On behalf of MCHEMT it’s my pleasure to extend a very special welcome to all our new and also to all our returning students. As you take the time to read through this letter, I would like to draw your attention to some important reminders that will help all students settle quickly and support the college’s efforts to gain Highly Trusted Status (HTS).

Next Moth we will be visited by Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) who will review students attendance and monitor students progress by checking assignments submissions etc, therefore this semester will be a particularly important one for all of us. HTS status will not only bring more funding into our college which we can spend on improving student resources but it will also allow you to apply for part time work under new government legislation.

I hope that you will work cooperatively with the staff for the benefit of the college and your future success by supporting us gain HTS in 2012.

Two important reminders to enable us to shape the college’s future

1. Minimum for attendance is now 85% – it is crucial that you aim for 90% and over attendance records for this term and year
2. Ensure all assignments are handed out to you last semester have been submitted to the lecturers at the earliest

LET’S ALL WORK TOGETHER

Looking forward to seeing you this week

Philip I Lewis
Principal

Social Media has become a part of our daily lives and it is difficult to escape it. I say, if you can’t beat them, then join them. Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc are changing the way we use the internet. Entrepreneurs are using the media to start and launch new businesses. Businesses are using it to find new consumers. Students are using it to network with the corporate world and generating better prospects for placements, apprenticeships and jobs. Many of these companies have recently had IPO’s and floated on stock exchanges around the world thereby have created tremendous wealth for both entrepreneurs and consumers.

Here is one such app that allows you to track, follow and share with your friends the activity list of your favorite music artist. Yes, Flowd is a free social networking app – think foursquare with a musical twist… Flowd brings music fans and artists closer, by letting users be the first to know where and when their favourite acts are performing and interact with them directly.

Flowd has recently announced some exciting updates to its web and mobile applications, including YouTube and Soundcloud integration:

• - Fans can now watch and listen to their favourite artist’s latest tracks through YouTube without leaving Flowd
• - By integrating Soundcloud into Flowd, music fans can now listen to originally-created sounds from their favourite artists through the app, and share tracks with friends across Flowd, Facebook and Twitter without switching through endless apps and web pages.

By using your phone’s in-built GPS, Flowd also allows users to “check-in” to concerts, festivals and other live events, while bands and artists can run contests and promotions that reward fans for attending their gigs. So for example, Flowd recently teamed up with Sony Entertainment to promote Britney Spears’ new single to find ‘Britney’s biggest fan’ and rewarded the first 1,000 followers with a free copy of the single.

Other artists that are already using Flowd include Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz and rock band We are the Ocean.

The premature demise of this iconic person has left a gaping hole in the hearts and minds of not just Apple enthusiasts but everyone who believed in technology and user experience.

I for one cannot believe that he gone and my heart cries as of I have lost someone special. Even though I did not meet him personally but having grown up with Apple products that changed have positively changed my life.

I just hope and wish that the legacy he leaves behind and those who had the pleasure of working with him are able to carry his vision forward and build Apple into an even greater company than what it is today. Only this will be a befitting tribute to their Iconic leader.

As a firm believer of God, good things happen with good people and I feel that God has called him early because he needs a visionary there and has most certainly tasked him to bring out some innovative, technology products for use in heaven.

And finally, I would like to share with you some of his best quote from his previous years -

We think the Mac will sell zillions, but we didn’t build the Mac for anybody else. We built it for ourselves. We were the group of people who were going to judge whether it was great or not. We weren’t going to go out and do market research. We just wanted to build the best thing we could build.

When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.

And finally:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Do something great.!!!!

Welcome all students, old and new, to the 2011/2012 academic year  at MCHEMT. I hope that you have enjoyed your summer vacation and that you are looking forward to starting the new semester with enthusiasm and the will to succeed. Teaching and learning starts on the week beginning 19/09/2011. We welcome new staff to the College. Dr Daniel Robledo has been appointed to teach on the ICT and Interactive media courses(check online induction – staff profiles)

We are currently completing inductions for the new intake however according to our records a minority of ‘older’ students have not completed their online inductions and initial assessments. This is compulsory for all students. Please contact Amrey Ahmed at College on 0161 835 1891 to arrange a time slot (1hour approx) .Students who do not complete will not be allowed to start the new semester. A tracking system is in operation therefore you will have been contacted by e mail regarding this urgent matter of compliance.

Congratulations to  all students who have successfully achieved their awards this year and we wish them all the very best in the future. Many of the post graduate students have opted for the ‘TOP UP’ route selecting a university where they will continue on the pathway to their chosen  degree. Others have chosen to stay at MCHEMT to continue to the next level/stage of their respective courses.

New courses starting this semester include Health and Social Care, Law and Legal Studies, Fashion and Textile Design and Accountancy and Finance.

A new administration office is currently being built at Cheetham Hill ,management apologise for any inconvenience caused, however the work will be completed shortly. Feel free to use the facilities at both College campuses. Cafeteria will be opening during the last week in September.

Philip Ian Lewis
NPQH, M.Ed, B.Ed, C.Ed
Principal

From the Principal’s Desk: Philip I Lewis,

Firstly I would I wish all students who have entered for examinations this semester all the very best of luck. Our first results from the post graduate ABP Business Administration course have recorded 6 passes. I congratulate all the successful students for their hard work and endeavour. Also many thanks to the lecturers and support tutors that have been involved on with the programme. The 6 students have been invited by Dr Malik to the 2nd year College celebration at the Hilton Hotel Manchester on 9^th July. This celebration is in conjunction with our main sponsors DM Digital TV who will also be marking their 6^th year in TV production . The programme can be seen live from 7pm???????? onwards.

Sorry your leaving

Both Nicola (Office Manager)and Stacey (Receptionist) will sadly be leaving us soon. As close friends they will shortly be embarking on a career  teaching abroad. We wish them all the very best in the future.

Online, onboard!

Our online student academic system is up and running. This technical and ICT approach to learning must be an inherent part of your development as successful students. If you require any support to complete please ask any member of the academic staff who will assist.

Although Friday 1^st  July 2011  is an Open Day for the recruitment of new students you are welcome to use the College facilities during this study/assignment week.

Free and easy Manchester

May I remind all June intake(induction programme students) that you are all invited to join a College tour of Manchester. This tour is specifically planned to help you find alternative and ‘free’ methods of and transport entry to various venues. Tour will start from Lord Street Campus at 9:30am and return 12pm. Looking forward to seeing you then.

Raman Singh Mac is Head of Marketing at Manchester College of Higher Education and Media Technology shares how private colleges are more geared to provide skills and vocational training required by most employers

What is the purpose of your vocational training?

As a college we continue to make offers to some promising learners, we are also advising potential learners to apply for the 2011 September intake of Graduate Diploma’s and Post Graduate Diploma programmes which are based on vocational training and heavily promote the use of research, numeracy and ICT skills in requisite qualifications, which most of the employers look for today.

As of September 2011, the Manchester College of Higher Education and Media Technology is introducing a whole new host of courses geared to provide vocational in-house training alongside teaching and learning. These will include courses in INTERACTIVE MEDIA, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTER SCIENCE, LAW & LEGAL PRACTICE, ART & FASHION MANAGEMENT amongst others.  For the first time, we will allow students to replace their end-of-year dissertation with a project based in business or industry. We believe that this will give students the opportunity to apply their new Graduate Diploma’s/ HND or Post Graduate qualifications into practice, and will allow them to amass valuable work experience to strengthen their profile.

Another new unit that we have introduced in some of our programmes ‘Research Project’ which allows the students to get a better understanding of the market place / industry or an organisation as they will be able to choose a project of their liking and complete that under the supervision of an experienced member of staff. This will allow the individual to develop first hand understanding about the market or an area of choice. This unit will runs across two or three semesters, and allows us to start working with our students from as soon as they arrive. Apart from self-awareness through a range of numeracy, literacy and research techniques it will involve students researching their planned employment sectors and preferred roles, and then working on the plan to achieve their aims, for example, through select industry placements and work based assignments.

The students will also need to develop skills in effective team working and leadership, and for the first time they will be able to earn academic credits for this skill development.

Details on the latest changes to the UK student visa system introduced to prevent abuse of the student immigration system

Tougher entry criteria, limits on work entitlements and the closure of the post-study route are among the latest changes to the UK student visa system. Announcing significant developments in the UK immigration policy, Chris Dix, regional director, UK Border Agency, said that major changes that have been introduced to prevent abuse of the student immigration system.

The main changes announced are as follows: 

Students going to the UK for a degree will no longer be allowed a two-year timeline to look for job opportunities after their course ends. The Tier-I (post-study work) route will be closed from April 2012. So long students had free access to the labour market for two years after their course ended and it allowed them to do low-skilled jobs. According to the new rule, only graduates who have an offer of a skilled job from a sponsoring employer will be able to stay to work, provided the job matches his skill-level. Further, the salary offered by a company will have to be a minimum of £20, 000 a year. The company has to be registered to accept overseas workers in the Tier 2 point-system.

The English language requirement has been changed to a higher level (from B1 to B2). Those going to the UK to study at degree level and above will have to speak English at an upper intermediate (B2) level of the Common European Framework of Reference. This change will come into effect from April 6.

All UK education institutions that want to be sponsors will have to become Highly Trusted Sponsors by April 2012 and become accredited by statutory education inspection bodies by the end of 2012. The current system does not require this and has allowed too many poor quality colleges to become sponsors.

UK Border Agency staff will be able to refuse entry to students who cannot speak English without an interpreter.

All applicants to sign a declaration that the funds they present to meet the maintenance requirement are genuinely available for use in coming to the UK to study. Applications will be refused in cases the bank statements are from banks with dubious credibility.