Last week, the US Office of Personnel Management announced that 12 LSE students were among its list of 552 finalists for this year’s Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program, following a series of final interviews held in Washington D.C. in January.

The PMF program is America’s prestigious flagship leadership programme which sees current and recent graduates from around the world competing for exclusive opportunities across US government departments and agencies including the Department of State, Department of Labor, Environmental Protection Agency and USAID.

A team of experts from  LSE’s Civil Society and Human Security Unit have presented a new report to the European External Action Service (EEAS), which outlines a new, more effective role for the EU in conflict-affected areas.

The Group presented From Hybrid Peace to Human Security: Rethinking EU Strategy towards Conflict to the EEAS, which reports to Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, on 24 February 2016.

LSE Arts is delighted to announce that the Photo Prize judging panel has awarded first place in this year's competition to Akash Nahar, a postgraduate student at the Institute of Public Affairs, with his photograph '5 Billion Stars' (pictured).

Congratulations also goes to second place winner, Susannah Crockford with 'Sun Salutations' and third place, Ramzi Flayhan with 'Advanced Teleportation Devices'.

A slideshow of all entries submitted is available online here.

The new room booking software - Resource Booker - is now open to staff to book small committee rooms for meetings, and also the catering rooms such as the Senior Common Room for evening receptions and dinners.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your patience over this difficult period.

On Monday, Staff Wellbeing Week kicked off with free neck and shoulder massages in the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.

Due to high levels of interest, HR have arranged for Elissa from ViaVita to return. She will be based in the sixth floor meeting room of the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre from 1.15-4.45pm this Friday (4 March).

This session will operate on a drop in, first-come first-served basis. Please note, owing to its popularity there may be a short wait time for a time slot.

This March, we’ll be celebrating Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day with a new School-wide celebration of the achievements of the women of LSE: women who make history.

Add After Beatrice: the hidden women in LSE's history, a lecture by the Gender Institute’s Mary Evans on 24 March, to your diary.

WIN a FREE copy of the film Suffragette on DVD!

LSE Library is celebrating the release of the film Suffragette by giving away five copies of the DVD

The Women’s Library is one of LSE Library’s special collections and the stories and treasures it holds are directly related to the stories in the film Suffragette. Starring Carry Mulligan, Meryl Streep, Anne-Marie Duff, Helena Bonham-Carter and Brendan Gleeson, Suffragette is an inspiring drama following the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement as they fight for the right to vote. To win, all you need to do is answer two questions here.

Please note this competition is open to current staff and students of LSE ONLY. Please use your LSE email address on the entry form. The film is a certificate 12.

Games, revision, podcasts and electronic feedback are the main themes of the latest projects funded by an LTI Grant.

Learning Technology and Innovation will be opening a new LTIG call next week. You can find out more information about our funding schemes and other projects on our dedicated pages.

If you have this version of LSE's leave planner/calendar, please note that since it was produced, the School has revised the term dates and School closure dates relating to 2016. Although these particular dates were correct at the time the planners were produced, the ones that you now have are therefore based on the previous dates that were originally set.

For example, please note the School closure dates for Easter 2016 have since been changed. The School will now be closed from Friday 25 March to Thursday 31 March inclusive. It will reopen on Friday 1 April.

However, 2016-17 leave planner/calendars are now available to order. Please click here to view it.

To place your order, click here, scroll down to Year Planners, and just follow the instructions. Please note that you will need to provide a valid budget code in order to place your order, and remember that each of the two parts for the planner/calendar is sized as A3, A4 or A5.

LSE reserves the right to revise closure days and term dates at any time.

For the third year Learning Technology and Innovation (LTI) and the Library have been running the Student Ambassadors for Digital Literacy (SADL) project which involved over 40 undergraduate students from across the School.

We are holding a celebration for the students where we are giving out certificates to all of the ambassadors and a prize for the best blog post. It will also be a chance for the students to present the research projects that they have been working on for the past few weeks, and to tell us about their ideas for improving learning at LSE, learning spaces and peer support.

The event will be on Wednesday 16 March from 5-9pm in the LSESU Activities Studio, Saw Swee Hock Student Centre. We have a limited number of tickets available for staff, so if you would like to attend please book now using Eventbrite.

Research Division will be hosting a visit from Wellcome Trust. Wellcome Trust is one of the UK’s largest funders of research, planning to distribute close to £5 billion in financial support within five years up to 2020. As with many funding bodies Wellcome Trust supports:

• So-called ‘traditional’ formats for research - largely driven by the interests of the academic research community.
• Research through ‘strategic’ programmes - a selection of research themes determined according to the priorities Wellcome has identified in line with its agenda.

Explore what funding opportunities are available to you, at an event on Wednesday 11 May delivered by Dr João Rangel de Almeida, Portfolio Development Manager, Humanities and Social Sciences, Wellcome Trust. Book your place here.

LSE Health & Social Care and the LSE’s Department of Social Policy announces a call for papers for the inaugural International Health Policy Conference, to be held at LSE from 16-19 February 2017.

The  conference seeks to bring together academics and policy-makers from a wide range of disciplines to take a multi-disciplinary approach to key health and social care issues. To find out more or to register visit our conference webpage or email ihpc2017@lse.ac.uk.

Ready for the summer? There’s no better way to enjoy it than by playing for the LSE Staff Cricket Team.

Games take place throughout the summer on Wednesday afternoons at our well-appointed Sportsground in South West London. New players needed and welcome.

For more information, please contact Pete Crowe.

Security officer and former boxer Daniel Beckley is running skip fit lessons for all students and staff.

The next lessons will take place from 1-2pm at the Badminton Court, Old Building, on Tuesday 8 March, Tuesday 15 March, Tuesday 29 March, Tuesday 5 April, Tuesday 19 April and Tuesday 26 April. Just turn up on any of these dates with your own skipping rope. All lessons are free.

For more information, email Daniel at d.beckley@lse.ac.uk.

Statistics from the British Acupuncture Council reveal that when it comes to pain, 44 per cent of Britons just grin and bear it. With the correct treatment, musculoskeletal pain can be alleviated.

Book your acupunture session now at the LSE Treatment Clinic. Book online at lsetreatmentclinic.co.uk or ring Hanya on 07789 322821.

The Summer Budget of July 2015 confirmed the Government’s intention to make further changes to pensions taxation from April 2016.

The School has arranged for Xafinity Pensions Consulting to deliver presentations to interested LSE staff on the changes and how you might be affected.

There are still spaces available for the following presentations:

• Wednesday 9 March, 2.30-4.30pm
• Wednesday 9 March, 5.30-7.30pm

A pop-up shop opened at Old Street station this week displaying a range of fictional beauty products called Timeless which have been designed to engage young women in a debate about egg freezing, whilst also raising public debate on how these advances in biomedical science may impact on the world of work, relationships and wider society.

LSE students contributed to the project by taking part in focus groups. A series of public talks, including those by LSE academics Emily Jackson and Anne Phillips, are fully booked but last minute tickets may become available.

It will be opening for this week only - until 6pm on 5 March 2016.

Wednesday 9 March, 6.30-8.30pm, LSE Atrium Gallery

The Hellenic Observatory is delighted to invite you to the Private View of the forthcoming exhibition ‘Imagine Greece’ organised as part of the Hellenic Observatory 20 Year Anniversary.

H.E Mr Konstantinos Bikas, Ambassador of Greece to the UK, will give the opening speech, at 7.15pm. Attendance to the Private View is by RSVP only, please email hellenicobservatory@lse.ac.uk.

Tickets are still available for LTI’s next NetworkED seminar on Wednesday 9 March in the Parish Hall.

This session will see James Clay (Jisc) discuss ‘Mapping Teaching and Learning’ with specific focus on how mapping the curriculum could result in a more coherent approach to the embedding of digital technologies.

Thursday 10 March, 4.15-6pm, Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building

Contributing to the global debate on climate change, Pope Francis issued a dramatic call for environmental action in May 2015 – ‘Laudato Si’’. Laudato Si’ is a wide-ranging examination of environmental issues and climate change, in which the Pope argues strongly that social justice and climate protection are intertwined, and must be tackled together.

In this discussion, jointly organised by LSE Housing and Communities and LSE CathSoc, Lord Nicholas Stern (pictured) tackles the issues of Climate Change, faith and environmental action, following Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ and last year’s COP21 Conference. Followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Wednesday 16 March, 1-2pm in room 2.13, New Academic Building

To  coincide with LSE Library’s exhibition on Women, Peace and Equality, Dr Laura Shepherd, Visiting Fellow of the Gender Institute and Centre for Women, Peace and Security, is to give a short lunchtime talk on 'Histories and Her-stories: Interrupting the Logics of Security Studies with Women’s Peace Activism', followed by questions and discussion.

Dr Shepherd will be introduced by Dr Marsha Henry.

This event is open to all but is first-come, first-served as space is limited.

Registration for the 2016 LSE Africa Summit, Africa within a Global Context, is now open. Click here to submit an application to attend the Research Conference on Friday 22 April and the Business Conference on Saturday 23 April.

The Research Conference, subtitled "Challenging Conventions," will feature panel discussions on Law and Illicit Financial Flows, the Politics of Knowledge, and the importance of Social Media as a Space for Agency.

The Business Conference, featuring African leaders in business and policy from more than a dozen countries, will focus on how companies can "Think Beyond Investment" in Africa.

To apply, attendees should be prepared to submit a CV and indicate which sessions they are interested in attending. Successful applicants will be informed within two weeks.

For more information, contact africasummit@lse.ac.uk or visit lseafricasummit.com.

• Vassilis Arapoglou will discuss Experiments with austerity and anti-poverty policies in Greece on Tuesday 8 March.
• Praise and Worship sessions organised by LSE Rejoice.
• This week's podcasts and videos.

Academic Development Programme 2015-16 – what’s on in March. Take a look at TLC's events programme and sign up on the TLC website.

Voice coaching for LSE academics - make yourself heard! Contact tlc@lse.ac.uk if you wish to arrange an appointment (all communication is treated confidentially).

Methods Surgery
Every Thursday during term time
The Department of Methodology offers a walk-in Methods Surgery for staff and students every Thursday during term time from 10am-12pm. Staff at the surgery can provide advice on Qualitative and Quantitative methods. The Methods Surgery is held in the PhD Academy, Level 4, Lionel Robbins Library.

Designing effective assessment strategies for your courses and programmes
8 March, 12.30-2pm
This workshop will consider the pros and cons of a range of innovative assessment approaches, and allow teachers to share current practice. This is particularly suitable for anyone considering changing their assessment methods in 2016/17.

Teaching abstract concepts and promoting active learning in quantitative disciplines
9 March, 1-2pm
This workshop looks at ways teachers can encourage active learning strategies, with a particular emphasis on quantitative disciplines. How students grapple with the type of abstract notions prevalent in quantitative subjects will be considered.

Library information skills training for staff and PGR students this month includes:

• Using Freedom of Information requests for research
• 9 March, 11am-12.30pm
• Writing a Data Management Plan for the ESRC
  9 March, 2.30-3.30pm
• Data Management, data protection and research ethics surgeries
  10 March, 1-2pm (runs every other week)
• Poster Presentations: principles of conference poster design for academics and PhD students
  11 March, 10.30am-12pm
• Writing a Data Management Plan for Horizon 2020
  16 March, 2.30-3.20pm
• Understanding copyright issues for PhD students
  17 March, 2-3.30pm