LSE statement on socially responsible investment review

The School has approved a series of recommendations to strengthen its socially responsible investment policy.

2015 Staff Survey

If you haven't already done so, don't forget to complete the 2015 Staff Survey - it's your opportunity to continue to develop the School now and in the future.

Catherine Sumnall

Catherine, who works as a graduate selector at LSE, has a background in historical demography so her main pleasure in life is derived from databases and spreadsheets!

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LSE statement on socially responsible investment review

LSE Council has approved a series of recommendations to strengthen the School’s socially responsible investment policy.

The School has pledged to continue to ensure that no direct investments are made in fossil fuels and that it will seek to reduce investment placed indirectly through investment funds in companies whose business is significantly focused on thermal coal or tar sands. It will also avoid investment in companies engaged in tobacco manufacture and indiscriminate armaments.

The School will also explore opportunities to collaborate with other universities to encourage fund managers to develop new socially responsible investment products.

This announcement represents a positive commitment from LSE to support the transition to the low-carbon economy. We are proud of our rigorous and innovative academic contributions on climate change and the environment, and also of our own high environmental standards on campus, and it is right that our updated investment policy better reflects this work.

LSE Health has announced a range of new initiatives with Chinese partners across academia and government, including a collaboration with the School of Public Health at Fudan University to explore issues of policy reform in China’s developing health-care system, joint research with Peking University, and a Sino-European forum on food and medicine quality.

LSE has won the ‘Best for Dads’ award by Working Mums for the fourth year in a row, in recognition of its continued efforts to support working families.

The judges commented that they were particularly impressed with the School’s research leave policy, unconscious bias training, and the parenting workshops offered to both staff and partners.

LSE student wins top London award for her work with vulnerable youth

LSE undergraduate law student, Temi Mwale, has been named London’s Young Person of the Year for her work to address youth violence and keep young people out of gangs.

The Camden resident, who is in the second year of her law degree at LSE, was presented with the award by a member of David Cameron’s cabinet last weekend in a lavish ceremony in the East End.

A delegation of Indian students researching social injustice and issues relating to the social reformer and architect of the Indian constitution, Dr B R Ambedkar, are visiting LSE as part of celebrations to mark the 125th anniversary of Dr Ambedkar’s birth.

The trip to Dr Ambedkar’s alma mater began on 21 November and has been organised by the Indian Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in collaboration with the High Commission of India in London, for students who would not otherwise have the resources to visit the UK. They will be hosted by the South Asia Centre at LSE.

"What goes into a shoebox is fun, but what actually comes out of it is indescribable joy for a child!"

Staff across LSE responded with impressive kindness to the Rejoice Group call to participate in the Operation Christmas Child initiative, organised by the Samaritan’s Purse UK.

Staff have so far donated over 75 packaged shoeboxes filled with gifts for children aged between two and 14 years.

Thank you to everyone who participated and in particular, staff in the Finance Division, who donated generously and helped to take the boxes to the drop-off centre on Kingsway.

Did you know? JFK registered for LSE’s General Course in October 1935. Read the story of LSE’s almost alumnus.

Coming up in December: Don’t forget to book a place on a Foundations exhibition lunchtime talk - the next one will be in the Library on Wednesday 2 December. The exhibition closes at the end of term, so don’t miss out. On Friday 11 December the Department of Anthropology will hold a one-day workshop to explore its history, beginning with Bronislaw Malinowski in the 1930s.

Provost’s termly briefings for professional services staff

Deputy Director and Provost Robin Mansell’s termly briefing with professional services staff will take place in the Shaw Library, Old Building, on Wednesday 2 December at 10.30am and Thursday 3 December at 2.30pm.

The agenda is as follows:

Wednesday 2 December

• 10.30-10.40am Robin Mansell, Deputy Director, welcome and introduction.

• 10.40-11.20am Carola Frege, Chair of the EDI Taskforce and Joy Whyte, Inclusion Development Executive Officer, will talk about the work of the Taskforce to review EDI issues at the School, generate policy proposals and initiate changes around the institutional architecture and campus culture in order to maximise equity, diversity and inclusion across the School.

• 11.20am-12pm Paul Kelly, Pro-Director for Teaching, will talk about the Education Strategy.

• 12-12.30pm Robin Mansell, Deputy Director, will update colleagues on the State of the School.

Thursday 3 December

• 2.30-2.40pm Robin Mansell, Deputy Director, welcome and introduction

• 2.40-3.20pm Carola Frege, Chair of the EDI Taskforce and Joy Whyte, Inclusion Development Executive Officer, will talk about the work of the Taskforce to review EDI issues at the School, generate policy proposals and initiate changes around the institutional architecture and campus culture in order to maximise equity, diversity and inclusion across the School.

• 3.20-4pm Neil Mclean, Head of Educational Development, will talk about the Education Strategy.

• 4-4.30pm Robin Mansell, Deputy Director, will update colleagues on the State of the School.

Each presentation will be followed by a 15 minute Q&A session. The briefing will be Professor Mansell’s first briefing in the role of Provost. The Lent term 2016 briefings will take place on Wednesday 2 March at 10.30am and Thursday 3 March at 2.30pm.
 

It’s open until Friday 11 December.

You should have received an email with a link to the survey from Aon Hewitt, the consultancy running the survey. If you haven’t received a link, please contact Aon Hewitt. For more information about the survey or to check your department/division response rate, please visit the Staff Survey webpage.

De-commissioning the LSE Mobile app

From Tuesday 1 December, the LSE Mobile app will be de-commissioned. The services provided through the app are more commonly accessed through the LSE website, including timetables and a campus map. You can access all of the information you need through the links in the top right hand corner of the LSE website, with timetables available on LSE For You.

The information contained on the LSE Mobile app will not be maintained and will become out of date, so it is strongly recommended that you delete it if you have downloaded it.

The decision to de-commission LSE Mobile was taken alongside the web development project. LSE’s website is undergoing extensive improvements to its functionality to ensure it is feature-rich and responsive. It was considered to be better value for LSE to focus on this development rather than develop LSE Mobile’s applications which are of limited functionality in their current format.

If you have an idea or a project to integrate innovative use of technology in your teaching, then talk to us about getting funding and/or equipment for it.

Over the last few months, IMT has been working to improve the Training and Development System (TDS).

The TDS allows you to find and book internal training opportunities at LSE, view your training record and from 24 November, there will be a new landing page for the site, designed to make searching for courses easier.

To access the TDS, visit https://apps.lse.ac.uk/training-system/

Over the summer, Learning Technology and Innovation (LTI) conducted a survey on the use of technology for assessment and feedback at LSE and in 20 of the 24 Russell Group institutions.

The results highlighted some areas for improvement in terms of feedback and assessment practice at LSE, compared to the other institutions surveyed. Among them:

• While LSE uses technology throughout the entire assessment life-cycle for approximately 11 per cent of all offered courses, the Russell Group average stands at 43.10 per cent.
• Across the e-assessment life cycle (submission through to return) Russell Group institutions used technology 'some' through to 'a lot of the time', LSE's departmental figure was between none and ‘a little’
• The most popular forms of e-assessment tools are online peer feedback, video and audio feedback, all of which are marginal practices at LSE, used either ‘a little’ or ‘none’.

Send an LSE e-card this Christmas

Why not save resources this Christmas by sending e-cards? A specially designed electronic card, together with the LSE logo and the words 'Season’s Greetings', is now available for all staff to email out.

There is also room to add your own message below the e-card. Please contact Liz Trumble at designunit@lse.ac.uk for a copy to forward.
 

Staff Counselling Workshops

Overcoming Procrastination
Friday 4 December from 1-2pm in room NAB 1.04
This workshop will look at the common difficulties with procrastination, and will cover a wide range of practical approaches to help you manage better the pressures upon you within the workplace.

Mindfulness and Stress Management
Tuesday 8 December from 1-2pm in room NAB 2.13
This workshop will look at the use of mindfulness as an excellent way of managing stress. Mindfulness is an approach which can help reduce the amount of time you spend worrying about things. Learning to be mindful can help you to put things in perspective and achieve focus.

For more information on the Staff Counselling Service, click here, email staff.counselling@lse.ac.uk or ring 020 7955 6953.
 

Wellbeing Stall

The Student Wellbeing Service will be running a Wellbeing Stall outside the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre (SAW) on Monday 7 December from 10.30am-3pm.

Staff from the Disability and Wellbeing Service, Residential Services, Student Counselling will be joined by Peer Supporters will be asking people what barriers they have to looking after their mental health/wellbeing and what things they can do to overcome these? Free 10 minute chair massages will also be available.

Teams from the LSE Student’s Union will also be out, including the Disabled Students Network, Neuron Project, the Sociology and Social Justice Society, LSESU Advice, and Smoothie Bike.
 

If you have this version of LSE’s leave planner/calendar, please note that since it was produced, the School took the decision to revise the term and School closure dates relating to 2016. So although these particular dates were correct at the time the planners were produced, the ones that you now have are based on the dates that were originally set.

Security officer and former boxer Daniel Beckley is running skip fit lessons for all staff and students.

The next lessons will take place from 1-2pm at the Badminton Court, Old Building, on Tuesday 1 December, Tuesday 15 December, and Tuesday 22 December. Just turn up on any of these dates with your own skipping rope. All lessons are free.

Get your NUS Extra card

A little known perk of working at LSE - for just £12 a year, you're entitled to your own NUS Extra card and the chance to relive the days of student discounts.

Highlights include 10per cent off all ASOS purchases, 25per cent off glasses at Specsavers, up to 50 per cent discount on meals from 5,000+ restaurants, 25 per cent off at ODEON cinemas, and 50 per cent off Spotify Premium.

Gloomy skies over the LSE Library.

For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit or check out the School's Instagram page.

An individual's past performance plays a minor role in head-hunters' decisions concerning which candidates to put forward for CEO positions in major non-financial firms, according to new research from LSE.

Researchers of the study, published in the latest issue of Journal of General Management, conducted extensive interviews with senior individuals at ten major London-based national and international executive search firms to find out how they identify suitable candidates for CEO posts.

Male Oxbridge-educated junior barristers from London-based chambers are still far more likely to become QCs despite major reform to the appointments system in 2004, according to a new study by LSE.

The research, by Michael Blackwell, Assistant Professor of Law, concludes that the 2004 reforms, designed to make the process fairer and more transparent, appear to have failed in improving diversity. Women are still less likely to be appointed than their male equivalents, and the advantages of being Oxbridge-educated and London-based have become even more entrenched.

Four new impact case studies have been added to the impact website:

Influencing foreign policy and diplomacy around the world
Growing out of Cold War studies, a new research centre called LSE IDEAS influenced diplomacy and policymaking in the UK, US, China and Africa.

Fostering better governance in states moving towards democracy
Professors James Hughes and John Sidel helped to identify and address key challenges in the democratic reform of governance systems and cultures.

Managing digital eco-systems to drive market success
‘App’ networks are key to the success of iOS and Android, according to research led by Associate Professor of Information Systems and Innovation Carsten Sørensen (pictured).

Redesigning executive pay schemes for transparency and performance
Research by Professor of Management Practice Alexander Pepper revealed the psychological and economic flaws in complex pay schemes intended to incentivise top executives.

LSE Chill - this Friday

The next LSE Chill is on Friday 27 November.

We have a great line-up of LSE students performing, including Alex Leung and Laine Caruzca; Sophie d’Arcangelo and Eleanor Carpigo; Turhan Sidiq and Demas Koh, ranging from musical numbers, pop, and even a little Christmas bonus.

Join LSE Arts from 6pm at Café 54, New Academic Building to relax after a busy week. The event is free and open to all, make sure you get there early to make the most of the limited free food and drinks.

If you’re interested in performing at a future LSE Chill, visit the website to see available dates and email arts@lse.ac.uk.
 

Forthcoming LSE events include....

The Future of the Professions: how technology will transform the work of human experts
On: Monday 30 November from 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speakers: Daniel Susskind and Professor Richard Susskind

Democracy, Diversity, Religion
On: Tuesday 1 December from 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Charles Taylor

Lunchtime Concert
On: Thursday 3 December from 1.05pm in the Shaw Library, 6th floor, Old Building
Performers: Bartosz Woroch (violin) and Caroline Palmer (piano)

Tackling Extreme Poverty through Programmes Targeting the World’s Ultra-Poor
On: Wednesday 9 December
Speakers: Sir Fazle Abed, Professor Oriana Bandiera (pictured), Professor Robin Burgess, Dr Mushtaque Chowhudry, and Professor Esther Duflo
Ticket release date: Wednesday 2 December

In the Front Line of Climate Change
On: Thursday 10 December
Speaker: Anote Tong
Ticket release date: Tuesday 1 December

15 Years of Global Media at LSE: Anniversary Celebration

On Monday 30 November, the Department of Media and Communications will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its Global Media programme.

The event will start with an afternoon seminar featuring guest speakers including LSE’s Director, Professor Craig Calhoun, and Dr Raka Shome of the National University of Singapore as well as an alumni panel.

The seminar will be followed by a gala dinner, to be attended by special guest Lord Anthony Giddens. More
 

On: Tuesday 1 December from 11am-12.30pm in room 9.05, Tower 2
Speaker: Dr David Capie (pictured), Associate Professor of International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

On: Wednesday 2 December from 6.30-8pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Vince Cable (pictured), MP for Twickenham from 1997-2015 and served as UK Business Secretary from 2010-2015; Diane Coyle, OBE, Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester; Bronwyn Curtis, global financial markets economist and a member of LSE's Court of Governors; and Anna Leach, head of the economic analysis team at CBI.

This event marks the official launch of the LSE Business Review blog bringing together a panel of prominent economists to discuss productivity, the UK’s economic future and the road ahead.

On: Thursday 3 December from 12.30-2pm on the LSE campus
Speakers: Baroness Joyce Anelay (pictured), Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Erica Hall, Senior Policy Adviser at World Vision UK, Hilary Stauffer, Visiting Fellow in LSE's Centre for Women, Peace and Security, and Beini Ye, Post-Conflict Legal Advisor at REDRESS.

This event will launch a global policy report on the topic of stigma and justice, co-authored by Visiting Fellow Hilary Stauffer and Erica Hall of World Vision UK.

LSE Library’s autumn exhibition Foundations: LSE and the Science of Society looks at key personalities and relationships that have been formed at LSE.

It explores how some LSE academics have achieved success working toward the betterment of society, by serving the public and influencing reform.

2015 is LSE’s 120th anniversary. Join in the celebrations at lse.ac.uk/lse120 #LSE120
 

You’re invited to lunchtime Praise and Worship - uplifting sessions every Friday at 12pm in the LSE Faith Centre, second floor of Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.

LSE Rejoice promotes practical steps in spiritual health; not a bungee leap of faith, or giant strides, but "simple, practical steps, one after another" whilst promoting and sharing in the unconditional love and teachings of Christ.

Podcasts of public lectures and events

GDP: a brief but affectionate history
Speaker: Professor Diane Coyle
Recorded: Monday 16 November, approx. 64 minutes

Postcapitalism: a guide to our future
Speaker: Paul Mason
Recorded: Wednesday 18 November, approx. 83 minutes

Mathematics Resilience Conference 2016

With a view to promote research in mathematics resilience, LSE’s Meena Kotecha (pictured) is jointly organising an international mathematics education conference with the University of Warwick, Open University, and the University of Derby.

The conference will take place at the University of Warwick from 4-5 March 2016. Two confirmed speakers are:

• Gaye Williams, Deakin University, Australia
• Els de Geest, National Numeracy Strategy

Tools and Tips to Organise and Manage Information
Tuesday 1 December from 12-1.30pm
Join this hands-on workshop to discover and/or explore different tools that will help you manage your resources, tasks and times better.

Annual Visit from UK Research Office (Brussels) - EC Grants
Thursday 3 December from 11am-4pm
Explore the purpose, nature and structure of EU collaborative grant proposals. as well as how to get successful grants from EU bodies. LSE's UK Research Office (UKRO) advisor in Brussels, Maribel Glogowski, will present the sessions.
Please note, even if you are only able to attend part of the day or one talk, we strongly recommend that you book your place.

• Working Well Together: fostering fairness, respect and dignity at work
  Monday 7 December from 9.30am-4.40pm
• Equality and Diversity Awareness
  Thursday 10 December from 9.30am-4.30pm

Visit Core Learning and Development Programme to find a comprehensive list of other courses available this academic year.

Vacancy at LSE PSSRU

PSSRU at LSE is seeking to appoint an administrative assistant (maternity leave cover) to provide direct support to PSSRU’s Manager from January 2016 until July 2016 in the first instance. The post-holder will also support the NIHR School for Social Care Research.

This post is an hourly-paid position at £14.92 (plus £2.78 holiday pay) for 17-20 hours per week. There is flexibility in how this time is worked over the week, and there may be scope for additional hours.

Counselling Service Administrator

The Student Counselling Service offers counselling support and assistance to LSE students, through a free and confidential service.

A vacancy for a Counselling Service Administrator has arisen as a result of an internal transfer, and we are looking for someone to fill an important and sensitive post within a key student-facing service.

The new post holder will work with the Counselling Service Manager, a number of part time Counsellors and Mental Health Advisers, together with the Head of Student Wellbeing. They will work to ensure an efficient administration/ reception for this service, which sees approximately 700 students each year.

For more information and to apply, click here.
 

Below are some of the vacancies currently being advertised:

• Postdoctoral Research Officer (EPSRC), Statistics
• Assistant Professor in Gender, Development and Globalisation, Gender Institute
• Assistant Professor in Global Health Policy, Social Policy
• Assistant Professor in Health Economics and Policy, Social Policy
• Assistant/Associate Professor in International Relations (Gender and International Relations), International Relations
• Associate Professor in Global Health Policy, Social Policy
• Data and Policy Analyst, Academic Registrar's Division
• Donor Relations Manager, LSE Advancement
• Fellow (Postdoctoral) Fellowship in Political Science (two posts), Government
• MSc Administrator, Finance
• Professor/Associate Professor in Economics, Economics
• Programme Assistant, Summer School and Executive Programmes
• Research Officer, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion
• Research and Communications Administrator, Department of Methodology
• Senior Project Manager (internal only), Information Management and Technology
• Student Wellbeing and Events Coordinator, Summer School and Executive Programmes
• Technical Analyst, LSE Advancement