Update

University Challenge Fund

Cambridge-based discoveries of the electron and the structure of DNA led to the development of the global electronics and biotechnology industries. Now the University has been awarded £3 million from the University Challenge Fund to ensure that it continues to exploit the commercial possibilities of the results of its scientific research. The Fund was set up in 1998, by the Government, the Wellcome Trust and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, and provides seed-corn funds to universities. The current award will enable the University, working with the Babraham Institute, a leading UK centre for mammalian post-genomic research, to explore opportunities from across the science base, focusing in particular upon the biomedical areas.

News Bytes

A new daily news service is now available on the Web. News Bytes carries information for users both inside and outside the University. Each morning it provides a digest of how the University is reported in the press, as well as details of daily events, and the latest press releases as they appear. News Bytes is currently running as a pilot project and will be assessed over the summer for relaunch in the autumn.

News Bytes is only part of the services offered by the new-look Press and Publications Office Web pages. Users now enter the pages via a "News Menu" which shows at a glance all the information resources that are available. Journalists can go straight to Find an Expert or the Press Releases, while staff can follow the link to the Press and Publications Office home page for information on Media Training or House Style.

To access the News Menu, point your browser to http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/ and then follow the link to the Daily News Service.

Academic Jobs Website

An official recruitment website for the academic community has been established by a consortium of universities and colleges. It has been running for a year and lists an average of 600 vacancies a week. It also offers an e-mail alert service and keyword search. It can be found at http://www.jobs.ac.uk/

University Map

A new version of the University Map is now available, produced by the University Press. The new edition has been revised and offers an up-to-date representation of hundreds of University and other locations. The range of the principal map extends from High Cross and the West Cambridge Site to the University Press and Homerton College, while detailed site maps include Madingley/Girton, Addenbrooke's Hospital and departmental sites.

The published price of the revised map is £1. It is also available from the Press Bookshop to all colleges, departments and offices of the University at a special discount of 40%, in multiples of ten. To place your order, please contact Heather Stevens, Cambridge University Press Bookshop, 1 Trinity Street, Cambridge. Telephone (3)33333, fax (3)32954, e-mail: hstevens@cup.cam.ac.uk

Sports Injury Clinic/Human Performance Laboratory

Some undergraduates will be all too familiar with the Sports Injury Clinic at Addenbrooke's Hospital. In fact, of the 1,000 patients seen by the Clinic every year, about 350 are Cambridge University students.

The Clinic offers a walk-in service three mornings a week, and sees patients with acute injuries less than 48 hours old. Knee injuries are the most common, according to Dr Jumbo Jenner, a consultant at the Clinic.

Now the facility is to be enhanced further by the creation of a Human Performance Laboratory. Funded by the National Lottery, the Peter Wilson Memorial Fund and private donations, the Lab should be up and running by autumn this year. The Lab will provide a range of services, from high-tech fitness measurement for athletes, to sophisticated testing to determine if a particular physiotherapy is proving effective for a serious injury or illness. For more information tel: 216969.

University Cricket Club hits Pakistan

Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC) undertook its first ever overseas tour in March. The tour of Pakistan started in Lahore on Saturday 13th March, and ended 10 days later in Karachi. It was made possible by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), who sponsored the University team with free flights to, from and within Pakistan. The idea of a tour was hatched during the festival marking the 150th anniversary of the Cambridge cricket ground - 'Fenners', when former Cambridge Blue and Pakistani captain, Majid Khan, invited the CUCC to his country.

Cambridge Young Writers' Award

The University and Cambridge University Press recently announced the launch of a joint initiative for talented young writers. This unique venture aims to encourage children from Years 2-6 to write a story about a significant experience in their lives. After the deadline on 31 May the manuscripts will be judged by a panel of leading writers and educationalists. There will be individual prizes for winners in each age-group, and the winners' schools will each receive £500 worth of Cambridge Reading Books. The competition culminates in Cambridge on 14 September with a presentation by the Secretary of State for Education, The Rt. Hon. David Blunkett M.P.

Innovation Brochure

A new version of the University's Innovation & Technology brochure is now available. It was launched at a reception at St James's Palace in February. For copies of the brochure, which contains information on the many links between the University and industry, contact the Press and Publications Office, tel: (3)32300.

West Cambridge Site

Just before Easter, planning permission was given for the West Cambridge Masterplan. The Council's Planning Sub-Committee unanimously approved the scheme and Director of estate management, David Adamson, said: "The project has wide support in the University and will be the focus for development for the next 23 years." The Cambridge Evening News gave their support pointing out the site is needed to take development forward into the next Millennium.

Calling all Women

There is a new, nationwide project designed to promote women working in higher education, regardless of status or job title. The Women in Higher Education Register was launched in February by CUCO (the Commission on University Career Opportunities) and is designed to track women in the sector with a view to supporting and promoting all women in UK higher education. The Register will collect, analyse and disseminate information on women in higher education. It will also run workshops for members, among other activities.

Women in science, engineering, and technology who join the Register will be asked to contribute more information on themselves and their careers to date.

If you do not receive a membership form in the near future, you can find it on the Register web site at http://www.where.ic.ac.uk/

Mm - lovely

If you're gearing up for events to celebrate the millennium, the University's Millennium Committee has developed a logo that you can use on your millennium documents. Designed to be used in colour or black and white, with enough clarity to be photocopied, the logo is available on paper or on disk from the Design Studio, 1 St Mary's Passage on (3)39397 or ucam-design-studio@lists.cam.ac.uk