Postgraduate: Research laboratories; improving healthcare skills; bouncers

The Queen met an outstanding postgraduate student at Oxford University last Friday when she opened a new £60m state-of-the-art chemistry research laboratory. Yimon Aye, 23, from Burma, had never seen a test tube when she arrived in the UK five years ago. But she came top in her first-year chemistry exams and went on to take part in summer research projects in Oxford and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The laboratory will house about 400 researchers and be organised around interdisciplinary research themes, such as synthesis and molecular design.

* GPS and other professionals working in primary healthcare can now study anytime, anywhere to become better teachers. A new postgraduate certificate in medical education in general practice, which can be completed entirely by distance learning, has been launched by the centre for medical education at the University of Dundee and the Royal College of General Practitioners. GPs teach in a variety of settings, including within their practices and on undergraduate degree programmes. Dr Margery Davis, head of the centre for medical education, expects busy GPs to be able to make good use of the programme: "This is an exciting opportunity for GPs and other members of primary healthcare teams to obtain a university qualification that will enhance their credibility as a teacher."

* Postgraduates are not famous for their raunchy night life. But Philip Hadfield is an exception. He spent time as a nightclub bouncer as part of a research project at Durham University. Hadfield, who was working for criminologist Professor Dick Hobbs, went undercover along with two other researchers to understand better the socio-economic role of door staff. The research found that, in the absence of bobbies on the beat, bouncers take responsibility for law and order at or near their clubs. They often work in a chaotic environment saturated with "aggression, egoism and intoxication" and where violence is both a constant threat to door staff and a tool of their trade. The researchers argue that while there are registration schemes and training available for door staff, problems are dealt with informally in too many incidents, with the police seldom being involved. They suggest that the problem is a symptom of a lack of regulation in the night time leisure economy, and needs tackling.

g.mccann@independent.co.uk