This year the Summer School and Executive Programmes Unit has successfully undertaken a significant expansion of the LSE Summer School. It is looking forward to its largest cohort to-date, with close to 7,000 enrolments estimated to take place over the new nine week programme of three sessions.
For the first time in its 28 year history, SSEP and its departmental partners will have received and assessed in excess of 10,000 applications for its biggest ever programme of 80 courses. The unit is delighted with reaching this new milestone, and would like to thank all those members of the school community who have worked hard to make this possible.
Summer School runs from now until 19 August 2016, and applications are still open for sessions two and three.
The Professional Services Staff Briefings will take place in the Shaw Library on Wednesday 6 July at 10.30am and Thursday 7 July at 2.30pm. All professional services staff are encouraged and supported in attending the briefings by the Senior Leadership Team.
This August LSE is embarking on the UniForum programme, a programme to survey the distribution of support activity across Russell Group institutions and to undertake benchmarking of administrative and support services in order to better understand how they support teaching and research activities.
Dr Ohemaa Nkansa-Dwamena Like many of us, Ohemaa, a Counselling Psychologist working in the LSE Student Counselling Service and the LSE Staff Counselling Service, wishes she could resist the temptation of chocolate.
In this year's Residences and Catering Annual Student Satisfaction Survey, students were asked to nominate any member of staff who had stood out during the year.
Congratulations to Abi Fadeyi, Catering Assistant at Passfield Hall, who was mentioned no fewer than 19 times.
Students commented on the good relationship she has with the people she serves, that she was kind, helpful, supporting, inspirational and caring, contributing to the overall halls experience.
Dr Tse-Ling Teh, Research Officer in LSE's Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, has been jointly awarded the prestgious Geneva Association's Ernst Meyer Prize for her Columbia University PhD on Governing Uncertainties: Financial Policies for Risk.
The award is presented annually for university research work in the form of a doctoral thesis which makes a significant and original contribution to the study of risk and insurance economics.
Dr Myria Georgiou (pictured) and Dr Wallis Motta-Guarneros, both from the Department of Media and Communications, are winners of The International Association for Media and Communication Research and the Urban Communication Foundation 2016 Urban Communication Research Grant for their project Community Through Digital Connectivity? Communication Infrastructure in Multicultural London.
The research grant will be awarded at the IAMCR 2016 Conference on 28 July.
LSE Library’s archive of Charles Booth’s Inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People in London, 1886-1903 has been accepted for inscription to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register for the UK, as a collection of outstanding significance for our national heritage.
Booth's Inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People in London, undertaken between 1886 and 1903, originated in a widespread and profound unease about poverty that came to a head in the 1880s, when acute economic problems heightened long-standing social tensions. Booth set out to remedy what he felt was a lack of facts about poverty, by investigating and documenting ‘the condition and occupations of the inhabitants of London’. His inquiry profoundly influenced the public debate around poverty and social policy in the decades that followed.
LSE has been re-certified to the ISO 14001 and 50001 standards for our Environmental and Energy Management Systems.
These systems help continually improve the School’s environmental performance, and strategically manage our environmental impacts and opportunities. For example, we have cut our carbon emissions per person by 22.4 per cent since 2005-06, we send zero waste to landfill, and our campus redevelopment works have ambitious sustainability targets.
The auditors commented that LSE stands out in their professional experience, in that we received no ‘non-conformance’ findings (rare for an organisation of our size and complexity), and all staff who they spoke to were knowledgeable and enthusiastic about environmental issues.
The prize, bestowed by the Italian Regional Science Association, will be presented to Dr Luca at the 2016 annual Italian Conference of Regional Science.
Catch up with a special blog series to celebrate LSE Library’s 120th anniversary in 2016. Have you ever wondered how and why our impressive array of archives found their way to LSE Library? Here are the stories behind just two of the archives and special collections available to students and researchers.
The 2015-16 year end closing schedule, memo to budget holders, and a ‘key contact list’ are available on the Finance Division website. They provide important information about the 2015-16 year end closing, including various processing deadlines.
Grange Court closure area extended
Due to a fault with the power utility network, it has been necessary to extend the Grange Court closure to include the through-route from Carey Street to St Clement’s Lane. Please use alternate routes to travel around campus - see map.
The fault doesn’t appear to be affecting supply services and is isolated to cables in the ground. UKPN are working to remedy the fault without loss of supply to the surrounding buildings and we hope to reopen this section by midday Friday 24 June.
On 9 June, UCAS released equality data for the undergraduate applications for around 130 large higher education institutions (HEIs). In particular, this looked at the sex, ethnicity and postcode of applicants and offers to HEIs.
For LSE, the data showed a sharp increase in offers to Polar 3, Quintile 1 (low-participation neighbourhood) students and an associated increase in offers to black African/Caribbean students in 2015.
Students from low participation neighbourhoods and black African/Caribbean students are two of the underrepresented groups which the School targets as part of its widening access programme. The increase in offers to these applicants follows a period of sustained growth in our state school numbers at the School over the past 10 years and is, in part, an outcome of the development of the codified widening participation flagging system in Undergraduate Admissions.
Are you REF compliant? A reminder about Open Access at LSE
From 1 April this year HEFCE requires that items to be submitted to the next REF must be deposited in LSE Research Online (LSERO). This requirement applies to the full text of the final, peer reviewed, author’s version of journal articles and published conference proceedings and must be done no later than three months after acceptance for publication. LSE also strongly encourages all authors to deposit the full text of all other publications, including monographs, working papers and book chapters.
As well as ensuring eligibility for REF, deposit in LSERO maximizes the visibility of our research and ensures it has the widest possible impact. This is why it is also so important for all staff and students to fulfil the requirements of the LSE Open Access Publications Policy and provide publication details of their research outputs to LSERO no later than the date of publication.
Growing support for open access at LSE has seen the number of PDFs in LSERO increase by 17 per cent over the past year. Consequently, LSERO content has consistently received over 150,000 downloads each month in 2016.
Application deadline for Vice Chair of the Appointments Committee (VCAC)
Applications are invited from members of the Professorial staff to fill the vacancy of the Vice Chair of the Appointments Committee to succeed Professor Eric Neumayer.
The role of the VCAC is to act as the independent guardian of academic standards and quality on behalf of the Appointments Committee. The term of office is from 1 September 2016 to 31 August 2019.
Colleagues who may have an interest in the post, or, who wish to suggest a colleague who may be interested, may find it useful to speak informally to Professor Julia Black or Professor Eric Neumayer.
Nominations for an Honorary Fellowship of the School are invited.
The criteria are as follows: The LSE Court may elect as an Honorary Fellow any individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the School, over the course of a number of years, beyond that which might reasonably be expected.
Honorary Fellowship nominees are expected to have a direct link with LSE either as a member of the School, or as someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the School. The deadline for nominations for consideration in Michaelmas Term 2016-17 is Friday 23 September.
Full details, and a nomination form, can be found here. Joan Poole would be happy to answer any queries, on email j.a.poole@lse.ac.uk or at ext 7825.
Information Management and Technology (IMT) will replace the School’s current instant messaging tool, Office Communicator (OCS), with Skype for Business (S4B) from Wednesday 6 July.
S4B is an effective unified communication platform, which provides audio, video, web conferencing, telephony and instant messaging services. Available on both PC and Mac devices, S4B will help you contact and collaborate with colleagues wherever you are.
European Migration Crisis and the Media: preliminary findings
During the 2016 POLIS conference on 21 April, researchers from Media and Communications Department’s European Migration Crisis and the Media project presented their preliminary findings for the first time.
A panel consisting of Dr Myria Georgiou and Dr Rafal Zaborowski along with student researchers Antonis Dimitriadis, Lisa Elkhoury, Afroditi Koulaxi, Sadichchha Pokharel and Pauline Vidal discussed their research on European media coverage of the migration crisis. See here for powerpoint presentation and audio.
Booking with Diversity Travel
There will be a presentation and Q&A about booking with Diversity Travel on Thursday 30 June from 10-11.30am in Finance.Division.Room.LRB.5.22.
LSE Catering will be holding a pop-up cocktail bar on the 8th floor of the New Academic Building on Friday 1 July.
The event has been incredibly popular over the last few years with cocktails, background music combined with amazing views over London proving to be a big hit!
The event is open to all, free to enter and runs from 5-8pm. A great opportunity for a team social, drinks with friends or a chance to meet new people from around LSE.
The Programme Management Office in IMT is looking to recruit a highly motivated individual to effectively manage IMT-related projects across the School, working with both internal and external stakeholders.
The successful candidate will have experience of using standardised project management methodologies, managing budgets effectively and liaising with various stakeholders. The deadline for applications is Sunday 26 June.
Celebrating LGBT+ Pride and UK Black Pride in London, 25-26 June
As the world continues to remember the victims of Orlando, LSE stands in unity and solidarity with LGBT+ people everywhere.
This weekend, we’re wishing a very happy Pride in London to the whole LSE community. To find out more about Pride in London visit http://prideinlondon.org/ and follow #PrideinLondon.
Why not get involved with LSE’s LGBT+ staff network Spectrum? Their next event is a film screening of Lilting on 6 July and if you like free films, refreshments and post-screening chats then they’d love to see you there. For details click here or visit lse.ac.uk/spectrum.
Today, Britain goes to the polls to vote in the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.
LSE European Institute, in partnership with The UK in a Changing Europe, is organising a Referendum Night event at LSE. The evening will include commentaries and debates between LSE academics and external experts as first results are reported from across the country. Speakers include Sara Hobolt (LSE European Institute), Quentin Peel (Chatham House and former editor, Financial Times), Tony Travers (LSE London), Damian Chalmers (LSE Law), Danuta Huebner (Member of the European Parliament), Simon Hix (LSE Government Department) and more.
All tickets for the event have now been allocated but the event will be live streamed here. You can also follow the event on Twitter @LSEEI #LSEBrexitVote
On Wednesday 29 June, LSE Power, the School’s professional network for gender equality, is hosting its first ever conference.
Focusing on the themes of ‘resilience and confidence’, the conference will feature a range of fantastic speakers and sessions. The keynote event - which comprises an inspiring and interactive workshop around leadership and potential - is being run by Stella Creasy MP.
Staff at all levels and of any gender are encouraged to attend. The event will be opened up to external attendees shortly, so please sign up while we still have space. We are pleased to offer 6 places for the price of 7 if a group of staff from your department/unit wish to attend.
Making a business case to attend: If you have any concerns about approval to attend the conference from your manager, we have produced some suggested text to assist you in making a business case to support your request. Please don’t hesitate to contact the Power network for support or advice in making a case to your manager: professional.womens.network@lse.ac.uk.
This event is co-hosted by Spectrum, the LSE Network for LGBT+ staff, and Embrace, the LSE Network for BME staff.
Set in contemporary London, Lilting tells the story of a Cambodian-Chinese mother mourning the untimely death of her son. Her world is suddenly disrupted by the presence of a stranger.
If you would like to know more about the stories behind the Library’s current exhibition Endless Endeavours or would like to arrange a group visit, contact Gillian Murphy.
The exhibition is open until 27 August and is located at the entrance to the Library.
One hundred and thirty years after its original foundation, Johannesburg is a city caught between the promise of the future and the failure of the past.
Showcasing photographs by Jodi Bieber alongside literary renderings of the city, this exhibition explores in material and imaginative terms what means to be between.
Tuesday 28 June, 6.30-8pm, Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House Speakers: Simon Hix, Damian Chalmers, Anand Menon, Angus Armstrong, and Karen E Smith (TBC)
The EU referendum has been one of the most heated and divisive debates of recent political times. As the UK digests the result, join experts from LSE and The UK in a Changing Europe to discuss the ramifications. Can the EU survive in its current form? What will the UK’s new relationship with the EU mean for our influence in the world? And what does the result mean for freedom of movement and the European Convention on Human Rights?
Alternatives to Austerity? Speakers: Dr Laura Bear, Anna Coote, Dr Andrea Muehlebach, and Dr Carly Schuster Recorded: Thursday 9 June, approx. 90 minutes
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 July. Articles for this should be emailed to us by Tuesday 5 July. Staff News is emailed every Thursday during term time and fortnightly during the holidays.
