LSE’s Excellence in Education Awards are made to staff who have demonstrated outstanding teaching contribution and educational leadership in their departments. In this series, we talk to some of this year's award winners to find out more about their excellent teaching and the different approaches they take to working with students.
This week, Professor Wim Van der Stede explains why "the intensity of teaching is like being a Formula One driver" and why it doesnt matter what he thinks.
You’re invited to the Research Festival on Thursday 3 November in the New Academic Building. Come and support your friends and exhibitors from across LSE in a day of #lseresearch celebration.
Student Staff Liaison Committees are forums in which students (via programme representatives) can voice their views about their time at LSE, make suggestions for improvement, and work with academic departments to enhance experiences for the whole student body.
Riham Mansour As LSESU Community and Welfare Officer, Riham's priorities focus on mental health of LSE students, postgraduate students, and the ethnic diversity of the School.
Universities UK Taskforce on tackling violence against women, hate crime and harassment
Universities UK reported last Friday on the work of their Taskforce on tackling violence against women, hate crime and harassment. The Taskforce has recommended some changes to national policy, alongside specific actions that universities should take.
Amongst the UUK Taskforce’s recommendations were that: “Universities should develop a clear and accessible response procedure and centralised reporting system for dealing with incidents of violence, harassment or hate crime". LSE already has this in place, in the form of the online Report It. Stop It tool.
The campaign that accompanies the online form also makes it clear that harassment and bullying should not be tolerated. LSE’s inclusive working and social environment is all of our responsibility and it’s vital we encourage, support and behave appropriately to one another.
Staff from the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce and the Student Services Centre will be participating in the UUK seminar on this issue next week. We will publish an action plan on the School’s ongoing work in this area on the EDI website before the end of the Michaelmas term.
Around LSE
Not receiving Student News? Check your junk!
It has been brought to our attention that Student News may be arriving as junk in some of your inboxes.
Please check the 'junk' folder of your email if you haven't received the latest editions.
Start learning about migration in five minutes a day
Six Impossible Ideas (after Brexit) isbite-sized course with top LSE academics launching in October.
Sign up here and receive six short episodes by email, each explaining a single research-based idea about migration missing from the public discourse.
The course is a joint production of LSE's Institute of Global Affairs and Migration Matters, a new organisation that creates bite-sized video courses about migration.
Centre Buildings Redevlopment Newsletter
Find out what to expect, as the demolition phase of the Centre Buildings Redevelopment project nears completion, in the latest Centre Buildings Redevlopment Newsletter.
This week is Food Wastage Awareness Week
LSE Catering will be raising awareness about food wastage this week in its outlets across campus.
Don't miss Feel Good Food Day at The Garrick and Fourth Floor Restaurant and Café on Wednesday 26 October.
The event is part of LSE Catering's wider commitment to demonstrating how healthier ingredients and waste awareness can benefit your health and the wider environment.
It's not too late to sign up for a language course this academic year
As part of their Certificate Course Programme, LSE's Language Centre offer courses in Arabic, Catalan, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish at all levels of ability.
The final date for registering is Friday 28 October; however, you may need to have your level assessed before this time so please get in touch now.
Want to help make LSE a greener place, and boost your CV?
The LSE Sustainability Team is looking for enthusiastic students to volunteer with ‘Green Impact’ - a competition for teams across the School to create a more sustainable place to study, and celebrate environmental achievements.
This is a great opportunity for those looking to gain experience in the sustainability sector, get IEMA-certified environmental auditor training, develop skills, and meet new people.
For more information, visit our Facebook page or email Jessica Lobo for an application form. The deadline for applications is Sunday 30 October.
Calling all December graduates
There are less than 50 days until graduation! Register now as a student on LSE Alumni Online and your account will be upgraded automatically to alumni access after you graduate.
The LSE Diversity Calendar includes the dates of significant global, cultural, religious and historical events alongside diverse members of the School community, both past and present.
Please feel free to download the 2016-17 calendar as a Word (.docx) or PDF file.
Are you an international student who would like to spend a day or weekend learning more about British culture with friendly people who will treat you as a guest in their home and show you their local area?
If this sounds like you, then a visit with HOST UK (HOST) is the right trip for you. HOST is a charity that is supported by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It has hundreds of friendly, welcoming people living across the UK who would like to meet and give you a home-away-from-home experience. All hosts are unpaid, and invite students because they enjoy offering you a welcome to the UK. The aim of HOST is to promote international friendship and cultural exchange in a friendly and safe environment. All HOST volunteers are visited and approved by regional organisers so they know who and where you are going to.
A HOST visit administration fee can cost £35-£72, depending on your length of stay and when you would like to go on the visit. You will also have to pay for your travel costs (you can give a travel budget upon application). The HOST visits are free due to the generosity of HOST’s volunteers; this includes meals in the host’s house and accommodation, although you may have to contribute to, or pay for in full, any outside meals and excursions that you enjoy with your host - your host will always explain this beforehand.
If you would like to go on a HOST visit during Christmas, you must submit your application to HOST by Friday 18 November.
To learn more about HOST UK and find out how to apply for a HOST UK visit, come along to our HOST Social Event on Friday 11 November from 1-2pm in 32L.B.07. Book your place at Eventbrite.
The Yenching Academy is the most ambitious academic initiative Peking University has launched since the turn of the new century. It will provide international students with a nuanced understanding of China’s rich civilization and its complexities today, as well as opportunities to work with faculty to develop and apply innovative research in humanities and social sciences.
LSE graduates are invited to apply to be part of the third cohort of a one year, interdisciplinary Master's program in China Studies beginning in September 2017. Four LSE graduates successfully applied to be part of the first two cohorts.
The programme is open to top performing students from the world's leading universities for whom an intensive year studying China at the country's premier university fits and enhances their careers. Courses are available in both English and Chinese; it is possible to complete the program without any prior knowledge of China or its languages. Those with advanced Chinese will be able to attend courses taught in that language.
Requirements:
Bachelor's (or Master’s) degree in any field prior to 1 September 2017
a "strong preference" will be given to applicants who are 25 years old or younger before or on 31 August 2017
Applications for the 2017-18 Yenching Academy Master’s in China Studies program are now open. Interested LSE students should apply directly to the Yenching Academy. The final deadline for applications is 31 January 2017.
The LSE Treatment Clinic, which welcomes LSE students and staff, is on the first floor of Tower 2.
The Clinic offers professional treatments at reduced rates for the LSE community, including acupuncture, osteopathy and sports massage from practitioners with over 20 years of experience between them. Their combined expertise is effective in the treatment of pain relief, including musculoskeletal pain, repetitive strain injury, tension headaches, posture advice, sports injuries, anxiety, insomnia, and migraine, among many other ailments.
The practitioners are:
Hanya Chlala Acupuncture available in a dual bed setting on Wednesdays and Fridays
Laura Dent Sports massage available on Mondays
Tim Hanwell Osteopathy available on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Appointments are available Monday-Friday from 9am-6pm and can be booked online. All consultations are strictly confidential and sessions will last between 30- 60 minutes, depending upon the treatment.
Update from…
LSE Library
We are here to help you get the most out of the resources and services available to you at LSE. Don’t hesitate to email us or contact us on Twitter if you need assistance.
Come and talk to your librarian Drop in to LSE LIFE and get help from a librarian between 11am and 3pm, Monday to Friday. Your librarian can help you with:
Finding and using resources for your assignments.
Advise you on referencing and bibliographies.
Help you get what you need quickly and efficiently.
Follow our curators on Twitter If you want to learn more about our archives and special collections then follow our team of curators. They regularly tweet about the unique material in our collections that you won’t find elsewhere.
Gillian @curatorequality - Curator of Equality, Rights and Citizenship Indy @economiccurator - Curator of Economics and Social Policy Daniel @politicscurator - Curator of Politics and International Relations
They also run various events and talks so if you want to learn more just get in touch.
Learning support training programme As well as the excellent programme running in LSE LIFE every day we provide training to support your studies and help you identify the best resources for your research. These include:
Popular Library resources Have you explored our collections? As well as thousands of books and journals we provide access to many popular online resources. Here is a small selection that you might like to take a look at:
FT.com - international business news, market data and analysis from the Financial Times.
BoB National - record, view and catch up on thousands of TV and radio programmes.
Flickr - includes thousands of photographs we have released into the public domain.
Customer Services Excellence We have recently successfully achieved accreditation to the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) Award for the second year running, passing with flying colours. The assessor, who spent the day at LSE with Library staff, was very impressed with the new spaces in the Library including LSE LIFE. We will be assessed again next year and in the meantime will continue to improve services for all LSE students.
View the location of books and journals Floor plans are now available directly from records in Library Search. Click the ‘View location’ button to get the relevant floor plan for the item you are looking for. This should be especially useful to help both new and returning students find their resources on the shelves.
Visit our exhibition Why not take a break from your studies and visit our current exhibition: Charles Booth’s London: Mapping Lives in Victorian London? Running until 17 December the exhibition explores a pioneering piece of sociological research led by Charles Booth, an English philanthropist and social reformer.
What’s on
DisabledGo launch in LSE LIFE
Following September’s publication of online access guides to all the School’s buildings, and route maps around campus, we will be hosting a launch event with DisabledGo next month.
This will take place in LSE LIFE from 10am-4pm on Wednesday 2 November. Do drop in during the course of the day, to hear more about the access guides, and the ongoing work LSE is doing in this area.
DisabledGo will also be presenting Professor Julia Black (Interim Director), Dr Andrew Young (Chief Operating Officer), and Riham Mansour (LSESU Community and Welfare Officer) with a plaque, to symbolise LSE’s partnership with DisabledGo, and our commitment to enhancing provision in this area.
Highlights from LSE's public events
On Thursday 3 November, adventurer Sarah Outen (pictured) talks about her latest challenge - an epic undertaking which saw her take 4.5 years to row, kayak and cycle around the Northern Hemisphere from London to London - a journey of some 25,000 miles and her new book Dare to Do.
UPR Colloquium: A showcase for Undergraduate Research
Friday 4 November, 6.30pm, LSE LIFE, LSE Library
The new UPR (Undergraduate Political Review) is hosting an inaugural Dissertation Colloquium. This Colloquium is part of the larger initiative to create a platform for LSE Undergraduates to present and publish their research.
Some of the best third year dissertations on politics from 2015-16 will be showcased in an evening event which promises a lively exchange of ideas on various political topics. Former third year students will present their dissertations, followed by comments from academic staff, and plenty of time for Q&A from the audience.
Drinks and nibbles will be served and we hope this academic and social event will be a template for research engagement between students and staff.
More than two decades after the Dayton Peace Agreement came into force, Bosnia is not at war. But, the absence of war is not peace. The panel debates why the peace process has not been more successful and draws lessons for peace-building in other conflict zones.
This event is free and open to all to attend, with no ticket or pre-registration required.
Tuesday 8 November, 6-7.30pm, LSE Campus, room to be confirmed Speaker: Professor Dimitri Vayanos (pictured), Professor of Finance and Head of the Department of Finance at LSE
In this research seminar, Professor Vayanos will provide an empirical and theoretical analysis of the Greek Crisis of 2010. His presentation is based on research conducted together with Pierre-Olivier Gourincha (UC Berkeley, NBER and CEPR Group Chief Economist) and Thomas Philippon (NYU Stern and NBER), which resulted in the publication of GreeSE paper No.100.
Politics in Modern Arab Art Speaker: Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi Recorded: Tuesday 18 October, approx. 91 minutes
Training
The LSE LIFE Reading Week Extravaganza
Week 6 is Reading Week for some students, and LSE LIFE is running a series of events to help you make a dent in your reading lists and start writing your essays as we reach the half-way point of Michaelmas Term. Whether you’ve done it all before or you’re just getting started, there are always things you can improve.
Plan your reading week Friday 28 October, 11am You’ve got a week without lectures and a stack of work to do or are half-way through your course. You don’t want to waste your time. Let us help! We’ll go through the best ways to plan your days, read effectively, write notes that make sense and get started on essays you’ve been putting off. Bring along your diary and reading lists. Book a place
LSE LIFE Read-a-thon Tuesday 1 November, 4pm Wednesday 2 November, 4pm Got a stack of reading to do? Take part in our Read-a-thon! Our Learning Developers will give you the techniques to help you stay focused on your readings and make effective notes from them. Then put the techniques into practice with your own readings. Please bring along any text you have to read and let us help you. Book a place
LSE LIFE Write-in Monday 31 October, 4pm Friday 4 November, 4pm Are you struggling to write that essay or research paper? People usually think writing is a solitary experience. However, meeting with others to write – even those from different courses - can help overcome writer’s block and procrastination. Our Learning Developers will show you some techniques to make the most of your writing time and then it’s time to write! Bring along your laptop or pen and paper, and any piece of writing you’d like to make progress on. Book a place
Read actively and engage critically with authors' arguments and evidence Wednesday 2 November, 11am Back by popular demand! Our session on reading and engaging with author’s arguments was so popular that we’re running it again. Book your place before they’re all gone again! Book a place
Part of LSE
Skip fit lessons
Security officer and former boxer Daniel Beckley is running skip fit lessons for students and staff.
The next lessons will take place from 1-2pm at the Badminton Court, Old Building, on Tuesday 1 November, Tuesday 15 November, Tuesday 22 November, Tuesday 6 December, and Tuesday 13 December. Just turn up on any of these dates with your own skipping rope. All lessons are free.
On Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, we’re showcasing a selection of students and staff sharing their favourite places on and around campus in celebration of all the wonderful places at LSE and across London.
As proud supporters of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s #LondonIsOpen campaign, the initiative is an opportunity for you to tell the LSE community what spaces make you feel part of LSE, and remind the world that our capital is open to everyone.
Follow along every day for new stories, and share selfies of you in your favourite places with us on social media.
Star of the Week
Star of the Week
Congratulations to Joanna Ghobar, LSE alumna and graduate intern in the Student Services Centre, who has been nominated as this week's Star of the Week.
Bethan Ovens, International Student Visa Advice Manager and Erasmus Coordinator, commented: "Jo supports my team with our Erasmus work. She’s been invaluable during a busy time of immigration rule changes and the summer peak period queries. Jo’s taken on board the student focussed Erasmus activities, proactively making changes, getting to grips with the administration and chasing students to ensure they get the money they are entitled to. Sadly, Jo’s only with us for a few more months, but she’d be an asset to any team she joins."
"I echo Bethan’s comments; I can’t imagine how we would have got through the peak period without Joanna’s invaluable assistance", added Laura Dyson, Senior International Student Visa Adviser and Erasmus Coordinator. "She is incredibly quick to learn and is a very friendly and supportive colleague; a pleasure to work with."
Get in touch!
If you have some news, an achievement, or an aspect of LSE life that you would like to share, we would love to hear from you - get in touch at communications.internal@lse.ac.uk or on ext 7582.
The next edition of Student News is on Wednesday 2 November. Articles for this should be emailed to us by Monday 31 October.
Microsoft prevents automatic downloading of images. You can set your Microsoft Outlook to download all pictures in emails from LSEmail. Please find guidance here.
Follow our curators on Twitter
Learning support training programme
Popular Library resources
View the location of books and journals
Other events coming up in the next week: the Forum discuss 
