¹û¶³´«Ã½

(PAIS, ¹û¶³´«Ã½), with Co-Is Dr Dallal Stevens (Law, ¹û¶³´«Ã½), Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams (PAIS, ¹û¶³´«Ã½), Dr Angeliki Dimitriadi (ELIAMEP, Athens), and Dr Maria Pisani (Malta), have been awarded over 150K for an project entitled 'Crossing the Mediterranean Sea by boat: Mapping and documenting migratory journeys and experiences.’

While migrant deaths en route to the European Union are by no means new, the level and intensity of recent tragedies is unprecedented. More than 1850 deaths were recorded January-May 2015, demanding swift action on the part of EU Member States. This project produces a timely and robust evidence base as grounds for informing policy interventions developed under emergency conditions across the Mediterranean. It does so by assessing the impact of such interventions on those that they affect most directly: migrants or refugees themselves. This project undertakes such an assessment by engaging the journeys and experiences of people migrating, asking:

• What are the impacts of policy interventions on migratory journeys and experiences across the Mediterranean?
• How do refugees or migrants negotiate complex and entwined migratory and regulatory dynamics?
• In what ways can policy be re-shaped to address migrant deaths at sea?

The project focuses on three EU island arrival points in Greece, Italy and Malta. Qualitative interview data, both textual and visual, is produced through an interdisciplinary participatory research approach. The project contributes: an interdisciplinary perspective on the legal and social implications of policy interventions in the region; a comparative perspective on migratory routes and methods of travel across the Mediterranean; a qualitative analysis of the journeys and experiences of refugees and migrants; and methodological insights into participatory research under emergency conditions.

Well done to Stephanie Ifayemi, PAIS student, who attained 4th place out of the top 10 in the 2015 Rare Rising Star Awards in recognition of her impressive achievements.

Now in its seventh year, Rare Rising Stars showcases the incredible achievements of the best black students in the UK.

We would like to thank all of our students, recent graduates and staff for our excellent results in the 2015 National Student Survey (NSS). The NSS is completed by finalists, throughout the UK, and is a key component of league tables published in the media.

We are delighted to announce that we have achieved an overall satisfaction rating of 92 per cent. This was achieved through a 93 per cent response rate - the highest turnout rate out of all academic departments at ¹û¶³´«Ã½. We have been commended by the University for this amazing achievement.

Other key NSS headlines include:

• PAIS are rated No 1 in the University for assessment and feedback.
• PAIS are joint 1st in the University for organisation and management.
• Now in the Top 3 for overall satisfaction in terms of academic departments at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ with large conventional undergraduate cohorts.
• Taking the average scores across all categories and overall satisfaction, we are now the 2nd placed department at ¹û¶³´«Ã½.
• We are now the leading department in the Faculty of Social Sciences in terms of those with conventional undergraduate degrees
• Our departmental scores have gone up in EVERY SINGLE category of the NSS (e.g. teaching, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources, personal development and overall satisfaction). In some cases, our scores have increased significantly. For example, assessment and feedback has increased by 13 per cent and academic support by 11 per cent.

And, in terms of our Russell Group competitors (a group of 24 leading teaching and research universities in the UK):

• Politics at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ is rated No 1 for feedback
• And No 2 for organisation and management.
• And No 2 for personal development.
• Politics at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ is No 1 in the Russell Group for fair assessment arrangements and marking, efficient timetabling and access to specialised equipment, facilities and rooms.

We look forward to working with our fantastic students and staff in partnership to sustain and build on these great results. We will feedback these results in more detail to our students at the start of the next academic year; and we’ll discuss and take forward with our SSLC.

To all of our current and incoming students, we hope you enjoy the rest of the summer vacation and we look forward to seeing you all in October!

The booklet below is an account of the development of the Department of Politics and International Studies at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ from the opening of the University in 1965 to the end of the 1970s. It has been written as part of the University’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2015.

The Founding of a Politics Department Politics at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ - Wyn Grant

In an , PAIS PhD researcher argues Michel Platini is unlikely to be willing or able to substantially reform Fifa, and that it might be time for creating a new World Football Organisation.