Focus on FMAS

Grants - There are two psychology grants available at the university this year. ‘The SSU curriculum Fellowship’ is a year-long grant running until the 31st of July 2009. Totalling £4500, the funds will enable post-graduate study in the use of meta-reflection to enhance performance. The other is a one year grant in collaboration with Brunel University and EDS. Running from 1st September 2008 until 31st August 2009, the £100,000 grant will enable the study of cognitive perspective on analogy-based project estimation. 2.

Digital delight - An interactive on-line video designed and created by Digital Media staff and students has been selected for exhibition in Brazil later this year. The video will be displayed at the ‘Digital festival of art’ and can be viewed at www.hidrazone.com/j9.

Primary school initiative - The BA Performance degree team was commissioned by Creative Partnerships to run a drama project for students at Bevois Town Primary School. Course Leader, John Barlow planned out the six month programme which also involved Matt Fletcher and Sarah Mepham. A team of seven level 3 students undertook training workshops prior to running workshops for the school's staff. The students subsequently ran week long intensive drama workshops for each year level of the school resulting in a dramatic performance created by the students in Friday morning assemblies. The project aims to give the Bevois Town students experience of creative drama work and by working with the staff, the performance students have helped to develop the teacher’s skills in using drama within the curriculum. At the half way point the programme is running smoothly with positive feedback from the Head Teacher, members of staff and the students.

To be Frank -Level 2 Performance students staged an adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s ‘Spring Awakening’ before Christmas. The musical tells the story of a schoolboy in 19th century Germany. The production was praised by the Daily Echo and leading actor Samuel Allen received a Curtain Call Awards nomination in the category of best newcomer for his performance.

Science and Drama - Performance deputy Course leader Matt Fletcher recommended level 2 student Lauren Heward to participate in an exciting new science education project entitled Science Butlers funded by the Institute of Physics. Both Matt and Lauren performed at the BA festival of Science in Liverpool and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

Cognitive Carolyn - Carolyn Mair, Senior Lecturer in Psychology has been busy so far this academic year, presenting a number of workshops on various cognitive issues, including discussing reflexive methodologies at King’s College London in February. Mair has also spoken at the Annaul UK software conference about cognitive psychology and its benefits to anology-based project estimation. She followed that by facilitating a discussion on detecting online identity deception in Florence, and also spoke at the 25th British Psychological Society cognitive section conference.

Jolly good Fellow - FMAS senior lecturer Tim Wilks has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and has contributed to the Art, Architecture, and Politics section of Companion to Stuart Britain (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009). The publication has been described by Blackwell Publishing as a magisterial overview of the ‘long’ seventeenth century in British history. Each chapter is written by a leading expert and offers an insight into the intense intellectual and economic transformations of the era.

Gail Force - A journalism student was thrilled to see her face all over the big screens at Times Square, as millions tuned in to Fox News to see Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration. Gail Gombya described it as the ‘best moment of her life’.

New York, New York - Sixty FMAS students visited New York in January to gain first-hand experience of American media. The group attended a live CBS broadcast, toured magazine and New York Times headquarters and visited the United Nations for a tour and media briefing.

Suitcase art -The artwork of Southampton Solent staff and students will be displayed at the Rise Gallery in Berlin, with the exhibition organized to coincide with the University’s annual European study trip. The exhibition, dubbed ‘excess baggage’, presents work and a hanging system that can fit into luggage.

Best of the UK -The Salon Gallery in West London will host the ‘Best of the UK’ exhibition in March. The work of three FMAS graduates has been shortlisted for display. John Adams-Oakley, Kelly Anderson and Nicola Lee are in contention to have their collections exhibited at the West London studio.

Life in slow motion - Chris Martin, a recent illustration graduate from Southampton Solent, is enjoying his time at Motionographer, a company that champions outstanding work from freelancers, filmmakers, animators and designers. The former student, based in North London, is applying the skills he acquired during his degree, and works primarily upon the company website http://www.motionographer.com/. Martin said he’s relishing the prospect of going to work in the morning. “I’m working with the directors, helping with the designing of projects. In fact, they gave me the job based on a map I created during the interview process. Lots of stuff you see on the website is hand drawn by me, and then projected over 3D models. I have ridiculous stacks of papers to prove it too!”

Drawn-out success - Four illustration graduates have been selected to appear in the 2009 Association of Illustrators Annual Images handbook. The publication is distributed across the World and showcases the best of British illustration and hand-drawn animation. As a result of the work produced for her final major project in level 3, Jenny Simms, who graduated in 2006, has been awarded the prestigious ‘Critics award’ from the ‘Annual Association of Illustrators’ (AOI). The accolade is a testament to the course and the university, and a fantastic achievement for Jenny so early in her career, who wins the illustrator’s equivalent of an Oscar!

(Focus on FMAS newsletter, 2009)