January's public events now online

Highlights including lectures by Dr Judith Rodin, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, and former Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King.

Super Sunday is coming

Wiebke Wenzel

Wiebke, LSE Entrepreneurship, met her husband at the University of Manchester.... "We are probably the only two people who find Manchester more romantic than Paris."

 Research

 LSE in pictures

 News

 Training and jobs

The School is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Erik Berglof (pictured) as the inaugural Director of the Institute of Global Affairs (IGA). Erik joins the School as a Professor in Practice in the Department of Economics. He has had a distinguished career as an economist, most recently as the Chief Economist and Special Adviser to the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Prior to joining EBRD, Professor Berglof was Director of the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE), Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

The IGA was established earlier this year and already includes a number of constituent Centres - IDEAS, the Middle East Centre, the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre and the recently-approved Centres for the United States, and South Asia. Professor Berglof, who will take up his post on 1 February 2015, will help to realise the School’s high ambitions for the IGA across the full breadth of its research, public engagement and teaching mission.

The Leverhulme Trust has awarded LSE 15 doctoral scholarships, worth £1million over the next three years, for students to undertake interdisciplinary research on ‘the challenge of escalating inequalities’.

The prestigious scholarships, worth £70,000 each, will be affiliated with LSE’s new International Inequalities Institute and directed by Professor Mike Savage, Head of Department of Sociology. These awards, the new Institute - which opens in May 2015 - and a forthcoming MSc programme on ‘Inequalities and Social Science’ are all part of the School’s increased focus on interdisciplinary research which tackles inequality and social cohesion.

Commenting on the awards, Professor Savage said: "We are delighted that the Leverhulme Trust has agreed to fund these studentships, which will allow us to build a distinctive graduate programme linked to the new International Inequalities Institute. Over the past decade, there has been a significant growth of inequalities both within and between nations. There is also a growing acceptance that the wider inequalities between all groups- including the advantaged - are affecting social cohesion, solidarity, social welfare and wellbeing. These dramatic changes have led to an increase in interdisciplinary energy to address this topic at LSE and were the motivation behind the creation of the new Institute, which will seek to better understand the causes and consequences of widening inequalities."

LSE Enterprise welcomes new Chairman

We are delighted to welcome the new Chairman of LSE Enterprise Limited, Richard Wildman (pictured).

Richard is an LSE Economics graduate, who has worked for Accenture for over 24 years and has subsequently taken on a number of consulting roles as well as non-executive board roles with start-up and SME businesses.

He says: "LSE is a fantastic institution. The School has a global reputation for innovation and leadership in the field of social sciences, has exceptional academic talent, and delivers world-class research and education. I look forward to playing my part in enabling LSE Enterprise to make a real, tangible difference to the world in which we live and work."
 

Professor Craig Calhoun has launched a new series of public lectures by LSE academics, taking place in Athens over the next three months.

The series - entitled ‘New Ideas for a Changing World’ - will feature lectures by LSE’s Professor Anne Phillips, on ‘The Politics of the Human’; Professor Michael Cox on ‘Power Shift? Decline of the West? - Myths, Facts and Economists’, and Professor Kevin Featherstone on ‘European obligations and national state cultures: a bridge too far?’

Professor Calhoun opened the series on Wednesday 10 December with a lecture on 'Social Movements, Social Change, and Democracy', focusing on the international responses to the crisis of capitalism.

All these lectures will be held at Athens’ most prestigious cultural centre, the Megaron, in January, February and March respectively.

The series is a joint initiative of the LSE and the Megaron, and is being supported by the Hellenic Alumni Association of LSE and the LSE’s Hellenic Observatory.

On 26 and 27 November, more than 50 LSE students fought the wind and rain to participate in dismantling the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red poppy display at the Tower of London.

It was one of the most popular volunteering opportunities ever offered at the Volunteer Centre and we were delighted to see the response rate and fantastic work that LSE students carried out.

On Thursday 18 December, the results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 will be announced and LSE will launch a new section of its website dedicated to showcasing the impact of LSE research. Initially drawing on the 66 impact case studies submitted by LSE to the REF2014, and with new examples of impact being added on a regular basis, the website will highlight the many ways that LSE’s academics are making a difference to society, in the UK and globally.

Julia Black, Pro-Director of Research, said: "REF2014 has required us to focus our attention on the impact of the research being undertaken across the School, which has been a fascinating and illuminating exercise. LSE’s academics do not sit in their ‘ivory towers’ - they are focused on real-world issues and, as the website will show, are having a real-world impact across a range of disciplines, including economics, politics, law, social policy, health and sustainability to name but a few. We hope the site will become a useful resource for anyone interested in the ways that LSE’s research is being used beyond its walls."

This week LSE launched the newly created Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre.

This is an inter-disciplinary, regionally-focused academic centre directed by Danny Quah, Professor of Economics and International Development at LSE. Building on the School's deep academic and historical connections with Southeast Asia, the Centre serves as a hub at LSE for public debate and engagement, and research dissemination on issues relevant to the region.

Professor Quah commented: "Many of the world’s biggest questions cannot be understood, nor many of the world’s greatest challenges addressed, through narrow compartmentalised thinking. Only by bringing in multiple perspectives and varied areas of expertise can we provide the bigger picture, to seek the causes of things. The Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre will bring together this inter-disciplinarity at LSE in addressing the challenges that face Southeast Asia - from the challenges confronting that region’s economy to those embedded in its political tensions and its social development."

The centre was established with the generous support of Professor Saw Swee Hock.

On Wednesday 28 January, the Southeast Asia Centre will host its first public event ‘AEC 2015: A Perspective From Business’ with Dato Sri Nazir Razak, Chairman of CIMB Group. This event will be free and open to all, with no ticket required.

In what promises to be one of the most dramatic and complex elections in the past fifty years, this new blog, led by professors Simon Hix and Tony Travers, will provide analysis and detailed discussion of the substance that lies behind the noise of a chaotic election campaign.

Submission of posts are encouraged - from 750 to 1,250 words that are communicated in an accessible way. The blog covers all aspects of the forthcoming UK general election, as well as work on electoral politics in the UK more generally.

The Saw Swee Hock Student Centre has recently been awarded a number of accolades.

The Observer critics’ annual review included the Centre in the list of the top five most inspiring new buildings of 2014. Last week at the Icon Magazine 2014 Awards the SAW architects O’Donnell + Tuomey were presented with the Building of the Year award.

At the recent Brick Development Association Awards, the building won two of the four categories for which it had been shortlisted - Best Public Building and Best Use of Brick and Clay Products - and was given the Supreme Award for Best Building.

It was also voted winner of the University Buildings Category at the Concrete Society 2014 Awards.

Visit the SAW awards page to see the virtual trophy cabinet.

The extraordinary career of Charles Milne Skepper, 1905-1944

In a new post for the LSE History blog, Chris Husbands shares the story of Charles Milne Skepper: the LSE Sociology student, teacher and finally posthumous benefactor who joined the Special Operations Executive and worked as an agent during the Second World War.
 

New Gearty Grilling online

A new Gearty Grilling video, part of the series of short video debates between Conor Gearty, director of the IPA and professor of human rights law, and leading researchers at LSE, is now online.

LSE Works is back

In 2015 the School is delighted to continue the success of LSE Works with a third series of public lectures that will showcase some of the latest research by LSE's academic departments and research centres.

In each session, LSE academics will present key research findings, demonstrating where appropriate the implications of their studies for public policy.

The first lecture takes place on Thursday 15 January and will be given by Professor Daniel Ferreira (pictured) of LSE’s Financial Markets Group on ‘Corporate Boards: facts and myths’.

A list of all the LSE Works lectures can be found at LSE Works.
 

Office moves

From Monday 15 December, Conference and Events and Timetables will be moving from AH300 to 3.02, Tower Three.

On Friday 19 December from 3pm, the Finance Division will also be moving offices. The Division will be relocating to the fifth floor of the Lionel Robbins Building, which is accessed from Portugal Street, and will be in situ from Monday 22 December.
 

LSE Library Christmas vacation opening times

Please note the Library’s opening hours during the Christmas vacation:

13-23 December 2014 and 5-12 January 2015

• Monday to Friday 9am-10pm

• Saturday and Sunday 11am-10pm

The Library is closed between 24 December 2014 and 4 January 2015 inclusive.
 

Halls of Residence are open throughout the Christmas closure period, with staff cover as normal.

Switch off over the Christmas break

As we approach the Christmas holiday, please help us to save energy by switching off personal and communal office appliances whilst the School is closed.

Download a 'Holiday Shutdown Check List' from the Sustainability website.
 

Password security

In order to keep passwords strong and data secure, LSE has a policy that all passwords must be changed annually. In line with this policy, all staff who have not changed their passwords within the last year will soon be prompted to do so. If your password has expired, you will be unable to access LSE resources until it is changed.

Change your password by logging into an LSE campus PC (<Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Del> | Change Password) or via LSE For You (Account Management | Change Password). Remember to set your security questions in LSE For You, in case you forget your password in the future (Account Management | Update Security Questions).

For more about the password policy and the annual change, see Password Change. For tips on creating a strong password, see Your LSE Password. If you have forgotten your password, contact IMT to have it reset: it.servicedesk@lse.ac.uk.

On Sunday 21 December, LSE IT services will be unavailable from 12am (midnight)-8pm. IMT will be doing essential maintenance during this time, performing key upgrades and equipment replacements before the start of the new term.

For the duration of the work, all LSE IT services will be unavailable including but not limited to:

• Campus WiFi
• Campus PCs, printers and telephones
• LSE email
• H: space and any shared network drives
• Areas of the LSE website that require a login to view secure content
• Moodle and LSE For You
• Access to the network from off-site, such as via VPN or the Remote Desktop

Looking ahead to the new (academic) year, if you are responsible for organising a large 'Central School Event' such as open days, exams or pre-sessional teaching, this is a reminder to send through your dates and requirements to the Conference and Events Office by Friday 12 December using this form.

Conference and Events will start processing the room bookings for these types of event in the new year. We will also be happy to receive your forms with dates and requirements of any other events you are organising during 2015-16, these will be held in our system and processed at the appropriate time.

As we are expecting September 2015 to be a particularly busy month with the earlier start of the 2015-16 academic year, please could organisers of events during September 2015 get in touch with the Conference and Events Office as early as possible with dates and requirements either using the form or by emailing conferences@lse.ac.uk.

The Nominations Committee invites expressions of interest from high calibre individuals capable of playing an active role in the life of the School as lay members of the Court of Governors. Governors do not have to be alumni, but great enthusiasm for the School and a passion for the social sciences are essential.

Governors may be appointed to serve on the Council and on various School committees and for these positions experience in certain areas of work, such as property, finance, audit, law and health and safety, are particularly welcome. But beyond this, the School greatly appreciates the ambassadorial role that governors play. Their experience at senior levels in the public, private and third sector is invaluable, as is their advice on how to secure the School’s future success and sustainability.

If you know of someone who might be suitable for governorship, please feel free to bring this opportunity to his/her attention. Applications should be received by 12 January 2015.

LSE Research Festival 2015 launches new competition for PhD students and post-doctoral fellows: Strictly Come Researching

As preparations for LSE Research Festival 2015 continue in earnest, we are launching an exciting new competition for innovative social science research ideas.

If you are a PhD student or post-doctoral fellow at LSE and you have something to say in your research but are having trouble getting seen and heard, then the LSE Institute of Public Affairs and the LSE Doctoral Training Centre could have the scheme you've been looking for.

We want to unlock some of the fresh, original and insightful research that's being driven by junior researchers across LSE, and bring it to a wider public and practitioner audience. If you have research that you think merits wider attention, then find out more and download an application form from our website.
 

Central European University is running the fourth annual call for this award, which honours academics teaching at higher education institutions in the European Higher Education Area.

Applications are welcome from academics of any rank who are currently teaching in the social sciences and/or humanities and whose overall teaching record is outstanding.

LTI NetworkEDGE seminars for 2015

Introducing the Learning Technology and Innovation seminar series NetworkEDGE: the future of education. Speakers from industry and academia are invited to discuss how technology is shaping the world of education and explore critical questions that will shape the future of LSE and the wider sector.

Presenters for 2015 include Professor Matthew Connelly on Wednesday 14 January, Audrey Watters from Hack Education on Wednesday 11 February and Professor Sonia Livingstone on Wednesday 25 February.

All talks are free to attend and are live streamed and recorded. Visit the LTI blog for more information.
 

If so, please note that since it was produced, the School took the decision to change the term dates. This was effective from 2015-16 and was in order to improve the student experience.

So although the term dates were correct at the time the planners were produced, the one/s that you now have is based on the old term dates. However, all the other information e.g. School closure dates is correct.

If you order the latest version as a replacement, you would be supplied with the 2015-16 version.

To be in for a chance to win a trip for two to The View from the Shard, and to see your work displayed on campus, submit your photos to the LSE Photo Prize.

Staff and students can enter up to three photos into the competition - submissions close at midnight on Wednesday 28 January. A selection of submitted photos will be displayed around the LSE campus during the Literary Festival, which will be on the theme Foundations, in February 2015.

Taken some impressive snaps while out and about in London? Send them in by Tuesday 16 December and they could be featured in the January edition of LSE Perspectives.

Each month 12 photos taken by the LSE community are chosen to appear in LSE Arts online gallery.

Next week’s staff Pilates class will be Christmas-themed, so come along to try strengthening, stretching and toning exercises with seasonal music and Santa hats!

The class takes place on Tuesday (16 December) from 1-1.55pm in the Faith Centre (second floor, SAW) and costs £5. Please bring a yoga/exercise mat and feel free to wear reindeer antlers or other festive items! Email l.dodge@lse.ac.uk for more information or to borrow a mat.

Want to gain more confidence cycling on London roads and/or improve your swimming technique?

If so, the ActiveLifeStyle project want to hear from you. They are considering offering swimming and/or cycling lessons but need to see whether there is enough demand for them - email su.activelifestyle@lse.ac.uk to express your interest.
 

Room to rent

A room is becoming available in a house in Stoke Newington from Saturday 20 December. The rent is £640 pcm, and the house is shared with four girls; two LSE PhD students and two young professionals.

For more information, click here or contact Elena on e.mariani@lse.ac.uk or 07435 897529.

This week's picture features an aerial view of Houghton Street from St Clement's Building.

For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit.

Children are taking on board parental advice about using the internet but often struggle to make sense of it, meaning they still may act unwisely when confronted with a risky situation finds an LSE report, published this week.

The report, by Dr Leslie Haddon and Professor Sonia Livingstone of EU Kids Online, captures how children aged 9-16 across the UK experience the online environment in their own words. Children were asked about a range of issues in a series of focus groups and individual interviews, including sexual content, sexting, bad language, cyberbullying, strangers, excessive use and e-safety.

The researchers find that children are listening to adult advice, and indeed tend to welcome parental support, but this does not always mean that the advice is followed through. While children have learned that parents are fearful of the notion of meeting strangers online, for example, a number of them had still been in touch with someone they had not met offline.

Check out the January 2015 programme of events

January's public events have now all been announced. Highlights including lectures by Dr Pippa Malmgren, Founder of DRPM Group and a former US Presidential Adviser; Dr Judith Rodin, President of The Rockefeller Foundation; former Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King (pictured); and Dato Sri Nazir Razak, Chair of the CIMB Group.

Check out the full programme for the month here.
 

Other forthcoming LSE events include....

Lionel Robbins Memorial Lectures
On: Thursday 11 December from 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Angus Deaton (pictured)

Local Governance in Times of Crisis: lessons for Greece from the city of Thessaloniki
On: Thursday 11 December from 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Yiannis Boutaris

'Everyone is entitled…' The global struggle for women's human rights
On: Thursday 11 December from 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Professor Fareda Banda, Téa Braun (pictured), Jane Gordon, and Gisela Robles Aguilar
 

Does Greece Need a New Constitution?

On: Thursday 15 January from 6.30-8pm in TW1.G.01, Tower 1
Speakers: Elias Dinas, Associate Professor in Comparative Politics, Oxford University, and Member of the Greek Public Policy Forum; Costas Douzinas, Professor of Law and Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, Birkbeck University; and Elias Papaioannou, Associate Professor of Economics, London Business School.

The crisis has focused attention on how well Greece is governed. The diagnoses of the problems vary, but might a new Constitution help improve the effectiveness and responsiveness of its institutions?

This panel debate brings together speakers from a range of academic perspectives. The recent expert survey on the issue of constitutional reform in Greece conducted by the Greek Public Policy Forum will provide a starting point for the discussion.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry on a first come, first served basis. More
 

Podcasts of public lectures and events

Ready for Hillary? Portrait of a President in Waiting
Speaker: Robin Renwick
Recorded: Monday 1 December, approx. 60 minutes

Open Government in the Age of Total War
Speaker: Professor Matthew Connelly
Recorded: Tuesday 2 December, approx. 86 minutes

Anarchism and Sexuality
Speakers: Professor Martha Acklesberg, Dr Richard Cleminson, and Professor Terence Kissack
Recorded: Thursday 4 December, approx. 100 minutes

Introduction to the REF
Wednesday 14 January from 12-1pm
Outlines the REF, what it means, what tools are used, and implications for LSE.

Attracting corporate research funding while safeguarding academic independence
Wednesday 14 January from 5.30-7pm
Successful academic-business partnerships are built on high quality research, close collaboration and academic independence. They offer academics an array of benefits including insight into new and innovative business practice, and access to funding and valuable data.
Academics interested in finding out more about engaging with corporations are invited to attend this panel discussion examining the benefits and potential pitfalls of business partnerships.
Panellists include:

• Professor Julia Black, LSE Pro-Director for Research
• Susan Liautaud, LSE alumna and international ethics/governance consultant
• Mark Selby, Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey with over 30 years of senior executive experience in technology, media and telecom
• Mandy Cormack, advisor/practitioner in international CSR practice, non-executive Trust Director, and Visiting Fellow at Cranfield University

Information Session: Looking for funding opportunities - online tools
Thursday 15 January from 12-1pm
Research Professional is an online access to news and funding opportunities. In this session, participants will learn how to set up your profile and use Research Professional to search for suitable funding opportunities. This hands-on session will be delivered in a computer lab and run by a Research Development Manager. This session will run every term.

Below are some of the vacancies currently being advertised to internal candidates only, as well as those being advertised externally.

• Assistant Learning Technologist, Information Management and Technology
• Assistant Professor in Behavioural Science (two posts), Social Policy
• Assistant Professor in Health Policy, Social Policy
• Assistant Professor in Social Psychology/Community Psychology, Social Psychology
• Assistant Professor in Social Psychology/Economic Psychology, Social Psychology
• Business Analyst, Information Management and Technology
• Careers Consultant (maternity cover), Careers Service
• Departmental Manager, Methodology
• Development Manager, LSE Advancement
• Events Coordinator and Office Assistant, Systemic Risk Centre
• Executive MSc Programme Administrator, European Institute
• Global Alumni Programme Manager, LSE Advancement
• LSE Fellow in Global Politics, Government
• Learning Technologies Support Officer, Information Management and Technology
• Office Coordinator/Assistant to the Director, Communications
• Professor/Associate Professor in Economics, Economics
• Programme Coordinator, Management
• Research Assistant, Sociology
• Research Officer, Systemic Risk Centre
• Research Officer, LSE Health and Social Care
• Research Officer, Middle East Centre
• Summer School Programme Coordinator (internal candidates only), Summer School and Executive Programmes
• Taught Programmes Manager, Philosophy
• Team Assistant, Institute of Public Affairs