In a rare breakthrough for Postgraduate study, The Guardian newspaper published a few articles at the weekend highlighting the postgraduate funding crisis. This is a key area for concern within the Higher Education sector and it is important that the national media are reporting on it. Vice Chancellors from 11 institutions across the UK have expressed concern over the future of postgraduate study in light of the recent revelation that funding councils have withdrawn support for taught masters courses and that the number of research students who will be supported is also set to drop dramatically.

If you have a particular funding story i.e. you took out a loan to fund your degree or you are working to support yourself then please e-mail Anna as she is looking to feed case studies into the national media and British government!

Following a petition submitted to an All Student Meeting, this term will see all the Union Boycotts either scrapped or renewed depending on how YOU vote. Due to the contentiousness of the material, the items will be reviewed in two separate meetings: one on Monday of Week 4, and the other on the following Monday, Week 5. With online polling taking place for a 48-hour period after the second meeting, any student can vote! Take a look at the 5 items currently on the list. If you feel passionately about Bacardi, Nestlé or Arms Companies, then this is your chance to have your voice heard and vote on it. For each item on the Boycott list, we will need someone in favour of renewing it, and someone in favour of scrapping it. If you are interested in supporting the for or against case for any of the bans, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us and we can let you know how you can go about doing so.

If you thought Union Democracy did not interest or concern you, then you are wrong – this is THE big event in the Democratic timeline. The candidates elected in this election will become the seven Sabbatical Officers who run your Students’ Union for the next academic year. Elected on a democratic mandate, these officers will spend every day on the job ensuring they fulfil their pledges to the electorate and getting the best for students out of your SU.

Officer Elections are always held in Week 8 of Term 2 – come this time, you'll be presented with an array of fresh-faced candidates asking for your support and, ultimately, your vote. Their manifestos will be plastered over the internet and huge posters and banners with their names and slogans on will be fixed to every blank wall within a 2-mile radius. The candidates will also be whipping round campus and halls of residence, trying to talk to as many students as possible about why you should vote for them. This genuinely is one of the most interesting weeks of the year, so get excited and remember to vote in Week 8! For further information, visit warwicksu.com/elections or email your Democracy and Development Officer.

Wednesday Week 2, 5.30pm, SUHQ - All members of campaigning, charity and action societies (plus anyone else who is interested in creating ethical change in the community around us are) invited to attend one of four exciting workshops looking at how we can get the best out of campaigning and how we can campaign creatively and effectively. Please plug this to your members if you help to run a society – it’s not just for execs!

There will be also be plenty of opportunities to meet other campaigners, network, socialise and share best practices – plus, there will be free food! In addition, there’ll be a chance to stand as a representative from the Campaigns Convention to the next Student Council. Check out the event on Facebook.

Coffee Morning for Students with Dependents - We are looking forward to getting everyone together again! If you are a student who has dependents, please do come along and join us for coffee and a chance to meet others, socialise, network and let the SU know how we can better represent you. We will be meeting in Curiositea on Thursday 17th - this time a bit later at 12 noon. Please feel free to bring along children and toys, and do let as many of your friends know as possible! Check out our group on Facebook for more details about this and other events.

Starting this morning, there is an enhanced shuttle bus service running on campus. The expanded service includes new operating times and an added stop at Gibbet Hill during the day. For the latest timetables, please visit the University Website. The University is keen to receive feedback on the service, so please pass along any comments to the University’s Transport Manager, Graham Hine.

Varsity XIII - It All Comes Down To This - The official launch of our annual Varsity Series against Coventry University will be held on Monday 14th January on the Piazza. The website will go live, fixtures will be announced, posters will go up, tickets and t-shirts will be sold and Nando's vouchers will be won. Make sure you buy your tickets before they sell out!

Warwick Active – Halls Sport Leagues – Represent your halls and take on your neighbours through the brand new Warwick Active Hall Sport competition! This competition is available for all halls residents (past or present) to take part in, and aims to increase participation and to develop your halls community spirit! This Term's plans include:

1. An intra-halls competition with each hall competing in a different sport each week – try something new such as Ultimate Frisbee or Dodgeball. With bonus points up for grabs through Hall Wars and fundraising, get involved and take part - no prior sporting experience is necessary!
2. A weekly football league – try a more social approach to football and see who our Halls Champions will be for 2013!

To get involved, check out the Halls Sport page. Fancy trying something else? We are launching new intramural leagues including Touch Rugby (minimal contact), Volleyball, Cricket, Softball and many more sports. Check out the website for more information.

It’s not too late to make the most of the international opportunities that Warwick provides! The deadlines for exchanges in Tokyo and Beijing are at the end of January and March respectively, with the deadline for Student Teachers and Corporate Employees for the famous Warwick in Africa programme being Monday Week 2. Plus, from this month onwards, you can apply for Student Careers and Skills’ Global Advantage Award – because, as we all know, Going Global is not only a lot of fun, but it’s great for your CV.

Teaching opportunity for PhD students at the University of Warwick

The Brilliant Club is an award-winning charity that recruits, trains and pays PhD students to deliver programmes of university-style tutorials to small groups of high-performing pupils aged 9-18 who attend primary and secondary schools in low-participation areas. Their vision is an education system in which young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are proportionately represented at highly selective universities, and they are looking to recruit a cohort of motivated PhD students and Post-Doctoral researchers from all subject backgrounds to help us work towards it. Since September they have placed 70 PhD students in 35 schools to work with 888 pupils in and around London, and they are looking to build on this success in the West Midlands in the New Year.

With this in mind, The Brilliant Club is currently recruiting and assessing PhD students from the University of Warwick with a view to placing them in schools in the West Midlands at KS4 level next year. Although they can remunerate PhD tutors for delivering standalone programmes (up to £500), they would hope to place them at KS5 level as well. To find out more about the organisation and the opportunities for researchers, please download their PhD student brochure by visiting their website. If you would like to submit an application or have any questions about the process, please get in touch.

UNPLUCKED Tuesday - 9:30pm - Dirty Duck

QUACKSTAR KARAOKE Wednesday - 10pm - Dirty Duck

POP! Jungle Special - £500 Bushtucker giveaway - Wednesday - 10pm - Copper Rooms 1

GLOBAL African Beats - Thursday - 9pm - Terrace Bar

CLEVERDUCKS PUB QUIZ Thursday - 10pm - Dirty Duck

INDOOR MARKET Friday - 11am - Atrium

TDI FRIDAY Friday - 7pm - Dirty Duck

GET FUNKED Friday - 9pm - Terrace Bar

TOP BANANA Paint Party - Friday - 10pm - Copper Rooms

CRASH Saturday - 8pm - Copper Rooms

SATURDAY SESSNION Saturday - 9pm - Terace Bar

BaySide & Warwick SU present TIM WESTWOOD Saturday - 10:30pm - Copper Rooms

Comedy Soc Presents... TOM DEACON and Guests Sunday - 7pm - Copper Rooms