UEA in 2023
OUR YEAR IN STORIES
Here we are again then. The dust is about to settle on another year at UEA and it’s fair to say that 2023 has, at times, been a challenging one for the University.
But in spite of these challenges, UEA’s staff, students and alumni have given us plenty of reminders of why – as the famous old song would have it – ‘UEA is wonderful’.
What with it being 2023 and all, we’ve whittled everything that we’ve enjoyed this year down to our favourite 23 stories, from bikes and boats to Avengers and AI. And we’re going to boldly predict here and now that you won’t find the combination of Countdown, cat hoodies and Lego in any other university round-up this year.
So sit back and let us guide you through some of our very favourite stories, videos, images and social media posts to have happened in 2023 – enjoy!
Students hopping into The Warren
Students hopping into The Warren
Rachel Lawrence in action for Norwich City Women Football Club. Photo credit: NCFC
Rachel Lawrence in action for Norwich City Women Football Club. Photo credit: NCFC
1. A rabbit hole for students
It feels so much like part of the fabric of campus now that it seems hard to believe that it was this year that our new student zone opened for the first time, but it was way back in January that The Warren became available for UEA students.
Located right at the heart of campus on The Street (neatly snuggled in between the Student Information Zone and Ziggy’s Café), this is a warren that is very much above ground, and a space that all came about due to student feedback from UEA’s Student Voice surveys.
Open until 11pm, The Warren has expanded the drop-in space available for students to host events, organise activities, or simply act as a place to chill out, read a book, socialise, and enjoy lunch.
It’s not even been here a year yet, but already campus wouldn’t feel the same without it!
2. Home is where the HRT is
Did you know that Alzheimer’s Dementia could potentially be prevented through Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)? Well don’t worry if you didn’t because no-one knew before UEA announced the link in January.
Actually that’s not strictly true, as a team of researchers from UEA’s Norwich Medical School – led by Prof Anne-Marie Minihane – and the University of Edinburgh had been leading a project prior to that, which showed that HRT use is associated with better memory, cognition and larger brain volumes in later life among women carrying the APOE4 gene, the strongest risk factor gene for Alzheimer's disease.
25% of women in the UK carry the APOE4 gene, so the impacts of the project could be wide reaching, and the story made it onto the front page of The Guardian and The Daily Express. A truly game-changing piece of research.
3. UEA's Canary makes a flying start
You’d have to ask one of our psychology academics what kind of psychological boost you’d get from scoring a hat-trick for Norwich City, but we’d guess it can only help your self-esteem.
One person who could probably explain the science and share first-hand experience is UEA third-year Psychology student Rachel Lawrence, who netted three goals for Norwich City Women’s Football Club (NCWFC) shortly after signing for the club.
Rachel is continuing to balance sport with studies in her final year as a UEA student, and even more impressive is that she managed her hat-trick in a single half, coming on to net three in a 6-1 win against Haywards Heath in September.
It caps a year in which UEA and Norwich City Football Club have dovetailed like a top-class strike pairing, with the club announcing a new strategic partnership with UEA in February and featuring our campus in a promo video for their new kit in July.
Painting of The Gloucester warship off the coast of Great Yarmouth in May 1682, painted by Johan Danckerts. Copyright: Royal Museums Greenwich, Wikimedia Commons
Painting of The Gloucester warship off the coast of Great Yarmouth in May 1682, painted by Johan Danckerts. Copyright: Royal Museums Greenwich, Wikimedia Commons
Anastasiia (Ana) Petrenko, Global Development MA student and Sanctuary Scholar, fled her home country of Ukraine in 2022 and is one of six students to participate in The Suitcase exhibition.
Anastasiia (Ana) Petrenko, Global Development MA student and Sanctuary Scholar, fled her home country of Ukraine in 2022 and is one of six students to participate in The Suitcase exhibition.
4. A ship shape exhibition
The Gloucester shipwreck was the discovery of 2022, so it’s only natural that we’d want to continue to celebrate it in 2023.
The Gloucester warship ran aground in 1682, in an event that nearly had a profound impact on the course of British history, and UEA has been helping brothers Julian and Lincoln Barnwell, who made the discovery off the Norfolk coast, to unearth some of the mysteries behind the wreck.
The discovery was made public last year, with UEA also playing a key role in an exhibition of the shipwreck’s final voyage, which ran at Norwich Castle from February to September this year and included the release of revealing new underwater footage.
And two major pieces of UEA heritage combined in March, when the University’s legendary Lasdun Lecture at the Royal Institution in London focused on ‘The Secrets of The Gloucester’.
5. The suitcase showcase
UEA is very proud to hold University of Sanctuary status, an accreditation given to universities that show an ongoing commitment to creating a welcoming culture of inclusivity and awareness.
Nowhere is that commitment more evident than our Sanctuary Scholarships, which are offered to students seeking sanctuary and include a full fee waiver and living stipend. And in March, as part of UEA Refugee Week, six sanctuary scholars took part in a unique exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre on campus, ‘The Suitcase’.
The Suitcase exhibition in March explored the concepts of loss and belonging through six UEA sanctuary seekers from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Türkiye and Egypt, who shared their stories of displacement through suitcases located on plinths around the campus.
It served as a powerful reminder of the impact that war and conflict can have on individual lives, a theme sadly too prevalent throughout 2023.
6. A first Klass education centre
Students? Check. Teachers? Check. Parents? Check. Nationally renowned TV presenter and popstar? Check!
Attendance for the opening event in March for a new education centre to benefit underprivileged East Norfolk students featured a whole host of people set to benefit from the scheme, plus one special guest: Myleene Klass.
L-R: Ian Callaghan, Catherine Barnard, Myleene Klass (centre), and Rachel Carr with four students from the education centre.
L-R: Ian Callaghan, Catherine Barnard, Myleene Klass (centre), and Rachel Carr with four students from the education centre.
The new education facility, which is jointly-funded by university access charity IntoUniversity, UEA and Trinity College Cambridge, is based at Market Gates Shopping Centre in Great Yarmouth, and will improve the chances of attending higher education for hundreds of students in the local area.
UEA honorary graduate Myleene was born in Great Yarmouth and attended Cliff Park Ormiston Academy in Gorleston-on-Sea, one of the seven schools partnering with the centre. She spent time talking to students following in her footsteps and taking part in some of the activities on the day, as well as the most prestigious and nerve-wracking responsibility of them all... the ceremonial ribbon cutting!
7. The Book, The Queen, The Charity and the Horse
It turned out Great Yarmouth was the place to be this spring. Following the visit from showbiz royalty, a member of actual royalty took a trip to the coast – all in honour of her favourite book.
The tale in question is equine epic Black Beauty, and the reason was down to a special edition of the book being released as a joint endeavour between horse sanctuary charity Redwings and UEA’s Publishing Project. The announcement of the new publication was made on 30th March, the date that would have been author Anna Sewell’s birthday, and Queen Camilla paid a visit to Anna Sewell House, the author’s former home in Great Yarmouth to view a first edition of the novel.
Naturally her appearance drew a crowd, the majority of whom were human, but which did also include two of Redwings’ Shetland ponies, Moses and Dhansak.
And to top off a beauty-ful year, Redwings even issued an animation on the reissue of the book - narrated by none other than natural treasure Joanna Lumley.
Myleene Klass (right) with a student and staff member.
Myleene Klass (right) with a student and staff member.
One of the horses at Redwings posing with the new edition of Black Beauty
One of the horses at Redwings posing with the new edition of Black Beauty
8. No ordinary Joe
As any avid Marvel fan will tell you, the Sainsbury Centre on UEA campus is the site of Avengers HQ. And real life and fiction collided for a day in April when Joe Russo, co-director of four of Marvel films (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame since you asked), came for a visit to his old stomping ground.
A visiting student here for a semester in 1991, Joe took modules in theatrical scriptwriting and said: “I came to UEA as a writer and I left as an actor”, and while he stopped by, he spoke to some Drama, Film, and Creative Writing students and gave them a chance to ask questions about filmmaking and the film industry.
He was also awarded an Honorary Degree by UEA in recognition of his achievements in film and television on the day. We’re not saying it’ll top the Oscar for Everything Everywhere All At Once (a film he produced) as his highest accolade of the year, but it’s a pretty big accomplishment nonetheless.
9. Welcoming in a new Vice-Chancellor
For the first time in nine years, UEA was looking for a new Vice-Chancellor in 2023.
Enter Prof David Maguire, who had previously served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Greenwich (2011-2019), and Interim Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee (2020) and the University of Sussex (2021-2022). Directly prior to joining UEA David was Interim Principal at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology.
Prof Maguire joined at a challenging time for the University and had a busy first week, with interviews with local media about the university’s financial challenges on his first morning, followed by an appearance on Radio 4’s PM programme on day two.
And there’s been little let up since then, with numerous all-staff forums, a visit to China to mark 20 years of the partnership between INTO and UEA, and preparation for UEA’s 2030 Strategy to be launched in the new year to put UEA firmly back on the road to success.
Vice-Chancellor Prof David Maguire (front row, fifth right) and Sir David Eastwood (front row, fifth left) with students and delegates in China
Vice-Chancellor Prof David Maguire (front row, fifth right) and Sir David Eastwood (front row, fifth left) with students and delegates in China
L-R: Ian Callaghan, UEA Chief Resource Officer; Emma Sutton-Pavli, UEA Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience and Education; Joe Russo; Prof Richard Hand, Head of UEA's School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing. Photo credit: David Kirkham
L-R: Ian Callaghan, UEA Chief Resource Officer; Emma Sutton-Pavli, UEA Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience and Education; Joe Russo; Prof Richard Hand, Head of UEA's School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing. Photo credit: David Kirkham
Sylvester with one of his owners, and one of his hoodies!
Sylvester with one of his owners, and one of his hoodies!
The research from Prof John Spencer and his team used MRI scans to study the structure of toddlers' developing brains.
The research from Prof John Spencer and his team used MRI scans to study the structure of toddlers' developing brains.
Marketing student Daisy Walker celebrates gaining her MA.
Marketing student Daisy Walker celebrates gaining her MA.
10. Sylvester inspires a charity cat-alogue
He’s UEA’s number one BNOC (Big Name On Campus, for the uninitiated) and nothing says BNOC more than having your own (fe)line of campus clothing.
That’s exactly what Sylvester the cat can now boast (can cats boast...?), after UEA’s creative series of t-shirts and hoodies featuring his image were created and sold in the UEASU Shop in May. They very quickly sold out, although they're currently back in stock, and 10% of the profits goes to local mental health charity Norfolk and Waveney Mind.
All that merchandise promotion is tiring work...
All that merchandise promotion is tiring work...
Sylvester’s status on campus continues to grow, and the Sylvester clothing range expanded this festive season with the release of a new Christmas-themed hoodie. Coming in 2024: a fashion show featuring a ‘cat walk’? (Ok, that’s probably enough laboured cat puns now…)
11. A research project requiring brain power
UEA researchers are responsible for the publication of hundreds of academic studies every year, with many of these studies requiring the collation of massive amounts of data.
One such example of that was from our School of Psychology, led by Prof John Spencer, who found that talking to toddlers helps shape their developing brain. The research used recording devices to take thousands of hours of language data from babies and toddlers, determining that those children who had more speech in their everyday lives had more myelin in language-related areas of their brain, which means they are more likely to support more sophisticated language processing.
The research story was one of the University’s most successful this year, and picked up by The Independent and ITV. Conclusive proof that, with toddlers at least, it is indeed good to talk.
12. Hunters span the generations at graduation
Make no mistake, graduation is our biggest celebration of the year. A week to recognise and reward the hard work of thousands of students, and a wonderful occasion for their friends and family too.
Well there can’t have been many families who will have fit quite as much celebrating into one day as the Hunters. Through a quirk of scheduling fate, brother and sister Tom (BSc in Psychology) and Sophia (MSc in Medicine) Hunter were both part of UEA’s Class of 2023 on the same day, with Sophia graduating a few hours before Tom.
Mum Nikki Bramford picking up her degree from UEA in 2005 (left), and the family recreating their graduation photo on graduation day for siblings Thomas and Sophia Hunter in 2023 (right). Photo credit: ITV Anglia
Mum Nikki Bramford picking up her degree from UEA in 2005 (left), and the family recreating their graduation photo on graduation day for siblings Thomas and Sophia Hunter in 2023 (right). Photo credit: ITV Anglia
Not only that, they both followed in the footsteps of their mother Nikki Bramford, who herself graduated from UEA 18 years ago, when her children were aged eight and five. Nicki studied as a single parent, gaining a law degree, and was there to watch both Tom and Sophia collect their doctorates. The family even managed to fit in a chat with ITV on the day too!
Tom and Sophia were just two of nearly 5,000 graduating UEA students from the Class of 2023 with amazing stories of their own – heck, we even had a marriage proposal (she said yes by the way). Congratulations to you all!
UEA broad in summer. Photo credit: Denisa Ilie
UEA broad in summer. Photo credit: Denisa Ilie
13. Seven up for UEA campus award
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before...but we kind of like reminding people that our campus is award-winning.
And we’ve got reason to toot our own trumpet this year too, as UEA campus picked up a 7th Green Flag award in a row in July – a real feather in the cap of our Grounds and Site team.
The annual Green Flag award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces and is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible environmental standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent visitor facilities.
And when it comes to our 360-acre campus, we’re not about to disagree with any of that!
14. Engage at any age
Forget everything you ever thought you knew about the word ‘mature’ because here’s a little known fact: any student who begins their undergraduate studies after the age of 21 is a ‘mature student’. Which makes us feel a little old…
Many assume that the only way into university is straight from sixth-form or college – give or take a gap year or a year earning – but UEA is home to hundreds of mature students who have found a totally different way into university.
L-R: Nigel Westlake and Sara Barnard
L-R: Nigel Westlake and Sara Barnard
As you’d imagine, some of their stories are inspiring and fascinating – and that’s certainly the case for the five mature students we met over the summer. They included 62-year-old Bob, studying a full-time law degree alongside a career in radio; 30-year-old Holly, who felt squeezed out of her London job after having children, so undertook a degree in liberal arts; and 57-year-old Rollo, who is studying a part-time history degree, having been a music producer and part of 1990s dance legends Faithless.
So here’s to all the mature students, a crucial part of the fabric of UEA.
15. Bringing the knowledge from Norwich
Whether they were intently listening to a starter-for-ten or asking Rachel Riley for a consonant, our students were taking over the TV quiz schedules this autumn.
UEA’s University Challenge team of Melissa Shiress, Bryony Yates, Owen Tobin and Matthew Jennings did the university proud by producing a commanding performance to beat the University of Strathclyde, before succumbing to the Open University in their bid to reach the finals.
And the UEA/University Challenge mash-up continues into the festive season, with a team of UEA alumni appearing this week, as well as Prof Steve Waters, Professor of Scriptwriting in UEA's School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, turning out for a Corpus Christie team!
Quiz repping: Melissa Shiress, Bryony Yates, Owen Tobin and Matthew Jennings, with University Challenge host Amol Rajan (centre).
Quiz repping: Melissa Shiress, Bryony Yates, Owen Tobin and Matthew Jennings, with University Challenge host Amol Rajan (centre).
And we are quite simply in awe of Viraj Seelam, Film and Television Production undergrad in the School of Art, Media and American Studies, who became a Countdown ‘Octochamp’, which means winning eight shows in a row… and an awful lot of teapots!
That took him through to the series quarter-finals, and at time of writing Viraj is about to compete in the last four of the competition in his bid to become series champion.
Here's hoping we have a Countdown trophy winner in our midst by the time we get to 2024!
16. Claudio’s charity cycle from Como to Constable’s County
Many UEA students will be familiar with the stress of the commute back to East Anglia for university – but try topping this for an endurance test to return to campus.
In September, Claudio Barchiesi, a second-year Economics student at UEA, cycled a gruelling 1,500km from his hometown near Lake Como in Italy to his grandparents’ home in Suffolk to raise money for AIRC, the Italian Foundation for Cancer Research.
Claudio’s punishing pedal push through Europe took 15 days and covered seven countries (and the Alps!), although at least he didn’t have to bring all his belongings for term with him.
Claudio has now raised over £3,800 for his chosen cause, which you can still donate to on his GoFundMe page.
17. Another warm welcome
For us it’s truly the most wonderful time of the year (with apologies to the festive season): September’s Welcome Week.
Why? Because of the arrival of students, whether new or returning, to UEA campus of course - not to mention that buzz they bring with them.
2023 was a vintage year of events, with wellbeing dog walks, taster classes for activities and sports, film screenings (I mean, who doesn’t love Ratatouille?), quizzes and – of course – a litany of animals to pet and cuddle in the Student Information Zone.
The Welcome Tent made a comeback for another year and, whether a club night or a ‘chill day’ was your thing, UEA and UEASU staff really did provide something for everyone to ensure our students’ academic year started off right.
You can Count on him: UEA's octochamp Viraj Seelam in the Countdown studio
You can Count on him: UEA's octochamp Viraj Seelam in the Countdown studio
Second-year economics student Claudio Barchiesi completed a marathon 1,500km cycle for AIRC, a trust committed to fostering cancer research in Italy.
Second-year economics student Claudio Barchiesi completed a marathon 1,500km cycle for AIRC, a trust committed to fostering cancer research in Italy.
Students, staff and stalls in The Square during Welcome Week.
Students, staff and stalls in The Square during Welcome Week.
18. Happy birthday to U(EA)
What do the University of East Anglia, Brad Pitt and Michael Jordan all have in common?
If you said: “they’re all cultural icons”, then you are of course correct. But you’d have been equally correct if you’d said: “they were all born in 1963”. So, if our mental arithmetic is correct, then that means all three celebrated their 60th birthday this year.
UEA campus under construction.
UEA campus under construction.
For UEA that meant an opportunity to look back at 60 years of memories, with the help of alumni sharing photos and memories from down the years of nights at the LCR, summer days at the broad and some of our campus architecture in all its glory.
Our graduates also shared their weird and wonderful stories from the last six decades to mark the start of the academic year in September, from crashing an ambulance in the Peak District to the practical joke of causing the Square fountain to fill campus with froth.
And life begins at sixty, so here’s to plenty more exciting stories to tell in the next sixty years. We’ll check back in 2083 and keep you posted!
UEA Folk Club in 1968.
UEA Folk Club in 1968.
19. Getting civic smarter with a Civic Charter
You may or may not have heard UEA referred to as ‘dual intensive’, meaning that we pride ourselves on delivering excellent education and world-class research.
But UEA also plays a key role within our communities, and has a long tradition of civic work locally, regionally and globally, from its Law Clinic providing free legal advice to the public, to the international art on display at the Sainsbury Centre.
To mark the University’s 60th birthday, it launched its very own Civic Charter, a document which outlines how UEA will work with and support communities to find solutions to the many complex challenges that society faces.
Dr Johanna Forster holding the new UEA Civic Charter.
Dr Johanna Forster holding the new UEA Civic Charter.
This commitment to the region and beyond was reaffirmed at an event to launch the charter in October, which featured representatives from the ten local organisations who signed up to it, including Norfolk County Council, Norwich City Council, Norwich University of the Arts and Norwich Cathedral.
And, speaking of the University's role, UEA also reaffirmed what it is to be UEA in the 'a hub, a home' video released earlier this year. Give it a watch below!
20. Stop! Scammer time
Artificial intelligence has been the biggest technological development in society this year, and UEA had its own AI story to tell in October.
We don’t like to do these things quietly if we can help it, so this particular tale on AI went out to around three million viewers on primetime BBC One, as part of the Watchdog segment on The One Show.
Two UEA students (second from left, fourth from right) were featured in the programme with Nikki Fox. Photo credit: BBC Watchdog
Two UEA students (second from left, fourth from right) were featured in the programme with Nikki Fox. Photo credit: BBC Watchdog
It all focused on how scammers can clone a person’s voice purely from them talking in an online video or a phone recording. Prof Oli Buckley from UEA’s School of Computing Sciences provided the expertise and a number of UEA student volunteers part lent their voices to show how accurate and realistic the AI-generated speech can be.
The filming was all carried out in the delightful surroundings of Earlham Hall – and if you want to see a bit of campus on camera, and make yourself a little more scam savvy at the same time, then the five-minute segment is still available on BBC iPlayer.
Prof Oli Buckley with presenter Nikki Fox. Photo credit: BBC Watchdog
Prof Oli Buckley with presenter Nikki Fox. Photo credit: BBC Watchdog
21. Maren pushes the boat out for charity
Her day job is in UEA’s School of Global Development but this month Prof Maren Duvendack went global in an entirely different way.
Maren took to the high seas – specifically the Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean – to take part in one of eight legs of the Clipper Round The World Race, in which eleven identical yachts race to circumnavigate the globe over a ten-month period.
Maren’s leg involved sailing the whopping 8,000km of ocean from Cape Town, South Africa, to Freemantle in Australia, and her travels were all in aid of UNICEF, a cause that you can still donate to via JustGiving.
We’re hoping to catch up with Maren when she’s back on dry land in the New Year for a full debrief of her ocean adventure!
22. Lady Hale holds court with law students
Lady Hale, or to give her full title, The Right Honourable the Baroness Hale of Richmond, paid a visit to Earlham Hall on campus to deliver a talk to UEA Law School students. ‘Life as a Lady Law Lord’ offered the students a unique opportunity to get an insight into one of the sharpest legal minds in the land.
A trailblazer in the legal profession, Lady Hale was the first woman and the youngest person to be appointed to the Law Commission in 1984, and became the first female President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2017.
She’s perhaps best known for delivering the Supreme Court’s ruling on the unlawfulness of the attempted proroguing of parliament by the Johnson government in 2019, and her collection of creature brooches even inspired a line of merchandise.
So who better to inspire a group of students aspiring for a career in the judiciary system?
23. Toy story: graduate’s Lego legacy
You know what they say... when life gives you Lego, make a replica model of your university halls.
Okay so no-one has ever actually said that, but it goes some way to describing the sensational creation of UEA graduate Mark Hodgson, who built a model of his former accommodation block Waveney Terrace entirely out of Lego.
UEA graduate and Lego builder extraordinaire Mark Hodgson with his spectacular model of Waveney Terrace. Photo credit: Mark Hodgson
UEA graduate and Lego builder extraordinaire Mark Hodgson with his spectacular model of Waveney Terrace. Photo credit: Mark Hodgson
Mark graduated from UEA with a Computer Science degree in 1983, and even made time to create the room interiors as part of his labour of Lego love.
Waveney Terrace may no longer be with us (it was knocked down in 2005) but, happily, Mark has no intention of disassembling his 1,000 piece creation - so the perfect tribute to it lives on!
And the joy of Lego feels like the perfect place to finish. Thanks for all the memories 2023, and here's to another stellar set of stories in 2024!
Discover more about the University of East Anglia, our courses and research at UEA.ac.uk
Prof Maren Duvendack, from UEA's School of Global Development, out at sea.
Prof Maren Duvendack, from UEA's School of Global Development, out at sea.
The Right Honourable the Baroness Hale of Richmond paid a visit to campus to speak to students from UEA Law School.
The Right Honourable the Baroness Hale of Richmond paid a visit to campus to speak to students from UEA Law School.
The inside of one of Mark's Lego Waveney Terrace student rooms. Photo credit: Mark Hodgson
The inside of one of Mark's Lego Waveney Terrace student rooms. Photo credit: Mark Hodgson
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