International students’ transition into the UK’s higher education

International students contribute greatly not only to the UK’s economy but also to the cultural and academic richness of UK’s universities; however, welcome and induction programs for international students seldom include the cultural and academic information international students need to thrive in their new environment and can impact their international student experience. While positive experiences contribute to building multicultural competencies, developing resilience, and obtaining a degree from a recognised international institution, negative experiences result in mental and physical health issues, and ultimately in dropping off their courses. International students go through isolation and loneliness when they cannot build support networks quick enough in their personal, societal, and academic transitions. Universities support systems need to focus on this transition through an active program of cultural and academic integration, both staff and peer-led, to ensure all students adjust to their new environment. In the academic area, there is limited time to train students in the new Learning and Teaching (L&T) system, and there is even less time to build trust between staff and international students before the first assessment is due in postgraduate (PG) courses. Often awarding gaps and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives, especially in institutions with diverse communities of students, contribute to a wide range of academic support activities for international students to join in. Still, international students are a driven population focused on the employability advantage that the international experience will provide through enhancing transnational skills such as such as networking, intercultural competences, and English language. This paper presents the comprehensive work at Manchester Metropolitan University to support international students in courses within the Department of Life Sciences. Quantitative and qualitative data showed the positive impact of positive interventions that avoid the deficit model and rather focus on the contribution of these students to their course

Development of a novel porous scaffold: assessment of its suitability for cardiac muscle engineering

Cellular transplantation, a current therapy for cardiac failure, does not consider the need for a physical support or biochemical factors required by the cardiomyocyte. The aim of this project was to establish the Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM), architectural and mechanical properties of a flexible scaffold to assist the maintenance of a cardiac cell line cultured under mechanical stimuli. Previously, mechanical stimulation has been proved to have an effect in cardiomyocytes similar to that of growth factors on other cells and promotes protein expression, differentiation and survival [1]. Poly-(1,8-octanediol-co-citric acid) [POC] is an elastomer that can be processed into scaffolds for tissue engineering. Mechanical properties of the POC were compared at different porosity, storage method and strain rate. POC, with an ultimate elongation of 60-160%, did support cardiac cell attachment when coated with fibronectin. Seeding strategies were evaluated to find optimal conditions and static seeding resulted more favourable for cell adhesion and survival than other dynamics approaches. In collaboration with the University of Leeds, cardiomyocytes were cultured in a dynamic bioreactor, Tencell, under continuous and discontinuous stretching regimes. Mechano-stimulation of cardiac constructs encouraged cell survival in the discontinuous regime and up-regulated the expression of actc1 and nppa genes regardless of the treatments. It was concluded that although mechanical stimulation had a positive effect on cell survival and gene expression, tissue formation was not promoted

Development of a novel porous scaffold: assessment of its suitability for cardiac muscle engineering

Cellular transplantation, a current therapy for cardiac failure, does not consider the need for a physical support or biochemical factors required by the cardiomyocyte. The aim of this project was to establish the Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM), architectural and mechanical properties of a flexible scaffold to assist the maintenance of a cardiac cell line cultured under mechanical stimuli. Previously, mechanical stimulation has been proved to have an effect in cardiomyocytes similar to that of growth factors on other cells and promotes protein expression, differentiation and survival [1]. Poly-(1,8-octanediol-co-citric acid) [POC] is an elastomer that can be processed into scaffolds for tissue engineering. Mechanical properties of the POC were compared at different porosity, storage method and strain rate. POC, with an ultimate elongation of 60-160%, did support cardiac cell attachment when coated with fibronectin. Seeding strategies were evaluated to find optimal conditions and static seeding resulted more favourable for cell adhesion and survival than other dynamics approaches. In collaboration with the University of Leeds, cardiomyocytes were cultured in a dynamic bioreactor, Tencell, under continuous and discontinuous stretching regimes. Mechano-stimulation of cardiac constructs encouraged cell survival in the discontinuous regime and up-regulated the expression of actc1 and nppa genes regardless of the treatments. It was concluded that although mechanical stimulation had a positive effect on cell survival and gene expression, tissue formation was not promoted

Bioinspired Materials 2018: Conference Report

The Bioinspired Materials conference 2018 was organized for the third time by a team of researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University. This international conference aims to bring together the scientific committee in the fields of biomimetic sensors, bioinspired materials, materials chemistry, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and tissue engineering. The 2018 edition was held at the John Dalton Building of Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK, and took place on the 10th of October 2018. There were over 60 national and international attendees, with the international attendees participating in a lab tour through the synthetic facilities and Fuel Cell Innovation Centre on the 9th of October. The three conference sessions encompassed a wide range of topics, varying from biomimetic sensors, hydrogels, and biofabrics and bioengineering

International students learning experience in a post COVID era: preference on delivery model for academic English support

The Higher Education landscape has changed substantially since the 2020 COVID pandemic. Emerging back from two disrupted years, it is apparent that UK universities are not going back to what was normal before this but evolving into a different system, and the international area is not an exception. While many predicted international recruitments would stop in 2020/21, the UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reported that during that academic year enrolment for international students actually increased 10.6% in 2020/21 and 12.3% in 2021/22 for overseas students. Nevertheless, a proportion of these students did start or complete their courses virtually rather than in the UK, despite not being enrolled for a fully online or distance course. For international students, the experience of studying abroad differed from what it was expected, adding new challenges, especially for those who arrived after the course started. Cultural adaptation and understanding the new learning and teaching system are the main challenge for international students, and they can impact equally on the performance and outcome of the study abroad experience. This research project aimed to understand the post-COVID changes on the learning preferences between online and presential L&T (Learning and Teaching) of international students, with special focus on Academic English. Manchester Metropolitan University, through the “Coaching for Academic English” programme offers free language support to all international students which includes English for Academic Purposes classes and writing consultations. The delivery mode pre-COVID, was either face to face classes or with consultations for the 1,828 students in 2017/18, and 1,915 students in 2018/19) that engaged with this service. Online consultations were available pre-COVID but, there was not a demand for them. During the academic years 2019/20 and 2020/21, all sessions were moved to online, however, from the academic year 2021/22 the service has offered a mix of face to face and online classes for all areas except for writing consultations which continue to be online. From 2019/20, the service also started offering ESP courses and consultations (English for Specific Purposes). This consists of workshops created with a specific unit assessment in mind. Students are then given the opportunity to submit a draft for feedback. This has replaced the need for consultations for many students. The attendance in 2122 for online classes and face to face classes shows a preference for online, demonstrated by the attendance to the module “Dissertation writing course” (5 weeks): 121 students online and only 23 students (<20%) attending face to face. This is mirrored across all courses. One students commented: ““Dear tutor, my colleagues and I would like to request if the academic skills class could be run online as most if us will be attending the OET (Occupational English Test) course online and will be unable to make it on time / attend.” Data indicates that students continue to prefer online delivery after experiencing blended delivery during the COVID academic years (2019-2021). The impact of the mode of delivery on international students’ experience is evident based on lower attendance to face to face English sessions, compared to online sessions. This ultimately will continue to affect their employability and their proficiency of the English language

Small diameter helical vascular scaffolds support endothelial cell survival.

There is an acute clinical need for small-diameter vascular grafts as a treatment option for cardiovascular disease. Here, we used an intelligent design system to recreate the natural structure and hemodynamics of small arteries. Nano-fibrous tubular scaffolds were fabricated from blends of polyvinyl alcohol and gelatin with inner helices to allow a near physiological spiral flow profile, using the electrospinning technique. Human coronary artery endothelial cells (ECs) were seeded on the inner surface and their viability, distribution, gene expression of mechanosensitive and adhesion molecules compared to that in conventional scaffolds, under static and flow conditions. We show significant improvement in cell distribution in helical vs. conventional scaffolds (94% ± 9% vs. 82% ± 7.2%; P < 0.05) with improved responsiveness to shear stress and better ability to withhold physiological pressures. Our helical vascular scaffold provides an improved niche for EC growth and may be attractive as a potential small diameter vascular graft

Global summer schools: developing multicultural competencies staying at home

International summer schools are a well know approach to improve technical skills as well as to develop multicultural competencies (Lerke, 2020). University students benefit particularly from these as they can also learn specialist knowledge which might inspire them to pursue a specific research topic or to consider options abroad for further education or employment after graduation. The global disruption of COVID-19 prevented international summer schools in 2020 and 2021, and continues to restrict international travel, with some higher education institutions holding a stricter policy to protect students and staff, limiting travel until further notice. A virtual alternative global summer school was coordinated by an international team of universities: Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Biotecnologia (UPIBI-IPN, Mexico), Escuela Nacional de Educacion Superior-Juriquilla (ENES-Juriquilla, Mexico), Universita de Piemonte Orientale-Novara (UPO-Novara, Italy) and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU, UK) to enable students in biomed/biotech/bioeng areas, to experience a virtual summer school, supporting their employability while fostering international academic collaborations between departments. The aim was to deliver an online summer school that would provide an insight into the latest research projects, as much as, allow students to learn about other cultures. The programme was planned for 66% for scientific talks, and 33% cultural talks, the latter including virtual tours of cities, live food sessions, recorded videos of participants performing folkloric dances and introduction to languages. The programme ran over four days, each hosted by a different institution. Prior institutional experience on blended teaching and virtual collaborations allowed the team to run the online school with appropriate technologies to coordinate questions and polls to monitor students’ experience and assess their learning. The official language of the programme was English; speakers, chairs and coordinators connected via zoom, with sessions being watched by 200long-term viewers in Facebook live and Youtube live. Sessions were interactive with quizzes and polls using Kahoot and Vevox, the latter, allowed real time data analysis to compare the perception of students about their multicultural and scientific experience. Finally, students were assessed on the scientific content with a final VLE MCQ, which also allowed one institution (UPO) to award credits for a module, and another institution (MMU) to provide extracurricular points for their RISE Award. Student engagement was constant and feedback showed their satisfaction for attending a summer school that not only exposed them to high-quality international research, but also to other cultures; with data showing 66% of students enjoyed cultural sessions as much as scientific talks (n=35±10). In addition, 95% of students confirmed that they were more likely to travel to one of the hosting countries, and 93% more likely to learn one of the hosting languages after the global summer school, indicating a strong correlation between a virtual international activity, and an inclusive attitude and new-found multicultural proficiency. Despite the success, our current structure should evolve to include virtual spaces to facilitate group work and students’ interactions (de Hei, 2020) to assist intercultural learning and complement the high-quality scientific engagement and the rich cultural exchange

Polylysine Enriched Matrices: A Promising Approach for Vascular Grafts

Cardiovascular diseases represent the leading cause of death in developed countries. Modern surgical methods show poor efficiency in the substitution of small-diameter arteries (<6 mm). Due to the difference in mechanical properties between the native artery and the substitute, the behavior of the vessel wall is a major cause of inefficient substitutions. The use of decellularized scaffolds has shown optimal prospects in different applications for regenerative medicine. The purpose of this work was to obtain polylysine-enriched vascular substitutes, derived from decellularized porcine femoral and carotid arteries. Polylysine acts as a matrix cross-linker, increasing the mechanical resistance of the scaffold with respect to decellularized vessels, without altering the native biocompatibility and hemocompatibility properties. The biological characterization showed an excellent biocompatibility, while mechanical tests displayed that the Young’s modulus of the polylysine-enriched matrix was comparable to native vessel. Burst pressure test demonstrated strengthening of the polylysine-enriched matrix, which can resist to higher pressures with respect to native vessel. Mechanical analyses also show that polylysine-enriched vessels presented minimal degradation compared to native. Concerning hemocompatibility, the performed analyses show that polylysine-enriched matrices increase coagulation time, with respect to commercial Dacron vascular substitutes. Based on these findings, polylysine-enriched decellularized vessels resulted in a promising approach for vascular substitution

Aromatic Stacking Facilitated Self-Assembly of Ultrashort Ionic Complementary Peptide Sequence: β-Sheet Nanofibers with Remarkable Gelation and Interfacial Properties

Understanding peptide self-assembly mechanisms and stability of the formed assemblies is crucial for development of functional nanomaterials. Herein, we have adopted rational design approach to demonstrate how minimal structural modification to a non-assembling ultra-short ionic self-complementary tetrapeptide FEFK (Phe4) remarkably enhanced stability of self-assembly into β-sheet nanofibres and induced hydrogelation. This was achieved by replacing flexible phenylalanine residue (F) by the rigid phenylglycine (Phg) resulting in constrained analogue PhgEPhgK (Phg4), which positioned aromatic rings in an orientation favourable for aromatic stacking. Phg4 self-assembly into stable β-sheet ladders was facilitated by π-staking of aromatic sidechains alongside hydrogen bonding between backbone amides along the nanofibre axis. The contribution of these non-covalent interactions in stabilising self-assembly was predicted by in silico modelling using molecular dynamics simulations and semi-empirical quantum mechanics calculations. In aqueous medium, Phg4 β-sheet nanofibres entangled at a critical gelation concentration > 20 mg/mL forming a network of nanofibrous hydrogel. Phg4 also demonstrated unique surface activity in presence of immiscible oils and was superior to commercial emulsifiers in stabilising oil-in-water emulsions. This was attributed to interfacial adsorption of amphiphilic nanofibrilles forming nanofibrillised microspheres. To our knowledge, Phg4 is the shortest ionic self-complementary peptide rationally designed to self-assemble into stable β-sheet nanofibres capable of gelation and emulsification. Our results suggest that Ultra-short Ionic-complementary Constrained Peptides or UICPs have significant potential for the development of cost-effective, sustainable and multifunctional soft bionanomaterials

Autobiographical Digital Stories as Means of Documentation and Reflection for Biomedical Students

This work reflects the collaboration between Biomedical Scientists at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) and Artists at Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland) to use autobiographical digital stories as means of reflection for students in their last year of the integrated Masters in Biomedical Science (MBioMedSci) at Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, England. Students were invited to participate voluntarily in a pilot workshop as an additional activity to support their professional development. This workshop aimed to tell their professional life story (digital story) and to associate it with their wider autobiography, to help students reflect on their student experience and clarify which path they wanted to follow after graduation. Also, importantly, the workshop was not based only on their scientific work. Students completed the workshop activities, as well as questionnaires prior and post workshop, on personal experiences and skills. Results demonstrated that the workshop helped students to increase their self-awareness, as well as to identify and clarify their career pathways. From the individual’s point of view, it was important to realise the choices they made and the options future brings. This art-based method empowered students and will be applied in future collaboration in joint biomedical studies