New Year, New Start - East Anglian Daily Times Education Page, 12 December 2004 & Ipswich Angle, January 2005

New year, new start. It’s quite extraordinary just how powerful the urge for change becomes when we say goodbye to one year and welcome the next. More often than not, the resolutions we make revolve around self-improvement through self-denial. But you don’t have to lower your levels of enjoyment to increase your sense of well-being. With the wide range of enrolment opportunities coming up at Suffolk College you can turn negatives into positives.

The Community Learning Spring 2005 brochure has many new courses. If the festivities are stressing you out, you might like to promise yourself a place on programmes such as Aromatherapy, Indian Head Massage or Meditation. Or if your reaction to the gift of a digital camera is a mixture of gratitude and panic, you can join a course at Suffolk College that will show you how to get the best from your new toy. There are even some subjects making their very first appearance – Fancy Dress Making, Swahili, Blues & Rock’n’Roll Piano and Personal Safety to name just a few. You can find out more by visiting the website – www.suffolk.ac/community_learning - or leave your request for a copy of the Community Learning Brochure on 01473 296606.

Further Education offers new starts in Office Technology and Computing courses, including some free programmes for beginners. There are also a few new sessions starting in the hair and beauty areas, and courses to help improve English and maths run throughout the academic year.

Each of the two Higher Education schools – Management, Arts & Science and Health – have second semester enrolment available on certain of their undergraduate, postgraduate and professional courses. Under the Business, Management & Computing heading there are six programmes, English, History & Media Studies have four, Event Management, Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism are offering one, Science three, Social Studies three and Health five. Details of the Further and Higher courses are available on the Suffolk College website – www.suffolk.ac.uk - or you ‘phone 01473 296606 to request a paper version.

The Suffolk Institute of Technology (SIT) is also able to enrol new learners for 2005. As its name implies, the SIT portfolio consists largely of programmes with an IT-related business support content. There are, however, some that might surprise you. Essential Trustee Skills, for example, which has been designed for those involved in the management of voluntary organisations. Or there’s a one-day training course on Networking Skills for Business, which is delivered in collaboration with the performance professionals of the New Wolsey Theatre. Check out the website at www.sit.ac.uk, or call 01473 296651.

As you ring out the old and ring in the new, just think where this year’s resolution could take you.