We will be holding a fun Balsam Bashing Challenge on 23^rd June from 1-4.30pm where teams of volunteers will be competing against each other to pull up Himalayan Balsam plants along the banks of Canley Brook. The team with the biggest pile at the end will win Warwick Volunteers goodie bags including branded t-shirts, water bottles and much more!!

Himalayan Balsam is an invasive plant that grows rapidly in tall dense colonies by brooks and rivers. It has large leaves that block sunlight, causing native plant species to die. When Himalayan Balsam dominates the bankside, biodiversity is reduced. With fewer plant species, the brook supports less wildlife, endangering creatures like the fluffy water vole.

Students interested in joining us can sign up here: https://myadvantage.warwick.ac.uk/students/events/detail/2163213

We are delighted to announce the launch of the University of Warwick Graduate Scheme. The three-year programme commences on 4th October 2021 and will involve working on a number of high-profile projects whilst obtaining on-the-job learning as well as a structured professional development programme and a project management qualification.

Applications are open until 25^th June 2021 and internal staff applications are welcomed. Find out more on our webpages or come along to one of our virtual information events to hear more about the scheme from previous Warwick graduate trainees.

Please email any questions to gradscheme@warwick.ac.uk

Warmest congratulations to Mary Jane Dempsey, current visiting research student at Warwick and also PhD candidate at Cornell, on the award by the American Academy in Rome of the Rome Prize in Modern Italian Studies, 2021-22. Mary Jane's project, which she first developed as a researcher in Italian at Warwick in 2016-17, is 'Remember to Forget: Migration, Gender, and Transnational Identities in Twentieth-Century Italy'.

The first in a series of events for this network Producing the Post-National Popular (warwick.ac.uk) took place this Friday 23rd April online, with 50 registrations and much dialogue generated.

Explore… is a series of seminars run by and destined for postgraduates, visiting researchers and early-career researchers in the School in Modern Languages and Cultures. The seminars are slanted towards professionalising skills and career development. The first event of the series will take place on 28 January 2021 at 4-5 PM, Digital Humanities, Digital Cultures. With Stefano Milonia (WIRL-Cofund Fellow, Institute of Advanced Study, Warwick) and Steve Ranford (Senior Academic Technologist, IT Services, Warwick). Chair: Mary Jane Dempsey (Romance Studies, Warwick/Cornell)

• Chancellor's International Scholarships: the scheme is aimed at students from outside the UK and includes Overseas applicants, including students from the EU.
• China Scholarship Council / University of Warwick Scholarships: this scheme will fund 25 students across various subjects for up to 4 years, with the University covering the full cost of tuition fees and CSC providing a maintenance stipend and return international airfare between the UK and China. Note that Foreign Languages and Literature is among the priority areas listed.
• Monash Warwick Alliance Scholarships (Warwick): this scheme is open to all students applying to Warwick for the Alliance Joint PhD. For 2021/22 entry there will be up to 3 scholarships available across the university.

The deadlines for these schemes are all on Thursday 21st January 2021, 23.59 GMT. Note that all supporting evidence (including transcripts and references) must be uploaded by the same time.

We welcome applications for our PhD programmes in:

• French and Francophone Studies
• German Studies
• Italian
• Hispanic Studies
• Translation and Transcultural Studies

Prospective applicants are encouraged to identify possible supervisors through our staff expertise pages. Early enquiries are strongly encouraged. Please send a draft proposal (up to 2 A4 pages) and CV to pglanguages@warwick.ac.uk by Friday 27 November 2020, 12 noon.

We continue to welcome enquiries also for the AHRC Midlands4Cities doctoral awards (deadline 13 January 2021).

Di Zhao, PhD student in Translation and Cultures in Warwick's School of Modern Languages & Cultures, has published a translation into Chinese of the award-winning true-crime book Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep (William Heinemann, 2019). The translation was published by Straits Literature and Art Publishing House in Fuzhou, China in July 2020. https://book.douban.com/subject/35092879/

We've now got an SMLC LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13877964

The hope is that it will allow languages alumni to share their experiences of professional life after Warwick with fellow alumni and to offer advice and tips to current students. Join now!

Congratulations to Gianmarco Mancosu who has had a very successful PhD Viva.

Want to share what’s great about being at your University? Have suggestions on what needs to improve around campus?

Have your say in the Warwick Student Experience Survey between 11 November and 8 December.

The School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC) at the University of Warwick is pleased to invite applications for doctoral study commencing in September 2020.

Listen to Warwick Undergraduate student podcasts ahead of the visit to Warwick by our writer in residence 2018 Olga Grjasnowa!

Come along and be inspired. One hour talks, 1-2pm Wednesdays followed by informal networking over refreshments 24th October 2018, MS.03 Maths and Statistics (Zeeman Building)

Emma Kennedy, Actress, Writer, TV and Radio presenter