Help students engage in politics, says NUS leader
National Union of Students president, Mandy Telford, today backed calls to engage more young people in politics. Commenting on the findings of a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, Ms Telford said: "It is all too easy for young people to be labelled apathetic, but we know from our members that that simply is not true. Like anyone else, young people have views on issues, but feel their voice is not being heard. Political parties cannot continue to ignore such a large proportion of the electorate." The IPPR report, published today, found that four out of five local authorities do not have a strategy in place for involving young people in decision making. The research was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Details: www.jrf.org.uk
Climate change secrets anticipated at loch bottom
St Andrews University scientists have teamed up with French experts to explore a remote Scottish sea loch for secrets of climate change. The team is using acoustic technologies to gather images of the sediment in the loch, which it hopes will reveal the history of climate change over the last 18,000 years. Dr Richard Bates said: "More importantly, not only can these records tell us about the past, they can help us predict future climate change."
Legal adviser on Manchester merger announced
International law firm Eversheds has won the tender to advise the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and Manchester University on their proposed merger. Eversheds will provide advice on legal and governance issues to working groups in both institutions as they prepare merger documents for a vote in October. The firm has worked with a number of higher education institutions in the past.