Media Cluster Newsletter | Issue No.4

Dear Reader,

I t is indeed an immense pleasure to launch this f i rst issue of the Media C luster newsletter for the academic year 2015|16.

The content wont just be a general d igest . I t wi l lh ighl ight art ic les of interest , upcoming events, news, and other inspirat ional posts among others . Good news for you: I t is f ree and so wi l l i t a lways remain!

There is no doubt the journey wi l l be interest ing and we hope you f ind theMedia C luster a welcome companion along the way, and we real ly do hope you l l s tay with us for the r ide.

We wish to encourage your part ic ipat ion and we wi l l look forward to receiv ingcontr ibut ions of news, announcements, and even short stor ies of yourexper iences to ensure a cont inued success of the newsletter .

Of course, we also welcome comments and suggest ions that could improve the qual i ty of the newsletter . We look forward to hear ing f rom you soon!

Want to contact us? Were one emai l away: mumbcmedia@gmail .com.

For now, happy reading!

Kind Regards,The Cluster

In a world advancing at an unprecedented pace, we need leadership more than ever in order to tackle the ar is ing chal lenges.

However, as the world is changing, leadership is evolving too adopt ing new forms that correspond to the 21st century l i festyle and culture. Nowadays,indiv iduals are not leaders per se, but because they are experts in an area there is demand for , because they know how to bui ld a culture, impact people and start a movement.

In order to bui ld and nurture the r ight cul ture and develop the r ight k ind of leadership, i t is important to start f rom the Iceberg pr inc iple What is i t that we value and how wil l we behave according to i t? People perform best when they are motivated and when they work on something they genuinely bel ieve in, guided by values and ethics establ ished within a shared culture.

That is why the aim should be to bui ld posi t ive, inspir ing leadership f rom the ins ide out and does this by encouraging people to real ly know themselves; because leadership begins with sel f-awareness.

Let s face the fact : were over 800 and many of us dont know each other . I t s h igh t ime we break al l the barr iers and create one big family by knowing each other .

So, to help with that is the Humans Of Middlesex Univers i ty (#HOMU) in i t iat ive f rom the MDX Media C luster , a census of a l l the people of the univers i ty .

The f i rst ser ies of #HOMU is coming soon. Stay tuned and you might seeyoursel f !

The plot : As the war of Panem escalates to the destruct ion of other distr icts by the Capitol , Katniss Everdeen, the reluctant leader of the rebel l ion, must br ing together an army against President Snow, whi le a l l she holds dear hangs in the balance.

Did you know?Director Francis Lawrence stated that because some ofthe visual effects sequences in this f i lm are sochal lenging, he and the editors beganwork on them before part 1 of the Mockingjay adaptat ionwas even released.

The f inal chapter in the Hunger Games saga is more funeral march than victory parade but that sent i re ly appropr iate for this gr i t ty act ion ser ies .

So here i t is , the tr iumphant f inale to The Hunger Games f ranchise, and t ime for plucky heroine Katniss Everdeen(Jennifer Lawrence) to march proudly into the Capitol , a im her t rusty arrow and loose i t st ra ight into the heart of thatdastardly v i l la in President Snow (Donald Suther land). Arousing cheer, and we al l go home sat isf ied. Except thatMockingjay Part 2 isnt that movie. This might be the most downbeat blockbuster in memory, a f i lm that starts outpit i less and goes downhi l l f rom there, save for a f leet inggl immer of hope in the f inal moments. I t s a bold statement about the unforgiv ing nature of war, unashamedly pol i t ica l in i ts motives and quiet ly devastat ing in i ts emotional effect .

The act ion picks up r ight after the end of Part 1 , withPeeta ( Josh Hutcherson) suffer ing hal luc inat ions broughton by Snows torturers and Katniss k ick ing against therestr ict ions placed on her by rebel leader Coin ( Ju l ianne Moore). The f i rst hal f runs along fa i r ly predictable t ramlines, asKatniss s l ips her captors and jo ins the f ray, bent on taking Snow down. Theres a t ruly nightmarish tuss le in a sewertunnel the ser ies most effect ive act ion sequence, hands down and then i t s on to Snows mansion for the c l imact ic showdown. But just as the end is in s ight , everything shi f ts . We wont spoi l th ings, except to say that the choices made are t ruly str ik ing, s imultaneously reaff i rming the ser iescommitment to t imely pol i t ica l point-making whi le providing an off-key but oddly sat isfy ing sense of c losure.

Some wi l l f ind the wrongfoot ing nature of the f inal scenes off-putt ing, and the pace can be ponderous. But i t sgenuinely powerful , thanks in large part to a peer less cast : Lawrence has rarely been better , and shes matched unexpectedly by Hutcherson, del iver ing a pecul iar lysoulful turn. Stanley Tucc i , Jena Malone, Woody Harrelson andEl izabeth Banks al l make the most of their f leet ingappearances theres a br ief moment between the lattertwo which is s imply beaut i fu l . But i t s one other bi t-play-er who makes the biggest impact . This is Phi l ip SeymourHoffmans f inal f i lm, and, though his scenes are few, i t s an oddly f i t t ing, heartfel t , sad-but-hopeful swansong.

With the unflinchingly grim Mockingjay Part 2, The Hunger Games comes to an exciting, poignant, and overall satisfying conclusion.

Source: T imeout.com

What do you love best about being

the director of MUMBC?

What I love best is the students. I really

like the diversity of our students at the

university. Often when students join the

university, they are very nervous. They

arent sure what to expect and three

years later when they walk across the

stage, you can really tell that weve

made a difference!

What are the challenges that you face,

being the director of MUMBC?

Theres a lot of challenges, from one

day to another. You never know who is

going to walk through my door with a

problem or something good.

Understanding how Mauritius works has

been quite challenging. When I came

here I knew about higher education

and how it works in England, but I didnt

really understand how it works here. So,

I must say that I am still learning.

Any changes you would you like to

see at MUMBC in the near future?

There are always changes that we all

want to see. To improve the student

environment, computer facilities;

to have air conditioning in the

rooms; and more... What we

are all about is trying to make

constant small changes so that the student

experience can improve.

Are there more student interested

in the programmes MUMBC offers

in 2015 in comparison to 2010? Will

there be more programmes in the

future?

In 2010, our first intake was about 8

students. Now we have over 800

students studying here. We are at a

stage where we want to increase

student numbers and we want to

increase the range of programmes. So,

we are looking forward to introducing

new programmes next year; at least 2

or 3 programmes per year.

How do you see MUMBC in ten years

from now?

Ten years is a long time. I probably wont

be here in 10 years time, I have to say. But

I really hope in the near future, MUMBC

turns out to be the best and biggest

private university in Mauritius.

On 10, rate how satisfied you are with

the university atmosphere?

(Laughs) I never give 10 to anything, but

it is probably an 8 most of the time.

On 10, how satisfied you are with the

students and staff at MUMBC?

Having said that I never give a ten, this

one is very close to a ten . I am very lucky

to have excellent staffs. Generally, our

students do well and Im so proud

of them that I think I should give a 10.

Do you have any favourite quote that

you think every student at MUMBC

should live by?

(Laughs) I think a very good thing to

remember is You dont know if you

can do it until you try and Failure is not

failure, its just learning how to do

something differently. Sometimes it is

fear that stops us from doing things, but

once we try its either that we start liking

it or we are not afraid anymore.

The favourite book youve read so far?

Why?

The Lord of the Rings series by JR.R

Tolkien. Ive read that several times,

and each time I read it I find

something new.

Would you say that university time is

one of the best periods in someones

life?

Yes, definitely. But I would also say that

one often doesnt realise it now. We often

realise it quite later in life.

Now that you live in Mauritius for quite

a long time, can you tell us about how

you find the island so far?

Very small (Laughs). Its a beautiful

island. I love the scenery and the fact that

we are never too far from the sea.

Over 13 months the 365 solar panels across our London campusgenerated enough energy to charge 40,600 iPhones for a year .

Solar panels across Middlesex Univers i tys London campus generated enough energy to power 17 homes for a year , new f igures have revealed.

From July 2014 to August 2015 the 365 solar panels instal led across theUnivers i tys campus generated 81,300 ki lowatt hours of power. That is enough electr ic i ty to charge 40,600 iPhones or 1,129 laptops for a whole year .

Mark Wi lk inson, Middlesex Environment Manager, says he is del ighted with the success of the ongoing project which helps the Univers i ty meet i tsenergy needs.

The solar panels are part of our CSR strategy which inc luded the target to reduce our carbon footpr int by 20% against a 2005 basel ine, he explains.

Our intent ion is to maintain this reduct ion whi le we further develop ourcampus. These plans inc lude upgrading our energy monitor ing systems using half hour ly data and instal l ing further LED l ight ing projects .

Middlesex began the solar panel project in 2012 with 72 panels instal led on the roof of the Wi l l iams bui ld ing and 16 on the Vine bui ld ing.

Last year a further 64 were instal led on the roof of Col lege bui ld ing, whi le 119 and 114 were placed on the roofs of Hatchcroft and the Shepard L ibrary respect ively.

As wel l as looking to improve energy eff ic iency across the campus, Mark and his team are also reviewing opportunit ies for the instal lat ion of furthersolar panels .