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ANIC Engineering Forum ANIC hosted the 3rd Engineering Forum which took place in Lagan Valley Island on 20 October 2006. Chaired by Dr Alan Blair and attended by senior engineering staff across FE, the meeting provided a further opportunity to discuss key issues impacting upon engineering in Further Education. A key agenda item was the issue of falling enrolments in engineering and actions were agreed which ANIC will now take foward on behalf of the sector. NICIS Benchmarking Questionnaire As part of the quality assurance exercise for the Northern Ireland College Information Systems (NICIS) Project, the Project Board has commissioned a benchmarking questionnaire for completion by all staff who have access to NICIS in each of the Northern Ireland 's Further Education Colleges. As a user of NICIS in respect of student records, personnel, finance, estates, e-registers or reports in your college, we would ask you to complete this questionnaire on your college information as honestly as you see fit. The questionnaire can be accessed by clicking here. The closing date for responses is 27 October 2006, after which date one lucky respondant drawn at random will win a portable DVD player donated by BT.
Michael Broadley, a student of North East Institute and member of the Skillbuild N.I. team won the Gold Award in Brickwork at last week's Skillbuild 2006 National Final competition held at Barnfield Technology College , Luton . 118 competitors competed in 11 construction trades over three days. Michael not only won his own category but he was also the winner of the prestigious ‘Skillbuild 2006 National Apprentice of the Year Award'.
David McKelvey, former student of the East Down Institute, picked up his second gold medal for Carpentry at the 2006 UK Skillbuild competition held in Barnfield College of Technology Luton last week. David, who is in a small select and elite group of apprentices who have achieved this honour, already holds an impressive track record in the trade gaining gold in the 2006, 2005 and the 2004 Skillbuild NI competition. The former Jobskills NVQ Level 3 Carpentry student is now in full-time employment but regularly attends hobby woodwork classes at the Institute to constantly update his skills.
This year's Northern Ireland final of the National Training Awards were held recently in the Belfast City Hall and once again, colleges throughout Northern Ireland came out top of this prestigious ceremony which recognises excellence through training and learning
Upper Bann Institute
Jacquie Brachi a part-time lecturer in Calligraphy at the East Down Institute scooped first prize in the Calligraphy lettering paper section and the award for overall excellence when she competed against top professionals in the industry at the prestigious RDS Arts and Crafts show. Picking up €3000 in prizes, her entry comprised a 16 th century poem by Robert Herrick ‘Delight and Disorder' which was scribed on silk paper and suspended as a petticoat in vibrant silhouettes of red, white and gold. Her work will now be part of a travelling show of exhibits which will be showcased throughout the UK commencing at The Flowerfield Centre, Portstewart for one month from 28 October. Jacquie who has taught at the Institute since 1990 commented “the skill of calligraphy is not easily learnt and can take years to perfect. Calligraphy and crafts have increased in significance over the past number of years to become a lucrative industry”. In her spare time Jacquie combines her creative talents with dog training, representing Northern Ireland at Crufts. She is also a member of Cuan Scribes, a society which she set up ten years ago to promote calligraphy with crafts to the wider community.
Fermanagh College and the Carers Association are running an Awards Ceremony and Seminar for participants on the Care Homes II Project. The event will take place on Wednesday 25 th October art 10am in the Kilmore Hotel in Cavan. A similar ceremony is also running next month in the Killyhevlin Hotel for participants from Northern Ireland . A former Engineering student at Newry Institute - Anthony O Callaghan from Camlough was rewarded for his outstanding achievements in his course at a special prize giving ceremony last week. Anthony was awarded the best BEng (Hons) Electronics and Software student in the University of Ulster Year 2. Anthony was chosen to receive a certificate of merit and a £200 cash prize in recognition of his academic success.
Newry Institute is hosting on the 13th November 2006 the only Skills for Nails event in Ireland this year. This is an all Ireland event operated in conjunction with City & Guilds, Habia and Scratch magazine. This event is being launched at NKIFHE and then it will run through four other key UK centres.
Students, parents, tutors and guests gathered at the beautiful surroundings of Galgorm Manor for the annual North East Institutes Higher Education Graduation Ceremony. Guest speakers at this year's event were Mrs Bernie O'Hare, Director of FE Division, Department for Employment and Learning and Ms Eileen Kelly Director, EGSA. 250 students over two ceremonies were presented with certificates for their achievements from the School of Business and Management, School of Social Studies , School of Built Environment , School of Engineering and Computing, School of Active and Creative Lifestyles and the School of Lifelong Learning . Five NEI special awards were also presented to students in recognition for their successful achievements.
An innovative training programme, which recognises the untapped potential of women in the workforce, has been launched by the North West Institute and its partner colleges in the project, Omagh College and Fermanagh College . ‘Women Behind the Business' is targeted at women who provide support to, or operate within a small business, and women who wish to return to work. The programme has been designed to focus on improving the managerial skills of either group. North West Duo Scoop International Film Prize Two former media studies students from the North West Institute have just returned from Los Angeles in the United States as winners in a prestigious film and video festival. Michael Lafferty, from Clady, and Steven Gurney from the Waterside area of Londonderry , won the Best Action Genre award in the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. Their short film ‘The Vendetta' was selected as top prize from more than 100 other entries following an exhibition of work held at the Laemmele Fairfax centre in Los Angeles. Omagh Students Cement a Career in Construction Omagh College students were urged to lay strong foundations for their careers when National Construction Week (3-12 October) was celebrated at the College on Monday 9 October. The Aimhigher Roadshow teamed up with Construction Skills to speak to students at the College. Annie Millar from Construction Skills New Entrant Team joined Aimhigher facilitator, Clare McDonald, and student financial adviser Stewart Forrest, on board the interactive Roadshow to talk about how higher education can help cement a future in one of the 57,000 jobs available in NI's booming construction industry.
Upper Bann Institute demonstrated that it was committed to safeguarding not only the physical health of its staff and learners but also their mental health, when it participated in World Mental Health Day on 10 th October 2006. The theme for World Mental Health Day 2006 was ‘Building Awareness - Reducing Risk: Mental Illness and Suicide'. The Student Services Team is located across all Institute campuses and they led this initiative, setting up information stands for the day and inviting both staff and students to visit and have a chat. A wide range of literature was available for staff and students to read or take away with them and covered a wide range of issues including suicide, depression, stress, eating disorders and anxiety.
A number of UBI students recently participated in the Special Olympic Games in Belfast . Not only did these keen sportspeople have the honour of taking part in the games but they also achieved medals and ribbons for their achievements. Students receving awards were Lyndsey Stevenson and Denise Fegan for golf, Ian Watson and Kathy Davison for swimming. All attend UBI's Skills for Independent Living classes each Wednesday on the Banbridge Campus and have done for many years. UBI is very proud of its Olympians.
Armagh College students recently participated in one of the largest festivals in the UK. The Students hosted a music concert at the student village as part of Oxjam - Oxfam's biggest, most ambitious music event ever. Events are being held throughout the month of October to make one huge Oxjam festival, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds to fight poverty. Oxjam has teamed up with MTV to offer all participants a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get their music shown on MTV. But with so many events to choose from, the MTV cameras couldn't possibly capture them all. Students from Armagh College's new BTEC National Diploma in Media - Games Development course captured the College event and will upload it onto MTV's new interactive music site. The footage may then appear on the MTV new talent initiative ‘Get seen, Get Heard'. Voters will then vote online for their favourite entry and if the College is among the lucky winners the performers will be profiled and filmed for broadcast by MTV in the new year!
Two students from Armagh College participated in ‘The Apprentice Councillor' which was hosted by Armagh City and District Council as part of Local Democracy Week. Students from second level schools in the Council's area participated in a number of team activities based loosely on the hit BBC series ‘The Apprentice'. Teams and not individuals were ‘fired'. The winning team has yet to be announced with each winning student having the opportunity to become ‘Young Mayor' for the day.
At the recent Institute of Administrative Management (IAM) International Graduation Ceremony, Pat Denvir from Belfast Institute's Department of Business and Management received the prestigious Institute (IAM) Medal. The medal, which was introduced in 1977, is awarded to acknowledge distinguished service to the Institute (IAM) and outstanding service in both the field of Administrative Management and to the Institute itself. Pat is a fellow of the IAM and has been Course Co-ordinator at the Belfast Institute for 18 years. She has been an active member of the Institute at regional and national level as a member of the Ireland branch, the Deputy chair of the IAM Education Committee and Chief Examiners Board and as a member of the Council.
Two recent audits of Belfast Institute's quality of provision have resulted in very positive feedback and well merited plaudits for Institute staff. Firstly, following the annual review of its Jobskills SERs by ETI and DEL , in addition to an overall good response, staff were complimented specifically on their ‘reflective and thoughtful evaluation of the quality of provision' and ‘good ongoing analysis of the impact of ILT/ICT on the quality of training and learning.' Similarly, an audit by the Institute's internal auditors reported ‘full assurance' on all aspects of its Quality Assurance systems. Well done to all the teaching staff and the Curriculum Unit on maintaining such impressive standards.
The College is holding a free European Food and Wine Event on Thursday 26 October 2006 from 7:30pm in celebration of the European Day of Languages. It aims to raise awareness to the importance of learning a language and intercultural understanding. Castlereagh College is providing the opportunity for people to try out the cuisines and wine from a variety of European countries including France, Germany, Spain and Italy. There will also be an opportunity to get information about the wide range of language courses offered at the college. Joanne Dinsmore, a part-time student at Castlereagh College, completed a two year Institute of Accounting Technicians in Ireland course at the College in June 2006. Joanne obtained an overall Distinction on her course and won the honour of obtaining joint ninth place in Ireland for her outstanding results. At the College's Annual Awards ceremony, which is taking place in December, Joanne will receive the IATI Student of the Year Award in recognition of her achievement.
Castlereagh College student Barbara Norris will be featured on the BBC “Inside Out” programme on Monday 23 October. She will be interviewed by the BBC presenter, Jacqui Berkley, in a special investigation on how young adults with Down's Syndrome children can lead a full life. This feature follows on from the Eastenders current story of new parents Billy and Honey giving birth to a Down's Syndrome baby. Barbara, who is a part-time student at Castlereagh College , currently studies Retail Operations. She also attends Orchardville, which prepares people with Learning Disabilities for employment by providing vocational training and work experience. Barbara has also completed the Duke of Edinburgh Award and has received her Bronze and Silver Awards. She has also completed the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. Barbara also competed in the Special Olympics and has won five medals in Rhythmic Gymnastics.
East Antrim Institute teamed up with AMH Action Mental Health and Homefirst Community Trust to observe World Mental Health Day. Students from East Antrim , Causeway and North East Institutes were given the opportunity to take part in a number of workshops and learn more about mental health issues. East Antrim Institute's Administration and Secretarial students received a triple award at this year's LCCI (London Chamber of Commerce & Industry) Examination Board Awards. Jane Bradley achieved a World Gold Medal in English for Business, Nicola Armstrong achieved a World Gold Medal for Text Processing and Fiona Adair was awarded a World Silver Medal in English for Business. Their success was all the more impressive when you consider more than 200,000 LCCI certificates are awarded each year in over 100 countries.
In order to help potential applicants with the application process for the National Training Awards, a number of free information seminars will be held during November 2006.
Click here to register.
St. Mary's University College , Belfast will be holding its second national literacy conference on Friday 1st December 2006. This exciting event is entitled 'Creating Writers'. The programme includes a range of speakers including Eve Bearne, Cambridge Univeristy; Carlo Gebler, award-winning author, film maker, producer; Trinka Messinheimer, Bowling Green State University , Ohio , USA ; David Park, renowned author. For details and information contact Donna Murray on d.murray@stmarys-belfast.ac.uk
LSDA NI will be holding a conference entitled Promoting Active Learning: a development day for ES Numeracy & Maths practitioners on Friday 17 November 2006 from 9.45am - 4 pm at the Park Avenue Hotel, Belfast. The main speaker will be Dr Malcolm Swan from the University of Nottingham.
NIACE will be holding a one day event on adult pre-entry curriculum framework training for literacy and numeracy. Building on the success of the one-day adult pre-entry Curriculum Framework courses delivered so far during 2006 and in response to continued demand, NIACE is pleased to notify that the offer of training is now being extended to Northern Ireland and will take place in Belfast 30 January 2007. The event aims to assist those whose teaching involves supporting learners at pre-entry level with their communication, literacy and numeracy skills in any post-16 context. To reserve a place and to view the programme for the event click here.
The Network Publishing Northern Ireland Conference will take place on 29 November 2006 at the Comfort Hotel, Antrim from 10.00am to 3.30pm. This free event will enable you to find out more about flexible learning as a training solution for Northern Ireland . There will also be a chance to meet with college practitioners who are currently delivering Network Publishing programmes, as well as representatives from CCEA and NCFE. The event will provide information on funding and delivery of flexible learning programmes, along with presentations from ANIC about employers' views and flexible learning from an FE sector perspective. There will also be an opportunity to view a wide range of flexible learning materials and to participate in discussion regarding the current need to up-skill the workforce within Northern Ireland. To book contact Claire Knaggs on 01904 550110 or e-mail claire.knaggs@tribalgroup.co.uk
Following EGSA's recent conference “Getting on in Business Getting on with Learning”, the conference resources are now available from EGSA's website. Click here to download. If anyone who attended would like to give feedback on the event, click here for the conference evaluation form.
The British Council is calling for applications, particularly from Northern Ireland, for Grundtvig 3 opportunities (Professional Development). The programme offers a grant of up to 1,500 Euro to adult educators to go on professional development courses, conferences, work shadowing/study visits of between two days and four weeks in duration. This grant generally covers all the costs involved (travel, subsistence, course fee – where relevant – preparation costs, etc). The average length of activity chosen tends to be five-six days. Potential applicants should contact Bridgette Laws email
British Council is looking for applicants to take part in the CEDEFOP Study Visits programme in the first half of 2007. There are 31 visits to choose from focusing on various vocational education and training topics including “Developing entrepreneurship among young people”, “Competence development of older workers” and “Needs of low-skilled and disadvantaged groups”. Study Visits are open to anyone working in the field of vocational training and for further information on CEDEFOP and the application process, contact Andrea Duenschede on Tel: 020 7389 4340.
Have You Made A Short Film? Would You Like To See Your Film Screened In The Cinema? Cinemagic is looking for imaginative and original films made by young people to be screened as part of CINEMAGIC YOUNG FILMMAKER 2006 in association with First Light . The films can be about anything at all fact or fiction, comedy or drama, news programme or documentary. A prize will be awarded for best film - the winning entry will be screened during next year's CINEMAGIC WORLD SCREEN FESTIVAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE in December 07. The competition is open to anyone aged 25 and under from the UK and Ireland . Simply send a VHS or DVD of your film with details of cast and crew and a short synopsis by FRIDAY 3rd November 2006 . Films should be no longer than 20 minutes. Entries should be sent to CINEMAGIC YOUNG FILMMAKER 2006, Cinemagic, 49 Botanic Avenue , Belfast BT7 1JL. For more information contact Chris Shaw at chris@cinemagic.org.uk
The Cinemagic Festival 2006 will take place this year from 17th November to 3rd December. To view the programme click here. If you have anything you would like included in the FE Zine,
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