In 2015-16, LSE enjoyed a record year in philanthropic income secured for School projects, with almost £85.8 million raised from alumni and friends, trusts, foundations and business partners.

This record total included the largest gift ever received by LSE (£64.4 million from the Atlantic Philanthropies to create the Atlantic Fellows programme at the International Inequalities Institute), the largest gift from an alumnus (£10 million pledged by Firoz Lalji to endow the Centre for Africa), and a record year for the LSE Annual Fund (more than £1 million raised from 3,369 donors). The Annual Fund supported 93 initiatives across LSE during the year, including 87 that directly enhance the student experience and over 200 students were assisted through scholarships.

Find out more about the impact of philanthropy at LSE.

Resist: Festival of Ideas and Actions is a three day festival on resistance that will be taking place on campus 28 – 30 September.

The festival will explore how resistance has been interpreted and understood within academic research, the arts, grassroots activism campaigns, student debate and mainstream politics. It will feature soapbox debates, lectures, film screenings, workshops, theatre, a lighting event, a gig night and more.

Events will be open to the public and students and will actively involve community groups.

Dr Lisa McKenzie, Research Fellow and organiser of the Festival, said: "The Resist Festival aims to turn LSE inside out and open this creative and interesting place in the heart of London to those who are often locked out by institutionalised inequalities. To question, to critique and to resist power is part of our human rights, and important to our democracy, without resistance there is only totalitarianism."

The Resist Festival is funded by the ESRC’s Impact Acceleration Account.

You will notice as you walk around campus that LSE is undertaking an ambitious redevelopment of the centre buildings on Houghton Street and Clare Market. The programme will create state-of-the-art, flexible and highly sustainable academic and teaching buildings and a brand new public square and is due to be completed in early 2019. To keep up-to-date with the development, visit the CBR webpage.

The LSE Estates team would like to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns, email Estates.Centrebuildings@lse.ac.uk.

You can find access guides for all of LSE’s buildings here.

The DisabledGo guides provide a summary of all of our venues’ accessibility with detailed information and photographs to enable you to plan your journeys.

If you haven’t received a copy of the Student Facilities Guide 2016-17 make sure you pick one up during Welcome Week, or visit the LSE Facilities Guide webpages.

In response to student feedback, you’ll be pleased to hear that in addition to the Student Salon, a microwave has also been located in Saw Swee Hock on 2^nd floor (outside the Faith Centre).

Information Management and Technology (IMT) is here to help you connect, communicate and collaborate using IT @ LSE.

For an overview of relevant IT information and resources to support you as you start your studies (including links to free antivirus software and Microsoft Office downloads), please visit lse.ac.uk/imt/newstudent.

Do you have a brilliant entrepreneurial idea?  Would you like to win up to £10,000? Apply for the LSE Generate funding competition 2016!

There are also lots of networking events, masterclasses, debates, seminars, panels, workshops, and appointments/mentoring throughout the year for you to meet new people, develop your skills and achieve your goals.

LSE's Widening Participation team needs you!

By applying to be a LSE Mentor, Tutor, or Student Ambassador you can help LSE Widening Participation change the lives of young people in London state schools. Your role will help make a difference to the confidence, aspirations and motivation of young people from backgrounds under-represented in Higher Education whilst improving your own transferable skills.

Why should you get involved?

• Improve your transferable skills such as time management, communication and problem solving.
• Strengthen your CV/resume and gain experience of working with young people.
• Gain personal satisfaction by helping young people consider their Higher Education options.
• Access to a bespoke training scheme including Child Protection, the UK Education System, how to be effective in your role, public speaking skills and developing self-confidence.

Do you want to get your research noticed? LSE’s Research Festival is an annual celebration of the innovative and ground-breaking social science research by our staff and students, and the 2016 call for submissions is now open.

Can you submit the findings of your research project presented as a photograph, poster or headlined abstract? The Research Festival Toolkit is here to help you create your submission, and you can register for one of the PhD Academy’s upcoming workshops:

• Thursday 22 September, 1-5pm - Photography Workshop
• Tuesday 27 September, 2.30-4pm - Headlined Abstract Workshop

If you’re successful, your work will feature in a public exhibition at the LSE Research Festival on Thursday 3 November, and you will be in with a chance of winning a prize.

Visit lse.ac.uk/researchfestival for full details. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 5 October.

The LSE Students' Union (LSESU) is a charity run by students, for students.

We know that starting at LSE can be a daunting prospect, so why not join our official LSE Facebook groups where you can meet other students, ask questions about the School or LSESU, and get advice.

Don't forget to visit our Welcome Week webpages to find out what’s on, and check out the LSESU Welcome Fair in the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre on Thursday 23 and Friday 24 September - the Welcome Fair is your chance to meet LSESU clubs and societies, learn about the wide range of activities LSESU has to offer, sign up for membership and bag some great freebies!

LSESU student volunteers in gold t-shirts will be on campus throughout Welcome Week. Ask them about the best places to go in London and near to LSE, follow them on a guided tour of the capital, and join them for loads more fun events and activities during your first week.

For more information, contact the team on 020 7955 7158, email us at su.info@lse.ac.uk or visit lsesu.com.

As a new student at LSE, you are already considered part of the growing LSE community of 136,000 alumni in almost 200 countries across the world.

We hope that you are able to connect with LSE alumni as a student through the services we offer to current students:

• Access to the Alumni Professional Mentoring Network
• 90+ Regional groups  
• 10+ Special interest groups
• Invitations to some alumni events
• Membership to the official LSE Alumni LinkedIn Group

The best way to find out about these opportunities is to register at LSE Alumni Online with your Student ID.

Read more at alumni.lse.ac.uk/students or email alumni@lse.ac.uk with any questions.

LSE has introduced an online tool for reporting harassment and bullying. This initiative supports LSE’s values for an inclusive working and social environment in which all people are treated with dignity and respect. It is all of our responsibility to uphold these values and it’s vital we encourage, support and behave appropriately to one another.

You don’t need to put up with harassment and bullying. If you have experienced it or witnessed it, you can report it here - lse.ac.uk/reportit

The report will be treated confidentially and followed up promptly and fairly by an independent team.

Right from the very beginning, your time at LSE will be busy. It’s important to make the most of it – from discovering the best ways to study and manage your time effectively, to making friends and thinking about where your studies might lead you. LSE draws students of all backgrounds from around the world and you want a place to come together to explore, debate, and learn as peers. This is where LSE LIFE comes in.

Housed in the ground floor of the Library, LSE LIFE is the School's brand new centre where undergraduates and master’s students can come for support, guidance, and ideas about how to succeed in their studies and extend learning and discovery.

Find out more about the support you can access and the events you can attend, from core workshops on topics such as ‘how to approach research and your dissertation’ to specialist sessions which include ‘a survival guide to Britain and the British’.

The full autumn programme of events is now online.

Highlights including talks by Nobel prize-winning scientist Sir Paul Nurse; equality champion Laura Bates; Director of Liberty Martha Spurrier; Innocent founder Richard Reed; and neuroscientist Susan Greenfield.

Browse the events online or download the events leaflet. Follow LSE Events on Twitter or Facebook or join the LSE Events email subscription service to be the first to hear about events.

For ticketed events LSE students are recommended to collect tickets from the Students’ Union shop, where they are available exclusively for the LSE students and staff. Check individual weblisting for details.

LSE alumnus and senior editor and economics columnist for The Economist Ryan Avent (pictured) speaks about his new book on Monday 26 September.

Academic, broadcaster and columnist Tiffany Jenkins and Richard Armstrong, the Director of the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum and Foundation take part in a public discussion on Museums in a Global Age on 4 October. Tickets for this event can requested from Tuesday 27 September.

Nobel laureate Sir Paul Nurse delivers the Karl Popper Memorial Lecture on Wednesday 28 September. Make sure to save the date in your diary.

For all other LSE public events, click here.

Thursday 22 September, 6.30-8pm, TW1 G.01, Tower 1
Speaker: Madeleine Rees, Secretary General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and Visiting Professor in Practice in the Centre for Women, Peace and Security.

How have myths and gendered assumptions undermined the ability to make real the promises of the women, peace and security agenda? What needs to be done to rescue it from formulaic approaches and help it achieve its potential?

While LSE does not teach arts or music, there is a vibrant cultural side to the School.

LSE’s weekly Thursday lunchtime concerts restart on 29 September with a performance by the Linos Piano Trio.

Check out the schedule of performances for the Michaelmas Term.

See the latest edition of the LSE Government video series #GovStudentsAsk where Quintus Lim (BSc Government and Economics) from the LSE Undergraduate Political Review spoke to Nick Clegg MP after his LSE Government event on 15 September.

The former Deputy Prime Minister discusses his new book Politics: Between the Extremes, the way ahead following the Brexit vote and his advice for students considering a career in politics. A podcast recording of the lecture is also available here.

The Student Services Centre (SSC) is the place where students can go to get advice on a range of issues from registration through to graduation.

For Welcome Week, the SSC team told us their #LSETopTips for new and continuing students - watch the video below and find out what they said!

The Student Services Centre is located on the ground floor of the Old Building. The team are available Monday to Friday, 11am-4pm to answer your questions, so drop by and say hello!

Mhil/PhD and visiting research students should visit the PhD Academy for advice and guidance.

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.

This academic year, we will be running a new section in Student News to celebrate all the LSE 'stars' out there.

Do you know a fellow student who goes out of their way to help to others? Would you like to thank someone you've worked with recently? Does your friend give up their time to volunteer or raise money for charity, or is there a society that you think should be recognised for their success?

If so, we want to hear all about it, so please get in touch with us at communications.internal@lse.ac.uk and tell us about you LSE stars!