On Thursday 23 June, 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.
A limited number of tickets are available to LSE staff and students only here. The event will also be live streamed here on the LSE European Institute YouTube channel.
As the Summer Term draws to a close Professor Paul Kelly, Pro-Director Teaching and Learning, shares some of the progress which has been made on enhancing education at LSE.
Nicola Morgan Nicola, who works in Student Services, will be cycling 450km from Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City to Angkor Wat in Cambodia to raise funds for women’s cancer charities.
LSE and the University of Chicago have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aiming to create the world’s first transatlantic partnership in global health policy and economics.
The collaboration between LSE and the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy is expected to involve the development of a two-year executive double master’s programme tailored for high-flying, mid-career health professionals on both sides of the Atlantic.
Dr Christopher Kissane is one of ten winners of the New Generation Thinkers Scheme by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the BBC.
The 10 New Generation Thinkers winners are the culmination of a nationwide search for the brightest academic minds with the potential to turn their ideas into fascinating broadcasts.
Donna Lee Van Cott Award for best book on political institutions awarded to Dr Tasha Fairfield
Dr Tasha Fairfield, Assistant Professor in Development Studies in the Department of International Development, has been awarded the 2016 Donna Lee Van Cott Award for best book on political institutions for her book Private Wealth and Public Revenue in Latin America (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
A report launched at LSE a fortnight out from the June 23 referendum warns that a Brexit would be ‘largely a leap into the unknown’.
The report, prepared by the LSE Commission on the Future of Britain in Europe, is the result of a six-month series of 11 hearings involving a cross-section of British and European politicians, business people, academics, economists, public officials, journalists, trade unions and social organisations.
Britain’s withdrawal from the EU would negatively impact the NHS in a number of ways, a new briefing report by academics from LSE and the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London has warned.
In Will the NHS be affected by leaving or remaining in the EU?, the authors find that withdrawal from the EU is likely to reduce NHS funding, lead to staffing shortages, and hamper Britain’s world-leading health research sector.
LSESU RAG hold most successful RAG Week in UK history
A huge congratulations to LSESU RAG, the Students' Unions' fundraising arm, who have had the most successful RAG Week in UK history, raising £17,000 for charities in just one week, smashing the previous £12,000 record for universities across the country.
LSESU’s RAG Society is also on target to achieve a School fundraising record of £175,000 for local, national and international charities by the end of the current university year. To put it into perspective that equates to a 600 per cent increase in the past five years compared to the Society’s 2011 fundraising amount of £25,000.
James Wurr, the Society's outgoing president, has calculated that, in terms of money raised per student, LSE sits in the top 5-10 per cent of universities in the country and the leader among London’s universities.
LSE Volunteer Centre Coordinator David Coles explains that almost 70 per cent of students who have volunteered believe it has improved their university experience.
On 27-28 May, a conference was held in Al Hoceima, Morocco in honour of Sebastian Balfour, Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Spanish Studies in LSE's Department of Government.
During the conference, the Arabic edition of his book Deadly Embrace. Morocco and the Road to the Spanish Civil War (OUP, 2002) was launched. This book brought evidence for the first time of the chemical war launched by the Spanish colonial army in the 1920s against the anti-colonial forces of the Rif mountains in northern Morocco led by Abdel Krim.
Professor Balfour also received an award by the Asociación Memoria del Rif in recognition of his contribution to ‘clarifying and enriching the history of the chemical war against the Rif’.
LSE at the European Parliament
Dr Konstantina Davaki, Department of Social Policy, was invited to speak at the joint hearing of the Employment and FEMM (Gender Equality and Women's Rights) Committees of the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday 24 May.
The purpose of the meeting was the exchange of views with the European Commission on work-life balance policies, gender equality at work, different types of leave and their outcomes, as well as quality of all kinds of care services.
Dr Davaki presented her study on 'Gender Differences between Women and Men in Work, Care and Leisure Time'. A video of the session can be found here.
The Continuing Struggle for Afghanistan and India-Pakistan Relations
Sumantra Bose, Professor of International and Comparative Politics, spoke at the inaugural Aspen Security Forum-Global, held at London's Lancaster House from 21-23 April.
The Forum brought together high-level officials and policy practitioners with think-tank specialists, leading journalists and a few scholars to discuss the range of contemporary issues in global security.
Professor Bose joined Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's Foreign Minister from 2011-13 and Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, Presidential Special Envoy of Afghanistan and Afghanistan's Ambassador to Pakistan, in a discussion of 'The Continuing Struggle for Afghanistan and India-Pakistan Relations'. Watch a video of the session here.
Around LSE
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.
Many of you visited the new LSE website exhibition held in the NAB and were very positive about its new features, such as the 'Search' function.
The exibition was extended by a week, but if you didn't get a chance to see it, you can download the display boards here. If you have any further question or enquiries, email webreview@lse.ac.uk.
From 10-16 June, as part of the Library Space Development project, stock moves will take place to relocate the Course Collection to its newly refurbished home on the first floor.
As work begins to relocate the Course Collection, redevelopment work on the ground floor will also start. These building works are to create LSE LIFE - a new academic, personal and professional development centre for all LSE taught students.
As the country prepares to vote on the future of its European Union membership on 23 June, Research Division has been pondering the referendum’s implications for LSE’s access to European research funding should the result be in favour of ‘leave’.
Read the full article in this month’s Research Briefing, out now. To subscribe to Research Briefing, click here.
This Friday: no bikes on the Library plaza
Staff are reminded not to leave their bikes on the Library plaza bike racks on Friday 10 June as the Party on the Plaza event will be taking place.
If you have a bike locked up there please remove it by 10am on Friday as the area is required for the party set up.
Improving the odds of winning in professional football
#Euro2016 kicks off on 10 June and the teams taking part might just be interested in one of LSE’s newest #LSEresearch impact case studies.
Out now on the LSE impact website: Research by Professor Ignacio Palacios-Huerta from the Department of Management used penalty kicks in football to prove key concepts in game theory. Read the impact case study to find out which professional teams have used his research and recommendations.
New on the LSE History blog
Catch up with a special blog series to celebrate LSE Library’s 120th anniversary in 2016. Gillian Murphy explores two of the stories behind LSE’s suffrage collection items, currently on display in the Library exhibition Endless Endeavours:
In the 2015-16 academic year, staff at Learning Technology and Innovation (LTI) undertook an evaluation of the impact of new LSE classrooms on teaching and learning. This includes the Parish Hall classrooms, the three collaborative PC classrooms in TW2, and the new OLD.4.10 lecture space.
The findings and lessons learnt can be found in our report entitled Teaching Spaces Design and Development at LSE: an evaluation of impact on teaching and learning. Check our blog post for more information and to view the full report.
Rooms are available in LSE halls of residences from 11 June to 17 September.
Staff wanting to book rooms for leisure purposes can recieve a special family and friends rate (20 per cent off) when using the promo code LSESTD20PCT. A maximum of two rooms per stay can be booked and a maximum stay of seven consecutive nights.
Staff staying on School business can also use the faculty accommodation rates for self-contained flats and superior rooms. For any vacant student rooms, LSE Vacations will offer 20 per cent off. Staff may book a maximum stay of seven consecutive nights. Use the rate code: LSESTUD_DISC.
These rates cannot be combined with any other discounts.
How would the world look like if we were all the same?
LSE staff are invited to participate in a new Marie Curie project about Londoners’ everyday knowledge about individuality and behaviour, using novel methods and cutting-edge video technologies. The studies are an exciting opportunity for you to explore what you know about people and how you judge others’ personality in everyday life.
There are two studies to take part in:
Online Studies: Complete a special survey online and receive a £5 voucher.
Video Studies: Visit a video lab in QUE House together with a colleague, friend or acquaintance for a joint interview about videos showing people in everyday situations. Each participant receives £20.
For more information and to participate, visit id-research.org. If you have any further questions, contact Dr Jana Uher at j.uher@lse.ac.uk.
Have your say on the future of Research Briefing
The Research Division invites Research Briefing subscribers to give your opinion on the current Research Briefing format at a short feedback session.
The purpose of Research Briefing is to provide a monthly snapshot of the School’s latest research-related news. The feedback session will take place on Wednesday 22 June at 3pm and last 45 minutes (venue tbc).
Refreshments and nibbles will be provided. To register your interest, email Tevec Ibrahim by Wednesday 15 June.
Skip fit lessons
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 21 June, Tuesday 28 June, Tuesday 12 July, Tuesday 19 July, Tuesday 2 August, Tuesday 9 August, Tuesday 23 August, Tuesday 30 August, Tuesday 13 September, and Tuesday 20 September. Just turn up on any of these dates with your own skipping rope. All lessons are free.
We'd love to know what you'd like to see more of in future editions of Staff News, so we've put together a very short survey.
Please share your thoughts so that we can make your newsletter everything that you want it to be.
Update from…
HR
Effective Behaviours
Earlier this year a new Effective Behaviour framework was launched in the School. Currently for Professional Services Staff it will be broaden to the whole School over the coming year. Based on the LSE’s Ethics Code, the framework has been integrated across a range of areas such as training courses showing which areas they support, being included in the Career Development Review process and guidance being produced showing how they can be used as part of recruitment and selection. Full details can be found here.
HR Systems Optimisation Programme - e-Recruitment System
A new e-Recruitment system was successfully rolled out for the recruitment of professional services staff on 18 April. The system is currently handling 36 recruitment campaigns with over 1,000 applicants having experienced the new portal.
The roll-out of the system for academic and research roles is part of phase two of the project. Applicants for these roles will be able to apply through the new system in Michaelmas Term 2016.
Training for staff that will be administrating the recruitment process will be available on the system in the first two weeks of July 2016. Details regarding the training will be communicated to Departments, Institutes and Centres this week.
Feedback on the system has been very positive and we look forward to rolling out the final phase by the end of the next academic year, to include the processing of recruitment for all hourly paid and visiting staff.
If you have any questions, comments or feedback about the new system, please contact your HR Adviser or HR Administrator. Online guidance for the new system is also available on the HR webpages by clicking here.
Pensions Update
Catch up with the latest update from USS (the pension scheme for those on salary bands 6 and above). Further details can be found here.
Did you know?
LSE is signed up to the ‘Guaranteed Interview Scheme’ for disabled job applicants (internal or external), as part of the Government’s "Two Ticks Scheme". This means that any disabled candidate who meets the essential criteria for a job will be guaranteed a place on the short list. More information about the Two Ticks Scheme can be found here.
What’s on
Tuesday Talks @ LSE exhibition
14 June at 1pm, 28 June at 5.30pm, 12 July at 1pm, and 26 July at 5.30pm LSE Library’s current exhibition Endless Endeavours tells the story of the 1866 women’s suffrage petition which launched the organised campaign for the vote. Find out more about the stories behind the objects. The exhibition is at the entrance to the Library. No booking required. Just turn up.
Nowhere Walk The ruins of a city represents its foundations. A man walks through the ruins of the Bosra citadel in Syria. Ruins are not only history but a point of start, a foundation for future growth and evolution. This photo was taken by Martin Ferrarino, postgraduate student in the Department of International Development.
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 23 June. Articles for this should be emailed to us by Tuesday 21 June. Staff News is emailed every Thursday during term time and fortnightly during the holidays.
