The Bloomsbury Colleges Report now available

Access The Bloomsbury Colleges Report here

Studentships Presentation Day

The Bloomsbury Studentships

The first Bloomsbury Studentships were awarded from September 2007. Holders are expected to work for a PhD under the supervision of at least two of the six member institutions, with one acting as the lead investigator. The second group of Studentships was awarded from September 2008 and the selection process for September 2009 is well under way.

On 27th March 2009, students holding these prestigious awards were invited to present a progress report on their research to an invited audiences of staff and students from the six colleges. Each student made a presentation and this was followed by lively question and answer sessions. As an interdisciplinary and intercollegiate event, it was also an invaluable networking opportunity for the award holders who are drawn from Britain, other European countries and from around the world. Such was the success of this event that another will be planned for the middle of the 2009-2010 academic year.

The projects currently being researched by award holders are as follows:

Starting in 2007

Investigations into Acg and other putative nitrosoreductases, key proteins in the dormancy phases of tuberculosis
Development NGOs and human rights education
Strengthening open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL) systems to increase education access and attainment for young people in high HIV prevalence areas in Malawi
Development of models of human intestinal epithelium to study how infection by Campylobacter jejuni causes diarrhoeal disease
Relationship between medication error and patient harm due to adverse drug effects
Impact of the implementation of control strategies in live bird markets on the dynamics of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, a modelling approach
Suilysin toxoid as a vaccine against Streptococcus suis meningitis
Antibacterial compounds from locusts
A cost effective formulation of amphotericin B for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis

Starting in 2008

Legalisation and judicialisation in the provision of health and care services
Using technology to detect and improve social deficits in children with Autism
New antibacterials from plants and their modes of action
Investigations into human urothelial cell signalling pathways and antibiotic response in Overactive Bladder (OAB)
Escherichia coli KI interactions with human brain microvascular endothelial cells, a primary step in the development of Neonatal Meningitis
Active ageing, social engagement and health of older people in Europe: population and policy influences
Structural studies of Kinesin adaptor protein: an important mediator of trafficking processes in neurons
Comparative oncology investigation of membrane active polymers for the treatment of cancer
Medicines for children: priorities for research and outcome assessment
School experiences and educational attainment for children in rural compared with urban areas
The investment behaviour of Chinese listed firms: how does it differ from UK firms

LIDC Website Now Live

The London International Development Centre website is now live:
visit www.bloomsbury.ac.uk/lidc

�90,000 Awarded to Bloomsbury Colleges & the LIDC to Share Digital Resources Online

£90,000 Awarded to Bloomsbury Colleges and the London International Development Centre to Share Digital Resources Online

The latest thinking on international development from leading academics will be shared online via podcasts and videos as part of a new project. Interviews and lectures will be produced and made publicly available online to raise awareness of major challenges in developing countries, including animal health, climate change and education. The resources will be of particular interest to international development researcher and students worldwide.

The 15-month initiative is led by The Bloomsbury Colleges, a consortium of six internationally renowned institutions within the University of London. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with the London International Development Centre, and is funded by £90, 000 from the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).

New Approaches

Professor Quintin McKellar is the Prinicpal of the Royal Veterinary College, one of the participating Colleges. He said: "International development issues increasingly impact on all of our lives, from climate change to the threat of diseases like swine flu. Online resources are an effective and appealing way of engaging new audiences and informing them about these matters in a clear and concise way. We are delighted to have secured funding for this project from JISC".

Innovative internet-based approaches are central to the Bloomsbury Media Cloud project, including the storage of digital resources in the 'cloud' (a virtual space online). The initiative is funded by JISC's new Flexible Service Delivery programme, which supports colleges and universities to make efficiency savings, integrate and share their information systems effectively. Alex Hawker, programme manager at JISC, said: "I am especially enthusiastic about this project and the opportunities it will bring for universities to learn from each other, particularly in the areas of negotiating licences fro shared resources, and joint leadership. By making this important work openly accessible online, JISC is allowing researcher to benefit from academic thought outside the wall of their own universities and subject areas."

Online resources

Material generated by the project will include:

Programmes on key international development topics, including:

Access to medicines

Animal and human health

Climate change

Short presentation profiling the international development expertise and training offered by the Bloomsbury Colleges within various categories, including:

Education

Food production and security

Health and health promotion

Sustainable development

Water and sanitation

Interviews with each of the six heads of the Colleges about their experiences in international development

Bloomsbury LGBT Staff Association

For information about this staff association please see the web page at http://www.bloomsbury.ac.uk/lgbtsa/

Bloomsbury ESRC Doctoral Training Centre Bid

Building on their extensive research collaborations, four of the Bloomsbury Colleges are submitting a bid in March 2010 to be an ESRC Doctoral Training Centre. The Institute of Education, top rated for Education research in the last Research Assessment Exercise, is leading the bid together with colleagues in the social sciences from Birkbeck, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the School of Oriental Studies. If successful, the colleges will be able to further develop their inter-disciplinary collaborations, sharing practice within the DTC and with doctoral students from other higher education institutions.

BLE pages

Bloomsbury Learning Environment

Find out more about the Bloomsbury Learning Environment (BLE) here