Annual Review 2012-13

2012-13Annual Review

A Welsh language version of this publication can be found at: cardiffmet.ac.uk/adolygiadblynyddol

President’s Message

This Annual Review summarises the University’sdevelopment and achievement during theacademic year 2012-13.

We are delighted to report that there has beensignificant progress in the past 12 months against anumber of our strategic objectives. Cardiff Metropolitan,like all universities, has critical roles to play both locallyand internationally. These roles come in many forms -promoting social justice, supporting the economy,developing both local and international partnerships,research and many more.

At the heart of all that we do is our students, and we aredelighted to report that Cardiff Metropolitan has beenextremely successful in 4 major reports which reflect theeducation and experience we are giving our students,and also how well we are preparing them for the worldof work.

The University recorded its highest ever level of studentsatisfaction and has been ranked the highest ranked‘new’ university in Wales, by the latest National StudentSatisfaction Survey (NSS).

It was ranked 8th best university in the UK for theproportion of graduates going straight into employmentor further study.

As President of the University, I would like to thankBarbara Wilding, CBE QPM, the Chair of the Board, forher stewardship during what has been a difficult period.The Chair, her Board and the Executive Team have ledthe University through an immensely difficult period. Inspite of those difficulties, there have been many positiveachievements across all areas of the University.

I pledge myself to supporting the Board of Governors,and the staff, and most importantly the students, toensure the value of an asset such as Cardiff MetropolitanUniversity is recognised by all as a first-class asset to thenation.

Chair & Vice-Chancellor’s MessageOur international students judged Cardiff Met as thebest in the UK for a 4th year running, praising it for itslearning and living experience and for satisfaction withstudent support.

In the 4th report, our students ranked the University asone of the best in the UK for the quality of life weprovide. We are also delighted to report that work isprogressing on the new building for Cardiff School of Art& Design on the Llandaff Campus. This will bring all ofthe School together on the one site from September2014, and marks a major investment in the estate.

Student recruitment remains strong as we furtherdevelop a strong, student-centred institution focused onthe economic, social and cultural wellbeing of Cardiffand South East Wales.

We aspire to be a ‘top 10’ new university by 2017. All ofthese positive outcomes demonstrate the work we arecarrying out to help us achieve our strategic aims.

The Board of Governors and Executive would like to paytribute to staff and students for their dedication duringthe past year. But there is still much hard work to bedone. The Higher Education landscape remainschallenging, but we know how well we can respond tochallenge.

Barbara Wilding CBE, QPM,Chair of Governors

Cllr Derrick MorganThe Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of Cardiff& President of Cardiff Metropolitan University

Professor Antony J Chapman, Vice-Chancellor & Principal

The Annual Review is a time for reflection andrecognition of what has been achieved by theUniversity over the last 12 months.

The landscape was looking very different a year agowhen Cardiff Metropolitan faced a potential merger withthe Universities of Glamorgan and Newport. It was amerger that the Cardiff Metropolitan Board of Governorswould not agree to without firm evidence that it wouldbenefit the University, its students and its staff. So, I wasvery pleased last November when the Welsh EducationMinister made the decision to leave Cardiff Metropolitanas an autonomous institution.

Cardiff Metropolitan means so much to so many people,and I am delighted to see that it has retained itsindependence and its identity as it approaches its 150thanniversary. Having said that, however, I know that it willnot become insular in its outlook. In fact, I believe it isdemonstrating quite the opposite - engaging andcollaborating with stakeholders across all sectors andareas, both in South East Wales and far beyond.

I am proud that I have been able to see for myself at firsthand and, indeed, be part of the University as itundertakes and implements great change for the benefitof its students, its staff and those people who work withthe University on a whole range of initiatives. Challengesremain, but I know that the University is in very goodhands.

From left to right, Barbara Wilding, CBE QPM, Chair of Governors, Cllr Derrick Morgan, The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of Cardiff & Presidentand Professor Antony J Chapman, Vice-Chancellor & Principal of CardiffMetropolitan University.

Cardiff Metropolitan students have rated the Universitythe best in the UK for a 4th year running. The votesof international students who took part in the surveyplaced the University highest in the UK for its learningexperience, living experience, and for satisfaction withstudent support. Conducted by i-Graduate, theInternational Student Barometer is an independentresearch service specialising in the internationaleducation market and is now the largest study ofinternational students in the world.

Supported by €27m of EU funding, Cardiff Metcontinues to lead the way for its students and staff togain an international experience through exchangeprogrammes such as Erasmus Mundus. Santanderscholarships provide the opportunity for students tostudy in over 1,000 HE institutions across the world.

The University is the only Welsh Higher EducationInstitution to have been selected for such funding, andthe only UK University to have been granted 6 EUErasmus Mundus Action 2 projects consecutively.

Students are also being given the opportunity toparticipate in study abroad exchanges with Cardiff Met’sTransnational Education institutional partners incountries such as Bulgaria, Egypt and Morocco. Students from home and abroad can follow part of theirprogrammes in the overseas institution, with fullacademic recognition.

Developing International Partnerships

Cardiff Met has appointed a new Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mohamed Loutfi, (who ispictured above, far right), responsible for leading thedevelopment and implementation of the University'sinternationalisation strategy at home and abroad.Professor Loutfi’s role involves securing sustainable andfar-reaching engagements with partners overseas topromote academic excellence and distinction in teaching,learning, research and related enterprise activities.

Cardiff Metropolitan has opened an office in India, inconjunction with its business partner Planet EDU. Thismarks further commitment to the success of thepartnership which was launched in the presence of theWelsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones AM, in 2012.

Based in Gurgaon, New Delhi, the Cardiff Met Office will facilitate the development of the University’sinternationalisation activities in India and South Asia.

Cardiff Met has launched its Building UniversityCapacity in University Management (BUCUM)Tempus programme - a project that was selected for€1.1 million funding by The Education, Audiovisual andCulture Executive Agency.

The project in partnership with the LeadershipFoundation for Higher Education and the Ministries ofHigher Education in Egypt, Lebanon, Libya and Morocco,which follows on from a Leadership in Higher EducationManagement TEMPUS Project, aims to harmoniseHigher Education systems across Egypt, Lebanon, Libyaand Morocco; develop good management practices;build sustainable HE cooperation between nations andaddress the challenges of global universities in the 21stCentury.

Working with others tostrengthen Higher Education

Cardiff Met’s sustainable behaviours now span the entireUniversity and examples include a fair trade policy,transport and travel plans, water efficiency plans, carbonmanagement plans, a health and wellbeing strategy,along with an environmental management system.

With the help of Cynnal Cymru, the management teamat the University has been looking at ways of building onsustainable development success and creating a unifyingphilosophy. This will help ensure the University is wellplaced to comply with the Welsh Government’sproposed Sustainable Development Bill.

Dr Tom Crick, a Senior Lecturer in computer science inthe Cardiff School of Management, was invited to co-chair a Welsh Government steering group to review thefuture of computer science and ICT in schools in Wales.

The steering group has examined how ComputerScience can be introduced from primary school andprogressed through the National Curriculum stages, aswell as ensuring that core skills such as computationalthinking, creative problem-solving, programming anddata literacy are encouraged and developed.

The group’s recommendations will inform the widerreview of assessment and the National Curriculum inWales.

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State BaronessRanderson hosted the second Welsh Big SocietySeminar in conjunction with Cardiff MetropolitanUniversity.

Participants met with community groups, localorganisations and businesses to discuss ideas and newapproaches which could encourage and support thegrowth of partnerships and social enterprises in theirneighbourhoods.

The Cardiff School of Sport hosted the annual StudentConference for the British Association of Sportand Exercise Sciences (BASES), the professionalbody for sport and exercise science in the UK.

The two-day student conference provided anopportunity for 330 undergraduate and postgraduatestudents of sport, exercise or related disciplines, from 70institutions across England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, andfurther afield from Malaysia, Sweden and Taiwan topresent their innovative sport and exercise science-related work and also attend workshops andpresentations led by established Cardiff Met researchersand practitioners in the sport and exercise science fields.

A workshop at the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) conference held at Cardiff Met’s Cyncoed campus.

Delivering a high-qualitylearning experience

The additional new building for the Cardiff Schoolof Art & Design has reached the highest point in itsconstruction and is on schedule to open for the 2014-15academic year. From September 2014, the School’s1,200 students will be accommodated in purpose-builtstudios and workshops. The new facilities will house awide range of technologies, including a non-ferrousfoundry, a digital stitch studio, and external kilns. Thenew building will also house Wales’ first FabLab, linkedto the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s globalnetwork of pre-fabrication facilities.

Cardiff Metropolitan University has recorded its highestever level of student satisfaction, according to thelatest National Student Satisfaction Survey (NSS).

The UK-wide independent survey, which iscommissioned by the Higher Education Funding Councilfor England (HEFCE), asks final year undergraduatesacross the UK to rate teaching, assessment, academicsupport, programme organisation, learning resources,personal development and overall satisfaction at theiruniversities.

The 2013 NSS results reflect an increase in thesatisfaction of Cardiff Metropolitan students in each ofthe 22 questions featured in the survey and show that 85per cent of respondents ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’that they were satisfied with the quality of their courseoverall.

Cardiff Metropolitan has been placed 8th highestuniversity in the UK for graduates going straightinto employment or into further study.

In the latest Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education(DLHE) Survey, Cardiff Met achieved a 95%employability rate, an increase on the 90% who met thiscriterion last year.

These figures mean that Cardiff Met has achieved someof its key targets 5 years ahead of the timelines set out inthe University's Fee Plan.

In the DLHE Survey, the UK's average figure is 90.8%with Welsh universities recording an average of 91.6%and English Universities 90.5%.

Cardiff Met’s Dean of Learning & Teaching Dr ColleenConnor is the first academic in Wales to berecognised as a Principal Fellow of the HigherEducation Academy.

Dr Connor is one of just 25 across the UK to haveattained Principal Fellowship status - part of theAcademy’s Professional Recognition Scheme whichserves to reward a wider commitment to academicpractice and strategic leadership in teaching to enhancethe student learning experience.

Cardiff Metropolitan University boasts one of the highestproportions of recognised Fellows in a UK HigherEducation Institution (62.1% at Cardiff MetropolitanUniversity vs.19.9% UK HEI average).

The new Cardiff School of Art & Design building on our Llandaff Campus.

Cardiff Met has joined the Santander UniversitiesGlobal Programme. Santander is providing 3 years ofsupport including scholarships, internships, designinnovation and entrepreneurship activities.

Matthew Taylor, Director of Enterprise at the University,said: “Our students and staff have significantopportunities as a result of our inclusion in thisprestigious global network. With the funding we are ableto support the costs of a range of activities, includinginternational travel, extra-curricular entrepreneurshiptraining and business start-up support.”

More than 300 senior managers have taken part in the‘20Twenty Leadership’ and ‘Leadership forCollaboration (L4C)’ programmes.

The programmes have been designed to enhance thepractice and performance of SMEs, larger firms, andpublic sector organisations in Wales.

These organisations implement the research-informedbest practice that senior teams have studied. Workplacepractice highlighted includes leaner thinking, improvedorganisational performance, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Two academics from the Cardiff School of Sport havebeen commissioned by the world footballgoverning body FIFA to undertake a 12-monthperception study of artificial pitches among players,management and officials.

Dr Ian Mitchell and Professor Gareth Irwin have beenawarded funding to explore psychological factors andthe biomechanical characteristics of surface interaction.

Cardiff Met’s National Centre for Product Design andDevelopment Research (PDR) was commissioned byBefont Scientific Limited to develop a NitrousOxide delivery system for neo-natal units.

As this is a safety-critical medical product, it wasimportant to ensure that the human interaction was asefficient and intuitive as possible.

The team at PDR drew on its extensive research intoUser Centred Design and used early software andhardware prototypes to understand user needs.

This parallel design of physical and software componentsby a single team is the embodiment of a research themewithin PDR that has called for new strategies fordesigners to enable them to effectively develop productsin the contemporary environment of computer-embedded products.

The Centre for Work Based Learning (CWBL)develops and delivers courses on professionaldevelopment and career progression to people alreadyin work.

The courses cover a range of disciplines and helpemployees gain Foundation or Masters degrees throughpart-time study. This year the Centre linked with AcornLearning Limited to deliver a Foundation degree inApplied Professional Practice, a unique work-based,part-time degree that allows participants to study at work.

‘Collaborating with Acorn Learning has allowed ourcourses to reach a much wider audience’, said Jen Evans,the Centre’s Training Development Officer.

Thriving and effective Research and Enterprise

Cardiff Met Santander Branch: Celebrating the official opening with Professor Antony J Chapman, Vice-Chancellor & Principal of Cardiff MetropolitanUniversity (centre) with Luis Juste, Director of Santander Universities UK (far right).

In brief

At the 31st Conference of the International Society ofBiomechanics in Sports (Taiwan), Emeritus ProfessorDavid Kerwin was the recipient of the Geoffrey DysonAward (its highest honour) and delivered a keynotelecture.

Outward Mobility is flourishing as a result ofcommitted promotion of study programmes, such asErasmus Mundus and the Santander Scholarships, aswell as volunteering and internship opportunities. We sent 189 Cardiff Metropolitan University studentsand staff members overseas in 2012/13, to destinationcountries including the USA, Germany, Italy, Ireland andSweden.

The Association of Arab Universities (AArU) and theLeadership Foundation for Higher Education, UK (LFHE)signed a Memorandum of Understanding at a dinnerhosted by Professor Antony J Chapman, Vice-Chancellor.

Award-winning author Dr Sarah Waters, Michelin-starred chef Stephen Terry, Nicole Cooke MBE andBaron Jones of Birmingham Kt Digby Jones, were amongthose to receive Honorary Fellowships from theUniversity this year.

Cardiff Metropolitan University was shortlisted in theTimes Higher Education Awards 2012 in theOutstanding Contribution to Sustainable Developmentcategory.

As part of a 5-year programme to address energymanagement, Cardiff Met is on track to make savings onutilities of more than £1million. It has already achievedsavings of £330,000 through a 12 percent reduction inelectricity, 5 percent reduction in gas and 18 percent inwater in the last 3 years.

Cardiff Met and the Cardiff Devils have created apartnership which has seen 2 ice hockey stars take uppostgraduate studies on campus. Phil Hill and Josh Batchare studying towards an MSc in Strength and Coachingand a BSc in Economics respectively.

A collaborative partnership is underway betweenCardiff Met and the CTI Education Groupin South Africa. The CTI Education Group is a fullyregistered, private higher education provider withdegree-conferring status in South Africa. The group has12 campuses across South Africa catering for both full-time and part-time learners within the fields ofinformation technology, commerce, creative arts andcommunication, psychology and counselling and law.

Former Children’s Laureate and award-winningchildren’s author Anthony Browne (above) was guestof honour at a Cardiff Metropolitan University

‘Philosophy for Children conference’. Anthony led agroup of distinguished speakers who had gathered totalk to an audience of teachers and student teachersabout how children’s thinking skills can be developedthrough the use of picture books and storytelling.

Cardiff School of Health Sciences Psychology graduate,Jordan Van Flute, has pioneered keyhole surgerysimulation techniques. Jordan unveiled the ‘Pyxus HDLaproscopic Simulator’ at the Royal College of SurgeonsConference highlighting the importance of realistickeyhole surgery simulation in a healthcare setting.

The University’s Cardiff School of Education has hosteda key conference promoting universities working toregenerate local communities, create employment andpromote equality in the UK. The event, titled ‘BuildingBridges: Community - University Partnerships forSocial Justice’, examined best practice in developingsustainable partnerships between universities andcommunities across Cardiff, the South East Wales regionand beyond.

The University’s Cardiff School of Art & Design (CSAD)has continued its partnership with the ‘Mothers of Africa’charity which aims to make motherhood safer in Africancountries. Clara Watkins, a PhD student of CSAD, waspart of a joint team from Cardiff University and CardiffMet which worked together developing products thatwill assist safer births; all part of CSAD’s continuingwork with the charity and with the Medical School.

Anna Mayes has been seconded from her lecturing rolein Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Cardiff School ofSport to coach the senior England Netball squaduntil the World Championships in 2015.

Taught Postgraduate 5418 (34.9%)

Research 745 (4.8%)

Undergraduate 9370 (60.3%)

Ranked top in UK foroverall international

student satisfaction for 4 consecutive years

cardiffmet.ac.ukWestern Avenue, Cardiff, CF5 2YB UK Tel: +44 (0)29 2041 6070 Fax: +44 (0)29 2041 6286

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Home/EU 10665 (69%)

Women’s Football BUCS Premier South League Winners

BUCS Championship Gold

Women’s Cricket BUCS Indoor League Winners

BUCS Indoor and Outdoor Championship Gold

NetballBUCS Premier South League Winners

BUCS Championship Gold

Women’s BasketballBUCS Premier South League WinnersBUCS Championship Silver

Men’s Rugby BUCS Premier South League Winners BUCS Championship Silver

Women’s RugbyBUCS Premier South League Winners BUCS Championship Silver

UK-Based Overseas Students:

4868 (31%)*

Includes students from the LondonSchool of Commerce, the AssociateCollege of Cardiff MetropolitanUniversity

Total Students

15533

Trans National Education (TNE)

2457 students

TNE countries include:

BangladeshBulgariaEgyptGreeceIndiaKoreaLebanon

National Student Survey (NSS)* 85% overall satisfaction

*Highest ranked ‘new’ university in Wales

Top Six Performing Sport Teams 2012-13

Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education survey

95% employability rate fromCardiff Metropolitan University

2010 - 11Cash at year-end

£23m

2011 - 12Cash at year-end

£32m

2012 - 13Cash at year-end

£28m

Surplus

£6.5m

Surplus

£5.1m

Surplus

£1.8m

*

BUCS

British Universities & Colleges

Sport

MalaysiaMoroccoSerbiaSinagaporeSouth AfricaSri Lanka