LSE NEWS
WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE CAMPUS AND BEYOND
City slickers A major new centre for urban excellence will open at LSE next year. LSE Cities will focus on the future of the city and is founded by LSE and Deutsche Bank’s Alfred Herrhausen Society. Funded with an endowment of £1 million from Deutsche Bank each year over a period of five years, LSE Cities will be located in the Department of Sociology and directed by Ricky Burdett, LSE centennial professor in architecture and urbanism. LSE Cities will build on the successful five year collaboration of the Urban Age project and will continue to hold the annual Urban Age conference. Through new executive teaching programmes, summer schools, research projects and advisory consultancies, it will assist urban decision makers to investigate and apply socially and environmentally sensitive innovations. Deutsche Bank chairman Josef Ackermann and LSE director Howard Davies announced the centre in July. Josef Ackermann said: ‘Urban Age has helped policy makers and urban practitioners ensure the stability and growth of cities as diverse as Shanghai, São Paulo, Mumbai, New York and London. In establishing LSE Cities, Urban Age will continue developing a grammar of success for metropolitan areas.’
Shining a spotlight on teaching
Thinking like a social scientist
Over 150 staff attended the inaugural LSE Teaching Day in June. The Teaching Day demonstrates the School’s commitment to teaching, building on the work of the Teaching Task Force. Opened by director Howard Davies, the keynote speech was delivered by Dr Jonathan Leape, senior lecturer in economics and director of the new LSE100 course. He outlined the aims and format of the new course (formerly known as Thinking Like A Social Scientist) which will be piloted from Lent 2010, see right.
LSE launches a pioneering and innovative compulsory course for undergraduates in 2010. LSE100: the LSE course aims to deepen and broaden students’ understanding of social scientific thinking, helping prepare students both for their time at the School and their future careers.
Participants at the Teaching Day were able to attend some excellent presentations alongside plenty of opportunities to network with colleagues from across the School. The workshops, seminars and panel discussions covered wide ranging topics including: innovative approaches to teaching; engaging with students; the latest technologies and resources; and funding for teaching initiatives. Professor Janet Hartley, pro-director for teaching and learning, closed the day with the presentation of the Teaching Excellence Awards at a wine reception and echoed the view of many participants in describing the day as a success. Many thanks to all who contributed. For more, see lse.ac.uk/ teachingDay
this course puts the School and all its undergraduates right into the centre of that debate. I think it will be a real added trump card for LSE graduates in the future.’
An initiative of the LSE Teaching Task Force, LSE100 will introduce students to key methodological tools through three-week, interdisciplinary ‘case study’ modules. Students will examine some of the important issues of our time and attend lectures by renowned experts.
The first ever compulsory course in the undergraduate programme, classes will be limited to 12 students working mostly outside the ‘comfort zone’ of their own department. Teachers will be drawn from a broad range of departments and the course will use innovative technology to support skill development, help gauge understanding and stimulate engagement.
‘LSE100 is centrally located in LSE’s traditions’ says LSE director Howard Davies. ‘We should be engaging with big policy issues of the day and
LSE100 will launch on a pilot basis in January 2010 and become compulsory for all incoming first year undergraduates the following year.