Shaping the future of science

UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation

The first architectural plans have been released for the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI), a world-leading, biomedical research institute opening in London in 2015.

The shape of the £600 million building has been designed based on the genetic structures that carry human DNA. It will house more than 1,250 research scientists from across the world who will work together to develop new treatments for illnesses such as cancers, heart disease, stroke, flu and other infections.

Experts from different areas of research will work together and be encouraged to collaborate to create new treatments for major diseases.

UKCMRI is a partnership of four of the world’s most influential and respected scientific research organisations: Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, University College London and the Wellcome Trust.

Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk

Imperial cancer breakthrough

Groundbreaking research at Imperial College London has found a potential new drug for lung cancer which stopped lung cancer tumours from growing when tested on mice.

Imperial’s researchers identified a drug called PD173074 that was able to shrink tumours. It is now planned to conduct clinical trials to see if the drug works for patients with inoperable forms of lung cancer.

If the drug proves successful in humans, the researchers hope that it could help patients with lung cancer to live longer.

Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk

Indian Bar Council validates Kingston LLB degree

Siri Harris

The Bar Council of India recently validated Kingston University’s LLB degree.

This gives Kingston law degree students the chance to enrol and become an advocate with the Bar Council of India.

Senior lecturer at Kingston University’s Law School, Siri Harris, whose grandfather was one of Gandhi’s barristers, played a key role in securing Indian Bar Council recognition for the LLB.

“The Indian Bar Council is very prestigious and I am very pleased we’ve met their stringent requirements,” Ms Harris said. “Our aim now is to develop further partnerships and joint programmes with a number of institutions across the country.”

Kingston’s Faculty of Business and Law already has strong links with India and also runs business courses in partnership with Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal’s (SVKM) Institute of International Studies in Mumbai.

Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk

Ravi Shankar receives Honorary Fellowship

Ravi Shankar

Legendary sitar virtuoso and composer Ravi Shankar has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

The renowned musician was honoured for his contribution to the performance and promotion of Indian music and for his patronage of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Centre.

The ceremony featured a drum and sitar performance by Bhavan Centre musicians and Ravi Sankar students. Trinity Laban has previously collaborated with the Bhavan Centre to offer the first BMus in Indian Music in the UK.

Ravi Shankar, performer, composer, teacher and writer, is one of India’s most esteemed musical ambassadors. He is known for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West through teaching, performance, and his association with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison of The Beatles.

Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk

London’s new outdoor art gallery

The award winning Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground

Chelsea College of Art and Design has won a top prize in the prestigious Landscape Institute Awards for its elegant design and use of sustainable energy for its new open air art gallery.

The Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground is London’s largest open air art gallery and showcases cutting-edge installations on a monumental scale, including work by renowned conceptual artist Cildo Meireles.

The Parade Ground is based on a geometric grid using lights and steel lines in the floor to illustrate the vastness of the space by both night and day.

Next year, the space will host a series of installations as part of the University’s ambitious Shaping Sculpture programme.

Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk

Eating meat is bad for the environment

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

A new report, written by Professor Sir Andrew Haines director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), has linked the production of meat to climate change.

The report finds that reducing livestock production could lead to major reductions in global CO2 emissions.

Recent UN figures suggest that meat production is responsible for about 18 percent of global carbon emissions, including the destruction of forest land for cattle ranching and the production of animal feeds.

As the world’s leaders meet at Copenhagen for Climate Change talks, the report calls for a 30 percent reduction in the number of farm animals bred for meat which will help the UK achieve its target of halving carbon emissions by 2030.

International research

LSHTM has also won £3.5m Leverhulme Trust research grant this week to address the global food security crisis by investigating the links between agriculture and health.

The research will be coordinated by the London International Development Centre, a collaboration between six University of London colleges:

• Birkbeck College
• Institute of Education
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• School of Oriental and African Studies
• Royal Veterinary College
• The School of Pharmacy

Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk

University campaign to revive cinema

University of Westminster

The University of Westminster has launched a £5m fundraising campaign to restore a historic cinema that was venue for the UK’s first ever public display of moving pictures in 1896.

The campaign has already received a £1m donation by the MBI Al Jaber Foundation to transform the cinema which is currently used as a lecture theatre at the university.

Under new plans, the venue will become a working cinema once again, showcasing student work and experimental film from around the world.

The new cinema will also double-up as a modern lecture theatre to host a new public lecture programme, and the marble entrance hall will be transformed into a venue for art and cultural exhibitions.

To find out more about campaign visit www.birthplaceofcinema.com.

Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk

A taste of art history

Courtauld Institute of Art

International students in London can now develop their understanding of art history with a short course at the Courtauld Institute of Art.

The Institute’s evening lecture series Showcasing Art History investigates a range of fundamental art historical themes. The coming spring term explores the perennial problems of ‘influence’, ‘tradition’ and ‘innovation’, while the summer term focuses on the world-renowned Courtauld Gallery collections, including iconic works by Manet, Cézanne and Renoir.

The Summer School (2010) features 34 week-long courses and gives you the chance to engage intensively with works of art from classical antiquity to the present day. Inspiring lectures from specialist art historians are complemented by visits to London’s museums and galleries, offering a unique insight into the world of art history.

Visit the Courtauld short course website for more information.

Simon – www.studylondon.ac.uk

African school meal programme

School children in Africa

According to the UN, more than 60 million children go to school hungry every day worldwide. To help combat the problem, Imperial College London has launched a new project to help local farmers in sub-Saharan Africa provide healthy school meals for local children.

The project will help governments to run school meal programmes using locally-sourced food, providing regular orders and a reliable income for local farmers. The project will also conduct a series of studies to analyse the cost and impact of the school meal programmes.

Supported by a $12 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the project aims to ensure a reliable and fair market for local farmers’ products in countries such as Mali, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi and Kenya.

Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk

Building roads with chip fat

Helen with a sample of Vegetex

University of East London (UEL) research student, Helen Bailey, was on site to inspect the first road built using Vegetex, an inventive and environmentally-friendly material she created to build roads.

Helen’s innovative idea replaces up to 20 percent of the bitumen content in road surfaces with vegetable oil, a common ingredient used to cook the nation’s chips.

Using chip fat is a great way to recycle, reducing the CO2 emissions that result from creating bitumen while also reducing the need for the landfills used to dispose waste oil.

In recognition of her ground-breaking achievements, Helen was recently presented with the prestigious Fiona and Nicholas Hawley Award for Environmental Engineering by The Worshipful Company of Engineers.

The Vegetex project has also been shortlisted for an Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Innovation Award.

Kevin – www.studylondon.ac.uk