UK’s first academic Centre on Women, Peace and Security to be based at LSE

The School hosted Secretary of State William Hague and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt to launch the Centre.

Calling third year undergraduates - new award schemes announced

LSE is delighted to announce the launch of two new award schemes for taught graduate students starting at LSE in autumn 2015.

Tom Maksymiw

Tom, LSESU Education Officer, is a passionate Leicester City fan who's job "is essentially to represent LSE’s 10,000 students on all matters academic".

What were the collateral damages of the West’s counter-terrorism operations in Africa? Will 2015 be Europe’s most important year since World War II? Can India recapture regulatory sovereignty over pharmaceutical innovation?

We asked some of LSE’s expert academics to pose and answer what they thought were one of the most important questions we face in 2015.

Read their answers here.
 

A new report from LSE and the University of Manchester provides a comprehensive independent assessment of the Coalition’s record on schools: an essential guide to policies, spending, the changes in the school system and trends in children’s outcomes.

The paper, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Nuffield Foundation and Trust for London, provides clear evidence designed to help voters assess the Coalition’s successes and failures and identify key challenges facing the next government elected on May 7.

The analysis shows that the Coalition kept its promise to protect school spending - which rose by 1 per cent in real terms between 2009-10 and 2013-14. The Pupil Premium, given to schools for the most disadvantaged students, delivered a real increase in funding to schools with the poorest intakes.

New Gearty Grilling online

A new Gearty Grilling video, part of the series of short video debates between Conor Gearty, director of the IPA and professor of human rights law, and leading researchers at LSE, is now online.

This week Sonia Livingstone (pictured), Professor of Social Psychology, discusses the challenges of internet safety for children. More
 

Celebrating 120 years of LSE

Did you know? Malcolm X spoke at LSE on 11 February 1965.

Find out more at lse.ac.uk/lse120 #LSE120.
 

On Thursday 5 February, the Student Wellbeing Service ran another Wellbeing Stall focussing on how to be kind to ourselves.

Visitors were asked to complete leaflets with ideas of things they were planning to do to be kind to themselves. Ideas ranged from doing something relaxing every day, spoiling themselves once in a while, not comparing themselves to others, accepting compliments, getting enough sleep, and not worrying about getting an internship/job.

The aim of the activity was to increase awareness of the relevance of kindness, both towards yourself and others, as a way of increasing resilience and improving performance.

The stall also promoted the "Time to Change" campaign that aims to end mental health discrimination. This year’s campaign is "It’s time to talk" which encourages everyone to start a conversation about mental health.

Re-Imagining your Library

The Library and LSESU co-hosted a Re-Imagining event on Monday 9 February.

60 current LSE students attended the two hour lunchtime forum, discussing with staff the changes they would like to see in the Library.

The students’ feedback will help the Library to plan the development of services and resources in the future.

Student Accommodation Satisfaction Survey 2014-15

Do you live in halls? If so, please remember to fill in this year’s Satisfaction Survey.

Residential Services are giving you the chance to win some fantastic prizes for you and your hall - all you have to do is take part in a short survey to rate your experience of living in halls so far.

Please check your email for your personalised invite and survey link.
 

Summer Graduation Ceremonies - bookings now open

Bachelor’s and nine month master’s students eligible to attend the July 2015 Graduation Ceremonies have been emailed invitations and should book their places by Sunday 22 February.

For details, please see lse.ac.uk/ceremonies or contact Ceremonies@lse.ac.uk.
 

LSE is delighted to announce the launch of two new award schemes for taught graduate students starting at LSE in autumn 2015.

LSE Graduate Bursaries
At least 175 new LSE Graduate Bursaries of £10,000, supported jointly by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the School, are available for 2015 entry.

The LSE Bursaries cover a wide range of one and two-year master’s programmes at LSE. The funding is designed to encourage progression into taught postgraduate education by under-represented students from the UK and rest of the EU, who started their undergraduate programmes in 2012-13, and who were charged higher fees at a university in England. The LSE Bursaries will be awarded on the basis of financial circumstances and socio-economic background.

LSE 120th Anniversary Scholarships
To celebrate the 120th anniversary of the founding of the School, LSE will be offering 120 Anniversary Scholarships for taught master's students from the UK starting at LSE in 2015.

The awards will vary in value, based on financial need, and are designed to help with fees and living costs. The minimum award will be £3,000 and the maximum award will be worth £25,000. Priority will be given to students from the UK who are applying for their first master's programme and to recent graduates who were eligible for a maintenance grant during their undergraduate studies.

Applications for the LSE ARC - Thailand Government Scholarship are being accepted until Monday 30 March.

The Scholarship, a partnership between the Royal Thai Embassy in London and the Asia Research Centre at LSE, aims to promote better understanding of, and knowledge regarding, Thailand.

Perspectives now launched

The LSESU Investment Society’s Macro Research Group has launched its annual journal, Perspectives.

This flagship publication showcases articles on a variety of topical issues including an analysis of the internationalisation of the Renmimbi, a look at leveraged finance in 2015, and a view on the future of the Eurozone. The publication can be viewed here.

Cycle Confident sessions still available

Are you a bit wobbly on your bike? Do the big red buses keep you off the roads? Are you not quite sure about road positioning or hand signals?

Free Cycle Confident lessons available all this week to celebrate National Green Week. There are still lessons available. Be quick and book your free lesson here.
 

Take part in Ashtanga, a dynamic form of yoga, on Fridays from 1-2pm in the Faith Centre, second floor of the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre. Come to get strong, flexible and ready for the weekend. Sessions cost £5.

Everyone is welcome. Just come with an empty stomach, wear loose clothing and bring your own mat.

Find out about LSE’s history at the LSE Literary Festival

On: Tuesday 24 February from 6.30-8pm

In our 120th year, Professor Michael Cox is exploring the School’s past. How did the "School" come into being in the first place? What role did key figures like Sidney and Beatrice Webb play? What was their vision? Was it ever realized? And how did this relatively small, somewhat ill-housed, often poorly resourced, and frequently much-criticised institution that many saw as the enemy of the established order, come to play such a key role in British and global politics over the next century?

This event will be followed by a complimentary drinks reception and a chance to browse an exhibition of ‘Ghost of the Past’ images, which reveal the changing face of the LSE campus.

Free tickets available to book online here.
 

Forthcoming LSE events include....

The Challenge of Big Data for the Social Sciences
On: Monday 16 February at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Professor Kenneth Benoit (pictured)

Are Welfare Programmes Just Keeping People Out of Work? An Economist's Take on Benefits Street
On: Tuesday 17 February at 6.30pm in the New Theatre, East Building
Speaker: Dr Camille Landais

Leaving the EU?
On: Tuesday 17 February at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speakers: Professor Damian Chalmers, Professor Carol Harlow, Dr Jan Komarek, and Dr Jo Eric Khushal Murkens

Ayn Rand, the Financial Crisis and the Age of Selfishness
On: Wednesday 18 February at 6.30pm in the New Theatre, East Building
Speaker: Darryl Cunningham (pictured)

The Brain's Way of Healing: stories of remarkable recoveries and discoveries
On: Wednesday 18 February at 6.30pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Professor Norman Doidge

The 14th Hellenic Observatory Annual Lecture - NEW DATE

The 14th Hellenic Observatory Annual Lecture by Yannis Stournaras (pictured) which was going to take place on Thursday 12 February has now been rescheduled for Wednesday 25 March from 6.30-8pm. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
 

Lent term Chamber Music Concert

Don't miss the last Chamber Music Concert, hosted by the LSESU Music Society, on Thursday 12 February at 7pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building.

Experience the brilliant finale to two terms' worth of classical music. Featuring violinists, choirs, solo singers, flautists and more, you'll definitely want to catch this concert.

£2 for members, £3 for non-members - pay at the door. Free drinks will be provided.
 

LSE Works

The fifth LSE Works lecture takes place on Thursday 12 February and will be given by LSE Law’s Dr Jan Kleinheisterkamp (pictured) on ‘Investor Protection in TTIP: fading democracy or new generation?’.

The respondent will be Martti Koskenniemi, Professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki and Centennial Professor at LSE, and the event will be chaired by Shawn Donnan, World Trade Editor at the Financial Times.

Dr Jan Kleinheisterkamp’s research has influenced EU policies relating to international trade agreements - more on his research impact can be found here.

LSE Works is a series public lectures that will showcase some of the latest research by LSE's academic departments and research centres. In each session, LSE academics will present key research findings, demonstrating where appropriate the implications of their studies for public policy.

A list of all the LSE Works lectures can be viewed at LSE Works.
 

On: Friday 13 February from 6.45-8.15pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speakers: Simon Glendinning, Professor of European Philosophy in LSE's European Institute and Director of the Forum for European Philosophy, Leila Simona Talani, Professor of International Political Economy at King’s College London, Costas Douzinas, Professor of Law at Birkbeck School of Law and Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, and Paul Mason, Economics Editor at Channel 4.

On: Tuesday 17 February at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building

In this Entrepreneurship Matters session Duncan Clark OBE (pictured), Chairman and Founder of BDA China and adviser to Alibaba, looks at what’s fuelling the rise of internet entrepreneurs in China, and how Jack Ma and other digital dynamos are transforming commerce, content and the middle classes in China.

Everyday Strategies against Austerity in Greece: the view from anthropology

On: Tuesday 17 February from 6-7.30pm in the Cañada Blanch Room, Cowdray House
Speaker: Dr Dimitrios Theodossopoulos (pictured), Reader in Social Anthropology at the University of Kent.

Dr Dimitrios Theodossopoulos explores a number of issues that have transpired from a ‘first wave’ of anthropological writings on the Greek financial crisis and its consequences. He outlines common themes that have emerged from this literature and related dilemmas.

All Hellenic Observatory seminars are open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. More
 

The next LSE Chill is on Friday 20 February, with a mixture of music and stand up.

Join LSE Arts from 6pm in Café 54, NAB to start the weekend right. Get there early to make the most of the limited free drinks and food.

The Future of Secularism in a Multi-Ethnic UK

On: Tuesday 3 March from 6.30-9pm in TW1 G.01, Tower One

Join the LSESU Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society for an enlightening discussion about the future of secularism in an increasingly multicultural UK. How is secularism in the UK failing ethnic minorities? Does secularism need to change? What type of secularism do we want to see in the UK?

Panellists include:

• Pragna Patel, Director of Southall Black Sisters and a founding member of Women Against Fundamentalism.
• Gita Sahgal, activist and founder of the Centre for Secular Space.
• Maryam Namazie, political activist, campaigner and blogger.
• Tehmina Kazi, Director of British Muslims for Secular Democracy.
• Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society.

The Cyprus Recovery Plan: a midterm assessment

On: Friday 6 March from 8.45am-6.30pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building

This one day conference is organised by LSE's Hellenic Observatory in association with the University of Nicosia and the Neapolis University of Pafos.

Has the financial disaster of March 2013 resulted in the economic catastrophe of Cyprus or provided an opportunity for addressing deep rooted political and economic problems and implementing long overdue reforms?

This event debates whether the financial (crisis) disaster became an economic disaster or it has provided the opportunity to revise the hitherto economic model and implement the requisite reforms for a sustainable recovery.