Glasgow Kelvin College

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Back to Real Life Learning for Civil Engineering Foundation Apprentices

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Back to Real Life Learning for Civil Engineering Foundation Apprentices

Meet Chloe Sinet and Corie McSween, two of Glasgow Kelvin College’s amazing Civil Engineering Foundation Apprentices who are excited about being on-campus for this part of their learner journey.

Chloe, a 6th year pupil at St Roch’s Secondary is now in her 2nd year of the 2-year Foundation Apprenticeship (FA), having completed the 1st year of the course almost completely online.

She attends 2 days per week and reflected that the 1st year of the programme, though really enjoyable, was challenging to complete online but the support of her lecturer and fellow classmates carried her through.  She was able to ask questions and the lecturer helped her to understand the basics and the intricacies of the course.

The pandemic also presented problems with the delivery of the work experience element of the programme.  She says;

“It’s great to be learning in-person now, though, and I’m excited about experiencing college life.  I’m also really looking forward to the work placement element which will kick-in this year and we’ll learn proper workplace skills.”

Chloe’s plans are to continue down the Apprenticeship route, hopefully gaining a Modern Apprenticeship with a local employer and continuing into a Graduate Apprenticeship in the field of Civil Engineering.  She’s looking forward to the future.

Corie is a 6th year pupil at Bishopbriggs Academy and has just entered the 1st year of her 1-year Foundation Apprenticeship at Kelvin, where she’ll attend for 3 days per week.  She says;

“I’ve always been interested in engineering and when my Guidance Teacher at school spoke about the FA I was really keen to experience it and see what it would be like to be an engineer.  I really like being on-campus, getting to meet my fellow students and being involved in college life.”

With plans to possibly go to university, Corie is excited about continuing her Civil Engineering studies at Glasgow Kelvin as it will give her a flavour of the industry and help her to determine if this is the right route for her future.

Foundation Apprenticeships are supported by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS).  They provide senior phase pupils, while still at school, with the opportunity to attend college and learn a skill, get a qualification and, significantly, gain work experience with a local employer where they’ll gather industry knowledge and develop their workplace skills.

Glasgow Kelvin College, as the only regional college to offer the FA in Civil Engineering, is delighted to welcome these talented young people on-campus and will ensure that Chloe and Corie, and their classmates, have the best learning and college experience it can provide to set them up for their future and achieve their ambitions.

Best wishes go from the College to these remarkable young women.

Simon Rolls Out Next Stage in Fascinating ‘Govanhill’ Project

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picture of manGlasgow Kelvin’s Photography Lecturer and hard working creative, Simon Murphy, has revealed the next development in his ongoing and highly popular ‘Govanhill’ project.  Focusing on portraiture, he has consistently sought out new approaches to encapsulating the images and culture of his community.

This new phase, entitled ‘100 rolls’ is already gathering a fascinated audience and Episode 1 is available on Youtube at:

https://youtu.be/V-nE9bLsVTw

Simon chats through the concept and context of the project.  His engaging video gives an informal introduction to portraiture and to his relationship to his remarkable subjects – a good watch!

We’re delighted and proud that we can share Simon’s talents and innovation and wish him huge success in this phase of ‘Govanhill’ – Well Done.

MADE Academy Delighted to Be Shortlisted at SHABAs

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SHABA Group

Glasgow Kelvin College’s MADE Barbering Academy was once again shortlisted for the Scottish Hair & Beauty Awards this year in the Best Training Salon category.

This follows on from their win last year in that very same category!

In addition, MADE student, Rohin O’Neill who now works with Rebel Rebel Barbers was nominated in the Best Barbering Apprentice category.

Lecturer Simon Murphy also invited along two of his Photography students to take some pics of the evening and add some event photography experience to their expanding portfolios.

Unfortunately, it was not the College’s year to shine in either of the nominated categories but it is still a great accolade to be shortlisted in this prestigious competition.  Those who went along to the glittering ceremony in Glasgow city centre confirmed that the event stood up to its reputation as a great night out for staff and the amazing students who have come through the MADE Academy.

Well done!

College Announced as Finalists in Two CDN Awards Categories

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CDN LogoGlasgow Kelvin College is delighted to learn that it has been shortlisted in two different categories at this year’s CDN Awards for its trailblazing approaches to innovative learning during the pandemic.

As a finalist in both the Digital Learning Award and College Community Learning Award categories, the College is thrilled to be recognised for its work during a challenging period for the sector.

With engaging online only being the order of the day in 2020, teaching staff were presented with the challenges around delivering practical skills, especially using craft techniques.  Through the ‘Making Jewellery in a Digital World’ project, the Jewellery provision identified that using high resolution, zoomable camera headsets which allowed the instructors to broadcast magnified shots of close hand design work, the students could learn remotely through instructional video.

Thereafter, the team supported students to develop CAD skills which enabled them to design jewellery in a virtual environment and produce their pieces on 3D printers.  These innovations helped all students to successfully complete their course.  Although this initially worked to mitigate the effects of limited access to workshop facilities, the innovative process has since been adapted and adopted on the return to full in-person learning with great success.

The processes deployed in this initiative are already being tweaked and adapted to suit the needs of other areas of the curriculum.

Glasgow Kelvin College’s extensive community provision, as with all community-facing organisations, was severely challenged during the pandemic lockdown.  The closure of facilities and amenities for the local population was also impacting social cohesion and mental health.

To address this, the College established the ‘Community and Youth Hub’ at its Springburn campus in October 2020, two evenings per week, which created learning and lifestyle opportunities for young people and families.  Delivering learning tasters, fun activities, sports and trips in a covid-secure environment helped to bring together local residents and introduce them to a part of college life.

Working with local partners, the project has gone on from strength-to-strength with around 100 people attending each session and is now set to be replicated at the College’s Easterhouse campus.

Principal Derek Smeall said;

“The circumstances around the pandemic became a springboard for real innovation throughout the college sector and here at Glasgow Kelvin College we worked extremely hard to ensure that our students received the best experience we could provide.  With original thought and extensive experience, staff adapted and transformed their skillsets to be more agile and flexible and make it happen.

I am delighted that our efforts have been recognised among the many impressive initiatives deployed across the sector to keep learners and our communities at the core of all we do.”

The College is thrilled that its efforts have been acknowledged in this way and looks forward to the in-person ceremony to be held in late November at Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel.

Watch this space!

Prizewinner Ben Triumphs in F1 Challenge

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Prizewinner Ben Triumphs

Glasgow Kelvin student, Ben Allardyce, was delighted to be presented with his prize of an Xbox after winning the Formula One Challenge at the College’s recent Freshers’ Fair.

On Day 4 of a hotly contested competition at the Easterhouse Campus, Ben achieved the winning time of 1m 12.1sec in a hard-fought battle across the campuses which was organised and hosted by the ICT team.

College partners, Innovation Esports, were delighted to sponsor the competition by providing the racing simulator and donating the Xbox Series S, with the College providing £30 worth of gaming equipment to complete the package.

Taz Rose, Experience Director at Innovation Esports, said;

“On behalf of Innovation Esports I would like to congratulate Ben on his winning time and the Glasgow Kelvin College team for a fantastic event. We look forward to continuing our partnership to introduce a wider portfolio of gaming and esports educational opportunities.”

Ben, 19, is an HND2 Acting & Performance student at the College and was thrilled to accept his prize, cheered on by his envious classmates.  Eileen Denny from the ICT Team, Learner Engagement Officer Arlene Sweeney and Student President Emma Leslie were on hand to make the presentation.

Ben said;

“I’m incredibly pleased and didn’t think I was going to win it – I don’t have an Xbox and I’m looking forward to going online and gaming with my mates.

The Freshers’ Fair was really fun and a great introduction to college life, especially since I scored a winning time!”

Congratulations go to Ben for his win, with thanks to Innovation E-sports for their sponsorship and to the intrepid ICT Team who organised the competition.