For this year’s & potential Brunelers: Brunel University shortlisted for University of the Year 2012

(Source: Intra Brunel https://moss.brunel.ac.uk/sites/news/lists/news/Dispnews.aspx?ID=2062)

Or you can check out at Times Higher Education website: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=421042

Brunel University shortlisted for University of the Year 2012

 

Brunel University has been shortlisted for the prestigious University of the Year award at the Times Higher Education Awards 2012.

 

Shortlisted in three categories overall, Brunel will also be fighting it out for Best Business School and Outstanding Student Support when the winners are announced at an awards dinner in London on 29 November.

 

Professor Chris Jenks, Vice-Chancellor at Brunel University said: “To be nominated for three categories at the Times Higher Education awards this year is great testament to the hard work done across the institution in recent years. We have a clear vision to become a research-intensive university and have those benefits cascade down to influence teaching, employability and student experience and it is great to now see it all coming together with the university performing better than ever.”

 

University of the Year

 

Brunel’s shortlisting for University of the Year comes on the back of strong improvement in the annual university league tables in which it was the most improved institution in the UK.

The University’s long-term strategy is to become a research-intensive institution providing its diverse student population with a unique mix of research-based teaching and practical work experience. As part of this strategy the University has funded 40 new academic posts attracting world leading researchers alongside household names including Will Self and Benjamin Zephaniah.

 

Recent research highlights have included the Institute for the Environment being awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2012 for revealing the link between chemicals in rivers and reproductive health and the Brunel Innovation Centre attracting research funding for 15 projects worth a combined total of €6.5 million.

 

In terms of student experience in 2011 Brunel climbed 78 places in the National Student Survey, achieved through dedicated effort and targeted initiatives working jointly with students and their student union to enhance the Brunel education.

 

Best Business School

 

Brunel Business School (BBS) has also been singled out for a nomination following a significant change in direction in 2006. Professor Zahir Irani, Head of Brunel Business School explains, “The School set out a coherent long-term strategy to create a ‘balanced economy’ of teaching and research, transforming itself into a research-intensive, global competitor.”

 

The focus for the School has been on quality with the proportion of AAB entrants now at an all time high. Improving student employability has also been a core focus with the development of ‘Business Life’, a distinguishing employability programme both parallel to and embedded in the curriculum of all course modules providing students with the core employability skills and experience that employers are looking for.

 

The MBA programme has grown from 32 part-time students in 2006 to 51 full- and part-time students today. BBS also now has one of the largest UK business school doctoral programmes with 170 PhD students, up from just 11 in 2006.

 

These developments have been recognised in international business school league tables with the Guardian’s latest ranking for Business and Management seeing the School jump 52 places to 45th in the world. In 2011 the Financial Times ranked BBS 56th for the MSc in Management, overtaking Durham, Lancaster and Manchester.

Outstanding Student Support

 

The shortlisting for this award is recognition of the services and support provided to students by Brunel University Library. In 2009 the Library created a new Academic Skills Service (ASK) to work in partnership with subject librarians to deliver a holistic approach to student study support.

 

In 2009/2010 a purpose built space was developed for this new service offering open, flexible drop-in and resource areas, teaching space and private consultation space. Students are supported through a mix of drop-in sessions, 1:1 appointments, email advice and a central timetable of workshops and skills courses together with workshops delivered in schools through the curriculum.

 

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Campbell explains: “The Library has been instrumental in providing relevant information for students ‘when they want it, where they want it’. They have put in place initiatives to assist students before they get to university allowing them to transition into Brunel in a more effective way than previously was the case. Once at university the Library are aware that students start with differing levels of preparedness and individual skills. ASK is a Library service that has gone from strength to strength, providing individual and group support to students in study skills development, engaging students at all levels.”

 

Published on Thu 6 Sep 2012

Moving out into new room – Tips for finding rooms

If you are going to study Master at Brunel this year, by this time next year you’ll be moving out of campus like me (if you stay on campus).

Phew, I finished moving at last on Sat morning and I’m in my new room now. It was sad to say goodbye to my room on campus as I was with it for nearly 1 year. One of my flatmate texted me yesterday saying that he missed his room on campus just a few hours after moving out…

Here is my new room. Not as big as the old one, but I’ll try to manage and get familiar with it from now:

My new room is small compared to my room on campus. Anyway, it is my new home now.

My room – another angle

All in all, the room is good and the price is reasonable.  It’s just because of me who isn’t get used to it yet. Guess I’ll miss my current room if I am to move back to Vietnam later. But just hope I can find a job here and stay in this room, continue my travelling, and experience new things. What makes me want to stay here is that I feel there are still a lot of things I can learn here. Feel like my learning won’t finish with the MA course: culture and life is for life-learning, I guess. Though no one can say he/she learns enough from life, it still worths trying to learn new things day by day.

Tips for next year students or someone who is looking for house/room now. The area near Hillingdon Hospital has lots of good room if you are able to sign the 6-month or 1-year-contract. Near Uxbridge, there are lots of house for students as well. I mention these 2 areas because it’s near to Brunel. So don’t panic if you haven’t found a place to stay yet. The price will be ranging from 340-450pounds for a single room per month. There still lower price room for those on tight budget, around 65-80 pounds per week. But it depends on the quality and how much you want from your room. Just have a look at  http://www.gumtree.com/ or http://www.spareroom.co.uk/ and start your search right now. Good luck for the house-finding race. Because the sooner you start, the luckier you are to find a good room at reasonable price available.

For those who aim to stay on campus, here is my old room (en-suite in Isambard Complex):

Campus accommodation

I like it, bright, spacious and convenient. It’s near university and the library so you can stay all night at the library and go back to your room when you finish your assignment and don’t have to worry about the last bus/train. Or you can contact The Brunel housing office as they have contact list of landlord nearby the university and you can start from there.

One of my undergrad friend is now staying at a shared house just opposite the Pond. It’s sooooo convenient to stay there if you need the library frequently. Well, yes, I’m jealous with him right now 😀

Need to get back to work. Good luck to your new term and your room-searching!!!

See you in the next entry!

Edinburgh, a weekend getaway from London

Musical promotion on High Street

Hi all,

Here I am again, back from Edinburgh a week ago. Allow me to begin this post with the picture above. I went to Edinburgh during the Art & Music festival, so this picture was a frequent scene on High Street. The guys & girls above attracted people’s attention and invited them to their performance would either happen later that afternoon or at night. Here are some notable pictures about muscials here:

Musical on High Street – 2

Musical – 3

We were welcome to Edinburgh with nice weather: sunshine & blue sky. Ideal for walking around the city center and enjoy the Festival 🙂

Nice weather @ Edinburgh – 1st day

Another catch on High Street. Can you guess what they are???

Guess who he is

You can easily recognise Mario, Tatty Bear, A monkey climbing coconut tree, An octopus and the little Mermaid. Then you’ll wonder who’s behind these childhood characters? There he is!!!

And this is the “creator” 🙂

The guy was good at posing himself and his happiness in front of his customers 🙂 I can tell you, every little girl who was there all wanted to have a little mermaid. For me? I want the octopus & the monkey on the coconut tree!!! And just realize, I was the oldest customer there, haha.

Next, we kept walking, crossed a bridge and the Edinburgh castle appeared from afar…

Edinburgh castle from afar

Guess how this picture was taken??? On the bus, through the window, hehe. For those who want to travel to Edinburgh, the transportation fee in Edinburgh is really cheap, compared to London. It only cost me 3.5 pounds for a bus day ticket.

Edinburgh castle from afar – 2 (actually from the bus window)

I walked to some other places, like the Whiskey experience, a kilt company, etc.. But I was engrossed in whiskey tasting and looking at the kilt, tartar, cashmere and lamb wool scarves, etc. that I forgot to take the pictures 😀

After the feast for the eyes, comes the real feast for the hungry stomachs. We came across this small restaurant on Trip advisor website and it was really good. The decoration of the restaurant somehow made me feel like I was having dinner in a Greek restaurant, not in Edinburgh. It was worth trying with seafood & nice weather outdoor.

Dinner! Dinner! Dinner!!!

Mussel hot pot

California haggis

Oysters

It’s dinner time!

The 2nd mussel hot pot

John Knox House & Storytelling Center

After dinner, we walked around the city. If you like architecture, you may want to visit the John Knox House & Scottish Storytelling Center, where the old and new are connected and attached to each other harmoniously. John Knox House was the home of James Mossman, goldsmith to Mary Queen of Scots. Come and see the story of the heritage yourself! And it’s free!

On our way, we also caught the fireworks of the Military Tatoo. It was a pity that we couldn’t get the tickets because they were sold out until 15 August. Unbelievable! Anyway, they said that one of the performance will be broadcast on BBC. Just wait for that.

Fireworks during the Military Tatoo performance

The next day started also on High Street. However, I decided to try something else: Henna.

Henna on High Street

Henna done!

Back a bit to London, on Saturday, I went to Southall and it was crowded because people went shopping to prepare for Eid Mubarack! Can you believe it? Girls and women were sitting and getting their Henna done or waiting for their turns. And the patterns were so nice and delicate!!! Again, I forgot about the camera 😀 I bought some Indian sweets & Rasomalai home from Ambala store to eat as well. hehe. Athough I’m not Muslim, I also enjoy Eid Mubarack 🙂

Back to the Edinburgh trip, this time I was lucky to have a photo of the Edinburgh castle on  my background 🙂

Me & Edinburgh castle

Few minutes break in M&S for food – this is what Henna would look like after it dried

After the break, we started walking around the city again. On my way, a little angel chasing a seagull came into my view in the park:

A little angel chasing a seagull

The close-up of the liltte angel

How cute she is, the little angel!

We ended our trip with the dinner in Saigon Saigon restaurant. It was dinner time but they still served dimsum. The dimsum was yummy and the price was reasonable as well. If you like dimsum in a limited budget, you can give it a try here.

Dinner again @ Saigon Saigon Restaurant

Mixed veg stir fry

Roasted duck & pork

After that, we waited to board the coach to go back to London.

Well, that’s all for my Edinburgh trip. If you travel to Scotland, don’t forget to try Haggis, the Scottish tradintional food, and get a chance to try Kilt & Tartar, the Highland traditional dress. Still, I save the Scottish Highland and Loch Ness for my future visit to Scotland 🙂

Getting back to dissertation

For normal people, they have life cycle. Working people have worklife cycle. And students have their own student-life cycle. And this time, me and my Brunel fellows are at their dissertation struggling point. Yes, we’ve struggled to choose topic, to narrow it down, to formulate research questions, get ethical clearance, collecting data and analyse it, blah blah blah. But don’t worry! The truth is without struggling, it wouldn’t be called dissertation.

Here are the top 10 tips I got from ASK and want to share with you.

And here is where it sits on my task board:

My messy board

One of the tip is to keep writing a habit. And I’m trying to keep my blog a bit more often, but writing for dissertation should be a habit. When you have writing block, try to write something, even if it’s free writing. Here is what I prepare for my day working in the library. One may wonder if I am going to the library or to a picnic 😀

An, where are you going? To the library or to a picnic?

 

The top tip for writing dissertation is to find your motivation to keep going. People want to relate it to where they want to be in their career. But I need a smaller but more visible motivation. I’ve arranged a trip to Edinburgh next weekend. So that’s the motivation to finish this week’s schedule and waiting to enjoy next weekend in Edinburgh.

Well, let’s get back to work and see you later with update from the Edinburgh trip!

A week of Graduation, Olympic and Lavender

Last week was a busy week. I got my part-time job as Refreshment Marquee Steward during the Graduation week. Here are some pictures of the Marquee.

Graduation

Around this time next year, I hope that I can wear that gown like them. Ooops, mine will be different because the blue with red and yellow gown is for doctorate. I forgot to take some photo of the master gown. But the gown below is for the first degree (undergraduate) and can you guess who is standing beside this graduate?

Guess who in the picture?

The answer is our president of Brunel Student Union. After the Korean team on campus, he is ranked the second hottest sought-after by graduates 🙂

Refreshment Marquee 2 – during off-peak

The picture above and below are the Refreshment Marquee. I can only take photos during off-peak because I try to take some minutes break after or before the peak time. The Marquee was crowed with people and I had to direct people to avoid blocking and ensure circulation in and outside the Marquee. Below is the Brunel Student Union Merchandise Corner where you can buy Graduation rings, charms, and Brunel Souvenir from T-shirt, tie, bears, mug, etc. with Brunel logos on them.

Refreshment Marquee – Brunel Union Student Merchandise Corner

Last tuesday, on 24 July, the Olympic torch relay came to Brunel campus. The campus was busy with people came here to witness and welcome the Olympic torch. I recorded the video clip but only post some photos before the Olympic came. You can see more photos of the Olympic torch on Brunel campus or on our Brunel Official Facebook because my view wasn’t as good as the Brunel cameraman 😀

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150971059117106.418040.179337072105&type=1

Olympic torch relay 2012 @ Brunel

At the weekends, I went to Mayfield Lavender Farm before getting back to my dissertation. The Lavender Farm was lovely and the Lavender Fairy Cake was yummy. You can sense the Lavender fragance in your mouth and it’s nice!!!

Lavender Fairy Cake

And here are some pictures of the gift shop and the farm:

Lavender Gift shop

Mayfield Lavender Farm in full bloom

And here are some pictures of me:

Gift shop – you can find Lavender oil, candle, cream and many more stuff from Lavender here

Gift shop from another corner

A moment of joy @ Lavender Farm

Me & Lavender

See you all on my next trip! 🙂

London, here I’m back again!!!

I was back in London last weekend and was welcome by the rain. 🙂 Well, since it’s London, I guess it is authentically London weather.

A quick personal update. I’ve gained around 2-3 kg within 9 months in the UK and 1 kg during only 6 weeks at home (that’s what I mean “home sweet home”). So, since I’m in London and everyone in high Olympic spirits, the first thing I’ve planned to do when I’m back here is to do more exercise in the morning and try to keep my swimming schedule once or twice a week.

This morning, it rains and now keep raining. Immediately, my exercise plan has been challenged by the UK weather. Still, I decided to stick to my plan: go out and jogging around campus in the rain. And guess what I’ve found around campus???

It’s mushrooms at the foot of the tree!!! But I don’t know what kind of mushroom it is. It’s summer and it would be lovely to do mushrooming!!!

Mushroom on campus

On my way, I stopped at the Arts Center to pick up my oil burner from the Pottery Class. It’s not that pretty as those in the shop, but still it’s my very first oil burner this summer.

My oil burner

Campus is a bit quiet. One of my flatmate moved out before I came back and I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her. So I went to her Facebook to say goodbye to her. 2 of my flatmates are back to Greece for holiday and won’t come back until end of September. It’s a bit quiet in terms of social life, but it’ll be good to write dissertation. 🙂

Another thing I miss is the fresh Fruit Faire (“faire” is an old world for “fair”). During term time, every Tuesday morning, from 9am – around 5pm, there are people coming to our campus, selling fresh fruit, meat, egg, fish, sweets, bread, etc. Last Mothers’ Day, I was able to buy hand-made fruit soaps as well. It’s summer now, and the campus is quiet, there’s no fruit fair. So you have to wait until October for another Fruit Faire on campus. In spring and sunny days, the fair will be outdoor; in cold and rainny day, it’ll be in the Academy. Here are some photos I’ve got on my phone about the fair:

Every Tuesday morning, there will be signs along the way around campus to lead you to the fair.

“Fresh fruit & food for sale” Sign

Fruit Faire in the Academy

Normally, it’s not this few people in the fair. I haven’t managed to get here early in the morning, I was either having classes in the mornings or group meetings. Only drop by it after class or when I finish my study. So that’s why it’s this quiet. Just to let you know that the earlier you got there, the fresher and more variable food you can buy. They say the fair is from 9am until 5pm. Unfortunately, the vegetable and meat are normally sold out around 2-3pm. So better be hurry before that time!!!

Butchers’ in a fair

From this fair, I realize how much international Brunel would be since they cater to Asian, Mediterranean and African tastes. You can take a look at the vegetables and there are Pak Choi, Enoki, Chinese leaves, bean sprouts, etc. These are typical of Asian ingredients for cooking. The vegetable price in the fair is a bit higher (around 20p – 30p) than that in Tesco but I’m guarantee the quality is better and fresher than that in Tesco. Another point, it’s much convenient because it saves you a trip to Tesco/Sainbury’s in Uxbridge, especially during assignment deadline peak-time.

Mushrooms

Mediterranean food stall

Nigerian food stall

Tired of meat? You love fish? Every two weeks, the seafood stall will be there for you to spice up your menu: fish, crab, mussel, oyster, prawn, sometime even lobster will be offered for sale. Don’t know how to clean or do the fish? Don’t worry, the fishmonger is happy to clean, cut, scale, or fillet accordingly to your request, even with the crab, mussel, oyster as well.

Seafood for sale

Fish stall during the fair

Well, that’s all for this time. I’d better get back to my dissertation now. 🙂 Happy Summer!!!

What have I done in June?

Well, first of all, home sweet home…. as always.

I have done a lot during this month at home. Most of all, I am pleased because I got ethical clearance finally. It did take a little while to clear unfortunately. But if you’re going to be Brunel students next year, be warned that the Research Ethics Committee will look at it in every detail, so be prepared!!! After having ethical clearance, I’ve met lots of people discussing about my dissertation and have interviewed 8 of them so far. So, I nearly finish the data collection for my dissertation.

Well, besides dissertation, I also have other social activities, of course 😀 . At the beginning of June, I went to my friend’s birthday. He was very ill and didn’t go out much and couldn’t continue his study. But we saw big progress on his birthday. He looked better, livelier, healthier, and was open to talk with us. He’s taken to doing Yoga recently. This birthday marked a new beginning for him. I hope from this time it will be much better for him and his family because he’s the only son in his family. And the only son means everything to an Asian family.

My friend’s birthday

At the weekends, I go to my grandparent’s home. Besides my grandparents, relatives, the one who is the centre of attention is my little naughty nephew. And here he is: innocent by appearance and talkative by nature.

My little naughty nephew

End of this month, 30 June, another important event was my friend’s engagement. She was very happy and beautiful. Bounded by the Asian traditions, the bride and the groom were very shy. After the ceremony, we took pictures of them and didn’t forget to shout: “Act natural, you’re a couple now!!! Act like a couple!!! Kiss, kiss kisssss!!!” At last, they kissed to satisfy all the amateur photographers surrounding them:

Kissing …. in progress

The bride & groom

Time flies, especially time at home flies quicker. I’m going back to the UK in one week to write up my dissertation. For my friends in the UK, guys and girls, I’m gonna catch up with you in another one or two weeks!!!

Home for dissertation & Brighton :)

I’m home! I’m home! I’m home!!! Not for holiday, but for my dissertation!!!

Though, it can still be a holiday if you want to. It’s time to catch up with friends at home and use your network to help find participants. 😀

To me, one of the interesting part of a research is to choose which gift to give research participants. Because in the ethics form, you will have to justify whether you will pay your participants or not, and how much you will pay them. To me, I don’t receive any funding for my research, so I can’t afford to pay them but only to give my participants some small gifts from the UK. My luggage was already full of gifts and stuff, so I had to think of something which was typical of the UK as well as cheap and meaningful for my research participants. Also, this must not available in Vietnam as well.

So this is what I’ve come up with: Twinings tea with different flavours. I also love it as I often have them either in the afternoon or at night when I have to stay up late to do my assignments. And I wrap them up nicely before giving to my research participants as a thank to them!!! Aren’t my gifts cute???

Gifts for research participants 🙂

Now, the gifts are ready. I contacted and talked to some people about my research already but still have to wait for my ethics form to be approved. Please, please the Committe, please approve my ethics form as soon as possible because my research is low risk!!!

If you’re going to study at Brunel next year, make sure you prepare the ethics form in advance and be patient as to get it approved is supposed to be a process (someone last year told me this). Don’t think that they will approve right away when you submit your form.

Although it takes time, it is good to do research ethically!!!

Back a bit to end of May, Brighton was my destination before home 🙂 In the UK, you can sometimes take a break from your study and organize a day trip like this. First, you need to decide where you want to go first like Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, St. Alban (if you want to see an old Roman village). Second, you need to find how to get there. You can always get cheap tickets if you book online in advance. For my trip to Brighton, it only cost me 12 pounds for a 2-way ticket. And then, read and find out what you want to discover there, what you should eat, should do when you’re there.

Here are some pictures of the day trip. First of all, welcome to Brighton:

Welcome to Brighton

Brighton rail station – I like the running roof of the station. It looks like a spinal column of a big dinosaur 🙂

In Brighton, of course, you need to go to the beach:

The beach on a sunny day 🙂

A look from Brighton pier

Need to go to Brighton pier and look down to the vast sea and I caught this scene: the dog was unsuccessful to catch its owners’ attention because they were busy fishing 🙂

Fish and chips, sea food mix are among those thing can’t be missed. Sorry, I was busy eating and forgot to take pictures of the food. They were so yummy. 😀

On the way, you should drop by the Fishing museum as well. It is a very small museum, but you got to go there to grasp the feeling of the place where a boat driving license is also on display… But don’t expect it to be a very big and modern museum. It’s just a simple, peaceful and tranquility museum like the life of the people here… And the Fishing Quarter is the place where you can buy seafood 🙂

Another must-see place is the Royal Garden:

The Royal Garden & the influx of tourists 🙂

The Royal Pavillon

I did drop by a 200-year pub to have half pint of cider but didn’t have time to visit the Toy Museum as planned. So gotta come back and visit it next time!!!

FACE (Festival of Awareness and Creative Expression) Week @ Brunel Campus

 

 

Ice cream for a summer day Day 3 – Waiting for live music

Before the live music – finding the best seat….

 

What is ‘hot’ among Brunelers at the moment?

Well, as you already knew, greetings and talking about the weather and sports might be the most popular topics among Brits when meeting each others. How about among Brunelers (my term for Brunel students) at the moment? Can you guess and do you want to make a guess? You have 5 seconds to try:

1

2

3

4

5

Time’s up!!!

Well, I won’t keep you any longer for the answer, it is….

– Greetings

– Updates about ourselves: actually it would be the status of the ethics forms, research proposals and how far you’ve reached in your planned research

– Discussion on the difficulties you’ve encountered with your research/ ethics form

 Well, I don’t want to generalise this for all courses, but it is true to me and would be applicable to post-grade students who belong to Humanities, Social Sciences, Business courses or any research which may involve working with people, asking people’s opinion, etc. Because it is required that you should have your ethics form approved by the Research Ethics Committee before conducting your research with people. So if you know it in advance and you have your research idea in advance, you would be an advantage to think and plan ahead… Believe me, designing the research and getting approval for your ethics form may consume more time than you’ve thought!!!! So, think about your research idea when you still have time because time is not on your side. My time here in Brunel just flies…

In other terms, dissertation can be an interesting experience as well beacause it is time when you go out in search of the answers for the questions/problems you’re interested to find out. So you do have choices to approach and begin your dissertation….

For me, I am not lucky with my topic. I have the idea, but it has been so difficult to get the permission of one organisation to do research, if you don’t volunteer or worked for them before. You may think of different strategies to approach them and reflect this in your methodology. However, this is only the case when you are successful in getting their permission. Or else, in my situation, I have to change the method to recruit participants for my study and change my research questions accordingly. Yet, still waiting for the Committe’s feedback….

I hope I don’t scare and make you feel stressed about the dissertation. Actually, it should be right if you’re stressed during your dissertation period because it is your “child” after all and you’ll have to invest your time and efforts for it. It should reflect what you’ve learned and gained during your time here and most important it would make you proud of yourself when you add the 2 letters (MA) after your name. Even if you’ve tried , failed, even changed the topic like me, you would then realise how much you could learn from it…