LSE opens new PhD Academy

The Academy provides doctoral students with a specially designed space that includes a common room, a teaching room and central services all in one location.

Aperitivo!

Don't miss LSE's first Aperitivo on Friday from 5-8pm on the top floor of the NAB. There will be a range of prosecco, champagne, classic cocktails and fine wines on offer.

Ffion Meagher

October is LSE's 120th anniversary month. To celebrate, second year student Ffion tells us which famous LSE person she'd bring back to life.

Celebrating 120 years of LSE

Adrian Thomas, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, discusses LSE's history and encourages you to join in with the 120th anniversary celebrations.

What does everyone at LSE have in common? Each of us has a place in LSE’s unique history.

We are very nearly in October, our 120th anniversary month, and I hope 2015’s celebratory trip through LSE’s past has been able to inspire and entertain us all. From the Beaver’s name to the woman behind the Shaw Library, I hope you have enjoyed following the "Did you know?" series of LSE history trivia - new starters can catch up here.

Introducing LSE’s oral history: Tales from Houghton Street
Student or staff, it doesn’t matter whether your time at LSE was in the 1970s or 2010s, chances are you’ll have fond memories of Wright’s Bar - or so we discovered in our LSE 120th anniversary oral history project. A huge thank you to all of you took part, and to Clara Cook our oral historian. Listen online now to a podcast of some of these Tales from Houghton Street. Uncut interviews with all participants will be available on the Digital Library later this year.

Explore campus history
Would you like to travel through time using archive pictures of LSE’s key buildings? A new online interactive LSE history map will be launching soon.

LSE firsts and LSE foundations
The very first students arrived at LSE on 10 October 1895. What did they study and who taught them? Read more about LSE’s firsts in a new weekly series from LSE archivist Sue Donnelly on the LSE History blog throughout October, beginning with Funding the vision.

The Library is hosting the exhibition Foundations: LSE and the Science of Society which illustrates how some of the key figures from LSE’s early years went about making our founders’ vision a reality. It is free of charge and open to all until Saturday 19 December, so make sure you visit.

Find out more about LSE’s history and join in the 120th anniversary celebrations at lse.ac.uk/lse120. #LSE120

Did you know? LSE’s foundation was funded by a bequest from the will of a Derby lawyer, Henry Hunt Hutchinson. How and why? Read more at the LSE History blog.

On Monday 21 September, Philipp Rode from LSE Cities and Christian Hoffmann from the Innovation Centre for Mobility and Societal Change (InnoZ) presented the results of a new comparative study on mobility attitudes in London and Berlin at the Social Science Research Center Berlin for Social Research in Berlin.

By international standards, London is a very safe place to live and work. There are still things you can do to ensure you and your belongings remain as safe as possible.

Remember LSE is an open campus
LSE is one of the few institutions in central London to maintain an open campus policy, meaning that throughout the day many School buildings are open. Always bear in mind that the School is a public place. If you would not leave your laptop unattended on a park bench you should not leave it unattended in the Library, the Garrick or any other public area of the School.

Conceal your valuables
Thieves are on the look-out for valuables, especially smart phones and other electrical items. Keep yours out of sight and close to you, both while on campus and travelling to and from it.

Have your say on divestment from fossil fuel

The Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Review has been formed to explore the divestment options from fossil fuel and the impact that different levels of divestment would have on the finances of the School and its ability to fulfil its objectives. It will also review whether other environmental, social and governance factors should be incorporated into LSE’s SRI policy.

Your thoughts on the SRI policy are welcomed - please email them to ethics@lse.ac.uk by Monday 5 October or attend the SRI Town Hall Meeting also on Monday 5 October from 4-5.30pm in the Shaw Library, Old Building.
 

Register to vote

If you want to have your say at an election in the UK, you must be registered to vote. Visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk to find out about registering at your term time address.

International students can visit UKCISA for more information about the electoral process in the UK.
 

Help improve internal communications at LSE

Communications is looking for students to participate in focus groups to feed into the development of internal communications.

We want to hear first-hand how you feel engaged with School news and how able you are to join conversations across LSE.

The sessions will last for one hour and participants will be given a £10 Waterstones voucher for attending. If you're interested, please email communications.internal@lse.ac.uk.
 

On LSE’s Facebook page and Instagram feed we’re showcasing a selection of LSE students and staff and asking them about what makes them feel part of the LSE community.

The LSE Volunteer Centre sits within LSE Careers and is here to help you find a volunteering placement at a charity during your time at LSE. We had many successes last year, shown in our online brochure, and we hope to build on them this academic year.

The Centre offers a wide range of volunteering opportunities for you to get involved in, whether you have one hour a week or two days a week to spare. It can offer a wealth of advice on volunteering in London and overseas, plus how you can make the best use of your opportunities to make a difference in the world and help gain new skills for your future careers. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and through our blog, featuring articles such as “How to get your volunteering started”.

If you have a question about volunteering please arrange a one-on-one appointment with the LSE Volunteer Coordinator:

• Tuesdays at 10-11am
• Fridays at 2-4pm

Interested in African news and issues?

Africa at LSE is a blog based here at LSE that promotes Africa research from the School and beyond.

If you would like to subscribe to the fortnightly email newsletter, please contact the editor, Syerramia Willoughby at africa@lse.ac.uk.

If you are good writer and would like to cover LSE public events for the blog, send a writing sample to the editor, Syerramia Willoughby at africa@lse.ac.uk.
 

Do you love writing? Become a student blogger and share your experience as an LSE student while honing your blogging skills.

We’re looking for all sorts of students - from first year undergraduates, to final year PhD students; from those who’ve lived in London all their life to new arrivals in the city.

Bloggers write about all sorts of different things to do with being a student at LSE and living in London. Bloggers will be given training in guidelines and content and in how to use WordPress. Every month we give out a prize for the best blogger as well as a prize at the end of the year.

Funding opportunities for studying in China

Fancy studying Mandarin in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in China? The LSE Language Centre offers students the unique opportunity to study Mandarin at Fudan University, Shanghai.

Courses are either five or eight weeks, and are during summer 2016. Scholarship opportunities, which cover tuition fees, are available for all students. However, priority consideration is given to those studying Mandarin as a degree course.

Chinese Government Scholarships are also available for two LSE students each year. These scholarships provide a unique opportunity for LSE students to undertake further study or research in a Chinese higher education institution. Scholarships are available to undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students alike. Students are required to apply each January/February with a decision announced in March.

For more information on both scholarship opportunities, click here or contact Dr Catherine Xiang at h.xiang@lse.ac.uk.
 

LSE Arts: calling all new students

If you’re a budding photographer then we're looking for your best images to feature in our monthly online LSE Perspectives gallery.

For more information, click here or email arts@lse.ac.uk.
 

Now open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12noon - 6pm, you can now enjoy all your Café 54 favourites seven days a week.

Aperitivo hours

On Friday 2 October from 5-8pm, the top floor of the New Academic Building will be hosting its first Aperitivo. There will be a range of prosecco, champagne, classic cocktails and fine wines on offer with an accompanying selection of delicious Italian bites.

Do you want to develop your IT skills?

Subscribe to the IT Training mailing list, check out our online guides and FAQs, plus the huge range of other computer training resources on LSE’s IT Training website.

Soon to go, the high level walkway which links Old Building with East Building.

For more images like this, visit the Photography Unit or check out the School's Instagram page.

For further information on the campus redevelopment, click here.

Forthcoming LSE events include....

Myanmar on the Brink
On: Monday 5 October at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speakers: Mark Canning, Dr Jurgen Haacke, and Shibani Mahtani (pictured)

On Liberty: a conversation with Shami Chakrabarti
On: Tuesday 6 October at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Shami Chakrabarti

A Right to Migrate?
On: Tuesday 6 October at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Professor Chris Bertram, Emily Dugan (pictured), Professor Matthew Gibney, and Madeleine Sumption

HeForShe #GetFree tour: panel discussion on developing an inclusive campus culture
On: Wednesday 7 October at 3.30pm in the Shaw Library, 6th floor, Old Building
Speakers: Elizabeth Nyamayaro, Lena Schofield, Hilary Stauffer, and Charles Stephens

Why Cities Succeed and Fail Today
On: Wednesday 7 October at 6.30pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Michael Storper (pictured)

Economics Rules: the rights and wrongs of the dismal science
On: Wednesday 7 October at 6.30pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Dani Rodrik

Lunchtime Concert
On: Thursday 8 October at 1.05pm in the Shaw Library, 6th floor, Old Building
Speaker: Trio Isimsiz

Women, Peace and Security: tackling the cycle of violence against women

On: Thursday 8 October from 6.30-8pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Christine Chinkin, Director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security.

This is the first major public event organised by the Centre for Women, Peace and Security, which was launched earlier this year with the support of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, co-founded by former UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie Pitt.

The Centre is a leading academic space for scholars, practitioners, activists, policy-makers and students to develop strategies to promote justice, human rights and participation for women in conflict-affected situations around the world. Through research, teaching and multi-sectoral engagement, the Centre aims to promote gender equality and enhance women’s economic, social and political participation and security.

On: Thursday 8 October from 6.30-8pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
Speakers: Sir Robert Cooper, Senior Fellow of the Dahrendorf Forum and affiliated to the OSCE Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security; and Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Senior Fellow of the Dahrendorf Forum and affiliated to the OSCE Panel of Eminent Persons on European Security.
Discussant: Professor Karen Smith, Professor of International Relations and Director of LSE’s European Foreign Policy Unit.

On: Monday 5 October from 6.30-8pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Patrick Diamond, Vice-Chair of Policy Network; and Roger Liddle, Chair of Policy Network.
Respondents: Jonathan Hopkin, Associate Professor of Comparative Politics at LSE; Simon Nixon, Chief European Commentator at the Wall Street Journal; and John Park, Assistant General Secretary at Community Trade Union.

This public event, in partnership with Policy Network, will open with a compelling picture of Europe’s multifaceted divergences in the field of the economy and labour markets, inequality and poverty, education and health, politics and culture. It will conclude by exploring what both the EU and national governments can do to restore Europe's strength, sustainability, cohesion and competitiveness in a climate of rising populism.

Book Launch - Prime Ministers in Greece: the paradox of power

On: Wednesday 7 October from 6.30-8pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Kevin Featherstone, Eleftherios Venizelos Professor of Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor of European Politics at LSE; and Dimitris Papadimitriou, Professor of Politics and Director of the Manchester Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, University of Manchester.
Discussant: Ed Page, Sidney and Beatrice Webb Professor of Public Policy at LSE.

This book is concerned with a large question in one small, but highly problematic case: how can a prime minister establish control and coordination across his or her government? The event will be followed by a wine reception and book sale. More
 

On: Thursday 8 October from 6.30-8pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Speaker: Professor Andrew Moravcsik, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, and Director of the European Union Program in the Department of Politics and Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.

On: Tuesday 13 October from 6.30-8pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Martin Sandbu, economics writer for the Financial Times.

LSE Arts: new exhibition in the Atrium Gallery

Germans in Britain, a touring exhibition created by the Migration Museum Project, explores the relationship between Britain and Germany, one of the deepest between any two European countries.

Although the two wars that devastated 20th century Europe cast Germany and Britain as foes, the nations have long been natural allies with intertwined interests and a shared past.
 

The Department of Media and Communications holds numerous public events throughout the academic year. Everyone is welcome to attend and they are all free of charge.

This year the line-up includes events about key topics in current debates including:

• The future of the BBC
• The UK Freedom of Information Act
• Can PR be a force for good?
• The challenges faced by News Organisations
• Transparency and ‘The Right to Know’
• The rise of creative economies

Podcasts of public lectures and events

One plus One Equals Three: a masterclass in creative thinking
Speaker: Dave Trott
Recorded: Monday 21 September, approx. 85 minutes

Why Demography Needs (New) Theories
Speaker: Professor Wendy Sigle
Recorded: Wednesday 23 September, approx. 82 minutes