"LGBT History Month is celebrated in the UK in February each year and LSE’s LGBT+ staff network Spectrum and LSESU LGBT+ Alliance for students are actively supporting this. This year’s theme - Religion, Belief and Philosophy - is not only very topical, it also reflects a long history of thought and action on rights and justice for the LGBT+ community. I hope the LSE community will engage with these groups and their events so that we work, as we must, to encourage deeper understanding and an ever more inclusive School environment." Professor Robin Mansell, Deputy Director and Provost
Get in touch with the LSESU LGBT+ Alliance, @lsesulgbt or on Facebook, for year-round LGBT+ initiatives and events for students. On Friday 5 February join the LSESU Labour Society for ‘LGBT+ activism and British Politics’, a panel event with politicians, activists and academics. Contact Adam Crowther for details.
Last week LSE students raised over £5,000 for international development charity Farm Africa in a 'jailbreak' challenge which saw one group of daring undergraduates secure free return flights to Bangkok, Thailand.
Surprise someone special this Valentine's Day while contributing to rural communities in Honduras, providing microloans and workshops to help people develop financial literacy and business analyst skills.
Mario Levin Mario, Campaign Officer for the LSESU Amnesty International Society, is running a campaign next week against mass surveillance. Want to know more? Visit him outside the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.
Internet use is driving a greater wedge in our communities, increasing existing inequalities between rich and poor, a new study reveals.
The study, by Dr Ellen Helsper from LSE and Dutch researcher Dr Alexander van Deursen, shows that educated people on high incomes derive the greatest benefits from using the internet.
This February, the LSE research impact website is showcasing just some of the impact our academics have had in the digital world. Three new case studies have been released that demonstrate LSE-led digital advances for business, governments and consumers.
Fostering an inclusive information society Dr Ellen Helsper helped address digital exclusion and its socio-economic disadvantages in the UK and Europe. Read the impact case study
Helping organisations harness the power of innovative IT technologies PA Consulting Group commissioned Dr Carsten Sørensen to identify more innovative and strategic ways to use IT systems in organisations. Read the impact case study
Designing the world’s first glasses-free 3D television Professor Henry Wynn led a collaboration to improve the design of a key component in TVs and mobile devices. Read the impact case study
Around LSE
LSE-Tsinghua Summer Course 2016
This three week summer course is tailor-made for LSE students with higher levels of Mandarin Chinese.
Whether you are studying a degree course (e.g. LN240 or LN340) or studying a Level-5 certificate course, or your Chinese level is at least equivalent to HSK 5 or C1, you are eligible to apply for this exciting new programme.
The course is research-based and you will carry out a self-selected mini research project while you are in Beijing. This is a new way of combining Chinese language learning with specialist knowledge inquiry. You will have opportunity to construct your own understanding of contemporary China while honing key language skills; skills which are crucial for your future professional and/or academic pursuits.
IMT has recently completed a project to upgrade student printers to new multifunctional printer devices (MFDs). The MFDs allow you to print, copy and scan to email using any student Canon device in the Library, computer classrooms and halls of residence.
There are now colour printers in the NAB first floor computer rooms, the Library lower ground floor and in the Copy Shop, with brand new black and white printers in all of the halls.
Student Ambassadors for Digital Literacy (SADL) is a programme of workshops for LSE undergraduates to develop their digital and information skills in areas such as finding and evaluating information, using technology and apps for academic study, managing and sharing information and managing their digital footprint.
The programme is led by LTI and the Library and the team includes nine Senior Ambassadors. The Seniors are leading three projects to investigate the following questions:
How can we improve learning spaces at LSE - both virtual and physical?
How can we improve assessment and feedback at LSE and what role does technology play?
How can students provide peer support for each other?
How can you help? Over the coming month the Ambassadors will be carrying out some research to answer these questions, which may include asking you to fill in a survey or take part in a short interview. If you are approached by a SADL student, then please help them out!
A specially themed menu for Chinese New Year will be served at the Fourth Floor Restaurant on Monday 8 February from 3-7pm and on Tuesday 9 February from 11.30am-2.30pm.
Be sure to celebrate with friends and colleagues for what is sure to be a fun and delicious celebration.
Bean Counter Pancake Day
On Tuesday 9 February the Bean Counter in 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields will be celebrating pancake day with freshly made to order pancakes available throughout the day.
Various pancakes will be on offer including the classic pancake with lemon and sugar as well as other options featuring Nutella and fresh fruit.
Still trying to stick to your New Year's resolution to get fit? Why not exercise right here at LSE?
Security Officer and former boxer Daniel Beckley runs regular skip fit lessons for all staff and students. Check out the dates for upcoming lessons here.
Get active with LSESU Active Lifestyle - from drop-in sessions, beginner courses, inter-hall leagues and one-off events, they offer a range of activities for you to get involved with.
This year's LSESU Global Brigades postgraduate brigade is teaming up with the undergraduate brigade to implement a development project, supported by the LSE Annual Fund, in Panama from 12-21 June.
The project comprises both business and environmental aspects, and students will consult microenterprises and develop sustainable agricultural practices in under-resourced communities.
There will be an information session delivered by the project leader on Thursday 4 February from 4-5pm in CLM.2.05. If you are unable to make the information session but are interested in joining the group, please email Priya Singh.
Students in the Department of Management have created a website called the HR Matters Project, which sends out free weekly emails to its subscribers, summarising HR and management issues.
Not only do these email newsletters keep you up to date on current issues, but they also include interviews with LSE staff and industry leaders.
2016 is set to be a big year for democracy. Not only are there elections across the UK in May, but it is also looking increasingly likely that the EU referendum will be held this year.
However, in order to be involved in this democratic process, everybody must register to vote.
It takes less than three minutes to register - don’t lose out.
Information Management and Technology (IMT) provides a range of IT training for LSE students.
All sessions are free, except for the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification (MOS) which is available at a reduced cost.
Over the Lent term you could enhance your Microsoft Office skills via an IT Practical workshop, drop in to a Software Surgery to address a specific issue, or validate your knowledge with a MOS exam. Find out more here.
Friday 5 February from 12.30-2pm in the Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Elizabeth Hoff, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Syria, will look at the context of Syria pre-and post-2011, the current humanitarian situation, and the challenges which were faced by the WHO at the beginning of the humanitarian operation.
Don’t forget - ReLove Fashion is happening next Monday (8 February) from 10am-3pm in the LSESU Venue.
ReLove Fashion is your opportunity to update your wardrobe by swapping clothes and learning how to make practical use of your unloved clothing. Why not clear out your wardrobe this weekend, bring in the clothes you no longer love and swap them for a whole new look?
The Fashion Swap Shop will be running from 10am-3pm, drop in to bring along your unloved clothes and find a fresh new outfit. Sustainable fashion charity TRAID are running workshops on how to make a tote bag from an old t shirt, places are limited so book yours through Eventbrite.
Tuesday 9 February from 6.30-8pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building
20,000 years ago, the average person stood a 10-20 per cent chance of dying violently. Today, the chance is under 1 per cent. We have cut rates of violent death by 90 per cent by creating large organisations that impose peace; but the main method for creating these organisations has been war. In effect, violence has slowly been putting itself out of business.
Professor Ian Morris, Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE IDEAS for 2015-16, will discuss how the trends suggest that this process will probably continue.
Wednesday 10 February from 6.30-8pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building
Euripides L. Evriviades, High Commissioner for the Republic of Cyprus to the UK, will underline why Cyprus and the EU are important to each other and discuss the long term security of the region.
This event is free and open to all, but registration is required at Eventbrite.
Monday 15 February from 6.30-8pm in the Old Theatre, Old Building Speakers: Dr John Collins; Executive Director of the LSE IDEAS International Drug Policy Project, Dr Joanne Csete; Adjunct Professor of Public Health at Columbia University, Dr Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch; Director of the Global Drug Policy Program at the Open Society Foundation, and Javier Sagredo; Regional Democratic Governance and Citizen Security Advisor at the UN Development Programme.
Launch event for the LSE Expert Group on the Economics of Drug Policy report After the Drug Wars.
In April 2016, nation states and civil society will be convening in New York at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) to discuss the future of international drug control.
As we lead up to UNGASS, After the Drug Wars will provide a new and urgently needed framework for drug control reforms based on key tenets of Sustainable Development, grounded in public health and rigorous economic analysis.
The Student Wellbeing Service's Wellbeing Stall, which coincides with the 2016 Time to Change 'Time to Talk Day'
Georgios Evangelopoulos, Scientific Advisor to the President of the Hellenic Republic, will deliver the next event as part of the Hellenic Observatory's 2015-16 Seminar Series on Tuesday 9 February
Look out for occasional posts on the LSE Library blog highlighting a selection of data resources available to LSE staff and students.
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 10 February. Articles for this should be emailed to us by Monday 8 February. Student News is emailed on Wednesdays, on a weekly basis during Michaelmas and Lent term and fortnightly during Summer term.
Bean Counter Pancake Day
February Special: sign up for MOS and receive a free power bank
