Category: Uncategorized

Student ambassador and attendees in white coats using lab equipment

Saturday science club gets up close to nature

Students from years 8, 9 and 10 at local schools took part in our Saturday Science clubs, giving a taster of what it’s like to study science-based subjects at university.

The club ran over four Saturdays, with experiments, talks, hands-on practical work in the lab and the opportunity to chat to our students and staff. The theme, Enchanted Earth – a study of nature up close, introduced the students to subjects including biological sciences, biomedical science, ecology and conservation, geography and environment.

Our ambassadors play an important role in the club, supporting lecturers and making sure the students have fun learning and discover more about what it’s like to be a science student.

Continue reading “Saturday science club gets up close to nature” →

Stephanie ThomsonLeave a comment

Ecology and Conservation second-year fieldwork

Applied Ecology and Conservation Field Course module

As part of the second year Applied Ecology and Conservation Field Course module, we visited a range of local wildlife sites, such as the British Wildlife Centre, Waterhall, Knepp Estate, Rye Nature Reserve, Blue Reef Hastings and the Hastings Fisherman’s Protection Society. The module very well attended and the students continued to build a diverse skill set. Along the way there were some interesting talks on ecological processes as well as surveys and management experiences. Opportunities for further involvement in the form of volunteering or final year projects have also arisen and these offer excellent opportunities for employment. One of the highlights was the Knepp bird ringing day were we had the opportunity to get close to some amazing birds thanks to Penny, Josie and Dave.

Yellowhammer bird
Yellowhammer (photo: Zoe Lawson)
A bullfinch sitting on a hand
Bullfinch (photo: Zoe Lawson)

Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems module

This module introduces the principles of marine and freshwater ecology, examining a range of aquatic habitats and investigating ecosystem processes and structures. It investigates the relationships between freshwater and marine habitats and determine how one system influences the other.

The module ended on a high, with a really interesting residential field trip to Slapton Ley in Devon. The three-day field trip led by Dr Neil Crooks and Dr Anja Rott was a great success. Students engaged with a range of aquatic sampling techniques, being able to demonstrate everything they had learnt over the past year. We found ourselves in some truly beautiful locations with a range of interesting organisms being observed on every trip. The students who attended were really engaging, even becoming rather competitive as the poster presentations approached. The quality of work was high and we could not have asked for a better end to a really enjoyable module.

Dr Anja Rott collecting samples in a river
Dr Anja Rott
A Cushion Star starfish on a piece of rock
Cushion Star starfish
Students looking at samples standing on sandy river bed
Study an Ecology and Conservation degree

Laura RubyLeave a comment
You'll belong at Brighton graphic

Learn more about your chosen courses

We have a number of events for offer holders and applicants giving you the chance to chat to staff and students to help you in your decision making. They’re a great way to learn more about the course you have applied for and get to know us better.

When you book we’ll show you relevant dates for your course and which campus to come to. You can also check the campus where your course is based using our course finder.

Visit us!

  • 22 March – Moulescoomb campus applicant event for architecture, technology and engineering; business and law; applied sciences; humanities and social science; media
  • 22 April- Moulescoomb campus applicant event for architecture, technology and engineering; business and law; applied sciences; humanities and social science; media

About your applicant event

Our applicant days vary but typically include a subject session, an interactive session, facilities tour, student experience talk, campus tour and accommodation tour.

You can also find out more about student life through our advice desks which are available on the day.

Find out more about the event and book your place

Stephanie ThomsonLeave a comment
Meghann Creffield head shot

My kids are so so proud of me

The Brighton Effect is that ripple of energy that grows with you during your time at the University of Brighton, and throughout your life. Uniquely individual, you carry it with you through time, careers, passions, curiosities, travel, discoveries, teaching and learnings. We spoke to Meghann Creffield, who graduated in 2020 with a degree in Applied Biomedical Science (BSc) through the degree apprenticeship route, to find out about her Brighton Effect story.

Meghann is a Biomedical Scientist, working in her local hospital’s Biochemistry department. “Becoming a Biomedical Scientist has been a dream of mine for a very long time […] I was very lucky to be granted an award for outstanding contribution to an employer by an employee. This award was granted to me for research I was facilitated to do at the Royal Sussex County Hospital during the Covid-19 pandemic. I helped implement a test in the biochemistry department that helps with the care of Covid positive patients. I was incredibly proud to win an award for the work I did in my degree. My kids were so so proud of me that they put a newspaper clipping about the award on the fridge!”

Continue reading “My kids are so so proud of me” →

Stephanie ThomsonLeave a comment
Laura Hemsley headshot

Gain skills and expertise for your career on our Town Planning postgraduate degree

Laura Hemsley graduated with distinction from our Town Planning MSc and is now working as a Town Planner at Jacobs. We caught up with Laura and found out more about what drew her to postgraduate study on our Town Planning MSc and what she loved about the course.

What were you doing before your postgraduate studies at Brighton?

I had just graduated from the University of Leeds with a BSc Degree (1st Hons) in Geological Sciences.

What made you choose Town Planning at the University of Brighton?

It is RTPI and RICS Accredited – this significantly drew me to the course as it meant once I had finished the course, I could immediately apply for a Licentiate membership – which is for graduates who have completed a fully Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)I accredited qualification. Becoming a Licentiate member of the RTPI is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Town Planner via the Licentiate Assessment of Professional Competence (L-APC).

The University of Brighton offered the option module of ‘Environmental Placement’ which was the best module choice on offer as it allowed students (i.e. me) to work within either a local planning authority or the private planning sector for three months (i.e. I worked within the private planning sector). This was extremely valuable as I was able to understand planning framework and legalisation policy, planning applications in a real-life examples, which gave me the expertise and skills for a future job in planning.

Continue reading “Gain skills and expertise for your career on our Town Planning postgraduate degree” →

Stephanie ThomsonLeave a comment
Cattle walking in the Andes mountains

New research documents how the Andes has uplifted through time

New research by Dr Laura Evenstar has documented how the Andean Mountain chain in South America has uplifted through time.

The paper, written in collaboration with Prof. Adrian Hartley from the University of Aberdeen and Prof. Anne Mather from the University of Plymouth, unravels the roles of both tectonics and climate in forming the highest mountain chain in the world, after the Himalayas. Previous models for its uplift have been contradictory, ranging from long, slow uplift over the last 50 million years through to short, rapid uplift in the last 10 million years. This paper is the first study to utilise the datasets from all previous models and reconcile them onto a single unifying theory explaining the rise of the Andes.

You can find out more in the article Orogenic-orographic feedback and the rise of the Central Andes in Earth and Planetary Science Letters journal.

Stephanie ThomsonLeave a comment
Micrscope image of phages attacking bacteria

MPs back inquiry into powerful new weapon against antibiotic resistance

A University of Brighton researcher has gained Parliamentary support to investigate an ancient foe of bacteria as a weapon against antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is a global threat of huge proportions. A 2019 study published in the Lancet estimated that drug resistant infections contribute to 4.95 million deaths per year on average (12,000 of those in the UK) – with the global figure expected to rise to 10 million by 2050. Continue reading “MPs back inquiry into powerful new weapon against antibiotic resistance” →

Stephanie ThomsonLeave a comment
View of people on Brighton Beach with the pier in the background

A BA Geographer’s summer 2022

My summer began with a job hunt. National contexts that affected everyone, not least students in, meant that travelling, seeing the world, all that studenty dreamy stuff was put on hold for a summer (or 3).

First, my CV. I had little experience in retail, only teaching really, which as it goes isn’t actually that helpful in the summer. Therefore, I felt that my CV had to really stand out. Using workshops and careers advice given to us at the University of Brighton, I managed to do just that and snagged a job at Brighton Palace Pier working as an Arcade Engineer. Continue reading “A BA Geographer’s summer 2022” →

Stephanie ThomsonLeave a comment

My Summer Experience: Volunteering at Bog Meadows Nature Reserve, Belfast

After a whirlwind second year I was ready for a relaxing summer at home, but with the start of third year looming in just three months’ time, I wanted to make the most of my break. Reflecting on my second-year modules, words like “networking” and “volunteering” stuck out in my mind, especially from my Job Study assignment for Professional Practice for which I interviewed the Nature, Climate and Environment Officer for the Ulster Wildlife Trust. Continue reading “My Summer Experience: Volunteering at Bog Meadows Nature Reserve, Belfast” →

Lucy DonaldsonLeave a comment