science wire

Manchester professor becomes MPs’ adviser

All the world’s a stage... the drama entertainment of the future?
A new kind of feature-length drama which combines live theatre with film and elements of game-play will be moving audiences, literally, when it hits the streets of Bristol next week.

Proposed exam reforms 'unlikely to drive up standards'
A report by Oxford University's Centre for Educational Assessment says there is little evidence to support government claims that standards of examinations have fallen in England, and argues that the government's proposed reforms in today's Queen's Speech are unlikely to drive up standards.

King’s appoints first Head to new Mathematics School
King's College London is delighted to announce that Dan Abramson has been appointed as the first Head of the new King's College London Mathematics School, due to open in 2014.

Deaf Learner Awareness Day

Historian bids to solve education whodunnit

Creative curriculums explored at Imperial’s Education Day

Can you guess what happened last?
We can often predict what people are going to do. But is it possible to guess what it was that made them do it?

Ennew ushers in new era for UNMC
Thirteen years since she was instrumental in setting up The University of Nottingham's Malaysia Campus, Professor Christine Ennew this month returns full-time to a country she loves to take up the helm as CEO and Provost at UNMC.

Sustainable Nottingham benefits community groups
The University of Nottingham has set up a novel scheme to improve its environmental impact, while helping schools and charities to provide better facilities for local people.

New Principal of Wycliffe Hall appointed

Beckhams ‘getting posher’
16 Apr 2013 David and Victoria Beckham have changed the way they speak to sound less working class, according to a study by University of Manchester linguistics students.

Encouraging enterprise and making ideas happen

Imperial College Podcast - 20 March 2013

University brings billion pound boost to Birmingham’s economy
The University of Birmingham contributes more than £1 billion to the West Midlands economy annually and supports almost 12,000 jobs, according to research by Oxford Economics.

Plymouth commits to becoming UK’s first dementia friendly university
Plymouth is set to become the country’s first dementia friendly university, furthering its commitment to improving the lives of those affected by the condition.

Varsity victory for University of Sheffield’s sporting champions
Sporting students from the University of Sheffield are celebrating after being crowned Varsity champions for the first time in ten years.

UniTV win national awards

Hidden Perspectives: Bringing the Bible Out of the Closet
A ground-breaking project at the University of Sheffield is tackling the fraught relationship between religion and homosexuality by challenging traditional readings of the Bible.

Sussex to receive share of £84 million boost for doctoral training

Ralph Luck appointed as Real Estate Development Director
King's College London has appointed Ralph Luck OBE to the new post of Real Estate Development Director with effect from 15 April.

Language Sciences: a strategic initiative
Unified Administrative Service The purpose of the UAS: To support and enable the University's mission to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.

Behind the scenes: Virtual dissections
Human dissections are a vital part of every doctor's training, but the experience might be different for medical students from the iPad generation.

Advanced dissection tool comes to Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
NTU's joint medical school with Imperial is the first in Southeast Asia to have a cutting-edge tool for virtual dissection.

Tagore Centre for Global Thought

Enterprising infants show how taking risks in the classroom develops great learning
The University of Sheffield's Management School have been helping children transform their learning through an innovative enterprise programme.

Improving dental care for homeless in Plymouth
Dental students from Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry have been working with residents from a local project providing housing and support for homeless Armed Forces Veterans.

India Summer Schools 2013

’Urgent need to improve international access to autism resources and training’, say Birmingham experts
As World Autism Day approaches (2 April) the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER) at the University of Birmingham plans to extend its work to provide international training resources, strategies and programmes for practitioners and carers in different countries around the world.

New project aims to revolutionise pupils’ learning ability in Rwanda

Winners revealed at Plymouth University’s Community Research Awards
Seven research projects ranging from an oral history of World War Two and post-war rebuilding in Plymouth to a study of how some teachers lack confidence when assessing Key Stage 1 physical education in the city’s schools have been chosen for an annual awards programme.

Dental schools brings NHS care to 10,000-plus
More than 10,000 people in Devon and Cornwall now have access to NHS dental care, thanks to Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry.

The Bartlett Postgraduate Open Day

Origins of teamwork in our nearest relative the chimpanzee
Our Location Where is WBS? » The University of Warwick » How to get here » Download a campus map » Our People The Dean, Professor Mark Taylor » The Board of WBS » The Senior Management Tea

Formal opening of UCL Academy

Global failure to close the maths gender gap
Boys continue to outperform girls in maths, despite attempts to close the gap, according to a study from the University of Leeds and the University of Missouri. Significantly, the gap is largest at the higher end of the academic scale; twice as many boys than girls are in the top 1% of maths students across the globe.

Vice Chancellor visits India to forge new links

University launches Gaelic Plan
The University of Glasgow have launched its first Gaelic Language Plan.

People’s historian becomes Manchester Professor

King’s annual Report published
The new King's College London Report is published this week. This illustrated magazine-style publication features a sample of the immense range of research, teaching and innovation undertaken at King's in 2011-12.

Researchers report on ’lad culture’ at British universities
New research carried out by Sussex academics suggests that ‘lad culture' is widespread at universities in England and Scotland.

UCL and IoE agree strategic partnership

Kuwait medical education agreement

Statement regarding Ancients Debating Championship
The University of Glasgow has reacted to the reports of misconduct at this year's Glasgow University Union (GUU) Ancients Debating Championship with serious concern.

£1.33m donation for poverty research at the University of Manchester

Flaxman Exchange offers new perspectives on UCL collections

Pupils in Tanzania receive boost to learning thanks to anonymous donor

Birmingham and Yale to establish global justice programme in India
The University of Birmingham is joining forces with Yale to support the development of a pioneering global justice programme at the University of Delhi.

EIB and UCL to cooperate on new infrastructure finance course

Out of harm’s way -- does injury prevention education in schools really work?
PA 55/13 A team of researchers are to examine whether learning about injury prevention in school really can help to prevent a distressing trip to the A&E department for children and their parents.

Q and A on Imperial’s future W3 accomodation

Lightyear foundation brings practical science to schools in Ghana
In October 2012 PhD students Naomi Nickerson and Adam Billing (both Physics) travelled to Accra, Ghana, with 16 other volunteers from the Lightyear Foundation, an organisation bringing practical science to schools there.

Car sharing scheme launched

New, multimedia undergraduate prospectus out now

New project will transform city’s talent into resource for young people in Bristol
An ambitious new project compiled by the people and institutions of Bristol to help young people thrive and flourish in the context of changing environmental, technological and economic times will lau

UK-India project set to enhance talent in atomic physics research
A new partnership between Indian and UK scientists to develop talent and innovation in a progressive branch of atomic physics is now underway.

Plymouth University gains Silver Accreditation for sustainability performance in the LiFE Index
Plymouth University is one of the first two in the country institutions to have gained Silver Accreditation in the Learning in Future Environments (LiFE) sustainability assessment tool.

University of Birmingham opens new Centre for Research in Race and Education
Twenty years after the death of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, his mother, Doreen Lawrence will help launch a new Centre for Research in Race and Education at the University of Birmingham.

New hall of residence purchased in W3

Major campus redevelopment announced

Cambridge unites to promote energy reduction

A chance to say thank you

Schools Liaison Officer Diary: Selwyn in Scotland 2013

Filmmaker Mark Cousins appointed Honorary Professor
The documentary filmmaker and author Mark Cousins has accepted an Honorary Professorship at the University of Glasgow.

RAG Week gets off to a flying start

The story of MRI -- told by one of the scientists who made it possible
At the age of 15 he was told he didn't have the qualifications to become a scientist. Today Sir Peter Mansfield, from The University of Nottingham, holds a Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine for his role in the development of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

Mini profile: James Moore
James E Moore Jr is the Bagrit Chair in Medical Device Design at Imperial College London's Department of Bioengineering, and one of the College's newest members of staff.

The bid to improve end of life care for LGBT people starts here
LGBT people have been identified as the most likely group to face discrimination when it comes to end of life care.

Cambridge University to host free teachers conference this April

The Prince of Wales opens Saïd Business School's new wing

Building Bridges with HE Partnership

HE+ consortium launched in Herefordshire

New supplier and stalls for UCLU street food market

Class act: University pays tribute to Labour’s first Education Secretary

Inspiring the researchers of the future
Manchester is one of 12 universities to have been awarded funding by Research Councils UK (RCUK) through its new national School-University Partnerships Initiative (SUPI).

Britain’s first Professor of Morality appointed by the University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is proud to announce the appointment of Randall Curren as Professor of Moral and Virtue Education to the Jubilee Centre for Character and Values, in the School of Education.

School of Global Studies launches new overseas placement module

Roll up, roll up! Sheffield’s show heritage on display
The University of Sheffield's Vanessa Toulmin opens the doors to her new exhibition of shows, fairs and circuses in Sheffield over the past 200 years this week (Thursday 7 February - 6 May 2013).

Bartlett School of Planning centenary marked with postgraduate scholarships

Imperial College Business School forges ahead with new partnership in India

Sussex Chair of Council bows out on a high note

University gives approval for the first phase of the North West Cambridge development
The governing body of the University of Cambridge, the Regent House, has given formal approval for the commencement of the first phase of the North West Cambridge development.

Rising star honoured for commitment to University project

Spreading the classical music bug to boost school achievement
Music students from The University of Nottingham will be mentoring primary schoolchildren in the city as part of a new scheme to tackle social deprivation through music.

Indian alumni join forces with Imperial to launch new scholarships

Poor mentoring can be worse than no mentoring, new teachers' toolkit reveals
Poor mentoring can be worse than no mentoring for vulnerable young people. That's one of the insights for teachers provided by the revamped Sutton Trust-Education Endowment Foundation Teaching and Learning Toolkit launched today. The updated Toolkit, developed by a team of academics at Durham University led by Steve Higgins, shows how schools can best use their resources to provide the biggest possible increases in pupils' learning.

Southern hospitality

New Principal for Homerton College
Ward is currently Vice Principal for Students and Staff at Royal Holloway College, University of London where he previously served as Dean of Arts.

Attendance up at annual Postgraduate Open Day

South West research boost
A new collaboration with three of the South West of England's leading research-intensive universities will create a 'critical mass of knowledge' and help Cardiff and Wales 'better compete for more research income' according to Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan.

Birmingham computer scientists take part in national cyber security challenge
The University of Birmingham's School of Computer Science, along with 3 other leading university computer science departments in the UK, is taking part in a unique code-breaking competition as part of this year's Cyber Security Challenge UK.

Education can prevent domestic abuse, finds research
Principle investigator David Gadd, from The University of Manchester, says the research bolsters calls for Governments to incorporate ‘relationship education' into the school curriculum.

University graduates launch first game for iPhone and iPad
Mutant Labs, which was originally based in the University’s Formation Zone, are this week launching a retro-inspired arcade game called Half-Inch Heist.

Gastro grub on the menu for Imperial explorers
Eating cricket kebabs, collecting bugs with local villagers, and extending our knowledge of insect eating practices in Benin were all on the menu for a two-month expedition led by two Imperial students before Christmas.

University of Sussex winter graduation 2013

Scholar Kseniya’s online for new challenge

Lord Williams of Oystermouth admitted as Master of Magdalene College

Entries encouraged for Peterhouse Essay Prizes

Supporting leadership development in primary schools

Recognised as an inclusive place to work
The University of Sheffield has been recognised as a fully inclusive community to work after rising 25 places in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 2013.

University repeats success in equality survey
The 2013 Stonewall Workplace Equality Index, the results of which were announced yesterday, ranks the University joint eleventh, the highest placed higher education institution (HEI) ahead of Liverpo

Nine out of ten happy with Library
Nine out of ten users are happy with the Library and more than ever before are making frequent visits, show survey results published today (Wednesday 16 January).

Increasing parents’ education improves educational attainment for future generations
Increasing the minimum school leaving age had a positive effect on the educational attainment of future generations, according to research published today [16 Jan].

UCL Winter Volunteering Fair on 17 January

New maths qualification needed
New maths qualification needed to improve England's poor participation in maths post-16 The solution to England's poor participation rate in post-16 maths education could lie in a new qualificat

VetCam 2013 opens for applications

Plymouth University law graduate takes office in US State Congress
A university graduate who had to juggle studying for his final year law exams in the UK with running an election campaign in the US has taken his seat in state government this week.

Academies report published
An independent report, published today by the Academies Commission, has outlined key priorities to ensure the success of academies in the future.

Reaching for the stars with Realise Stargazing Evenings
The Institute of Astronomy welcomed the aspiring astronomers to join in their winter programme of observing and talks on 28 th November and 19 th December.

Applications open for Homerton College 2013 Summer Schools

Dame Nancy visits South East Asia

Chair of Council awarded OBE in New Year’s Honours

The world inside a Spanish globe
The planetarium is sized to fit a child's hand, with instructions designed to be read aloud." —Seb Falk Object Wh.5892 in the University's Whipple Museum of the History of Science is something of an enigma.

UK teenagers without the internet are 'educationally disadvantaged'
A major in-depth study examining how teenagers in the UK are using the internet and other mobile devices says the benefits of using such technologies far outweigh any perceived risks. The findings are based on a large-scale study of more than 1,000 randomly selected households in the UK, coupled with regular face-to-face s with more than 200 teenagers and their families between 2008 and 2011.

Higher Education – for or against? Exploring the answers with HE Partnership
—Helen Colbran, Ormiston Bushfield Academy "But there's no such thing as a typical student," protests one of the girls from the back of the Jane Harrison Room, Newnham College.

Advice and encouragement delivered by Magdalene College in North Wales

Sheffield Americana band team up with historian
An unlikely collaboration between a Sheffield-based Americana band and an academic from the University of Sheffield has produced an album with a difference, inspired by 19th century American history.

Voyage of scientific and engineering discovery for school pupils
A new innovative programme of discovery has been launched at the University of Sheffield to help school pupils across South Yorkshire delve into the intriguing worlds of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

Hidden anguish of schoolchildren with autism
19 Dec 2012 The findings, published early next year in the Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, reveals the difficulties endured by many young people on the autistic spectrum, compared with their peers.

Making a difference to bereaved families this Christmas
Selfless students are helping to bring a little bit of joy to youngsters in Sheffield who are dealing with the loss of a loved one this Christmas.

HOSTs with the most
A number of international students from Imperial will be spending time with British families over the festive period, as part of a scheme run by the charity HOST UK together with the College's International Office.