30 June 2009

Engineering Faculty Executive Board

May 2009 Staff Digest

Budget Projections:

FPVC reported that a total Faculty underspend for the year was currently predicted and he congratulated those departments that had worked hard to get their finances back to plan (Contact: John Cocking).

Student Numbers for 2009/10:

It was reported that applications were up 20% overall. FPVC noted that the government have capped home undergraduate student numbers at the same level as last year and asked departments to be careful about overshooting (Contact: Andrew Isaac).

Learning & Teaching Committee

The Faculty Learning and Teaching Committee has started meeting and a learning and teaching strategy for the Faculty is being written (Contact: Stephen Beck).

Sheffield Engineering Gateway

Neale Daniel has been appointed as the Sheffield Engineering Gateway project manager (HEIF 4 funded project) (Contact: Malcolm Butler).

Funding for PhDs:

A scheme is being developed that would enable faculties and departments to put aside money for funding PhD students (Contact: Geraint Jewell).

Recruitment and selection training for panel chairs:

It was agreed that all academic staff (and others as appropriate) should receive training to allow them to chair selection panels (Contact: Janis Westley).

Minor Works budget:

Half of the money for next year was allocated directly to departments via a needs-based formula that looked at quality of current space (Contact: Malcolm Butler).

Dealing with the effects of increased PGT intakes:

A paper was presented and an optional scheme is to be put in place that looks to experienced PhD students for support (Contact: Ian Burgess).

Operations Review:

Following initial discussions regarding finance structures, there was some support but also some concerns. It was agreed to move forward with the proposal with strong contribution from the HoDs and relevant staff within the Departments. A plan for the consultation, proposal and implementation phases would be drawn up (Contact: Malcolm Butler).

Dr Malcolm Butler
Faculty Director of Operations