Two members of staff from the University of Chichester have received national awards, recognising their contributions above and beyond their normal roles.
Gianna Knowles, senior lecturer in primary education, picked up the top prize for her photography skills in the British Council's 2010 Erasmus Competition. As part of the Erasmus international exchange programme available to University staff and students, Gianna spent four weeks in April teaching trainees teachers from across Europe and America at the University of Jönköping, Sweden.
In her free time, she travelled around Scandinavia by train, including travelling to the Arctic Circle. The portfolio of prize-winning photographs was compiled from pictures taken while travelling and living the day-to-day life of a Swedish university lecturer and sought to illustrate the benefits of taking part in the exchange programme.
Gianna received her prize in a ceremony at the British Council offices in London alongside prize winners in a range of categories from other universities across the UK.
Gianna said: “I would urge anyone who has the chance to take part in the scheme to do so. Not only did it give me the opportunity to teach in a different University and work with students and colleagues from many countries, but it also broadened my knowledge and understanding about education generally.”
Venetia Allan, senior lecturer in music, has been honoured by the Noise Abatement Society for her voluntary work to raise awareness of noise induced hearing loss due to MP3 player misuse.
She received the Trude Adler Award for her work in developing the UK's first Key Stage 3 curriculum to help the Society to educate young people about safe listening and hearing health. She also worked with Chichester District Council this year to organise an awareness event at the University, spreading the message to an older audience. Venetia was presented with her award at a ceremony at the House of Commons.
Venetia said: “I am surprised and flattered by the award from the Noise Abatement Society - this is a very worthwhile campaign and it has been a pleasure to be involved with such a dedicated team of people.
“I hope that the award will help to get the message of the campaign out there - that it is a positive thing for young people to love their ears! Through the adoption of the curriculum programme by schools, I hope that we can let as many people as possible find out about safe listening times and levels for personal music players.”
To find out more about the Noise Abatement Society, visit http://www.noiseabatementsociety.com/.
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