Review of the Year: 2016 at the University of Winchester

 

 

We announced we were working in partnership with Winchester City Council to explore possible options for the development of a new sports and leisure centre at Bar End in Winchester, a significant project for the health and wellbeing of the community and the future prosperity of the city. 

 

We coordinated the Pride Parade for the second Hampshire Pride event, with members and supporters of the LGBT community leaving the King Alfred campus to wind their way through the city in celebration on Sunday 27 February. Our Centre for Gender Studies​ also hosted the Hampshire Pride Symposium covering important topics in the LGBT community. As a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a member of the Hampshire LGBT Alliance, diversity is one of our core values. 

 

Our 175th anniversary celebrations continued at Winchester Cathedral's Education Sunday Service on 7 February with people from across Hampshire. The annual service is part of national celebrations for Education Sunday and recognises the contribution of those involved in education across the Winchester Diocese. 

 

 

Winchester Business School​ was one of only three Business Schools in the UK to be invited to be a PRME Champion, for its dedication to the United Nations' backed Principles for Responsible Management Education​ (PRME) to inspire and champion responsible management education, research and thought leadership. As a PRME Champion, the Business School continues its work to develop a new generation of leaders capable of managing the complex challenges faced by businesses and society in the twenty-first century. More ...

​

We signed up to Universities in Support of Wounded, Injured and Sick Service Personnel (UNSWIS), a network of 40 UK universities helping wounded, injured and sick (WIS) military personnel, their partners and families, and Veterans make the transition to civilian careers. It does this by providing work experience, taster sessions and advisory visits within universities. 

 

 

 

We joined Winchester City Council and Winchester Round Table for a community Beacon lighting ceremony to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's 90th Birthday on Thursday 21 April. The Winchester Beacon - located on the tower of the University's West Downs Centre - was one of over 1,000 beacons lit throughout the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, UK overseas Territories and Commonwealth countries to celebrate this landmark birthday.

 

 

 

Animal welfare campaigners Heather Mills and Peter Egan launched our new interdisciplinary Centre for Animal Welfare​ (CAW) on 21 May. The ground-breaking Centre aims to positively contribute to the advancement of animal welfare - from research, education and associated animal welfare qualifications, to actively engaging in important social debates. The Centre embodies the values of compassion and social justice which are at the heart of the University.

 

 

We published a new royal history trail around Winchester in partnership with Winchester City Council. Archaeology and History​students researched the stories of royal births, deaths and visits to the city and surrounding area for the Royal Blood Trail, part of Hampshire Cultural Trust's Royal Blood campaign. The Royal Blood trail is the second partnership project we have undertaken with the Visit Winchester team following the creation of a successful Medieval Jewish Trail​ in 2015.

 

 

 

 

The 36th University of Winchester Writers' Festival welcomed multi-award winning author Meg Rosoff as keynote speaker. Meg detailed the importance of achieving resonance with readers in her keynote address titled What it means to have a voice and how to get one. Hundreds of aspiring authors attended the weekend, taking part in workshops and networking with around 65 industry professionals to gain their advice and expertise.

​

 

Findings from an MoD-funded, year-long University research project into the educational progression of military children were published this month, showing that around four out of ten military children who have the ability to progress into higher education are unlikely to do so. The challenges and opportunities for supporting the educational progression of children from military service backgrounds was explored later in June at the University's Educational Progression of Children from Military Families conference (pictured). We are continuing our work with the MoD to further their research into where service children go after school and why.

 

 

 

 

A team of archaeologists and geologists led by the University's Dr Keith Wilkinson was awarded a grant of almost £400,000 from the Leverhulme Trust​ to examine the history of early humans in Eurasia. The value of the award for the Pleistocene Archaeology, Geochronology and Environments of the Southern Caucasus (PAGES) project recognises the considerable scientific potential of the research. 

 

 

 

After some anxious waiting for students all over the country, A-level results were finally released this month. Congratulations to all those students to whom we offered a place!

September

 

 

Students at the University experience some of the lowest levels of crime in England and Wales, according to TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk​ (CUG), making Winchester one of the safest places for higher education study in the country. Campus Crime Data 2016​, compiled by CUG from official police data, placed the University third out of almost 130 universities and other higher education institutions ranked for the most common criminal offences affecting students, including burglary. 

 

 

 

We scooped two awards for excellence and were named one of the most exceptional organisations in the country at a prestigious awards ceremony in London. The British Quality Foundation (BQF) UK Excellence Award 2016​ recognises the University for excellence across all areas of its operations. We also won the BQF Sustainable Future Achievement Award for outstanding environmental or social contribution to achieving a more sustainable world. 

 

 

Over 2,000 students graduated in Winchester Cathedral in eight ceremonies presided over by Chancellor of the University Alan Titchmarsh MBE during our annual Graduation. Prominent public figures who have excelled in their respective fields - including best-selling author Bill Bryson and BBC film critic Mark Kermode - were also recognised for their achievements with Honorary Doctorates and Fellowships. 

 

 

We won a prestigious Times

 

Higher Education Award 2016​ for our pioneering work encouraging and supporting young carers to access and succeed in higher education. The Awards are widely recognised as the Oscars of the higher education sector. 

​

​

 

Plans for a new flagship University learning and teaching building on our West Downs Campus went on display to the local community whose views will feed into the planning application. The contemporary design includes social learning areas and teaching spaces, an art gallery and a 250-seat auditorium and will provide state-of-the-art facilities to improve the quality of teaching space and help to meet the changing demands of higher education. ​

 

 

 

For the second year running, the University offered hospitality in one of its campus cafés to people in need in the local community over the festive season. Run by a team of volunteers, led by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Elizabeth Stuart, the Learning Café opened on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to serve free coffee, tea and cakes.