Conor Gearty, Professor of Human Rights Law at LSE, has been made a member of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA). RIA membership is in recognition of Professor Gearty’s distinguished reputation for legal scholarship in the field of civil liberties, human rights and the dilemmas and risks posed for freedom and democracy.

Professor Gearty said: "I was bowled over to be offered this award. Although I am Irish I have never worked as an academic in Ireland so the honour means a great deal."

LSE IDEAS is delighted to announce the appointment of Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs commentator for the Financial Times, and John Hughes, former British diplomat and Ambassador to Venezuela and Argentina, as Visiting Senior Fellows.

Yesterday LSE’s South Asia Centre (SAC) celebrated its first anniversary. It has been a busy year: the SAC has worked with a range of academic departments and centres at LSE to host more than fifteen events and supported LSESU societies to run their own talks and conferences. South Asia @ LSE, the Centre blog, has expanded its readership and remit considerably and produces regular academic analysis of topical debates.

The SAC organised the first ever LSE India Summit raising the profile of the School in India, and in February Professor Craig Calhoun became the first LSE Director to visit Pakistan as he participated in an official SAC visit. They also organised a range of events to mark the 125^th birth anniversary of leading social reformer and jurist Dr BR Ambedkar, an LSE alumnus. The team are looking forward to expanding engagement across LSE and South Asia over the coming year, with special events planned to mark 70 years of independence.

LSE Cities’ have presented one of the three Special Projects featured at the 2016 Architecture Biennale in Venice.

Conflicts of an Urban Age is dedicated to the themes of urbanisation. The exhibition explains the consequences of the rapid urban growth that has taken place between 1990 and 2015, and presents ways to make cities more equitable and sustainable in future.

The LSE Research Festival 2016 will be held on Thursday 3 November to coincide with events on campus to celebrate the centenary of the death of the social science pioneer Charles Booth.

Open to the whole LSE community, the 2016 Research Festival will include public events, exhibitions and prize-giving.

Learning Technology and Innovation would like to thank everyone who submitted an IGNITE! application and congratulate the following individuals who have won IGNITE! funding for their technology-driven teaching and learning projects.

• Jennifer Jackson-Preece (European Institute)
• Lourdes Hernandez-Martin (Language Centre)
• Nancy Holman: (Geography)
• Edgar Whitley (Management)
• Jose Javier Olivas and Jessica Templeton (LSE100)
• Andrea Pia (Anthropology)

Information on their projects can be found on the blog.

Professor Sandra Jovchelovitch (Social Psychology), Dr Ryan Centner and Professor Gareth Jones (both Geography and Environment) were in Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro from 22-28 May as part of a RCUK-CONFAP project on Resilience and Porosity of City Borders.

While in Rio, they attended an event organised by the Brazil Alumni Association, meeting over 40 former and current students. At the event, Professor Jones presented Rafael Alves de Almeida, the founding president of the association with an award for his outstanding contribution to the life of LSE.

Also participating in the field trip and attending the event were current MSc and PhD students from the Departments of Geography and Environment and Social Psychology.

If other faculty are willing to meet with alumni groups while abroad, please contact Alumni@lse.ac.uk.

Residential Services is seeking a member of staff to act as the School Resident at Lilian Knowles House. This residence for 350+ graduate students is located in Spitalfields.

A role description, person specification, eligibility criteria and details about the post, including the no-cost accommodation, can be found here. The deadline for applications is Sunday 5 June.

Centre Buildings: Archaeology Update
The archaeological dig is now complete, visit the Centre Buildings web pages to find out what has been un-earthed.

Campus facilities
Now that summer is here (!!!) you may like to remind yourself where the water fountains are located around campus.

For more information about other facilities available on campus, visit LSE Facilities Guide.

On Wednesday 29 June, LSE Power is hosting its first ever conference at Woburn House (Woburn Square, WC1).

Focusing on the themes of ‘resilience and confidence’, the conference will feature a range of fantastic speakers and sessions, from practising negotiating to enhancing your personal brand on social media. The keynote event - which comprises an inspiring and interactive workshop around leadership and potential - is being run by Stella Creasy MP, along with a plenary session on developing your voice and impact by confidence coach Esther Stanhope.

Booking is available for full day (£99), half-day morning plus lunch (£69) or lunch plus half-day afternoon (£69) tickets via the LSE Learning and Development portal.

Don't miss - LSE Power Conference taster event: Mentoring
Thursday 9 June, 12.45-1.45pm, Graham Wallas Room, Old Building
Come along and find out more about how mentoring might work for you. Three panellists discussing a range of topics, including their experiences of mentoring, what benefits and impact it has had on their careers and could potentially have on yours, what makes a good mentor, what to look for in a good mentor and how to effectively manage a mentoring relationship to get the best out of it. Book your place here.

Equal Rights and Equal Dignity of Human Beings
Monday 6 June, 6.30pm, Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Tariq Ramadan

Equality - Smart Economics
Tuesday 7 June, 3pm, Shaw Library, Old Building
Speaker: Magdalena Andersson (pictured)

The Case for Brexit: why Britain should quit the EU
Wednesday 8 June, 6.30pm, Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Professor Alan Sked

Success and Luck: good fortune and the myth of meritocracy
Wednesday 8 June, 6.30pm, Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Robert H Frank

Fawcett at 150: new horizons or same old battles? What future for feminism?
Thursday 9 June, 6pm, Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Sam Smethers

Alternatives to Austerity?
Thursday 9 June, 6.30pm, Old Theatre, Old Building
Speakers: Dr Laura Bear, Anna Coote, Dr Andrea Muehlebach, and Dr Carly Schuster

The Single EU Capital Market: progress and challenges
Speaker: Jonathan Hill
Recorded: Monday 23 May, approx. 64 minutes

Cities for a Small Continent
Speakers: Professor Bruce Katz and Professor Anne Power
Recorded: Tuesday 24 May, approx. 94 minutes

Challenging Inequalities
Speakers: Shami Chakrabarti, Duncan Green, and Phumeza Mlungwana
Recorded: Wednesday 25 May, approx. 87 minutes

Tuesday 7 June, 12-1.30pm
This session will explore the concepts of information and digital literacies, how they relate to teaching and learning and why they are important for our students. We will discuss how the skills that underpin these literacies can be embedded in course curriculum. It will provide an opportunity to review your current teaching and consider how to integrate digital and information literacies into the courses and programmes that you teach.

Thursday 9 June, 12-2pm
This course is open to all LSE staff who need to update/edit Moodle courses. It provides an introduction to basic skills required to update/edit a course in Moodle.

If you are looking to boost your CV you might also wish to consider Microsoft Office Specialist Certification.

Get an industry standard qualification in Microsoft Office applications such as Excel, Word and PowerPoint, and have proof that you have the skills. We offer Microsoft Office Specialist Certification at a discount to all LSE students and staff, and you can study online or at a study session throughout the summer.

For more information visit lse.ac.uk/imt/mos or get in touch with it.training@lse.ac.uk.