Open letter from Judith Rees to LSE students

I write to introduce myself to you all as the School’s new director and to welcome you back for the last term of this academic year.

With exams imminent, I wish, first of all, to reassure you that despite recent turmoil, it is business as usual at the School. Howard Davies will be a hard act to follow, but I have worked closely in recent weeks with the senior management team to ensure a smooth handover. Howard stressed in his open letter in March that his top priority was to keep LSE on an even keel, and to ensure that your education continued to be delivered with the same quality and integrity that we have always sought to achieve. That priority remains.

I thought it might also be helpful to let you know a little about myself. In the 1960s I was a student here doing my BSc (Econ), an MPhil and later, while already on the staff, I did my PhD. For much of my academic career I worked in the Department of Geography and Environment, which I headed briefly before becoming deputy director of the School from 1998-2004. Since 2008 I have been director of both the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, working closely with Nick Stern and a great research team to improve our understanding of one of the most challenging problems of our time.

I am determined to work with the pro-directors, academics and administrative staff over the next year or so to reaffirm LSE’s many strengths and to see the School through to the appointment of a new Director. We will continue working to improve the School’s estate, including the development of the New Students' Centre, teaching facilities and the general study environment. In addition, we face a number of major decisions on future funding - particularly on student fees. Please feel free to share with me your views and thoughts on such issues and in return I will seek to keep you informed through Student News and other channels. I have always valued my contact with students and will no doubt see some of you at various committees, events - or just in Houghton Street. I look forward to working with you as we move forward.

• Lecture by prime minister of Slovakia

Iveta Radičová, prime minister of Slovakia, will give a public lecture at LSE next week. Tickets will be available from the SU shop from Thursday 5 May.

• Temporary PC decommissioning to create more study spaces

IT Services is decommissioning 104 PCs on the second and third floors of the Library, in order to make more study spaces.

• Candice Holdsworth

• LSE student delivers talk at Goodenough College

LSE PhD student Christian Busch (pictured) recently gave a TEDx talk on 'Impact Organisations' at the Goodenough College, London.

In his talk, on Friday 18 March, Christian argued that traditional businesses will need to shift towards social impact, while 'social businesses' will need to be re-conceptualised to reach the business mainstream and therewith a broader audience.

He introduced the concept of 'Impact Organisation', which places social and financial impact at the same (strategic) level, and argued that reconciling the inherent tension will need new organisational forms and approaches, governed not by hierarchy or transactions, but rather by networked structures and 'lateral accountability'.

• A week in the life of....

Nabila Ramdani (pictured), a PhD student in LSE's Department of International History, has been featured in the Muslim lifestyle magazine Emel.

In the article, which can be found in the March edition of the magazine, Nabila runs through a typical week of her life. To read the full article, click here.
 

• Professor Mary Kaldor awarded honorary doctorate

Professor Mary Kaldor, co-director of LSE Global Governance, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Corvinus University of Budapest for her extensive work on globalisation, international relations and humanitarian intervention, global civil society and global governance, and her theory of new wars.

Commenting on the award, Professor Kaldor said, "It is a special honour to receive this degree here in Budapest. It was here, as well as in other Central European countries, that I learned the concept of civil society - an idea that had become dormant in the West. And it was through my discussions with young people and with opposition intellectuals that I absorbed the significance of the coming together of peace and human rights – something I now describe as human security."

Professor Kaldor was also the featured keynote speaker at the university's conference 'Human Security and Global Transformation: New Challenges for Democracy, Civil Society, and Sustainable Development' last month. Her keynote lecture on human security can be found here.

• Last chance to nominate your favourite teacher

If you have found one of your teachers particularly inspiring why not nominate him or her for an LSE Teaching Excellence Award? The awards recognise outstanding teachers at the School. With five awards of £2,000 each, students need to work with four classmates to nominate anyone involved with teaching in the School who has used teaching and learning to inspire students to think beyond our campus and to motivate students to take action within the wider world.

Eligible staff include everyone from professors to GTAs. All they need to have done is inspire you during this academic year.

• Undergraduates: maximise your potential!

Briefing sessions for undergraduates on Maximising your Potential will take place on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 May in the Old Theatre, Old Building, from 1-2pm each day.

Running for the first time this year, Maximising your Potential will include

• an opportunity to participate in an original inter-disciplinary group research project and conference

• short 'taster' courses in Arabic, Russian, Japanese and other languages

• informal careers sessions with experts and peers.

Find out more and book your place for the briefing sessions at the Maximising your Potential web page
 

• Announcing free guest tickets to LSE Presentation Ceremonies

The School is pleased to announce that, with immediate effect, there will no longer be any charge for ceremony guest tickets to the London Presentation Ceremonies.

• LSE Experts - give your feedback

When you next use the LSE Experts Directory, please complete the very short survey telling Web Services how and why you use it and any particular developments you'd like to see.

Your feedback will influence future plans. The team looks forward to hearing from you.
 

• IT Services recruiting students

IT Services are recruiting students to work part-time in the Laptop Surgery, IT Training programme, IT Help Desk and for the Teaching and Learning Spaces team.

The following vacancies are available. Closing date for applications: Tuesday 17 May, 5pm. 

• Laptop Surgery IT advisor (Summer 2011 and 2011-12 academic year), pay c. £13/hour
• Facilities assistant (2011-12 academic year), pay c. £11.50/hour
• Student training advisor (October 2011 – March 2012, pay c. £13/hour
• Student IT Help Desk advisors (2011-12 academic year), pay c. £13/hour

• Thailand Government Scholarship 2011-12

Applications are now invited for the LSE Asia Research Centre - Thailand Government Scholarship scheme, which aims to promote better understanding of, and knowledge regarding, Thailand.

LSE students selected for the scholarship will visit Thailand and spend a minimum period of two weeks and a maximum period of two months at a host institution, where they will engage with relevant research and programmes on Thailand and gain cultural exposure and understanding of the country. Scholars will also be able to conduct any project of their interest on Thailand as part of their study programme at LSE.

• International Student Reception at City Hall - become an ambassador for London

The Mayor's Office and Study London are inviting LSE students to join them at City Hall for an International Student Reception on Friday 20 May.

During the reception you will be able to find out how to become a London ambassador, meet students from across the city, listen to the live student band and enjoy a 360° panoramic view of London's skyline.

Registration will start from 5pm in the London's Living Room, City Hall. Places are limited so register your interest at www.studylondon.ac.uk/mayor.

• Special LSE discount for Francis Fukuyama at the Southbank Centre

As part of Southbank Centre’s Great Thinkers series, Francis Fukuyama will discuss his new work, The Origins of Political Order, on Monday 16 May at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

His sweeping account examines the rule of law, political accountability and democracy across the world. At the event, Francis will discuss the book and take questions from the audience.

• LSE academics to speak at 'How The Light Gets In' philosophy festival

LSE political theorist Chandran Kukathas, Professor Lord Layard, Professor Henrietta Moore and Professor Richard Sennett will all be taking part in the 'How The Light Gets In' philosophy festival in Hay this summer.

Organised by the Institute of Art and Ideas and held from 27 May to 5 June the festival brings together scientists, philosophers, journalists and political leaders in dialogue to set the intellectual agenda for the coming decade and includes comedy and music.

• Forthcoming events - and one cancellation - at LSE

There are many events planned this summer, including debates, lectures, exhibitions, concerts and discussions, all free and open to all.

EVENT CANCELLED: We are sorry to announce that Idea Man with Paul Allen on Thursday 5 May has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

Forthcoming lectures include:

Pakistan: a hard country
On Monday 9 May at 6.30-8pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Anatol Lieven

A World Without Superpowers: de-centered globalism
On Tuesday 10 May at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Barry Buzan

• Students, Patients and Paupers: the many lives of the St Philips building

Friday 6-Friday 13 May
Exhibition: 12–2 and 5–9pm with a series of events, film screenings and tours taking place over the week
St Philips Building

St Philips, an Edwardian block dating to 1904, is a former workhouse, venereal disease hospital and refugee facility. In the weeks before its demolition, the St Philips exhibition, 'Students, Patients and Paupers: the many lives of the St Philips building', celebrates the building's history, as well as highlighting the critical debates about destruction and creativity in the city.

Participants include Ben Campkin, UCL Bartlett and author of Dirt, Leslie Topp, senior lecturer at Birkbeck and curator of Madness and Modernity, Richard Barnett, Medical London: city of diseases, city of cures, and artists Tom Hunter, Christian Kerrigan, Post-Words, Daniel Wilcox and Stephen Nelson.

For more information and a full programme of events, see http://stphilips.tumblr.com/
 

• How Not to Keep Bees

Thursday 5 May, 6.30-8pm, Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Bill Turnbull (pictured), presenter on BBC Breakfast and a keen beekeeper.

• The Future of Human Resource Management

The HR Society will be hosting a forum on The Future of Human Resource Management on Wednesday 11 May, 6-8pm in CON.H102.

The forum will bring together HR practitioners, academics, lecturers and students  to share knowledge and develop consensus around specific HR problems that organisations are facing.

To attend, please email your full name with the email subject 'I will be attending' to lsehrforum@gmail.com by 4pm on Friday 6 May.
 

• Budgeting for Gender Equality: is government economic policy fair to women?

Wednesday 11 May, 6.30-8pm, Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Dr Claire Annesley, lecturer in European politics at the University of Manchester, Beatrix Campbell (pictured), journalist, author, playwright and broadcaster, Professor Diane Elson, professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex, and Professor Susan Himmelweit, professor of economics at the Open University.

This panel will consider how far women, especially low income women, are bearing an unfair share of the burden of the budget deficit reduction.

• Navigating the New Green Economy: the challenges of climate change and the opportunities for clean energy

Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 May, LSE campus

This international conference organised by LSE, the American Bar Association and the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA), will discuss the new economy emerging from the intersection of climate change policy, clean energy development, economics and finance.

The programme will allow participants to interact with government and industry leaders, academic scholars, and finance and legal experts from the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The main speaker is former LSE director Professor Lord Anthony Giddens. Also featured are speakers from:

• US Senate staff
• UK Department of Energy and Climate Change
• US Environmental Protection Agency
• American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
• Center for International Environmental Law
• Institute of European Law
• International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
• International Emissions Trading Association
• Low Carbon Research Institute
• Leading international law firms and universities

Topics will include:

• Financing a sustainable reduced-carbon future
• Regulations and incentives in emerging green technologies
• Energy efficiency
• Carbon marketplaces
• Renewable energy subsidies and trade
• Technology transfer
• REDD - Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation

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 18 May. Articles for this should be emailed to me by Monday 16 May. Student News is emailed on Wednesdays, on a weekly basis during Michaelmas and Lent term and fortnightly during Summer term.