Departmental news

We are Chemistry' student-led initiative showcased for Warwick's TEF Gold celebrationsLink opens in a new window and covered by Times Higher Education.Link opens in a new window

WMG at the University of Warwick’s MSc Engineering Business Management alumnus, Kanishka Arumugam, has been appointed as an Honorary Fellow at the University’s Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD).

Kanishka Arumugam is Co-CEO of EKKI Water Technologies, his family’s business, based in Coimbatore, India. The company efficiently and sustainably pumps and transports water for agriculture, building services, and utilities, exporting its products to more than 20 countries.

As part of his commitment to sustainable innovation, he is the driving force behind the first wastewater joint venture in collaboration with HOMA, a renowned global wastewater technology company.

Kanishka Arumugam also holds the distinction of being the youngest National Next-Gen President at the CII Family Business Network. He also serves as a Trustee in his family's educational institutions and actively engages in various advisory roles for international start-ups and institutions.

In his role as an Honorary Fellow, he will share his unique insights on how businesses can be a force for good; promote sustainability in the water industry; and support students in gaining a broader understanding of entrepreneurship and sustainable global development.

Professor Elena Korosteleva, Director of IGSD at the University of Warwick, commented: “We extend our warmest welcome to Kanishka to our Institute for Global Sustainable Development. We’re excited to have him bring a fresh perspective on sustainable development and bridge the gap between academia and business, particularly through his involvement with water and wastewater industry globally.”

Kanishka Arumugam, CEO of EKKI Water Technologies, added: "I am deeply humbled and honored by the privilege of being appointed as an Honorary Fellow at the University of Warwick, my esteemed alma mater, which ranks among the top 5% in the world.

“At Oxford University, I honed my leadership acumen and gained a deeper comprehension of human interactions, while the University of Warwick provided me with the resources for applied academia and instilled in me a passion for global competitiveness and sustainable development.

“My close interactions with the late Professor Lord Bhattacharyya and Professor Sujit Banerji at WMG have further emphasized, within the context of EKKI, the critical importance of sustainability and global competitiveness.

“Whenever I step onto the Warwick campus, I am inspired by the incredibly bright minds filled with curiosity and ambition. I eagerly anticipate contributing my best in the coming years within this unique learning environment alongside this brilliant faculty and state-of-the-art facilities."

Professor Steve Maggs, Director of Alumni and Industrial Engagement with Education at WMG said :“It’s great to see Kanishka supporting Warwick through the IGSD. Kaniskha’s remarkable achievements and commitment to positive change make him a fantastic ambassador for the University – this is a great example of the importance of maintaining a lifelong relationship with our former students and the positive opportunities those relationships can foster. Congratulations Kanishka!”

Other distinguished Honorary Fellows of the IGSD include esteemed members of the House of Lords, such as Baroness Sheehan and Lord Teverson. The University has a history of recognising accomplished individuals with connections to India, including prominent figures like Mr. Ratan Tata, the former Chairman of the TATA Group, Mr. Venu Srinivasan of TVS Motors, and Sir Ralf Speth, the former CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, all of whom have received Honorary Doctorates and Honorary Fellow titles from the University.

Find out more about the WMG Alumni community here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/education/alumni/

The History Department were honoured to co-host 20 students from the Ukrainian Catholic University (UKU) in Lviv with the English Department, from 12 - 25 June 2023. Read about the visit in a UKU article published back in July.

Meet the students and find out what was involved in setting up the Summer School:

• Ukraine Summer School: Student Perspectives: https://youtu.be/S9HxR7af6Do?si=D8bS-YCCTasP3m4e
• Organising the Ukraine Summer School: https://youtu.be/OLV4gYyJbrs?si=AmDny6in8QS5QU0w

The Prime Minister visited the University of Warwick, on Thursday 7th September, where he announced the UK would re-join the EU’s flagship research scheme, Horizon.

The move means that UK-based researchers and innovators will be able to access funding from the £85 billion programme, in what has been widely hailed as a major boost for the higher education sector.

Rishi Sunak said it was the ‘right deal for the UK’ as he confirmed that the UK would be re-joining Horizon as an associate member.

The Prime Minister chose to make the major policy announcement at Warwick, which has a world-class reputation for science and innovation, and has close ties with research partners across Europe.

During the visit, he was given a tour of the university’s International Manufacturing Centre by Robin Clark, Dean of WMG, and Emma Flynn, the University’s provost.

Earlier, the Prime Minister had held a private conversation with university leaders, Sir David Normington (Chair); Professor Emma Flynn (Provost); Rachel Sandby-Thomas (Registrar), and Dr Chris Twine (Secretary to Council).

The International Manufacturing Centre – part of WMG - is one of the biggest buildings on campus, and at the heart of the University’s technological research and testing. A variety of projects have been undertaken with global companies to develop new products or improve processes at the centre.

Professor Emma Flynn, the University’s Provost, said: “We were delighted to host the Prime Minister today and welcomed the opportunity to showcase some of the cutting-edge technology and innovation we have here at Warwick.

“The fact the Prime Minister chose to come to Warwick to make such a major announcement on science funding gives me a sense of enormous pride in our brilliant academics and researchers, who have built our reputation as a world-leading university on science, innovation and research over many years.

“The announcement today on Horizon funding is fantastic news for Warwick and the wider university sector and will help drive research excellence and collaboration with our partners.

“This deal will make help us address and make a positive difference to the environmental, economic, and social challenges we all face.”

Sir David Normington, chair of Council and Pro-Chancellor, added: “We were delighted to welcome the Prime Minister to Warwick, and are grateful for his interest in our work at the University. Today’s announcement is great news for everyone. Allowing our scientists to work together, irrespective of borders, is in all of our interests.

“As a former civil servant, I also recognise the hard work of the negotiating team who secured this deal in the background, and they deserve great credit.”

The UK will also associate to Copernicus, the European Earth Observation programme. This will provide the UK’s earth observation sector with access to unique data – valuable to helping with early flood and fire warnings, for example – and with the ability to bid for contracts, which they have not been able to access for three years.

The University of Warwick is ranked as one of the world’s best universities, with 92% of its research rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

We are thrilled to extend our congratulations to Lauren Horobin who has been seconded to the role of Student Engagement and Experience Officer in the School of Law for the next year.

We are thrilled to extend our congratulations to Ana Kedves who has been seconded to the role of Student Engagement and Experience Officer in the School of Law for the next year.

There will be a launch event taking place on Wednesday 6th December from 12.00 - 14.00 in FAB2.25 - we recommend that all potential applicants attend - useful information - free lunch - meet Alison and Sue - ask questions.

Booking for this event is now open - Booking Form

Doctoral Fellowship Competition (warwick.ac.uk)

Warwick Law School welcomes new Assistant Professor to our community.

Rachel Pimm-Smith joins us from Exeter Law School where she taught for four years.

The University of Warwick's teaching has been rated ‘outstanding’ by the UK Government's Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

The University achieved the highest possible rating across all three categories for student experience, student outcomes, and for the overall assessment.

Out of 228 universities which took part in the TEF, Warwick was one of 26 to achieve the gold standard across all three. Warwick was one of only four Russell Group universities - including Oxford, Cambridge and Exeter - to achieve this.

It is the latest in a series of top ratings the University has been awarded over recent weeks.

The expert panel concluded that most student experience and student outcomes were of “outstanding quality”, including for students from under-represented backgrounds.

TEF is a national scheme run by the Office for Students (OfS) which aims to encourage higher education providers to deliver excellence in the areas that students care about the most: teaching, learning and achieving positive outcomes from their studies.

The ratings provide students and parents with an independent assessment of the quality of the education delivered by universities within these key areas.

The University has also demonstrated strong progress in closing the attainment gaps for students from disadvantaged backgrounds including those who might have not considered university an option for them in the past. Data from TEF showed better outcomes for students at Warwick from neighbourhoods where less people attend university, and those studying part-time, compared to similar groups of students at other universities.

Commenting on Warwick’s results, Stuart Croft, Warwick’s Vice-Chancellor and President said: “This is an outstanding achievement which recognises the fundamental quality of a Warwick education.

“We’re incredibly proud to have been ranked gold across both the experience students have whilst at Warwick, as well as their outcomes once they have left university.

“These results, which place Warwick as one a handful of institutions to achieve full gold rankings, is a phenomenal achievement for the people responsible – our innovative and remarkable staff and students.”

Professor Gill Cooke, WMG’s Pro Dean (Education) said: “TEF gold standard confirms the commitment and dedication to the student experience from my colleagues in WMG, and it is a delight to have our achievements recognised.”

Warwick was also recently rated as a Top 10 university in the UK by The Guardian, The Daily Mail and The Times. The National Student Survey meanwhile found that 82% of students at Warwick said they would recommend their University to future students.

Find out more about TEF 2023 here.

This conference aims to explore the different forms that the idea of a ‘return of the repressed’ has taken over a broad chronological period ranging from the early 18th century through to the Second World War. The notion of an area, inaccessible to rational consciousness, where memories, thoughts, and images could be ‘stored’ and re-activated without any agency of the conscious mind, is largely credited to Sigmund Freud, whose theoretical model of repression, return and ‘compromise formation’ has been highly influential for a vast part of the 20th century. The idea of the ‘return of the repressed’, however, has a remoter and more ramified history, and its pervasiveness extends far beyond the spheres of psychology and psychoanalysis.

In bringing these areas of research together, this conference ultimately seeks to examine the multifaceted presence of the ‘return of the repressed’ – as a polyvalent metaphor, a philosophical concept, and a theoretical method, or as all three simultaneously – throughout cultural modernity as a whole. In particular, we aim to examine three distinct discourses: that of archaeology, in which the ‘return of the repressed’ applies to the physical exhumation of the past; the discourse of psychoanalysis, covering individual memories; and, finally, that of post-colonial theory, exploring the ways repressed colonized voices are subject to a re-emergence and a haunting return in collective spaces, discourses, and praxes. In doing so, the conference employs the notion of ‘return of the repressed’ as a quintessentially inter- and trans-disciplinary tool, enabling us to cross-fertilize different domains and research practices, provoking questions such as: Does the notion of ‘repression’ change in different historical, geographical, and broadly cultural contexts? To what extent, if at all, can psychoanalysis’s view of the repressed be disentangled from its original cultural context? What role has the repressed played in the legitimation, maintenance, and deconstruction of colonial powers? What was the role of physical excavation in the creation, manipulation, showcasing and exploitation of cultural memory? (e.g. the discovery of ancient ruins and archaeological searches for the garden of Eden)?

Bringing together academics from diverse disciplines and fields (including but not limited to (post)colonial studies, archaeology, literary studies, film studies, media studies, psychology and anthropology), this conference aims to attract the attention of academic staff, postgraduate research students and early-career researchers working in the UK and beyond.

We invite proposals for 20-minute papers with different methodological approaches and temporal focuses. Topics may include but are not restricted to:

• Pre-freudian concept of unconscious in literature and media;
• The notion of the civilized/uncivilized in colonial discourses;
• The representation of personal and collective pasts;
• Return of ‘primitive’ beliefs, i.e colonial engulfment;
• Social and cultural repression;
• The uncanny, memory and trauma;
• Archaeology of the mind: mind as colonial territory;
• Exoticism, orientalism and racism in literary/cinematic discourses;
• The return of the surmounted;
• Colonial literature and cinema;
• The role of archaeology in the legitimization of colonialism.

Those interested in presenting a paper should send a short abstract (max. 300 words) and a biographical note (max. 150 words) to apcwarwick@gmail.com by 15 December 2023. Participants may also be invited to publish their contributions in an edited publication as part of the Warwick Series in the Humanities, published by Routledge.

This conference is sponsored by the Humanities Research Centre (HRC) at the University of Warwick.

We look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the organizers, Gennaro Ambrosino and Kerry Gibbons at apcwarwick@gmail.com