Junk the Jargon Final

Junk the Jargon 2011 results

The final of this year's competition was on Thursday 17th Feb in People's Palace Lecture Theatre 1. All 12 finalists did a fantastic job of engaging, entertaining and educating the audience - there were creative analogies, humour, a huge variety of props and even the odd explosion!

The judges for the final were: Prof. Evelyn Welch, Professor of Renaissance Studies and Vice-Principal (Research & International Affairs); Prof. Colin Jones, President of the Royal Historical Society; Nicola Horne from Cancer Research UK; and Rhian Harris, Director of the V&A Museum of Childhood, and they had a really tough job to pick first, second and third place, but they eventually managed and the final decision was:

1st place: Myrto Chioni (and her two lovely assistants), from Barts Cancer Institute, for her description of "The secret life of Mr FGFR".

2nd Place: Jamie Upton, from the Blizard Institute of Cell & Molecular Science, for his poem about baldness and his research on hair follicules.


3rd Place: Marie-Aimee Brajeux from the School of Law, for her talk about ASBOs.


The audience also had a chance to vote for their favourite, and they picked Alex Papple, from Barts Cancer Institute, for his amazing use of dangerous props to explain how anti-cancer drugs could be made more effective.

Thanks to everyone who was involved!
Videos will be posted on the Learning Institute website soon.

Events for Arts & Humanities researchers

I've just come across two things that are coming up for researchers in Arts and Humanities subjects.

The first, on the 15th Feb, is a focus group at the British Library, designed to gain a better understanding of how BL services meet the needs of Arts & Humanities researchers within the Higher Education community. A payment of £50 will be given to anyone taking part. Each group will last for approximately 1.5 hours, and they will run between lunchtime and 5:30pm.
Anyone interested in participating should email David Mort at IRN Research at dmort@irn-research.com giving details of their subject area, institution, and general research experience (i.e. first-year PhD, early career researcher, established academic) PLUS a telephone number where they can be contacted in advance of the group.

The second event is at King's College London on 28th Feb:

"Graduates’ Day, King’s College London, 28th February 11-4, Anatomy Theatre Museum, 6th Floor, King's Building, King's College London

Refreshments and lunch provided

What is the public value of Arts and Humanities?

It is no secret: There were less difficult times for Arts and Humanities. Time is short and finances are scarce. So: Why study Shakespeare? Why think about politics and the world religions? Why explore national history? Why reflect upon moral issues?

The first Arts and Humanities Graduates’ Day at King’s College London invites PhD students from Arts and Humanities in the University of London to engage with these issues and discuss the importance of Arts and Humanities in the contemporary world. It will also be an opportunity to meet fellow research students working in the field of Arts and Humanities.

This free event will take place on Monday 28th February, 11-4 in the Anatomy Theatre Museum, 6th Floor, King's Building, King's College London, Strand Campus:

http://www.anatomytheatreandmuseum.kcl.ac.uk/location

If you would like to join us for this free event, please email Sarah Hayward (sarah.hayward@kcl.ac.uk) to book your place. Refreshments and lunch will be provided."