A Durham building that has stood for 101-years and now houses part of our postgraduate college, Ustinov, has had its historical importance recognised with a blue plaque.

As we celebrate National Student Volunteering Week, it was great to see a team of Durham University students recently welcome local groups of Beavers, Cubs and Brownies to the Department of Chemistry as part of the ChemSG scheme. Funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry and run on an entirely voluntary basis, ChemSG has been running for many years to promote chemistry to Scouting and Guiding groups and schools across the region.

Durham’s global reach has seen us forge new partnerships in Malaysia.

We're pleased to announce that Dr Nadia Siddiqui, who is a British Pakistani academic, has been recognised for her global expertise in education research and equity in education.

The annual Student Employee of the Year Awards (SEOTY) aim to recognise and celebrate the achievements of students who combine part time work with their studies. These prestigious awards also recognise excellent student employers, who provide valuable work experience opportunities. With six distinct categories open to individuals and teams, plus the chance of winning £100 vouchers, the SOETY Awards are a great way to celebrate success.

We are deeply saddened to hear of the devastating earthquakes in Southern Turkey and Northern Syria.

A new study led by Dr Paddy Ross in our Psychology Department has shown that music can significantly influence emotion recognition in children.

We are pleased to announce that one of our PhD students is a finalist in a prestigious competition sponsored by UK Parliament.

The five universities in the North East of England have come together to launch a joint report highlighting the positive impact we make in the region.

We have been named as one of the top universities in the UK for Work-Based Learning, with a new award from leading job simulation platform Forage. The award recognises our position at the forefront of the work-based learning transformation taking place in higher education by honouring the top institutions innovating to help set students up for career success.

During National Storytelling Week, 30 January – 5 February, we are celebrating the incredible storytelling talents within our University community. Novelists, biographers, poets, playwrights and actors; our academics and our students find diverse ways to tell a good yarn. Here we hear from two acclaimed writers, Naomi Booth and Claire Harman, who also teach the Creative Writing MA, MLitt and PhD courses run by the Department of English Studies.

During National Storytelling Week, 30 January – 5 February, we have been hearing from three budding writers who are currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing in the Department of English Studies.