Highlights include experts talks, special events to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day and International Women’s Day plus a week of activity to celebrate the opening of new £40m building The Catalyst.
On Thursday 27 January, Staffordshire University will share a range of online resources to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. This includes videos from University Chaplain Revd. Mick Williams and Professor Caroline Sturdy Colls who will talk about the Treblinka extermination camp where she has undertaken extensive archaeological research.
The return of Profs in the Pav will offer complimentary refreshments alongside food for thought as experts dive into topics including health, Hollywood and the environment. The series begins on Monday 7 February with Professor Nachi Chockalingam who was part of a consortium of engineers who came together during the pandemic to develop a low-cost field ventilator with the intention of saving lives in poor and remote areas of the world.
Through online working and a spirit of collaboration, the team engineered a new ventilator with the capacity to save lives of patients suffering complications from infection, trauma and childbirth. He explained: “Ventilator capacity in low and middle-income countries is extremely limited where it exists at all. A significant majority of cases can be managed with intervention involving a short course of mechanical ventilation, therefore widespread and timely access to ventilators could help to improve patient outcomes in these settings.”
On 7 March, Associate Professor Mark McKenna will explore stardom in the post-studio era Hollywood by looking at Sylvester Stallone’s rise to fame from Rocky to Rambo and beyond. The final Profs in the Pav on 4 April will see Professors Ruth Swetnam and Fiona Tweed team up to discuss our relationships with landscapes and the importance of monitoring landscape changes in a rapidly evolving world.
Newly appointed Professors will also share insights into their academic journeys. Esther MacCallum-Stewart, Professor of Games Studies, will deliver her inaugural professorial lecture on 28 February followed by Abdel-Hamid Soliman, Professor of Signal Processing and Telecommunications, on 28 April.
From 28 February a week of activities will celebrate Staffordshire University’s landmark new building, The Catalyst, based at the heart of its Stoke-on-Trent campus. This culminates with a community day on Saturday 5 March featuring entertainment from Appetite, where visitors can explore inside the new state-of the-art facility and learn all about bugs and mini beasts at the Staffordshire Invertebrate Science Fair.
The following week, some of Staffordshire’s most influential women will join a panel discussion in The Catalyst for International Women’s Day.
University Events Manager Klaudia Tomkowiak said: “Our University is not just for students and staff; it is part of the wider community. We want the public to feel welcome on campus, whether that is visiting one of our cafes, going to the gym or attending a public event.
“Our Spring events calendar offers something for all ages and provides an opportunity for members of the public to come and see our facilities and learn more about what we do. We hope to see you there!”
For more information about all public events visit www.staffs.ac.uk/events
- Holocaust Memorial Day (online)
Thursday 27 January, please visit https://www.staffs.ac.uk/events from 11.00am
Monday 7 February, 5.30pm at the Pavilion Café
- National Apprenticeships Week
Monday 7 to Friday 11 February, The Catalyst
- Professorial Lecture – Esther MacCallum-Stewart, Professor of Games Studies (online)
Monday 28 February, 6.00pm at The Catalyst
- The Catalyst Community Day and Invertebrate Science Fair
Saturday 5 March, Leek Road
Monday 7 March, 5.30pm at the Pavilion Café
- International Women’s Day– #BreakTheBias panel discussion
Tuesday 8 March, 5.30pm at The Catalyst
Monday 4 April, 5.30pm at the Pavilion Café
- Professorial Lecture – Abdel-Hamid Soliman, Professor of Signal Processing and Telecommunications
Thursday 28 April, 6.00pm at The Catalyst