The 14th series of the Great British Bake Off has reached the semi-final stage, and alumna Tasha Stones has left the tent. Her journey on the show was one filled with courage, creativity and some fabulous bakes. Our congratulations go to Tasha on reaching the semi-final!

Professor Stephen Gorard and Professor Beng Huat See from our School of Education explain how their research suggests that rather than putting money into bonuses for new teachers, the government should focus on improving the overall financial rewards of teaching to increase the number of applications to teacher training.

Associate Professor Niklas Ihssen and PhD student Michael Wadsley from our Department of Psychology explain why cutting your use of social media dramatically or even avoiding it completely, can reduce the positive effects of social media just as much as the negative ones.

On the 12 December 2015, 196 countries adopted the Paris Climate Agreement at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) is to limit the increase in global average temperature.

Shaid Mahmood, our Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion), has joined leaders from across the education sector to call for a unified funding system for English universities and further education colleges.

Durham University Chancellor, Dr Fiona Hill, met with staff, students and friends of the University as they came together to discuss the topic of regional development.

This week sees the return of Lumiere, the dazzling light art event hosted in Durham bi-annually. This year’s event includes three installations drawing on some of our ground-breaking research.

Durham University has partnered with universities in Twente (Netherlands), Barcelona (Spain) and Trieste (Italy) to form the EarthSafe Doctoral Network, which launched last month. This €2.7 million project will develop cutting-edge technology to support the transition to green energy. EarthSafe is funded by the European Commission via the Marie Sklodowska-Curie programme and UK Research and Innovation.

Professor of Astrophysics and esteemed former Durham colleague, Professor Richard Ellis CBE FRS has donated a generous prize for aspiring astronomers to assist them with their early-career ambitions.

For the first time in many years, our annual Convocation event was held in Durham on the 23 October. It proved to be a great night, combining our brilliant, multi-disciplinary research with an update on our University Strategy and an opportunity to catch up with old friends – and make new ones!

Alumnus Sam Cooper (pictured second from right) represents Durham as a finalist in HRH Prince William’s prestigious Earthshot Prize this year.

Following the success of our inaugural Durham Global Week, we are calling our vibrant community to nominate candidates for next year’s Durham Global Awards, celebrating diversity and cross-cultural impact.