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A RANGE OF RESEARCH AT SECOND UCY RESEARCH CONFERENCE…
The fascinating range of academic research currently being undertaken by staff at the University Centre Yeovil (UCY) and Yeovil College was on show this week at the second annual UCY Research Conference.
Lecturers and staff from both the UCY and Yeovil College gave presentations on their research into a wide range of intriguing and relevant topics. These included “Garden History and Archaeology at Barwick Park, Yeovil” by John Horsey, “Slavery in Somerset” by Mike Paddick, “Research on Drawing and Dance” by Diana Pilcher, “Speaking His Mind: What Nietzsche Shares with Us” by Eric Wills and “Can Sustainability Survive the Recession?” by Maureen Wincott.
The event also included presentations on research showing how the UCY is improving the student experience, such as “IT Confidence in Higher Education Learners” by Karen Foster, Head of the Learning Centre, “Creating Learning Resource and Study Support Materials Using a Virtual Learning Environment” by Emma Ransley and “Working together to Enhance the HE Disabled Student Experience within FE: How are we doing it?” by Phil Hunt, the UCY’s HE Learning Advisor.
The presentations were well received by the audience of staff and special guests, including UCY Fellows, Yeovil College representatives and staff from the University of the West of England (UWE).
Yeovil College Principal James Hampton introduced the Conference. He said “I was very impressed by the range, depth and quality of the papers presented today. I especially liked the balance between research focused on our own practice and that based on primary research which adds to the body of subject knowledge. In particular, it was good to see the case being made for the role of the BA English and History, a Humanities degree, adding to the cultural identity of Yeovil, which, whilst being in the Heart of the Country, seeks to have the Mind of a City. UCY has a very important role to play in this and the blend of research activity the Centre supports shows that HE in Yeovil is certainly coming of age.”
Dr. Richard Foyle, Head of the UCY, said “Last year’s conference was a great success and we were delighted to be able to follow it up with further papers from staff at the College and UCY, reflecting their HE subject discipline. Research and scholarly activity is a vital ingredient for staff involved in HE delivery and most of the staff here today are supported by funds from the UCY or Yeovil College. We intend to continue this support in the future so that our staff can continue to make a highly valuable contribution to academic study and further understanding of how to improve the learning experience. We anticipate that the UCY Research Conference will grow in importance and become a regular feature of UCY, College and Yeovil life.”
The next UCY Research Conference will take place in 2010. For a copy of the UCY prospectus, detailing all the full and part-time degree-level and professional courses on offer at the Centre, call 01935845454, email ucy@yeovil.ac.uk or visit www.ucy.ac.uk.
