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‘Managing your care budget’ is a community of people who run a care budget for themselves, their children or a close relative. It’s a website that was set up as part of a research project being run by the Open Lab at Newcastle University, funded by the EPSRC.

The site contains links to sources of support and templates which can be downloaded and used. Access My Care Budget.

A Personal Health Budget (PHB) or care budget allows people to manage their healthcare and support such as treatments, equipment and personal care. This means for example employing their own carers and personal assistants. However, for many people once they are given the budget, they don’t receive any guidance on how to spend it. They are left with the responsibility of employing people, writing staff contracts, and practically running a business. This can be a daunting task.

As described by one of the participants, My Care Budget is an “online peer support community platform that enables PHB users to share useful policies, documents and templates that have helped them manage their PHB for the benefit of other PHB users.”

Launched in September 2021, it has over a thousand active users after just 6 weeks, predominantly in the UK but also Europe, US and Australia.

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Introductory presentation into Microbial Fuel Cells by Dr Pavlina Theodosiou

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Power-FULL Biofilms (5 Weeks Project @ Hotspur Primary School)

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Power-FULL Biofilms (5 Weeks Project @ Hotspur Primary School)

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Power-FULL Biofilms brings to schools an interactive workshop which enthuses, inspires, and engages children with the world of Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs). MFCs turn organic matter or waste into electricity through electroactive biofilms, that as part of their metabolism release electrons. The project investigates the possibility of producing electricity from waste (mud from the school ground) and using the harnessed electricity to power a small gadget.

The students during this 5-week workshop series built their own MFCs, inoculated them using mud, fed them with nutrients and monitored their growth by recording their voltage output. At the end of the 5-weeks (8th Dec) the students will connect the MFCs electrically and see if they can power-up a small gadget.

This workshop series introduces the kids to microbiology, biofilm growth, electricity, engineering, renewable energy and experimental design.

This outreach project has been funded by National Biofilms Innovation  Centre (NBIC) and it was carried out at Hotspur Primary School with Year 4 students (56 children in total).

The project started on the 10th of November 2021 and it will finish on the 8th of December 2021.

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Schools developing outdoor learning during Covid-19

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Schools developing outdoor learning during Covid-19

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This project engaged with Scotswood Garden and Newcastle schools to understand how and why schools are developing outdoor learning during the pandemic.  Schools told us that:

·         Outdoor learning can support children and young people’s social, emotional and mental health.

·         Children and young people who have difficulties engaging in school often experience outdoor learning as less stressful than the classroom environment.

·         Learning outdoors enabled children and young people to engage in crucial group work (which was restricted indoors during 2020/2021), supporting children and young people to develop their interpersonal skills and to re-connect with peers and school staff after lockdown periods.

·         Schools used outdoor learning as part of school strategies and risk assessments in response to the pandemic, with some schools adopting a clear expectation that outdoor learning should be a weekly feature of curriculum delivery.

·         The vast majority of children and young people enjoy learning outdoors and want to do more of it!

This research was funded by the Catherine Cookson Foundation.  For more information contact: Lucy.Tiplady@newcastle.ac.uk

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We have been engaging with members of the community, teachers and school pupils to bring the wonders of the Universe to life through sound.

Astronomy is nearly exclusively explored using visual techniques (i.e., pictures and plots) for both research and in education/outreach. However, there is huge potential in adopting sound as an alternative approach to explore data and to communicate concepts. This is for both scientific discovery and for making astronomy more accessible - in particular those who are blind or visually impaired (BVI).

On 7th December we will launch our new research project 'Audio Universe'  which is a suite of research and education/outreach resources that use sound to study and communicate astronomy. The launch is celebrated by releasing a new sound-based show called Audio Universe: Tour of the Solar System for both planetariums and for home viewing.

The show, and the wider project, has been developed in collaboration with members of the BVI community from Newcastle and beyond. Furthermore we have been working with specialist teachers of visually impaired school children and the children themselves. They have collectively provided essential on-going feedback and input.

Research and education/outreach resources will be released on 7th December at www.audiouniverse.org

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The Making of Audio Universe: Tour of the Solar System

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Throughout 2021 the faculty of medical sciences has been working with the Newcastle city council arts development team and a north east based film maker to engage with communities around the North East about their lockdown experience. We've worked with people growing up and growing older during a pandemic including primary school children, first year university students, older adults in care homes, older adults in communities as well as CEV groups and BAME groups to explore 6 different communities experiences of the pandemic.

You can catch these films being screened in March 2022, to reflect on the 2 year anniversary of national UK lockdown. There will be a mix of scripted drama and documentary style films, alongside an associated art exhibition of photography and art made by the public involved in these films.

More info here: https://www.thecovidage.co.uk/

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British Civil Wars (Two Collaborative Projects)

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British Civil Wars (Two Collaborative Projects)

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After the successful delivery of A Tale of Two Sieges: A collaborative education outreach project (https://bit.ly/3DeI9gm), the Library’s Education Outreach team once again teamed up with the National Civil War Centre (based in Newark) for two projects.

Firstly, we developed a new website for Key Stage 3 (11-14) students on the British Civil Wars, promoting the Civil War tracts held in Newcastle Special Collections. As well as working with the National Civil War Centre, this website was developed with support from DLS and Professor Rachel Hammersley from the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. The website is full of fascinating facts, quizzes, educational activities and much more. You can visit now at: https://britishcivilwars.ncl.ac.uk/

Following this, the Library education outreach team and the National Civil War Centre worked with two schools, one in Newcastle and one in Newark, to deliver British Civil Wars Games project. Both schools received visits from members of the Library Education Outreach team, DLS and the National Civil War Centre. The students were able to explore the new British Civil Wars website and delve further into this period of history by looking at original source material.

Following this, the students at both schools were tasked with designing a new revision game and to deliver a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch. One winner from each school was picked. The two winning game pitches are currently being developed and will be added to the website by Christmas 2021.

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Skip to content Newcastle University National Civil War Centre
Designed for Key Stage 3 students, this website is packed full of activities and primary sources to help you learn about the British Civil Wars.

Timeline: The British Civil Wars

Scroll to top of page
Newcastle University National Civil War Centre
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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British Civil Wars | Learn and revise for Key Stage 3

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Skip to content Newcastle University National Civil War Centre Designed for Key Stage 3 students, this website is packed full of activities and primary sources to help you learn about the British Civil Wars. Scroll to top of page Newcastle University National Civil War Centre This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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A new show about climate change, made by children, for grown-ups

Primary school children worked with Newcastle University climate scientists and engineers, singer-songwriter Katie Doherty and Cap-a-Pie theatre company on a new show about one of the biggest challenges of our time – climate change. The show was shown at Cop26. https://www.cap-a-pie.co.uk/climate-change-catastrophe/

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Cap-a-Pie Climate Change Catastrophe creative team & Hotspur Primary School  (1)

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Multiverse Lab is a collaborative project between Newcastle BRC’s Public Engagement Lead and Unfolding Theatre.

The aim of the project was to hear from as many members of the public as possible to hear views on health and social care priorities for future research, So far, hundreds of people have already added their voices to the online version of Multiverse Lab, but over the summer the physical lab went out on tour.

https://www.newcastlebrc.nihr.ac.uk/multiverse-on-tour/
https://www.newcastlebrc.nihr.ac.uk/touring-the-region-to-hear-public-views-on-research/

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‘The Missing Dead’ has been developed by experts at Newcastle University and the Vindolanda Trust and takes the player back in time from the discovery of the skeleton in 2009 to the 3rd century AD.

Using archaeological evidence excavated from Vindolanda, the game uses 2D, hand-drawn animation in a comic-book style to recreate Vindolanda as it would have been in c.230AD.
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2021/08/vindolandaapp/
https://www.vindolanda.com/the-missing-dead-app

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Story:Web explores how museum collections, images and sounds shared online, and people’s experiences could be connected to make sense of global issues like climate change.

An interactive demo of Story:Web is on show at the Glasgow Science Centre up to and during COP26 , the UN Climate Change Conference, as part of the Reimagining Museums for Climate Action exhibition.

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Story:Web explores how museum collections, images and sounds shared online, and people's experiences could be connected to make sense of global issues like climate change.

An interactive demo of Story:Web was on show at the Glasgow Science Centre up to and during COP26 , the UN Climate Change Conference, as part of the Reimagining Museums for Climate Action exhibition.

During 2022 we are developing Story:Web into a real digital system for use on social media and in museums, for people to discuss environmental issues like climate action. Check out our progress in the blog . We're also looking for other people aged 16-25 to help, find out more here .

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Story:Web explores how museum collections, images and sounds shared online, and people's experiences could be connected to make sense of global issues like climate change. An interactive demo of Story:Web was on show at the Glasgow Science Centre up to and during COP26 , the UN Climate Change Conference, as part of the Reimagining Museums for Climate Action exhibition.

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Gender Inclusivity in Peace and Security

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Gender Inclusivity in Peace and Security

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20 years on from the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, this project offered tangible guidance for individuals tasked with supporting gender in peace and security institutions, and advice on navigating the obstacles they may face in their work. It includes a best practice guide and three accompanying YouTube videos. https://www.uaces.org/events/gender-and-inclusivity-peace-and-security

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Gender Inclusivity in Peace and Security

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On display at the University’s Herschel Building since early October, Climate-Emergency-Change features 12 research projects and videos from a range of disciplines, including Arts and Humanities, Science and Engineering to showcase the work of Newcastle University colleagues who are engaging locally and globally on climate action-related research. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2021/10/climate-emergency-changeexhibition/

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VOICES aims to understand the challenges that children and young people face in the context of Covid19 disruption, particularly in economically-disadvantaged areas of the North East. https://www.voicesproject.co.uk/

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New permenant exhibit in the Living Planet Gallery at the Great North Museum: Hancock.

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A Tale from the Deep: Eurythenes plasticus & the Plastic Pollution Crisis

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A Tale from the Deep: Eurythenes plasticus & the Plastic Pollution Crisis

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In describing a new species, the chosen species name is a unique opportunity to capture the minds and hearts of the public and inspire them to become better environmental stewards. I am pleased to introduce you to Eurythenes plasticus! Please come meet this special deep-ocean amphipod at the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

Eurythenes plasticus is a scavenging amphipod (crustacean) that lives between 6,010 and 6,949 underwater at the Mariana Trench, the deepest trench in the world. Despite living so deep, this species and the other animals in the community and not protected from human impacts. We found Eurythenes plasticus to carry a signature from the surface. One of the 11 specimens had microplastic fibre in its hindgut. That fibre was 84% similar to PET, the main polymer in plastic bottles. My co-authors and I named it ‘plasticus’ to symbolise the ubiquity of marine plastic pollution.

Thanks to a 2020 British Ecological Society Outreach Grant, this story is being told at a new and permanent exhibit at the Great North Museum: Hancock. The engaging exhibit features Eurythenes plasticus swimming past visitors to locate food with a novel 3D hologram. Visitors learn about deep ocean geology and ecology with a full-ocean depth infographic, the importance of species discovery, and the reality of the estimated 8 million tons of plastic entering the oceans every year. To complement the physical space, an animated video has been created by Roots and Wings, a local creative agency, to tell this story accessibly and remotely. By hearing and seeing this story, we are hopeful that all visitors, young to old, leave inspired to be better environmental stewards and know that their actions on the land matter.

Eurythenes plasticus represents a tragic milestone, as the first time plastic has been documented in a new species (and it's even been awarded a Guinness World Record for being the first new species contaminated with plastic). But Eurythenes plasticus has a mighty message. Eurythenes plasticus tells a story of ocean exploration and modern-day scientific discovery of a new species, and, most importantly,

highlights how our daily actions can impact animals in the deepest and remotest parts of the ocean.

For more information, please contact Johanna Weston at johanna.weston@ncl.ac.uk.

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This particular Knowledge Transfer Partnership was born out of a long-established relationship between Newcastle University and Siemens. Newcastle University is one of a small group of research institutions to hold global partnership status and was selected by Siemens as a UK site for a Siemens Mindsphere Application Centre.

The project was focused on developing deep domain knowledge of degradation within various battery technologies to support the creation of digital services for energy storage solutions

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/business-and-partnerships/case-studies/siemens-ktp/

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Poet Linda France is the Climate Writer in Residence for New Writing North and Newcastle University. Building on her 2020 residency, from 2021-2022 the Writing the Climate project will create spaces for connection, discussion and personal reflection, which encourage all of us to respond to the Climate Emergency and see ourselves as part of its solution.

https://newwritingnorth.com/projects/writing-the-climate/

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Linda France is running a series of four workshops for writers interested in finding stories which get to the heart of things and consider the implications of living in a time of Climate Crisis and Mass Extinction.

We are inviting poets and writers of prose (creative non-fiction and fiction) living in the north of England, including those at the early stages of their career, to apply for this free workshop programme.

We are especially interested to hear from writers who are currently under-represented in the publishing industries, including writers of colour, disabled writers and writers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

The workshops will take place on Zoom on the following dates. The sessions will be linked and participants would be expected to commit to attending all four:

Applications are open until 12 April 2021. To apply, tell us in up to 200 words why you would like to take part in this series of workshops. Please include a single page sample of your writing and a short writing biography (50 words max).

We are no longer accepting submissions to Writing the Climate as the submission deadline has passed.

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Linda France is running a series of four workshops for writers interested in finding stories which get to the heart of things and consider the implications of living in a time of Climate Crisis and Mass Extinction.

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BEWISe ( Biological Engineering: Wastewater Innovation at Scale)

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BEWISe ( Biological Engineering: Wastewater Innovation at Scale)

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BEWISe (Biological Engineering: Wastewater Innovation at Scale) is located in a formerly dilapidated and unused building at Birtley sewage treatment work. BEWISe will accelerate innovations in wastewater treatment. It will experiment with low-energy biological treatment technologies. It will develop low-cost ways to generate energy from waste. The project's intention is to develop a state-of-the-art, revolutionary technologies. These are not only for the region, but for worldwide. This project is a shared vision between Northumbrian Water and Newcastle University. It places innovation and engagement at the centre of success to achieve our common goals. It integrates the two organisations in a way that goes beyond standard university-industry in-kind support. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/be-wise/about/#whoweare

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A theatre production in collaboration with Newcastle University which was built on the experiences of older people from VOICE, examined how differently people experience ageing. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/archive/2021/06/suckingeggs/

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From Newcastle, is a fortnightly podcast featuring the latest developments in health, science and culture and the creative arts from Newcastle University. https://podcasts.ncl.ac.uk/fromnewcastle/

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Co-development of the UK National Wastewater-based Epidemiology Surveillance Network

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Co-development of the UK National Wastewater-based Epidemiology Surveillance Network

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Early in 2020, Newcastle researchers found SARS-CoV-2 RNA fragments (Covid-19 virus) in sewage. Measuring RNA virus in such wastewater is tricky. But the Newcastle team developed new methods for quantification. This contributed to a rapid, inexpensive way of quantifying Covid-19 cases across communities. Local work radiated around the world. The Graham Group at Newcastle has become an international leader in “Wastewater-based Epidemiology” (WBE). The group's scientific contributions have been significant. Their engagement and policy guidance impact may be greater. Extensive engagement with industrial partners, especially Northumbrian Water Ltd, and local and international policymakers has provided science-informed guidance on Covid-19 mass prevalence. It provided a broader value of WBE as a key part of future national and international health protection planning. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/archive/2020/07/nationalcovidwastewater/

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The Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub, an interdisciplinary, international collaborative project led by Newcastle University, have developed a hands-on educational programme to engage children in climate change and youth action. https://newcastle.sharepoint.com/hub/engagement/news/Pages/Kids-4-Change.aspx

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Newcastle University KATS project (Corbridge)

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The Later Life Audio and Radio Co-operative (LLARC) is a direct outcome of an interdisciplinary PhD project. It involved a programme of participatory action research. This focused on facilitating civic participation in later life. It was developed from an initial collaboration in Newcastle. But it has the potential to become an international initiative. LLARC has rapidly evolved into a UK-wide network of older content creators, age-inclusive radio stations, third sector organisations, local authorities and academic researchers working on age-related issues. LLARC showcases diverse talk-based audio content created by older adults. It advocates for greater representation of older adults in public debates about ageing societies.

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Build a Bear 2:0: 3D printing your favourite toy from waste

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Build a Bear 2:0: 3D printing your favourite toy from waste

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Engineers have an important role in sustainable development: in this project, we will show you how engineers use recycled plastic to produce filament for 3D printing. If you live near Newcastle you are in luck, because in that case you can have a go at 3D printing your own design (such as your favourite animal) from this filament made of waste material at the Life Science Centre.

Build-a-Bear 2:0 was funded with a Royal Academy of Engineering Ingenious award and is a collaboration between engineers at Newcastle University and Manchester Metropolitan University (Print City). 3D printing activities will take place at the end of 2021 at the Life Science Centre in Newcastle,

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Build a Bear 2:0: 3D printing your favourite toy from waste