LSE's global reputation continues to rise

LSE has risen in the annual Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings for the fourth year in a row.

Super Sunday

On Sunday 22 March, LSE IT services will be at risk of being briefly unavailable from 12am (midnight) - 8pm while IMT perform essential maintenance to the network.

Nicole Fruth

Management student Nicole is also a Google Student Ambassador at LSE and is running a number of events at the School for you all to attend.

LSE has risen in the annual Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings for the fourth year in a row.

The 2015 rankings place the School at 22nd in the world, a climb of two places from last year and a continual rise since the reputation rankings were first established. LSE was previously 37th in 2011, 29th in 2012, 25th in 2013 and 24th in 2014. This year the School is one of only five UK institutions in the top 30.

The Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings are based on the world's largest invitation-only survey of academic opinion, featuring 10,500 respondents from 142 countries.

Commenting on this year’s rankings, LSE Director Professor Craig Calhoun said: "That LSE continues to be so well-regarded around the world is a credit to the sustained work and engagement of our staff, students and alumni - both at home and overseas.

Professor Lord Nicholas Stern (pictured), IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government at LSE and President of the British Academy, has received the Joseph A. Schumpeter Award 2015.

The Schumpeter Award is funded by the Helmut Zilk Fund for International Relations of Vienna and is awarded by the Schumpeter Society for innovative achievements in the field of business, economics, or economic policy.

Westminster City Council, this week, resolved to grant planning permission for a major redevelopment at the heart of LSE’s campus; the largest project in the School’s 120 year history.

The ‘Centre Buildings Redevelopment project’ will create a state of the art flexible and highly sustainable academic and teaching building. It will see the construction of academic buildings arranged around a public square, providing a new focus at the centre of LSE.

The redevelopment involves the demolition of the existing LSE owned buildings along Houghton Street, known as Clare Market, The Anchorage, the East Building and part of St Clements. The design is vertically zoned with most of the public and highly serviced facilities such as the restaurant, auditorium and large lecture theatres situated at the lower levels, facilitating natural interaction with the public realm of Houghton Street and animating the newly created LSE Square. Demolition is due to begin at the start of the Summer holiday in 2015 with the building expected to be completed in late 2018.

Professor Ian Morris (pictured), a renowned historian and award-winning author, will succeed Professor Matthew Connelly as the holder of the chair in history and international affairs for 2015-16.

On Monday, the Student Wellbeing Service hosted a Graduation Ceremony for this year’s Peer Supporters.

The Peer Support Scheme provides student-led, informal and confidential support to all LSE students, and is managed through the Student Counselling Service. Students attend fortnightly supervision sessions and are given extensive training in listening skills and managing crisis situations. This is the scheme's fourth year, and it has an enthusiastic following among staff and students.

LSE Director Craig Calhoun thanked the Peer Supporters for their work in helping to build and create a strong sense of community, saying "Peer Supporters provide another essential level of support for all LSE students." Peter Howlett, Dean of Undergraduates, observed that, "students are far more likely to talk to their peers rather than the professionals as a first port of call", and Richard Perkins, Passfield Hall Warden, told them "you do a really excellent job. I sleep a lot better at night knowing that there are fantastic Peer Supporters in the hall. They are part of a ‘generation of generosity’ giving their time to help and support other students".

There are plenty of challenging questions raised by children’s changing digital lives. Some of these are in the here and now, some are more future-oriented, while others are parents’ own digital dilemmas. There is a wealth of research that might help parents, caretakers and other stakeholders figure out how to approach these questions, but often this research is inaccessible or more complex than most people have time to untangle.

A new blog, Parenting for a Digital Future, has been launched by Professor Sonia Livingstone, Dr Alicia Blum-Ross and Svenja Ottovordemgentschenfelde of the Department of Media and Communications, to encourage dialogue and exchange between the public and academic worlds.

The blog responds to news, public debates and popular culture about parenting and digital media, using evidence from current research and ongoing fieldwork, while guest bloggers from around the world share their research and insights into parenting and digital media in truly diverse contexts.

People in their twenties have been the worst affected by the economic crisis despite higher qualifications than any earlier generation, according to a comprehensive LSE analysis of what has happened to inequalities in qualifications, employment, pay, incomes and wealth since 2007.

The research, led by Professor John Hills, shows that those in their twenties and early thirties have been hardest hit by far more than any other group, with the greatest drop in full-time employment, largest rises in unemployment, and greatest falls in real wages.

It is likely that there will be tax increases after the election whoever wins, concludes a new report from the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), based at LSE, in the latest in a series of background briefings on the policy issues in the May 2015 UK general election.

Professor John Van Reenen, CEP’s director and author of the report, notes that every general election since 1992 has been followed by net tax rises of more than £5 billion. Such an outcome seems all the more probable with each of the three main parties’ policy proposals on ‘austerity’ promising to balance the cyclically adjusted current budget by 2017-18.

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 Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations, discusses Obama and the Middle East after the Arab Spring. More
 

Did you know? Lilian Knowles was LSE’s first woman professor, in the Department of Economic History in 1921 - the first such professorship in the country.

She had been one of LSE’s first research students, joining the School in 1896, and is now remembered in the east London LSE hall of residence Lilian Knowles House.

Find out more about Lilian Knowles and the other early women lecturers at LSE in this new LSE History blog.

I will look after myself over the break by….

On Friday 13 March, the Student Wellbeing Service ran another Wellbeing Stall focussing on how to look after ourselves over the break.

Visitors were asked to complete leaflets saying "I will look after myself over the break by….", providing suggestions of things that we can all do to help maintain our mental health/wellbeing. One hundred and fifteen people gave their ideas which included sleep, eating well, yoga, meditating, taking breaks, and travelling.

The stall also promoted the "Time to Change" campaign that aims to end mental health discrimination, by handing out leaflets offering tips on how to look out for your friends, maintaining your mental wellbeing at work, and ideas for a 'Five a Day for Mental Health'. This year’s campaign is "It’s time to talk" which encourages everyone to start a conversation about mental health.

The stall also publicised other support available at LSE including the Student Counselling Service, the Disability and Wellbeing Service, LSE Careers, the Peer Support Service, and LSESU activities. For more information, visit lse.ac.uk/studentwellbeing.

Another stall is planned for Friday 15 May where massages will be provided to help students manage exam stress.
 

Funded by Sport England and LSE, the Active LifeStyle Project aims to encourage students to play sport or stay active during their studies. Since it began, the programme has seen approximately 850 students take part in at least one activity so far this academic year, with 71 per cent of these students not being a member of a sports club at LSE. Plus three of the new exercise classes (Zumba, Hula Hoop, and Yoga) are now being led by LSE students too.

On Wednesday 29 April Active LifeStyle we will be running an interdepartmental five-a-side Football tournament. This will take place at Powerleague in Shoreditch. If you would like to enter a team, email j.ralph@lse.ac.uk.

If you’d like to get away from the stress of exams and assignments, then why not try a Yoga class? Free passes will be available throughout May and June. To reserve a pass, email su.activelifestyle@lse.ac.uk.

The Library is creating extra space for LSE students during the exam period.

From 9 April until 19 June, the Library’s Fourth floor will have an additional 50 study spaces, while R301 on the third floor will have 20 extra study spaces.

The extra space is in addition to 99 study new study spaces in the Library’s Course Collection and 20 study spaces on the Fourth floor which were opened earlier this term.

This is advanced notification that all LSE IT services will be at risk of being briefly unavailable on Sunday 22 March from 12am (midnight)-8pm. IMT will be doing essential maintenance during this time, performing key upgrades and equipment replacements before the start of the new term.

At risk services include, but are not limited to the following:

• Campus WiFi
• Campus PCs, printers and telephones
• LSE email
• H: space and any shared network drives
• Areas of the LSE website that require a login to view secure content
• Moodle and LSE For You
• Access to the network from off-site, such as via VPN or the Remote Desktop

If you have any questions regarding the downtime or experience any disruption outside of these times, please contact the IT Service Desk on:

• it.helpdesk@lse.ac.uk or 020 7955 6728 (taught students)
• it.servicedesk@lse.ac.uk or 020 7107 5000 (post graduate research students)
   

A reminder that 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, LSE, aims to promote better understanding of, and knowledge regarding, Thailand.

LSE is looking for undergraduate and graduate (including PhD) students who are interested in becoming Peer Supporters for the 2015-16 academic year.

In this voluntary role you will receive 34 hours of training from the LSE Student Counselling Service in listening, questioning and responding skills with fortnightly supervision and on-going training. These skills will enable you to provide emotional support to other LSE students.

It is essential to attend all the training sessions and all the supervision sessions throughout the year.

The training consists of six full days at the end of June/beginning of July. Peer supporters who have completed the training for the last two years said they gained a tremendous amount from it.

In addition to meeting regularly and developing close bonds with other Peer Supporters, students find that they gain an increased ability to listen and respond supportively in all walks of life. If you qualify as a Peer Supporter you have the possibility of an offer of a room in an LSE hall of residence for 2015-16.

Peer Support Information Lunch
To find out more, sign up for the Information Lunch on Thursday 19 March from 1.30-2.30pm in room OLD 5.11, where you can meet some current Peer Supporters and see what they’ve gained from the Project. To reserve a place, email student.counselling@lse.ac.uk.

The Library is inviting all LSE students to enter a competition to win a £20 Waterstones voucher.

Using the theme ‘good conduct in the LSE Library’, please post a photo of your design on twitter using #lselibrarycomp or email it to library@lse.ac.uk to be in with a chance of winning.

Student Accommodation Satisfaction Survey 2014-15

Calling all LSE Halls residents, this is your final chance to complete the Student Accommodation Satisfaction Survey and be entered into the prize draw - the survey will close on Friday 20 March.

Please find your survey link email in your LSE inbox or email residential.life@lse.ac.uk to ask for a new one. Once you've completed the survey, we’ll enter you into the draw to win one of three iPads, a trip up The Shard, Amazon vouchers, Champagne, or a free room clean.

In addition, the Hall with the highest percentage participation rate will be awarded £250 to spend on entertainment at the end of year party. More information can be found here.
 

Get international certification as an Excel Expert

Enhance your career prospects by polishing your Excel skills and getting an internationally recognised, industry standard qualification to add to your CV.

LSE offers all students and staff the opportunity to identify and fill any gaps in their Microsoft Office skills through guided online training. A trained advisor is on hand during workshops to answer any questions you may have. Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification is based on an invigilated, task-based exam approved by Microsoft to validate desktop computer skills based on specific Microsoft Office programs.

MOS certifications are offered at three levels: Specialist, Expert (Word and Excel only) and Master. There is a separate exam for each program (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc) and you can take as many as you like.

For more information, including details of LSE’s specially discounted charge, and details on group discounts, assistance for students receiving financial aid and funding opportunities for staff, go to the IT Training MOS Training and Certification page.

If you have an IT question, check out our online guides and FAQs or attend our weekly Software Surgeries. A huge range of additional computer training resources are available from the IT Training website.

Forthcoming LSE events include....

Green growth : combining economics and ecology in the run-up to Paris 2015
On: Tuesday 24 March at 5.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Ségolène Royal

The Coalition Effect
On: Wednesday 25 March at 6.30pm in CLM 4.02, Clement House
Speakers: Dr Rosie Campbell, Dr Michael Finn, and Sir Anthony Seldon

Is Welfare Reform Working?
On: Thursday 26 March at 11am in 32LIF 1.04, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields
Speakers: Victor Da Cunha, Eileen Herden, and Professor Anne Power

Massive Open Online Course Event - Game Changer for Development?

On: Thursday 19 March from 7-8.30pm in the New Theatre, East Building.

Citizen engagment has a vital role to play in the process of development. It helps to improve transparency and accountability of public policies, to build trust with citizens, to forge consensus around important reforms, and to build the political and public support necessary to sustain them.

A number of institutions, including LSE, have demonstrated their commitment to this important agenda by developing a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) - a free, four-week online course on citizen engagement.

The course examines the role that citizen engagement can play in improving policymaking and public service delivery, and investigates the impact of new technologies in this process.

LSE's Department of International Development is hosting this launch event, in which a number of themes related to the MOOC will be discussed with a panel of experts.

Thursday 19 March from 8.30pm-3am in the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.

The LSESU Salsa Society have organised a whole night of Latin craziness!

The night will include:

• 9-10pm: Salsa class (beginners level)
• 10-11pm: Nolita and the Sabrositos
• An exclusive performance from the Salsa Society troupe
• 11pm-3am: DJ Ramiro Zapata from The Cuban in Camden

Designing the Urban Commons: lessons from the field

On: Wednesday 25 March from 6.30-8pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speakers: Assembly SE8, Atelier d'architecture autogérée, and Public Works Group.

With an evening of provocations and discussion, Theatrum Mundi launches Designing the Urban Commons, an ideas competition calling for new ways to stimulate the city’s public and collective life.

Three groups engaged in live projects in London and Paris will present their work, describing how commoning emerges through the spaces they have created or occupied and also examining the issues and opportunities presented by commons as an approach to urban design.

For more information, click here. This event is free and open to all, seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
 

LSE Works

The ninth LSE Works lecture takes place on Wednesday 6 May and will be given by CASE’s Professor Robert Cassen (pictured), Professor Sandra McNally of University of Surrey and CEP, and Professor Anna Vignoles of University of Cambridge, on ‘Making a Difference in Education: what the evidence says’.

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.