Maths student scoops award for excellence!

Mathematics student Kieran Kalair from Coventry has been selected to receive a cash prize of £500 from academic robe makers Ede and Ravenscroft. Kieran was chosen to receive the award for overall academic excellence.

Kieran has just finished the second year of this degree and is now studying abroad for one year in Germany. 

Choosing to study a maths degree was easy for Kieran. He said: ‘Maths was my favourite subject at A Level and I love every element of the subject. I love solving problems and finding solutions and learning a new method/theory and then building on it again and again and again for more and more complex problems.’

Kieran looked around at other universities when he was choosing where to study but Coventry stood out from the rest. He said: ‘The facilities were excellent and I spoke to former students who highly recommended Coventry. I have never looked back on the decision to study here. I am truly enjoying the course and university life.’

On hearing that he had been chosen to receive the Ede and Ravenscroft Kieran was very surprised. He was nominated for the award by his tutor based on his excellent performance throughout the year. ‘I was delighted when I heard I’d won. I had never really compared my performance to others. I had an idea in my head of what I thought was a good result. If I got above it I was happy, if I got below I was disappointed in myself. I work hard at all elements of the course and don’t settle for ‘average’. To be recognised in this way is fantastic.’

Kieran considers the key to being successful in your course is to love learning. ‘I still enjoy learning new areas of maths, new topics and finding out new things. There are lots of sources of support at Coventry so if I don’t understand something straight away I can go to the lecturer or the Maths Support Centre and get some tailored help.

Studying in Germany has made Kieran realise just how helpful and dedicated all staff at Coventry University are. He is planning to use the cash prize to travel around the country and hopefully see more of Europe.

Kieran will have a final year in Coventry before he completes the course. He’s considering studying for a Masters degree and likes the idea of inspiring others to find a passion for maths.

The Ede and Ravenscroft Undergraduate Prize is awarded for overall academic excellence. The recipient is chosen by the University’s Prizes Panel.

Film fans vote Coventry University’s student cinema the UK’s best!

 

A student film society at Coventry University has come out tops in a national awards ceremony celebrating the best of community cinema.

 

Coventry East Asian Film Society was voted ‘Best Student Cinema in the UK’ at Cinema for All’s Film Society of the Year Awards 2014, which took place at the Showroom Workstation in Sheffield on Saturday 27 September.

 

It is the second time in the past three years that Coventry University has triumphed at the awards, which showcase the work of community cinemas across the country and celebrate the passion and commitment of their devoted and enthusiastic volunteers

 

Now in their 45^th year, the Cinema for All Awards run by the British Federation of Film Societies take place alongside the Cinema for All National Conference for Community Cinemas – a weekend long celebration of volunteer-led cinema and the UK’s biggest gathering of film societies, village screens and film clubs.

 

The judging panel of film buffs and critics at this year’s awards unanimously voted Coventry as best student cinema for its tireless efforts and inclusive approach to introducing UK audiences to East Asian cinema and culture.

 

Established in 2009, Coventry East Asian Film Society champions an eclectic selection of cinema from the Far East, culminating in its yearly East Winds Film Festival. Run in collaboration with Coventry University and Third Window Films, the annual festival celebrates East Asian film and culture through a selection of international, European and UK premieres from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan.

 

This year’s festival – the fourth of its kind to be hosted by the society – runs at the University’s campus from Friday 31 October to Monday 2 November and, as in previous years, offers a diverse collection of films ranging from star-studded action packed blockbusters and chilling horrors to touching dramas and screwball comedies.

 

Spencer Murphy, lecturer in film and visual culture at Coventry University and founder of its East Asian Film Society said of the award:

 

“We’re delighted to have been voted the Best Student Cinema by the British Federation of Film Societies. It’s a real honour and a testament to the hard work, dedication and passion of all our student members.

 

“Our students are at the heart of everything we do and it’s their never-ending devotion to introducing new audiences to a wide and exciting variety of East Asian films that has helped to make the society the success it is today.

 

“It really is wonderful news especially as we are just about to launch our fourth East Winds Film Festival which will once again bring a broad selection of premiere screenings of popular East Asian cinema to Coventry.”

Coventry graduate’s intergalactic idea gets Branson backing

An aerospace technology graduate from Coventry University has won backing from Richard Branson for an idea which could dramatically cut the cost of launching a mini satellite for space research.

 

Phillip Keane saw off competition from hundreds of entrants in the prestigious ‘Three New Things’ contest run by Virgin Media Business, which invited aspiring inventors to put forward their best digital innovations.

 

A panel of science and technology experts voted Phillip’s ‘3DCubeSat’ concept of a low budget, 3D-printable miniature satellite as the joint winner alongside two others, and described his idea as ‘game-changing’.

 

Phillip’s design – which has won him £25,000 worth of telecoms support from Virgin Media Business and a meeting with Richard Branson – allows a one-litre cuboid satellite casing to be 3D-printed in space-resistant thermoplastic material at a vastly reduced cost, further opening up the possibility for schools and universities to explore the cosmos.

 

The 3DCubeSat can theoretically be printed in and released from another structure already in space, removing the cost of a ground launch which can reach several thousand pounds.

 

Duncan Higgins, marketing director at Virgin Media Business, said:

 

“When we launched Three New Things, we were on the hunt for ideas that are fresh, bold and embrace the opportunities from the increasingly complex world around us. ‘3DCubeSat’ is such an idea and we’re thrilled to support Phillip in his venture into space. Entrepreneurs and small businesses are key for the UK economy and driving innovation. Virgin Media Business supports them in every way we can; be it through our products and services or initiatives like Three New Things and our recently announced Big Digital Skills Hub.”

 

Phillip graduated from Coventry University’s aerospace technology degree in 2010 before gaining a European Space Agency scholarship to study an MSc at the International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg.

 

The 35 year-old is no stranger to success – while studying in Coventry as a mature student he made use of the University’s state of the art flight simulators to win the illustrious Merlin Aircraft Design and Handling competition contested between students in UK aerospace universities. The competition – which was judged by chief Virgin Galactic test pilot Dave Mackay – has since grown into an international contest between the UK and USA.

 

Phillip, who has just started a PhD at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, said:

 

“Meeting Sir Richard Branson was a great experience. It was Virgin Galactic which inspired me to study aerospace engineering at Coventry University as a mature student in the first place, and Virgin Galactic’s chief test pilot Dave Mackay was a judge at the Merlin competition too, so meeting the big man himself was like coming full circle.

 

“Now Virgin Media Business is helping me to develop my company, ‘3rd Rock Aerospace’, to help get the 3DCubeSat out into industry, and NTU is teaching me the fundamentals of space flight certification and testing processes. Quality is key in this industry. I still have my Quality Management class notes from Coventry too! They will definitely come in useful.”

 

For enterprising individuals in the West Midlands looking to follow in Phillip’s footsteps and make a success of their business, a free Virgin Media Business digital skills workshop to help start-ups and SMEs improve their digital know-how will be run in Birmingham next month. The Big Digital Skills Tour will stop at the Custard Factory on Tuesday 21^st October at 6.30pm.

A handy guide to ECB

 

As the new academic year approaches, you probably have million questions about the building that you will be studying in for the next 3 years at least. Well, here is a handy guide to help you out!

Reception

 

As you walk into the Engineering and Computing Building, to the left you will see the reception, full of nice and helpful student-helpers. The reception is there to help you out with any questions you might have. Starting at where rooms are located, contacting lecturers for you to booking appointments with EC futures.

 

Starbucks

 

Right across from reception, you will find a piece of caffeine heaven – Starbucks. Is a great place to get that caffeine fix after a late night out, or some food when you only have an half an hour between lectures. However, if you have more time and wish for something more substantial or cheaper to eat, there is a number of pubs up the road that do awesome meal deals and if you just want a quick snack all you have to do is walk further up the road to SimplyEat or across to the HUB where you’ll find Cost Cutters.

 

Sigma room

Behind the Starbucks, in ECG12, there is the Sigma room. The Sigma room is where you will find your lecturers. The idea behind this is that each lecturer has to spend two hours a week in that room. This is the time in which you can go and ask about any queries you might have, get your lecturer to explain a piece of coursework or a part of a lecture you might have not quite understood. The Sigma timetable is available on Moodle. You can also always e-mail your lecturers if you need to.

 

ECO

Upstairs, in EC124, is the ECO. ECO is the Engineering and Computing ring, ran by students for students!  ECO is made up of 2^nd and 3^rd year students from Engineering and Computing faculty.  They are there to advice and financially help you with any ideas that might need funding e.g. application development and anything to do with placements. In the past there were students who wished to go to a conference about their subjects, and ECO sponsored them. You can always e-mail them at eco.ec@coventry.ac.uk.

 

EC futures

Right next to ECO, we have our own career advisors. EC futures is there for you whether you need advice on how to write your CV for your placement, how to dress and behave at an interview or how to get a job when you graduate they’re there for you. Each department gets their own advisor, who is available via e-mail and appointment can be booked with them via reception.

 

Clubs

Our faculty has a number of clubs, that are ours and not from the main campus. We have things such as computer club, android development club, ethical hacking club and gaming club (more are coming). These clubs are not specific to the area that you are studying as long as you’re a member of our faculty. The best part is, unlike other societies, these are free!

Coventry University to counter cyber criminals’ app attacks

 

Coventry University is playing a leading role in a new £3 million research programme taking on cyber criminals who use malicious apps which can collude with each other to infect the smartphone in your pocket.

 

The project, which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will see Coventry’s cyber security experts receive a £190,000 share to work on new ways to detect instances of ‘app collusion’ – where two apps work together to bypass security measures on a device.

 

Coventry will be working with City University London, Swansea University and internet security company McAfee on the app collusion aspect of the project, which is worth over half a million pounds.

 

The multi-university collaboration will also see Royal Holloway, Imperial College London and the universities of Liverpool, Birmingham and Edinburgh work on different aspects of mobile security.

 

Malware attacks are rising year on year – and over one million new Android malware attacks were identified in 2013 by McAfee, a division of Intel Security.

 

Malicious apps can gain access to any personal data on a smart device, including address books, passwords, PIN numbers and GPS coordinates.

 

An example of app collusion – one of the latest and most innovative cyber security threats – would be one app which is permitted to access your personal data passing that data to a second app which is allowed to transmit information over the network – allowing them to carry out ‘attacks’ that neither app could carry out alone.

 

Dr Siraj Shaikh, reader in cyber security, is leading Coventry University’s part in the research project. He said:

 

“People are certainly waking up to the fact that as their smartphones become more sophisticated, so do the methods of attack which target their personal data. However there is still a way to go to increase awareness, and research programmes like this are critical in ensuring we stay a step ahead of the criminals exploiting security weaknesses.

 

“Here at Coventry, our Digital Security and Forensics (SaFe) research group will be leading on the detailed analysis of app behaviour to see how two or more apps could be profiled for suspicious ‘colluding’ behaviour. This is particularly relevant for Android platforms, which by their very design are more open and flexible, and allow users to download apps from different sources. It’s only going to become more of a concern in the coming years, as apps integrate with other technologies such as cars and household appliances.”

 

Dr Igor Muttik, a senior principal architect at McAfee, a division of Intel Security, said:

 

“We’re up against really sophisticated malware – some even used by nation states for spying. All attackers are well aware of the technology involved in detecting and tracking them. Malware operators often take an industrial approach to cybercrime; they try to maximise their benefits from malware. So, we need to constantly raise the bar by improving the technology and this will make it more complex and less profitable for them to operate.”

EC Futures shortlisted for Best Placement Service in the UK Award!

The National Undergraduate Employability Awards

http://nueawards.co.uk/

 

Supported by:

Sponsored by:

 

 

EC Futures* has been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Best Placement Service in the UK’ award at the National Undergraduate Employability Awards. The award ceremony will take place at St Pauls, London on the 7^th March 2014.*
http://ecfutures.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/ECFutures
https://twitter.com/EC_Futures 

 

They had over 350 nominations for the awards with the Best Placement Service award being the most hotly contested of the 4 University Awards.

 

We were shortlisted in the final 5, there was only one other faculty level service that made the shortlist. Previous winners have included Brunel University, Aston University and Birmingham University. Most of these services will have 15-20 staff, so for a small team of 5 (4 currently), that has only been in existence for just over two years, to make it this far is something we are extremely proud of.

 

The reasons we have been given for making the shortlist are as follows:

– Thorough description of initiatives and schemes provided by the placement unit

– Going above the call of duty – using innovative ways to communicate to help students secure work experience

– FACTS – e.g. the number of students supported by the placement unit, no. of initiatives promoted across the department

– Testimonials from students and employers

 

Here are some testimonials from our students:

‘’The guidance from the EC Futures team was very useful; I used the team to edit my CV before submitting and gave me interview practice.  They also send many placement opportunities to students via email.’’ – Adam Clark, Tata Technologies Placement Student

‘’The CV guidance was very useful, and I’m sure it was essential for me while obtaining my placement.’’ – Tim Ravenhall, Brose Limited Placement Student

‘’The EC Futures team were very helpful; I had help restructuring my CV to make it look more professional.’’ – Matthew Stemp, Nissan Placement Student

‘’The support I received from the EC Futures department was very beneficial and helped me in my search for a placement.   They gave me some very important tips while constructing my CV and covering letter. ‘’ – Sali Raiza, Placement Student at BMW Mini

Our exciting new course designed to launch your career in engineering.

Still interested in studying an engineering degree at Coventry University and not sent your UCAS application in yet? Then there is still time to consider our brand new MEng/BEng in Manufacturing Engineering, run in collaboration with the Unipart Manufacturing Group.

 

This new and exciting course has been introduced to support the well-publicised increase in national and global manufacturing activity. And with a scholarship available and a structure designed and delivered in conjunction with Unipart, the course is completely integrated with industry.  

 

The Manufacturing Engineering degree will be delivered jointly at the University, in the brand new Engineering and Computing building and at the Unipart Institute of Manufacturing. The Unipart facility will create a ‘faculty on the factory floor’ and allow students the opportunity to be connected directly to the latest technology on the manufacturing front line, with access to real life live projects, industrial mentors and work placements. So students on the course will become workplace ready in every way.

 

And what’s more, there is a scholarship available to all UK and EU students worth £3,000 a year, renewable each year*.  

 

Sound good? Here’s what to do next….

 

Check out the detailed course information and entry requirements on our website and if you like what you see get in touch with us by emailing admissions.ec@coventry.ac.uk or by calling us on 024 7765 9005.

 

We’ll be able to give you lots more details about the course, our facilities and the scholarship and tell you about the visit opportunities we have in December and January that will let you come and see for yourself what we have to offer.

Looking a bit empty on here?

That’s because, after hearing from you guys, we’re trying to keep things directly on the Faculty Twitter ( @CovUniEC ) or Facebook ( Facebook.com/CovUni.EC ) so that you don’t need to visit different websites to see the content. We will still continue to use the blog to post larger stories, rather than filling up your news feed 🙂

As usual, if you have something that you think would be of interest to your fellow students, send it through to us on facebook.ec@coventry.ac.uk and it might just make its way on to the page 🙂

Open Day Feedback ~ 15/09/2012

Our Pre-Applicant Open Day on Saturday the 15^th September saw many potential applicants come along and visit us on a lovely sunny day here in Coventry. This Open Day was an exciting milestone for us, as it was our first Open Day in our brand new building. The day started as usuaul in University Square, with the picturesque backdrop of Coventry cathedral before our Student Advocates guided our visitors over to the new Engineering and Computing Building.

We left some feedback forms out in order for our visitors to let us know how their day with us went, we also asked people to let us know by using #CUOpenDay in their tweets. We were overwhelmed with the response, it’s safe to say that they loved our new building, the following is a small selection;

@pellin93 – “Top top day… Coventry Uni is the NUTS. Been on a flight simulator, taxied, took off, landed (just). Over the moon. 😀 :-D”

Luke – Aerospace Tech – “Awesome. Very insightful, students were welcoming and helpful, staff were down to earth. The uni Engineering department especially was great.”

Dan – Computer Hardware and Software Engineering – “Fantastic, I feel encouraged to come here for university. Staff and students were very helpful.”

Giles – Ethical Hacking and Network Security – “Extremely well organised and supported by staff and student helpers. Queues managed efficiently. Courtesy texts pre + post open day a nice touch !! Course staff extremely helpful, informative and supportive. Much appreciated all of the time spent + personal interest”

Naomi – Maths – “The students were very helpful. I thoroughly enjoyed the maths talk, it was very informative. All of the lecturers were willing to answer my questions.”

Matthew – Automotive Engineering – “Today has been a very informative experience. I was very happy with the tour of the new building as it showed to me all the different equipment that will be able to use. The teaching staff were very clear in their explanations of the course which helped answer any questions that I had”

Daniel – Aerospace Systems – “Really good day. New faculty is fantastic and has got me thinking, as Coventry was just going to be an insurance choice, but now, with new facilities, it is one of the up and coming engineering unis in the country”

Our visitors got to see some of our current Motorsport students creations in action

We were out taking a few pictures of the day which can be seen over on our Facebook page here

Moving our Harrier to its new home

This gallery contains 13 photos.

Yesterday on-site was really exciting as we moved our Harrier Jump Jet from its home in the Alma Building to the new ECB.  On a beautiful sunny day in Coventry the Harrier emerged from the Alma building and was moved on a low loader vehicle to the ECB site.  The move caused quite an interest […]