Last week, The Association for Learning Technology announced LSE Learning Technology and Innovation (LTI) as the winner of the 2016 Learning Technology Team of the Year.

Peter Bryant, Head of LTI, discusses the highlights for the team: "It is one of the highest honours in our profession, and along with our 2016 Campus Technology Innovator award earlier this year, recognises LTI and the projects we work on with academics as delivering sector-leading innovation and practice."

"This award is a credit to the hard work and passion of the LTI team over the last few years. Along with providing the School an incredibly reliable and resilient set of learning systems, we have engaged with departments and academics collaboratively and responsively to enhance the student experience, make education better and push the boundaries of innovation both within and outside the School."

Professor Christine Whitehead's contribution to a text on planning obligations has been recognised by this year’s Excellence in Planning Research Award.

The award is made annually by the Royal Town Planning Institute following peer review of the best of the year’s planning research by leading academics and practitioners. It has recognised high quality and policy relevance of the work on planning obligations led by Emeritus Professor Tony Crook, Professor John Henneberry of the University of Sheffield, and Professor Whitehead, Professor Emeritus of Housing Economics at LSE. 

A segment on the history of the song Jerusalem during the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday (10 September) featured a visit to LSE.

BBC correspondent Nikki Fox talked to Indy Bhullar, Curator for Economics and Social Policy at LSE Library, to learn more about the surprising and radical story behind the song.

If you were away over the summer, here is some important news we think you should know about:

New LSE Director
Dame Nemat (Minouche) Shafik has been announced as LSE's 16th Director, taking up the post on 1 September 2017.

Minouche Shafik is an exemplary leader of global standing who has worked in international organisations, government and academia in a career that has spanned research, policy and operational work. She is currently Deputy Governor of the Bank of England where she is a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, the Financial Policy Committee, and the Board of the Prudential Regulatory Authority.

Minouche has longstanding connections to LSE, she is an alumna (MSc Economics, 1986) and a frequent speaker and participant in events at the School. She also holds a DPhil from Oxford University.

School Management Committee
As a result of the Staff Survey 2015-16, LSE Council agreed that DMT should be replaced with a formally constituted management committee with clear terms of reference. This took effect from 1 September 2016, and its terms of reference can be found here.

The School Management Committee (SMC) will be chaired by the Director and the permanent members are the Pro Directors, COO, the CFO and School Secretary. For 2016-17, Carola Frege will also be a member as Chair of the EDI Taskforce. Further details about the SMC can be found here and the School’s governance structure is explained here.

EU Referendum Q&A
A blog page containing detailed FAQs, external links and providing regular news and updates has been set up to answer any questions you might have following the EU Referendum result in June.

If your research funding or EU collaborations have been affected by the vote to leave the EU, please send details of your experiences to Jon Deer in the Research Division.

The School will be offering some financial support on an initial basis for 12 months to assist EU staff who would like to apply for permanent residence in the very near future. Further information can be found on the blog page.

Report It. Stop It.
LSE has introduced an online tool for reporting harassment and bullying. This initiative, led by LSE’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce, supports LSE’s values for an inclusive working and social environment in which all people are treated with dignity and respect. It is all of our responsibility to uphold these values and it’s vital we encourage, support and behave appropriately to one another.

You don’t need to put up with harassment and bullying. If you have experienced it or witnessed it, you can report it here lse.ac.uk/reportit.

Gender and ethnicity earnings gap at LSE
The EDI Taskforce commissioned a statistical analysis into the pay and promotion gap of women for academic staff and the pay gap of women and ethnic minorities for professional services staff in 2015. The report and the next steps being taken were detailed to all staff in a communication from Julia Black on 5 September.

Although the national pay award for 2016-17 continues to be in dispute, UCEA have advised its members to proceed with implementing an uplift of the staff salary scales by 1.1 per cent. Therefore, all staff will receive a 1.1 per cent uplift in their September pay, back dated to August 2016. The new salary scales can be found here.

Nonetheless, as this national dispute is still ongoing, we will keep you informed regarding any further related industrial action or other news as it arises.

In time for the new academic year, the HR Division is pleased to announce the roll-out of the new e-recruitment system which is now being used for all academic, research and teaching vacancies.

This follows the successful implementation of the system for professional services vacancies from April of this year. The new system is designed to provide both recruiters and applicants with a more intuitive, flexible and efficient self-service experience.

To access the system, please use the Apps selector on the LSE website or visit https://jobs.lse.ac.uk/secure/ShibAuth.aspx entering your LSE username and password to log in.

Visit the Staff Benefits page to find a range of information, including details on the Cyclescheme, LSE Students' Union Gym discount and membership loan, eyesight tests for VDU users, Give As You Earn scheme, season ticket loans and the LSE Staff Counselling Service.

For family-friendly benefits, such as the LSE Nursery and parental leave, click here.

The Staff Wellbeing page provides information on support and resources available to you, as well as details of staff fitness classes such as skip fit, salsa, yoga and tai chi, the Global Corporate Challenge, volunteering leave, and the Knitting Group and the Craft Group. Also, keep an eye out for all the latest news and activities in Staff News.

LSE has some fantastic networks for you to get involved with. Details of all of these can be found on the Networks page.

It is also worth having a read through the Facilities Guide, which has been designed to help with navigation around campus and get the most out of the facilities the School has to offer.

Lastly don’t forget that LSE staff can enjoy a 25 per cent discount on food at Fields Bar and Kitchen, located next to the tennis courts on Lincoln's Inn Fields.

Are you researching, teaching or able to provide expert comment on Brexit? In order to help better connect those knowledgeable about any and all Brexit-related issues  with those who need to access their academic expertise, the LSE Experts directory has been updated and ‘Brexit’ can now be added to the list of experience keywords.

If you would like to add Brexit to your list of expert keywords, please do take a moment to update your LSE Experts page through the ‘Create or update your online profile’ link here or email experts@lse.ac.uk.

If you do not have an Experts page but would like one, more information on how to request this can be found here. Please note that Experts pages are only open to LSE academic staff.

Can you, your staff or students present the findings of your research project as a photograph, poster or headlined abstract?

LSE’s Research Festival is an annual celebration of the innovative, ground-breaking social science research by our staff and students, and the 2016 call for submissions is now open. If you’re successful, your work will feature in a public exhibition at the LSE Research Festival on Thursday 3 November, and be in with a chance of winning either the photograph, poster or headlined abstract category prize.

The Research Festival Toolkit is here to help you create your submission, and you can register for one of the PhD Academy’s upcoming workshops which are now open to research staff and faculty as well as doctoral students:

• Tuesday 20 September, 10.30am-4.30pm: Graphic Design Workshop
• Thursday 22 September, 1-5pm: Photography Workshop
• Tuesday 27 September, 2.30-4pm: Headlined Abstract Workshop

Visit lse.ac.uk/researchfestival for full details. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 5 October.

LSE's new Travel Management Company, Diversity Travel, will be visiting the School on Tuesday 11 October. Please come to the Graham Wallas Room (OLD5.25) between 10am and 1pm to find out more about the service. A timetable of events/activities taking place on the day will be sent round in the next couple of weeks.

For those who have already booked with Diversity Travel, we are seeking feedback on how they are doing. Please fill out our short survey here.

The International College of Economics and Finance (ICEF) is a College in Moscow set up in 1997 at the initiative of Richard Layard to provide teaching and research to international standards in economics and finance with academic direction entrusted to LSE.

The Project Director coordinates the LSE responsibilities over the whole range of academic activities. We are looking for a senior LSE faculty member with academic governance experience.

Should you be interested in this position, an expression of interest should be submitted to the project manager, Miriam Grossmanova, at lse.icef@lse.ac.uk by Friday 7 October.

95 Destination LSE events took place over the summer all around the world, bringing together around four thousand offer holders, current students and alumni. The send-off events for incoming students provided attendees with the opportunity to meet at exciting venues, mingle with alumni, hear from high profile guest speakers, and learn about the School.

This global series would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and commitment of hundreds of LSE alumni volunteers hosting the events around the world. View the photos in the LSE Alumni Flickr Album and the Destination LSE Storify.

You can find out more information about LSE’s global alumni community and the 90+ LSE alumni groups at alumni.lse.ac.uk/groups or by emailing alumni@lse.ac.uk.

Spectrum is LSE’s LGBT+ staff network, representing staff from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other minority sexual orientation and gender identities. To get involved and find out more about what we do, check out our website for meeting dates and events or email us and ask to join our mailing list.

Our annual Michaelmas term Welcome Reception will take place on Thursday 20 October and we’d love to see you there. All staff are welcome, please register your place.

Keep in touch with Spectrum:
Find out more: lse.ac.uk/spectrum
Email to join our mailing list: spectrum@lse.ac.uk
Follow us on Twitter: @LSESpectrum

We are a trying to establish a regular inter-departmental 5-a-side football game for LSE staff. We already have a good handful of players from around the School but need a few more to get it started.

Location-wise we are currently considering a pitch in Euston (£6 a head) to play from 6-7pm on Wednesdays or Thursdays.

For more information or to be added to a group page, please email M.Kirk-Smith@lse.ac.uk or A.Banks2@lse.ac.uk.

Samantha, salsa teacher of 14 years, will return with two lunch time classes for the new term.

No experience necessary and you do not require a partner as we rotate you through each move, helping to turn you into confident and versatile dancers. Wear comfortable clothes and non-rubber soles shoes that support your ankle. Classes are open to all and cost just £3.

Classes will be every Tuesday at 1pm and Wednesday at 12noon starting 27 September, sixth floor Activities Studio in the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.

For more information, email Samantha at s.e.da-costa@lse.ac.uk.

From the start of the new academic year, we will be running a new section in Staff News to celebrate all the LSE 'stars' out there.

Do you have a colleague that goes out of their way to help others? Would you just like to give thanks to someone you've worked with recently? Does your colleague give up their time to volunteer outside of LSE or raise money for charity? We want to hear about it all so please get in touch at communications.internal@lse.ac.uk.

We will also be running the same section in Student News so send us your student 'stars' as well.

LSE Estates will once again be showcasing SAW as part of Open House London on Saturday 17 September.

Guided tours of the building will be offered to the public between 10am and 5pm. For more information, visit Open House London 2016.

HR Organisational Learning have now organised a new schedule of courses for the 2016-17 academic year. This builds on another successful year in 2015-16 when we ran 46 training events for 479 delegates covering 30 different course topics.

There will be a full range of courses and programmes throughout the year to help support leadership and management, personal effectiveness, equality and diversity and essential work skills.

Tuesday 20 September, 6.30-8pm, Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: David Smith (pictured), Economics Editor of The Sunday Times

Most economists argued against Brexit, on the grounds that it would significantly damage Britain’s economic prospects, both in the short-term and the long-term. Three months on from the referendum, are these adverse consequences inevitable, or are there any reasons for optimism?

Keep up to date with what Brexit means for the UK and the wider world at LSE Brexit blog.

Signals and Social Consequences from Shrinkflation to Fighter Jets
Monday 19 September, 6.30pm, Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Dr Pippa Malmgren (pictured)

Arab Dreams: growing up in the shadow of dictators
Thursday 22 September, 6.30pm, Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Riad Sattouf

Upcoming Ticket Release:

The Rotten Financial System (Rot $) is the Enemy. We are the Opposition, Part 1
Part of the Resist: Festival of Ideas and Actions
Date: Monday 26 September
Speaker: Vivienne Westwood (pictured)
Ticket release date: Monday 19 September

Tough Rides: Brazil
Speaker: Ryan Pyle
Recorded: Thursday 4 August, approx. 82 minutes

The Euro: and its threat to Europe
Speaker: Professor Joseph Stiglitz
Recorded: Tuesday 30 August

Anti-Semitism in the Modern Age
Speaker: Professor Yehuda Bauer
Recorded: Wednesday 7 September, approx. 81 minutes

On Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, we’re showcasing a selection of students and staff sharing their favourite places on and around campus in celebration of all the wonderful places at LSE and across London.

As proud supporters of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s #LondonIsOpen campaign, the initiative is an opportunity for you to tell the LSE community what spaces make you feel part of LSE, and remind the world that our capital is open to everyone.

Follow along every day for new stories, and share selfies of you in your favourite places with us on social media.