The Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London.

We are almost halfway through the first coalition government that the UK has had in more than 70 years, which seems like an appropriate time to reflect on its successes and its failures.

Thankfully, Professor Robert Hazell (director of the UCL Constitution Unit) and his Research Associate Ben Yong spent the entirety of 2011 doing just that – roaming the halls of Whitehall and Westminster to rack up an impressive number of interviews with all manner of ministers, journalists and civil servants.

Their work was recently published in The Politics of Coalition and, last Wednesday, both authors presented a quick run-down of some of the key findings in the book.

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Senior leaders and scientists from Yale and UCL mixed with government ministers, MPs and peers at an event at the House of Commons on 27 June, which aimed to raise awareness of the Yale-UCL Collaborative as a novel research model and example of transatlantic working, reports UCL News.

During his State visit to the UK in May 2011 President Barack Obama pledged to improve research links with the UK. This event showcased the Yale-UCL Collaborative as a leading example of transatlantic research collaboration.

Speaking at the event, Minister of State for Universities, David Willetts said:

“Unlocking the potential of the UK’s Life Science sector is a top priority for the government and this sort of pioneering, collaborative model of global research can play a vital role in that. It is an example of the kind of UK/US collaboration we had hoped for after the Prime Minister and President Obama’s recent announcement and I congratulate the two universities.”

Read more on UCL News.

“The talk of doom” – that’s how they refer to this lecture at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. A wide range of UCL Economists – from current students to seasoned alumni – gathered on 13 April to listen to Carl Emmerson of the IFS speak at the UCL Economics Alumni Event, “Disease and cure in the UK: The fiscal impact of the crisis and the policy response”. UCL student Tom Palmer (Economics BSc, Third year) reports on the event.

Carl Emmerson, Institute for Fiscal Studies, speaks at the event

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On 17 March, UCL’s Judicial Institute was delighted to host a visit by US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a rare occasion for our law students to hear about the American justice system, direct from the source.

Justice Breyer brandishes a copy of the US constitution, as UCL Laws Vice-Dean for Staffing Professor John Lowry looks on

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