Postgraduate News and Views: Construction Law and Arbitration, Crime prevention, Feature Film Screenwriting

"Innovation is inseparable from risk-taking," says Philip Britton, director of the Centre of Construction Law at King's College London, "but we are convinced we must think and act internationally." As a result the college has come up with its first degree to be awarded with another university – an MSc in Construction Law and Arbitration.

The course will give lawyers a crash course in construction technology, and will introduce those involved in building, such as quantity surveyors, architects, engineers and project managers, to law. It will also cover all the legal aspects involved in construction projects and dispute resolution and arbitration.

"We feel there is a real need for this in Singapore," says Britton, "A lot of projects in South-east Asia are based there – it's a very busy market for construction in its own right, but also tends to be a regional centre for many multinationals. And Singapore has acquired English law and therefore shares a common legal background. All in all, we feel it's a natural home."

Both partners will contribute to every aspect of the programme, with King's staff visiting Singapore for intensive periods of teaching. Students will also come to London for a study visit between their first and second years.

¿ Every year crime costs the UK economy £50bn, and in an attempt to reduce this the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has earmarked £20m for crime prevention and detection research.

"The new funding aims to get people thinking beyond their usual agenda, and to undertake fundamental and applied work that will bring a new dimension to our ability to tackle crime," says Jane Sykes, who manages the Crime Prevention Programme on behalf of the EPSRC, "Researchers are being asked to think ahead of the game – reducing new opportunities for criminality or providing new methods for prevention, detection and reduction. This means continued advancement in forensic science techniques, anti-terrorism technologies, personal and property security and crime detection, and developing a safer living environment."

The EPSRC's current crime prevention portfolio includes projects on image processing/person recognition, cryptography, security of transactions, digital watermarks, biometrics (identifying unique physical characteristics using biological methods), brand protection, computer/ network security, investigation management systems, screening equipment, forensic analysis and explosive detection.

¿ Thanks to support from the Film Council's training fund, this year five students on Royal Holloway, University of London's MA in Feature Film Screenwriting will receive scholarships to offset the cost of training. Now expecting its third cohort, the two-year part-time course is taught entirely by screenwriters and people working in film, and is devised and led by Susan Rogers, a screenwriter and former head of development for United Artists and for Francis Coppola's company, Zoetrope Studios.

"We look for innovative writers who are really committed, and who want to get away from the narrow conventions that dominate British cinema," she says. "It's a very non-prescriptive course. We don't believe in formulas. There is a taught element, but for virtually everything you teach about screenwriting there's a couple of films that disprove it."

For John MacInnes, 33, a film-maker for the past 10 years, the course offers a chance to develop his ideas in a creative environment. "It attracts students from all over the world and one of the best things is the creative mix this throws up. Also, it's taught by people in the business – not just 'script gurus' – so there's a real relationship between what we do and the wider industry."

"What I hope to gain is – obviously – to write better scripts, but also scripts that people are going to read. People in the industry – agents, producers – keep an eye this sort of course, and so much of getting on in this business is about networking and your ability to reach the people that count."

emma@haughton.net