Year: 2016

Public Health England and Universities UK are asking students across the UK to check that they have had two doses of the MMR vaccine in the past, following an increase in confirmed cases of measles in some areas of the country over the past few weeks.

Cases have mainly been confirmed in unimmunised adolescents and young adults, some of which are known to be university students in the South of England. Many of these cases have been admitted to hospital.

Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can be very unpleasant and sometimes lead to serious complications. It’s now uncommon in the UK because of the effective MMR vaccination programme. Although it may be a mild illness in children, measles can be more severe in adults. Those who are unvaccinated, or not fully vaccinated, remain susceptible to the disease.

It’s never too late to have the vaccine. Students who have not received two doses of the vaccine in the past – or who are unsure – should speak to their GP. There’s no harm in receiving an additional dose if there is any uncertainty. Students can either arrange to be vaccinated while they are at University, or they can check their vaccination status when they are back at home and arrange to catch up with any vaccinations that they missed when they were younger.

Students are also asked to remain alert to measles, which can include cold-like symptoms, sore red eyes, a high temperature or a red-brown blotchy rash. Those experiencing symptoms should seek medical attention, but phone ahead before visiting GP surgeries so arrangements can be made to prevent others from being infected. Those who have been in close contact with someone who has measles should also see their GP, if they have not been fully vaccinated (had two doses of the MMR vaccine) or haven’t had the infection before – particularly those who are immunosuppressed, pregnant or infants.

Two doses of MMR vaccine are routinely provided as part of the NHS Childhood Immunisation Programme in England. Uptake is now high with more than 90% of children receiving one dose of the vaccine by two years of age, but uptake of the vaccine was lower at the time the majority of current university students were offered the vaccine as children.

Public Health England has published a blog on the avoidable health threats every student should know about.

To register or book an appointment at the University Health Centre, call 01522 870010 or visit during opening hours (9am-6.30pm Monday to Friday).

The University of Lincoln has been named in the UK’s top 50 universities in the Complete University Guide 2017.

The latest version of the national university league table is published online today (Monday 25th April 2016) at www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk  

The main table of the Complete University Guide 2017 ranks 127 higher education institutions on ten measures: Student Satisfaction, Research Quality, Research Intensity, Entry Standards, Student: Staff Ratio; Spending on Academic Services; Spending on Student Facilities; Good Honours degrees achieved; Graduate Prospects and Completion. It also provides separate listings for 70 academic subjects.

Placed 49th in the main table, the University of Lincoln is also positioned in the national top ten of the Agriculture subject area.

Professor Mary Stuart, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln, said: “Our place in the rankings reflects the steady work we have been developing to ensure the best experience for our students and to create the environment for excellent research to flourish.
“Students and staff at Lincoln have worked hard to achieve this recognition and I am grateful to all our community for their commitment to our development.
“This year applications to Lincoln have been higher than ever and I look forward to welcoming another excellent student year group this September.”

Around £200 million has been invested in developing Lincoln’s main Brayford Pool Campus over the past two decades since it was opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 1996. A further £130 million capital programme was announced last year which will provide state-of-the-art new buildings for staff and students in engineering, computer science, mathematics, physics, nursing, social care and psychology.

The University of Lincoln’s approach to research-engaged teaching has been recognised with a commendation from the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for enhancement of student learning opportunities. Lincoln has also won a series of national awards and accolades for its approach to working with employers, including a Lord Stafford Award and Times Higher Education Award.

Graduate prospects are strong with nine out of ten of Lincoln’s most recent graduates in work or further study six months after completing their studies and more than 70% of those working in graduate level roles – above the national average (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey 2015). This highlights the University’s focus on supporting students to develop the right skills to gain excellent jobs.

The latest rankings also reflect Lincoln’s success in the last national assessment of university research standards, the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014. More than half of Lincoln’s submitted research was judged to be world-leading or internationally excellent in REF 2014 and it was placed in the top ten nationally for the quality of its research outputs in the Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science subject area.

The team behind the Complete University Guide has compiled university league tables for almost 20 years. Since 2007, these have been freely available on line. The Guide is an autonomous division of Hotcourses.

Dr Bernard Kingston, principal author of TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk, said: “There is a considerable degree of stability at the upper end of the league table this year. While dramatic changes may be newsworthy, this stability indicates that the rankings are robust and credible for young people seeking a university place – our primary purpose.”

See the Complete University Guide 2017 tables at: www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk

co_LAB workshop – Call for Participants

co_LAB is pleased to announce that we will be running our next intensive cross-college workshop in May (9-13) and are currently seeking enthusiastic participants from across the University. The call is open to L2 students from all Colleges (although applicants from other years will also be considered).

co_LAB workshops bring together staff and students from different academic contexts, employing a student-directed, discovery-based learning approach to support a range of 21st century skills (collaboration, innovation, group problem-solving, digital media literacies). Check out what we got up to in a previous project undertaken last year for a little taste of what you might expect.

Here are just some of the benefits of taking part in this project:

• Network and meet other students working in different academic disciplines
• Discover new approaches to conceptual development, research and collaborative production
• Shape the way you learn by having more autonomy in the curriculum
• Share your voice on challenging contemporary debates and produce new knowledge
• Exhibit your work at a public facing event
• Counts as ‘extra-curricular activity’ for Lincoln Award
• Outputs to be considered for the European Youth Award

If you would like to take part in this workshop please fill in the online application form or follow the instructions in the poster below. We will be holding an informal briefing on the project for all who may wish to take part but want to find out a little more information on Thursday 21st April 2016, 15.30 in room MC2113B (2nd floor MHT). Any other questions can be directed to colab@lincoln.ac.uk