INTO staff member to perform during Olympic opening ceremony

Jemma Clancy, Student Services Co-ordinator (INTO University of Exeter) is one of many London 2012 volunteers working across the country during the Olympics and Paralympics, which start at 20:12 on Friday, 27 July.

However, unlike many of the London 2012 volunteers, Jemma has been chosen to perform during the opening ceremony in front of 80,000 spectators at the Olympic stadium and an estimated 4billion viewers watching on television across the world!

When asked how she felt on being selected to perform at such an historic event for London and the United Kingdom, Jemma said she's "incredibly lucky to have been chosen" and that her colleagues and the students she engages with on a daily basis have all been incredibly supportive, which she has found "very humbling."

"The students are continually asking me for updates and it is so hard not telling them everything, or more accurately perhaps anything! All volunteers are under strict instructions to keep all details secret."

INTO This Week will catch up with Jemma after Friday to see how she found the experience. For a photo of Jemma sporting her Olympic outfit, click here.

INTO Chairman to speak at major international Higher Education conference in the United States

Andrew Colin will be co-presenting a session entitled "Building Institutional Capacity and International Enrollment through Public-Private Partnerships" at the annual meeting of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) in Washington DC on July 30.

Joining Andrew are three panelists from INTO's US partner universities: Amy Parsons (VP for University Operations, Colorado State University), Nick Setteducato (Executive Director of Financial Management, University of South Florida) and Brian Thorsness (Director of Business Services, Oregon State University).

NACUBO is a membership organization representing more than 2,500 colleges, universities, and higher education service providers across the US and around the world. The organisation represents chief university business and financial officers in its goal of advancing the economic viability and business practices of higher education institutions in fulfillment of their academic missions.

Newcastle University says goodbye to successful cohort of INTO students

Throughout last week, students who began their journey with INTO donned traditional robes to mark the end of their studies at Newcastle University. 104 students received degrees from Newcastle University after studying at INTO Newcastle, including six achieving 1st Class Honours, 44 with a 2.1 and 41 with a 2.2.

Nabil Binmngash, who received a 1st in his BEng (Hons) Chemical Engineering, said of his preparation at INTO: "The amount of assignments given to me in my foundation course while studying at INTO taught me how to cope and work well under pressure. The good feedback I got from teachers helped me immensely to improve and develop overtime. Hard exams, problems and assignments gave us indication of what we should expect to face in the University."

Other students celebrating their success were Mahwish and Abdullah, from Pakistan. Both achieved a 2.1 in their BA(Hons) Business Management course. Click here to see images from Newcastle University's graduation.

Zombies Attack INTO Manchester!

When English Foundation Language lecturers in the General English department were asked to come up with ideas for the elective modules, EFL lecturer Joel Whitham thought some previous options had been particularly dry and wanted to come up with something a bit more creative so that students had a more enjoyable study experience. With this, he lead a group of ten students and created a film which emulates the style and action of the classic 'zombie' genre.

All the dialogue, acting, filming, and directing was carried out by students from the group. Joel said, "Pedagogically, I have always been a strong believer in the idea that a language is learned by using it: Being involved in a creative project like this enabled students to use whatever language they knew in an authentic situation which creates a genuine need for students to communicate with each other in order to achieve objectives. The fact that students got to stumble around dressed as zombies was just an extra motivation really."

All INTO Manchester staff and students were invited to the screening premiere which took place in the study centre. For those that missed out, the film was then split into four sections the following week and promoted via the INTO Manchester's Social Media Channels Twitter and Facebook leading to a significant increase in the number of followers and fans on both respectively.

For photos of the zombie invasion, click here.

Prior to accepting this position, Andrew worked as a Digital and Marketing Assistant for AEG Live, a live music promoter, and brings experience and a proven track record of success in e-marketing. This will be invaluable in meeting our demanding goals and objectives in delivering a world class student experience.

Andrew lives in Brighton, a graduate of Sussex University, where he achieved a BA Hons degree in American Studies, which included a study year abroad at the University of California, Berkeley. His interests include music and films. He writes and performs music with two different bands (playing bass guitar and drums) and has written and published several film reviews for The Badger, a Sussex University newspaper.

Nancy was formerly the Assistant Director of the Intensive English Program at CSU. She has an undergraduate degree in International Studies and received her M.Ed., specialising in TESOL, from Boston University. Nancy has spent the last 20 years teaching English as a second language. She is looking forward to welcoming the first cohort of Pathway students to INTO Colorado State University this fall and is excited about the expanded student services and facilities available to all INTO CSU students as a result of the partnership between INTO and CSU.

Steve has joined INTO to develop INTO Student Placements, having been formerly Director of International Recruitment and Admissions at the University of Salford. There he managed a team which recruited over a 1,000 new students a year, and was most recently responsible for integrating admissions and recruitment, and managing the opening the University's first overseas office in China. Prior to being Director at Salford, Steve was deputy director and had stints as Regional Manager for various regions including South Asia, the Middle East and South East Asia.

While looking after the Middle East, he guided Salford in to the top 10 UK recruiters of students from Jordan and the UAE. He's also worked in international and domestic recruitment at University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University, where he gained his undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications respectively. Outside work, Steve is School Governor, avid Liverpool FC fan and enjoys hill walking and mountain biking.

Aimee has responsibility for all office operations and procedures including purchasing and facilities management for the Solana Beach location. Additionally, Aimee will handle travel arrangements, meeting schedules, event planning, and calendar management.

Aimee's background includes administrative support roles for the Interwork Institute at San Diego State University, as well as administrative support for UBS Financial Services. She has served in two research assistant positions at SDSU and is currently working toward her Masters Degree in Post Secondary Educational Leadership.

Nicole is INTO Colorado State University's new Student Services Administrative Assistant and is excited to work closely with all INTO CSU students. She has a B.A. in English Literature and a minor in Business. During her undergrad, Nicole studied abroad in Rome, Italy. She is also a Volunteer Coordinator for the Fort Collins International Center. Nicole loves hiking in the Colorado mountains and cooking new foods.