果冻传媒

PAIS are delighted that we had a highly successful night at the 果冻传媒 Staff Awards on Friday evening. It was a wonderful occasion and thanks for all your nominations!

Professor was highly commended in the ‘global impact’ category for her work with Sarah Hodges from the Department of History and Dr won the award for ‘outstanding contribution’ to the student experience – congratulations to them both.

It is a fantastic achievement for Justin and Shirin personally, and a great reflection of our teaching and research excellence in PAIS which we can all celebrate.

Head of Department, Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams says: "We can be especially proud that Justin’s work on the student experience has now been recognised as No 1 in the University. In a very modest way, Justin has been keen to stress that the award reflects a real team effort – including all our students and staff – working together in partnership to create as supportive environment as possible for students in PAIS. It was great to hear that Justin had been nominated by students as well as staff and I think this is further reflection of all the work he has done for our students."

Justin’s certificate reads:

“Justin’s contributions to PAIS are ultimately recognised by students and staff as being exceptionally significant in promoting the student experience. He is a true ambassador for making 果冻传媒 as supportive and enjoyable for students as possible. Justin’s approachability makes him accessible to students from when they join right through to when they graduate. Throughout their degrees, students appreciate Justin’s determination to ensure that the department is delivering, overcoming any boundaries that arise. He is passionate to develop students and always seeks to collaborate”.

Congratulations to all our colleagues who were long listed or short listed for these awards.

PAIS is hiring!

The Department of Politics and International Studies invites applications for an indefinite Assistant/Associate Professorship in International Political Economy (deadline 4 April 2016). Further details can be found .

Thanks to students and staff in PAIS for supporting the visit of Her Excellency Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca to the Department on 2 March – it was a wonderful day.

Her Excellency, who is an Honorary Professor in the Department, met Undergraduates in the PAIS Common Room and challenged them to take responsibility in their future careers for engaging with global political issues including migration, climate change, war, development, poverty, and inequality.

Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams, Head of PAIS, commented:

“Having held a distinguished political career for over forty years, Her Excellency knows a thing or two about Politics and International Studies. As her article last year in Prospect outlines, she is committed to addressing issues of economic, social, and political injustice – issues that are at the heart of research and teaching in the Department. We look forward to developing this unique collaboration by engaging with the work of her new Institute for Peace and Well-Being”.

Afterwards, H.E. delivered a Distinguished Lecture, entitled ‘Migration and peace-building in the Mediterranean’, hosted by the Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart Croft. She said:

“We must find ways of moving away from the stereotypes and prejudices that have come, all too often, to define our discourses on migration. It is vital that we prioritise the importance of wellbeing as a guide in our conceptual and practical approaches in these areas. We must resist those who would label migrants as intruders or burdens on society. Instead, we must bring to light the reality of added values and opportunities that migrants bring to our communities”.

The full text of her lecture can be accessed here:

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Photos from the event can also be found on Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca's .

The Guardian newspaper recently featured an exclusive interview with one of our current MA students, Sungju Lee. Sungju is currently enrolled on the MA in International Relations.

The profile discusses Sungju's experiences as a North Korean defector and his forthcoming novel - a work of young adult fiction entitled . In the article Sungju discusses how his ‘market generation’ has the potential to bring genuine change to the North Korean regime.

Dr and Dr have been awarded a grant of £83,000 from the Newton Fund Institutional Links scheme to investigate the gender impacts of slum resettlement projects in Jakarta, Indonesia. The project involves a partnership with Universitas Indonesia’s Centre for Election and Political Party (CEPP) and also involves input from civil society partners engaged in housing, architecture and development work. The project partners at Universitas Indonesia are Dr. Chusnul Mar’iyah and Dr. Reni Suwarso, co-directors of CEPP.

The research, funded under the Newton scheme’s ‘future cities’ theme, will focus on low-income dwellers in two Jakarta slum locations. These areas are amongst the most vulnerable of Jakarta’s population, affected by floods, fire and economic precarity. The project seeks to understand how current rehousing projects affect the lives of women and what their developmental needs are, e.g. safe spaces, access to finance, opportunities for (in)formal economic activity and how these can be delivered. In dialogue with local women’s groups, the project will develop resources and an online toolkit for women's empowerment. The project will run for two years.