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The Metaverse will change everything!

It will change how we interact. How we consume information. How we have fun. What devices we use. And underlying all of that is networking. And that will change too. "IT infrastructure that powers the Internet will need major upgrades to bring the Metaverse from theory to practice, according to Raja Koduri, SVP and GM of Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics at Intel. “(The metaverse will) need several orders of magnitude more powerful computing capability, accessible at much lower latencies across a multitude of device form factors. To enable these capabilities at scale, the entire plumbing of the internet will need major upgrades.” Metaverse quality of experience will be intimately tied to networking performance, and latency will be key. Delivering an "instantaneous" Metaverse experience will require a next generation physical network that is designed to deliver highly predictable end-to-end bandwidth with ultra-low latency. "Zero-hop" network designs such as AcceleRoute can achieve this through a bufferless architecture that delivers latency approaching that of direct links while eliminating congestion in the network core. For more information visit the AcceleRoute webpage at www.InventionShare.com

Aston University sets Meritics on course to become market leader in the bio-pharmaceutical sector

Aston University has completed a knowledge transfer partnership with Meritics Ltd to develop the company’s capability and underpinning knowledge to measure the size, concentration and distribution of biological entities, such as liposomes and exosomes, using proprietary particle analysers. The project will enable Meritics to enter the fast-growing biologics sector with their particle analysis instruments and services to significantly increase company turnover. It represented a significant change in direction for the company and focused on systems that would have the largest impact. Results provided Meritics with significant data and proof-of-concept applications required to widen the company’s product range into the biological market. It also broadened the company’s knowledge of biological applications and helped bridge gaps between the areas of interest and the limitations of the analysers. Meritics Ltd supplies and provides service support for a range of particle characterisation instrumentation to industrial, research and academic institutions in the UK. Additionally, it offers a range of consumables, analysis services and consultancy. A knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) is a three-way collaboration between a business, an academic partner and a highly qualified graduate, called a KTP Associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is the leading KTP provider within the Midlands. The project was led by Dr Alice Rothnie and Dr Alan Goddard from Aston University’s Aston Centre for Membrane Protein & Lipid Research (AMPL), a specialist research group with a track record of biological particle characterisation. Dr Rothnie has over 14 years of experience working with liposomes, viral and cellular systems, while Dr Goddard brought over a decade of experience in biological membranes and nanoparticles ¬– mainly focusing on liposomes. Also working on this partnership as KTP Associate was Dr Megan Cox, whose proven expertise in biochemistry drove the innovation and research behind the project. Following the completion of the project, Dr Cox has been employed by Meritics as a Technical Specialist, using biological expertise to assess instrument parameters for biological entities. Brian Miller, founding managing director of Meritics, said: “The project has sped up the company’s plan to move into more biological application areas and widen our customer base. Aston University’s extensive knowledge in biology and biological entities is crucial for our wider sales and technical staff and provided invaluable visibility of the biological markets”. Dr Alan Goddard said: “Working in partnership with Meritics has allowed us to transfer our extensive experience of biological particles into industry. We have formed an exciting partnership which has continued past the end of the formal project, enabling cutting-edge research to be performed at Aston using the latest equipment.”

Global award for international human resource management expert at Aston Business School

Professor Pawan Budhwar has been recognised by the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management (IFSAM) He is a joint recipient of its award for exceptional service to the management field worldwide Professor Budhwar has been recognised for his outstanding leadership. Professor Pawan Budhwar has been named by the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management (IFSAM) as a joint recipient of its Award for Exceptional Service to the Management Field Worldwide. Dr Budhwar, a professor of international human resource management and head of Aston Business School, has been recognised for his outstanding leadership in building collegiality, community, and capacity in the British Academy of Management and in the Indian Academy of Management (an affiliate of Academy of Management), where he served as co-founder and first president. Pawan is also an associate pro-vice chancellor international (India), the joint director of Aston India Centre for Applied Research at Aston University and the co-editor-in-chief of Human Resource Management Journal. He received his PhD from Manchester Business School. He has published over 150 articles in leading journals on topics related to human resource management and performance, with a specific focus on India. He has also written and/or co-edited 26 books on HR-related topics for different national and regional contexts. On this occasion, the award, which recognises significant and enduring service to the management scholarly community worldwide, has been jointly bestowed to Professor Budhwar and Professor Emeritus Jean-François Chanlat, PSL Université Paris-Dauphine, France. Professor Budhwar said: “I am truly honoured and humbled to receive this award from the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management. It is satisfying to receive an acknowledgement of my on-going service to our academic community from global peers. Thank you IFSAM for considering me for this.”

Aston University professor made deputy lieutenant for the West Midlands

Professor Monder Ram has been recognised for his work around ethnic minority entrepreneurship Six individuals have been given the honour for contributing significantly to either national life, to their local communities – or both He will support the Lord-Lieutenant in several ways including attending on Royalty during official visits to the County. The Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands, John Crabtree OBE, has announced the appointment of an Aston University professor as a deputy lieutenant for the West Midlands. Six individuals, whose backgrounds range from music to education, entrepreneurship, and tackling homelessness, have been given the honour for contributing significantly to either national life, to their local communities – or both. Professor Monder Ram, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) at Aston University, has been recognised for his work around ethnic minority entrepreneurship. The new appointees will support the Lord-Lieutenant, Her Majesty’s personal representative in the West Midlands, in several ways including attending on Royalty during official visits to the County, representation at citizenship ceremonies, supporting the armed forces of the Crown particularly the reserve and cadet forces, encouraging charitable and voluntary work and local initiatives to benefit the community, as well as promoting and encouraging nominations for Honours and Queen’s Awards for the County of the West Midlands. Professor Monder Ram, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) at Aston University, said: “I am delighted and honoured to be appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands region. This role will provide an invaluable opportunity for me promote the importance of diversity, inclusion and enterprise, which are central to my work at CREME.” The West Midlands Lieutenancy comprises Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. It was established in 1974. John Crabtree OBE, the Lord-Lieutenant for the West Midlands and Aston University honorary graduate, said: “The six appointments came at a pivotal time for the West Midlands which this year is on the national and world stage with Coventry as UK City of Culture and the region hosting the Commonwealth Games in July and August - as well as participating fully in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The West Midlands is this year welcoming visitors from throughout the world and the West Midlands Lieutenancy is committed to supporting and representing every community in the County.”

Vitamin D2 and D3: what’s the difference and which should you take?

Both vitamins D2 and D3 are essentially inactive until they go through two processes in the body. First, the liver changes their chemical structure to form a molecule known as calcidiol. This is the form in which vitamin D is stored in the body. Calcidiol is then further altered in the kidneys to form calcitriol, the active form of the hormone. It is calcitriol that is responsible for the biological actions of vitamin D, including helping bones to form, metabolising calcium and supporting how our immune system works. Technically, vitamin D isn’t a vitamin at all, but a pro-hormone. This means the body converts it into an active hormone. All hormones have receptors (on bone cells, muscle cells, white blood cells) that they bind to and activate, like a key unlocking a lock. Vitamin D2 has the same affinity for the vitamin D receptor as vitamin D3, meaning neither form is better at binding to its receptor. Different effects on the immune system A recent study found that vitamin D2 and D3 supplementation had different effects on genes important for immune function. These findings are significant, as most previous research has failed to find much difference in the effect of supplementation with either vitamin D2 or D3. Most of the research published to date has suggested that the main difference between vitamin D2 and D3 supplementation is the effect on circulating vitamin D levels in the bloodstream. Studies have repeatedly shown that vitamin D3 is superior at raising levels of vitamin D in the body. These findings were supported by a recent review of the evidence which found that vitamin D3 supplementation increased vitamin D levels in the body better than vitamin D2. But not all studies agree. Very few studies support vitamin D2 supplementation being superior to vitamin D3. One trial showed that vitamin D2 was better at treating immune issues in patients who were on steroid therapy. However, other than increasing vitamin D levels in the body, there is not much evidence that vitamin D3 supplements are better than vitamin D2 supplements. One study found that vitamin D3 improved calcium levels more than vitamin D2. But we need more research to provide definitive answers. So which should I take? Vitamin D deficiency is now more prevalent than ever, with around a billion people worldwide being vitamin D deficient. It is important that people at risk of vitamin D deficiency – older adults, people living in less sunny climates and people with darker skin – take vitamin D supplements. Health professionals recommend that most people take 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day, especially in winter. It would appear that vitamin D3 supplements are the superior option for maintaining vitamin D levels, but short exposure of the skin to the sun, even on a cloudy day, will also help you keep healthy vitamin D levels.

Aston University psychologists to take part in major study to improve concussion prognosis

Researchers from the Aston Institute of Heath and Neurodevelopment, in the College of Health and Life Sciences at Aston University, are taking part in a major multiple partner study to identify new ways to accurately predict whether patients will develop long-term complications as a consequence of concussion. Experts from the University of Birmingham and the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, in collaboration with Defence Medical Services, are to lead the UK consortium carrying out the study. With year one funded by the Ministry of Defence (£2m) and projected to run over eight years, the multi-faceted study will include a trial involving 400 civilians and 400 military personnel aged over 18 with a new diagnosis of concussion (also known as a mild traumatic brain injury or mTBI) which has resulted in them needing hospital treatment or rehabilitation. At specific time intervals over two years, the participants will take part in nine different areas of research using a variety of medical techniques and assessments to establish if these can be used routinely by medics as ‘biomarkers’ to indicate prognosis and long term impact of concussion. Medical techniques and assessments being trialled include brain imaging and function, analysis of blood and saliva samples, and headache measures, as well as mental health, vision, balance, and cognitive performance. mTBI is common and has been declared a major global public health problem, with 1.4 million hospital visits due to head injury annually in England and Wales - 85% of which are classified as mTBI. It is also estimated that up to 9.5% of UK military personnel with a combat role are diagnosed with mTBI annually. The research will involve 20 University of Birmingham experts working across disciplines, including neurology, psychology, sports medicine, mathematics and academics within the University’s Centre for Human Brain Health, and will be coordinated by Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit. It will also be driven by experts at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Stanford Hall; Imperial College London; University of Westminster; University of Nottingham; Royal Centre for Defence Medicine; and University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire. Dr Caroline Witton, reader in psychology and scientific lead for magnetoencephalography (MEG) at the Aston Institute for Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN), Aston University said: "I am very excited to be part of this landmark study of traumatic brain injury. At IHN we are focussed on improving lives through brain imaging and this work has the potential to help the thousands of people each year who suffer long term disability following a concussion." Dr Jan Novak, lecturer in psychology and MRI lead at Aston University said: "It is outstanding that this prestigious work is being conducted at Aston University’s Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment. We will provide our expertise in brain imaging, prediction of outcomes in patient groups, and credentials in mTBI research to enrich the study. It is hoped that it will build upon existing collaborations with other local institutions and government bodies such as the Ministry of Defence." Alex Sinclair, professor of Neurology at the University of Birmingham and chief investigator of the mTBI-Predict project explained: “Although classified as mild, and many recover, the consequences of concussion can be profound with many patients suffering long-term disability due to persistent headaches, fatigue, imbalance, memory disturbance, and poor mental health including post-traumatic stress disorder, while it can have a significant impact on the economy through loss of working hours and demand on the health system. Identifying those patients most at risk of these disabling consequences is not currently possible. There is therefore a pressing need to develop accurate, reproducible biomarkers of mTBI that are practical for use in a clinical setting and can predict long-term complications. "Our programme of research will deliver a step change in the care of patients with mTBI, enabling a personalised medicine approach to target early intervention for those most in need but also identifying those with a good prognosis who can return rapidly to activities of daily living.” Co-Chief Investigator, Air Vice-Marshall Rich Withnall QHS Director of Defence Healthcare, UK Ministry of Defence said: “I am delighted that the Defence Medical Services, including the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Stanford Hall, will be working hand-in-glove with class-leading civilian colleagues and the National Rehabilitation Centre Programme. I fully support this ground-breaking research which I am confident will lead to significant clinical innovation to benefit military and civilian patients and have a translational positive impact for sporting activities from grass-roots to elite levels.” Chief Executive of Headway, Peter McCabe said: “We know that even a seemingly minor head injury can have a major impact on a person’s life – and often the lives of those closest to them. This is particularly the case if the brain injury goes undiagnosed or its effects are mistaken for other conditions. The frustration of not having an accurate diagnosis or receiving the right support can be compounded by the lack of a clear recovery pathway or timeline. We therefore welcome this study in the hope that it can advance our understanding of concussion and mTBI.”

Sweeteners may be linked to increased cancer risk – new research

Sweeteners have long been suggested to be bad for our health. Studies have linked consuming too many sweeteners with conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. But links with cancer have been less certain. An artificial sweetener, called cyclamate, that was sold in the US in the 1970s was shown to increase bladder cancer in rats. However, human physiology is very different from rats, and observational studies failed to find a link between the sweetener and cancer risk in humans. Despite this, the media continued to report a link between sweeteners and cancer. But now, a study published in PLOS Medicine which looked at over 100,000 people, has shown that those who consume high levels of some sweeteners have a small increase in their risk of developing certain types of cancer. To assess their intake of artificial sweeteners, the researchers asked the participants to keep a food diary. Around half of the participants were followed for more than eight years. The study reported that aspartame and acesulfame K, in particular, were associated with increased cancer risk – especially breast and obesity-related cancers, such as colorectal, stomach and prostate cancers. This suggests that removing some types of sweeteners from your diet may reduce the risk of cancer. Cancer risk Many common foods contain sweeteners. These food additives mimic the effect of sugar on our taste receptors, providing intense sweetness with no or very few calories. Some sweeteners occur naturally (such as stevia or yacon syrup). Others, such as aspartame, are artificial. Although they have few or no calories, sweeteners still have an effect on our health. For example, aspartame turns into formaldehyde (a known carcinogen) when the body digests it. This could potentially see it accumulate in cells and cause them to become cancerous. Our cells are hard-wired to self-destruct when they become cancerous. But aspartame has been shown to “switch off” the genes that tell cancer cells to do this. Other sweeteners, including sucralose and saccharin, have also been shown to damage DNA, which can lead to cancer. But this has only been shown in cells in a dish rather than in a living organism. Sweeteners can also have a profound effect on the bacteria that live in our gut. Changing the bacteria in the gut can impair the immune system, which could mean they no longer identify and remove cancerous cells. But it’s still unclear from these animal and cell-based experiments precisely how sweeteners initiate or support cancerous changes to cells. Many of these experiments would also be difficult to apply to humans because the amount of sweetener was given at much higher doses than a human would ever consume. The results from previous research studies are limited, largely because most studies on this subject have only observed the effect of consuming sweeteners without comparing against a group that hasn’t consumed any sweeteners. A recent systematic review of almost 600,000 participants even concluded there was limited evidence to suggest heavy consumption of artificial sweeteners may increase the risk of certain cancers. A review in the BMJ came to a similar conclusion. Although the findings of this recent study certainly warrant further research, it’s important to acknowledge the study’s limitations. First, food diaries can be unreliable because people aren’t always honest about what they eat or they may forget what they have consumed. Although this study collected food diaries every six months, there’s still a risk people weren’t always accurately recording what they were eating and drinking. Though the researchers partially mitigated this risk by having participants take photos of the food they ate, people still might not have included all the foods they ate. Based on current evidence, it’s generally agreed that using artificial sweeteners is associated with increased body weight – though researchers aren’t quite certain whether sweeteners directly cause this to happen. Although this recent study took people’s body mass index into account, it’s possible that changes in body fat may have contributed to the development of many of these types of cancers – not necessarily the sweeteners themselves. Finally, the risk of developing cancer in those who consumed the highest levels of artificial sweeteners compared with those who consumed the lowest amounts was modest – with only at 13% higher relative risk of developing cancer in the study period. So although people who consumed the highest amounts of sweetener had an increased risk of developing cancer, this was still only slightly higher than those with the lowest intake. While the link between sweetener use and diseases, including cancer, is still controversial, it’s important to note that not all sweeteners are equal. While sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin may be associated with ill health, not all sweeteners are. Stevia, produced from the Stevia rebaudiana plant, has been reported to be useful in controlling diabetes and body weight, and may also lower blood pressure. The naturally occurring sugar alcohol, xylitol, may also support the immune system and digestion. Both stevia and xylitol have also been shown to protect from tooth decay, possibly because they kill bad oral bacteria. So the important choice may be not the amount of sweetener you eat but the type you use.

Melatonin’s role in protecting the heart – the evidence so far

Many people know of melatonin as the sleep hormone – and, indeed, that’s what most of the research on melatonin has focused on. However, melatonin is also an antioxidant, protecting cells from harmful “free radicals” that can damage DNA – and this includes protecting cells in the heart and blood vessels. Given that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the world, killing around 17.9 million people each year, this action is of particular interest to researchers. Research shows that people with cardiovascular disease have lower levels of melatonin in their blood compared with healthy people. And there is a strong inverse relationship between melatonin levels and cardiovascular disease. In other words, the lower a person’s melatonin level, the higher their risk of cardiovascular disease. Melatonin supplements (2.5mg taken one hour before sleep) have been shown to reduce blood pressure. And, of course, high blood pressure (hypertension) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Also, so-called cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and sudden cardiac death (unexpected death caused by a change in heart rhythm), occur at a higher rate in the early morning when melatonin is at its lowest. These studies strongly suggest that melatonin protects the heart and blood vessels. Importantly, patients who have had a heart attack have reduced nighttime melatonin levels. This observation has led to the theory that melatonin may be able to improve recovery from a heart attack and form part of the standard treatment given immediately after a heart attack occurs. Laboratory studies of heart attack (using rats’ hearts kept alive outside of their bodies) have shown that melatonin does indeed protect the heart from damage after a heart attack. Similar studies have shown that when rats’ hearts are deprived of oxygen, as occurs in a heart attack, providing the heart with melatonin had a protective effect. Evidence less certain in people In humans, the evidence is less clear. A large trial where melatonin was injected into patients’ hearts after a heart attack showed no beneficial effects. A later analysis of the same data suggested that melatonin reduced the size of damage caused to the heart by being starved of oxygen during a heart attack. And a similar clinical trial suggested no beneficial effects of giving melatonin to people who had suffered a heart attack. So the evidence is contradictory and no clear picture of melatonin’s role in helping to prevent damage to the heart during a heart attack has emerged so far. It has been suggested that giving melatonin orally after a heart attack, rather than directly to the heart, could explain the contradictory findings in clinical trials. Trials looking at the effect of melatonin on heart attack are still in the relatively early stages, and it is clear further studies are needed to look at how and when melatonin could be administered after a heart attack. However, it is clear that melatonin levels decline as we get older, and this may lead to an increased risk of heart disease. As melatonin pills are only available on prescription in the UK, EU and Australia, melatonin levels can’t be topped up with a supplement – as can be done with other hormones, such as vitamin D. Ultimately, eating a diet that contains foods rich in melatonin, such as milk, eggs, grapes, walnuts and grains, may help protect you from cardiovascular disease. Melatonin is also found in wine, and some suggest that this may explain red wine’s heart-protective effects.

Pre-school children’s emotional eating partly shaped by innate food drive - research

New research at Aston University is helping to unpick the complex connections between the eating habits of children and their mothers. The research, by PhD student Rebecca Stone, surveyed 185 mothers of young children aged between three and five, asking about their eating habits and those of their children. The findings are published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Children pick up lots of behaviours by copying their parents – and this is true of their eating habits as well. The aim of the new research was to see how much of children’s emotional eating is explained by the way mothers use food as part of their parenting practices as well as the children’s own attitudes to food more generally. ‘Emotional eating’ is when we turn to food, such as cakes, chocolate and snacks, not because we’re hungry but to compensate for when we’re feeling sad, low or anxious. The survey included questions for mothers about how much they and their children ate in response to emotional states. It also asked about how much children were motivated by food and driven to eat or ask for food throughout the day, which is known as ‘food approach’ behaviour. Stone also asked mothers about the feeding practices that they used with their children – in particular about whether they used food to reward children for good behaviour, or visibly restricted their child’s access to foods, for example having foods in the house but forbidding them. These practices have been shown to make children more interested in food and have also been linked to greater emotional eating in children. When Stone analysed the responses, she found that children who were very motivated by food were more likely to pick up emotional eating behaviour from their parents. Stone used a complex statistical method, known as moderated mediation analysis, to decipher how the different aspects of the relationship interacted: emotional eating in the mother, how she parented the child around food, the child’s food approach tendencies and emotional eating. Professor Claire Farrow, who was one of Stone’s PhD supervisors at Aston University, said: “This study demonstrates that the way that children develop eating behaviours is very complex, and that emotional eating appears to be shaped in part by an innate drive towards food. "In this study we found that parenting practices interact with children’s eating tendencies and that children who are the most driven to approach food are the most influenced by feeding practices that can lead to emotional eating. These findings suggest that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to child feeding isn’t always appropriate and that some children are more susceptible to the influence of behaviours that can lead to emotional eating.” Stone agreed: “Our findings suggest that children who were more motivated to eat were more predisposed to associate food with emotions. Our research supports the idea that emotional eating is a learned behaviour which children often develop in pre-school years, but that some children are more vulnerable to developing emotional eating than others” Although common amongst parents, the research also highlights that using food as a reward or visibly restricting the child’s access to certain foods - even in children as young as three – can be problematic. Giving a piece of chocolate as a reward or telling children they can only have one biscuit as a ‘treat’ is likely to create an emotional response in the child which they then connect to those foods. Stone said: “The research suggests that restricting food in front of children who are already more motivated by food tends to backfire and makes children crave restricted foods even more. What seems to work best is known as ‘covert restriction’ - not letting children know that some foods are restricted (for example, not buying foods that you do not want your child to eat) and avoiding instances where you have to tell children that they are not allowed certain foods.” The researchers suggest parents looking for practical advice on healthy eating and fussy eating should check out the Child Feeding Guide, a free online resource created by Professor Claire Farrow, Professor Emma Haycraft & Dr Gemma Witcomb at Aston and Loughborough Universities.

Aston University Students’ Union to host Birmingham City Council leaders’ hustings

Leaders from the Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem and Green parties will take part in the event It will be held in the Students’ Union in front of an audience on 29 April Aston University alumnus, Charmaine Burton, will chair the hustings which is also being aired on New Style Radio and livestreamed on Instagram. Aston Students’ Union is set to host a Birmingham City Council leaders’ hustings ahead of the local elections on 5 May 2022. Local leaders from the Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem and Green parties will take part in the event that will be held in the Students’ Union in front of a live audience on the 29 April. There will be the opportunity for people in the room, and online, to ask questions directly to the party leaders. On 5 May, all 101 councillors’ seats will be contested in the Birmingham local elections. The leader of the party that wins the most seats will become the leader of Birmingham City Council. The leader and their cabinet will be responsible for which policies the Council should pursue in relation to provision of services and how the Council’s money is spent. Aston University alumnus, Charmaine Burton, will chair the hustings which is also being streamed online on her The Different Anglez show on New Style Radio and livestreamed via the Aston Students’ Union Instagram. Balraj Purewal, president of Aston Students’ Union, said: "It is great that Aston Students’ Union is hosting such an important political event. This is a fantastic opportunity for the general public and students who’re studying politics or are engaged in it to come along and ask questions and get involved. I am excited to welcome the four party leaders to our wonderful venue and am looking forward to holding other important events in it in the future." Charmaine Burton, a former Aston University student who is chairing the hustings, said: "It is so important the citizens of Birmingham have the opportunity to ask about issues of concern to the leaders of the local parties. It is an opportunity to question them about their manifestos which they and their candidates are battling for a seat on in the local elections and will be held accountable to if they gain power." There are 100 places available, and you can book yours here. The event is a partnership between Aston Students’ Union, The Different Anglez Show and Birmingham Race Impact Group (BRIG).