Experts Matter. Find Yours.
Connect for media, speaking, professional opportunities & more.
AI-Generated Content is a Game Changer for Marketers, but at What Cost?
Goizueta’s David Schweidel pitted man against the machine to create SEO web content only to find that providing an editor with bot-generated content trounces the human copywriter every time. Good news for companies looking to boost productivity and save cash, he says. But could there be other hidden costs? In December 2022, The New York Times ran a piece looking back on the year’s biggest consumer tech updates. The review was mixed. Ownership shifts in the world of social media garnered special mentions, but hardware innovations had been largely “meh,’ mused the Times. There was one breakthrough area that warranted attention, however: AI-powered language-processing tech capable of generating natural-looking text, the same technology that powers familiar chatbots. And one such technology could well be poised to “invade our lives in 2023.” Earlier in December, AI research lab OpenAI, released the latest update to its Generative Pre-Trained Transformer technology, an open source artificial intelligence. It’s latest iteration, ChatGPT, immediately went viral. Here was an AI assistant that sounded intelligent. Not only could it answer any question thrown its way without supervised training, but when prompted, it could also write blog posts, as well as find and fix bugs in programming code. ChatGPT could draft business proposals and even tell jokes. All of this at a speed that beggared belief. Since its first release in 2020, OpenAI’s GPT technology has powered through a slew of updates that have seen its capabilities leap forward “by light years” in less than 24 months, says Goizueta Professor of Marketing, David Schweidel. For businesses looking to harness this rapidly-evolving technology, the potential is clearly enormous. But aren’t there also risks that industry and consumers alike will need to navigate? Schweidel is clear that the academic community and initiatives such as the Emory AI Humanity Initiative have a critical role in asking hard questions—and in determining the limitations and dangers, as well as the opportunities, inherent in tech innovation—because, as he puts it, “these things are going to happen whether we like it or not.” Man Versus Machine To that end, Schweidel and colleagues from Vienna University of Economics and Business and the Modul University of Vienna have put together a study looking at how well natural language generation technologies perform in one specific area of marketing: drafting bespoke content for website search engine optimization, better known as SEO. What they find is that content crafted by the machine, after light human editing, systematically outperforms its human counterparts—and by a staggering margin. Digging through the results, Schweidel and his colleagues can actually pinpoint an almost 80 percent success rate for appearing on the first page of search engine results with AI-generated content. This compares with just 22 perfect of content created by human SEO experts. In other words, the AI content passed to a human is roughly four times more effective than a skilled copywriter working alone. Reaching these findings meant running two real-time, real-world experiments, says Schweidel. First, he and his colleagues had to program the machine, in this case GPT 2, an earlier incarnation of GPT. GPT relies on natural language generation (NGL), a software process that converts manually uploaded input into authentic-sounding text or content—comparable in some ways to the human process of translating ideas into speech or writing. To prepare GPT-2 for SEO-specific content creation, Schweidel et al. started with the pre-trained GPT-2, and then let the machine do the heavy lifting: searching the internet for appropriate results based on the desired keyword, scraping the text of the websites, and updating GPT-2 to “learn” what SEO looks like, says Schweidel. We partnered with an IT firm and a university to run our field experiments. This meant creating SEO content for their websites using GPT-2 and actual human SEO experts, and then doing A/B testing to see which content was more successful in terms of landing in the top 10 search engine results on Google. So this was an opportunity to put the AI bot to the test in a real-world setting to see how it would perform against people. The results point to one clear winner. Not only did content from GPT-2 outperform its human rivals in SEO capabilities, it did so at scale. The AI-generated content scored a daily median result of seven or more hits in the first page of Google search results. The human-written copy didn’t make it onto the first result page at all. On its best day, GPT showed up for 15 of its 19 pages of search terms inside the top 10 search engine results page, compared with just two of the nine pages created by the human copywriters—a success rate of just under 80 percent compared to 22 percent. Savings at Scale The machine-generated content, after being edited by a human, trounces the human in SEO. But that’s not all, says Schweidel. The GPT bot was also able to produce content in a fraction of the time taken by the writers, reducing production time and associated labor costs by more than 90 percent, he says. “In our experiments, the copywriters took around four hours to write a page, while the GPT bot and human editor took 30 minutes. Now assuming the average copywriter makes an annual $45K on the basis of 1,567 hours of work, we calculate that the company we partnered with would stand to save more than $100,000 over a five-year period just by using the AI bot in conjunction with a human editor, rather than relying on SEO experts to craft content. That’s a 91 percent drop in the average cost of creating SEO content. It’s an orders of magnitude difference in productivity and costs.” But there are caveats. First off, there’s the quality of the machine-generated content to consider. For all its mind-boggling capabilities, even the newly released ChatGPT tends to read somewhat sterile, says Schweidel. That’s a problem both in terms of Google guidelines and brand coherence. Human editors are still needed in order to attenuate copy that can sound a little “mechanical.” “Google is pretty clear in its guidelines: Content generated by machines alone is a definite no-no. You also need to factor in the uncanny valley effect whereby something not quite human can come off as weird. Having an editor come in to smooth out AI content is critical to brand voice as well as the human touch.” Asking the Big Questions Then there are the moral and metaphysical dimensions of machine learning and creativity that beg an important question: Just because we can, does that mean we should? Here, Schweidel has grave reservations about the future of ChatGPT and its ilk. The potential of this kind of technology is extraordinarily exciting when you think about the challenges we face from productivity to pandemics, from sustainable growth to climate change. But let’s be very clear about the risks, too. AI is already capable of creating content—audio, visual and written—that looks and feels authentic. In a world that is hugely polarized, you have to ask yourself: How can that be weaponized? At the end of the day, says Schweidel, the large language models powering these generative AIs are essentially “stochastic parrots:” trained mimics whose output can be hard to predict. In the wrong hands, he warns, the potential for misinformation—and worse—could well be “terrifying.” “Shiny new tech is neither inherently good nor bad. It’s human nature to push the boundaries. But we need to ensure that the guardrails are in place to regulate innovation at this kind of pace, and that’s not easy. Governments typically lag far behind OpenAI and companies like them, even academics have a hard time keeping up. The real challenge ahead of us will be about innovating the guardrails in tandem with the tech—innovating our responsible practices and processes. Without effective safeguards in place, we’re on a path to potential destruction.” Covering AI or interesting in knowing more about this fascinating topic - then let our experts help with your coverage and stories. David Schweidel is the Rebecca Cheney McGreevy Endowed Chair and Professor of Marketing at Emory University's Goizueta Business School. Simply click on David's icon now to arrange an interview today.
Georgia Southern University’s College of Science and Mathematics has been awarded a six-year grant of $493,065 from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Inclusive Excellence 3 (IE3) initiative. Georgia Southern is among a select group of 104 schools that have received an HHMI IE3 grant to support diversity, equity and inclusion. “Science is about building, witnessing and collaborating with each other, which is why Georgia Southern is so proud to receive this grant,” said Georgia Southern Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Carl Reiber, Ph.D. “Our inclusive initiatives are breaking down the walls that have separated science from interested students.” The HHMI IE3 initiative challenges U.S. colleges and universities to increase student participation in sciences, focusing especially on populations who have been historically underrepresented in the field. The Georgia Southern IE3 leadership team includes: Karelle Aiken, Ph.D, (program director), Tricia Muldoon Brown, Ph.D., (co-director) Sara Gremillion, Ph.D., (co-director), Checo Colón-Gaud, Ph.D., Issac Taylor and Delana Schartner, Ph.D. “The IE3 initiative is tapping into the transformative power of collaboration; the ability of a critical mass to drive cultural change. As such, an ingenious mandate of this grant is that its 104 institutional awardees work on their goals in teams of Learning Community Clusters (LCC),” said Aiken. Georgia Southern’s IE3 LCC hub, LCC4, includes 13 other institutions from across the U.S., all of whom are seeking to answer a specific challenge: How can an institution evaluate effective inclusive teaching, and then use the evaluation in the rewards system including faculty promotion and tenure? The IE3 initiative has been rolled out in two phases. The most recent award marks the beginning of the second phase and so, the work of the Georgia Southern team and their LCC4 colleagues is ongoing. At Georgia Southern, over the next six years the IE3 initiative will support training for faculty and student-leaders centered on inclusive teaching strategies and the effective evaluation of those strategies; an annual COSM IE3 Spring Speaker Series (established in 2022); the continued development of a new faculty mentorship program piloted in 2022 by Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellows; student- and faculty-led initiatives geared toward cultivating inclusive learning environments; and more. Looking to know more - then let us help. For more information or to arrange an interview with Carl Reiber or anyone from the Georgia Southern IE3 leadership team - simply reach out to Georgia Southern Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.
A.I. and Higher Education: The Rise of ChatGPT
ChatGPT. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Colleges and universities certainly have. It’s the chatbot that uses artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology to generate sentences based only on a brief prompt, writing anything from college-level papers to fanfiction. And as one might expect, the popular chatbot is taking the academic world by storm, raising questions about trust, academic integrity and even the future of college admissions. We turned to Seth Matthew Fishman, PhD, Assistant Dean of Curriculum and Assessment and associate teaching professor in the Department of Education and Counseling at Villanova University, to get his thoughts. Q: What makes ChatGPT different and why is it causing such a stir? Dr. Fishman: The use of chatbots is not a new debate in higher education. But ChatGPT and other similar free software certainly add a complex layer that we are only just now starting to have conversations about. There will be an ongoing debate about trust—Who wrote the material we are reading? To what extent if any, will it impact faculty members? There are also A.I. digital images, graphics, and design—To what extent do these programs impact our creative arts and design programs? I think these fields will mostly embrace A.I., though I can see issues of copyright infringement and artist control/attribution. Q: How are other chatbots being used in academic settings? DF: A.I. use already impacts higher education. If you ask any faculty member teaching a foreign language that requires a translation, they will have tales of work submitted by students who use online translation software. But benefits do exist for students and faculty regardless—we’re able to interact a bit more with others, reducing some language barriers. I expect we will see hundreds of articles about ChatGPT’s impact on education; there are likely several dissertations underway, and I expect to see ChatGPT and similar software cited in papers and likely even in authorship groups. Q: What will the impact of ChatGPT be on the college application and admissions process? DF: I think we’ll see conversations from college admissions professionals on the impact of ChatGPT on higher education admissions. For example, key components of college applications such as essays and writing samples may be impacted. And ChatGPT may also be used to write some rather good letters of recommendation. Q: What does the future hold? Will ChatGPT and similar A.I. programs maintain popularity? DF: I’m curious if A.I. will be used to generate employment cover letters. Additionally, many corporations already use A.I. to sift through candidate applications to narrow down their applicant pools. It may continue to transcend academia. I also expect to hear more from our philosophy and ethics experts to help us better understand the societal and educational implications of using A.I. in these ways. And these kinds of conversations will be had with our students to engage them as partners in the learning experience. We will probably generate new ideas and different perspectives from doing just that.
Aston University appoints new pro-vice-chancellor and executive dean of business and social sciences
Professor Zoe Radnor has been appointed as Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the College of Business and Social Sciences She has had a successful career in higher education for over 25 years Professor Radnor will be joining Aston University in Spring 2023. Aston University has appointed Professor Zoe Radnor as the new Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the College of Business and Social Sciences. Professor Radnor will succeed Professor George Feiger, who will be standing down after 10 years of leadership of Aston Business School and the College of Business and Social Sciences. With a successful career in higher education spanning over 25 years, Professor Radnor will be joining Aston University from The University of Law (ULaw), where she is currently Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, specifically focused on leading the diversification of the academic portfolio, including building an academic model for the provision of high quality, innovative teaching and thought leadership. In addition, she is leading the TEF submission at the institution Prior to her executive role at ULaw, she was Vice-President for Strategy and Planning; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Professor of Service Operations Management at City, University of London, leading the development of the University EDI strategy. In this role she also led the creation of the new enabling Civic Strategy and established the new institution-wide Change Support Unit. Before City, Professor Radnor was the founding Dean of the School of Business at the University of Leicester, and prior to that, as Associate Dean Teaching and Learning, she led the development of new curriculum offerings for the Loughborough University campus in London. Professor Zoe Radnor is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and the British Academy of Management (FBAM). She is also a member of the Athena Swan Governance Committee for Advance HE. Her main research interests are in performance, process improvement and service value within public sector organisations. She has led research projects for a number of Government and healthcare organisations, evaluating the use of ‘lean’ and associated techniques and continues to maintain a strong ongoing research profile. Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University, said: “I am looking forward to welcoming Professor Radnor to the Executive Team at what is a hugely exciting period of development for the University and to working with her as we shape our Aston University 2030 Strategy. Zoe brings significant leadership experience to the team and ambition in line with our bold vision. “I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the significant contribution made by Professor George Feiger during his leadership of Aston Business School and the College of Business and Social Sciences over the last 10 years.” Professor Radnor said: “I am delighted to be joining such a prestigious and forward-thinking University and College. “The reputations of the College of Business and Social Sciences and of Aston University generally and the strategic vision of the new Vice-Chancellor and University leadership are what attracted me to this exciting role. I can’t wait to get started working with so many talented and innovative new colleagues.” Professor Radnor will be taking up her post in Spring 2023.
Aston University students take home two prizes from annual European Union simulation event
EuroSim is an annual international intercollegiate simulation of the European Union More than 150 students, from universities in North America and Europe, participate every year The Aston EuroSim Team was awarded best debater in two categories. Aston University’s EuroSim team has returned from this year’s event with two awards. The Aston EuroSim Team was awarded best debater in the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and best in special roles (media/journalist). EuroSim is an annual international intercollegiate simulation of the European Union (EU). The purpose of it is to provide a framework for a simulation of the EU decision-making on major current issues. More than 150 students, from 16 universities in North America and Europe, participate in the simulation. All students are assigned roles, including members of the European Parliament (MEPs), members of the European Commission, heads of government and national ministers. The purpose of this module is to educate students about the inner workings of the European Union in order to enhance the learning experience for students. This year it was hosted by the University of South Wales in Newport, the first time the event has been held in the UK. Dr Patrycja Rozbicka, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations who is the lead for Aston EuroSim and was European associate director for EuroSim experience (2019-2023), said: “Here at Aston University, the EuroSim module is one of the most innovative modules of the Aston Politics and International Relations Department’s undergraduate and MA programmes. Amin Hassan, a final year international relations and English language student at Aston University, who took part in EuroSim, said: “I would like to extend my gratitude to my team from Aston University, and special mentions to my lecturer Dr Patrycja Rozbicka and student director Chris Burden for organising and inviting us to this memorable trip. “Representing Max Orville (my alter ego), MEP and Renew Europe Group, I worked together with my party and committee members with shared interests and values to ensure that no one is left behind by the proposed Social Climate Fund, which has recently been approved in real life. “After three days packed with negotiations and meetings, we are pleased that the Social Climate Fund has been approved and we strongly believe that it will support vulnerable people, households, micro-enterprises and transport users at risk of facing higher costs as the bloc introduces new climate measures.” Chris Burden, European students director at EuroSim and PhD researcher at Aston University, said: “I had the greatest honour attending the EuroSim2023 meeting at the ICC Wales as the European student director and part of Team Aston. “The work that goes into this conference is unbelievable, and the students had a fantastic time debating and simulating questions surrounding social and climate action within Europe. “This Transatlantic conference is the highlight of any year. “Thank you to our fantastic team from Aston University who brought home the two awards for their efforts.” The next EuroSim will be held next year in Brockport, northern New York State, USA. If you want to read more about the Aston EuroSim, click here.
Aston University research to support SMEs and mid-sized companies to be ‘future ready’
‘Future readiness’ is defined as a set of capabilities and orientations that enable companies to thrive in the future Researchers say SMEs and mid-sized companies’ leadership should focus on bridging their resilience gap and exploiting their high level of agility The report found circular economy can combat environment and social impact without sacrificing economic performance. A new report from Aston University has highlighted opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies to develop strategies and pathways to increase their future readiness. The report defines future readiness as “a set of capabilities and orientations that enable companies to thrive in the future”. For SMEs and mid-sized businesses to be future-ready, they must be successful on the three pillars of long-term growth, societal impact and adaptive capacity. Experts say they must be able to generate lasting financial strength driven by innovative business models, products and/or services, to affect society positively in line with environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and to develop high levels of resilience and agility, which enables them to bounce back in difficult times and to identify and seize opportunities as they emerge, creating disruption in business models for the future. The report aims to support leadership teams and the wider ecosystem in understanding how they can help increase the capacity for smaller companies to thrive and positively impact the economy and environment, as well as aid the recovery from the pandemic. Experts also say that circular economy adoption, where the ‘make, use and throw away’ supply chain is converted to ‘take, make, distribute, use and recycle’, in SMEs and mid-sized companies creates a win-win situation for every supply chain stakeholder through sustainability measures to achieve economic, environment and social performance. The World Economic Forum will use the insights generated in this report to further support SMEs and mid-sized companies in their future readiness journey. This will be done through the creation of additional resources, including the continuous development of the Forum’s self-assessment and benchmarking tool on future readiness, the creation of a platform for informal peer-to-peer learning between companies and meet ups with key experts. Prasanta Kumar Dey, professor in operations and information management at Aston Business School and lead author of the report, said: “The post-COVID-19 era is significantly more challenging than most people had initially hoped. Heightened geopolitical tensions, the energy crisis, supply chain disruptions, hyperinflation and extreme weather events are just a few of the difficulties that will make the next decade a demanding one. “SMEs and mid-sized companies’ leadership should try to focus on bridging their resilience gap and exploiting their high level of agility, afforded by their smaller size, as a competitive advantage. “Future readiness capability building should not be developed as ad-hoc initiatives but should be embedded into key corporate strategies and decision-making processes, ideally from the beginning, so that it becomes part of the fundamental building blocks of the company. “While smaller companies can go a long way in building their future readiness, it is important to recognise the direct and important impact that their wider policy environment has on their ability to thrive. It is therefore crucial for policymakers, investors and other stakeholders to do what is in their capabilities to contribute to building the future readiness of this segment of the economy. “One of the high-impact areas of intervention at the system levels revolves around digital trade and includes implementing targeted measures to harmonize and drive trade data interoperability across borders and supply chains. This would greatly contribute to making it easier for smaller companies to trade internationally.” You can find out more about the report findings here.
For the first time in Delaware, and likely the nation, cancer specialists have co-authored a consensus statement and clinical pathway for the management of colon cancer that has spread to the peritoneum or abdominal wall. The statement has been published in the Jan. 10 online issue of Surgical Oncology. The statement aligns the state’s major health care providers on a standardized, evidence-based approach to the treatment of this kind of colon cancer. This will ensure patients throughout the state will receive optimal care and equitable access to the most appropriate treatment options and clinical trials. Medical and surgical oncologists from ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tunnell Cancer Center at Beebe Healthcare and TidalHealth Allen Cancer Center prepared the statement entitled, “Consensus Statement and Clinical Pathway for the Management of Colon Cancer With Peritoneal Metastases in the State of Delaware.” The statement was published on behalf of the State of Delaware Peritoneal Surface Malignancies Task Force. “Consensus among cancer specialists on how to treat colon cancer patients with peritoneal malignancy will assure that these patients have access to the specialized treatment they need at an experienced cancer center right here in Delaware,” said co-author Nicholas J. Petrelli, M.D., Bank of America endowed medical director of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. “As cancer care providers, we know how important it is for patients to be close to home for their cancer care.” “Getting cancer physicians throughout the state to agree on who is eligible for treatment and the right sequence of therapies was no small task,” said lead author Jesus Esquivel, M.D., co-director of Beebe Healthcare’s Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program. “Thanks to Dr. Petrelli’s leadership, coupled with the support of a very committed task force, we have been able to make this happen on a statewide level.” In about 10% to 20% of cases, colon cancer is found in the peritoneum, the lining of the abdomen that covers the abdominal organs. Historically, patients with peritoneal metastases have a worse prognosis. However, numerous studies show five-year survival rates for patients whose peritoneal cancer can be surgically removed approach the rates of those with successful surgery for metastatic liver disease. “We are looking at a complicated group of patients with advanced colon cancer and a generally poor prognosis, who historically have been treated in a non-uniform fashion despite medical evidence to suggest which therapies are most effective,” Esquivel said. Combining surgery and heated chemotherapy The Delaware pathway includes a combination treatment of surgery and heated chemotherapy, starting with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) to remove all visible cancer in the peritoneum. Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) with Mitomycin C is then delivered on the operating table for 90 minutes. Mounting clinical evidence shows this one-two punch can significantly extend survival in well-selected patients when compared with standard systemic chemotherapy. Currently, due to a steep learning curve, only about 120 hospitals in the U.S. have the necessary capability and expertise to perform these procedures. In Delaware, only ChristianaCare and Beebe Healthcare can offer patients CRS with HIPEC. Some patients who are not immediate candidates for surgery may benefit from systemic therapy (chemotherapy/immunotherapy) as a first-round treatment. Others on the pathway may be recommended for systemic therapy alone and potential participation in an appropriate clinical trial. Four-tier scoring system To help providers determine the best form of treatment for each individual patient, the Delaware pathway introduces the Peritoneal Surface Disease Severity Score (PSDSS). The scoring system uses four tiers of estimated disease severity based on a three-point scale that includes symptoms, extent of peritoneal dissemination and primary tumor histology. “With the Delaware pathway in place, our goal is to ensure that multidisciplinary evaluation begins at the time of diagnosis so that each patient is selected for the right sequence of currently available therapy depending the individual cancer,” Esquivel said. “Not only are we recommending a uniform treatment modality for patients, but our framework facilitates data reporting and evaluation that will add to the body of knowledge about this disease and how best to treat it.” Although there is plenty of medical evidence to suggest which therapies are most effective, until now, efforts by Esquivel and others to achieve consensus worldwide have not translated into a universally accepted clinical pathway for the management of this disease. Delaware is a unique launching pad for such a pathway. “As cancer care providers we know how important it is to work together on behalf of our patients,” said Petrelli. “Delaware is uniquely suited to this effort not only because of its size, but also because of the collaborative relationships we have built through groups like the Delaware Cancer Advisory Council and Consortium and most specifically for this effort, the Delaware Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Task Force.” The Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) is another important resource to assist physician collaboration. Nearly 100% of the state’s medical providers are linked in. The DHIN launched in 2007 as the first operating statewide health information exchange in the country. “I don’t expect 100% of patients to be included in the pathway, but I see it as the best opportunity for patients to maximize benefits and minimize suffering or unnecessary treatment,” Esquivel said. “As a health care provider who treats patients with advanced cancer, I know that is the best one can hope for short of a cure. “With consensus on evidence-based clinical pathways, we can offer increasing numbers of patients the assurance that whether you live in northern or southern Delaware, you can rely on getting the best treatment available for your cancer.”
Psychology students launch creative sessions to support wellbeing through art
The Aston Creative Wellbeing Group is run and facilitated by Aston University psychology students The group brings students together outside of class with an aim of supporting health and wellbeing through art The group will be running another nine sessions in spring 2023 due to its popularity. A student-led creative wellbeing group has been set up by psychology students at Aston University, with the help of their tutor, to connect student participants through art and help enhance their wellbeing. The Aston Creative Wellbeing Group, which showcases its creative work on its Instagram page, was so well attended in the autumn term - with more than 120 participants - it is now planning another nine sessions meeting weekly during the spring term to continue its mission to bring students together and support wellbeing. With some initial funding from the University welfare team to purchase ‘start up’ materials, the group ran a range of sessions including rock painting, making postcards, learning to crochet, painting and drawing and making festive decorations during the autumn 2022 term. Dr Kate Nicholls, senior personal tutor and teaching fellow in psychology at Aston University, explained why she supported the group to set up. Kate said: "I was keen to develop some student-led initiatives to support health and wellbeing in the School of Psychology. I also hoped it would help the students develop their professional skills and the practical application of their psychological knowledge. "It was art making and creative activities that sparked an interest from some final year psychology students and the Aston Creative Wellbeing Group was born. The group wanted to use the arts to enhance wellbeing, using creative activities to explore sense-making, aesthetic appreciation, provide entertainment and friendships.” Karla Hitchins, a final year psychology student who set up the group, said: “Running the group slides in nicely with my interests in art psychotherapy, but I also really enjoy arts and crafts in my own time. It has been great fun to facilitate this group. “The aim of the sessions is for people to have a safe space where they can connect with their creative side, as well as with other students. At the University, there are wellbeing and counselling services, but I don’t think there is anything quite like this. “Having somewhere to express your feelings, or to just have a creative outlet is incredibly important and I hope that eventually there will be more arts-based interventions for mental health and wellbeing at all universities.” Psychology student and group facilitator, Molly-Emma Taylor, said: “I've experienced a few mental health wobbles during this term, so having the wellbeing sessions has helped me a lot. "For example, the painting session was an amazing way to let out some pent-up feelings and it gave me time to connect with friends. I don't think I would have got so much out of it had I simply painted alone. “I think that the theme of everyone banding together every two weeks and making art, in whatever form it may be, is pretty awesome. It's always fun to see what everyone makes. “The social media aspect of the group on Instagram is nice too, because it means even if someone wasn't able to make it to a session they can still feel like a part of group and see what other people created.” Jacqueline Maloney, mental health specialist at Aston University said: "As a mental health specialist at the University, I have been thrilled to help promote and support our psychology Students’ initiative to provide creative wellbeing activities for our students. "I am a big believer in the therapeutic potential of the arts and through participation in these sessions I have witnessed students relaxing, laughing, trying new crafts, and enjoying time in creative endeavours. I am so pleased that this session will be continued into 2023." For more information about studying psychology at Aston University, please visit our website.
Aston University launches degree in nursing starting in 2023
Nursing Studies BSc (Hons) will specialise in nursing adults Students will spend 50% of their time in work placements in the West Midlands region The nursing programme is based in Aston Medical School Aston University has launched a degree in nursing with its first intake starting its three-year course in September 2023. Approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the Nursing Studies BSc (Hons) will specialise in nursing adults with a focus on community nursing, with work placements offered in hospital and community settings to best reflect where the NHS most urgently needs nurses. According to NHS Digital there are around 47,000 UK vacancies, that is a vacancy rate of 11.8% and in the Midlands region, in the first quarter of 2022 there were 9,336 nursing vacancies – making the West Midlands a hot spot for vacancies. The University is now taking applications for its first cohort of up to 40 students who will be based in Aston Medical School. They will be due to graduate in 2026, eligible to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Registered Nurse (Adult). Professor Anthony Hilton, pro-vice-chancellor and executive dean of the College of Health and Life Sciences, said: “I am delighted we now offer Nursing Studies which comes at a time when we are seeing a national shortage of nurses in the NHS and more locally in Birmingham we are seeing a significant gap in nurses trained in adult and community care settings. Nursing will be co-located within Aston Medical School to provide opportunity for truly interprofessional learning with our medical, pharmacy and wider groups of healthcare students. “We are excited to work with our local NHS Trusts to offer clinical practice education, in combination with our new state of the art health simulation facilities. We look forward to launching in 2023 and developing high quality nursing graduates to support the NHS workforce of the future.” Students will spend 50% of their time on work placements at various local hospital trusts including Sandwell and West Birmingham (with its new hospital opening in 2024), The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals Birmingham – this includes The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Solihull Hospital, Birmingham Heartlands and Good Hope Hospital, as well as Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust. There will also be opportunities for placements within various nursing homes, hospices and GP practices. There are significant opportunities for interprofessional learning with other healthcare students - because the nursing cohort will study some taught sessions alongside students in Aston Medical School, Pharmacy, Optometry and Audiology. New state-of-the-art healthcare simulation facilities will be used to support practical and clinical skills training. The simulation suite includes two hospital wards, a residential flat, an immersive room and high-fidelity mannequins. Jayne Murphy, programme lead adult nursing, Aston University: “Nursing is dynamic and challenging and requires a huge skill-set from specialist clinical skills to essential skills of communication, problem-solving and professionalism.” “There is no better time to start a career in nursing. The opportunities post-qualifying are endless and our students will have the potential to make a significant difference to people’s lives when they are often at their most vulnerable.” “Our nursing students will work with some truly inspirational people who will support them to be the best nurse they can be. The small cohort sizes at Aston University mean they will have a personalised experience in a supportive environment to help our students flourish during their studies and in their first post as a registered nurse.” Dr Alexander Rhys, NMC Assistant Director of Professional Practice, said: “Congratulations to Aston University which has become one of the latest education institutions approved against our standards to deliver a pre-registration nursing programme. It's vital that nursing and midwifery students receive the high-quality education they need to join our register and deliver the safe, effective and kind of care that people have the right to expect. We look forward to supporting Aston University as it educates the nurses of the future”. We are now taking applications for BA (Hons) Nursing Studies (Registered Nurse Adult Nursing) starting in September 2023. To find out more about the course or how to apply, please visit the course pages on our website. Deadline for applications is 25 January 2023.
Birmingham MP officially opens £1.5 million healthcare simulation facilities at Aston University
Paulette Hamilton MP officially opens healthcare simulation facilities at Aston Medical School and School of Optometry State-of-the-art facilities including medical simulation room with high fidelity manikins for students to practise real life scenarios opens The first in Europe ocular simulation suite allows students to refine skills in examining the health of the eyes and experience a wide range of eye disease. New £1.5 million healthcare simulation facilities have officially opened at Aston Medical School and in the School of Optometry at Aston University. The state-of-the-art facilities were formally opened by Paulette Hamilton, member of parliament for Birmingham Erdington, on Friday 2 December at a ribbon cutting ceremony that was attended by Aston University Vice-Chancellor Professor Aleks Subic as well as other members of the University executive and staff from the College of Health and Life Sciences. Commenting on the new facilities Paulette Hamilton MP said: “It’s been brilliant to visit and officially open the new healthcare simulation facilities at Aston University. “I know from my time as a nurse how important it is to have access to good training and the latest equipment. These fantastic facilities will give students the best possible learning experience as they prepare to enter their profession, providing healthcare in Birmingham and beyond.” Hosted by Professor Anthony Hilton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the College of Health and Life Sciences, guests were invited to take a tour of the new facilities including a clinical skills simulation room which allows students to practise in emergency settings and an ocular simulation unit facility, the only one in Europe. Professor Hilton said: "We are delighted these new facilities have opened in time for the start of the new term and that students can benefit from practising their clinical skills in a variety of scenarios. “The acute care simulation room will allow for simulated emergency resuscitation scenarios that are very difficult to teach in real life situations, such as heart attacks, acute breathlessness and severe allergic reaction and will be of great value in training students of medicine, pharmacy and optometry.” The healthcare simulation facilities will be used by students studying medicine, pharmacy and optometry, where they will be able to practise in emergency settings using high quality manikins where they will simulate treating patients for acute conditions such as a heart attack or learning how to intubate a patient onto a ventilator. Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor, Aston University said: “The launch of the Aston University healthcare simulation facilities marks an important milestone in the development of our digital health precinct within the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter. By establishing world-class medical imaging, advanced visualisation, and digital diagnostics capabilities we are in fact bringing Industry 4.0 to healthcare. “Our students from the Aston Medical School and School of Optometry in particular, will benefit immensely from this development as they will be able to detect a wide range of clinical conditions and diseases and explore different interventions and scenarios, safely within a simulated environment.” The high-fidelity acute care simulation room will also be equipped with recording facilities, a debrief room and control room. The funding has allowed for the purchase of other training equipment such as a hospital grade bed and single task trainer simulation equipment. For example, male and female catheterisation models, pelvic and rectal trainers, venepuncture arms, breast trainers and abdominal trainers. The facilities were part funded by the Office for Students which awarded the University £806,226 to set up the ‘high fidelity’ simulation A&E room with further expenditure by Aston University on the ocular simulation unit. The ocular simulation facility is unique in Europe. It allows students to refine their skills in examining the health of the front and back of the eyes and to experience a wide range of eye disease. One of the simulators allows students to utilise their smartphones to practise at home. They can gain direct feedback and be assessed by the simulators, allowing more flexible, diverse and intensive learning than can be achieve with clinical practice placements. Professor Liz Moores, deputy dean of the College of Health and Life Sciences, said: “The College of Health and Life Sciences is thrilled with this investment. The enhanced facilities will help to support many of our healthcare students, including those now applying for our new nursing degree. It will also support us with the introduction of the new pharmacy and optometry education standards, providing a step change in our ability to simulate a wide range of clinical scenarios.” For more information about studying in the College of Health and Life Sciences please visit our website.