UNIVERSITY NEWS The power of plants
A Chelsea Flower Show garden featuring University expertise won a silver gilt medal this year.
The anti-stress garden, created in collaboration with Silent Pool Gin, took inspiration from plant
technologies and the greening of inner city spaces.
Professor Tony Myatt, Head of the Department of Music and Media, designed a three-dimensional soundscape featuring audio recordings from the Surrey Hills while Professor Richard Murphy, Director of the Centre for Environment and Sustainability, used sensors to capture changing electrical signals directly from the plants to interact with the soundscape.
The garden was planted with roses (powerful antioxidants), elderflower (used for swollen sinuses), juniper (a known digestive aid), chamomile (sleep-booster) and iris (moisture- booster), many of which also feature among the 24 botanicals in Silent Pool Gin. This combined aroma had a positive impact on the five million receptor cells in the brain and their links to the limbic system – which governs emotions, behaviour and long-term memory.
Designer David Neale, of Neale Richards Garden Design, said: “We wanted to find a way of using plants to allow everyone to enjoy a sense of calm – and the University of Surrey’s soundscape and knowledge of plant technology made that possible.”
Young people hit by financial crisis
New research from Surrey’s Centre for Economic Performance shows that falling earnings as a result of the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the Great Recession has meant fewer young adults are earning more than their parents.
Comparing the standard of living today with that of the past is crucial for understanding the UK’s economic and social health. Doing financially better than your parents is an important marker of success, and, for much of the last half-century, real earnings growth was strong enough that most young people achieved this milestone.
In 2005, more than half of the UK’s 30-year-olds earned more than their fathers. By 2017 there had been a marked fall, with only about one-third achieving this.
Surrey top for student placements
The University has been ranked first in the UK and seventh in the world for the quality of its work placements for students and research partnerships with employers in the QS World Employability Rankings.
The rankings focus on successful collaborations with global companies to produce citable, transformative research and also highlight work placement partnerships.
The benefits of student placements are wide reaching, with 39 per cent of our students returning from one with a job offer, and 92 per cent feeling they are more employable as a result. Placement students also achieve better grades and on average earn 15 per cent more than those who did not take up the opportunity.
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Forever Surrey 2019
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