This week, a phone app which claims to track the user’s mood created by Cambridge researchers, and academics from the university to help sixth-form physics students as part of a £7m boost to the subject
Story link: http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/5943
A good news story for the week, which involved contacting former King’s student and model Lily Cole about her new gifting idea. Impossible is a new project to be launched in Cambridge this Wednesday, based on encouraging a peer-to-peer gift economy. Users will post wishes to a community of users that may help.
Model and former Cambridge student Lily Cole will visit Cambridge students this week to present a new social network, Impossible, which will seek to engender a peer-to-peer gift economy.
The smartphone app will enable users to post wishes, which will be shown to other users who are likely to be able to help, using such criteria as proximity, existing social graphs and matching skills. At the heart of the project is an emphasis on reciprocity – giving to a community who may in turn give something back. Its philosophy is: “Make a wish. Take a wish. Say thanks.”
On Wednesday, Lily Cole and the team behind the social network will meet with students at the Giving Tree on King’s Parade all day, answering questions about the project. The following day, on Thursday, a debate at the union will take place under the motion “This House believes an economy based on giving is impossible” with guests including the co-founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales, peace activist Genevieve Vaughan, David Halpern, Director of the Behavioural Insight Team, and James Suzman, Director Corporate Affairs at De Beers.
Talking about the new social network, Lily Cole said: “The name Impossible plays on the idea that it is a very utopian proposition. But I do believe in people, and I believe that it might work.”
The service will run initially for use by Cambridge students only as a beta service before being rolled out nationally later this year. The app is available to download for iPhone now by searching for *impossible* in the App Store (or using the following link http://bit.ly/11ziE5T), as well as online.
“Imagine if kindness was our currency,” Impossible asks, “an alternative gift economy that aims to enable the building of communities in local areas through goodwill.”
It will operate as a Yunus social business, a company created for social benefit rather than private profit, in which 100% of profits are reinvested for growth and innovation, or to seed new social business ventures.
Story link: http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/5941
This story proved to be very popular – we were competing with other student media at the time, but I managed to be resourceful on Facebook to get some more reaction to the news.
A jelly wrestling match which was due to take place at the annual Wyverns’ Garden Party has been cancelled, following an online petition which gathered 1176 signatures.
The proposed celebration traditionally involves at least two female students wrestling in a paddle pool full of jelly, one of many forms of celebration organised by drinking societies to mark the end of exams. The petition, started by a student from Magdalene College, described this practice as: “clearly sexist, misogynistic and completely inappropriate as entertainment for 2013.”
A statement from the drinking society, which planned to organise the event said: “In the light of the recent petition The Wyverns have decided to cancel the ‘jelly wrestling’ at this year’s garden party. We, as a society, are committed to ensuring all party-goers have the best time possible and understand the concerns of some of them.”
Nina de Paula Hanika, the creator of the online petition, wrote on the CUSU Women’s Campaign Facebook page: “Thank you so much everyone who supported and well done to The Wyverns for doing the right thing!”
On the page of the petition, Nina wrote: “I feel deeply saddened to not only attend a university where this takes place, but to be associated with this event simply by attending Magdalene, but it does not have to be this way! If you love the women in your life for their brains, for their wit, and for their contribution to society that has NOTHING to do with the body they come in, please sign and help me stop this.”
The petition encouraged many people to accompany their signature with comments. One supporter wrote: “It is simply backwards to permit this sort of behaviour to go on. Women should not be objectified for their bodies, especially not at the hands of over-privileged schoolboys.”
Story link: http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/5913
This story involved attending the event, which every year attracts gatherings of students on Jesus Green as they celebrate the end of year exams. I merely wanted to report fairly on exactly what had gone on without hyperbole or making assumptions. I managed to talk to local residents surrounding the park who had differing but largely indifferent views on the troubleless behaviour, students who were gathered on the green, a litter pickerer with whom I had a very long conversation, as well as a police officer who attended the scene.
My non-reactionary piece was in stark contrast to the Daily Mail, which tried to conflate having fun with blanket disgust and outlandish behaviour. The only criminal acts I encountered were several acts of public indecency, namely urinating in public. By and large, and as my photo of the event illustrated, there were friendly, harmless gatherings of friends in circles chatting and enjoying each other’s company.
Caesarian Sunday ended peacefully in the area of Jesus Green yesterday, proving to be far less raucous than previous years, when more extreme behaviour grabbed the headlines in national press. Most students gathered in groups of varied sizes starting from around midday, causing no trouble, and enjoying the sunny weather, by meeting friends and eating and drinking. Others were seen playing Frisbee, or sitting to chat amongst themselves.
By the early afternoon, two females had been handed penalty notices for anti-social behaviour, specifically urinating in public, and told to leave the area. It is not known whether either attends the University of Cambridge.
Sgt Andrea Gilbert, of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary, who was leading the police presence in Jesus Green, was happy with how the day had gone, with a pleasant atmosphere largely free of trouble. She spoke of the two main priorities for the police, both the atmosphere and the rubbish – neither of which appeared to pose any problems. She wished for those either attending the event or not to enjoy the space and the weather in peace, and was hopeful that the event would remain orderly for the rest of the afternoon.
David, who was overseeing the task of clearing up rubbish from the area, spoke of how positive the day had been. He said the event made good use of the open, green space, and that the rubbish in the park didn’t differ greatly from levels seen during any other weekend, and that there would be little extra cost for the council in cleaning up. He also wished for coverage of the event to dispel overly negative stereotypes which Caesarian Sunday has come to evoke in recent years through unfair press coverage, according to him.
Students were encouraged to use red bin bags that were provided by the council to dispose of their rubbish responsibly – it is the first year that such bags have been distributed.
A couple with two children who live nearby were not aware of the event happening until they entered the park and were content with the conduct of students. Many families with children were also enjoying the outdoors, making the most of the pleasant weather.
The police presence, whose role seemed to be nothing more than keeping an eye on the groups of students from around the perimeter of the space, was reasonably minimal.
Story link: http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/5908
I was keen to showcase Cambridge’s great position as a universiy which innovates to a large degree in scientific research, and so I went about creating a new weekly round-up of science news, namely Science Report. I wanted to open up the stories and make them amazing, without leaving them cumbersome or excessively heavy to read. A solution to this was a series of neat summaries of the week’s science news, with photos and easy-to-understand text. The new feature seemed to go down very well from the comments we received, and selection of the stories was not too difficult to summarise for a non-scientist, although the choice of them was considerably large.
Story link: http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/5904
More reaction to the GU story of this term. Arsalan Ghani decided to respond to the motion and to the allegations put before him.
He writes to Varsity to express his surprise at the motion, and anger at press coverage alleging misconduct.
Story link: http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/5880
Cambridge has come top in the annual Complete University Guide list for 2014.
It is the third year in a row that Cambridge has beaten Oxford to the top spot, which dropped to third place last year, behind London School of Economics.
The list uses nine measures including academic services spend, entry standards, student satisfaction, staff-student ratios, research assessment and graduate prospects to determine the position of 124 British universities.
Cambridge managed to edge its way ahead of Oxford in all but two of the nine criteria – both the academic services spend, the amount spent on libraries and IT, and the percentage of graduates achieving a first or upper second class honours degree.
Subjects also received an individual ranking. Cambridge was top in 34 of the 46 subjects offered.
Besides Oxford and Cambridge, the top ten includes London School of Economics, Imperial College London, Durham, St Andrews, University College London, Warwick, Bath, and Exeter in tenth place.
Dr Bernard Kingston, principal author of the Complete University Guide, said it was “beyond dispute” that the table’s top 10 “includes some of the world’s finest higher education institutions”.
Story link: http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/5877
My first article as News Editor for Varsity in Lent Term 2013, after contributing previously as a News Reporter. This term Varsity is online-only, at a time when students are getting ready for their exams. Our focus was to get the best news before our competition. This was out first big news story of the term – a motion of no-confidence called against GU President Arsalan Ghani.
Story link: http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/5865
I spoke with my friend Colette to get some extra quotes into this article.
Despite the substantial benefits, figures suggest that the vast majority of university students are being put off studying abroad due to a lack of information. Over three quarters of students feel that they lack sufficient material needed to make an informed decision, and are deterred by worries about costs and language ability.
Research from the British Council, which surveyed 2,239 UK students, has shown that just 20 per cent of students consider overseas study. Over half of these feel that there is not enough information or that they have had to work hard to find it, while 24 per cent said they did not have enough information to make an informed decision.
The report concluded that: “there is the need to equip students with adequate information for them to be able to make informed decisions about overseas study. It is important that students are able to understand and articulate the skills that can be gained from study abroad experiences and appreciate how such an experience could benefit them in the long term.”
Less than two per cent of the UK student higher education population, a total of 33,000 students, experience some or all of their studies overseas.
The greatest motivation for students studying abroad is to boost their career prospects. Most students feel that their degree is not enough on its own. 90 per cent of those considering studying abroad, and 60 per cent of those who are not, think that an overseas study experience would give them the edge in the jobs market.
Gordon Chesterman, Director of the University’s Career Service, emphasised the value of additional skills to add to a CV through a year abroad. He said that many Cambridge students have their year abroad after graduating. Some five per cent of last year’s first degree graduates took time out, including for travelling. He admits that making arrangements for a year abroad is difficult, particularly with a student’s college, and that the next best option is summer opportunities that the Service promotes.
Colette, a second year law student at King’s, has decided to study at Utrecht University in the Netherlands next year. She said: “I knew I wanted to do a year abroad throughout high school and college because I loved doing languages so much and they’re really important to potential employers. There was information about how to apply, but there wasn’t anywhere near enough information about finances. I was basically told ‘you’ll come back with a profit’ and that there will be some funding from the British Council; that was it.
“Preparation for it has been non-existent so far. I was told about my interview two days in advance in the middle of week 8 of Michaelmas which is incredibly busy and I wasn’t told that the vast majority of it will be in German about the German constitution, which is only studied in [the] second term of the German Erasmus students’ course. It was ridiculous.”
Thirdyearabroad.com is the UK’s largest network for providing help and advice for students who work or study abroad during their degree. Its founder, Lizzie Fane, said: “The more information the better – students should be aware of the year abroad before they start university, so they can plan for it properly. The year abroad makes students unique; the combination of studying, working and travelling makes you stand out to employers and have something to talk about in interviews.”
Through the launch of a new website by the British Council, it is hoped that more students will consider studying overseas. It provides detailed information and answers questions as to what, why, where and how to spend a year abroad, as well as giving advice on securing funding and applying for visas and healthcare.
Story link: http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/5820
So, for my final piece for Varsity this term, I’ve been asked to write on the lack of information putting students off from studying abroad. Particularly appropriate as I embark on a year abroad next year in Barcelona. Deadline is Wednesday morning, so I’ll post the link when it appears; the same for the previous two print articles.
Andrew Connell 