Ambers Tough Mudder Challenge!

Hi, I’m Amber Member of the Schools Liaison Team at NTU.

Recently, I’ve been getting ready to face a series of adrenaline-pumping challenges and obstacles called Tough Mudder! 

Amongst these are:

·      Lung-busting hills.

·      Woodlands.

·      Water and, tons and tons of mud!

My reasons for taking part:

After taking on the Tough Mudder challenge last year I unfortunately did not manage to complete the course.  I pride myself on the growth mind set of ‘If you fail, get back up and try again’ so I have decided to come back fighting for another year.

My main motivation for the challenge this year has been NTU international volunteering. I am currently volunteering as a team leader for NTU students travelling to Romania to volunteer at a summer school called ‘Little Johns House’ in August. Little Johns House is a Charity set up in Romania to support Romanian Orphans with mental and physical impairments.

 Whilst in Romania we will be engaging the children in lots of fun and exciting activities and enriching experiences involving social interaction, experimental play, music and art therapy. The summer school projects are made possible solely by the help of volunteers and international donations. Therefore, I have been asking for sponsorship to do Tough Mudder as my own personal fundraising for the charity and am not only doing the challenge for myself but also for the children supported by Little John’s House.

Amber will be running the Tough Mudder Saturday the 21^st of May 2016. If you wish to donate her charity page is:  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AmberPage1

Saturday Art & Design Club – Learning from the professionals!

One of the highlights for the young people who attend the National Saturday Art & Design Club  is the opportunity to participate in a masterclass with a professional artist or designer. This year, we were delighted when the Sorrell Foundation announced that Zack Mclaughlin from Paper & Wood would be leading a workshop for the next generation of creative talent at NTU.   You only have to look at his work to understand why we were so pleased; his awe inspiring birds are breathtakingly real.

Work by Zack Mclaughlin, a kingfisher and a barn owl

Zack Mclaughlin is a London based illustrator who is inspired by nature and creates these beautiful birds out of paper and wood (hence the company name!).  His impressive work has been featured across the globe in window displays for fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren, Paris and Anthropologie.

It takes Zack more than 70 hours to create some of his birds, this includes the time to painstakingly cut more than a thousand paper feathers by hand with a pair of scissors, before taking great care to paint all the realistic details on to each one. His Instagram account shows the breadth of his very detailed work.

Commission work for Ralph Lauren

Before the practical workshop began, Zack kindly gave a brief talk to the Saturday Art & Design Club about his portfolio and his experience of being an illustrator.  As a freelancer, Zack’s work has evolved from illustrating children’s books to creating the bird sculptures.  The inspiration for this change of direction came from experimenting when he created a model of an owl that appeared in one of his children’s books.  Since then he has created numerous sculptures that have caught the media’s attention.

Zack’s talk highlighted that working for yourself in the arts involves resilience and a lot of creative thinking to spot opportunities.  Currently Paper & Wood sells the birds as artworks to private and commercial buyers, runs workshops on wire model making and showcases Zack’s portfolio of illustrations.  As a freelancer, Zack not only has to create artwork but also promote himself widely to his potential customers on social media as well as doing all the admin to keep the business running.  This insightful talk highlighted to Saturday Art & Design Club that being a working artist requires a lot of hard work and determination but its worth it if you love what you do.

Saturday Art & Design Club hard at work during the masterclass

To gain a greater understanding of Zack’s work, Saturday Art & Design Club participants had the opportunity to create their own birds out of wire.  Each of our budding artists were asked to bring along a selection of images to the workshop of their favourite bird.  The participants were then asked to deconstruct the shapes of their chosen bird and use these simplified shapes to create a 3D wire sculpture.  The results were fantastic!  Everyone’s bird was a different shape or size.  We’re looking forward to showcasing them at the Saturday Art & Design Club exhibitions next month.

·         National Saturday Art & Design Club exhibition, Somerset House, London is open to the public 22 June  to 26 June.

·         Nottingham Trent University, Bonington building is open to the public 27 June to 1 July.

Some of the bird sculptures created by Saturday Art & Design Club

Saturday Art & Design Club had a great time on Saturday and we like to say a HUGE thank you to Zack for taking the time to come and visit us. 

For more information about Saturday Art & Design Club at NTU, please contact Sarah Barkley: sarah.barkley@ntu.ac.uk.

Volunteering in the local community: Zoe’s story

Meet Zoe, a member of our department who volunteers once a week at her local community centre:

Here's what she had to say about her experiences as a volunteer, and why you should think about getting involved in volunteering in your local area!

When I was younger, I had no idea I was even going to go to university, let alone work at one! But here I am; 8 years after graduating, and still hanging around on campus (although now, I get paid for it!)

I've worked at NTU for 5 years, and I really enjoy it. One of the things I like most about working here is getting to meet and work alongside a variety of people, and one way I get to do this is through the NTU Staff Volunteering scheme.

The scheme is fantastic; it offers staff time off work to engage in a range of volunteering activities. I chose to volunteer in my local community, and help out once a week at a community centre in Netherfield.

The role involves:

·        Preparing food

·        Working on the tills

·        Chatting to a wide range of local residents

·      Helping to plan and run special events, such as themed food nights (e.g. curry nights) and Halloween celebrations.

It’s a fantastic way to help out and meet new people from my local area, as well as build lots of useful skills!

NTU offers lots of volunteering opportunities to our staff and students; but even if you don't study/work here (yet!) i’d recommend looking out for opportunities to get involved in volunteering in your community – it is a brilliant way to make new friends, give something back to the place you call home and build all kinds of transferable skills that will help you when you come to apply for jobs and courses!

Want to know more, you can watch the video about it here:

Paul's Volunteering

Hi I’m Paul and I work here at SCCO. Here’s a little bit about what I do!

When students first arrive at NTU in September they get to take part in a huge programme of fun events which we call Welcome Week. This is a chance for our 7000 new students to meet one another, find their way around and have a great time while settling in to Uni life. There are trips to do fun stuff like karting & ice skating, chances to hang out with other students, nights out, sports, big events, small events, clubs… you name it, we do it! It really is an incredible week and there’s such a buzz about the place!

So, my job is to work with other people in SCCO and right across NTU to make all this happen. It takes months of work to get it all just right but it’s well worth it.

When I’m not doing that I also produce media to support SCCO’s work, like some of the videos and photos that you can see all over this blog.

The thing I really want to tell you about is the volunteering that I do. All NTU staff get the opportunity to volunteer and make a difference through a community project or school in the local area. So for example we have someone who regularly helps out at a community centre in Netherfield, and another who gives her time to help at the Hayward House care unit at City Hospital. There are lots more.

I volunteer at Welbeck Primary School in the Meadows through a scheme called Number Partners. Every Monday, I go there for an hour and take a small group of Year 3 & 4 pupils for some extra Maths support. We have some special board games to help them practice their Maths skills which they get really competitive about! It’s turning Maths into a fun activity: they want to win, and we have a lot of laughs while they’re playing. They love it and they think of it as a treat. I wish there had been someone at my school doing the same! 

Why do I do it? For me, it’s great to help them have fun while learning and improving their confidence with numbers. Over the half a term that I’m with each group, I see the children’s skills and their belief in their own ability grow, which is really satisfying - especially for those who are maybe quieter and lacking in confidence in the regular classroom setting.

There’s a personal reward too in giving something back to the local community. Not everyone has the same start in life, and I like that a little effort from me can make a real difference to others. With the children getting so much out of it too, it’s a winner all round!

Welcome to our new blog

Recently we've been working on changing our blog to make it easier to use and better at giving the information you want to know. We've it designed it to give information to students and parents on applying to university, the student voice, additional learning opportunity’s and much more. It’s a great way of finding out the inner workings of university so why not have a look around and see what you think. 

If you have any questions regarding the blog please contact us:

For Schools, Colleges and Community Outreach queries contact: outreach@ntu.ac.uk

For media and blog related queries contact: ntuoutreach@gmail.com
Or you can tweet us @NTUOutreach



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