News

When asked about your current job, it is almost compulsory to say: "it is fine", but I am looking for something better.

The Ernst & Young employees can say, I want to work for Google. But what would a Google employee say? Fortune's list of the best employers has been topped by Google for several consecutive years.

But, why do we all like Google? Probably for the same reason we like Christmas, or weddings. At either event, you are sure to gain something for little effort, which motivates us to participate and contribute towards the collective wealth.

At Christmas, children are asked to decorate the tree and adults are expected to bring their parents handy gifts such as a new baking oven. By offering a helping hand you can make a fortune - tons of cakes and sweets for the children, for example. The same applies to weddings. What do the adults look for at weddings? Maybe we should ask Owen Wilson.

The latest global university rankings have been released, with record numbers of UK universities appearing in the prestigious list. The annual QS world university rankings table places six British universities in the top 20 and 15 in the top 200, though Cambridge has slipped from second to third as the highest ranked UK institution.

The list was topped by two American colleges- MIT pipping Harvard to claim the top spot for the second year running. Four further US institutions are in the top 10 and this American domination continues throughout the list, with over 50 US colleges appearing in the top 200. However, UK universities are a clear second, with Cambridge, UCL, Imperial and Oxford all placed in the top 10 in the world.

I was surprised to see that one of the UCL student residences was nominated amongst the worst new buildings in Britain. Being used to the student life, I could imagine peeling walls, dirty lavatories, rusty pipes, hoards of unattended rubbish and so on. But my surprise grew when I realized that the main concern was the lack of sunshine due to the adjacent building. Moreover, it affected only 23 rooms.

In my experience, students usually go to their rooms only if they want to sleep. Often, they get to their bed early in the morning (after a night spent partying or studying) and in that case, the shadow would be an asset. It is hard to sleep when the morning sun knocks at your window.

Student residences in Slovakia, where I did my studies, have different problems - the ones I originally expected at the UK's. But the situation is not so bad, compared to the price. The monthly prices in the UK might run so high that in some residences in Slovakia you could live for the whole academic year.

A report from Universities Scotland has emphasised the "positive social, cultural and educational impact" that international students have at universities in Scotland. Titled ‘Richer for it', the report is a reaction to the way that overseas students have recently been portrayed simply as a way to make money.

Universities Scotland is the representative body for Scotland's universities and higher education colleges, and together with a number of prominent figures in higher education, they have created the report which will be presented to MPs at Westminster.

With threats to international student visas a constant problem, the standard argument against change has been the amount of money that these students bring to the UK. Indeed, it is estimated that the 28,500 international students in Scotland bring £337 million every year in fees and an estimated £441 million in off-campus expenditure.

However, Head of the University of Aberdeen, Professor Sir Ian Diamond, explains:

UCL and Oxford University student residences have been nominated as some of the worst new buildings in the UK. Both make a shortlist of just six nominees after facing huge opposition.

465 Caledonian Road

The UCL building is a 350-room block of flats (pictured above) on Caledonian Road near King's Cross in London and rooms cost up to £730 a month. Despite the cost, 23 of the rooms face directly onto the brick wall of the building next door, meaning they get less sunlight than the legal minimum.

Indeed, planning permission was originally denied by the local council in 2010, only for a successful appeal to give the green light. During the appeal process, it was argued that the "student lifestyle" meant that the rooms would only be used for sleeping in and therefore didn't need the legal quota of natural light.

The problem arose due to the fact that the adjacent building was listed and therefore could not be altered. The photo below is of the first scaffolding going up for the student flats, showing just how close the two buildings are.