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I am from Spain – from the capital, Madrid. I moved to Nottingham in 2014.
Elena’s contribution has been absolutely huge to the area in which she works, and I
don’t mean that just from a Nottingham perspective, I mean that worldwide.
The area I’m working on is something called ‘Magnetoencephalography’,
which is a neuro imaging technique.
Elena’s great to work with – she is just so enthusiastic. She really kind of led the
way with the early work, on her own essentially.
So, Elena’s research is really focussed on developing the next generation of functional
brain imaging technology and in particular, a machine that can measure brain function
whilst a subject moves around freely.
We can have a person moving with the sensors on their head which was impossible to do with
the previous technology.
For the first time we will be able to scan children, who just can’t keep still in conventional
scanners; perhaps elderly people with movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease.
We’ve made a lot of progress but there’s still so much unknown; that’s what made
me keep pushing, keep researching in this area.
From very humble beginnings with a few simulations, all the way through to actually building a
working prototype brain imaging system – Elena’s really led that work from day one.
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In Italy I knew a girl from Nottingham. I said, well I will take the chance to do something
that I didn’t do while I was a student; so I will go to Britain and I will stay there
and I will improve my English. I went into an agency and I started to work in the University
of Nottingham. Students can come with any queries and we try our very best to help them.
Claudia’s very popular with students, particularly the International Students because obviously,
she’s come and worked in a different country so she understands some of the challenges.
I go to Student Services for literally everything and Claudia – I’m really, really lucky
if my number’s called, or my name is called, and she happens to be the one that’s there.
What I want to do is to solve the problem if I can – I try all my very best.
She made it feel personal, she didn’t make me feel like a number. She definitely took
my case to heart and she helped me.
I try to be the most helpful, you know, as much as I can.
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So I came from the west side of Poland at the age of 23.
My parents sent me to UK.
Here at the University I’m a Mobile App developer. At the moment my role is to provide
expertise around mobile area and give possible solutions for the future.
The Mobile App first went ‘live’ in September 2017, and what we needed was dedicated expertise
to take it forward – this is where Arkadius has come in.
Basically, the App behind it is to provide students with better experience around the
University, around the Campuses.
He’s very personable, he’s got a great sense of humour – he gets on well with people.
I find some group of students, sat with them, ask them a couple of questions about the App,
gather some feedback, whether they found it useful.
We need that spark of inspiration and that’s what he brings; and enthusiasm and fun
I think is a good way of putting it.
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I’m a southern German, so I come from the region around sort of Stuttgart. I’ve been
part of the University now for 20-odd years, so I’ve actually been
settled in Nottingham for quite a long time.
I don’t think anyone is really like Gaby anywhere else in the department. She’s so
enthusiastic and wild and wacky – she’s just a brilliant person to have around.
She’s tremendously supportive and very engaging with students, both in terms of teaching and
also pastoral care as well; she really kind of puts them
at the forefront of what she does.
I’ve always been interested in what stops students either from coming into the classroom,
or performing in the classroom, so I trained as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor which
now allows me to both apply what I have learned in my own classroom, but as a Mental
Health First Aid Instructor I can now instruct colleagues.
She was my Mentor when I first started at the University eight years ago, and she’s
a tremendously experienced teacher and brings this amazing energy
to everything that she does.
I try and be a role model – I think that’s my job. I’m older than the students, but
I was one of them, and I don’t want to forget that …where they are is where I’ve started.
I want to be remembered as the person who put the thought in your head and actually
inspired you to do something which you might not have done without me
– that’s the legacy I want.
You see people from all over Europe, all over the World, coming and
wanting to make Nottingham their home.
I think that range of cultural perspectives is hugely important, and that range of different
systems of teaching and learning is hugely important.
We understand that we perhaps all come at things from different directions and different
life experiences, and that just adds to our understanding.
Here, you can see people from different culture, different background, different languages
happy together, you know, and I’d like to see that everywhere.
You don’t want seven, eight, nine people all kind of like thinking along the same ways
– you need that diversity.
It brings in new cultures, new languages and just make the World generally a more pleasant
place to live. More broadly, that’s the contribution that they make.
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