60 SECONDS WITH HANNAH JACKSON, ASSISTANT HEAD OF PARTNERSHIPS
Tell us about your role at UEA
I have the pleasure of managing and overseeing the work of our wonderful team of Partnerships Managers and Coordinators which means I get an insight into all of our partnership provision. I am also the relationship manager for INTO UEA, support Zoe and Gavin with developments related to our Academic Partnerships Strategy, support the university with the development of international partnership arrangements and I am also secretary to the university’s Senate Student Discipline Committee. So I have a varied role which keeps me on my toes and I get to work with a wide variety of colleagues at UEA and our partners which I really enjoy.
How has your role changed as a result of COVID-19?
I think working from home has had its benefits but also its challenges. I really miss the social interaction with the team, and having worked at UEA for 11 years, bumping into colleagues on campus for a brief catch up. Like the rest of the team I am looking forward to visiting partners again. We will be taking some time as a team during the summer to reflect on this period and to plan how we will continue with the aspects of virtual working that work well, but also plan for activities that we know benefit more from face to face interaction, and we would be pleased to have partners views on this too.
What would surprise people to know about you?
After graduating I worked and lived in a small town in southern Japan for a year and, although I’m extremely rusty now, I managed to learn to speak, read and write a fair bit of Japanese. I was lucky enough to do a bit of travelling while I was there and visited some amazing cities and areas all over Japan, and eat some incredible food (takoyaki – octopus filled fried dumplings being a particular favourite street food). What I found fascinating about Japan was how tradition and culture is maintained while at the same time it is such a highly technological and forward thinking country. Where else can you grab a can of hot coffee and chips from a vending machine on the way into a Shinto shrine!
What’s your favourite film of all time and why?
Without a doubt Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I love everything about it, the music, dancing, characters, surrealism, psychedelia, Ooompa Loompas, and of course Gene Wilder.
What’s your favourite place to visit?
We moved to the Norfolk Broads in summer 2019 so we spend a lot of time exploring what we are lucky enough to have on our doorstop and the beach is only a 10 minute drive away. One place which will always hold great memories for me is Great Yarmouth. Some people might think this a strange choice but I spent many a happy Saturday there with my parents enjoying the beautifully clean bleach, the slot machines, chips and the infamous Snails at Joyland and it also reminds me of my dad. He was a sign writer and made the Pleasure Beach sign and Pink Flamingo arcade sign which are still there. I think we’ve all indulged in a bit of nostalgia over this difficult period and running along the seafront at Great Yarmouth has brought me some much needed respite.
Tell us your favourite joke
This is not my forte but my daughter’s current favourite is: What’s a cat’s favourite colour? Purrrrr-ple
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