News in brief
Finance teams temporary move; temporary Director of the Doctoral School; Language Centre anniversary; gender equality survey; Staff Summer Party; VC’s open staff forum; Sussex Impact Day
Finance teams in Sussex House move to temporary location
If you need to deposit cash with Cashiers this month, note that it will be closed on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 June.
That’s because the Income team, Student Accounts (where students go to pay rents and tuition fees, and to collect VC loans) and Accounts Receivable team will be moving from their offices in Sussex House, which are being refurbished.
They will re-open on Monday 20 June in a temporary home in room 332, on level 3 of the same building.
On Thursday 14 and Friday 15 July the three Finance offices will be closed once again in preparation for moving back into their newly refurbished offices. They will re-open as normal on Monday 18 July.
Temporary Director of the Doctoral School for 2016-17
Following three years as Director of the Doctoral School, Professor Vicky Lebeau will be taking a year’s research leave in 2016-17 before returning for a second three-year term.
Professor George Kemenes, who has agreed to take on this role from 1 August, will continue to champion the doctoral agenda within the University during Professor Lebeau’s research leave.
Professor Lebeau says: “George has served as Director of Doctoral Studies in the School of Life Sciences for over six years and will bring a wealth of understanding and experience to the role.”
Language Centre celebrates 50 years
The 50th anniversary of the installation of the language laboratory in Arts A was recently celebrated at an on-site party attended by people from the Centre's past and present.
Professor Ray Satchell, Director of the Sussex Centre for Language Studies, delivered a speech detailing the evolution of technological innovation at Sussex.
Amongst the guests were Jim McGivney and Roderick Snell, who were associated with the language lab from the 1960s, and blueprints, films and equipment of that vintage were on show.
Seeking your thoughts on gender equality in STEMM
Academics are invited to share their experiences of gender equality in their STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) disciplines and at the University.
The Equality Challenge Unit's national ASSET 2016 (Athena Survey of Science, Engineering and Technology) survey is taking place across 52 UK institutions, taking into account factors including number of STEMM academics, region and background.
The ECU survey was emailed to all 494 STEMM academics at Sussex in April. To date, 54 staff have completed the survey at Sussex.
The academics eligible to complete the survey will receive a reminder email next week. If 126 Sussex staff respond to the survey then the University will receive a useful summary of the data collated from this group of staff.
To allow more time for people to respond the survey deadline has now been extended until Tuesday 28 June.
Over 400 staff register for Summer Party on 1 July
Over 400 University staff have registered for the Staff Summer Party at the Falmer Sports Complex on Friday 1 July.
Everyone who registers is automatically being entered into a free raffle which will take place at 4.00pm on the day. More prizes are being added all the time.
The Staff Obstacle Olympics tournament is also proving popular with staff, with over 70 people registered to take part so far. Music and giant garden games are also being provided on the day for those who aren’t taking part in the tournament.
Register now for the Staff Summer Party, before the 20 June deadline
VC’s open staff forum on Thursday 16 June
The forum provides staff with an opportunity to catch up on the latest developments within the University and contribute to discussions about how it is run.
Following changes made in late 2015, many people have commented on how they like the more interactive format of the event, as it allows them to contribute to discussions about the running of the University while meeting other members of staff.
At the last forum on 12 February, technology was trialled that allowed staff to pose questions to the VC anonymously using a mobile phone or tablet during the event. This resulted in a lively Q&A session and due to its popularity this facility will be made available again – so please bring your devices with you. Full instructions on how to ask a question in this way will be provided on the day.
The event takes place from 2.00pm - 3.30pm on Thursday 16 June in the Terrace Room of Bramber House. To add this event to your Outlook calendar, just log in via this link: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/its/exchange/calendar_vc
Sussex Impact Day coming soon – limited places still available
Sussex Impact Day on Tuesday 14 June is now fast approaching and limited spaces are still available for some sessions. The event is for all Sussex researchers (from doctoral students to professors) and research support staff.
The Opening Panel (10.00-11.00am) will be chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Farthing, with a panel of external policymakers and experts including Alice Frost (HEFCE), Vanessa Cuthill (ESRC), David Phipps (York University, Toronto) and Paul Manners (National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement).
The panel will explore “With or without the REF: Why an impact focus is vital for researchers”. They are hoping for a lively discussion, with a variety of views on impact represented, so come along and make your voice heard. Book now
A wide choice of workshops and seminars are running throughout the day, covering all disciplines and many fields of impact. One strand of sessions is particularly relevant for early-career and doctoral researchers. Find out more about all sessions and book your place now.