Uni’s inspiring Egypt Centre shortlisted for award
SWANSEA University’s Egypt Centre has been recognised in a national award for learning outside the classroom and will hear today whether it has won.
The Young Egyptologist Workshop staff have been shortlisted in the Learning Outside the Classroom Innovator category in the national Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) being held in Stafford today.
The awards are presented annually by the Council for CLOtC to recognise those who have had a significant impact on the lives of children and young people by providing exciting and inspiring learning beyond the classroom.
For nearly 16 years the Egypt Centre has been running innovative Young Egyptologist workshops for children who would not normally visit a museum.
Every month 14 children are offered a place on the Young Egyptologist two-day course. Schools from Community First Areas, with a high number of children who are disadvantaged socially or economically, are targeted in support of the Welsh Government’s Anti-Poverty Agenda.
The university said the museum aims to break down barriers that hinder children from disadvantaged areas taking part. It provides transport to and from schools, provides a buffet-style party lunch for each pupil and provides art and craft materials.
The two-day workshop is free of charge and children get a coloured folder of their completed work and a photograph of their group dressed up as ancient Egyptians.
The course aims to motivate children to foster a love of learning, to increase self-esteem and confidence and develop literacy and numeracy.
An evaluation by the museum shows that many children have made repeat visits with family members to show off their knowledge.
Schools taking part report that children’s motivation and attitude to learning increased as well as the quality of their work. The impact has seen children volunteering at the museum, going into higher education and being the first in their family to gain a degree and move away from Swansea, the university said.
Elaine Skates, chief executive of the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom said: “It is clear that Egypt Centre staff are making great strides forward to make this happen, helping LOtC to grow and flourish.”
Nominee Wendy Goodridge said: “We are very pleased to have been shortlisted and are proud of the hard work and achievements of the workshops – to see a life-changing attitude to learning in a child is a great reward.
“Along with the children attending the workshops, all of the staff have benefitted delivering the workshops – building employability skills and selfesteem.” STROKE is one of the top three causes of death and the leading cause of adult disability in Wales.
Around 7,400 individuals will have a stroke in Wales each year, with 66,000 currently living with what are often debilitating consequences.
It is estimated however, that 70 per cent of strokes could have been avoided, which is why the Welsh Government has proposed a five-year delivery plan to tackle strokes.
Stroke research remains critically underfunded compared to other conditions. The Stroke Association announced for every cancer patient in the UK, £241 is spent annually on medical research, but only £48 a year for every stroke patient.
Despite this urgent need, why do our universities and university health boards feature so infrequently amongst leaders in the field, and why are small pockets of excellent research and advances in patient care in Wales simply not celebrated by UK-wide stroke research funding?
The Welsh Government collaborative research strategy is comprehensive. Since the plan was implemented, there has been an improvement, but treatment options are limited.
Cardiff Metropolitan University, working with the Stroke Implementation Group, launched Stroke Hub Wales (SHW) – a facility to support and coordinate research, innovation and education programmes across Wales. The hub is a resource for researchers, clinicians and health professionals across our NHS trusts, university health boards and universities.
As with all SHW partners, Cardiff Metropolitan will build on the research and successes of our schools. In particular, the School of Sport and Health Sciences will capitalise on existing strengths in the allied health professions, biomedical sciences, the Centre of Clinical Exercise and Health, and established research links with our seven local health boards.
It will also draw on unique inter-disciplinary collaboration with Cardiff School of Art and Design to offer innovative approaches to patient rehabilitation programmes.
When our Cardiff School of Technologies opens it will provide cutting-edge patientbased technologies and, through its links with SHW, a future for Wales in which it leads the way in stroke care.
Professor Philip James is Associate Dean for research at the School of Sport and Health Sciences at Cardiff Metropolitan University.