The Centre for Co-Curricular Studies is offering a programme of evening classes during the summer term. Classes are available in languages at different levels including Arabic, Japanese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese as well as modern European languages and English Conversation for non-native speakers, and arts courses in Creative Writing, and Music Technology. Courses comprise two weekday evening classes a week from 18.00 – 20.00 for five weeks starting 28 May 2013. Online enrolment started on 1 April 2013.

Find full details and enrol online here.

Professor Chris Toumazou is to be appointed as the College’s first Regius Professor of Engineering.

Imperial College London was granted a prestigious Regius professorship by Her Majesty the Queen as part of her 60th anniversary celebrations. Eleven other universities in the UK also received the rare privilege of using the Regius title, awarded only twice in the past century.  The award is a reflection of the exceptionally high quality of teaching and research at an institution and prior to these awards, regius professorships were limited to a handful of the ancient universities of the UK and Ireland – Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Trinity College, Dublin.

Imperial College will confer the title of Regius Professor of Engineering on Professor Chris Toumazou FRS, FREng, FMedSci from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering as part of the Commemoration Day Ceremony on Wednesday 23 October 2013.

Among his many achievements, Professor Toumazou developed one of the world’s first cochlear implants to enable deaf people to hear. He has also created a digital plaster, which can remotely monitor a patient’s medical vital signs in the comfort of their own home and a hand-held genetic sequencing device that can instantly analyse a patients DNA to determine if that patient can metabolise a specific type of medication.

Professor Sir Mark Walport FRS has accepted appointment as an Honorary Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Imperial College.

The appointment is for the duration of Sir Mark’s appointment as the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser.

Sir Mark Walport had been the Director of the Wellcome Trust since 2003, and before that he was Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Medicine at the College, where he led a research team that focused on the immunology and genetics of rheumatic diseases.  He originally studied medicine at the University of Cambridge, completing his PhD on complement receptors under the supervision of Peter Lachmann in 1986.  He was knighted in the 2009 New Year Honours list for services to medical research and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2011.  In April this year he succeeded Professor Sir John Beddington as the Government Chief Scientific Adviser.

Imperial was made aware late last week of allegations regarding the use of animals in medical research, subsequently reported in this weekend’s Sunday Times. Upon learning of the allegations the College immediately took a number of steps, including launching an independent investigation. Read more about the College’s response and the investigation.

Staff who receive queries from stakeholders other than the media are advised to point to the College’s news story and statement.

Media
Any media enquiries should be routed immediately to the College’s press office: J-P Jones, 020 7594 6704 / out of hours 07803 886248, john-paul.jones@imperial.ac.uk.

Security
Any security concerns should be raised with the relevant campus contacts.

Professor G. ‘Anand’ Anandalingam, currently the Dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, USA, has accepted appointment as Dean of Imperial College Business School, with effect from 1 August 2013. He succeeds Professor Dorothy Griffiths who was appointed in February 2012 following Professor David Begg’s retirement.

Professor Anandalingam graduated in Electrical Sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1975, and subsequently completed a PhD in operations research with economics at Harvard in 1981.  He worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory before he began his academic career at the University of Virginia in 1984 as an assistant professor. In 1987 he moved to the University of Pennsylvania and held a dual appointment as both professor of systems engineering and professor of management science at the Wharton School of Business. In 2001 Professor Anandalingam joined the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, becoming its Dean in 2008.

Professor Anandalingam was the founder of the Smith School’s Center for Electronic Markets and Enterprises, and was its director from 2001-2004. As an expert in electronic markets and telecommunications networks he has consulted for a range of mature and start-up companies, has published more than 75 research papers, and served as editor of a number of academic journals, volumes and books.

The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) is the equality policy and advice body for universities in England, and has recently launched an anonymous HE sector survey to examine mental health in the workplace.

The survey is aimed at understanding how universities can:

• develop an environment that encourages staff to inform the university about mental health difficulties to receive targeted support;
• ensure that the courses, work environment, facilities, and services are accessible to students experiencing mental health difficulties.

Responses to the survey will be invaluable in helping the ECU develop materials to promote an inclusive university environment that is supportive of mental health.

Please let the ECU know your views by completing the survey here – the survey is open until 12 April.

Ethos Sports Centre will operate with the following reduced opening hours from Thursday 28 March to Tuesday 2 April.

• Thursday 28 March 09.00 – 17.00
• Friday 29 March 09.00 – 17.00
• Saturday 30 March 09.00 – 17.00
• Sunday 31 March 09.00 – 17.00
• Monday 1 April 09.00 – 17.00
• Tuesday 2 April 09.00 – 17.00

There will be no studio classes on these days.

Following the College Notice of 26 February 2013 about a number of changes to the senior management of the College, which will come into effect over the coming months as part of the new President and Provost model of leadership for the College, it is now possible to set out further arrangements for the future governance of the College.

College Cabinet

Terms of reference: to plan for and address strategic issues of medium and long term impact.  It will handle major policies, external relationships, the College Masterplan, financial budgets (annual and medium term) and governance issues.

Core membership: President, Provost, CFO, College Secretary

By invitation according to business: Associate Provost (Institutional Affairs), Faculty Deans, Vice-President (Development & Innovation), Vice-Provosts, and Directors reporting to the President or Provost

President’s Coordinating Group

Terms of reference: informal gathering to consider high-level co-ordination of College business, new initiatives and important issues as they arise.

Core membership: President, Provost, CFO, College Secretary

Provost’s Board

Terms of reference: responsible for the delivery of the College’s core academic mission of education, research and translation.  This includes oversight of the quality and efficacy of education and research; recruitment, development and retention of academic, research and professional staff; student life and well-being; and in-year financial performance and financial control.

Core membership: Provost, CFO, College Secretary, Associate Provost (Institutional Affairs), Faculty Deans, Vice-Provosts

By invitation according to business: COO, Directors reporting to the President or Provost.  The President and Vice-President (Development & Innovation) may attend for specific items.

Senate

The Senate will retain its existing terms of reference and membership, and be chaired by the Provost.

Sub-committees of the College Cabinet

At its inception, there will be two sub-committees to the College Cabinet, both chaired by the President:

• Capital Approval Board (CAB)
• Estates Strategy Group

Estates Strategy Group

The Estates Strategy Group is newly constituted:

Terms of reference: to create a coherent College estates strategy and financial plan for the academic development of South Kensington, Imperial West, Silwood, and the medical campuses for at least the next decade.

Core membership: President (Chair), Provost, CFO, Associate Provost (Institutional Affairs), Vice-President (Development & Innovation), COO

By invitation according to business: Faculty deans, Vice-Provosts

Sub-committees of the Provost’s Board

• Health, Safety & Environment Committee (Chair: College Secretary)
• Equality & Diversity Committee (Chair: to be announced)
• Space Committee (Chair: Associate Provost [Institutional Affairs])
• Vice-Provost’s Committee for Research (Chair: Vice-Provost [Research])
• Vice-Provost’s Committee for Education (Chair: Vice-Provost [Education])

Terms of reference for the latter two committees will be issued in due course.

Research Office

From 1 August 2013 the Research Office will report to the College Secretary & Registrar.

Timing

These new governance arrangements will take effect from 1 August 2013, and the Management Board will be dissolved from that date, but the College Cabinet is expected to commence its work before then.

Professor Sir Keith O’Nions

President & Rector

This year’s event ‘Creative Curriculums: Crossing Boundaries’ centres on concepts of curricula and spaces which foster and nurture creativity in education.

A panel of speakers will provide examples of innovative and creative curriculum designs, followed by a round table session with an opportunity for questions and discussion. The afternoon will finish with our keynote speaker Daniel Tan, Director, Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Nanyang Technological University – an exciting opportunity to share good practice across our institutions. The day will conclude with a wine reception.

The event is open to any member of staff with an interest in teaching. If interested, please register online.

There is currently an intermittent fault with the College image library which makes it appear that users are unable to log in.

If this happens, click your browser’s back button and try again. You should find that you have been logged in on the second attempt. The fault has been reported and we are awaiting a fix.

If you have any further problems, please contact Peter Gillings.