How's this for a great research project to keep you occupied over the summer? Ann Kennard, head of German at the University of the West of England, is to undertake a "border trip" as "borders, border regions and cross-border cooperation are key areas of (her) research". The week-long jaunt involves crossing 25 official borders and visiting eight eastern European tripoints, as well as touring border areas in Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary.