View the newsletter from the Centre Buildings Redevelopment team to hear the latest news, find out what's coming next and see how the public floors will be laid out when the buildings open in 2019.
In order to undertake the diversion of a gas and water main, the section of Grange Court between St Clements Lane and Clements Inn Passage will be closed 28 March-22 April. This closure will mean that all access to and from the Towers will be via the Aldwych for this period.
The latest QS World University Rankings by Subject has placed eight LSE subjects in the world’s top five, while a total of 13 LSE disciplines are ranked in the global top 10.
Professor Julia Black has been appointed Interim Director of the School for a period commencing on 1 September 2016 and ending on 31 August 2017, or earlier upon the successor to Professor Craig Calhoun taking up appointment.
Professor Black will continue to hold her current role as Pro-Director (Research), to which she is appointed until 31 July 2018, in parallel with the Interim Directorship.
Activist in Residence
The Centre for Women, Peace and Security has launched an Activist in Residence programme, giving those directly engaged in work promoting justice and equality for women in conflict-affected areas the opportunity to spend a term at LSE.
With travel, accommodation and a living allowance, the fellowship programme will provide activists with the space and time to develop their work, to extend their networks, and engage with and inform the work of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security. Connect with the Centre via Facebook (new), Twitter, or join the mailing list
An LSE postgraduate student has been appointed as a High-Level Commissioner on Health Employment and Economic Growth by the United Nations (UN).
In her new role, Alaa Murabit, who is studying for an Executive Masters in International Strategy and Diplomacy, will help promote action to meet the global shortfall of trained health workers, achieve Universal Health Coverage, and meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Modest gains in life expectancy among white high school-educated Americans obscure the fact that, in contrast to their more highly educated peers, significant numbers are increasingly dying young, reveals research from LSE.
On 17 March 2016, the LawCareers.Net Student Law Society Awards, sponsored by DWF LLP, recognised the dedication of student committees across the country offering their members innovative careers events and comprehensive pro bono and mooting activities, alongside traditional socialising with peers.
The LSESU Law Society won the award for being 'Best at student engagement'.
A number of new reports on the staff survey results are now available on the intranet pages which you can access here. Feed your thoughts and suggestions back to the lsestaffsurvey@lse.ac.uk email address.
Focus Groups
There will be a set of focus groups early in Summer Term 2016 on topics including career progression, leadership and communication and improving equity, diversity and inclusion.
More detail about all of the topics can be found on the intranet pages. All sessions will be held between 18 April and 6 May 2016, with dates and times to be confirmed after the Easter break. To register your interest in participating in any of these sessions, please email lsestaffsurvey@lse.ac.uk.
Take part in action planning online
We will also be launching an online tool to crowdsource action plan ideas during the same period. Participants will be able to post ideas (anonymously). These will be rated and ranked by popularity and feasibility by other participants to form a leaderboard at the end of the exercise. Participants take part during a ‘live’ session, to allow for interaction and to be inspired by others’ contributions. Please email the staff survey address if you are interested in participating.
TheLSE Volunteer Centreis on the lookout for nominees for the LSE Volunteer of the Year award and the LSE Voluntary Organisation of the Year award. The winners will be announced at our annual LSE Volunteers event on 28 April 2016.
If you know of an LSE student or organisation that should be recognised for going above and beyond the call of duty then nominate them for an award. This is your chance to make sure that their work is recognised by the LSE community. Read about previous winners and nominees on theVolunteer Centre blog.
Welcome Week 2016 - Room Bookings
Room Booking requests can now be submitted for departmental Welcome Week meetings and receptions. The request forms can be found by clicking here and should be submitted by Friday 15 April.
Further details about Welcome Week and the schedule of central Welcome Week meetings can be found here and departments should plan not to schedule departmental Welcome Week meetings at the same time as the relevant central Welcome presentations or registration sessions.
It's a good idea to remind ourselves of what to do in an emergency on a regular basis. You can find the updated information leaflet here and the full Major Incident Initial Response Plan on the Business Continuity webpage.
Please also take the time to check your contact details are correct on LSE for You. These could be used to get in touch with you in an emergency.
The Leadership Foundation has commissioned an independent team of experts from Loughborough University to follow the progress of women’s career development and leadership experiences in higher education. This phase of the research is open to female academic and professional services staff who have not taken part in the Aurora development programme.
In 2014/15, LTI working in collaboration with TLC and Estates redesigned 11 rooms for the School including three large teaching rooms in Parish Hall, new computer rooms in TW2, student digital study space in 20KSW, small seminar rooms in NAB and a large new lecture space in OLD. These will inform the new spaces in the Centre Buildings and 44LIF. We are also engaging a learning spaces consultant to help understand what teaching staff requirements for teaching rooms are and how they inform the School standard.
You can find more information and updates about our projects in our Teaching & Learning Spaces section on our blog
Careers Consultancy for Research Staff
The research staff Careers Consultant, Catherine Reynolds, can help you review your career, assess your priorities and plan your next steps. This is an entirely confidential service, which includes training events and one-to-one guidance. Appointments are available Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year.
USA Academic Job Market Masterclass (for PhD students and research staff)
Are you interested in academic roles in the USA? Need help understanding the US academic job market? Still learning how to present yourself effectively? Dr Karen Kelsky explains all.
Karen will speak to current Social Science PhD students and recent PhD graduates at the LSE PhD Academy on Wednesday 4 May 2016 from 14.00 - 16.30.
By attending this event you will learn:
about the US academic job market
strategies for presenting yourself effectively for academic jobs in the US
If you're interested but are unable to attend on Wednesday 4 May, there may be an opportunity to attend a similar event for Life Science students at King's on Tuesday 3 May. Please email Catherine Reynolds for more details.
According to Statista, this was the average consumption of a British child in 2015, with each child receiving £56 worth of Easter gifts, many of which were consumed over 4 days!
This is just one of the reports that you can access using LSE Library market research resources.
The Library runs regular training classes on using these sources throughout term time. Look out for the forthcoming Introduction to financial, market and company data training session, which will be bookable via the training and development system.
Kristina Spohr, Associate Professor of International History, met Helmut Schmidt just before he died for her new book "The Global Chancellor: Helmut Schmidt and the Reshaping of the International Order", which is published today.
Kristina has contributed to the Oxford University Press Blog describing her experience of "Meeting Helmut Schmidt: The Man Behind the Statesman".
Based on the chance survival of a remarkable cache of documents, India and the Islamic Heartlands recaptures a vanished and forgotten world from the eighteenth century spanning much of today's Middle East and South Asia.
Supporting world-class research One of the School’s key aims is to win more research funding to support world-class research. The Research Division’s Director, David Coombe, talks about our efforts to improve research recovery rates through the Research Incentives Policy and enhanced support for academics. Early indicators are encouraging but we want to be sure we’re getting it right. Let us know your views.
Wellcome Trust visit to LSE Whilst we’re talking about funding, don’t miss the Wellcome Trust visit to LSE in May. Discover what funding opportunities are available from one of the UK’s largest funders of research.
Highlighted funding opportunity The Leverhulme Trust has issued a call for its Major Research Fellowships scheme. Be sure to discuss your proposal with our Research Development team well in advance of the 5 May deadline.
Looking for support with knowledge exchange and impact (KEI) activities? And continuing this theme, did you know that internal funding is available for impact activities? In fact, LSE offers support for knowledge exchange and impact (KEI) in a number of ways. Find out more.
We’ve just completed RCUK’s annual data gathering exercise in Researchfish and we’re looking for feedback from those who participated. Share your views.
Interested in women’s history at LSE? All staff are invited to a free public lecture and drinks reception: hear the Gender Institute’s Mary Evans on After Beatrice: the hidden women in LSE’s history chaired by Julia Black, on Thursday 24 March at 6.30pm in the Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building.
What Are Prisons For? Speakers: Dr Christopher Bennett, Professor Kimberley Brownlee, Andrew Neilson Recorded: Tuesday 15 March 2016, approx. 82 minutes
We hope that staff enjoyed Wellbeing Week and took advantage of the classes and free fruit dotted around campus. Particular thanks to all the staff and students who visited the ‘de-stress with Guide Dogs’ stand, who contributed more than £130 to Guide Dogs UK in the space of a lunchtime session. Whilst our canine friends look very serious in this photo, we can assure you they enjoyed the event as much as we did!
This course is suitable for all staff whose work involves communicating information through giving presentations to colleagues, students and external partners. It is a highly participative and engaging course which focuses on the practical skills required to become a more effective presenter.
This interactive and highly practical course will give participants the confidence to see that they can take more control over their workload. It will gives immediately usable ways to save time and achieve better results.
This workshop is suitable for all staff and partners of staff working at the LSE who are new and expectant mothers to explore how to find the balance between being a mother and having a career.
Sessions include innovative approaches in quantitative teaching, LSE 100: creative ideas for refreshing your teaching and the challenge of turning a policy paper into an academic journal article.
Learning Technology and Innovation has released their workshop programme for the Summer Term. Workshops range from effective presentation design, learning technologies in the classroom to flipping lectures. The full programme can be found here with places booked via LSE’s Training System
The Library is now planning its Learning Support programme for the Summer term. Contact your Academic Support Librarian to discuss the options, including sessions tailored to the needs of your department.
Microsoft Office Specialist Certification available all year
Prove your Office skills and land your next job. Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification is available in 2013 and 2010 all year round. For more information on MOS, see the IT Training website.
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 Staff News is on Thursday 7 April. Articles for this should be emailed to us by Tuesday 5 April. Staff News is emailed every Thursday during term time and fortnightly during the holidays.
