Kingston University London

Shakespeare expert Professor Richard Wilson awarded honorary degree

Kingston University's Professor of Shakespeare Studies, Richard Wilson, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Constanta in Romania. A conference entitled 'Metacognition and Transdisciplinarity' has been organised in tribute to the honorary doctorate and will be taking place on 26–28 May 2013 in Constanta.

Learn more about studying English Literature at Kingston University.

Kingston launches distance learning MBA with Study Group

Kingston Business School has officially launched its first distance learning Master of Business Administration degree. As well as costing less than the traditional programme, the new three-year course will allow students to be much more flexible when it comes to fitting study into their working life.

It is aimed both at people living overseas and those in the UK whose career schedules prevent them from completing the full-time Kingston-based MBA....

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Enterprising designer believes disability should be no barrier to style

A student from London's Kingston University has created concepts for a range of clothing for disabled women which combines sophisticated style with practicality and comfort.

MA Fashion student Garfield Li's funky yet functional womenswear collection was inspired by a visit to a children's hospice near Luton. "I met a boy in a wheelchair whose mother had cut the back out of his jacket so it was more comfortable for him to wear," the 26 year old, originally from Hong Kong, explained. This sparked the young designer's idea to explore whether he could create a range of cutting-edge fashion specifically tailored for wheelchair users....

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Human rights festival examines political future of Iraq

The political future of Iraq has been the subject of impassioned debate at this year's Kingston University Human Rights Festival.

The festival, which got under way in March and coincides with the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, opened with an event focusing on the United States' military detention system in the early years of the war in the Middle Eastern nation. The session also explored questions about the legality of the invasion itself and considered what lay in store for the country in years to come.

Human rights PhD student Peter Finn, who has helped organise the festival, said it was important to understand what happened in Iraq from a human rights' perspective. "There are still so many questions today about whether the invasion was legal and whether or not the British public was told the truth by politicians in connection with what went on," Mr Finn said. "The festival has given us the chance to examine those issues in detail and look at the current state of Iraqi politics and how they might evolve in the future."

Speakers at a session entitled Iraq, 10 Years On: Invasion, Conflict and Human Rights included Colonel David Benest, a retired member of the British Army who has written about counter-insurgency and human rights; Ian Cobain, a journalist for The Guardian and author of Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture; and renowned Iraqi lawyer and commentator Sabah Al-Mukhtar.

Sudan has also featured on the festival programme. Former United Nations Sudan chief Dr Mukesh Kapila reflected on his experiences in Darfur at a time when he attempted to alert the world to unfolding genocide. "The events in Sudan are perhaps even more horrific than what's gone in Iraq recently," Mr Finn explained. "Both discussions gave people an ideal forum to consider exactly what has transpired."

The annual festival is being co-ordinated by Professor Philip Spencer from the University's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Other events in the pipeline include talks about the exploitation of natural resources and modern day slavery and an exhibition about the trafficking of children in West Africa.

• Find out more about the Human Rights Festival at Kingston University. Events are free and open to the public.
• Find out more about studying human rights at Kingston University.

Banana Republic vice-president returns to alma mater to receive honorary degree

The creative director and executive vice president of design for global fashion brand Banana Republic has been named an Honorary Doctor of Arts by his alma mater, London's Kingston University. Speaking following the ceremony at Kingston's Rose Theatre on 8 April, Simon Kneen credited the professional skills he developed while studying fashion at Kingston for being pivotal in helping shape his career.

Mr Kneen first made his mark in the industry specialising in womenswear and childrenswear in Italy, before setting up his own studio and label and serving as a design consultant for top Italian brands. He has been at the forefront of Banana Republic's global design team since 2008 after holding senior posts at the Retail Brand Alliance in the United States, where his numerous achievements included being the first person to design a collection for both men and women at Brooks Brothers. Mr Kneen's extensive curriculum vitae also includes two years as creative director for Italian label Maska, known for its exclusive couture and fashionable ready-to-wear ranges, and a period as a head designer for Maison Balmain....

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Professor delivers keynote address at international nursing research conference

A senior academic from Kingston University and St George's, University of London has highlighted the challenges and opportunities of studying conditions managed by patients in their homes at a major international research conference.

In a keynote address at the conference staged by the Royal College of Nursing in Belfast, Professor Vari Drennan reflected on the issues faced by nurses delivering care to patients outside hospital settings, in what she described as 'hidden places'.

Professor Drennan contended that nurses were well placed to ask the questions and conduct the research that helped give people receiving health care in such situations a voice. Their findings could inform nursing practice involving patients and family carers managing stigmatised and hidden conditions and challenge health care cultures, she said.

The growing number of people with chronic conditions or non-communicable diseases placed a significant demand on health care systems globally, Professor Drennan added. Against a backdrop of changing demography and resource constraints, policies increasingly emphasised self management, care in the home and strategies to reduce the need for hospital admission.

Care and management in the home was hidden from the wider health care system's gaze which, for those with chronic conditions, could bring feelings of stigma, Professor Drennan said. The delivery of appropriate, acceptable, safe and effective care in such settings confronted nurses with multiple issues, she added. Professor Drennan cited her own study focusing on managing incontinence in people with dementia living at home, funded by the National Institute of Health Research, as an example of work examining conditions perceived to involve taboo subjects.

Professor Drennan is an expert in health care and policy research at the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, run jointly by Kingston University and St George's, University of London.

• Find out more about research at the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education.

Designers weave partnerships across continents

A partnership between Kingston University and a craft centre in Zimbabwe has proved so successful that a group of women from a remote farming community are about to exhibit their work at one of the world's largest design shows.

The head of Kingston's Design School, Simon Maidment, has been sharing his expertise with the Lupane Women's Centre, whose hand-woven baskets provide a much needed source of income for many families. Based in rural Matabeleland, two hours' drive from Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, the centre gives women an opportunity to earn money at times of the year when they cannot farm, enabling them to send their children to school or simply put food on their tables....

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Eminent educator emphasises importance of university study

A leading educator has relived her struggle to fund her degree studies with a group of new graduates from Kingston University. Professor Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, chief operating officer at City Montessori School and Degree College in Lucknow, India, was speaking after being awarded an honorary degree from the University in south west London.

Commenting on higher tuition fees introduced in England last year, Professor Kingdon, who is also Professor of Education and International Development at the Institute of Education, London University, said the importance of higher education went way beyond the potential for a higher salary. "The value of a good degree is greater than just the economic return that accrues from it," she explained....

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