Latest news with #UniversityOfBradford


BBC News
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Woman who fled Ukraine gets degree from University of Bradford
A Ukrainian woman who fled her home country following the invasion by Russian forces in February 2022 has graduated from the University of Bodnar, 20, left her home in Donetsk with her parents and younger brother following the outbreak of family moved to Wiltshire to live with a host family and Elina, who had always dreamed of one day designing video games, secured a place to study graphics for who graduated with a first-class degree despite struggling with her English at the start of her course, said: "I feel very excited for my future." Remembering the start of the conflict, she said: "Lots of bombs landed around, it was very, very loud. Very scary."Sometimes you could just wake up in the middle of the night and see a big explosion. It was really, really scary."The family moved to Lviv, closer to the Polish when the opportunity came on 15 July 2022 - a week before Elina's 18th birthday - for Elina, her brother Oleksii, and her mum, Yana, to move to the UK, they took it. "At the start it was very difficult, first of all, because of the language barrier," said Elina, whose English is now said she would never have imagined that she would be graduating from an English university with a first-class degree when thinks back to her time at school in Ukraine. "I thought that maybe one day in the future I would visit England, because I really wanted to," she said."I never thought that I was going to ended up finishing university in the UK with quite a high mark." Elina said she and her classmates are now looking to their futures and some of them have teamed up to make their dreams of designing video games for a living become a reality. Elina is part of a group that has entered the Tranzfuser competition, a UK Games Fund scheme that supports graduates to build successful video game development have created a role-playing adventure game set in a 3D pixel-art world rooted in Slavic team received a £7,500 prize upon entering the competition, which was intended to cover initial expenses like travel, accommodation, and game development will go to Dundee to present their project in September, which provides an opportunity to pitch for grant support from the UK Games said she hoped that following the competition, she could extend her visa and settle in the UK. "My plan for the future is to try to settle in the UK and find a really nice job," she said."Obviously I will visit Ukraine and my family, but only for a holiday. "I'm not seeing my future as being actually in Ukraine. "I think that here in the UK I have more of a way to grow and a way to improve my skills and actually do what I want to do." Dr Fin Caton-Rose interviewed Elina more than three years ago when she applied for the course."Since she's joined us, she's been an asset to the entire university," he said."She's really engaged with not just the course, but also extra-curricular activities." He said her time at the university had included many highlights, but one in particular was a trip to a partner university in studying, Elina stayed with Anne-Marie Edwardes in Bingley."She's a wonderful lady," Mrs Edwardes said."She's a great cook, she's taught us lots of Ukrainian dishes at home."To think she came into the country just over three years ago and look where she is now, it's brilliant."Elina's mum, Yana said she was "very proud" of her daughter."It was a very difficult time for us, but Elina's graduation is very special and I'm really, really happy." "I still cannot believe that it has actually happened," Elina said."It feels like I just entered the university yesterday."But she said that her "full focus" is on the Tranzfuser competition and securing work in the UK."Life starts right now", she said. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Hegley writes special poem to celebrate Bradford City of Culture
TOPIC Folk Club is celebrating Bradford's year as UK City of Culture by featuring a monthly guest with a connection to the district. One July 11 John Hegley, University of Bradford alumnus, will take to the stage. Says Tony Charnock at the club: "John's first visit to the Topic Folk Club was in 1976 as a student, to see Nic Jones. Since then he's performed at Cambridge and many other folk festivals with his animal songs, love poems and tales of his half French father (the bottom half). He sang on two John Peel sessions with The Popticians and was poet in residence at London's Keats House. He has produced 12 books and has written a poem to celebrate Bradford 2025: A Celebration of a Nation's City of Culture. Before his performance, at Shipley's Hullabaloo bar, John will perform a free short set, Keats with Seats, with priority for those unable to attend the main event or who have access difficulties." Visit
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Project to boost cancer screening uptake for South Asian Muslim women
A University of Bradford research project has sought to increase cancer screening uptake among South Asian Muslim women in Bradford, by engaging men in their families. The three-year Muslim Families Screening For Life project, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, asked South Asian Muslim men to speak to women in their family about the importance of attending cancer screening appointments. The project was delivered in partnership with organisations including Faith in Communities, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Sharing Voices Bradford, and the British Islamic Medical Association. A total of 1,072 males aged 16 and over took part, and 58 workshops were held at Bradford district venues, including mosques, gyms, and community centres. Findings of the project were presented at an event held at the University of Bradford on Tuesday, June 24. Dr Mel Cooper, reader in maternity and migrant health at the University of Bradford and joint project lead, said: "This project has seen grassroots-level organisations working together with the same purpose. "We are delighted to reach 1,072 men, which was above our target of 1,000. "We hope the word has spread through the communities and more women have taken up screenings after this project and we have helped to save lives." Participants were encouraged to speak with six women in their families about the importance of attending cancer screenings. Cancer screening rates for breast, cervical, and bowel cancer among Muslim women in Bradford are thought to be relatively low: in the BD2, 3, 5, 7, and 8 postcode areas alone, 18,500 screenings are currently overdue, according to a spokesperson from the University of Bradford. Zahid Khan, a community development worker with Sharing Voices Bradford, who helped to deliver the workshops, said: "The men have been receptive. "Men have come up to us after the sessions and said the project is important and they were glad that we're talking about it." Sixth form students at Bradford schools and colleges, and students at the University of Bradford, also contributed to the research, which included questionnaires and interviews to assess knowledge and understanding of the need for the project. Dr Stuart Griffiths, director of research at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: "The government must fund and quickly introduce innovations in screening to help reduce health inequalities so more people in Yorkshire live longer, healthier lives, free of cancer." Early findings have been analysed by the University of Bradford and will inform future projects.


BBC News
26-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
University of Bradford vice-chancellor to retire
The University of Bradford's vice-chancellor is to retire at the end of the year to spend more time with her Shirley Congdon is the university's eighth vice-chancellor and became the first woman to hold the position when she was appointed in August her tenure the university has been ranked number one in the Higher Education Policy Institute's Social Mobility Index for four years in a Congdon, 64, said it had been an "honour" to lead the university where she has worked since 2009. In statement she said: "The last six years have presented many challenges and opportunities and I am proud to have led the university with such an amazing group of people."Decisions such as these are always difficult but I truly believe that as the university enters its 60th year in 2026, it will rise to new heights and will continue to make a difference through its approach to learning, teaching and research."It has been an honour to serve as its vice-chancellor and I will miss both the place and the people."The process of recruiting a new vice-chancellor will begin shortly, the university announcement comes a day after the University and College Union announced its members at Bradford were to stage 10 days of walk outs over plans to cut jobs and course in order to save £ university said, like others in the higher education sector, it faced "significant financial challenges".Paying tribute to Prof Congdon's work, Rod Bristow, who chairs the university's governing body, said her commitment to her role was "both significant and inspirational". "Her stewardship of the University of Bradford has included some tremendous achievements, not least of which has been placing equality and opportunity at the heart of everything we do, in addition to steering a path through the challenging landscape in which the higher education sector finds itself," he said. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.


BBC News
25-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
University of Bradford staff to strike over planned £16m cuts
Staff at the University of Bradford will begin ten days of strike action next week over plans to make £16m of savings by cutting jobs and closing multiple University and College Union (UCU) said its members would walk out on Monday in protest against the cuts, with further dates planned throughout general secretary Jo Grady said staff had "no choice but to down tools" and warned of further disruption if the university did not meet their demands.A spokesperson for the University of Bradford said: "We respect the rights of our staff to take industrial action." The UCU claimed the university had put more than 450 jobs at risk, including academics in archaeology and forensic science, biomedical sciences, psychology and public said the university was also looking to close its chemistry and film and television strikes come after 67% of UCU members voted in favour of industrial action, the union Monday, further walk outs are scheduled for Monday 7, Tuesday 8, Thursday 10 and Friday 11 July. Staff will then strike for five consecutive days between 21 and 25 Grady said: "Bradford staff have no choice but to down tools because they refuse to see important courses cut, jobs axed, and staff and students pay the price for management's financial failings."The vice-chancellor now needs to extend the consultation period and rule out compulsory redundancies. "If she refuses to do so, there will be sustained disruption on campus."Responding to the announcement, a university spokesperson said it hoped to keep disruption to students to a minimum."We appreciate this is a difficult time for many at the university and we will continue to offer support wherever possible," they said."Like many UK universities, we are facing significant financial challenges and addressing these remains a priority in order to safeguard the long-term future of the university." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.