On Thursday May 14th, Ctrl.Alt.Shift will premiere the 5 short films made by the up-and-coming young filmmakers that won our film competition at the end of last year. Each film tackles current global issues and injustices.

The evening marks the culmination of a national competition launched by Ctrl.Alt.Shift in 2008. The competition invited aspiring filmmakers aged between 18 and 25 to write a treatment based around one of three key issues - War + Peace, Gender + Power and HIV + Stigma.

Time was, all Madonna had to do to court controversy was squeeze her norks into a glittery double-cornetto bra, pout alluringly at the camera and make a glorified porno film. Agreed, she’s not bad for her age, but at 50 the Queen of Pop has realised that there’s only so long the Ad Man’s favourite phrase ‘Sex Sells’ is going to work for her. Truth is, she hasn’t gotten where she is today without rolling with the times. Haven’t you heard darling?, eroticism and female empowerment are so very over. Oh yes, these days it’s all about having a ‘Conscience’. Ethics are the new black. Fairtrade is favoured over Facebook. Enviro-Friendly is how we all get down. I go, you go, we all go, Eco-Tesco!

With Easter fast approaching, the first sun of spring in the sky and a regretful hangover in mind it seemed like a good time to go church and ask God to forgive and forget my sins from the night before. But that wasn't the only reason I decided to go to church on Sunday March 15th; that other reason has a name - Emmanuel Jal.

Mark Sunday March 15th 2009 in your diary as the day climate change was fully, and unquestionably put into the public eye as celebrities, politicians and Joe Public all gathered together to witness history in the making... Climate change film The Age of Stupid had its premiere at London's Leicester Square, along with 65 venues around the country, in what was the world's largest and most environmentally friendly premiere in history.

Ban flash mobs? The whole point is that you can’t! News through this week is  that the authorities in San Francisco have finally had enough of this anarchic flashmob business, after a pillow fight involving somewhere between 1500 and 3000 people went completely crazy, got rained on, and sent several tonnes of feathers down the drains,clogging them up and costing the city who knows how much money to clear up.

On Friday, Ctrl.Alt.Shift hit the BALTIC to cast an eye over the art created by Graham Hudson, Matthew Stone and 12 students and recent graduates from Newcastle University's LifeWorkArt programme, around conflict.

With all the warnings on the news and in the papers, it seems we are unable to escape the reality of the credit crunch. But how is all this affecting students as they begin to think about supporting themselves for the first time and starting their careers? We asked a mix of undergraduates, postgraduates and graduates to find out...