WLVdialogue Spring 2011

Spring 2011 | Issue 12 | University of Wolverhampton | www.wlv.ac.uk

WLVdialogue

CATWALK QUEENEntrepreneurial student’s designs hit London Fashion Week

AXING ILLEGAL LOGGING New contract to protect African forests

TRANSFORMING EDUCATION Project to support school leaders in the UAE

Welcome to the latest edition of WLV Dialogue.

There are a number of interesting projects under way at the University at the moment. One such programme is led by the Centre for International Development and Training, which is involved in innovative projects around the world.

The University supports businesses in various ways and has been

building close links with Bangalore after signing a trade agreement

alongside Wolverhampton City Council. Read about this innovative

relationship and its impact on local businesses on pages 18 & 19.

There is also an interview with Professor Magi Sque, a leading

international expert in the social and psychological aspects of organ

donation, on pages 8 & 9.

We hope you enjoy reading this edition of WLV Dialogue. If you have any

feedback for us, please get in touch at: [email protected]

Our next magazine will be out in the Summer.

Best wishes

Vickie Warren

WLV Dialogue Editor

The team was delighted to receive £1.5 million to tackle illegal logging

in Africa and on pages 2 & 3 we look at the issues surrounding

the problem and how our experts will be using their skills to help

communities and habitats.

Researchers have also been awarded £620,000 from the European

Union to investigate the experiences of women who sleep rough and

have suffered domestic violence. Find out more about this pioneering

research, which will be conducted with partners from across Europe, on

pages 10 & 11.

The King’s Speech has enjoyed phenomenal success at this year’s

award ceremonies and our academic experts take a look at what

this will mean for the British film industry on pages 4 & 5. One of our

MA students got a taste of catwalk success when she was invited to

showcase her latest collection at London Fashion Week. Read about

how Tamara Joseph has launched her own fashion business with

support from a scheme for budding entrepreneurs on pages 20 & 21.

WELCOME

PAGE

10

22 420

CONTENTS 1

NEWS Axing illegal logging – New contract to protect African forests 2

Big screen success – A look at the future of the 4British film industry

Sign of the future – Innovative tool to help Deaf 6media professionals

RESEARCHLeading light – Organ donation research expert 8Professor Magi Sque

Hidden minority – Research into women who sleep rough 10

PROFILEBusiness leader – Interview with Dean of the Business 12School Dr Anthea Gregory

FEATURECelebrating justice – Annual event to mark 14administration of justice

INTERNATIONAL Transforming education– Project to support school 16leaders in the UAE

BUSINESSTrade mission – Innovative link with Bangalore 18

Catwalk Queen – Entrepreneur Tamara Joseph hits 20 London Fashion Week

PEOPLE

An end to toxic debt? – BBC Newsnight Economics Editor 22Paul Mason shares his thoughts

Graduate success story – Law graduate Jehangir Malik 24

What’s on guide – University events 25

PAGE14 6

Axing illegal logging

2 NEWS

When people order a kitchen, choose new

flooring or fit out their dining room with

new furniture, there are many factors they

will take into consideration. Does it match

the style of the house, is it the right colour

and will it co-ordinate with the rest of the

room, are all things that people might mull

over. But how many can truthfully say they

look into whether the wood used has been

legally sourced and imported?

Increasingly, this is becoming an issue for

savvy consumers and companies wishing

to maintain an ethical reputation. But it is

also a consideration for European countries

concerned about the timber crossing their

borders and the impact illegal logging can have

on indigenous communities and habitats.

To try to tackle issues arising from this, the

European Commission has funded a four-year

project focused on how forests are governed

and managed in the West and Central Africa

region. The University of Wolverhampton’s

Centre for International Development and

Training (CIDT) was delighted to secure the

£1.5 million (€1.8 million) funding for the project,

which will concentrate on Cameroon, The

Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and

Liberia.

These countries are heavily forested and

export timber to Europe. All four countries are

engaged in negotiations with the European

Commission concerning the banning of illegal

timber imports into the European Union market

and raising minimum standards in the forest

industry.

Head of CIDT, Philip Dearden, says: “We are

delighted to have secured this grant, which

builds on CIDT’s 30-year track record in tropical

natural resource management.

“This project will strengthen African forest

governance by promoting greater transparency

and accountability within the forest sector.

It aims to support the relevant stakeholders

to exchange information and engage with

international forest governance initiatives to

combat illegal logging.”

What is illegal logging?

Illegal logging is defined as the harvest,

transportation, purchase or sale of timber

which is carried out in violation of laws. It

can cause environmental damage as well as

harming the economy of the producer countries

and their communities.

Project Leader Richard Nyirenda explains:

“Illegal logging doesn’t respect the rights of

indigenous communities. Some are being

displaced from their land and losing their

livelihood. The revenues that accrue from

harvesting or forestry don’t accrue to the

government of that country, and that means

the government doesn’t have this revenue to

provide social services to the people living there.

“Forests are so important in the issue of climate

change too, and there is a lot of international

attention on that.”

The rigorous application process for the

prestigious grant took over a year, and

undoubtedly CIDT’s track record and

experience in this field was a major factor

in securing the grant. The team, which also

includes Project Director Des Mahony, put

together a consortium of partners to work on

the bid, which includes local non-governmental

organisations (NGOs) who are managing

networks in their own countries and industry

specialists in the UK.

Another factor in CIDT’s success was the

‘Improving Forest Governance’ training course,

which ran for the first time last June and is

due to take place again this year. The course

aims to analyse the reasons for poor forest

governance and illustrate how organisations

can work together constructively to improve the

situation. It is open to 30 participants and there

were 90 applications from 18 countries for this

June’s four-week course. The training, delivered

at the University’s Telford Campus, is a unique

opportunity for people at the forefront of

tackling illegal logging in Africa, as it is delivered

in both English and French. It has attracted

interest from a diverse range of people, from

those working in the climate change sector

to people working for NGOs and even a TV

journalist.

Jill Edbrooke from CIDT runs the course.

She says: “There is a lot happening at an

international level in the forestry sector and

these changing policies will ultimately impact

on local people in some of these countries.

It is a challenge for people at the forefront

of managing forests to understand these

processes. The Improving Forest Governance

course tries to help them understand the

broader international processes taking place

that impact on what they are doing.”

Moving forward

The four-year project will be managed by

CIDT, who will start by using expertise within

the team to analyse what is needed in each

of the African countries. They will work with

local partners to develop training materials and

‘update meetings’. The meetings, in each of the

four countries, will include academics, policy

makers, local stakeholders and international

experts who will present their work to each

other to inform national level policy, practice

and awareness.

Richard adds: “The update meetings are a key

element of the project and are very important in

terms of fostering open debate and exchange of

information and ideas on a sensitive subject in

some of these countries.”

Longer term aims for the project include

working with tertiary education providers in

the countries to support the development of

curriculum materials to deliver training.

As Des Mahony explains, an aim of the project

is to bring all sides of the argument around

forest governance together to engage in

constructive debate, in the hope of increasing

understanding of different stand-points and

needs. In so doing, it is hoped transparency,

accountability, civil society voice, free speech

and democratic processes will be strengthened

to check and reduce the illegal activities and

corruption that threaten forest habitats and the

livelihoods of forest dependent communities.

“Our individual project is aiming to bring

together constituents from various groups,

including indigenous communities, the timber

trade, the private sector, governments and

academics in a constructive way to hear

presentations and have an open forum to

present and critique each other,” Des says. “We

want to enable the different groups to exchange

information and argue things out about the

situation in their country.

“It is not a one-way dictate of information – it

is more an exchange between people who

may have opposing positions and trying to find

consensus. We hope that in so doing, it may

influence policy and assist understanding at

each national level.”

NEWS 3

Every few years, a home-grown film

comes along that grabs the attention of

not only the British public but of audiences

around the world. In 2006, it was The

Queen, which portrayed the days following

the death of Princess Diana. This year,

The King’s Speech starring Colin Firth

has grabbed headlines for its haul of

awards, including Oscars, BAFTAs and

Golden Globes. The success of such films

highlights the strength of the British film

industry at a time when it is facing the

challenges of reduced funding.

Dr Stella Hockenhull, Senior Lecturer in Film

Studies at the University’s School of Law, Social

Sciences and Communications, is an expert in

British cinema. She explains that British films

tend to fall into two categories – raw and gritty

films such as Shane Meadows’ This is England

or Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen, or heritage films

such as Pride and Prejudice, A Room with a

View and those focused on the monarchy, like

The King’s Speech and Mrs Brown. One thing

that characterises most British films is that they

are low budget, unless they are in the league of

the Harry Potter franchise, which is classed as

British but is US funded and distributed.

Stella says: “British cinema tends to be less

action and more drama, and that is why it is

not particularly popular outside of the UK. A

lot of the narrative and style of film does not

lend itself to anything other than a British or

European audience. Hollywood cinema is

popular because it is formulaic and there is

usually a degree of closure at the end. They

have storylines that show the cause and effect

and psychologically rounded characters, when

often British films won’t bend to the rules.”

But The King’s Speech and The Queen had an

appeal to a wider audience than the traditional

British middle class or ‘Middle England’

cinema-goer who favours the heritage style of

film, as Stella explains.

“The British public like films about the monarchy

– they like the side of the story that is about

things they believe to be secret. The Queen and

The King’s Speech are polished films; they are

both very well crafted films. They are also both

feel good films, and the monarchy appeals to

America too. They have international appeal.”

The success of The King’s Speech raises

questions about whether we will see a

resurgence in the British film industry. There

obviously needs to be funding for this to

happen, and the body responsible for

distributing Lottery money within the British film

industry, the UK Film Council, was abolished

last year as part of Government cuts.

Stella says: “One question now being asked

is whether the UK Film Council would have

been abolished if The King’s Speech had been

released earlier. The film has done so well and

gained such great publicity for the British film

industry that it begs the question was it the right

decision to get rid of the UK Film Council?

“There are films being made at the moment but

unless the industry is funded there won’t be a

massive resurgence. We won’t see the growth

of independent film companies unless there

is a central fund for them to apply to.”

One of the main criticisms levelled at the UK

Film Council before it was abolished was that

a lot of films were made and not released,

but Lottery funding was also responsible for

successful films such as Billy Elliot, Gosford

Park and 28 Days Later. Now the onus of

managing funds for British films has moved to

Creative England and the British Film Institute.

4 NEWS

Big success

screen

Stella continues: “I think there will be an impact.

Although a lot of films were made that were not

very good, there were a few that really stood

out, like The King’s Speech.”

Although Oscar-winning actors like Dame

Helen Mirren and Colin Firth tend to be the

ones in the media spotlight, there are large

teams of people working behind the scenes

in a range of roles to make films a box office

smash. One such role is in Special Effects, and

University of Wolverhampton graduate Peter

Bebb brushed shoulders with the Hollywood

A-list when he collected an Oscar for his work

on the film Inception. Peter graduated with

a BA (Hons) Wood, Metals and Plastics (3D

Design) from the University in 1996 and has

said that his degree introduced him to the

world of CGI and the endless possibilities it can

achieve. His work included some of Inception’s

most iconic scenes, such as inner-city Paris

folding in on itself and fight scenes that

defied reality.

Stella says that the British film industry provides

unique expertise for the Hollywood film studios.

“There is a great deal of talent behind the

scenes and I think there is a lot of individual flair

that is homegrown. Hollywood operates more

on a factory style of production.”

Graduates from the University’s BA (Hons)

Film Studies degree enter a wide range

of professions, including the film industry,

the media, teaching and lecturing, and film

production while some others launch their

own businesses. The first year of the course

forms the building blocks for film studies, with

students undertaking a formal analysis of the

film text, focused on editing, cinematography,

mise-en-scène and sound, and looking at case

studies drawn from Hollywood and European

cinema. One module, Raiders of the Lost

Archive, looks at the history of cinema, ranging

from Soviet cinema from the 1920s to French

Poetic Realism in the 1930s and Italian Neo-

Realism in the post-war period. There is also

a visit to the Imperial War Museum film archive

so students can see historical films in their

original format.

NEWS 5

Other modules include film genres and

storytelling and adaptation, which looks at

the process of adapting a book such as

Bram Stoker’s Dracula into a film. Second

and third year modules include Directors

and Stars, the Western, Documentary and

Reality TV, European Cinema, New Hollywood,

Contemporary British Cinema and TV Drama

and Fantasy and Sci-fi. The University also

runs an MA in Film Studies and has recently

started the supervision of PhDs in the subject.

All the modules use theoretical frameworks to

analyse different film genres.

While the future of the British film industry is

unknown, it is clear that some films have

made a real impact on cinema goers and

award judges alike, and homegrown films still

have the power to surprise, shock, delight

and entertain.

For more information about studying

Film Studies at the University,

visit www.wlv.ac.uk/film

6 NEWS

The world of broadcast media offers an

increasingly rich source of employment

opportunities for Deaf graduates and

professionals. However, the constant

communication through written English

can prove a barrier for sign language

users.

Sign Media, an innovative project funded with

support from the European Commission, has

been launched to design an online learning tool

for Deaf people working in the media industry.

With the support of the Lifelong Learning

Programme of the European Union, the Sign

Media project aims to break down these

barriers with an innovative and accessible

online learning resource, promoting career

development and a new level of confidence for

Deaf media professionals.

The University of Wolverhampton is leading

the Sign Media project, valued at nearly half a

million Euros, with partners from universities

in Italy and Austria and UK media industry

experts.

Director for the Institute of Media Arts at

the University, Samantha Hope, is project

managing Sign Media, drawing on expertise

from across the School of Law, Social Sciences

and Communications and School of Art &

Design. She explains that sign language in each

country is different, but with a similar linguistic

structure and that this structure is distinct from

written English.

“The media sector, especially with the

development of the internet, is driven more and

more by the English language.

“Sign Media delivers an interactive learning

experience that teaches elements of written

English through sign language. Users will

encounter a flexible and engaging learning

environment, combining elements of video,

animation and game-play. The course will be

duplicated in three sign languages; British Sign

Language, Italian Sign Language and Austrian

Sign Language.”

In addition to communicating with Deaf media

professionals in the sign language of their

own country, the project will draw on industry

relevant information. Samantha explains the

team will use real documentation and scenarios

from the production process, from pre-

production research and scripting through the

shooting process to post-production editing,

enabling Deaf users to develop language skills

that are directly transferrable to their work

environment.

“Our target audiences in each country are Deaf

media professionals working in the film, video

and broadcasting industries. This learning

resource will be useful, for instance, to a runner

or researcher who wants to progress into

production management or an editor or director

with aspirations of becoming a producer.

“The aim is to create a learning resource that

will benefit Deaf people’s career progression

and opportunities within the European media

sectors.”

The partner organisations are Klagenfurt

University in Austria, the University of Turin in

Italy, and Mutt and Jeff Pictures Ltd, UK. Led by

the University of Wolverhampton, each partner

will be doing their own filming. In addition,

Turin will be taking on the dissemination of

the project’s findings while Klagenfurt will

manage the Sign Media website and aspects

of sustainability. Louis Neethling, Managing

Director of Mutt and Jeff Pictures Ltd from the

UK, is on board to direct the filming and ensure

a consistent level of quality across the project.

Louis, a producer/director professional, is

himself Deaf, and aware of the need for such a

learning resource.

Other colleagues from the University of

Wolverhampton include Dr Jim Davis and

Tracy McCoy from the School of Art & Design’s

Video & Film Production department. From

the School of Law, Social Sciences and

Communications, Christine Jolly and John Hay

from the Deaf Studies department are joined by

retired Deaf Studies lecturer Joan Fleming, who

will be acting as a consultant. John Hay is Deaf

himself and has worked in the media industry,

including for the BBC’s See Hear programme.

The concept of the learning tool is new and

exciting, and Samantha explains Deaf people

will be involved to evaluate the success of

the product.

“The European funding was awarded because

of the innovative aspects of the project - the

design of the learning tool and the process of

teaching written English through sign language.

The learning tool will be interactive and we are

looking at developing narrative-based scenarios

within a production environment, which will

engage and entertain the student. In addition

of the futureSign

Elana Ochse from the University of Turin and Samantha Hope from the University of Wolverhampton

NEWS 7

we will be creating an online dictionary

providing a lexicon of signs.”

The first partner meeting for Sign Media,

held in Wolverhampton, was a great

success. Further meetings are also planned

in Italy and Austria, with a launch event in

Brussels at the end of the project. There

has already been significant interest in the

scheme, with local media coverage and a

feature in British Deaf News. The project

will be presenting at the UK’s leading Deaf

film and TV festival, Deaffest, in May and

demonstrating the product at the festival

in May 2012, as well as visiting European

film festivals.

The need and demand for the new online

learning tool is clear. Research by Joan

Fleming and John Hay in 2005 highlighted

that around 70 per cent of Deaf graduates

are working in arts and media related

industries, so there is certainly a market

for this. But more importantly, the product

uses industry relevant terms and scenarios

to develop opportunities for Deaf people

working in the media.

Samantha adds: “The finished product

will enhance the inclusion of Deaf media

specialists in the European media industry

and help improve their career prospects

across Europe. We are delighted to have

been awarded this funding, which

will enable the University of

Wolverhampton with our European

and UK partners to make

a real difference.” *

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The aim is to create a learning resource that will benefit Deaf people’s career progression

Elana Ochse from the University of Turin and Samantha Hope from the University of Wolverhampton

8 RESEARCH

Leading LightMagi Sque is Professor of Clinical Practice and Innovation with the School of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Wolverhampton and the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust. Her career began as a registered nurse at Guy’s Hospital in London, followed by 17 years specialising in oncological nursing. She is now best known for her pioneering research into the psychological and social aspects that underpin organ donation after death, and is a leading international expert in her field.

RESEARCH 9

Magi can pinpoint the moment that

transformed her career. During a visit to

her native Jamaica 30 years ago, Andrew

Sharp, the three-year-old son of a friend,

was admitted to a hospital in Miami for

a tonsillectomy. He never came out of

the anaesthetic. Andrew’s mother made

the decision to donate his organs for

transplant.

Magi says: “My daughter was around the same

age as Andrew and I wondered how Andrew’s

mother had been able to make what must have

been an extremely difficult decision. Although I

was a registered nurse, at that time I knew little

about organ donation.

“Something about that event resonated in the

back of my mind. Years later in 1991 when I

was a nurse teacher at the Dorset & Salisbury

School of Midwifery & Nursing, John and

Margaret Evans, the founders of the British

Organ Donation Society (BODY), a peer support

organisation for families and individuals involved

in organ donation and transplantation, came to

talk to intensive care staff about their experience

of donating the organs of their 20-year-old son

John who was killed in a motorcycle accident.

Listening to the Evans’ experiences I had a kind

of epiphany. I realised that this subject was not

well known about and needed investigation.”

Magi was successful in achieving a nursing

research studentship from the Department

of Health and started a PhD at the University

of Southampton in 1993. The work focused

on the organ donation experiences of 24

bereaved family members and the organ

donation attitudes, knowledge and behaviour

of 2,465 UK registered nurses. This was

the seed corn for a programme of research

that has gained world recognition. Magi’s

Theory of Dissonant Loss has contributed to

national and international policy on the care of

bereaved families with whom organ donation is

discussed. Fittingly, Magi’s PhD is dedicated to

Andrew Sharp and his family.

Extensive track record

Magi has an extensive track record of

studies in organ and tissue donation and

transplantation, end of life care for individuals

and families and post-mortem decision making.

Nationally Magi works with the Department

of Health as an expert in organ donation, and

internationally she is Chair for the Deceased

Donation Working Group of the Ethical, Legal

and Psychosocial Aspects of Transplantation

European Platform [ELPAT]. In 2009, the Royal

College of Nursing conducted a series of

surveys to ascertain the most influential pieces

of nursing research over the last 50 years.

Of the 79 papers recorded, five were Magi’s

publications.

Her most recent role has seen her appointed

as Chair in Clinical Practice and Innovation,

a joint post with the University and the Royal

Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust. In this

role, Magi will help to advance the development

of multi-disciplinary research to drive forward

innovation and enhanced quality in clinical care.

She explains: “Healthcare needs to be

evidence-based so that we give patients the

best quality of care possible. The way to gain

evidence is to carry out research, expertise

which lies within the auspices of the University.

The University can support Trust staff to

enhance their quality of care by researching with

them the questions they identify and what is

needed in the clinic.”

Interesting research

Professor Sque is currently involved in three

interesting research projects. She led a project

funded by the British Renal Society titled ‘Life

on the list: An exploratory study of the life world

of individuals waiting for a kidney transplant’.

Magi and her co-investigators found life on

the transplant list was about trying to live life

as normally as possible, ‘seeking normality’,

a circumstance that was enhanced or

constrained by certain factors.

“It is the whole idea of keeping hope alive by

keeping healthy, so that if a suitable kidney

becomes available you’re ready. We also

identified that there appears to be some

misunderstanding about the transplant list,

which is related to individuals’ perceptions of

how a list works, i.e. that it is normal on lists to

go on at the bottom and to work one’s way up.

Clarity and transparency could be increased

with a move away from use of the term ‘list’ to

an alternative term, such as a ‘register’.”

Another ongoing project, funded by the

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR),

focuses on increasing the acceptability and

rates of organ donation among British ethnic

minority groups. Magi explains there is a 40%

refusal rate among the general public when

asked to donate organs from a deceased

relative; this rises to 70% within ethnic minority

groups. However British ethnic minority groups

are over-represented on some transplant lists

due to a predisposition to diabetes, which can

lead to kidney failure.

Magi states the top reasons why people don’t

want to donate a family member’s organs

are that they knew their relative didn’t want

to donate, or the family don’t like the idea of

surgical intervention upon the body of their

deceased relative.

“This relates to the theory of ‘gift of life’ or

‘sacrifice’. If asked, 90% of people would

probably say they think organ donation is

a good thing. The gift of life notion is used

regularly to promote the idea of donation,

but the context changes markedly when the

bereaved family is at the bedside of their loved

one. Then donation can appear to be more of

a personal sacrifice for both the family and the

donor and reasons preventing donation arise.”

Barriers

Magi is leading on a Department of Health

project seeking to further understand the

barriers to organ donation and the factors that

affect the decision of the bereaved family.

“What is important to families and often why

positive decisions are made about donations is

that the family is able to develop a rapport with

health professionals. They feel their critically ill

relative and themselves have been cared for,

not only in intensive care but through the whole

hospital experience. For example, if there is an

unpleasant incident in Accident & Emergency

that has sometimes been enough to put them

off the whole idea of donation.

“An important aspect is the respect shown to

the potential donor and the care given to the

family. It can also be important for the family

to receive correspondence from recipients so

they know their deceased relative’s donation is

recognised, valued and will never be forgotten.”

Little research had been carried out into the

social and psychological aspects of organ

donation prior to Magi’s PhD, meaning there

are still many areas to investigate. Magi says:

“When I finished my PhD, I was asked what I

was going to do with my time now and I replied

that I thought I had enough to keep me busy for

a lifetime. The more questions we try to answer,

the more questions we raise.”

• To join the organ donor register visit the

website: www.organdonation.nhs.uk

10 RESEARCH

Hidden minority

If asked to describe a typical person who

sleeps rough, many people would depict

a middle-aged man sleeping in a shop

doorway or a subway in a city, perhaps

accompanied by a dog. Few would

associate the term with women, and even

less with women from a professional

background. Female rough sleepers

are very much a hidden and unknown

minority.

Professor of Criminal Justice at the University

of Wolverhampton, Kate Moss, explains: “The

experiences of women who sleep rough are

quite different to men. Women don’t access

the existing services available because they are

more ashamed of rough sleeping than men,

and they hide it more. They are also more

physically vulnerable and at risk from sexual

behaviour and associated health problems such

as HIV.

“The reasons why they sleep rough can be

different to men, and one of the main reasons is

that they have long histories of domestic abuse.

Therefore, the solutions to their problems are

going to be different to men.”

Experts at the University are embarking on

a pioneering research project to investigate

the experiences of women rough sleepers

who have suffered domestic abuse. The

University’s Central Institute for the Study of

Public Protection (CISPP) has secured 720,000

Euros (approx £620,000) from the European

Union for the two-year project. Wolverhampton

academics will work with EU partners in Spain,

Sweden, Hungary and Belgium to research the

needs of women sufferers of domestic violence

who now sleep rough and to support them

back into mainstream society.

Unknown numbers

There is little research into women who sleep

rough, as investigations have mostly focused

on men. It is difficult to even put a figure on the

number of women affected in the UK.

Official national statistics released in July 2010

suggested 440 people were sleeping rough in

England – but the methodology used has been

questioned as it only counted people lying on

grass. The Hub, a charity based in Dorset,

said last year that the number of women

sleeping rough had gone up by 80% in the

last five years. But there are clearly still gaps in

knowledge.

Professor Moss says: “No-one knows the true

figures, and that makes this sort of research

even more important. One of the issues from

research so far is that women rough sleepers

are a hidden body of people because many of

them can be professional or ex-professional

women who have got into financial difficulties

and have been evicted. They end up ‘sofa

surfing’ – living on friends and family members’

floors.

“They do not always come from one social

class, and there are a lot of women from

abusive backgrounds. These are not just

intimate partner situations but also sexual

abuse from childhood. Often staying in an

abusive relationship is the only way of avoiding

rough sleeping.”

Active research

Each partner in the project will conduct 20

interviews with a range of target organisations

that work with women who sleep rough.

Through them, they hope to gain access to

the women affected and arrange interviews.

These may be conducted at the organisations

or over the telephone, as the researchers will

need to be sensitive to how individuals wish to

proceed.

Research teams from each country will aim to

interview 20 women rough sleepers to provide

a sample of 80 in total. The UK team will focus

on Wolverhampton and the West Midlands

area, the Swedish academics will work in

Malmo, the Hungarian experts will be based in

Budapest while the Andalucían region will be

the focus for the Spanish group. A team from

Belgium will also assist with the dissemination

of the findings.

Kate explains: “Our theory is that there is

commonality across Europe, and therefore it

makes sense to share knowledge and best

practice. Each country has the same problems,

but we deal with them differently.

“Our aim is to increase our knowledge with a

view to producing two ‘What Works’ guides for

the outward facing agencies and a final report

which we hope will help across Europe. There

will also be four conferences, one in each of the

countries involved, and we will create a virtual

hub encompassing training documents and

activities so that we can help agencies deal with

problems in a more coherent way.”

Top quality bid

The successful funding bid, entitled ‘Women

Rough Sleepers and Domestic Abuse’, was of

such high quality that it was ranked 2nd across

Europe from the 82 projects funded by the

EU’s DAPHNE Programme Award. The bid was

also the highest ranking in the UK, and was

awarded one of the highest funding amounts.

The research will be led by Professor Moss,

supported by Dr Kate Williams, Senior Lecturer

in Criminology and Paramjit Singh, Director

of Research (Business, Community and

International Solutions) from the School of Law,

Social Sciences and Communications.

Professor Moss says the applied nature of the

research and teamwork was the key to the

bid’s success.

“The research is not only an addition to

knowledge. It seeks to implement the findings

of the knowledge in a practical way to

individuals who are some of the most vulnerable

in society. It engages with the frontline services

to help resolve these issues for people in a

more appropriate way.”

While it remains difficult to estimate the number

of women sleeping rough, it is not hard to

understand the importance and necessity of

the research for the people affected.

RESEARCH 11

Gaining work experience alongside

academic studies seems like solid careers

advice, but it is an adage that Dr Anthea

Gregory knows first hand to be true.

“I did a business degree and partway through I

wondered what the relevance was of what I was

studying. Then I did a work placement and it all

became very clear. It was the opportunity to put

into context the theory which made me realise

the value of what I was learning,” she says.

Now as the new Dean of the University of

Wolverhampton Business School (UWBS),

Dr Gregory is keen to ensure real experience

forms a key part of the programme of

education for today’s students.

“Ensuring businesses are engaged with

our curricula will give students a sound

understanding of how the theory is applied and

the issues businesses are facing in the current,

and future, environment. It is that ability to apply

what they are learning that will make them stand

out when they embark on their careers.”

Familiar ground

Anthea took up her post at Wolverhampton

in December 2010, but the move marked a

welcome return to the city. She was Associate

Dean of Postgraduate and Professional

programmes at UWBS from 2000 until 2003,

before joining the University of Hull as Head of

the Scarborough Management Centre in 2003.

She went on to become Director of Learning

and Teaching where she had responsibility for

taught provision, before assuming the role of

Deputy Dean in 2007.

So how does it feel to be back?

“There have been many changes over the last

eight years, the key one being the Business

School’s move to Wolverhampton city centre.

This makes us more visible and has improved

access to facilities for students.

“Working from the City Campus also provides

greater opportunities to work with other

Schools in order to maximise our impact. Other

developments such as the Business Solutions

Centre at Wolverhampton Science Park allow

the University and its partners to provide access

to integrated business services. There is a real

focus for business now.”

Complete package

The Business School aims to ensure its

graduates offer the complete package. The

undergraduate and postgraduate portfolios

have been revalidated to ensure they reflect

the needs and demands of the changing

business world. The School also has

relationships with professional bodies such

as the Chartered Institute of Management

Accountants (CIMA), Chartered Institute

of Marketing (CIM), Chartered Institute of

Personnel and Development (CIPD) and

Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and

wherever possible has sought recognition or

accreditation for its programmes to ensure

they meet professional standards.

It is difficult to escape tales of the competitive

nature of today’s jobs market and the squeeze

many businesses are feeling, but Anthea has

some clear advice for students.

“Students need to seize all the opportunities

they can to build their CV during their time with

us. At the University of Wolverhampton there

are so many extra-curricula activities students

can engage with from volunteering, through

to study abroad options, as well as engaging

with societies and sports clubs. In this way

students can make themselves stand out. It is

not just about having a degree any more – it is

about how you build on that while you are at

University. It is about being able to demonstrate

the skills and competencies, as well as the

knowledge, that an employer wants.”

Making the most of the opportunities available

also opens up avenues for paid employment,

and again this is something Anthea knows

from experience. Following the work

placement during her BA (Hons) Business

Studies degree at Sheffield City Polytechnic,

the company took her on as an employee

and she went on to become the highest paid

graduate from her university that year. The role,

working for entrepreneur Chris Finnegan at his

cake manufacturing business, inspired her later

research interests.

When Anthea moved back into academia to

study for a PhD at the University of Leicester,

she decided to investigate business start-ups

and the reasons for success and failure. Her

expertise lies in entrepreneurship and small

business management – subjects that continue

to interest her today.

“What excites me about the study of business is

the real difference it can make to society. If we

can improve the practice of management then

not only will businesses be more successful

but it will improve the quality of people’s lives.

We probably all spend more time at work than

with our friends and families, so work has to

be a positive experience. It is the practice

of management which determines what

our experience of work will be. Businesses

are not impersonal entities – they impact

on communities, customers, as well as

employees.”

It is possibly this philosophy that leads Anthea

not to name a famous millionaire business

mogul as her hero when asked who she

admires.

Business Leader

12 PROFILE

PROFILE 13

“It would be easy to identify someone high

profile, but I admire the person whose name

I don’t know who has kept a business going

through adverse times. Small businesses are

the engineers of job creation and innovation.

So my heroes are those individuals who are

employing themselves, their families or even 10

or 20 people but who make their businesses

work, sometimes against the odds.”

Key themes

Looking ahead, Anthea explains there are

three key areas for UWBS to focus on. Firstly,

she is keen to concentrate on the learning

experience, pushing forward the business

agenda so students have access to managers

and businesses throughout their studies. This

will be achieved through guest speakers,

internships, live company projects as well as

manager/student mentoring schemes such as

a current project the School is running with the

Institute of Directors (IoD).

Secondly she hopes to broaden business

engagement, ensuring the University is

providing resources that businesses want,

such as training, consultancy and Knowledge

Transfer Partnerships.

The third strand is research, building on the

success of the University in the Research

Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008, which

highlighted a number of areas that are world

leading. Anthea emphasises she is keen to

contribute to new knowledge that makes the

University of interest to business, focusing on

applied research that can influence the way

companies operate.

Anthea has high hopes for UWBS and the

students and staff that people its corridors.

And despite what the news may seem to

say about the state of the economy and

employment opportunities, Anthea says the

future is bright for tomorrow’s hard-working

and enthusiastic graduates.

“It is not all doom and gloom in the jobs

market, but it is about making sure you are

better placed to be the complete package that

employers want. If you are going to be the

manager of the future, then you have to set your

sights on that from the day you start studying.”

• The University of Wolverhampton Business

School is keen to work with businesses

in a variety of ways. It is seeking

organisations and business leaders who

would like to contribute to making sure

the next generation of managers are

developed to the highest standards. If

you would like to discuss how you can

work with the Business School please

call 01902 321789 or email uwbs-

[email protected]

14 FEATURE

The legal profession remains a popular

choice for graduates, offering a

challenging, rewarding and fascinating

career. The University has strong links with

the judiciary in the West Midlands and is

proud that many of its law alumni have

achieved high office after collecting their

degree scrolls. There are several Senior

Government Law Officers around the world

whose careers began in Wolverhampton,

and there is a law graduate from the

University on every continent of the world.

One of the key dates in the University’s

calendar is the annual Celebration of the

Administration of Justice, which takes place

at St Peter’s Collegiate Church. Judges,

barristers, solicitors, magistrates, court staff

and police officials join senior University staff

including Vice-Chancellor, Professor Caroline

Gipps and Dean of the School of Law, Social

Sciences and Communications Professor Judith

Burnett, in a formal procession through the city.

Local dignitaries at this year’s ceremony also

included the High Sheriff of the county of the

West Midlands, Mrs Anita Bhalla OBE, and the

Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Malcolm

Gwinnett.

Martin Cartwright, Associate Dean in the School

of Law, Social Sciences and Communications

(LSSC), explains the ceremony is an opportunity

for the University to showcase its links with the

legal profession and its role in the city.

“The University is part of the wider

Wolverhampton and Black Country community

and it is important for us to show the way we

participate in and contribute to the life of the

city. This is one example where the University

can demonstrate its active participation in the

legal and justice system in the region,” he says.

Celebrating justice“We offer law degrees at undergraduate

and postgraduate level and professional

programmes, and we produce qualified

lawyers, many of whom go on to practise in

the West Midlands. This is a profession that we

are heavily involved with, and it is important for

us to parade what we do and to celebrate it as

well.”

The annual event is organised by The Reverend

Prebendary Geoffrey Wynne, who retired last

year as Senior Chaplain after 44 years at the

University. The ceremony, now in its seventh

year, includes an act of rededication, which

invites the members of the judiciary present to

rededicate themselves to the administration of

justice. The Bible readings at the ceremony are

chosen as they reflect the service’s focus on the

administration of justice.

FEATURE 15

Martin Cartwright explains the ceremony

benefits students as they can see the

connections the University and LSSC in

particular have with local solicitors, barristers

and the judiciary. One example of this is the

Lex 21 group, which aims to put LSSC at

the heart of local legal practices in a number

of areas including Continuous Professional

Development (CPD), recruitment and placement

opportunities.

Martin says: “The students can see that they

are part of a thriving judicial community. We

have other links throughout the academic year,

including inviting judges and other members

of the practising profession to participate in a

number of activities such as presenting talks

to students. We have a mooting competition

and often the local judges will act as judges,

particularly as we reach the final stages. Our

students also spend time on work experience in

local solicitors’ practices.”

Among the procession this year was Circuit

Judge His Honour Judge Jonathan Gosling,

who presides over courts in Wolverhampton

and Derby. Judge Gosling was among the

first intakes of law students at the University of

Wolverhampton and graduated in 1978.

Martin says the University maintains strong

contacts with its alumni, and they provide

inspiration to the many graduates who follow

them into the profession.`

“We have a growing number of law graduates

who have qualified as judges at various

levels. By participating in the justice service,

we maintain our links and remind those who

have achieved high judicial office that they are

graduates of the University of Wolverhampton.

Our alumni are proud that they came from

Wolverhampton, and it shows students that

coming here can give them the opportunity of

achieving a high position in the legal profession

too.”

Other than graduation, there are few occasions

in the University calendar that require full

academic robes, but the annual justice

march is one that enables staff and alumni to

gather together and celebrate in the form of a

traditional procession. For today’s law students,

watching the solicitors, barristers and judges

taking part in the parade provides inspiration

for what they themselves could achieve as they

take the first steps into this challenging career.

For more information about studying a law

course at the University, visit www.wlv.ac.uk/

lssc

Celebrating justice

The project will involve a modular package of

training delivered in hub schools in seven of

the Emirates which will become beacons of

excellence. This will provide a point of contact

for the other school leaders involved in the

programme who will have peer support for any

day-to-day problems they may face after the

training is complete. In addition, there will be a

second tier of support in the UK.

Sir Geoff explains: “It is not just about inputting

information, we want to see that a difference

has been made. It will be evidence based and

revisited every time they take part in training.

The whole idea is to be transformative and that

can only be achieved if we embark on a journey

together.”

Winning team

Also part of the delegation were Jo Gittens,

Director, International; Sabah Mushatat,

Professor of Architecture, School of Technology;

Jan Roman, Director of the Black Country

Children’s Services Improvement Partnership;

Mick Waters, Professor of Education at the

University and Tom Johnston, Headteacher of

the Earls High School, Halesowen. Tom will be

leading a core team of school teachers from

Black Country primary and secondary schools

who will be going out to the UAE to share best

practice.

The education system in the UAE is a mixture

of international schools which cater for some

of the employees of global companies,

fee paying schools aimed at the wealthy

population and state schools. The University

of Wolverhampton’s project is focused on the

state schools and Tom Johnston explains the

emphasis will be on moving from a relatively

The United Arab Emirates is a dynamic part

of the world, which has seen enormous

commercial growth and development in

recent years. Although it is not immediately

obvious from the images of the UAE’s

skyscrapers and desert landscape, the

region has a lot in common with the

Black Country, which has also gone

through a resurgence following a period of

regeneration.

The University of Wolverhampton has been

building a presence in the UAE over a number

of years, after its International Centre identified

it as an area with opportunities, particularly for

short courses, training and consultancy. This

profile-building has led to the University working

on a project with the Ministry of Education in the

UAE to support the training and development of

school leaders.

The aim is to provide school principals and

their assistants with career development

programmes and help improve educational and

administrative practices in schools.

Professor Sir Geoff Hampton, Deputy Vice-

Chancellor, led the delegation to the UAE to

meet officials and believes the University’s

reputation in the education field was the reason

for the success.

“I think we were successful because of our

track record in helping to transform schools

in the Black Country, where we have proved

we can talent spot appropriately and support

people who have gone on to be a success. But

what made us unique was that we developed

bespoke training which will be free standing.

We are taking the best delivery team possible

out there but equally, we are hosting teams over

here in schools.”

16 INTERNATIONAL

didactic approach to one that involves students

more.

“Our aim is for the concentration to not simply be

on what the teaching is like, but what the learning

is like.

“The programme has different levels, which

involves working with senior staff in the schools

and developing their understanding of leadership

for learning and also with good staff on how to

make their practice even better. Another strand

will look at how we can improve the practice of

staff who are at a lower level of development in

their understanding of the quality of learning.”

Global strategy

Jo Gittens, Director, International, at the

University explains the UAE is one element of the

University’s new global strategy and expansion

plan. The University already recruits students from

overseas and delivers degrees in other countries,

known as transnational education (TNE). This

has been extremely successful and the University

now delivers degree programmes in 12 locations

all over the world, with almost 1000 enrolments

overseas.

All universities are identifying new income streams

to meet the shortfall in government funding, but

Wolverhampton has been building a presence

and a profile in the United Arab Emirates for

some time, with support from Professor Sabah

Mushatat, who has extensive links with the

UAE. Jo explains developing this market began

with co-sponsoring the Ajman Urban Planning

Conference, followed by the presentation of an

honorary degree to Deputy Prime Minister of the

United Arab Emirates, His Highness Lieutenant

General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,

last year.

Transforming education

The University’s name and brand is well

established in the Emirates. This was a

contributory factor in securing an audience with

the Minister for Education last year for initial

discussions.

Jo explains that understanding the country, its

culture and ways of doing business is crucial in

any bid like this.

“Each international market is different and

therefore a differentiated approach to markets is

essential for success. You also have to ensure

you get the offer right and appoint a good team

to take the business forward.

“Equally important is patience, responsiveness

and adaptability and this is the case in

any market we operate in, if we are to be

successful!

“On the back of our profile raising, there are

now a number of other major projects emerging

INTERNATIONAL 17

Transforming education

in the UAE and beyond, and we can sell this

model to other markets. In addition, we are

hoping to open a regional office in the UAE in

the near future to build on the success of our

growing network.

“This has been part of a planned international

growth strategy since 2006 and it is good to

see the realisation of that hard work by the

team now.”

Adopt but adapt

But all parties are keen to emphasise that this

is not a case of picking up a successful model

from the UK and adopting it abroad. The

scheme is being developed to meet the cultural

and educational needs of the school leaders,

teachers and most importantly the students of

the UAE.

As Sir Geoff explains: “It is my personal belief

that we can’t pick something up and transport

it to a different country. But we can look at the

underlying principles and adapt them in an

appropriate way. It has to feel different and look

different. This won’t be Black Country schools

re-emerging in the UAE – it will be adopted

but adapted in the UAE to ensure it is fit for

purpose.

“If there is a medical breakthrough somewhere

in the world it is disseminated and celebrated.

In education, we tend to have kept our

successes to ourselves but I would like to see

these disseminated in the future and perhaps

this is one small step towards that.”

Trade mission The city of Wolverhampton has signed an agreement formalising trade links with India. The University is proud to be a key partner in this initiative, and a delegation visited the Indian industrial powerhouse of Bangalore recently to showcase what the city has to offer to businesses.

18 BUSINESS

Richard says: “They were impressed by the

quality of the local industry in Wolverhampton

and the University’s business engagement.

They went away with ideas of what is working

for us and how they can apply it to their own

region and community.”

The successful visit was followed by a second

trip to Bangalore by delegates from the Council

and University, including Professor Ian Oakes,

Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise.

This visit focused on meeting with the

government, identifying potential partners and

meeting with existing ones such as companies

with bases in both Wolverhampton and

Bangalore. The delegation also exhibited at the

Air India Show where they met with captains

of industry such as Ratan Tata, the head of the

Tata empire.

Ian is delighted with the progress of the

partnership.

He adds: “We have a well developed

aerospace sector and a lot of experience and

expertise in Wolverhampton. If we marry those

together and create collaborative links we

can have growth on both sides. We can grow

together in the international market, and it is a

win-win situation.

“We hope to build on the success of this

agreement between the Council, the University

and the Confederation of Indian Industry

and create inward investment, research and

development opportunities and jobs.”

The agreement offers exciting opportunities

for the economic development of the cities of

Wolverhampton and Bangalore, and all the

partners are enthusiastic and committed to the

success of this new venture.

Timken Aerospace, Goodrich, Moog and

Hamilton Sundstrand, and three of these four

have set-up part of their manufacturing in

Bangalore. The University has existing links

with local aerospace companies, including

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs).

KTPs form a partnership between a company,

a recently qualified graduate (Associate) and

a university in order to develop and deliver a

specific, strategic project for the company.

“We want to create connected thinking. If we

can support our partners in the UK better and

also abroad, then we can develop our business

alongside their growth,” Richard continues.

“By developing a relationship with India we

hope to increase opportunities for research and

development, collaborative skills development,

job creation and also to enhance the outreach

of the University internationally.”

An additional benefit of the link will be meeting

a skills need in Bangalore. “As they have

grown, they have found they need more trained

graduates such as engineers, designers,

IT specialists and business managers, and

there is a shortage. We are trying to tackle

that by offering specialist courses focused

on aerospace. Our aim is to give them the

graduates they need to sustain their growth and

as we have similar needs at home, we will be

offering these courses in the UK too.”

One of the most exciting aspects of the

agreement is the relationship between the

University and the City Council. Following the

signing of the MoC, a delegation of four top

Indian trade bosses travelled to Wolverhampton

and spent two days investigating opportunities

for investment and co-operation. During the

visit, they toured the city’s i54 business park,

a 96-hectare site on the northern boundary of

Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire which

aims to create 6,000 jobs primarily in the high

technology sector.

They also looked around the Wolverhampton

Business Solutions Centre, a partnership

established to have a positive economic

impact on the city and West Midlands region

by providing access to business services,

and toured the home of Wolverhampton

Wanderers, the Molineux Stadium.

In today’s challenging economic

climate, seeking out new opportunities

for business and developing networks

are essential to ensure survival. In

Wolverhampton, the University and City

Council have joined forces and are going

the extra mile – or rather 5,000 miles – to

make contacts, build relationships and

enhance trade and investment.

A Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) was

signed during a trade mission to Bangalore

by Wolverhampton City Council Chief

Executive Simon Warren, Associate Dean

at the University’s School of Technology

Professor Richard Hall and Aroon Raman

of the Confederation of Indian Industry. The

agreement states the partners will work closely

together to enhance trade and investment

opportunities, offer advice and support to

each other as well as businesses seeking

opportunities, and promote each others’

regions.

Richard Hall explains the delegation was keen

to build links with Bangalore in particular as

it is experiencing unrivalled growth and has

many similarities to Wolverhampton and the

surrounding West Midlands region.

“This is the first time we have gone out with

local government on a collaborative, global

venture. And that is the difference – we

are going out and bringing the business in.

Today manufacturing is global and hence we

have to travel to engage with business and

governments to bring jobs to Wolverhampton.

“The reason we chose Bangalore is that it has

a similar profile to us as a region. It is about the

same size as the West Midlands, and they have

an aspiration to be the number one city for the

aerospace sector in India, while we aspire to

be the leading area for aerospace in Europe.

Currently we are within the top ten regions in

Europe.

“Bangalore has experienced a nine per cent

growth rate this year. This has predominantly

been in IT but now the aerospace sector is

growing at a similar rate. A lot of companies are

putting high value manufacturing in Bangalore.”

Richard explains there are a number of major

companies based in Wolverhampton, including

We want to create connected thinking

BUSINESS 19

20 BUSINESS

a Senior Fashion Technician. In 2009, she

launched her own business, Catalyst by Tamara

Joseph, with support from the University’s

Student Placements for Entrepreneurs in

Education West Midlands (SPEED WM)

programme. This enables entrepreneurial

students to set up their own businesses whilst

they are studying, and receive support such

as tailored training, mentoring, networking

opportunities and a limited amount of

financial support.

“SPEED was the start of everything for me.

Launching my own business was something

that I had always wanted to do but had never

known how to approach it. They really helped

me and I’m glad I had that opportunity.

“It boosted my confidence because until then

I loved sewing and designing but I didn’t

think people were interested or wanted to

buy my stuff. The mentors gave me ideas of

local designers and that gave me inspiration.

I spoke to someone else on the programme

who mentioned a fashion show and this led to

others, and that boosted me to do my

first collection.”

Things have moved quickly for Tamara. One

of the first major fashion shows Tamara took

part in was the ITV Fixers show at The Public in

April last year to raise funds for UNICEF’s Haiti

Earthquake Children Appeal. She didn’t want to

do a large, high profile show until she had the

right infrastructure within her business.

She explains: “Because of SPEED I had an

impressive website and business cards – until

then I didn’t want to do big shows because

people always ask for your card and it doesn’t

look professional if you don’t have one.”

Now she is preparing to do African Fashion

Week in August, the online retailer ASOS will

soon be selling her garments and a new shop

in Birmingham has also expressed an interest

in her work.

In any career, there is an achievement

seen as the pinnacle of that profession.

It could be becoming a headmaster,

captaining a sports team or winning a

book prize for a novel. In the fashion

industry, seeing your designs on the

catwalk at London Fashion Week has got

to come high on the list of ambitions. And

for fashion entrepreneur Tamara Joseph,

this dream came true when her latest

collection was selected for an emerging

designers’ show this year.

“It was absolutely brilliant,” she says. “I was

styling everything backstage so I didn’t get to

see the catwalk, but when it finished people

started coming up to me – PR people and even

someone from Vogue.com – to say they were

interested in my clothes.”

Tamara is an MA in Fashion and Textiles

student at the University’s School of Art &

Design, where she also works part-time as

Catwalk Queen

BUSINESS 21

Tamara has been interested in fashion since

she was seven, and says her mum and

grandmother were both creative and inspired

her passion. Her mother would make clothes

Tamara had seen in the shops for her at home,

and from this she learnt how to deconstruct

and create her own items.

She describes her own designs as inspired

by her grandmother’s style from the 1930s to

1950s. The Spring/Summer collection for the

emerging designers’ showcase with Fashion’s

Finest touched lightly on 1950s daywear for

men and women, featuring semi-fitted bodices

in chiffon and silks, knee-length pencil skirts in

cotton sateen and silks, raw silk and satin shift

knee-length dresses with a twist. There were

also little driving gloves and straw hats for the

women. For menswear, Tamara teamed trilby

hats and white cotton/jersey shirts with bold

prints of old leaves and thistles in browns

and beiges.

Tamara uses her own photography and that

of her friends and fiancé in her designs, and

her first collection was based on trips she

had taken to places like the Eden Project

and images of her own shadow. Her second

collection was inspired by the M4 at night,

using images of bright lights and cars zooming

by. Her current collection focuses on blooms

and included dandelions in different colours

and thistles that have been faded out.

All Tamara’s designs are unique and made

to order, although she may use the same

image more than once. She always works on

more than one garment at a time. For London

Fashion Week, Tamara spent three weeks

working on eight outfits, but has spent three

months working on one Prom dress before.

Her ambitions now, she says, are to become

established and successful, and to see her

designs in a big store such as Harrods or

Harvey Nicholls.

She adds: “I would love to see my garments on

the New York catwalks or a big stage catwalk at

London – seeing people wearing your clothes

is lovely.”

Having worked at London Fashion Week,

Tamara is even more aware of the pressures

and demands of the industry. But she has

some words of wisdom for the students hoping

to follow her footsteps on to the catwalk.

“It is fierce out there, and you have to have

a strong backbone. You also have to push

yourself because it is not going to land in

your lap.

“I would also say be patient, as it is not going

to happen overnight. It didn’t happen overnight

for Vivienne Westwood or John Galliano. It is

ten years since I left university and it has

finally happened, with the help I received

through SPEED.”

Pictures by Robert Stacey. Front cover picture by Helen Robinson

22 PEOPLE

An end to toxic debt?

A seminar series hosted by the Management Research Centre is attracting some interesting and well-known speakers to provide expert insights into a range of business and employment issues. Topics have included the role of a charity Chief Executive, labour markets and job insecurity and regeneration and corruption. One of the recent speakers was a leading economic commentator, Newsnight’s Paul Mason.

PEOPLE 23

When you think of the global economic

situation, the 1979 film Alien may not

be the first thing that springs to mind.

But BBC Newsnight Economics Editor

Paul Mason uses the film as an analogy

for the turbulence in the financial world

since 2008. In a talk at the University of

Wolverhampton, he likened the crisis to

the scene where the alien is stabbed. Its

acid blood burns through the floor of the

first deck. It burns through the next floor

and the question is can it be stopped

before it burns through the hull and they

are all killed?

For us today the acid blood is toxic debt in the

economy. It has burned the financial system.

Now it is hitting the real economy – output,

trade. At the moment only the state is strong

enough to hold the acid. Interventions such as

the fiscal stimulus and bank nationalisations

work to limit the destructive power of this toxic

debt. But whether the state can or should be a

permanent barrier is still in doubt.

Global view

Travelling all over the world for the BBC’s

flagship Newsnight programme, Paul Mason

can be in Ireland covering the financial crisis

one day and in China speaking to officials

about the country’s workforce the next.

Before joining Newsnight, Paul was deputy

editor of Computer Weekly, and spent a total

of nine years covering business in specialist

magazines and newspapers before making the

move into TV.

Prior to becoming a journalist, Paul was

a professional musician and lectured at

Loughborough University of Technology.

Although clearly an expert in his subject, Paul

admits he is not an economist.

“My career has been as a business sector

journalist so I hopped from sector to sector,

looking at anything from construction, social

care and the digital sector to dot com

industries and business computing,” he says.

“I joined the BBC to report on political

economics and ask questions such as why

people do certain things and why don’t we

know anything about the Chinese workforce?

In 2000, an opportunity arose to become

Economics Editor and I was reluctant at first

as I thought it would involve lots of press

conferences, but I travel all over the world,

even covering shootings in Croxteth, and I was

in America when Lehman Brothers filed for

bankruptcy protection.”

Powerful insights

Paul was invited to share his insights into

the economy as part of the Management

Research Centre’s (MRC) seminar series. Staff,

students and members of the public packed

into the lecture, titled ‘When will the crisis

end?’ at the University. The series aims to offer

a look at a diverse range of current issues in

the business world. Other speakers over the

last two years have included Nigel Winter,

Chief Executive of the Vegan Society, member

of the House of Lords Baroness Sandip Verma

and former Coronation Street star turned

investigative journalist Nigel Pivaro.

Professor Mike Haynes, Joint Head of the

MRC, organises the lectures and emphasises

the broad appeal of the speakers they

attract. He says: “We have a visiting speaker

programme and what we are trying to do

is combine academic speakers with people

who can offer us powerful and controversial

insights into some of the most exciting

issues affecting not merely business but the

community today.

“Paul Mason was very enthusiastic and offered

a challenging viewpoint of an unstable future in

which the fundamental problems of the world’s

economy have still not been addressed.”

The insights in Paul’s seminar offered food

for thought for the economics and business

students present, but he also had some

advice for journalism students hoping to follow

in his footsteps. He describes journalism as

the “writing of history in real time” and has

these words for budding economics editors:

“Don’t have an inferiority complex. I talk to

journalism, business and economics students

and I travel all over the world and the Brits are

highly respected for a lot of things, but not

networking. My advice is get out there and

be that person you are trying to be – not the

person you need to be.”

For more information about the University

of Wolverhampton Business School’s

Management Research Centre, visit:

www.wlv.ac.uk/mrc

Like many students at the University of

Wolverhampton, graduate Jehangir Malik

was the first in his family to go into higher

education. Graduating in 1992 with an

LLB (Hons) in Law, Jehangir is today the

UK Director at Islamic Relief, one of the

largest international relief agencies in the

country, and last year was awarded an

OBE for his services to humanity.

“Going to university was a major milestone

within my community and one that made my

family and friends alike very proud of me,” he

explains. “The University had a very reputable

Law School and I found it to be a very exciting,

dynamic and intellectually stimulating place for

learning.”

As a first generation university entrant,

Jehangir found a lot of support in staff and

fellow students during his studies.

“The lecturers were excellent and the support

staff provided me with plenty of moral and

academic guidance. There was a great

atmosphere and I met students from all walks

of life.”

Jehangir’s experiences also helped shape the

person he is today.

“My time at Wolverhampton helped me to

grow as an individual, and especially helped

me to see the diversity in our society and value

it as a strength to be utilised. It gave me the

confidence I needed to tackle any challenge and

this will stay with me forever.”

It was during his time at Wolverhampton that

Jehangir joined Islamic Relief as a volunteer

fundraiser. Islamic Relief is an international

aid and development charity, which aims to

alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest

people. As well as responding to disasters

and emergencies, Islamic Relief promotes

sustainable economic and social development

by working with local communities - regardless

of race, religion or gender.

Over the next 20 years Jehangir worked his

way up the organisation and today, as UK

Director, he is responsible for both strategic

direction and emergency response, managing

a dedicated team of people spread across the

country.

“As I write this I am preparing to leave the very

next day to the border of Libya and Tunisia

where thousands of refugees are fleeing over

the Libyan border to escape the fighting. Here

Islamic Relief has set up transit shelters to help

the displaced people. I love what I do and feel

extremely privileged in performing the duties of

my job.”

Jehangir also works with government

departments and policy think tanks on relief

and development. As the UK representative

for Islamic Relief, he is often required to attend

high profile events such as state functions and

ministerial and ambassadorial briefings.

Name: Jehangir Malik

Course: LLB (Hons) Law

Year of Graduation: 1992

24 SUCCESS STORY

Jehangir MalikGraduate success story

“Managing the UK Operation is an exciting and

hugely gratifying day-to-day experience. I enjoy

being able to play an active role in helping to

bridge the gap and mobilising the British public

who are deeply passionate about reducing

the disparity between the developed and

developing world and tackling poverty.”

In 2010 Jehangir was awarded an OBE

by HRH Princess Anne for his services to

humanity.

“I feel extremely privileged and humbled at the

same time in receiving this prestigious award.

The OBE was an acknowledgement of the

maturity of the organisation, its role in the fight

against poverty and its services to humanity.

As the recipient of the award, I hope it will be

viewed as a symbol of recognition, inspiration

and achievement.”

Looking back at his time at Wolverhampton,

Jehangir has the following advice for potential

students.

“Having travelled to over 20 countries around

the world from Afghanistan and Somalia to

Sudan and Iraq, I have realised the phenomenal

opportunity that a university education provides

to any student of any background. It equips

you with the necessary skills to help you meet

the exciting challenges that await you. Embrace

it with all its glory.”

My time at Wolverhampton helped me to grow as an individual.

WHAT’S ON GUIDE 25

Jehangir Malik

May

June

What’s onGuideCharity 18 hole golf competition and lunch – in aid of the City of Wolverhampton Mayor’s charities.

Date: Friday, 13 May 2011

Time: Tee off at 9am

Location: Perton Golf Club, Wrottesley Park Road, Perton

Call: 01902 897031

School of Art & Design Degree Show 2011 – featuring work by final year students.

Dates and times: Monday 6 June to Friday 10 June, 9am-5pm; Saturday 11 June 10am-4pm

Location: School of Art & Design, MK Building, Molineux Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1DT

Contact: Bhavna Parmar

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.wlv.ac.uk/artanddesign

Call: 01902 322058

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News in brief

Arts funding boostThe University was delighted to receive a boost in Arts Council funding for its arts education development programmes.

The Black Country Children’s Services Improvement Partnership (BCCSIP), operated by the University, successfully applied for funding to develop arts education across the region. The amount to be allocated is circa £3.5m over the next three years.

The second application came from the University’s Arena Theatre. The Arts Council will provide circa £340,000 over three years, to support and develop community engagement projects aimed at raising aspirations amongst children through arts education.

Commitment to improving access and success in higher educationNew figures show the University is maintaining its commitment to providing access to higher education for students from under represented groups.

Data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for 2009/10 shows the University is 8.5 percentage points above its benchmark figure for recruiting undergraduate students from under-represented groups in low participation neighbourhoods.

University of Wolverhampton Open Day – find out about a range of courses, meet the lecturers and current students and tour the excellent facilities.

Date: Saturday, 11 June 2011

Time: 10am-3pm

Location: Wolverhampton City and Walsall Campuses

Website: www.wlv.ac.uk/opendays

Call: 0800 953 3222*

MAC071 (1)

University of Wolverhampton Wulfruna Street Wolverhampton West Midlands WV1 1LY

tel: 0800 953 3222* fax: 01902 32 25 17 web: www.wlv.ac.uk/dialogue

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