IntroductionAcademic advising refers to the process where appointed members of staff provide academic guidance, information signposting and other relevant non-academic forms of support to students to help promote their success and improve their overall higher education experience (Medernach, 2018).Its role has long been recognised as crucial for supporting students, especially those from under-represented minorities (Smith et al, 2009; Young-Jones et al, 2013).While practices across the UK and Europe appear similar in their foundations, the diverse nature of student cohorts suggests some different institutional priorities.At the university of Exeter, taking into account these different approaches, we introduced a handbook for academic advisors in the Economics Department. Here we share our experience. 

AI tools have become widespread since news of ChatGPT-3.5 prompted me, in early 2023, to make an OpenAI account. I remember sitting in a coffee shop, sipping on a latte, and holding a half-dozen “conversations” with the newly released model.I asked it a series of math questions. I asked it about politics and about poetry. I asked it to write me a short story. I even asked it questions about niche topics like Settlers of Catan to see if it “understood” strategy in the context of a game. And, of course, I asked it about economics.

Stefanie Stantcheva, an accomplished economist, has been named the Clark Medalist for 2025 for her significant contributions to the field of public economics. 

John N. Friedman has been named as the inaugural dean of Brown University's Thomas J. Watson Jr. School of International and Public Affairs. 

Maxi Günnewig, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bonn, has won the Philipp Sandner Award in Digital Finance Research from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and WM Gruppe. 

Julia Cagé (Professor of Economics, Science Po) and David Yanagizawa-Drott (Professor of Economics, University of Zurich) have been honored with the 2025 Yrjö Jahnsson Award for their impactful research on political economy and media. 

Princeton University's Economics Department has been busy hiring in recent months. Now four prominent new faculty members join for the Spring 2025 semester: Simon Jäger, Pauline Carry, Kevin Dano and Fedor Sandomirskiy.

Morris Davis, a professor at Rutgers Business School specializing in real estate, has been appointed to the White House Council of Economic Advisers as the chief housing economist. The news follows the high profile appointment last week of Stephen Miran as head of the CEA.

King Felipe VI of Spain has presented the "King of Spain Economics Award 2024" to economist Roberto Serrano for his outstanding scientific and professional work in the field of economics.