october
Diet
Gender
China
English 1st
The department of English was rated best in the UK. The department came top of the UK's 100 Universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, for its performance in teaching English to undergraduates. The tables were compiled by the Guardian. The result was the latest in an extraordinary series of commendations across a range of subjects putting the University ahead of other Scottish institutions and joining a small cohort of top flight institutions such as Cambridge and Oxford. Dundee made it into the top five a total of five times - in English (first), art & design (second), biosciences (second), anatomy & physiology (third), and pharmacology (fourth).
The department of medicine and the centre for applied nutrition were in the news once again with the announcement of a £700,000 grant to look into the benefits of eating certain saturated fats such as those contained in cheeses and milk rather than the reputedly "healthier" unsaturated fats found in products such as Olive oil.
A major study led by the University's professor of gender relations, Gerda Siann, indicated that professional women continue to face career barriers through lack of family-friendly practices. While explicit sexism is seldom a problem today, women continue to be disadvantaged by the long hours culture and attitudes to part-timers and career breaks, she found. Mothers and those of child bearing age are most affected. It was clear from the research that a woman's career progression can be as much affected by her potential to have children as it is by her being a mother.
Chinese education chiefs visiting the University signed an agreement that paves the way for future collaboration which could bring a regular stream of Chinese students to study in the city. Four delegates from the Wanli Education Group spent three days at the University talking to the Principal and key academics and officials, visiting departments and learning about care and facilities for students, especially those from abroad. This was the latest in a series of such meetings to have been held between the two institutions.
