A week-long celebration of the talent and diversity of our students and staff.
We’ll have live performances, interactive workshops and social events across the University including film screenings, music, dancing, craft, cookery and more.
This year’s SHU Fest line-up includes a performance by the SHSU Band, a daily cultural celebration event and a Give it a Go salsa session!
Although you may not be on campus, we will still be able to show you what is happening – we’ll be taking lots of videos and photos which we will be posting on this blog, live streaming on Facebook and WeChat, and featuring on our next newsletter so watch this space!
This week, Paul King and Oliver Cunningham – two senior lecturers from the Department of Natural & Built Environment are leading a year one architecture design project at Hunan University of Science and Technology, our educational partner in Hunan Province, China.
Students are working in groups to design a structure inspired by one of the beautiful lakes in their campus. “Learning by doing” is the ethos of architectural education at SHU, and we asked students to develop their ideas by making simple models in two minutes, five minutes, 30 minutes, then in group of six; exploring the environment – the effect of light, weather, view, activities of people by producing many different drawings.
We have seen some great work from the students, helping to create a vibrant and productive studio session at HNUST.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg visited Sheffield Hallam University on 2 February to take part in a question and answer style event as part of a student project.
Design student Jasmine Welsh set up the event, held at Sheffield Institute of Arts, to support her project aimed at encouraging young people and students to show an interest in politics. Jasmine organised and hosted the ‘Question Time’ event featuring Nick Clegg (MP for the Sheffield Hallam constituency), alongside former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett, Labour MP Paul Blomfield, UKIP’s David Kurten and Spencer Pitfield, Conservative spokesperson for South Yorkshire.
Nick Clegg said: “Getting young people interested and engaged in politics is vitally important and Jasmine’s unique approach to the problem is refreshing. The event itself was a great idea and a way of seeing how we, as politicians, are perceived.”
“My first HOST visit was in May, last year and it was a weekend visit to a place called Thirsk. I didn’t know about the place at the start but I did some research about the place before travelling and found that it was such as a nice place!
I was matched with Michael and Sue, a retired couple who used to be primary school teachers. They were ever so nice to me, I was shown around the town which is in traditional English style and also I stayed in their home. I did a spot of gardening and help my host, Sue to plant a pot which she placed in the front garden. Michael took me hiking, a hobby which I enjoy and we went to Abraham Rocks, a local landmark and the views were amazing! They were also interested in asking me about my home country, Jordan about my family and life over there.
I still keep in contact with them and it thoroughly enjoyed the visit and their hospitality.
When you apply for a HOST visit, apart from the visit cost you will need to set a travel budget too. Both of my trips were under the amounts I budgeted for and the HOST co-ordinator was helpful and guided me all long to be able to meet them and they will ask you for feedback too. HOST will allocate you to where you are going which may seem nerve racking at first, but if you treat the visit as an adventure and to explore you will feel much more comfortable. It’s important that you do some research about the location. You can also apply for HOST visit with another International student too.
“I would recommend everyone to join a HOST visit to experience UK home life and families, and you will have more chance to visit the small towns and villages that are interesting and full of history too”
Dana with her hosts Kathryn and Mike in Leyland for a Christmas visit
My second HOST visit over Christmas and I met Kathryn and Mike in Leyland. I experienced Christmas properly for the first time as I don’t celebrate it back in my home country, Jordan.
I arrived at their home on Christmas Eve and they took me to a traditional Christmas Church service which I found interesting.
On Christmas Day I was so excited to receive my first ever present with my name on! I found it was such a sweet gesture from my hosts and I was surprised how much British people eat for Christmas Dinner! I learnt so much about Christmas traditions, such as Christmas trees and displaying Christmas cards around the house plus I played Jenga and watched Christmas movies on the day. It was such a warm feeling and I managed to go for a walk with my hosts too.”
HOST visits are as follows:
Day Trip £36
Weekend trip (weekend homestay) £60 Prices do not include travelling expenses
It’s a low cost way to explore the UK and meet new people!
Alumni category – Jéssica Neves from Brazil wins SHU Fest T-Shirt
Staff category – Jamie Shaw gains the satisfaction of winning!
Thanks to everyone who entered!
A representative from each category should get in touch with Samantha Logan from the International Experience Team to claim your prize at s.logan@shu.ac.uk
On 19 January, SHU hosted the EcoChic Design Award academy and educators workshop with our partners Redress, which is a non-profit organisation from Hong Kong. We got one of the organisers, Hannah Lane to tell us a bit about the day and send us some pictures of what they got up to!
“The Academy was a full day event bringing sustainable fashion education to attendees including theory and practical exercises focused on the techniques of zero-waste, up-cycling and reconstruction to boost design skills. The day also included a screening of documentary Frontline Fashion. Around 45 students took part from 12 universities. In the images below you can see the outcome of the morning part of the academy which was focused on up-cycling through the use of patching, darning, sashiko and tufting.
Up-cycled dress made in the morning session
The educators workshop was a morning session that brought together 16 educators to discuss sustainability teaching in curriculums. They were inspired with by textile specialists at WRAP as well as experienced sustainable fashion educators. It was a great day for both events!”
Sheffield Hallam University has teamed up with an innovative online business to deliver a 3D online lecture theatre experience. The Alis Online application makes interactive online lectures possible. Using the internet, students can attend the virtual lecture, and engage with the teacher in the same way they would if they were all in the same lecture hall.
Happy Chinese New Year to everyone that is celebrating!
We’d like to wish those who are celebrating a Happy Chinese New Year – we hope you all have a fantastic time celebrating with family and friends.
If you’re unsure what it’s all about, then here are some of the traditions held at this time of year. Saturday 28 January marks the start of the Year of the Rooster. Roosters are said to be the most motivated animal in the Chinese zodiac and always put their careers first. Babies born this year will be well suited to becoming a journalist, soldier or surgeon – according to traditional beliefs.
It is also traditional to give red envelopes containing money to colleagues and family members. The red symbolises good luck and the money wishes the recipient good fortune for times to come. The red envelopes are also used to fend off bad spirits.
January is a difficult time of year for many of us, with cold weather, long hours of darkness and the next holiday a long way off. There is a need to recover from the financial impact of Christmas and New Year’s resolutions that are starting to slide.
There are ways that you can beat the January blues and get your year off to a great start!
Eat well Omega 3 fatty acids found in oily fish, flaxseed oil, nuts and seeds can help combat low mood as can folate, which is found in cabbage broccoli and sprouts. Low blood sugar can affect energy and mood so don’t skip breakfast! Healthy recipes can be found online.
Exercise and sleep Regular moderate physical activity is effective in managing mild to moderate anxiety and depression. This does not have to be formal exercise and can include going for a 30 minute brisk walk several times per week. It is also important to establish a regular pattern of sleep – maintaining a consistent getting up time will help with this.
Connect Avoiding contact with others has an adverse effect on mood. Countless studies have found that face to face contact is essential for our wellbeing. Arrange to speak to family and friends regularly.
The following organisations can help you to achieve some of the above as well as offering advice and support in relation to mental health and wellbeing:
Did you know that Sheffield Hallam University offers free access to ProQuest Central database of online journals to all its students?
The database includes 17,000 full text journals across all major subject areas and you should be using it when you are researching for your assignments.
Follow the steps below to start using ProQuest Central on your course:
Find the link to the database. It should be saved in your secure VLE site (e.g. Blackboard course site, or your Moodle site). If you can’t find it, please ask your library for it
Watch the video tutorial in this article to learn how to search in the database.
Start searching! You will have access to hundreds of full-text articles covering your topic!
