It was very nice to walk back into the Anglia Ruskin University buildings last Thursday and Friday to run the University Summer School. I left Anglia Ruskin University in December 2006 when its Ultralab was closed down.

Every year the University runs a Summer School programme to attract new students, the idea of the programme is to give young people a small taste of University life.

I’ve been a part of Anglia’s Summer School Programme since 2001 and it was really nice to to be invited back and be at the heart of it all.

Hal MacLean and myself worked with Ian Ericson from the University to deliver a programme in broadcast journalism. The work produced by the young people in such a short space of time was quite simply awesome.

23 young people from surrounding schools took in the two day event, hopefully some of them will now consider University as an option. The work they undertook will soon be on display over at digitalcreativity.org

Last year I was featured in the Anglia Ruskin University Department of Computing Prospectus as a former student (Business Information Systems 1997 - 2000) working for the University in the Ultralab department. In December 2006 the University closed Ultralab and I left with colleagues to form a new company which went on to continue working in the same field.

In January I was contacted by friends in the Department of Computing to request a re-feature in the prospectus for the new feature….which is distributed to anyone showing an interest in taking up the course…. this is what was printed for 2007 on page 2:

“I completed my degree at Anglia Ruskin University in May 2000. By November, I was back at the University working for ‘Ultralab’.

Ultralab was a world-class learning, technology and research centre, it was respected for its innovative thinking and projects which engaged technology with learning. I worked all over the world with governments, broadcasters, companies and charities on action research based projects to learn from and empower people. I had the time of my life.

In January 2007 I joined some colleagues in the formation of a new company we called ‘Cleveratom Ltd’. Cleveratom builds on the research and skills I developed from my academic career. We’re working with organisations such as the BBC, Apple Computers, British Computer Society and schools internationally to develop online social spaces, design schools of the future and empower learners with the power of digital creativity technologies.

Luck, risk taking and determination have helped me along the way but my degree still remains fundimentally important in helping me get on.”

Matthew Eaves
BSc (Hons) Business Information Systems

Last week Alex, Hal and I were invited back to by one of my lecturers (Roger Clark) to talk to the current Multimedia Students in year three about opportunities beyond their degree course…. next month we revisit year two students to deliver the same presentation and scout for potential Cleveratom staff of the future….