Public lecture podcasts

Daphne Jackson Trust Fellows carry out novel research at post doctorial level across a wide spectrum of sciences and engineering disciplines. This conference showcased the fellows’ research and findings.

In this IPR Public Lecture, Mr Stephen Kelly - CEO of Sage and former COO of Her Majesty's Government - shares the lessons he’s learnt from his time reforming and digitally transforming the civil service, and how he’s applied these in both public and private sectors. The talk centres around three key themes: the power of technology to change lives; the importance of connecting to stakeholders; and, finally but perhaps most importantly, making it meaningful. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 28 June 2016

Postgraduate students from Faculty of Science showcased their research at a Research Afternoon on Monday 6 June 2016. Students presented a series of ten minute talks and two-minute 'lightning' talks on topics ranging from the spread of information, to vaccines and MRSA.

In this IPR Public Lecture Professor Janine Wedel - IPR Global Chair and Professor in the School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs at George Mason University - introduces a new breed of influence elite that has emerged over the past several decades. In contrast to the 'power elites' described by sociologist C. Wright Mills a half century ago, she argues, the muscle of today’s influence elites resides at least as much in social networks as in command-and-control bureaucracy. These novel elites are less visible, less stable, and more mobile and global in reach than their forebears. They hold sway through informal, flexible, and unaccountable means and use consulting firms, think tanks, nonprofits, and 'grassroots organisations', among other entities, as vehicles of influence, not to mention the Internet and social media. Professor Wedel also contends that today’s influence elites largely defy democratic oversight. Conventional concepts inadequately capture their modus operandi and roles in contemporary democratic states. Yet these players and their practices are systemic and widespread across at least some global venues and Western democracies in arenas ranging from energy and health care to finance and foreign policy. Understanding how today’s influence elites operate is crucial, she concludes - both because their practices are far-reaching and because they dominate decisions that affect the entire world. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 28 April 2016

In this IPR Public Lecture, Dr Jo Farrar - Chief Executive of Bath and North East Somerset Council - examines the changing nature of public services and how the transformation efforts of recent government administrations play out in the delivery of local services. She also considers how innovative use of data and technology can improve the performance of public services at a time of unprecedented budget reductions. Finally, Farrar discusses new approaches to the reform of local public services including through income generation, encouraging growth and empowering communities. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 23 February 2016

In this IPR Public Lecture, the Rt Hon Lord David Willetts updates the analysis in his book 'The Pinch', presenting the latest data on the widening gap between the baby boomer generation and their children. He also discusses various policy measures to redress the imbalance between the generations. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 20 April 2016

In this IPR Public Lecture, former Government Chief Scientific Adviser Sir John Beddington contests that, though change in the 21st Century is both fast and dramatic, some problems for the next few decades are both predictable and inexorable. Significant challenges exist driven by population growth, complex demography, urbanisation and increasing prosperity, all with a background of significant poverty. Climate change is happening, will continue and is a major risk multiplier. This lecture covers these issues, and examines some of the ways in which these challenges can be addressed. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 06 February 2014

In this IPR Public Lecture, Professor Allyson Pollock - Professor of Public Health Research and Policy at Queen Mary University of London - shows how the government has abolished the NHS. She explains how the new structures will operate, what this means for patient access and what needs to be done about it. This IPR Public Lecture took place on 01 May 2014

The way that knowledge is structured has implications for the way we teach. Where the information that is presented in lectures fails to represent the knowledge structure of the discipline, then students have to resort to rote learning of materials. Where the curriculum structure aligns with the structure of the discipline, then students will be learning in more authentic ways and will have access to powerful knowledge. To get to this point, teachers first need to consider the structure of their own discipline and the values that underpin their teaching so they may reflect on the appropriateness of their professional practice.

Increasing numbers of internationally branded schools serving local [rather than predominantly expatriate] populations and Ministries of Education engaged in educational reform, are adopting what they perceive as international best practice. This raises a number of questions and issues explored in this lecture. Is there such a thing as international best practice? Does globalization imply the need for a common curriculum and pedagogy in order to prepare students for the modern world? Should curriculum be about cultural transmission or transformation? A few principles and practices that might be helpful in building a curriculum that respects local and global realities are considered. Change, which is both desirable and inevitable, needs to be evolutionary and grounded in an understanding of local context and culture if it is to lead to beneficial outcomes. One curriculum prescription does not suit all.