Kristina Angelova with Fleur Emery of Grasshopper at the 2010 Enterprise Challenge Awards

Kristina Angelova, who is studying BA (Hons) Business Studies, was nominated by her employer Bradbeers, where she spent her third year working on placement as an e-commerce and digital marketing manager. She is one of only four finalists in the Best Student Contribution to a Small or Medium-sized Enterprise category.

In their fourth year, the awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of employers, universities and students involved in undergraduate placements and internships. Stephen Davies, part-owner of Smith Bradbeer & Co, which has several department and furniture stores in the south of England, said: “Kristina is highly respected by me and her co-workers. During her time here, she has had an amazing impact on the company. She is hard working, dedicated and a great person to have in your team.”

Emma Winter, Kristina’s supervisor at the University during her placement, said: “She really is incredibly driven. Yet she has the ability to remain level headed, keep a sense of humour and be thoroughly likeable as well. I hope she inspires other students.”

Kristina was previously nominated for the award of Most Employable Young Talent in the UK at the Google and Entrepreneur Country Young Masters Awards 2012, and was runner-up in the 2011 Business Champions team competition, organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Bright Futures. She was also the 2010 winner in the Rising Star category at the Enterprise Challenge Awards, organised by the University of Portsmouth.

The awards ceremony takes place on Friday February 15 in London.

Opening doors: Hafsa Bibi

A computing student at the University of Portsmouth has won a place at the prestigious Women in Technology event run for women studying traditionally male-dominated subjects.

Hafsa Bibi, in her second year of a computing degree at the University’s Faculty of Technology, was one of just a few young women from the region to be offered a place.

The biannual event, called ‘IT’s not just for the boys!’, took place at Bloomberg headquarters in London as part of the Steminism UK network. The event aims to provide information, support and guidance about careers for women studying science, technology, engineering and maths, commonly called STEM subjects.

Hafsa said: “The event was really inspiring; I met a lot of females in technology and networked with many different people in the industry. The networking was particularly enjoyable as I got to meet and talk to professional women from a variety of companies.

“There was a session with a confidence coach which was fun, but also very useful, and a question time session, where we could ask top female employers about who and what they were looking for, how they got to where they are now and what the industry is really like.

“It was interesting to hear about the different routes that women had taken to become successful in their careers.”

The event was run by Target Jobs in partnership with global technology giants including IBM and Microsoft.

Emily Parry, senior student employability and enterprise officer at the University, said: “Many STEM industries are male dominated, so events like this highlight career routes for female graduates and will hopefully go some way to helping redress the balance.

“I’m delighted that Hafsa took advantage of such a prestigious opportunity. She was one of only a handful in our region to be selected. It’s really helped her think about the type of career roles she might pursue – not only for her industrial placement in the next academic year, but also once she graduates.”

Winner: Catherine Ellis

A recent graduate of the University of Portsmouth Business School has won a national professional award as ‘The One to Watch’.

Catherine Ellis, 25, was voted winner at the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) Company Secretaries Awards.

The award recognises recent achievement and future potential in those in the early stages of their careers. The judges looked at the impact candidates had in managing tasks and activities and contributing to overall performance, and the likelihood that each candidate was destined to be a top company secretary.

Catherine said: “It was a great sense of achievement winning the award and a professional accolade. More than anything it means I’ve been doing my job right.

“My employer is delighted too, and thinks it’s a great achievement – it was my employer who nominated me for the award.”

Catherine embarked on her career as a company secretary while writing her dissertation in her final year at university.

She said: “The best aspects of the job include all the project work that you get involved in – you go to meetings and hear what all the issues are affecting the business. Anything that is of sensitive nature often goes through the company secretary so you get to see a lot of interesting items. No two days are ever the same and the workload is varied.

“Company secretaries are independent and are there to advise and steer the chairman and other board members on good governance. That is the main definition, but in industry, different markets and different types of companies require different things.”

Catherine obtained her Grad.ICSA qualification upon graduating from the University of Portsmouth’s School of Law with her Master’s in LLM Corporate Governance and Commercial Law in 2010. She had earned her LLB Law with Business degree in 2008.

She said: “While writing my dissertation I started working for Computershare Investor Services plc in their company secretarial services department as an administrator. I then was offered a permanent position there and started working fulltime two weeks after handing in my dissertation. After 18 months I then moved to work for Amlin plc as a Company Secretarial Assistant, where I still work.”

Richard Haines receiving his certificate for best dissertation of the year from Head of Sport and Exercise Science, Dr Richard Thelwell

A University of Portsmouth student has won first prize in the Undergraduate Dissertation of the Year Award from the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES).

Richard Haines, 22, from Bristol,  is the fourth winner in five years from the University’s Department of Sport and Exercise Science.

Portsmouth’s continued presence in the hall of fame for research in this subject comes as no surprise to Dr Richard Thelwell, Head of the Sport and Exercise Science Department. He said research was fundamental to both the culture and day-to-day teaching and learning in the department.

Richard is now studying for his Master’s and said winning the top prize was a real boost to his confidence and his dream of becoming physiologist.

He said: “It’s been great to win, it has given me a lot more confidence in my work knowing that it can compete on that level with students from other universities around the country.

“I was really shocked to be honest, I didn’t expect it at all but I think it was probably down to the approach we took, using an alternative form of statistical analysis which many studies have not used which leads to doubts in the reliability of their results.”

As winner, Richard has been asked to present his research at an annual academic conference.

His supervisor Gemma Milligan said: “While Richard’s study was simple in design, it was the level of his statistical analysis that made this dissertation special. The tools used to assess validity and reliability are starting to receive greater importance within academic literature, but as yet are not widely used and Richard’s study is a good example of how this should be undertaken.

“The dissertation is the culmination of the three years’ study and reflects the hard work the students put in across their years with us.”

Richard is now working towards his Master’s in sport and exercise science.

He said: “I wanted to stay on and study a Master’s because I felt I needed something extra to give me an edge when I go on and apply for jobs. The Master’s in sports performance is also very applied and I think the experience I gain will be a great help once I leave university and hopefully go on to work with athletes.”

Other Portsmouth winners of the Undergraduate Dissertation of the Year Award include Aislinn D’Silva in 2011, Thomas O’Leary in 2010, and Helen Barrett in 2009. Research associate Heather Lunt won the Doctoral Dissertation of the Year Award in 2010.

BASES is the professional body for sport and exercise sciences in the UK and aims to promote excellence in the field through practice based on scientific evidence.

Nick Marsden receiving his MSc with distinction from chairman of the Dorset Fire Authority, Councillor Rebecca Knox

Trust in the workplace is being hampered by a lack of understanding of what it actually means, according to new research.

Line managers who say they trust staff but don’t, pose one of the biggest challenges to organisations hoping to flourish, according to the researcher Nick Marsden.

Nick is Assistant Chief Fire Officer with Dorset Fire and Rescue Service. He undertook the study for his Master’s in Leadership and Management course at the University of Portsmouth.

He won the University of Portsmouth’s Business School prize for best research, sponsored by the Institute of Leadership and Management, on the MSc in Leadership and Management course and his research has been published in Human Resource Bulletin: Research and Practice.

Defining trust: Nick Marsden

Nick said: “It is easy to say we trust someone, but more difficult to enter into a trusting action which involves you becoming vulnerable or in some way at risk.”

Trust serves as the foundation for everything organisations do, but the difficulty is that the meaning of trust can sometimes be unclear, misunderstood or misused, he said.

As a result of Nick’s research, Dorset Fire and Rescue Service have approached the problem by defining their own meaning of trust which, in essence, is when a line manager is clear about the boundaries an employee needs to work within and the employee is able to talk comfortably with their manager about mistakes and weaknesses without fear that this will be used against them.

Nick said: “The importance of clear boundaries should not be underestimated.  There is a great story about a study of children who were told to play in an open field, but stayed very close to the adults.  When the experiment was repeated, with a fence around the field, the children played into every corner.

“We cannot expect people to push personal boundaries if they are not clear where they are, in relation to those boundaries, in the first place.”

The research concluded there is a complex matrix of trust up, down and across organisations regardless of their size, but that trust is most essential between individuals and their line manager.

Nick said: “Trust is very much determined at a local level. Our natural tendency is to limit our own risk, which means that we may over-control. Sadly, many existing managers cannot see that they are doing this. They want to maintain hierarchical controls.

“With the current financial uncertainty many organisations are moving towards flatter, less hierarchical structures and it is essential to have a foundation of trust for empowerment to flourish.”

Nick has long been interested in leadership and what motivates and inspires others to follow or go that extra mile. He said: “If we trust more, then people will reciprocate more. Discretional performance will be the outcome and a key part of success for future public services.”

He was inspired to do the research when issues of trust between the senior team and middle managers were identified. Interestingly, when challenged, everyone in the group had a different interpretation of what trust meant.

His tutor David Hall said: “Nick’s research was inspired by what he saw and questioned in his own workplace. It was innovative and extremely insightful, which has allowed Nick and his management team to build on this in the workplace. It was an excellent piece of research.”

The event, which attracted 50 graduates who had completed their degrees in the previous three years, was held at the Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel.

They had studied courses from four faculties – Portsmouth Business School, Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Faculty of Technology.

Graduates at the recent ceremony in Beijing, China

The graduates have gone on to work in a variety of industries, including teaching, finance, graphic design and marketing.

Joe Docherty, International Director of University of Portsmouth said: “We have over one thousand Chinese students at University of Portsmouth, so China is hugely important to us.

“We have held three graduation events in China; in Guangzhou, Shanghai and now Beijing. These give the opportunity for our graduates to celebrate their academic achievements with their families, as well as senior visiting Portsmouth staff.”

Professor John Craven, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth attended the event.

Other representatives from the University were Jenny Morice, Associate Dean (Academic) of Faculty of Creative Cultural Industries, Dr Martin Read, Head of Postgraduate Programmes in Portsmouth Business School, Professor Nick Bennett, of the School of Engineering, Eve Guernier, from the International Office and Wendy Wang, the General Manager of the China Office.

Li Yuan gave a speech on behalf of the graduates. She said: “We all feel very proud and lucky to have studied at the University of Portsmouth. I fell in love with the city at first sight and I now consider the University of Portsmouth as my home in the UK. I think everyone who has studied at the University feels the same.”

A further 30 alumni, who are now based in China, attended the post ceremony dinner.

ICJS student and Police Constable Alex Stypulkowski receives his award from Home Secretary Theresa May

A University of Portsmouth student has been named the bravest police officer in England and Wales for his determination to arrest a man despite receiving near-fatal injuries.

Alex Stypulkowski is studying at the University’s Institute of Criminal Justice Studies for his Foundation Degree in Police Studies. He is also a fulltime Police Constable working with Hampshire Constabulary.

PC Stypulkowski was named bravest in the south-east and bravest overall at the annual Police Bravery Awards. He was presented with his awards by Home Secretary Theresa May at London’s Plaisterers’ Hall, followed by a reception at 10 Downing Street.

Last November, on duty in Petersfield, he was asked to help social services and firearms officers section a man under the Mental Health Act. The man was known to be dangerous and had previously taken his mother hostage.

On duty: Alex Stypulkowski

PC Stypulkowski arrived at the scene and chased the offender, but he became separated from his colleagues in the dark. He was alone and unarmed when he was confronted by the offender brandishing a screwdriver in his face saying “You are going to die.”

PC Stypulkowski used CS gas and tackled the offender to the ground. The police constable later said he had been aware of sharp blows to his back and neck but refused to give up.

Medics confirmed the stab wounds to his head and neck were life-threatening, with one having narrowly missed his jugular vein.

The offender was eventually arrested after another Police Constable used a Taser gun to subdue him.

Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, told the BBC: “PC Stypulkowski deserves the highest praise for his courage and determination. Knowing the risks, he fearlessly put his own life on the line to pursue this very dangerous offender.”

On receiving the award PC Stypulkowski told reporters: “It’s an absolute honour to be invited, let alone win the award. The stories from everyone else have been just fantastic.”

Business people of the future got on board the StartUp Britain bus

The next generation of great business minds have been getting help with their future from a national enterprise campaign.

A double-decker bus, organised by national enterprise campaign StartUp Britain, visited University of Portsmouth Centre for Enterprise to help young people get started with their business ideas.

A team of entrepreneurs, business authors and experts visited students at Richmond Building, University of Portsmouth.

Students had the opportunity to apply on board for a government StartUp loan, as well as being given expert advice on starting their own business.

The idea behind the visit was to show University of Portsmouth students how to access the support, guidance and funding that exists, pointing them towards specialist mentors and giving them the chance to speak to already-successful entrepreneurs.

Carley Cummings, enterprise events co-ordinator for the University of Portsmouth, said: “The day was a  big success, with the organisers commenting on the high quality of students they saw.  Over 400 people attended the event, and we’ve already heard about some great business ideas in the making.”

StartUp Britain co-founder Emma Jones said: “We are seeing more and more young people setting up businesses. Research has shown eight out of ten young people think about setting up a business these days as a career path, or a way to turn a hobby into a money-spinning idea.

“Reports suggest this boom in entrepreneurialism is down to the millennial generation grasping both the power of modern technology and the internet. These young people represent part of the future of business and our economic prosperity – that’s why it’s so important to offer them support by delivering the message that they can set up a business, there is support out there for them – and that we’ll be with them every step of the way, cheering loudly!”

A recent survey from the RSA charity in partnership with the National Centre for Social Research revealed that current students are part of the generation most likely to consider setting up a business.

This generation, which grew up over the millennium, was found to have an ‘unprecedented entrepreneurial spirit’ with almost one-third of those aged 20 to 29-years-old wanting to start their own business, said the report.

The qualification recognises those students who undertake volunteering in parallel with their studies and rewards them with an external qualification for their efforts.  Opportunities for volunteering include working within local charities, sporting groups, clubs and societies and students gain experience in areas such as marketing, web design, finance, IT and many more useful fields.

The Vice-Chancellor chats to volunteers and staff

The qualification has formal modules which encourage students to reflect on their experience, whilst the Project Management and Team Working modules allow them to build up their knowledge about what they have learned and gained from the process and the experience.

Volunteer & Graduate Recruitment Officer, Alice Hickman, said that volunteering is a way to engage students in a wide variety of activities which build their confidence and improve their CVs and therefore their employability.

She said:  “Volunteering allows students to build valuable skills and increase their confidence.  They learn how to work with real people in business, to develop their knowledge and to grow as people.”

The University has partnered with charitable social enterprise ASDAN, an awarding body who formally issue the qualification, and with the Students’ Union.

Perry Taylor, the Student Union’s VP for Welfare and Community, said: “It was great to see so many students being recognised and rewarded for their time and commitment to volunteering, which has a significant impact on the wider community. The Union is proud of these students and is committed to widening participation in the ASDAN programme this year.”

Students received their certificates yesterday evening from the Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Craven, at an event to celebrate their success.

Portsmouth residents are more fearful of crime than they need to be

Portsmouth residents are more fearful of crime than they need to be, according to a survey carried out by Institute of Criminal Justice Studies’ students at the University of Portsmouth.

The 2012 Portsmouth Community Safety Survey, conducted on behalf of Portsmouth City Council, found people’s fear of crime is based on an area’s reputation, rather than on individuals experiencing crime themselves.

But it also found most people’s perceptions of anti-social behaviour were more accurate and closer to their level of actual experience of such behaviour.

It is the first year Portsmouth City Council has collaborated with the University of Portsmouth to carry out the community safety survey.  Around 150 students from the University’s Institute of Criminal Justice Studies interviewed 1,382 Portsmouth residents and analysed the data.

The findings will be used by the City Council to shape the way money is spent and identify the areas in the city that need the most attention and resources.

The City Council’s Chief Executive David Williams commended the report and said: “The Council is keen to develop a partnership with University of Portsmouth and this report is a good example of the sort of collaboration that provides significant benefits to both organisations.”

Tom Ellis, principal lecturer at the University’s Institute of Criminal Justice Studies who co-ordinated the study, said: “We are very pleased to have provided our students with some valuable work experience. The skills they have acquired will benefit them when they enter the world of employment.”

The three students who produced the best reports will receive cash prizes that will be presented by Councillor Aiden Gray, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Dave Russell, Dean of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Second-year criminology student, Nicholas Sandford Smith was praised for producing the best report and was asked to present the survey findings to the Safer Portsmouth Partnership.