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10 October 2012 |
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 News
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#askthedirector - thank you LSE Director, Professor Craig
Calhoun (pictured) would like to thank all students who tweeted during his
question and answer session on Twitter on Monday 8 October.
If you missed it, see
@craigjcalhoun or
#askthedirector. Professor Calhoun is planning to do another live
Twitter session next term. Details will be confirmed nearer the time.
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New LSE PhD Studentships support the brightest and the best research
students
LSE has launched a new flagship studentship scheme that will support
outstanding research students by fully funding their postgraduate research
at the School.
The investment in these studentships doubles the number of full awards for
postgraduate research students, with 59 awards available for 2013 entrance.
From next year, most of LSE’s PhD students will be fully funded, either by
the School or through external sources such as the Research Councils,
notably the ESRC and other Trusts and Foundations.
The prestigious studentships will be awarded on the basis of outstanding
academic achievement and research potential and are open to all
nationalities and subject areas in the social sciences. The scheme includes
fees and a maintenance award of £18,000 a year for four years. As a part of
the doctoral training programme studentship holders gain experience of class
teaching or other departmental work.
LSE Director Professor Craig Calhoun said: 'LSE is known as a world class
centre of research and our postgraduates play a valued role through the
research they conduct. Students come from all areas of life, often bringing
a great deal of experience with them. Our PhD programme can only be further
strengthened with these generous scholarships which will enable us to
support the most academically promising candidates in their four years of
study at the School.'
More
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Registering with the police
The School is greatly aware of the problems that students faced trying
to register with the police this year at the Overseas Visitors Records
Office.
LSE's Director raised this issue directly with the government, and senior staff
at LSE lobbied for improvements together with Universities UK (UUK) and the
UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA).
A solution has been found and a new system is now in place. Any students
who have not yet been able to register with the police may attend the
Overseas Visitors Records Office, obtain a letter confirming the date they
attended and return to register
fully before 31 December 2012.
Students who booked to attend the Saturday slots on 13 October should
attend as arranged. Full details of the new scheme and how to register can
be found at
lse.ac.uk/isis/policeregistration. Looking beyond the immediate
problems of the past week or so, LSE will be joining national efforts to
have the requirement to register with the police removed altogether in
future years.
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LSE top university choice for 2012-13 Chevening Scholars LSE is
once again the top destination for 2012-13 Chevening Scholars, the UK
Foreign and Commonwealth Office has reported.
Chevening Scholarships are the prestigious global scholarship programme
of the UK government. The Scholarships are awarded to exceptional
individuals with leadership potential who represent 116 countries worldwide.
They enable recipients to study one-year master’s courses in a range of
subjects at LSE and other UK universities, as well as short courses such as
LSE’s Chevening Gurukul Leadership Programme.
The Scholarships are funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and
partner organisations, and aim to support UK foreign policy priorities by
creating lasting positive relationships with future leaders, influencers and
decision makers around the world.
Dr Jonathan Liebenau, a research director of the Chevening Gurukul
Leadership Programme, said: ‘It is great to hear that LSE is considered the
top place for Chevening Scholars to attend. These Scholarships give high
calibre graduates the opportunity to study at top institutions in the UK and
it is pleasing to know that we are continuing to attract individuals who may
well go on to become tomorrow’s leaders and decision makers.’
More
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Maths sheds light on what a delay in getting pregnant means for a
couple's prospects of having a baby A new mathematical method can help
to predict a couple’s chances of becoming pregnant, according to how long
they have been trying. The model may also shed light on how long they should
wait before seeking medical help.
For example, the researchers have found that, if the woman is aged 35,
after just six months of trying, her chance of getting pregnant in the next
cycle is then less than 10 per cent.
The analysis, developed by Dr Peter Sozou of LSE and Professor Geraldine
Hartshorne of the University of Warwick, uses the number of menstrual cycles
over which the couple has been trying for a baby to determine a probability
of conception within the next month.
Dr Peter Sozou said: 'After several cycles without pregnancy, it becomes
relatively more likely that a couple has low fertility. This is the main
reason why it becomes less likely that conception will occur in the next
cycle.'
More |
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 Notices
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Join the LSE Student Panel
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.
Any current LSE student can join the Panel. For more information or to
join, visit
lse.ac.uk/studentpanel.
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Paid and voluntary opportunities to work with LSE’s Widening
Participation Team What is Widening Participation (WP)?
WP at LSE is about raising aspirations and attainment amongst young people
from London state schools. LSE delivers a number of projects that encourage
young people from under-represented backgrounds to aim for a university
education. We need enthusiastic LSE students to be inspiring role models and
contribute to the success of our programmes.
What opportunities are there?
- Student ambassadors
Paid opportunities on a flexible basis across a number of our projects
- Student tutors
Providing academic support for pupils in a classroom environment on a
one-to-one or small group basis
- Student mentors
Providing one-to-one sessions supporting pupils’ personal, social and
academic development. We provide a £250 bursary for our mentors.
How do I get involved?
For more information, visit our
website or email us at
widening.participation@lse.ac.uk. We strongly recommend that you attend
one of the following information events prior to applying:
- Friday 12 October, 1-3pm, room CLM.3.02
- Tuesday 16 October, 12-2pm, Graham Wallas Room
If you are interested in any of the schemes above, please fill in the
appropriate
application form. Training will be provided - more information on
training options can be found on the application forms.
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Honorary Doctorate nominations Nominations for Honorary
Doctorate are invited. The LSE Council may award an Honorary Doctorate on
‘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'.
Unlike Honorary Fellows, Honorary Doctorates do not need a direct
connection with the School.
The deadline for nominations is Friday 16 November. Any Honorary
Doctorates awarded would be conferred in December 2013.
Full details, and a nomination form, can be
found here. If you have any queries, contact Joan Poole at
j.a.poole@lse.ac.uk or call ext
7825.
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Training for students
Courses scheduled for next week include:
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PhD Thesis Surgery
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Introducing Summon - the new LSE Library search engine
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Poster Presentations: an introduction for PhD students
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Studying and Surviving at LSE
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Literature Searching and Finding Journal Articles
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Introduction to Essay Writing
For full listings and further details, including booking information,
see www.lse.ac.uk/training.
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Banking and Finance Fair Over two nights, LSE Careers will be
welcoming a wide range of employers from the banking and finance sector on
to campus.
Come along to the fair to meet representatives from companies including
Bank of England, Deloitte, Rothschild, DirectLine and many more and find out
about their graduate jobs and opportunities.
The fair will take place on Tuesday 16 and Thursday 18 October
from 5.30-8.30pm in the Senior Dining Room and Senior Common Room.
Booking is open now via the
LSE CareerHub.
Spaces fill up quickly, so book early to avoid disappointment.
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Day in the life of a student LSE's Student Recruitment Office
is looking for students interested in taking part in a series of videos to
show prospective students what it is like to study at LSE.
You will be filmed throughout a day, from your Hall in the morning, to
classes, lectures and social engagements. If you are interested in taking
part, contact Sarah Alexandra George at
s.a.george@lse.ac.uk or call 020
7955 6614.
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Acts required for LSE Chill LSE Chill is an open performance
night organised by LSE Arts, which takes place on the last Friday of every
month during term time.
LSE Arts is still looking for acts to perform at the end of October and
November. If you are interested in performing, email
arts@lse.ac.uk with your name and
details of your act. For more information, visit
LSE Chill.
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LSE Perspectives: call for submissions LSE Perspectives
features photographs taken by LSE students and staff, with 12 new images
published every month, and LSE Arts is currently looking for submissions for
next month’s gallery.
If you have taken any artistic images on your travels, in your home town
or even just here in London why not submit them for LSE perspectives so that
they can be shared with the LSE community.
For more information and to submit your images, visit
LSE Perspectives Submissions. Previous galleries can be
found here.
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Skip fit lessons
Security officer and former boxer Daniel Beckley is running skip
fit lessons for all students and staff at LSE.
Build up your fitness, burn calories and increase your stamina, all within
an hour.
Please note, the
lesson that was due to take place on Tuesday 16 October has now been
cancelled. The next lessons will take place from 1-2pm at the Badminton Court, Old Building, on
Tuesday 23 October, Tuesday 6 November,
Tuesday 13 November and Tuesday 27 November.
Just turn up on any of these dates with your own skipping rope. All lessons
are free. More sessions will take place during Michaelmas term.
For more information, email Daniel at
d.beckley@lse.ac.uk.
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Musical instrument found
On Monday 1 October, a member of staff at LSE found a bag containing a
musical instrument. It was found on Carey Street, where the motorbike
bays are.
If you have lost an instrument and think this could be yours, email
bpdarragh@yahoo.co.uk. |
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 What's
on
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Voices from Syria’s Opposition On: Wednesday 17 October
from 6.30-8pm in the New Theatre, East Building
Speakers: Bassma Kodmani (pictured), executive
director of the Arab Reform Initiative, Nicholas Noe,
expert on Lebanon,
and Yara Nseir,
Syrian civil society activist.
How did the opposition to Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria emerge? This
panel will explore the evolution of the Syrian opposition and the impact of
developments in Syria upon the wider region.
This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a
first come, first served basis.
More
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Other upcoming LSE events include....
Time to Start Thinking: America and the spectre of decline
On: Monday 15 October at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New
Academic Building
Speaker: Edward Luce, Washington columnist and commentator for the
Financial Times.
Imagining the Internet: policy challenges
On: Tuesday 16 October at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New
Academic Building
Speakers: Professor Robin Mansell (pictured),
professor of new media and the internet at LSE, Professor William H
Dutton,
professor of internet studies at the Oxford Internet Institute,
University of Oxford, and Professor Robert Wade,
professor of political economy and development at LSE.
Occupy's Predicament: the moment and the prospects for movement
On: Thursday 18 October at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New
Academic Building
Speakers: Professor Todd Gitlin (pictured), professor of journalism
and sociology at Columbia University, and Professor Craig Calhoun,
LSE Director.
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World Food Programme Week
The LSESU United Nations Society will be
celebrating World Food Programme Week
(15-19 October) with a Fill the Cup Campaign on Houghton Street.
The society will be on Houghton Street every day from
10am to 4pm collecting money to help provide free school meals to
impoverished children around the world.
The World Food Programme is a voluntarily
funded UN agency that helps the victims of armed conflicts and natural
disasters by providing access to free meals. In 2011, the programme
supplied free meals to 25.9 million children. A donation of just 20p
will give a child a monthly ration of food to take home.
If you would be interested in volunteering during the week, or would like
more information, email
v.nedoseichina@lse.ac.uk or
e.szymanski@lse.ac.uk.
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Beyond the Formal Constitution: clan culture and the tyranny of
Albania’s ancient laws On: Tuesday 16 October from 6-7.30pm in
the
Cañada Blanch Room, first floor of Cowdray House.
Professor Steven Blockmans of the Centre for European Policy
Studies at the University of Leuven, will speak at this event which has been
organised by LSEE-Research on South East Europe.
This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a
first come, first served basis. For more information, email
euroinst.lsee@lse.ac.uk. |
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 60
second interview
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with..... Dr Catherine Hua Xiang
I'm from Shanghai, China, but
have been living in the UK for 11
years. I work at LSE's Language
Centre, being responsible for
Mandarin and Japanese language
programmes. I joined LSE last April
and introduced Mandarin as part of
the degree options. Prior to that, I
was the head of Mandarin at
University of Bristol.
What is the best part of your
job at LSE?
The best part of my job is to
have the opportunity to develop new
Mandarin courses and learning
opportunities for LSE students. Last
year, we successfully introduced
level one (beginners) and level
three (advanced) Mandarin courses as
degree options.
From this academic year, we have
the capacity to offer a full range
of courses from level one to level
five! We have also established an
exchange programme with Fudan
University in Shanghai, where our
students can benefit from a
tailor-made intensive language
course during the summer period so
that they can skip a level once they
return. We hope to extend the links
to PKU and HKU.
For students with high language
proficiency in Mandarin, our ongoing
project ‘current affairs in
Mandarin’ provides a unique
opportunity to practise language in
a meaningful context in the format
of a talk show. This project has won
€20,000 EU Grundtvig Partnership
funding which allows teachers as
well as students to travel to EU
partner institutions to share good
practice and learning experiences.
The UK has a poor reputation
for learning foreign languages, what
improvements would you like to see?
I think that to change such a
reputation takes action and
awareness at various levels. It is
encouraging to see the UK government
is aiming to reform its national
curriculum to allow all children to
be taught a foreign language,
which includes Mandarin, from the
age of seven.
At LSE, we have a language policy
which is strongly proposed by the
Language Centre and supported by the
School that we offer a free MFL
certificate course to UK/EU
undergraduate students who do not
have a GCSE Grade C or equivalent in
a foreign language that is not their
mother tongue. I think that it would
be excellent if other HE
institutions had a similar policy
to provide clear statements of
support for languages and stress the
importance of language skills, not
only for employability but also for
intellectual value.
As a language teacher, a textbook
author and a learner myself, I see
it as my duty to bring cultural
awareness into language teaching and
learning. Language is a great tool
for intercultural communications
that one cannot avoid in today’s
global society. Offering real time
opportunity to use the language is
also key for language learning and
that’s why we are working very hard
on study trips and language exchange
programmes.
Name three things you cannot
do without.
If it refers to material things,
then it has to be my phone (in
addition to the fact that I'm
addictive to emails, I don’t wear a
watch), coffee (first thing in the
morning) and the internet (nowadays
we all need it).
If it refers to abstract things,
I would say love, passion and pride.
What are your top tips for
surviving life in London?
I love living in London so I
don’t see such a thing as surviving
life in London. I'm a true believer
of ‘tired of London, tired of life’.
So if you are really struggling,
maybe get hold of a copy of Tired
of London, Tired of Life: one thing
a day to do. It might cheer you
up a bit.
Do you see much of your
colleagues outside work?
From time to time, though it
tends to be difficult during the
busy term time.
If you were offered the trip
of a lifetime, where would you go
and why?
Definitely a trip to the
Moon or Mars. As the universe is
such an amazing and vast place, it
would be great to be gravity-free
and explore what’s out there. |
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