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ANIC Promotes Colleges at Palace Science Event Dr Alan Blair was recently a guest at the Science Reception hosted by the Queen and Prince Philip on 24 October 2006. The reception was the culmination of a Science Day which earlier saw more than 800 GCSE and A Level students visit Buckingham Palace to view exhibitions in the fields of medicine, engineering and space exploration. Guests at the evening reception included such notables as Prof Stephen Hawking, Lord Rees, president of the Royal Society and Lord Sainsbury, the science minister.
East Tyrone College training restaurant, Etcetera, has once again been awarded the Eat Safe Certificate. This Certificate is awarded in recognition of the standards of hygiene and compliance with the new European Food Safety Legislation. The previous award held for the Grapevine in the old building had become invalid due to the location change and new restaurant name.
Ursula Nugent, a National Diploma in Business student at East Tyrone College, has acted as a youth representative at a UN Convention relating to Article 12. This was a major role for Ursula who travelled to Geneva on the 14th and 15th of September alongside six other young people from the area. Article 12 relates specifically to the promotion of rights for children and those with disabilities. It ensures that they have the right to express their views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. Speaking about the event Ursula said she found the whole experience very fulfilling and enjoyable.
Fermanagh College 's ICT learning bus will be featured in a new BECTA report which highlights innovative uses in ICT. The case study will be featured in a chapter on engaging hard to reach learners . The college's ICT learning bus has been running for six years and now it is fully booked with ten courses being offered to up to ten people at a time each week. The college uses the bus to reach out to people in some of the most deprived communities in the area. The ICT programme starts with the basics, and then helps learners expand their knowledge into areas such as word-processing. People who complete the introductory course can move onto the European Computer Driving License (ECDL) qualification.
Health & Safety was in focus at Limavady College this week as the Chartered Institute of Building North Western Centre (CIOB) visited the college's Centre for Technology to hold the Safe Start Event on Tuesday 24 th October. Omagh College Broadens Horizons with Comenius Omagh College Computing Department, in partnership with Grodzisk Macowiecki in Poland, Nagykanizsa in Hungary and Weiz in Austria have developed an exciting three year exchange programme for computing students from each of the respective countries. This programme has been developed and funded through Comenius with the specific aim of affording students the experience to see a wider view of the world and gain a greater insight into the cultures of the rest of Europe.
North Down and Ards Institute's Rugby Team recently won the Ulster College 's seven aside tournament defeating Causeway Institute in the final with a score of 28-14. 11 teams from 10 colleges took part in the tournament this year but NDAI's determination persisted throughout the pouring rain.
The North East Institute has taken part in a redundancy clinic at Daewoo Electronics Antrim. The purpose of this clinic was to offer the Daewoo employees advice and guidance and examine their career options should they lose their jobs. Daewoo has announced they there may be job losses throughout the organisation at the end of November. NEI was accompanied on the day by EGSA, Jobs and Benefits, HM Revenue and Customs and Grafton Recruitment. Throughout the day, employees came to the clinic to obtain as much information as possible and talk to representatives from the different organisations. NEI provided information on all career development courses as well as community education and tailored business training needs. North East Institute Opens New Workshop Facility Staff, students and special guests gathered at North East Institute Magherafelt Campus to celebrate the launch of the new Built Environment Workshop. NIE Urges Safety First at North West Institute Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) this week launched a new information campaign at North West Institute aimed at educating young workers and apprentices about the dangers of electricity. The campaign has been launched as European Safety Week focuses on ‘Safe Start' , highlighting the occupational health and safety of young people starting their careers.
A full range of eating experiences are now on offer at the North West Institute, each providing great cuisine in pleasant surroundings and at unbeatable prices. The Flying Clipper ( Northland Building ) and Larry Hills ( Strand Building ) Brasseries are both open Monday to Friday where a wide selection of snacks and meals can be served mid-morning or at lunchtime. The Cityscape Brasserie and Winebar ( Northland Building ) is open only on Wednesday evenings, offering fine cuisine. On Thursdays, lunch and dinner are available at the Fine Dining Restaurant in the Northland Building . Here, large parties are also catered for, with an extensive range of buffets. To a reservation call 028 7127 6409 or email erinroombookings@nwi.ac.uk
The Aim Higher Roadshow recently visited each of the Upper Bann Institute Campuses (Banbridge, Lurgan and Portadown) to inform students about the options open to them when studying at Higher Level.
Skillbuild Ltd has just made the announcement that their 2007 Northern Ireland competition will be hosted by Upper Bann Institute at their Portadown campus. This prominent annual event will see students from all over the region compete for Skillbuild NI Student of the Year in areas such as Bricklaying, Plastering and Carpentry.
Armagh College has been approved through SATI to deliver a business improvement programme for the hospitality and tourism sector. The programme involves organisations being assessed through Business Juggler, a programme which has been developed by the Centre of Competitiveness. Business Juggler® has grown out of practical experience of working with small businesses and recognising the challenges that face owner-managers as they grow their business. Once organisations have completed Business Juggler, a training needs analysis will be conducted and at this stage they will receive 20 hours of training, mentoring or consultancy to meet their needs for improvement.
Aidan Toal, a former Catering and Hospitality student of Armagh College , returned to share his experiences and achievements while travelling the world as a chef. Aidan successfully completed the NVQ Level 2 in Catering and Hospitality at the college and was then appointed as a chef on the 7th Sea Voyager, a six star cruise ship. Aidan explained to the students how he always wanted to be a chef but also travel the world and this job was perfect for him as it allowed him to combine both of his passions. Playwork tutors and assessors from the Belfast Institute's Department of Continuing Education's Centre for Childhood Studies and Healthcare have contributed to the consultations on the development of the National Education and Training Strategy for Playwork which was launched earlier this year at the House of Commons. They have since hosted a series of meetings (facilitated by PlayBoard) to plan how the strategy will be rolled out in Northern Ireland . The launch took place at a meeting of the ‘All Party Working Group on Play' in the House of Commons. As a result of the college's contribution, local MPs will be asked to account for their involvement in the development of services for children's play both nationally and locally. Playwork is about helping to create settings where school-aged children can play, and it is encouraging to note that the Centre for Childhood Studies and Healthcare has been at the forefront of developing training and qualifications in this field.
A civic reception was held recently to honour the success of the Antrim Senior Hurling team who won the All-Ireland Christy Ring Cup. Among the guests was team trainer Paul Boyle, who is also the Centre Manager for Leisure and Sport at the Belfast Institute. Paul is hoping to build on this success with Antrim and use it as a catalyst to raise the profile of sport at the Institute. Over the past year Paul has been working closely with Brian Slevin from the Students' Union with a view to developing a strategy for sport at the Institute. Fundamental to this strategy will be to ensure that sport is at the very heart of any future plans for the Institute. For this to be realised Paul is planning to develop a sports strategic working group which will not only enhance opportunities for sports participation but will hopefully see the Institute become a centre of excellence for sport, leisure and fitness.
‘Yoga for Life', developed by Geoff Wright from the Belfast Institute's Department of Community Education, is an innovative programme that has been well received in schools and the wider community. Now mainstreamed, it was originally funded as part of the Springvale Community Outreach Initiative (SCOI). It is unique in a number of ways. Those who begin at OCN-NI Level 1 (Entry) can progress through Level 2 and 3, both of which are recognised as part of the National Qualification Framework (NQF). A mentoring programme enables those who have completed Level 3 to support the learning of others. Last year our enrolments reached 150, with almost 60% achieving qualifications. Collaboration with schools has also resulted in Yoga being incorporated as part of the Year 12 curriculum. The programme develops self confidence, reduces stress and promotes health and well-being in the individual, in addition to building capacity in the community through its mentorship scheme. It is anticipated that the programme will continue to grow in schools, families and in the community. For further information about ‘Yoga for Life' , please contact Geoff Wright, Department of Community Education at Tel: 028 9026 5234, or e-mail: gwright@belfastinstitute.ac.uk
Castlereagh College held a free European Food and Wine Event recently in celebration of the European Day of Languages. The event was a big success and attracted over 70 people who enjoyed sampling the various wines and cuisines of European countries such as France , Italy and Spain . The college's language lecturers were also available to provide information on queries regarding the wide range of languages courses on offer at Castlereagh College.
Larne Adult Education Centre has already started fundraising for this year's Children in Need campaign. Students on the Children's Care, Learning & Development NVQ Level 2 took a leading role by holding a pyjama party and organising a collection. Childcare students will be continuing their fundraising activities at East Antrim Institute's Newtownabbey Campus in the run up to Children in Need Day on Friday 20th November.
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.
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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