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Student Gateway

Issue 2 - Hilary Term 2013

Welcome to the latest issue of Student News, containing a roundup of information on news and events from the University. Check out the Student Gateway or follow us on Twitter for up-to-the minute information.

Latest news

Events

Latest news

Student Gateway survey

The Student Gateway website provides a single point of access to information, services and resources for current students. To ensure the website remains an effective means of student communication a project is currently taking place to refresh its design and structure. A short online survey is available that will take no longer than 5 minutes. Your response will help to improve the website’s navigation and structure.
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Call for transcription typists and invigilators

Exam Services are looking for reliable, conscientious individuals to add to their register of typists and invigilators for exam transcription sessions. Potential applicants must be current students in at least their 3rd year of graduate study. The work is on a casual basis throughout the year, with the majority of sessions occurring in March and June (including Saturdays and Bank Holidays). Typists and invigilators will be scheduled on a session basis, in multiples of half days or whole days, according to their availability.

  • The role of the typist is to type from the student’s dictation of their exam scripts - it is imperative that you can type at a minimum speed of 60wpm and are familiar with Microsoft Word.
  • The role of the invigilator involves laying out documentation onto desks, some basic administration, and the invigilation of each transcription session. 

Sessions may last between 1 hour and 4hrs 15 mins, for which the basic rate of pay is £10.00 per hour (including holiday pay) for both roles. To apply, e-mail a letter of application and CV, indicating which role you are interested in, to exam.services@admin.ox.ac.uk by Friday 15 February 2013. There will be a brief speed and accuracy test applicable for typing applicants, and an informal interview and training session for invigilators.

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Hilary Term 2013 Mock Exams and Exam Orientation

The Exam Schools will be holding two mock exam sessions in Week 6 of Hilary Term as follows:

  • Thursday 21 February: 14:30-17:30 – Mock Exam 1
  • Friday 22 February: 09:30-12:30 – Mock Exam 2

Each session will be a fully invigilated 3-hour examination, designed to mirror true examinations as much as possible and will be followed by a question and answer session. The sessions are designed to be as real as possible to allow you to experience the atmosphere and the emotions of sitting an exam, with the hope that it will better prepare you for the real thing.

In addition, a 30-minute exam orientation session as follows:

  • Thursday 21 February: 14:30-15:00

This is aimed at those interested in experiencing what happens during the first half hour of the examination only, such as finding your exam room location on arrival, listening to the pre-exam announcements and checking your sub-fusc with invigilators. You will have an opportunity to ask questions after the invigilators announcement in the exam room.

Please ensure you sign-up to the session/s you wish to attend via the Mock Exam WebLearn site and read the Information Sheet available before you attend the session. If you have not signed up to previous mock exams you must join this site to be able to sign-up, by clicking the 'Site Info' link, then the [Join this site] button. If you are no longer able to attend nearer the date, please cancel your booking.

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Research Supervision Website

The Oxford Learning Institute has developed a Research Supervision website for DPhil students. You can use the site to discover more about student and supervisor expectations, as well as hints on negotiating the relationship with your supervisor, beginning your research and making progress through the structured pathway to the DPhil degree. The site aims to offer a helpful insight into Oxford’s research supervision culture and help you to respond to the challenges of being a graduate student here.
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Postdoctoral projects at Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University recruits postdoctoral students throughout the year for over 47 research stations. Applicants should have completed their doctoral studies within two years of application. For details of the posts available and the requirements, please visit the Tsinghua website and select ‘Tsinghua Postdoctoral Project’. The University has also developed the Tsinghua University Postdoctoral Support Program, offering an annual allowance of 50,000 RMB in addition to their postdoctoral performance salary. If you would like more information, please contact the Tsinghua University Postdoctoral Management Office by calling +86-10-62785765 or emailing qhbsh@tsinghua.edu.cn.
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Keep informed with Oxford Talks

The Oxford Talks website attempts to solve the problem of finding out what’s going on across a multi-divisional collegiate University. The site acts as a one-stop shop for all academic seminars, regardless of subject or degree of specialisation; you can search by date, talk, series, speaker or venue. Seminars are organised into lists and groupings and you can tell Oxford Talks what you are interested in, so if you find a list you want to follow, you can receive daily/weekly emails or have just those seminars appear in your calendar.
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Events

Val McDermid - 2013 LGBT History Month Lecture

Wednesday 6 February 6pm, Jacqueline du Pré Music Building, St Hilda's College, Cowley Place, Oxford, OX4 1DY. Val McDermid (Best-selling crime writer and alumna of St. Hilda’s College) will return to Oxford to give the annual Oxford University Lecture for LGBT History Month. The lecture titled “A Queer-Like Smell”, in reference to her home town of Kirkcaldy and a poem by fellow Fife-er, Mary Campbell Smith, will touch upon themes of growing up gay in a world of silence and how finding her voice as a writer was tied inextricably to finding her gay self. For more information see the Val McDermid poster. This is a free event but booking is essential at http://tinyurl.com/oxlgbt.
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Staying in the UK to work

Monday 25 February 12-1pm, Careers Service, 56 Banbury Road. The Visa and Immigration Advisers will be giving a presentation for students wishing to remain in the UK to work. More information is available on the Careers Service website.
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Oxford Student Mindfulness Society

Mindfulness meditation is a well researched, non-religious, effective means of alleviating stress, anxiety and depression, and promoting well-being and top performance. The following sessions are available:

Monday, 5th week (11 Feb) – beginners taster session, run by Chris Cullen from the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, an international centre of excellence within Oxford University’s Psychiatry Department. Time and venue will be confirmed via the OSMS facebook page and mail list. Please subscribe by emailing oxfordstudentmindfulnesssoc@gmail.com.

Regular Monday group - open to those who have been to a taster session, done a mindfulness course, or have a longstanding meditation practice from another background. Mondays, 7:00-8.15pm, Sainsbury Common Room, Worcester College. £3.50 per session.

8 week beginners courses – to receive notification of Trinity term’s courses, email OUmindfulnesscourses@gmail.com.

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