willing guests had the chance to try their hands at different sports including archery, cricket and netball, tackle a 70ft inflatable assault course, and put their creative skills to the test, building their own rockets and model cars to race on our giant track.

Children were paid a visit from DCFC’s Rammie and had the chance to meet some furry friends including meerkats and exotic birds.

The Family Fun Day is an annual event and a highlight of the University events calendar. It’s free and open to all ages. Plans are already underway for next year!

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National Badminton League(Left to right) Deputy Chief Executive and Finance Director Hari Punchihewa, Chairman of the Governing Council Chris Hughes and Vice-Chancellor Professor John Coyne watch Team Derby beat MK Badminton 5-0 in the NBL at Derby Arena.

Graduation at Derby ArenaOver 18,000 people attended the graduation ceremonies at Derby Arena in January. The new venue allowed the University to accommodate more family and friends of graduates than ever before.

Sports Centre Nears CompletionWork is well underway at the University’s new £10.8m Sports Centre, due to open in the summer. Facilities on offer will include a 70-station gym, squash courts, climbing walls and a café

Star Studded WeddingHollyoaks actor Kieron Richardson married boyfriend Carl Hyland at the University’s stunning Devonshire Dome in Buxton.

Sam RushDCFC’s Sam Rush talks about the club and how he became ‘Football CEO of the Year’ at a Derby Business School

event.

General Election HustingsEdwina Currie (right) attends a hustings organised by the University of Derby in Buxton. Candidates from High Peak and Derby North took part in two hustings events at the University in April.

Snap shots from the University and beyond…

National Badminton League

Graduation at Derby Arena

Sports Centre Nears Completion

Star Studded Wedding

Sam Rush

General Election Hustings

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CONCERTThe Darley Park ConcertDarley Park 6 September 2015

The UK’s biggest free outdoor classical concert. Join the 30,000-strong crowd in the stunning natural amphitheatre that is Darley Park.www.derbylive.co.uk

TALKSimon Yates – My Mountain LifeGuildhall Theatre 4 June 2015

On a remote mountain in Peru in June 1985, mountaineer Simon Yates found himself in an unenviable position. He was slowly being pulled off the mountain face by his injured partner – Joe Simpson - dangling on the rope far below.www.derbylive.co.uk

EVENTDerby Book FestivalVarious venues across Derby31 May – 7 June 2015

From author talks to writing workshops, theatre performances and a children’s book trail, the first ever Derby Book Festival is packed full of events and activities for all ages. Featuring special guests including Michael Morpurgo, Katie Fforde and James Naughtie. www.derbybookfestival.co.uk

The Jenson Button Trust TriathlonMarkeaton Park12 July 2015

Competitors will get the chance to race against the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button and a number of amateur and professional triathletes.www.jensonbuttontri.com

COMEDYJimmy CarrDerby Arena 10 July 2015

Award-winning comedian Jimmy Carr brings his latest tour to Derby’s brand new arena.www.derbyarena.uk.com

THEATREBrassed offDerby Theatre 18 September – 10 October 2015

Adapted by Paul Allen, based on the screenplay by Mark Herman from the smash-hit film.www.derbytheatre.co.uk

Romeo & JulietDerby Theatre16 June – 20 June 2015

Tobacco Factory Theatres presents the classic Shakespeare play, Romeo & Juliet.www.derbytheatre.co.uk

FESTIVALY Not FestivalPikehall, Derbyshire 31 July – 2 August 2015

Three days of quality music, food and drink, performing arts, comedy, workshops and good times in a stunning Peak District setting. Headliners include Snoop Dogg, Basement Jaxx and Primal Scream.www.ynotfestivals.co.uk

Dirty Dancing Summer Nights Film FestivalKedleston Hall 24 July 2015

Summer Nights is a festival of outdoor film screenings in beautiful heritage locations throughout the summer.www.summernightsfilm.co.uk

Melbourne FestivalMelbourne, DerbyshireSeptember 2015

Now in its ninth year, the Melbourne Festival showcases creative and performing arts in South Derbyshire. www.melbournefestival.co.uk

Save the date

Paapa Essiedu as Romeo and Daisy Whalley as Juliet

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Last Word

There’s a common belief

that as a Vice-Chancellor you get to have the last word. In reality it’s less often than presumed, but on this occasion it looks like I really do!

For me to have the concluding comments in a magazine

that is full of aspects that are so emblematic of our university and illustrate my time here is wonderful. It was the first week in December 2003 when I received the telephone call from the then Chair of Governing Council, Dianne Jeffrey, offering me the post. I accepted without hesitation and it will soon be twelve years since that moment – where did that time go?

We have made significant progress as a University over the intervening period. We are more confident, have greater breadth and depth of academic endeavour with a growing reputation, sound finances and a bright future. My successor, Kathryn Mitchell, will have the good fortune to come and work in a great city with some first class colleagues and in an institution with wind in its sails.

We have had a very clear vision throughout that period

– indeed I recently had occasion to revisit my plans and aspirations from the first public presentation I made on arrival. Two aspects stood out from the very beginning – “a values-led university of choice” and “a university aligned with its geography”. I believe that these two aspects today are the essential and distinctive characteristics of our university – or as our city speaks of itself - “it’s in our DNA.”

The progress we have made has not been by accident, nor has it been entirely down to me. We’ve done well because we have always had great people who believe in what they do, believe in our mission and have worked really hard (and smart) to bring it about. We’ve also been in the fortunate position where so many of our friends, neighbours, stakeholders, political leaders, business leaders and importantly, our students, have been ambassadors for what we do and have supported us wholeheartedly. Our work could not have been embraced more fully by the communities that it serves.

So my final words are to those who have made my time here so enjoyable, rewarding and professionally fulfilling, those that have helped me do serious business with a smile on my face, and those who have given me so many reasons to be proud to play my part in the University of Derby story.

Thank you.

Professor John Coyne, Vice-Chancellor

A new £10.8m Sports Centre

£18minvested in facilities in 2014

28,964 3,000Total student population

1,700international students

Employer to over

people

We support 2,100 additional jobs in the

region and beyond

wealth created through direct and indirect employment £127.2mcontributed to the

economy each year £264m

88.13% of our waste was recycled last year

11.4% of our waste turned into energy

Energy consumption 20.38% lower than last year

(HESA, 2014)

(HESA, 2014)

University success

Economic impact

Environment

IMPACT

www.derby.ac.uk

The University of Derby Magazine (issue 2)

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Transcript of The University of Derby Magazine (issue 2)