Westminster City Council resolves to grant Planning Permission

The Centre Buildings Redevelopment is the largest capital development project in the School’s 120 year history.

Super Sunday

On Sunday 22 March, LSE IT services will be at risk of being briefly unavailable from 12am (midnight) - 8pm while IMT perform essential maintenance to the network.

Babken Babajanian

Babken has a long history at LSE: "I did my PhD and my post-doctoral research at the Department of Social Policy and taught social policy for five years".

 Research

 LSE in pictures

 Events

 Training and jobs

Professor Craig Calhoun (pictured) has been named one of 33 leading social scientists to be conferred as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences.

On making the announcement, the Academy said: "The recipients have a wide range of expertise in the social sciences, including management, sociology, psychology, politics, geography and law. These Fellows have made a substantial contribution to wider social science in a variety of contexts, including in higher education, government and learned societies."

Professor Lord Nicholas Stern (pictured), IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government at LSE and President of the British Academy, has received the Joseph A. Schumpeter Award 2015.

The Schumpeter Award is funded by the Helmut Zilk Fund for International Relations of Vienna and is awarded by the Schumpeter Society for innovative achievements in the field of business, economics, or economic policy.

On Wednesday (18 March), a researcher from LSE gave students from Harris Sixth Form an insight into the work of social scientists at a workshop focusing on the economic and cultural life of Rye Lane, Peckham.

Dr Suzanne Hall, assistant sociology professor at LSE, visited Harris Girls’ Academy East Dulwich as part of LSE’s Research Festival which aims to get people outside of academia interested in and debating issues raised by social science research.

Dr Hall used Rye Lane as a lens to explore issues of social change, including migration and urbanisation, with a group of 15-20 Year 12 students from Harris Girls’ and Harris Boys’ Academies East Dulwich and Harris Academy Peckham.

Westminster City Council, this week, resolved to grant planning permission for a major redevelopment at the heart of LSE’s campus; the largest project in the School’s 120 year history.

The ‘Centre Buildings Redevelopment project’ will create a state of the art flexible and highly sustainable academic and teaching building. It will see the construction of academic buildings arranged around a public square, providing a new focus at the centre of LSE.

The redevelopment involves the demolition of the existing LSE owned buildings along Houghton Street, known as Clare Market, The Anchorage, the East Building and part of St Clements. The design is vertically zoned with most of the public and highly serviced facilities such as the restaurant, auditorium and large lecture theatres situated at the lower levels, facilitating natural interaction with the public realm of Houghton Street and animating the newly created LSE Square. Demolition is due to begin at the start of the Summer holiday in 2015 with the building expected to be completed in late 2018.

Professor Ian Morris (pictured), a renowned historian and award-winning author, will succeed Professor Matthew Connelly as the holder of the chair in history and international affairs for 2015-16.

There are plenty of challenging questions raised by children’s changing digital lives. Some of these are in the here and now, some are more future-oriented, while others are parents’ own digital dilemmas. There is a wealth of research that might help parents, caretakers and other stakeholders figure out how to approach these questions, but often this research is inaccessible or more complex than most people have time to untangle.

A new blog, Parenting for a Digital Future, has been launched by Professor Sonia Livingstone, Dr Alicia Blum-Ross and Svenja Ottovordemgentschenfelde of the Department of Media and Communications, to encourage dialogue and exchange between the public and academic worlds.

The blog responds to news, public debates and popular culture about parenting and digital media, using evidence from current research and ongoing fieldwork, while guest bloggers from around the world share their research and insights into parenting and digital media in truly diverse contexts.

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.

This week Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations, discusses Obama and the Middle East after the Arab Spring. More
 

On Monday, the Student Wellbeing Service hosted a Graduation Ceremony for this year’s Peer Supporters.

The Peer Support Scheme provides student-led, informal and confidential support to all LSE students, and is managed through the Student Counselling Service. Students attend fortnightly supervision sessions and are given extensive training in listening skills and managing crisis situations. This is the scheme's fourth year, and it has an enthusiastic following among staff and students.

LSE Director Craig Calhoun thanked the Peer Supporters for their work in helping to build and create a strong sense of community, saying "Peer Supporters provide another essential level of support for all LSE students." Peter Howlett, Dean of Undergraduates, observed that, "students are far more likely to talk to their peers rather than the professionals as a first port of call", and Richard Perkins, Passfield Hall Warden, told them "you do a really excellent job. I sleep a lot better at night knowing that there are fantastic Peer Supporters in the hall. They are part of a ‘generation of generosity’ giving their time to help and support other students".

Did you know? Lilian Knowles was LSE’s first woman professor, in the Department of Economic History in 1921 - the first such professorship in the country.

She had been one of LSE’s first research students, joining the School in 1896, and is now remembered in the east London LSE hall of residence, Lilian Knowles House.

Find out more about Lilian Knowles and the other early women lecturers at LSE in this new LSE History blog.

Staff in the Research Division held a bake-off in aid of Comic Relief on Wednesday 11 March, and in doing so raised £226 for the charity.

Hand-baked goodies were judged by Geri Miric, PA to the Provost, and Paul Sullivan, Institute Manager of the IPA, in two categories: sweet, and special diet (such as wheat-free and/or dairy-free).

In a tough competition, the winners were judged to be a triple decker strawberry cake baked by Benjamin Nevius in the Research Awards Team, and passion fruit macaroons created by Marie Yau from the Research Policy Team. Winners were awarded with a Comic Relief pen each.

I will look after myself over the break by….

On Friday 13 March, the Student Wellbeing Service ran another Wellbeing Stall focussing on how to look after ourselves over the break.

Visitors were asked to complete leaflets saying "I will look after myself over the break by….", providing suggestions of things that we can all do to help maintain our mental health/wellbeing. One hundred and fifteen people gave their ideas which included sleep, eating well, yoga, meditating, taking breaks, and travelling.

The stall also promoted the "Time to Change" campaign that aims to end mental health discrimination, by handing out leaflets offering tips on how to look out for your friends, maintaining your mental wellbeing at work, and ideas for a 'Five a Day for Mental Health'. This year’s campaign is "It’s time to talk" which encourages everyone to start a conversation about mental health.

The stall also publicised other support available at LSE including the Student Counselling Service, the Disability and Wellbeing Service, LSE Careers, the Peer Support Service, and LSESU activities. For more information, visit lse.ac.uk/studentwellbeing.

Another stall is planned for Friday 15 May where massages will be provided to help students manage exam stress.
 

This is advanced notification that all LSE IT services will be at risk of being briefly unavailable on Sunday 22 March 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.

At risk services include, but are not limited to the following:

• 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

Following the appointment of Andrew Webb as the Acting School Secretary during Michaelmas term 2014, several changes in the structure of GLPD were agreed.

The division was retitled with "Policy" replacing "Planning". As of 1 October 2014 the Planning Unit was established as a separate division with Wayne Tatlow, the Head of Planning, reporting directly to the Pro-Director of Planning and Resources.

To help ensure that the managerial responsibilities that Andrew previously undertook as Deputy Secretary continue to be covered, some aspects of the work of GLPD transferred to Robin Hoggard. Robin is exercising these duties in addition to his new role as Director of Government Relations.

The Library is creating extra space for LSE students during the exam period.

From 9 April until 19 June, the Library’s Fourth floor will have an additional 50 study spaces, while R301 on the third floor will have 20 extra study spaces.

The extra space is in addition to 99 study new study spaces in the Library’s Course Collection and 20 study spaces on the Fourth floor which were opened earlier this term.

LSE POWER launch event

LSE POWER is holding its launch event on Wednesday 25 March from 4-6pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building.

LSE POWER is a new staff network which intends to give female professional services staff a stronger presence and voice in the culture of LSE. Its aims are social, supportive and policy focussed. LSE POWER is proud to work alongside other existing staff networks, such as the Gender Equality Forum (which is primarily focussed upon the needs of female academic staff) and Spectrum (network for LGBT staff).

• 4pm - Reception starts with afternoon tea and bubbly being served
• 4.15-4.45pm - Welcome and introductory talks from Stuart Corbridge (Provost), Tina Fahm (LSE Council) and Emma Todd (Astrea, UCL’s Professional Women’s Network)
• 4.45pm onwards - informal networking and refreshments
• 6pm - Event closes

If you would like to attend, you can register on Eventbrite. Please feel free to spread the word about the network and the event - contact us at LSEPower@lse.ac.uk.
 

Following the successful talk from Matthew Taylor on Kanban last month, the next Tech Talks event will feature more on Agile* with a session on ‘Estimating and Planning’, courtesy of Ron Riley of the eDev Team.

Have you ever had someone sketch out a piece of work, then asks, "When will that be ready?" This talk outlines some of the methods which you can use to help answer this question. No previous experience or knowledge is required.

The event will take place on Wednesday 25 March from 2.30-4pm in room 32L.LG.03, 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Please RSVP to imt.comms@lse.ac.uk (for catering purposes only).

Goodbye Jane

Jane Sedgwick (pictured) is leaving the School at the end of this term, where she has worked as the Mental Health and Wellbeing Manager within the Disability and Wellbeing Service.

She has made a significant contribution through her work with students with mental health difficulties, and played a key role in working with others and helping to promote understanding and positive values towards students. Jane is planning to travel and engage in further studies.

LSE appreciates her contribution as a key member of the Teaching and Learning Centre, and more recently the Student Wellbeing Service, over the past nine years.

There is a card and collection for Jane in room OLD G.23, Old Building. Alternatively please email Sue Haines if you would like to send a message to be included in her leaving card.
 

LSE's Estates Facilities Management (FM) team looks after campus wide cleaning, window and blind cleaning, pest control, feminine hygiene, roller towels, plants and flowers.

As the outsourced contracts are nearing their end, the FM team would like to evaluate their performance before re-tendering them, with the aim of service improvement.

Tell them what you think in this short survey. If you are a departmental/division/research centre manager, you may want to also answer a few additional questions about departmental meeting room usage.

Do you have a great project in mind to enhance learning, teaching or assessment with technology? Then why not get funding with one of our Learning Technology Innovation grants?

We have four strands to apply for:

• Innovative teaching and learning
• E-assessment innovation
• Students as producers
• Project applications from students

Student Accommodation Satisfaction Survey 2014-15

We’re now in the final few days of the Survey, the closing date being Friday 20 March.

52.08 per cent of residents have taken part and are now in with a chance of winning one of the many great prizes on offer (including iPads, Amazon vouchers, Champagne and more).

If you have a student facing role (particularly with first year undergraduates) and could encourage/remind students to complete their survey, we would be very grateful. It is so important for us to hear students’ views about their accommodation so that we can continue to improve. More information can be found here.
 

Even though the competition and pop-ups are over for another year, you can still find all of this year's submissions in the online gallery.

Get international certification as an Excel Expert

Enhance your career prospects by polishing your Excel skills and getting an internationally recognised, industry standard qualification to add to your CV.

LSE offers all staff and students the opportunity to identify and fill any gaps in their Microsoft Office skills through guided online training. A trained advisor is on hand during workshops to answer any questions you may have. Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification is based on an invigilated, task-based exam approved by Microsoft to validate desktop computer skills based on specific Microsoft Office programs.

MOS certifications are offered at three levels: Specialist, Expert (Word and Excel only) and Master. There is a separate exam for each program (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc) and you can take as many as you like.

For more information, including details of LSE’s specially discounted charge, and details on group discounts, assistance for students receiving financial aid and funding opportunities for staff, go to the IT Training MOS Training and Certification page.

If you have an IT question, check out our online guides and FAQs or attend our weekly Software Surgeries. Alternatively, staff and PhD students are invited to enrol for a one-to-one IT Training session.
 

Abseiling for the Albert Kennedy Trust

Tyrone Curtis (pictured), Programme Coordinator of LSE's Methods Summer Programme, will be abseiling from the top of the Orbit Tower in the Olympic Park on Sunday 22 March to raise money for the Albert Kennedy Trust, a charity supporting homeless LGBT youth.

Tyrone said: "It’s estimated that around one in four homeless youth identify as LGB or T, so despite the changes in legislation and growing acceptance of gender and sexual diversity, homelessness still disproportionately affects LGBT youth. This is why the work of the Albert Kennedy Trust is so important, and why any support from the LSE community will be hugely appreciated."

This week's picture features the First Minister of Scotland and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, at the British Government @ LSE lecture on Monday 16 March entitled Beyond the Budget.

For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit.

A new report from LSE's Centre for Economic Performance explains the fundamental problem of low productivity and analyses how the political parties propose, in the run up to the election, to make UK businesses more innovative and more productive.

Anna Valero, co-author of the report, said: "The UK’s longstanding productivity underperformance has been heightened since the global financial crisis.

Forthcoming LSE events include....

Green growth : combining economics and ecology in the run-up to Paris 2015
On: Tuesday 24 March at 5.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Ségolène Royal

The Coalition Effect
On: Wednesday 25 March at 6.30pm in CLM 4.02, Clement House
Speakers: Dr Rosie Campbell, Dr Michael Finn, and Sir Anthony Seldon

Is Welfare Reform Working?
On: Thursday 26 March at 11am in 32LIF 1.04, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields
Speakers: Victor Da Cunha, Eileen Herden, and Professor Anne Power

Massive Open Online Course Event - Game Changer for Development?

On: Thursday 19 March from 7-8.30pm in the New Theatre, East Building.

Citizen engagement has a vital role to play in the process of development. It helps to improve transparency and accountability of public policies, to build trust with citizens, to forge consensus around important reforms, and to build the political and public support necessary to sustain them.

A number of institutions, including LSE, have demonstrated their commitment to this important agenda by developing a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) - a free, four-week online course on citizen engagement.

The course examines the role that citizen engagement can play in improving policymaking and public service delivery, and investigates the impact of new technologies in this process.

LSE's Department of International Development is hosting this launch event, in which a number of themes related to the MOOC will be discussed with a panel of experts.

Designing the Urban Commons: lessons from the field

On: Wednesday 25 March from 6.30-8pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speakers: Assembly SE8, Atelier d'architecture autogérée, and Public Works Group.

With an evening of provocations and discussion, Theatrum Mundi launches Designing the Urban Commons, an ideas competition calling for new ways to stimulate the city’s public and collective life.

Three groups engaged in live projects in London and Paris will present their work, describing how commoning emerges through the spaces they have created or occupied and also examining the issues and opportunities presented by commons as an approach to urban design.

For more information, click here. This event is free and open to all, seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
 

LSE Works

The ninth LSE Works lecture takes place on Wednesday 6 May and will be given by CASE’s Professor Robert Cassen (pictured), Professor Sandra McNally of University of Surrey and CEP, and Professor Anna Vignoles of University of Cambridge, on ‘Making a Difference in Education: what the evidence says’.

LSE Works is a series 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.

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

Podcasts of public lectures and events

Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner? Women and Economics
Speaker: Katrine Marçal
Recorded: Monday 9 March, approx. 86 minutes

The Law, Finance and the Abyss
Speakers: Professor Julia Black, Dr Jon Danielsson, Professor Charles Goodhart, and Professor Katharina Pistor
Recorded: Thursday 12 March, approx. 67 minutes

Changing Patterns of Inequality in the UK
Speakers: Professor John Hills and Dr Polly Vizard
Recorded: Thursday 12 March, approx. 80 minutes

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

• Academic Registrar, Academic Registrar's Division
• Director - Theatrum Mundi, LSE Cities
• Global Health Initiative Manager, LSE Health and Social Care
• Head of Widening Participation, Student Recruitment
• Country Economists, International Growth Centre
• Policy Economist (two posts), International Growth Centre
• Research Programme Manager, International Growth Centre
• IT Trainer (internal), Information Management and Technology
• Inclusion Development Executive Officer (internal), Directorate
• Fellow In International History, International History
• Fellow in Anthropology (two posts), Anthropology
• Fellow in Economics (internal), Economics
• Fellow in Statistics, Statistics
• Fellow in the Anthropology of China, Anthropology
• Library Assistant - Enquiry Service, Library: Academic Services
• Library Assistant (maternity cover), Library: Academic Services
• Office Administrator, Government
• Research Officer, Social Psychology
• Research Officer - LSE Kuwait Programme, Middle East Centre
• Senior Registry Administrator (two posts), ARD: Student Administration
• Teaching Delivery Coordinator, Government
• Undergraduate Programme Administrator (maternity cover), Statistics
• Undergraduate Programme Manager and Student Advisor, Government