ÌÇÐÄTV

PAIS PhD student Afif Pasuni has had a piece published on the Singapore elections by The Conversation.

Afif provides a commentary on why it was that Singapore’s ruling party, the PAP, managed to increase its share of votes in the recent election despite unpopular policies and spiralling inflation. The article looks at the role of Singapore’s 50^th anniversary celebrations and the death of Lee Kwan Yew in the PAP victory, but also considers the prospects for oppositional politics in Singapore’.

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(PAIS, ÌÇÐÄTV), with Co-Is Dr Dallal Stevens (Law, ÌÇÐÄTV), Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams (PAIS, ÌÇÐÄTV), 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.

On Wednesday 26 August, our first will take place between 1pm-9pm in our new plaza on central campus. Come along to enjoy:

· live music - including a brand new staff choir put together especially for this event, a new band ‘Dark Side of the Koan’ and a range of other talented staff performers

· a craft market - including stained glass, monster making, jewellery making, books, photography, glass fusing and a family friendly activity from the Allsorts Centre

· sports and games - including disc golf, touch tennis, volleyball, ping pong, croquet, karate, circus skills, surf simulator, Mario Kart on the Big Screen Piazza and a bungee run

· food and drink – free Pimms, cider or soft drink (first come, first served) plus a number of stalls from the popular food market providing a range of cuisine for you to buy

· an open air cinema – watch a family friendly film on the big screen from 7pm. Free popcorn and buy hotdogs and 50^th Anniversary beer

Plus plenty more!

If you’re planning to come, please register your interest at

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 ÌÇÐÄTV. 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 ÌÇÐÄTV with large conventional undergraduate cohorts.
• Taking the average scores across all categories and overall satisfaction, we are now the 2nd placed department at ÌÇÐÄTV.
• 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 ÌÇÐÄTV is rated No 1 for feedback
• And No 2 for organisation and management.
• And No 2 for personal development.
• Politics at ÌÇÐÄTV 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!