LSE publishes its Student Charter

The Charter sets out what the School offers to students and is designed to be a ‘front page’ which establishes mutual expectations.

Orientation 2011 feedback

If you were a new arrival this year, share your experiences by completing the Orientation feedback survey and be in with a chance of winning a £400 Apple gift card.

Nancy Tong

Nancy is president of the LSESU Business Society. The society, which is one of the largest at LSE, has nearly 50 events taking place this term.

LSE’s public realm improvements have been included in a joint publication by the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Higher Education Design Quality Forum.

In Small Budget Big Impact the judges commented: 'This urban improvement scheme has revitalised the main gateways into the campus and enhanced LSE’s reputation by improving its civic presence.'

The publication was accompanied by a short film in which LSE was one of eight schemes showcased. To watch the film, visit YouTube.

Both the publication and the film were launched at an event on Tuesday 11 October at the University of Westminster. Julian Robinson, LSE's director of estates, said: 'It is gratifying that our efforts have been recognised. The campus greening programme, improved signage and way-finding, and additional provisions for pedestrians and cyclists, although small individually, are beginning to make a steep change in the quality of the campus.'

LSE has now published its Student Charter as required by government.

The Charter sets out what the School offers to students and is designed to be a ‘front page’ which establishes mutual expectations. It is intended to help students and applicants understand the vision and ethos of LSE and provide a guide to services, structures and expectations. It is not a contract but aims to establish principles of the School and signpost key information.

The Charter was written by a cross-School group of staff and students and will be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it continues to reflect our intentions.

The Student Recruitment Office are looking for students to help at the Graduate Open Evening on Wednesday 2 November.

You will be paid £35 for helping at the event and will be needed from 4-9pm.

Would you like the opportunity to give your opinions on School services? Would you like the chance to earn rewards or be entered into prize draws?

If so, then join the LSE Student Panel. The Panel is administered by the School's Market Intelligence Officer on behalf of the Student Recruitment Office and the Student Services Centre, and provides the School with a pool of students who are willing to take part in consultations and market research.

Would you like to take part in research experiments at LSE? During the course of this year, Dr Oliver Curry will be running a series of internet and lab-based research projects, involving surveys, questionnaires, social psychology experiments, and economic games, and he is looking for recruits. Last year over 400 people signed up.

Depending on the study, you can expect to receive payment for your time and effort, learn more about the experimental process, and make a valuable contribution to research.

To register, visit the sign up page. You will be contacted when suitable research projects arise and can then decide whether or not to participate.

This informal network is for students who are parents or who have other caring roles. It aims to bring student parents/carers together and offers a forum for them to meet.

There is a dedicated Moodle page where students can share information, plus the network hold regular lunchtime meetings.

The first meeting will be held on Wednesday 2 November from 1-2.30pm in room TW1.304. Sandwiches will be provided.

If you were a new arrival at LSE during Orientation 2011, the Student Services team invites you to tell them about your experiences by completing the Orientation feedback survey.

New arrivals who complete the survey, and provide their contact details, will be entered into a draw for the chance to win an Apple gift card worth £400, which can then be used towards an iPad or other Apple products.

Nominations for Honorary Doctorates are invited.

The LSE Council may award an Honorary Doctorate to ‘persons who have made an outstanding contribution to the increased understanding, or appreciation of “the causes of things” and their practical application in the social sciences or related fields.’

The deadline for nominations is Friday 18 November. For more information and a nomination form, visit Honorary Degree Nominations. Any Honorary Doctorates awarded will be conferred in December 2012.

Courses scheduled for next week include:

• Microsoft Office: various topics covering Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010 and Outlook 2010
• Participating and presenting in classes and seminars
• Managing study related stress
• Literature searching and finding journal articles

As part of the European Research Council funded research programme, Security in Transition: an interdisciplinary investigation into the security gap, two PhD scholarships are available at the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit (CSHS) in the Department of International Development at LSE.

The successful applicants will follow a PhD programme under the supervision of Professor Mary Kaldor, and will work an average of 20 hours per week on the Security in Transition research programme at CSHS for the duration of the scholarship.

The scholarships are available for a period of four years from September 2012. The PhD must be completed over a four year period and presupposes enrolment in the PhD programme at the Department of International Development at LSE.

The Beaver Exchange: exchanging books, not beavers

Want to sell your old books or buy second hand books?

Check out The Beaver Exchange, an online billboard which allows sellers to advertise their books anonymously until a buyer expresses interest in the item, at which point, their contact details are exchanged.

The website was designed by LSE students for LSE students and is completely free to use. For more information, visit www.thebeaverexchange.com.

Is South African Society More Equal Today Than When Apartheid Ended in 1994?
On: Monday 24 October at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Dr Max Price, vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town.

NEW EVENT - The World Economy: how did we get here and where are we going?
On: Wednesday 26 October at 5-6pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Nemat Shafik (pictured), deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
This event is free and open to all but a ticket is required. One ticket per person can be requested on Wednesday 19 October.

Building an International Rule of Law
On: Thursday 27 October at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Judge Patrick Robinson, president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The Future of Economic Convergence
On: Saturday 29 October at 2-3.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Dani Rodrik, Rafiq Hariri Professor of International Political Economy at John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
This event is free and open to all but a ticket is required. One ticket per person can be requested on Monday 24 October.

On until Friday 25 November in the Atrium Gallery, Old Building

Charles Booth, a remarkable English Victorian, was profoundly concerned by contemporary social problems, particularly poverty. Without any commission, he devised, organised, and funded one of the most comprehensive and scientific social surveys of London life.

This exhibition showcases one of the most striking products of his inquiry: the maps of London, coloured street by street to indicate the levels of poverty and wealth. The Booth collection in the LSE Archives contains the original records dating from 1886 to 1903.

On Wednesday 5 October, these maps appeared in Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC One, in an episode tracing Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman’s family tree.

The exhibition is free and open to all with no ticket required. Visitors are welcome from Monday to Friday between 10am and 8pm (excluding bank holidays or unless otherwise stated).

On: Tuesday 8 November at 9.30am-4.30pm on the LSE campus
This conference will present evidence on how to cut energy use in half and make renewables our biggest source of energy, looking at the complex technical problems of saving carbon, particularly in low income neighbourhoods.

Speakers will include:

• Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, chair of LSE’s Grantham Research Institute
• Professor John Hills, director of LSE’s Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion
• Christian Stolte, head of the Energy-Efficient Buildings Division, German Energy Agency (DENA)
• Jon Bright, director, Homelessness and Support, Building Standards and Climate Change, for the Department of Communities and Local Government
• Phil Wynn Owen, director general, National Climate Change and Consumer Support, Department for Energy and Climate Change

Tickets cost £25 for LSE students and staff (discounted from the full fee of £150). In very limited cases, concessionary places may be offered if people do not have available funds.

Podcasts of public lectures and events

A More Secure World - From Neighbourhood to Globe
Speaker: William J Bratton
Recorded: Tuesday 11 October, approx 85 minutes
Click here to listen

627 Million Chinese Brought Out of Poverty: where did it all go wrong?
Speaker: Professor Danny Quah
Recorded: Tuesday 11 October, approx 89 minutes
Click here to listen

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 26 October. Articles for this should be emailed to me by Monday 24 October. Student News is emailed on Wednesdays, on a weekly basis during Michaelmas and Lent term and fortnightly during Summer term.