What makes your institution different and why does it matter? Leadership in Higher Education event

Don't miss your chance to book a place at the UEL-hosted, Leadership Foundation in Higher Education event, with keynote speakers John Joughin, Acting Vice-Chancellor of UEL, Malcolm Gillies, Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan University and Robert Phillips, Honorary Visiting Professor at Cass Business School. The event on 8 May, 10am-3pm, will look at the societal, political and economic pressures which are forcing universities to pay more attention to their distinctiveness and how they can use this to engage the communities they serve. Email Baljit Sandhu or visit the website to book a place.

UEL shortlisted in the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards 2013

We are pleased to announce that UEL has been shortlisted in both the 'Outstanding Marketing / Communications Team' and 'Outstanding Procurement Team' categories for the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards 2013. The winners will be announced on Thursday 20 June. For more information and to check out the competition, visit the Times Awards website.

Discover more about UEL’s innovative research at the UEL Research Conference 2013

UEL will celebrate some of its most innovative research this summer at its third annual research and knowledge exchange conference. The UEL Research Conference will take place on Wednesday 26 June 2013 at Docklands campus and the focus for this year's event will be `Inside Outside: Creating external and community links'. For more information visit the Research Conference webpage.

Financial aid for international students – The Emergency International Fund is now available to European Union and international students who find themselves in financial difficulty due to unforeseen circumstances. The deadline for applications is Friday 10 May.

Recruitment and Enterprise Fair – Can you spare some time to help students with CV and interview techniques? The Employability and Enterprise team would like your help on 5 June, 11am-3pm at East Wintergarden, Canary Warf. If you’re interested please fill out this questionnaire.

Credit Control extended opening hours – From 9 May, the Credit Control team will be trialling an extension to their Thursday afternoon drop-in sessions, which will now finish at 5.45pm. The Credit Control team are available to speak to students with general payment questions, discuss individual payment queries or difficulties and agree payment plans.

Helping hand at the London Marathon – Physiotherapy staff, students and graduates from the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience worked with St John Ambulance to triage and support runners experiencing difficulties as they crossed the finish line - even helping some who had not quite reached it! A great effort from the team who stayed upbeat and enthusiastic throughout.

Mark Stephens inaugurated as Chairman of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association – Mark Stephens, CBE, Chair of Board of Governors at UEL, has been inaugurated as the new Chairman of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA) at their annual conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

AVA Tipping Points lecture – Catherine du Toit, partner of architecture firm, 51% Studios, presents six projects that have taken the form of a collaboration with an artist, a landscape practice, the city or nature. Thursday 25 April, 6pm, AVA building, Docklands Campus.

Have you got 30 seconds to spare for £15,000? – Fewer than 200 votes are now needed to help UEL receive £15,000 in funding to improve cycling facilities and training. The very short survey can be completed here…

Fact or fiction? – Switching lights on and off uses more energy than leaving them on if you're only going to be out of the room for a short while.
Fiction! This used to be true years ago for fluorescent tube lights which took some time to start up, but now the rule is that the longer the light is on, the more energy it uses. The energy used to switch a light on and off is less than that of leaving it on, so switching lights off when you leave the room saves energy, whatever type of bulb you have.

Edward Heelas talks about new funding programme, Horizon 2020 – Horizon 2020 is the new EU funding programme for Research and Innovation, running from 2014-2020 with a budget of €80 billion. The event is on 8 May, 9.30am-12 noon at KD2.20, Docklands Campus. To book a place, email the ReDS team.

Call: Paris Institute for Advanced Studies residency grants – These enable established scholars and scientists in the fields of the humanities, the social sciences and related fields to work freely on the project of their choice, to benefit from the scientific environment of the institute and to create contacts with researchers in Paris.

Royal Docks Business School launches business venture with YoungStars Street Label – RDBS is pleased
to announce the launch of its first business venture with the YoungStars
Street Label. YoungStars is a voluntary organisation for young people affected by gang violence. For more information click here...

UEL Summer Ball 2013 – Students are invited to celebrate the end of the academic year at the official UEL Summer Ball! The biggest social event in years, the UEL Summer Ball is guaranteed to be a good night out, with heavyweight DJ PENDULUM and Jameela Jamil from the Radio 1 Chart show. For more information visit the Summer Ball website.

Last chance for Sports Awards tickets – UELSports will be hosting the Annual Sports Awards at the Emirates stadium on Thursday 9 May. students can buy their tickets here...

Six Book Challenge – Skillzone is offering students the chance to win a Tablet and develop their critical writing skills. All they need to do is read six chapters or articles from e-books or e-journals and complete an online reading log. Visit the Skillszone website for more information; closing date for entries is Friday 7 June.

Free beginners running group, Westfield – Starting on Tuesday 30 April, 6.30pm, the Sweatshop running group will take you from 0k to 5k in eight weeks. Perfect if you’ve signed up for a summer charity run or just want to get fitter for the summer. For more information visit the Sweatshop running group website.

Team UEL – Summer is fast approaching, and what better way to get in shape than running! Your Pace, No Race offers a choice of distances and takes place at West Ham Park, Newham on Sunday 28 April, 11am-1pm. To run as part of Team UEL email Julian Dominique.

5-a-side futsal – The School of Arts and Digital Industries claimed victory of the 11th Campus Sport event, on Wednesday 10 March. Students turned out in numbers to represent their academic schools and Halls of Residence to gain points, with the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience remaining in a clear lead overall. To take part in the last two events, visit the UELSports website.