Several years ago, in my last job, I was invited to do some work in Xiamen on the Chinese coast. A young Chinese student was allocated to look after me, to show me around and, I guess, to make sure I didn’t do anything undesirable. He was, he told me, very interested in England and…
Here’s your pub quiz question for the day. What connects Hilary Mantel, Dickie Bird, Robert Winston and Geri Horner? The answer, of course, is that they have all received honorary degrees from Sheffield Hallam University. Whilst I don’t recommend playing your joker on the pub quiz round on ‘recipients of honorary degrees from UK universities’,…
This week, the University is announcing one of the most significant strategic developments in its history, a development which will be transformational for the University and the communities with which it works. We are announcing the opening of our new campus in London. Over the next decade, the Hallam London campus will become an integral…
The news crashed in day after day: a Chancellor of the Exchequer sacked by the Prime Minister, largely for implementing policies on which the prime Minister has campaigned; a new Chancellor junking the entire contents of a budget published just a couple of weeks before; Home Secretary fired for elementary security breaches; chaotic scenes in…
On Tuesday evening last week, I met Jade, Sameer, Lewis, and Ross, and seventy-two other Hallam students at an event in city campus’ new atrium. Jade, reading for an MA in International Relations and Global Crises, is a heptathlete who won a bronze medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Sameer is a BSc Nursing student…
One day last week, I stepped into Hallam Café and heard something I’d not really heard for two years. It sounded – to my ears – beautifully musical. I took out my phone and recorded the sound. For the rest of the day, I was playing it to anyone I met in the course of…
Let’s be clear from the outset – Sheffield Hallam University, one of the country’s largest, most diverse and successful universities, is committed to offering an exceptional range of courses across disciplines. The arts and humanities are a vital part of our contribution to our students, our region and the world. Currently we offer over 600…
I was knocked off my bike ten days ago, cycling back from our research nursery in Shirecliffe to city campus. There was more damage to the bike than to me, and I recovered reasonably quickly. Even so a longish wait in the Minor Injuries Unit and some painful bruising made it impossible for me to…
David Kynaston’s superb book on the post-war years, Austerity Britain provides some stark reminders of just what it was like. There were no teabags, and no sliced bread. The war may have been over, but sweets, chocolate, sugar and meat were all still rationed. There were no dishwashers or automatic washing machines. There were no…
Last week, I spoke at two all staff briefings, setting out the university’s strategy and priorities as we emerge from pandemic restrictions. This week’s blog summarises my presentations, a recording or which can also be viewed by colleagues within the university. Two years on from the arrival of Covid-19, the world has changed in ways…