Get to know LSE's Director

In a new short film, Professor Craig Calhoun talks about his academic career and intellectual development.

Summer Ceremonies bookings now open

Laura Pedley

Laura, LSESU democracy coordinator, is responsible for organising the elections for the student representatives.

On Wednesday 30 January, LSE’s Academic Board voted by 76-33 in favour of a proposal by the Academic Planning and Resources Committee (APRC) on the level of UK/EU undergraduate tuition fees and bursaries for the 2014-15 academic year. The proposal is to set a fee of £9,000 per year with increased cash bursaries for low-income students and more money for outreach activities.

The APRC paper outlined a number of points for consideration, all of which were fully debated by Academic Board. Key ones are:

• An increase to £9,000 p/a would enable the School to provide even more generous cash support for students from lower-income backgrounds. Additional funds would also allow further development of the School’s work on access and widening participation
• 50 per cent of all additional fee income would be spent on bursaries, scholarships and widening participation activity - representing £3.47 million per year.

The government has announced that LSE will be one of 12 universities to have the prestigious title of Regius Professor bestowed upon it by The Queen to mark the Diamond Jubilee, with the creation of a new Regius Professor in Economics.

A Regius Professorship is a rare privilege, with only two created in the past century; it is regarded as a reflection of the exceptionally high quality of teaching and research at an institution. All entries were assessed by a panel of experts on the merits of their application alone, but more weight was given to two primary criteria: the excellence of the institution’s work in the proposed discipline and the recognition the discipline has gained, nationally and internationally, regardless of how long it has been studied.

Professor Michele Piccione, head of the Department of Economics, said the award was 'a great honour that recognises the outstanding contribution that LSE economics has made to the development of the discipline'.

Get to know LSE's Director

In a new short film, Professor Craig Calhoun (pictured) talks about his academic career and intellectual development.

Find out what drew him to anthropology and about his love of film.

To watch the film, click here.
 

LSE student nominated for NUS/Student Hubs award

Master’s student Bianca Nobilo (pictured) has been shortlisted for an NUS/Student Hubs volunteering award.

Bianca was nominated for her work educating young people about the risk of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome and the importance of keeping a healthy heart while at school and university. She has founded a charity, Student Heart Health, after several people close to her were affected by heart conditions. The aim of the charity is to promote cardiovascular health in the UK student population and provide heart screenings capable of detecting fatal abnormalities to students free of charge.

Bianca said: ‘The NUS nomination is an unbelievably kind gesture. It has given Student Heart Health the opportunity to reach more young people and it’s much deserved recognition of all the hours Student Heart Health’s volunteers and trustees have spent working on a cause we care all about. I can’t wait to meet the four other nominees who are involved with initiatives like Childline. It’s going to be a brilliant event.'

Skills, infrastructure and innovation are the essential drivers of the productivity growth on which the UK’s future prosperity depends. So while there are understandable concerns about the currently flat-lining economy, it is even more important to focus on vital long-term investments in these three areas. That requires stable and well-informed policy frameworks anchored in a broad political consensus on a new vision for growth.

These are among the conclusions of the LSE Growth Commission, which has published its final report. Investing in Prosperity: Skills, Infrastructure and Innovation is based on evidence taken in a series of public sessions from leading researchers, business people, policy-makers and UK citizens.

The LSE Students’ Union will be electing your student representatives this term. We will be electing the four sabbatical officers - general secretary, education officer, activities and development officer, and community and welfare officer. These are full-time paid positions, which last for one academic year.

The LSESU is also electing part-time officers - women's officer, disabled students’ officer, anti-racism officer, ethics and environment officer, LGBT students’ officer, Athletics Union president, and international students’ officer. These positions provide you with a portfolio of skills that are highly valued by employers, and also allow you to make changes that will impact a variety of student groups.

Positions that require less time commitment, but still provide the opportunity to make a change to the LSESU, include the democracy committee and trustee of the LSESU.

Student Services reduced opening hours - Tuesday 12 February

Please note that the Student Services Centre will operate a reduced service from 10am-12.30pm on Tuesday 12 February to allow staff to attend the funeral of a colleague.

All drop-in sessions from 12noon will be cancelled on this date. Registry will be continue to be reachable by phone for urgent queries after 12.30pm at 020 7849 4994.

Thank you in advance for planning any document requests and/or collection accordingly.
 

Summer Ceremonies bookings now open

Students eligible to attend the July 2013 Ceremonies have been invited and should book their places by Friday 1 March.

For details and more information, see lse.ac.uk/ceremonies or email ceremonies@lse.ac.uk.
 

LSE GROUPS is a fantastic opportunity for undergraduates to take part in an interdisciplinary research project at the end of Summer term.

Student Volunteering Week is a national event where the efforts of student volunteers are celebrated across the country.

The LSE Volunteer Centre is holding several events and competitions at the School to ensure that everyone can get involved.

Undergraduates: become a student mentor in 2013-14

It’s not too late to apply to become a student mentor in 2013-14.

Mentoring can be a fun way to give back to the LSE community and is a great way to enhance communication and interpersonal skills.

For more information about the Student Mentoring Scheme and to access the application form, visit lse.ac.uk/StudentMentoring. If you have any questions about the scheme, email Stevie Wise at studentmentoring@lse.ac.uk.
 

Passionate about a cause and think that you could do something about it? But worried about the cost of setting up a project or assisting an ongoing one?

The Volunteer Centre @ LSE Careers, funded by the LSE Annual fund, is giving grants of up to £300 to student led groups who are looking to promote volunteering or involve volunteers in a charitable activity.

LSE Careers Focus on India 2013
Thursday 7 February from 6-8.30pm. Booking open now.

This event is an excellent opportunity for all students, regardless of nationality, academic discipline or level of study, to find out more about international careers in India.

The event comprises two parts, a panel discussion focusing on the topic of The Value of a UK Education and an informal networking reception with a diverse number of organisations including representatives from law, banking, consultancy, IT and the charity sector.

Attending organisations include Accenture, Action Village India, Capco, Deutsche Bank, HCL Technology, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, The Hope Foundation, Infosys, Parthenon Group, State Bank of India.

European Internships Fair
Friday 22 March from 9.30am-1pm, Stanhope Hotel, Brussels. Booking now open.

LSE Careers, together with Sciences Po and the University of Saint Louis, will host the European Internships Fair in Brussels, showcasing opportunities with companies who have offices in Brussels.

Employers currently attending this year’s event include EPSO, Dekra, EU Issue Tracker, Burson Marstellar, Unilever, Harwood Levitt, APCO.

Courses scheduled for next week include:

• Deans Briefing for Post-Upgrade and Post-Fieldwork/Data Collection: years two and three
• Developing Resilience in Academic Contexts
• MY592 Workshop in Information Literacy: finding, managing, organising published research and data
• Overcoming Procrastination

Up-to-date IT skills are crucial in the modern workplace. Increase your employability potential by attending one of the 13 self-paced student-supervised workshops available for all LSE students.

Courses are run daily throughout Lent term. Click on the links below to book a place via the Training and Development System.

Microsoft Excel 2010

• Presenting and Printing Data
• Formulas and Common Functions
• Charts
• Logical and Lookup Functions
• Data Analysis
• Pivot Tables

Microsoft Word 2010

• Format an Academic Paper
• Creating Illustrated Posters
• Essential Tips and Techniques

Microsoft Outlook 2010

• Outlook for Business

Microsoft PowerPoint 2010

• Images and Media
• Finishing Touches
• Polished Presentations in 10 Steps

As part of Go Green Week, LSE Catering will be holding a Feel Good Food Day on Tuesday 12 and Thursday 14 February in the Fourth Floor Restaurant, and on Wednesday 13 February in the Staff Dining Room.

As well as raising awareness and promoting the sustainable aspects of the food we serve, we aim to demonstrate that limiting meat in our diet and using healthier ingredients, seasonal vegetables, fish from sustainable stocks and higher animal welfare produce can benefit your health, the environment and animal welfare.

Our world cuisine options will offer reduced meat and increased vegetarian alternatives. Come along and enjoy the ‘feel good’ experience.

Applications have now opened for the first LSE-UCT July School, to be hosted by LSE’s partner institution the University of Cape Town from 1-12 July 2013.

This exciting new intensive summer school-style programme offers students and graduates from around the world the opportunity to come together to study important issues relevant to Africa today.

The courses are led by world-class academics from the two institutions, including LSE professors Harry Barkema and Thandika Mkandawire, and cover a wide range of social science disciplines.

The seven courses on the programme will be:

• Africa and the Global Economy 1500-2000: an economic history
• After 'The Hopeless Continent': challenges of African economic development since 2000
• Business Model Innovation at the Base of the Pyramid: Cape Town and beyond
• The Struggle for Freedom: Sub-Saharan politics from 1960 to the present
• The State, Democracy and Development in Africa
• Poverty: what causes it, and what it causes
• Urban Modernities: space, place and difference

Applications are invited from LSE PhD students for mobility bursaries to visit one of the School's institutional partners (Columbia University, New York; the National University of Singapore (NUS); Peking University, Beijing; Sciences Po, Paris; or the University of Cape Town) in order to work informally with an advisor on their PhD thesis, research and/or on related publications and presentations, and to introduce them to the academic culture, professional contacts and employment opportunities of another country/region.

For 2013-14, up to ten bursaries are on offer to visit one of the above listed five partner institutions. For any one partner institution, up to two flat rate bursaries of £2,500 are available.

Students registered for PhD studies at any LSE department and who have already been upgraded to full doctoral student status are eligible to apply. Each visit should be a minimum of two months and a maximum of three months in duration.

Volunteering Photography Competition: win £250 worth of photography vouchers

All students are invited to take part in the LSE Volunteer Centre's new photography competition.

The team is looking for the best shots of LSE students volunteering and photos that fit under the term 'helping others'.

The competition closes on Sunday 17 February. For more information and to submit your entry, click here.
 

February's LSE Perspectives gallery is now online. You can view the gallery online here.

The gallery features 12 striking images submitted by LSE students and staff. Each image reflects a unique perspective on a particular scene.

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. Submissions are always welcomed for future galleries.

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.

The next lessons will take place from 1-2pm at the Badminton Court, Old Building, on Tuesday 19 February, Tuesday 26 February, Tuesday 12 March, Tuesday 19 March, Tuesday 2 April, Tuesday 9 April, Tuesday 23 April, and Tuesday 30 April.

Just turn up on any of these dates with your own skipping rope. All lessons are free.

For more information, email Daniel at d.beckley@lse.ac.uk.
 

Win £1,000 of STA travel vouchers in Hogan Lovells' 'experience the world' competition and experience the very best that the world has to offer.

To enter the competition, visit Facebook, watch the video and then answer the question. There will be another video, and another question, over the coming weeks. Answer all closely enough, and you will go into a draw to win the vouchers.

LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival: Branching Out

Tickets are now available for 2013 LSE Literary Festival. Highlights include:

The Forum: the challenge of ageing
On: Tuesday 26 February at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Professor Sarah Harper, professor of gerontology at the University of Oxford and director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, P D James, president of the Society of Authors, Baroness Helena Kennedy, lawyer, and Professor Hans Rosling (pictured), medical doctor, academic, statistician and public speaker.

Women Writing History
On: Wednesday 27 February at 1pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Molly Crabapple, New York artist, Professor Mary Evans, LSE Centennial Professor, Vicky Featherstone, artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland, and Kate Mosse, author.

A Life in Politics: leading London from the left
On: Thursday 28 February at 1.15pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Ken Livingstone (pictured), former mayor of London.

Rethinking Risk: when biology meets finance
On: Thursday 28 February at 5.15pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: John Coates, senior research fellow in neuroscience and finance at the University of Cambridge, Dylan Evans, founder of Projection Point, and Paul Ormerod, economist, author and entrepreneur.

Other forthcoming LSE events include....

Putinism: the ideology
On: Tuesday 12 February at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Anne Applebaum, LSE Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs.

EU on a Cross-Road and the Future of our European Project: a view from central Europe
On: Wednesday 13 February at 5pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Miroslav Lajčák (pictured), deputy prime minister and minister of foreign and European affairs of the Slovak Republic.

On: Wednesday 6 February from 6.30-8pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Megan MacInnes (pictured), head of the Land Campaign at Global Witness, Fred Pearce, environment consultant at the New Scientist and author of The Land Grabbers: the new fight over who owns the earth, and Dr Subir Sinha, senior lecturer in institutions and development at SOAS.

On: 27-28 February at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, Mayfair.

Registration for the LSESU Emerging Markets Forum 2013 is now open.

The forum is one of the world’s most reputed two-day student conferences dedicated to discussing the most topical themes in emerging markets; ranging from politics, economics and finance to natural resources, entrepreneurship and social development.

Over 200 top industry-leading experts have spoken at the forum in the past four years including CEOs, Central Bank governors, world-famous investors, and academics.

Speakers include:

• Persio Arida, former governor, Central Bank of Brazil, and founder, BTG Pactual
• Nicko Debenham, chairman, World Cocoa Foundation, and director, Armajaro Trading
• David Fyfe, former head, International Energy Agency Oil Markets
• Clare McKeeve, COO EMEA, Macquarie Capital
• Dr Linda Yueh, leading author and director, China Growth Centre
• Labs Ogunbiyi, founder and CEO, First Hydrocarbon Nigeria
• Juan Sartori, president, United Capital Group
• Zain Latif, founder, TLG Capital
• Kay Haigh, founder, Avantium Investment Management
• Slim Feriani, CEO, Advance Emerging Capital
• Marco Arcelli, executive vice president, Upstream Gas, Enel
• Charles Robertson, chief economist, Renaissance Capital

What’s the experience and significance of ‘working with the past’? What do women’s archives offer? And what do researchers discover in the process?

To celebrate Women’s History Month and the arrival of the Women’s Library at the School, LSE Equality and Diversity, Gender Institute and LSE Archives have organised a panel discussion and archives exhibition on ‘Working with the past’.