Monthly UK news digest – ending April 14 2004

人鱼不游泳

EDUCATION

UK university to open in China: the University of Nottingham is to open a campus in Ningbo on China’s east coast as part of a £40m project which has been agreed with Chinese education authorities. It is the first time that a UK university has opened a purpose-built campus in China and the first Chinese students are expected to start courses in September – with the start-up academic staff being deployed from the UK. Around 4,000 students are expected to attend the new university between 2004 and 2008. (Source: www.bbc.co.uk, March 24 2004.)

New facilities: Sheffield Hallam University has unveiled plans to relocate its School of Cultural Studies into a brand-new building on the site of the current students’ union and take over an £11 million building in the city centre to use as its main students union venue. The proposals include bars, a stage for bands and conference facilities and there will also be a full programme of events that will be open to the general public. (Source: www.bbc.co.uk, March 26 2004.)

Japanese princess to study in UK: Princess Tsuguko, an 18 year-old cousin of the Japanese Emperor, will arrive in the UK later this month to prepare for the new academic year. She will begin reading for a humanities degree at Edinburgh University in October. (Source: The Independent, March 27, 2004.)

The sky is the limit: an aviation training school has opened in the north-east of England at Newcastle International Airport. The £1.9m academy aims to be a centre of excellence, providing world-class aviation engineering training for students in the North East. The centre will also have a fully-functional Boeing 737 for students to learn the more practical elements of becoming an aviation engineer. Similar courses are run at the City of Bristol College, Kingston University and Norwich Technical College. (Source: www.bbc.co.uk, March 30 2004.)

Students search for next Lara Croft: computer characters like Lara Croft could soon be created by students in south Wales with the launch of a new degree. Staff at the University of Wales College Newport will teach students how to create computer characters as part of a computer games design course which will run alongside a course in computer programming from September. (Source: www.bbc.co.uk, April 2 2004.)

Where science meets art: the UK’s first independent science-related art gallery has opened at its new home in London’s West End. The exhibition marks the launch of a two-year science and portraiture project, culminating in a series of new portraits of prominent figures in science and art. The gallery was inspired by scientists and artists in residence at Imperial College London. (Source: Imperial College Press Release, April 5 2004. For further information see www.scicult.com)

Artistic touch: a new university is set to open in London. Formerly known as the London Institute, it is a collection of five of the world’s most famous art and design colleges and will be called the University of the Arts London. Its application for the title of university has been approved by the Department for Education and Skills. (Source: The Independent, April 8 2004. For further information see: www.linst.ac.uk)

人鱼不游泳

ARTS, CULTURE AND SPORT

New talent challenges the established order: seven first-time novelists will battle it out against literary heavy weights, including Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, for the £30,000 Orange Prize for women’s fiction. The first-timers include Monica Ali, author of “Brick Lane”, a story of Bangladeshi sisters which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In total, half of the authors to make the shortlist are from the UK, including previous Orange contenders Maggie Gee and Andrea Levy. The Orange Prize was established in 1996 to celebrate and promote fiction by women. (Source: The Independent, March 16 2004. For further information see: www.orangeprize.co.uk)

Girl power hits Hollywood: prestigious movie magazine Film Review has hailed UK actress Keira Knightley as the leader of a new wave of young female action stars. The “Bend it Like Beckham” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” star was joined by fellow Brits Naomi Watts (“The Ring” and “21 Grams”), Kate Beckinsale, Rachel Weisz and Sophia Myles (soon to be seen in “Thunderbirds”) in the top 20. (Source: Daily Star, March 17 2004.)

Postman Pat goes global: children’s television programme maker Entertainment Rights has unveiled a clutch of overseas deals for classic UK shows including Little Red Tractor, Basil Brush and Postman Pat. It has secured distribution contracts with broadcasters in Europe, the Middle East and Far East. (Source: Daily Express, March 19 2004. For further information see: www.entertainmentrights.com)

Awards and tours: after collecting the Grammy Award for the USA’s Record of the Year with “Clocks”, Coldplay have announced that they will be embarking on a world tour in 2005. (Source: The Independent, March 22 2004. For further information see: www.coldplay.com)

Architectural honours: Zaha Hadid has become the first woman to win the coveted Pritzker Architecture Prize and the third Briton in the award’s 25-year history. Ms Hadid’s portfolio includes Rome’s new National Museum of Contemporary Art and the Rosenthal Centre for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, USA. (Source: The Independent, March 22 2004.)

Still topping the charts 40 years on: The Beatles have been voted the most significant and influential band of the first 50 years of rock and roll by their fellow artists. A list of 55 musicians, critics, music historians and industry executives said that the Beatles “arrived sounding like nothing else”. Voters included Bruce Springsteen, Keith Richards, Pete Townsend, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. (Source: www.sky.com, March 26 2004. For further information see: www.beatles.com)

An alternative arts scene: hard on the heels of New York, Paris and Milan, London's Alternative Fashion Week brought out the most original and creative collecti##被过滤## during a week-long series of public shows. This year, more than 60 young textiles and fashion graduates were selected to show their work at London’s Old Spitalfields Market. (Source: The Guardian, March 23 2004. For further information see: http://www.alternativearts.co.uk/altfash.html)

Art auction: the sale of work by 32 top U

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