www. northumbria. ac. uk31 Benedict Singleton PhD student profile " My project work has been almost entirely practice- based and self- directed, including collaborations I've initiated with other artists, designers and so on. It's in an area called service design. I find service design interesting because it's about structuring and regulating interactions between people, rather than necessarily designing a new object. My PhD has been the most rewarding - and challenging - three years I've ever spent. I've enjoyed the freedom to govern my own direction according to my interests, to initiate collaborations with interesting people, to do the best work by far I've ever done. It's also been a tremendous door- opener, with opportunities to meet fascinating and sometimes formidable people. I'm now in a position to have greater personal influence over what it is that I'm doing. I've become more interested in tutoring at graduate level. It's not easy, finding your footing at the outset of a PhD, and I never thought that I'd be interested in helping people do that - but I've discovered I am." Awards and Recognition 2008 RAE In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, a UK government review that evaluates research quality in Higher Education, a proportion of our School's research was identified as world class, with a high proportion being recognised nationally and internationally. Our Centre for Design Research has also been recognised for its work across a number of sectors over the years. The Centre's awards and commendations are varied and impressive. Its most recent accolade came as a result of the animated service developed for Bio Transformations' innovative work in cancer care, which received high profile coverage in the national press Partnerships As well as collaborating with international partners such as Continental, Diageo, Intel, Johnson and Johnson, NHS, Nike, Nissan, Nokia, Pfizer, Philips, Rolls Royce, and Unilever, we are committed to steering the development of UK design activity through our engagement with the D& AD, Design Research Society, the Design Business Association, the Design Council, the British Design Initiative and the Royal Society of Arts.

32School of Health, Community and Education Studies School of Health, Community and Education Studies Research Assessment Exercise ( RAE) The School received outstanding results in the Research Assessment Exercise 2008. We are delighted that within Nursing and Midwifery, 50% of our submitted research was assessed as being world leading or internationally excellent. Strong RAE results were also achieved in Psychology, Social Work, Social Policy and Administration. At the heart of the School's research and enterprise activity are three knowledge translation themes: . Service user involvement . Practice / service development . Employer and professional engagement Community, Health and Education Studies Research Centre The Community, Health & Education Studies Research Centre ( CHESsRC) leads a school- wide framework of themes and programmes in a research, Postgraduate Research ( PGR) and knowledge translation intensive environment. CHESsRC has the following aims: . To undertake research that models the health, social and educational experiences of people and communities, and the impact of professional activity and service provision on these experiences. The School of Health, Community and Education Studies brings together a comprehensive range of expertise in the caring and enabling professions. Our academic staff, supported by library and learning resource staff, administrators and technicians, work to deliver high- quality research and teaching in health, nursing, education, social work and social care, midwifery, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and public health.