• Direct view

LSE Director, Howard Davies, updates the School on LSE's links with Libya and the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation.

• IT Services User Satisfaction Survey 2011

Help IT Services to develop and improve their services by filling out the annual user satisfaction survey.

• Du Qing (Cecilia)

MSc student Cecilia, who volunteered at a Crisis Christmas Hostel last December, discusses her experiences.

• Lent Term Teaching Surveys

Message from Professor Janet Hartley (pictured), pro-director for teaching and learning

In teaching weeks eight and nine, the School will be conducting teaching surveys. You will be asked to complete a questionnaire in classes/seminars for full-unit courses, and for Lent Term half-unit courses. The questions will ask for your views on the course as a whole at this particular point in time. They will also ask for your opinion of your teacher's performance.

Surveys will be conducted during classes/seminars, and should take no more than ten minutes to complete. You might also be asked to complete a separate questionnaire about lectures. A student volunteer will be asked to collect completed questionnaires, and to return them in a sealed envelope to a drop box in the Student Services Centre.

• Chef manager at Passfield Hall to run the London Marathon

After three years of trying to get a place and against medical advice, Mark McAleese (pictured), chef manager at LSE’s Passfield Hall of Residence, will be running his first London Marathon on 17 April to raise money for Make A Wish Foundation.

The charity grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening illnesses. Since being established in 1986, the charity has granted over 6,400 wishes.

The marathon is going to be a particularly tough challenge for Mark: ‘A few years ago I was involved in two motor bike accidents. Since then I have been having physiotherapy for both of my knees and I have been told not to run in this marathon, but I’m going to run it anyway. This charity is amazing, and with a young son myself, I want to do everything that I can to raise as much money for them as possible.’

If you would like to sponsor Mark, please visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/markjamesmcaleese.

Mark is also asking for ideas of a costume that he can wear whilst running the marathon: ‘The more money I raise, the crazier the idea can be. One suggestion I have already had is to dress up like Borat but I will only do this if I raise £5,000, so please donate as much as you can.’ If you have a costume suggestion for Mark, please email him at m.j.mcaleese@lse.ac.uk.
 

• The Standard Bank scholarships launched at LSE

The Department of Finance at LSE is pleased to announce the launch of The Standard Bank Scholarships.

The scholarships, generously supported by Standard Bank Plc for the next three academic years, offer the opportunity of funding to students from emerging markets (with a preference for students from Brazil, China, Russia, Turkey and Sub-Saharan Africa) to study one of the following Masters programmes within the Department of Finance:

• MSc Finance (Full-time)
• MSc Finance and Private Equity
• MSc Finance and Economics
• MSc Management and Regulation of Risk

• LSE student takes part in debate on 'Turmoil in the Arab World'

Nabila Ramdani (pictured), a PhD student in LSE's Department of International History, took part in an Intelligence Squared debate at the Royal Geographical Society, London, on Tuesday 15 February.

A summary and audio of the debate, which was entitled 'Turmoil in the Arab World: is the genie of democracy out of the bottle?', can be found on the Intelligence Squared website.

• Children’s Hospice thanks LSE for helping to raise a smile

Children’s Hospice South West has written to LSE to thank all staff and students who helped to raise money for the charity, by recycling ink cartridges, toners, mobile phones and PDA’s in the Greensource Solutions recycling boxes.

The scheme, organised by the Reprographics Department at LSE, helped to raise £41,000 for the hospice in 2010.

Children’s Hospice South West provides the only residential hospice care in the region and supports children and their families, with life-limiting conditions.

Please continue to recycle your mobile phones, laptops, PDA’s, ink cartridges and toners throughout 2011. A list of recycling box locations can be found on the Waste and Recycling webpage.

• Fairtrade Fortnight 2011

As part of Fairtrade Fortnight, LSE Catering will be actively promoting LSE’s Fairtrade status in all its restaurants and cafes from Monday 28 February to Sunday 13 March.

LSE Catering will be promoting existing fair-trade products, introducing new products, and arranging free tastings and giveaways of Fairtrade products.

The team are also working with the Department for International Development and Trading Visions to promote a public debate they have organised as part of the LSE public lecture programme. The lecture, entitled ‘Has Fairtrade Asked for Enough?’ will be held on Tuesday 1 March at 6.30pm.

• ‘Doing Business in China' - mobility programme at Peking University

Applications are invited from LSE undergraduate students in their second or final year with a demonstrable interest in China to participate in a one week residential course at the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University in Beijing from 19-25 June.

This programme, exclusive to LSE students, will provide an introduction to the economy, history and culture of China. It will allow participants to understand the uniqueness of Chinese markets, organisations and social structures and will enable them to identify marketing and business opportunities in China.

The programme offers 35 places and includes lectures, case studies, guest speakers, company visits, projects and cultural events.

Full details of the Doing Business in China programme 2011, including eligibility and application procedures and a provisional programme outline, can be found here.

• Consultation on the Single Equality Scheme Action plan

The Single Equality Scheme Action Plan is now open for consultation and will be open until Monday 21 March.

The Single Equality Scheme, which will replace the existing race, gender and disability equality schemes, is in its final stages of development. The scheme ensures that the School’s policies, procedures and services comply with equalities legislation and are responsive to the diverse needs of its students, staff and service users.

The scheme’s Action Plan sets out the School’s equality objectives over the next three years. The plan is a working document and is subject to continual review. It shall be updated as progress is made in achieving equality objectives and conducting equality analysis. The scheme will be finally published in April 2011.

To access the Action Plan, please visit the Single Equality Scheme webpage.

Please send your comments and responses, by Monday 21 March, to Carolyn Solomon-Pryce, equality and diversity adviser, at c.solomon-pryce@lse.ac.uk or Asiya Islam, equality and diversity intern, at a.islam1@lse.ac.uk.
 

• LSE Catering welcome your feedback

LSE Catering want to know what you think about their services.

Would you like to make a comment or suggestion on how they can improve, praise the staff, or tell them when they didn’t get something quite right?

• ESRC/LSE Press Office Media Training Day

The ESRC and LSE Press Office are holding a media training day at the School for PhD students on Monday 28 March, aiming to equip PhD and Pos Doc researchers with the basic skills needed to disseminate research to the public via the media.

This is a full day event which will show you what makes a good press release, how the press works, and give you a survival guide for handling radio and TV interviews.

This course is free of charge but places are limited and offered on a first come, first served basis. Although priority will be given to ESRC-funded PhD students, there will be places available for non ESRC-funded students so if you are interested do email Charles Clerck at the ESRC (charles.clerck@esrc.ac.uk) stating that you want to attend the LSE event with your contact details (including email, telephone number and address details), your supervisor’s name and contact details and your ESRC award number (if ESRC funded).

Although the LSE Press Office is involved in this event, this is primarily an ESRC training day. The ESRC would like to highlight that any cancellations and/or no-shows occurring after the stated times above will result in your department or investment being informed and invoiced for the full cost of the training course which you have signed up for unless you can provide the name and details of a substitute ESRC funded student or researcher to take your place. Please note in the event of a cancellation a £150 penalty fee will be charged.

• LSE-PKU Summer School in Beijing

Applications are now open for the LSE-PKU Summer School, delivered jointly by LSE and Peking University in Beijing each summer.

Now in its eighth year, this unique programme attracts students and professionals from around the world - over 275 from 52 nationalities in 2010. Participants have the opportunity to take one English-language intensive two week course, in areas such as International Relations, Media, Finance, International Development, Government, Economics and Management, taught by faculty from one of the two institutions.

For the 2011 programme, running from Monday 8 to Friday 19 August, a discounted rate is available to current students, and an additional £100 discount is offered for applications completed by Thursday 31 March.

• Student training at LSE

Student courses scheduled for next week include:

• EndNote: next steps
• PowerPoint 2010: polished presentations in 50 minutes
• Excel 2010: pivot tables
• Excel 2010: charts
• Word 2010: format an academic paper
• Exams: last minute preparation

• LSE Careers - Jobs of the Week

• Street fundraiser, Shanti International
  Collect money to help vulnerable people all over the world and in the UK. Collections go to help people with HIV, victims of sex trafficking, and young people with disabilities. Apply as soon as possible.
• EU Civil Service careers, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
  If you’re interested in finding out about what working in the EU involves and potential job opportunities - visit the EU Careers website. Recruitment ongoing.
• Various roles, MindsBridge Consulting
  A range of opportunities are available at this LSE student-run management consulting firm. Apply by 6 March.
• Ogilvy planning fellowship 2011, Ogilvy Group
  Look into this two year planning training programme if you’re considering a career in advertising. Apply by 15 March.
• Summer internship, China International Capital Corporation (CICC)
  Intern with teams across the range of CICC business this summer. Apply by 31 March.
• Management training scheme, Imperial College London
  Undertake an intensive series of placements on this graduate programme at Imperial College London. Apply by 10 April.

• Lost USB stick

On Thursday 10 February, LSE student Filippo Costa Buranelli left his USB plugged into a computer on the second floor of the Library, in the computer zone to the left of the toilets, on the second row.

Unfortunately, when he checked back a few hours later, the USB had gone and has not been left with Library security or at the lost property office.

• LSE Chill - session two

LSE Arts’ second open mic night for students and staff will be on this Friday (25 February), from 5.30pm in the 4th Floor Café bar.

The line up for the evening is as follows:

• 5.45pm Joshua Bernstein
  Joshua Bernstein is a singer/songwriter/composer, located in London, who is currently playing gigs and writes music for dramatic productions and films. Joshua's songs are influenced by a wide range of musical styles, mixing catchy hooks, melodic riffs and skilful guitar work to form a collection of rock-driven, adult-contemporary style songs.
• 6.30pm Davina Nauth known as 'Dee'
  Davina has been a singer/songwriter and self-taught musician for over 20 years. She has an eclectic music appreciation - playing in rock, funk, folk, blues and jazz bands over the years. In 1991 she cut her first studio recording; made an EP in 2005, and is currently working on her new album. She will be performing five of her own songs.
• 7.15pm Jazz Quintet
  Comprising of Sam, Richie, Alexy, Danny and Mark

If you enjoy listening to music and want somewhere to go after studying to relax or catch up with friends, then think about coming to the LSE Chill sessions.

We’re still looking for acts to perform. If you are interested in performing then please contact arts@lse.ac.uk with your name and details of your act.

• 11th Social Study of IT (SSIT) Workshop - Information Systems and the Financial Crisis: is technology to blame?

Monday 28 March, Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House

The financial crisis raises two provocative questions from an information systems perspective: in a global financial domain saturated with information and communication technology (ICT), why were the problems not identified? And once they were identified, why was the crisis so hard to contain?

This year’s SSIT workshop has invited leading academics and practitioners to open the discussion on the way information systems development has coped with the continuous innovation in the financial sector in the past decade; the resulting information infrastructures; and the pressures for new enterprise architectures and IS development practice at the aftermath of the crisis.

Speakers will include:

• M Lynne Markus, professor of information and process management at Bentley University, USA
• Elena Esposito, professor of sociology of communication at the University of Modena-Reggio Emilia, Italy
• Stephen Norman, CIO, RBS
• Magí Clavé, directorate of information systems, ECB

For more information, visit the event webpage. To register for the event, please complete a registration form and email it to i.iqbal2@lse.ac.uk by Monday 21 March. Please note that places are limited so early application is recommended.

• Podcasts of public lectures and events

The Foreign Policy of Modern Russia: the prospects for Russian British relations
Speaker: Sergey Lavrov
Recorded: Tuesday 15 February, approx 56 minutes
Click here to listen

The Nobel Lecture: equilibrium in the labour market with search frictions
Speaker: Professor Christopher Pissarides
Recorded: Tuesday 15 February, approx 70 minutes
Click here to listen

A senior member of the School highlights an important issue for students.

• Howard Davies, LSE Director

You will all be aware of the momentous events currently unfolding in the Middle East. LSE academics have been in constant demand to provide informed comment.

You may also be aware that there has been some coverage in the press of LSE's links with Libya and to the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation in particular.

On 21 February, following the distressing events in Libya over the weekend, LSE reviewed all its links with Libya as a matter of urgency. The School has placed a number of statements on the website. As we have made clear, the North Africa Programme of the LSE, founded in 2009 by a grant from the Foundation, has been stopped. The grant was for £1.5 million and was received in good faith; there was due diligence and discussion in Council.

Of the £300,000 that has been received to date, about half has been spent, mainly on research projects on human rights, women and development, democracy and civil society, and economic diversification. No remaining salaries or other costs will be paid from what remains: the School will meet continuing salary and other commitments from central funds. The LSE Council will now consider what to do with the remaining funds, taking into account proposals from the LSE community, including LSE students. Following discussion at the School’s Academic Board, Council will also consider whether the School should set aside for similar agreed purposes funds equivalent in value to the Foundation funds already spent.

You may also be aware that a group of students has occupied the Senior Dining Room. I note the message from some LSE students and share their revulsion at the recent violence and gross violations of human rights in Libya, and regret the association of the School’s name with Saif Gaddafi and the actions of the Libyan regime.

Nicole wants to hear from you!

Do you have some news, an achievement, or an aspect of LSE life that you would like to share? If so, then I would love to hear from you, contact me at n.gallivan@lse.ac.uk or on ext 7582.

The next edition of Student News is on Wednesday 2 March. Articles for this should be emailed to me by Monday 28 February. Student News is emailed on Wednesdays, on a weekly basis during Michaelmas and Lent term and fortnightly during Summer term.