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2013-14 in pictures

13 July 2014

Congrats – you did it! For you the last year has probably been filled with hard work, late nights, and lots of takeaways, but the university itself has involved in a variety of things.

From an inspiring talk by Sir David Attenborough, securing a Queen’s Anniversary Prize, a major breakthrough in the genetics of Alzheimer’s – the last year was certainly one to remember, and as a graduate, certainly one to be proud of!

Screen Shot 2014-07-11 at 19.20.191. University graduate and well- loved BBC journalist Huw Edwards cast his close eye over new University plans. In a wide-ranging interview with the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan, he considered the University’s new strategy – The Way Forward.2. The School of Medicine launched a radical new education programme designed to attract, train and retain the best doctors for Wales. Marking the biggest transformation of the University’s medical education programme since its School of Medicine was founded in 1921, the new curriculum aims to cultivate world-class doctors equipped with a heightened patient empathy and an excellent scientific understanding by introducing more community centred learning.

3. Sir David Attenborough, whose work has spanned more than 60 years, inspired an audience of more than 1,000 people with his personal insights into some of the most mysterious, exquisite and colourful families of birds.

Screen Shot 2014-07-11 at 19.20.354. New centres to train tomorrow’s engineers and scientists Cardiff University shares a £350M fund to train postgraduate students in engineering and physical sciences, announced by Universities and Science Minister, David Willetts. Cardiff has secured a share of the UK’s largest investment in postgraduate training in engineering and physical sciences. In total the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will fund over seventy new Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs), spread across 24 UK universities.

5. The work of the University’s Geoenvironmental Research Centre was recognised, with the awarding of a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. The centre, based in the School of Engineering, has tackled the legacy of past industrial activity and provided solutions to the world’s future energy challenges. The Queen’s Anniversary Prize is a biennial award scheme, which is within the UK’s national honours system, and is one of the UK’s most prestigious forms of national recognition open to a UK academic or vocational institution.

6. In the largest ever study of its kind, an international collaboration of scientists, jointly led by Cardiff, uncovered 11 new susceptibility genes linked with Alzheimer’s disease. This major breakthrough will significantly advance scientists’ knowledge of Alzheimer’s and throws open new research avenues.

Screen Shot 2014-07-11 at 19.41.547. Historians – and husband and wife – Professor Kevin Passmore and Dr Garthine Walker, of the School of History, Archaeology and Religion, were awarded prestigious Leverhulme Research Fellowships to advance their fields of research. Reader in History Dr Walker will research and write a history of rape and sexual violence in England and Wales, whilst Professor Passmore will start his major research on the Maginot Line in History, Culture and Memory.

8. A study which monitored the health habits of 2,235 men over a 35-year period found that exercise significantly reduces the risk of dementia. The study was the longest of its kind to probe the influence of environmental factors.

9. Cardiff University jointly won substantial arts and humanities funding to support postgraduate study into our cultural world. The South, West and Wales Consortium, in which Cardiff University is joined with seven other universities, was awarded £14.2M.

10. Cardiff University launched the world’s first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on community journalism – offering practical skills and insight into this dynamic and fast growing sector. The five week MOOC through FutureLearn was delivered by the Centre for Community Journalism, part of the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies.

11. The GW4 Alliance – which brings together the combined weight of Bath, Bristol Cardiff and Exeter Universities – launched a major partnership designed to train the next generation of environmental scientists.

12. Dr Haley Gomez from the School of Physics and Astronomy secured an Inspire Wales Award for Science and Technology in recognition of her contribution to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related activities. Haley was one of 12 winners at the annual awards ceremony which sees inspirational individuals from across Wales recognised for the contribution they make to society.