Do you know someone who is interested in getting involved in student politics? Nominations are now open for roles on the DUSA Executive, so recommend that they put themselves forward to run.

Nominations close on Friday 3 February. Find out more on the positions available.

Have you downloaded our 50th anniversary podcasts? We are releasing 50 weekly podcasts on how the University has made an impact on people, the economy and the city of Dundee.

Subscribe now on iTunes or Soundcloud, or listen on the 50th anniversary website.

It is Cervical Cancer Awareness Week. Cervical cancer affects 1 in 100 women, with Tayside having the highest incidence in Scotland. However, precancerous changes precede cervical cancer by 10-15 years and screening by smear tests can detect these.

Staff will be on hand all week in the Ninewells Hospital foyer to answer any questions you may have surrounding cervical cancer or about having your smear test. There are also additional clinics being held at Ninewells throughout the week for you to come and get your smear if you are due.

Find out more information on the Medical School website.

There have been some recent changes within External Relations to ensure that prospective students and applicants have the best experience possible. Three new teams have been created:

• Admissions and Applicant Experience (led by Kirsten Swankie)
• Global Engagement and Recruitment (led by Jason Norris)
• Enquirer and Applicant Communications (led by Karen Martin)

These teams, along with the existing Access and Participation team, report to the Director of Student Recruitment and Admissions, Shane Collins. (The former Admissions and Student Recruitment Service no longer exists.) They now sit alongside other teams in External Relations and will be working even more closely with them, and with Schools, to achieve the University’s ambitious recruitment goals.

These teams will be moving from Airlie Place to the Tower Building, to sit alongside the rest of External Relations, during 2017. This is a phased move, starting in late April 2017. As an interim measure, some teams (Access and Participation and UK/EU Recruitment) have moved to Cross Row this week. Phone numbers for all staff remain the same.

We have been named as one of the providers of a major new programme of Graduate Level Apprenticeships launched by Skills Development Scotland (SDS).

The University is the only institution in Scotland offering places across all four strands of the apprenticeship programme. Working in partnership with businesses, up to 70 places on four different Graduate Level Apprenticeships will be available:

• IT Management for Business
• IT Software Development
• Engineering, Design & Manufacturing
• Civil Engineering

Read more here

We have been ranked 1st in Scotland, 3rd in the UK and 14th globally for overall average student satisfaction in this year’s International Student Barometer (ISB).

With feedback from over 2.5 million students worldwide across all student types, levels and years of study, the ISB is the world's largest annual survey of international students.

Read the full story.

Stephen Fry has praised University of Dundee academics for their efforts in communicating their research to the public and helping transform lives from Scotland to southern Africa.

The winner of the Public Engagement Project of the Year award is ‘Growing up on the Streets’, led by Professor Lorraine van Blerk. It is a project seeking to improve the lives of vulnerable and marginalised street children in Africa. Professor Jennifer Woof has been named Engaged Researcher of the Year in recognition of her outstanding work with schools and the public to raise awareness of science.

Read the full story and watch the video here.

Read all of the University news at www.dundee.ac.uk/news.

This student service was unavailable for a short time just before the start of term. Find out what happened and next steps at IT Status.

Make sure you're connecting to the right thing in the right place. You might just be in a superfast hotspot and not know it…

Go to your online email, click “Set it up now” and make sure your password reset is ready to use just in case. Can't see it? Great, you must have set it up already!

CASTLE are launching a new module. This is part of the Student Transition Enhancement Programme for University Progress (STEP UP), run by CASTLE in collaboration with Academic Schools and DUSA. STEP UP aims to improve and enhance students’ experience as they transition from further to higher education, using the underlying philosophy of Becoming, Being & Belonging.

You can get more information from castle@dundee.ac.uk.

The old Biological Sciences Institute (BSI) will be demolished over the next few months. From 1 Feb until 21 Jul there will be no pedestrian access between Perth Rd and Millers Wynd (alongside Tartan Café). Replacement routes from Perth Rd through campus are available between the Matthew and Crawford Buildings, Airlie Place, and Smalls Wynd (step free).

During this period, the Millers Wynd car park will be closed.

Take a look at the map to see the areas being mentioned.

As you may have noticed, the former Park Place school site has been redeveloped into a University car park. This will open on 1 Feb, providing 137 new parking spaces. You can access this car park via South Tay St and Cross Lane. Pedestrian access is also available from Park Place.

From 1 Feb, the old car parks at Hunter St (with the red brick surface), and Perth Rd (next to the Tartan Café) will close permanently (they provided a total of 85 spaces).

Take a look at the map to see the areas being mentioned.

Shake off those January blues and stretch those vocal chords by becoming the University Choir's newest member.

They're looking for new singers for their performance of Carmina Burana in March. Rehearsals are on Tuesdays at 7:30pm in Bonar Hall. All welcome - staff, students & members of the public.

Contact Graeme Stevenson for more information.

Do you know your Kon'nichiwa from your Bonjour? If not, sign up for a six week language course at the University.

These courses are for complete beginners and give you the basics in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.

Classes start on Monday 6 February. For more information contact Fiona Woodward.

Looking for a new sport in 2017? Then Judo might be for you. There is a taster session on Wednesday 25 January at 1:30-3:30pm in ISE Studio 2.

If you can't make it, the group trains on Fridays 7-9pm. Contact Stephen for more information.

The School of Life Sciences has launched the first round of the Public Engagement Seed Fund. The aim is to provide funding to researcher driven projects to develop novel public engagement ideas that fosters cross-disciplinary activity within the Wellcome Trust remit.

This is open to all staff and students. Find out more.

Find out what happened when Alumni Officer, Pam Lawrence took a trip to Asia. Read the blog.

The new semester is now in full swing, student blogger Eilidh tells us what it's like to be back. Read the blog.