Working together is often more effective than working in isolation.
The University of Cumbria works collaboratively with the public, private and charitable sectors to realise its ambitions.
Growing Partnerships
A thousand years of art
The University of Cumbria is putting a thousand years of culture in the spotlight. The Faculty of the Arts is involved in a ground-breaking scheme with partners across Europe to promote the less well-known artworks of countries from the 11th century through to the 20th century.
The ‘Michelangelo’ project involves students and secondary school teachers who log key artworks over the past millennium. The information is uploaded onto a website which allows fellow teachers and students to study and make comparisons of art across the whole of Europe.
The University of Cumbria is playing a key role in the development of this programme, involving schools in Cumbria, Liverpool and Lancashire and students on the PGCE Secondary Art and Design course based on the Lancaster campus.
It is also working on the production of a manual on European art masterpieces of the last ten centuries to accompany the website.
24 The Creeps
A series of online education videos featuring the weirdest group of characters since the Addams Family has been launched on YouTube.
The brainchild of former University of Cumbria student Louise Kneath, 25, The Creeps–comprising a poltergeist, zombie, bogeyman, female vampire and a Michael Jackson-loving Frankenstein’s Monster–is a new media educational thriller. Her five 30-second films are part of a new Cumbria Higher Learning campaign to alert people to the higher education opportunities in the county.
One of the characters, the zombie, is apparently ‘dead and buried’ in a graveyard, only to find itself resurrected by the hope of a more fulfilling life after accessing education at a brand new university.
Using the internet to launch the films is entirely appropriate because in Cumbria–where difficult geography can be a real barrier to traditional education provision–online learning is set to take on an increasingly prominent role.
Louise Kneath, a multimedia designer with Cumbrian Newspapers, described the project as a “dream” brief.
“
As a former University of Cumbria student myself, it’s nice to be able to put something back into the county by supporting higher education in the area,” she said. “The videos are fun, not preachy but there’s a serious message– as well as a few jokes–in there too.”
China girl
University of Cumbria PE lecturer Alison Chapman spent seven weeks in China learning Chinese dancing and Tai Chi thanks to a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship. Based at the Lancaster campus, Alison is now passing on her new skills to trainee teachers.
“
As dance is my passion within physical education and I work in both primary and secondary education I am particularly keen on developing dance within schools and inspiring young people and teachers about the benefits of dance for a young person’s development,” she said.
After seeing Chinese dancing on television during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Alison was inspired to learn more about it. “The opening ceremony featured Chinese dancing and lots of people commented on how beautiful it was,” she said. “I thought it would be a brilliant opportunity for me to learn some basic dance moves and then pass this knowledge on to trainee teachers. They, in turn, can then use this in school with children.”
During her seven weeks in China, Alison attended the Golden Dancing Academy in Beijing, learning two different Chinese dance styles before travelling to South China where she studied Tai Chi and Qigong at the Long Tou Shan Tai Chi School under a gold medal winning Tai Chi master. She also visited the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Terracotta Army. “It was an amazing and life-changing experience and it has enriched my life,” she said.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28