Welcome to the latest news update from the School of Public Policy
Alumni News
It's another academic year at LSE! We are delighted to welcome a new cohort of students to the School of Public Policy and are looking forward to a busy and exciting Michaelmas Term, having just completed a very busy fortnight of Welcome Week activities.
The SPP welcomed over 160 new students to the MPP and first year of the MPA, as well as over 80 students to MPA Year 2. With many Welcome events taking place in person this year, the area outside the Centre Building (where the SPP is based) has been a focal point with a marquee and music at lunchtimes creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere on campus. The SPP Welcome culminated in a panel discussion featuring Dean Professor Andres Velasco, Academic Director Professor Adnan Khan and SPP Professors in Practice Professor Vanessa Rubio Marquez and Professor Tony Travers discussing ‘
What did policymakers around the world do wrong in the last 18 months, and what can we do about it?’
Activities for our students included a 'Welcome to the MPA' virtual alumni panel, and both in-person and virtual MPP alumni networking sessions - a huge thank you to all alumni who gave up their time to make our new students feel welcome, we truly appreciate all that you do for our community.
Alumni Activities
We're looking forward to another packed term of events for our alumni. With the exception of the George VI, the campus is still currently closed to alumni and so most of our events are remaining virtual - however, we are looking forward to welcoming you back to Houghton Street soon.
Registration for some events are now open, so mark your diaries!
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After-Work Alumni Drinks
Tuesday 12 October; 6-8PM BST; The George VI
It’s been a long time, but we’re very excited to get the chance to see some of our London-based alumni in person again and catch up on all that’s been going on with our community. The SPP will be holding an informal drinks event at the George IV after work on Tuesday 12th October. Come along to catch up with fellow alumni and some of our attending faculty – we’d love to see you!
Friday 15 October; 12-1PM BST; Zoom
Our E-Networking Panel ‘
Working in Consultancy: What I Wish I’d Known…’ invites some of our alumni to share their experiences and answer questions about working in the consulting sector.
Those who graduated between 2018 and 2021 are warmly welcomed to a virtual Class Reunion, where you can spend some time catching up with friends and classmates on the fluid video-based app Gather.town. We will be holding two open-house sessions between 2-4PM and 6-8PM, so as many of our alumni community can join us regardless of timezones.
In our
Women in Public Service expert alumni panel, several alumna working in various areas of public service will be talking about their work and being a woman in public life. This discussion will be chaired by Vanessa Rubio-Marquez, a Professor in Practice whose own career in Mexico's public service has spanned twenty-five years.
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'Working in Government and Policy: What I Wish I'd Known...'
Tuesday 16 November; 12- 1PM GMT; Zoom
Our E-Networking Panel ‘
Working in Government and Policy: What I Wish I’d Known…’ invites some of our alumni to share their experiences and answer questions about working in this sector.
This edition's Alumni in Action is Siddarth Merchant, who graduated with his MPA as part of a Dual Degree between LSE and Hertie School in 2016. Since graduation Siddarth has been based at the World Bank Group in Mumbia, India, and is currently working on a Coastal Zone Management Programme looking to boost vulnerable coastal livelihoods, abate marine pollution, and improve conservation efforts.
Do you know an alumnus whose story should be shared with the SPP community? It could be a friend, a colleague, someone whose work you admire from afar - it could even be yourself! Drop us a line to recommend the next alumni profile.
Toluwalola Kasali's awarding documentary
Remember Me
We are thrilled to share the news that SPP alumna Toluwalola Kasali's (MPP, 2020) documentary
Remember Me has received five Official Selections at International Film Festivals, including an Award.
Remember Me is a short documentary that tells the story of people who have been forced to flee their homes due to the Boko Haram conflict in the North-East of Nigeria and highlights some of their experiences living in camps and host communities.
Toluwalola told us: "These recognitions are a testament to the power of humanity and the stories of the people behind the numbers - the experiences, strength, resilience, and dreams of Internally Displaced People. I am grateful to be a part of helping to tell their stories. I am passionate about making an impact with my work – improving people's lives and moving the needle. I believe that I can play my part, no matter how little, in making a difference in the world, and that is all I am trying to do."
You can read more about the documentary online, and can read the director's Q&A online. A huge congratulations to Toluwalola from everyone at the SPP.
Amanda Abrom receives the Environmental Education 30 under 30 award
Congratulations to Amanda Abrom (MPA, 2021) who has received recognition from the NAAEE as an EE 30 Under 30. The 30 Under 30 Class of 2021 are being recognised for their use of environmental education to address complex sustainability issues in their communities, and collectively have reached more than 300,000 people this year.
Amanda was selected for her work as Program Manager of the Global Schools Program at the UN SDSN: a network of 1,000 schools working across 80+ countries to bring sustainable development education to classrooms.
Amanda's work provides free training to teachers on sustainable development. In the program’s first iteration for teachers, it reached 27,500 students through 2,300 lessons on sustainable development.
“Becoming an EE 30 Under 30 is an amazing next step on my life-long path to continue advocating at the policy and grassroots level to achieve quality education for all,” says Amanda. “Working with so many communities globally has given me a vision for a better world where schools are the epicenters for students to learn the knowledge, values, and behaviors needed by global citizens. I am so grateful for this recognition.”
You can find out more about the EE 30 Under 30 awards online. Everyone at the SPP would like to wish Amanda a huge congratulations for her work.
Alumni Benefits in the Spotlight
Looking to make the most of your money? As an LSE alumni, you can enjoy a wide range of discounts: everything from food and drink to accommodation and hotels worldwide.
Find out more about the range of exclusive offers available to you here.
Department News
SPP Annual Report 2020-21
We are happy to once again announce the publication of our Annual Report, covering the period between August 2020 and July 2021.
Our report reflects on the prestigious community that we are assembling and to celebrate the achievements of the School and, in particular, its students. Our journey to become the preeminent policy school in Europe has only just begun, yet already we see exciting growth and opportunity to influence and shape policy-making across the globe.
As always, we would love to hear any feedback you have - please just get in touch at spp@lse.ac.uk.
This academic year, the School of Public Policy joined forces with the research centre, LSE Cities.
LSE Cities is an international centre that seeks to investigate the complexities of the
contemporary city. Through research, education, outreach and advisory activities, the centre investigates how complex urban systems are responding to the pressures of growth, change and globalisation, with new infrastructures of design and governance that both complement and threaten social equity and environmental sustainability.
In recent years, the activities of LSE Cities have shifted to more focused research,policy-influencing initiatives and capacity-building – responding to a growing demand for evidence-based decision-making amongst urban actors in the public and private sector. This makes its goals ever-more aligned with that of the SPP, which itself is interested in developing city-focused activities.
SPP COVID-19 Blog shortlisted for Times Higher Education Award
We are excited to announce that the School of Public Policy's COVID-19 Blog has been shortlisted for the Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year Award by The Times Higher Education. The THE Awards are widely recognised as the 'Oscars of higher education', and serve to showcase entries that exemplify talent, education, and innovation of those involved in university life.
The Award Ceremony will take place on Thursday 25 November, and more information can be found online here. A huge congratulations to everybody involved!
SPP Staff Updates
With a new academic year now starting, we are pleased to announce a number of new staffing updates around the School. With Daniel Sturm stepping down from running the Executive Programme, we are delighted to announce that Professor Charles Bean from the Department of Economics and Dr Dan Berliner from the Department of Government have stepped up to become EMPA/EMPP Programme Co-Directors. Similarly, with Bob Babajanian having stepped down from leading the MPA programme, Dr Lloyd Gruber is now the MPA Programme Director.
We are also delighted to welcome Professor Ricardo Hausmann (
left) to the SPP - both as a Visiting Professor in Practice, and the Director of the Growth Lab at Harvard's Center for International Development - as well as Professor Miguel Santos (
right) as Visiting Professor in Practice.
Publications
A Labour City? The London Mayoral and Assembly Elections 2021
Applying economic complexity theory to the EU’s pandemic recovery and resilience plans
Writing for The Political Quarterly, Professor Tony Travers examines London's reputation as a Labour city and notes that Boris Johnson's government's 'levelling-up' agenda may leave London without political leverage. He asks the question: how long will it be before London voters learn to send observable messages to the major parties about the fragility of their support?
Professor Ricardo Hausmannhas co-written a blog post for theLSE European Politics and Policy Blog which focuses on the #NextGenEU fiscal recovery package. The article argues that
'the deployment of EU funds and the frontloading of reforms in some key areas in the context of the RRF should find their natural place in the Economic Complexity Index theory, which should inform the implementation of national Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) based on each EU member state’s sectorial and productive structure."
NI is the right way to pay for social care - but it needs to be made fairer
Improvements to the finance of social care will be paid for by a rise in National Insurance contributions. Professor Nicholas Barrargues that NI can be the right way to finance this kind of risk, but the government can and should ensure that younger people do not shoulder an undue share of the new tax burden.
How governments can prepare for crises: the lessons from COVID
Governments across the world grappled with difficult policy choices in response to COVID. Resolving these challenges now can prepare us to better mitigate the impacts of COVID, as well as to effectively respond to future crises, write Jishnu Das (Georgetown), Adnan Q. Khan (LSE), Asim I. Khwaja (Harvard) andAnum Malkani (Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan).
After five years of gripping public events and invaluable discussion, the LSE Programme: Brexit & Beyond came to an end this term. We were joined by our final guest speaker, Michel Barnier (the Former European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms), who spoke on the diary he kept during the complex and sometimes acrimonious negotiations between Britain and the EU during the recent Brexit negotiations.
For those of you who missed this event, you can listen to the podcast online.
We'd like to thank Mr Barnier for providing a fascinating insight into the complex negotiations between Brussels and London - as well as passing on our thanks to all those who have taken part in the Brexit and Beyond programme over the years.
Michaelmas 2020-21 Public Events
Our events programme is regularly updated on our website, as well as our LinkedIn and Facebook alumni groups. If you want to be kept up to date with SPP public events, why not join our event mailing list?
The Indian Economy: recent developments and prospects
Monday 11 October 2021
In this event, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and the Chair of the 15th Indian Finance Commission will discuss the challenges facing the economy of India and what we can expect from it in the future.
Speakers:Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; Dr Swati Dhingra, Associate Professor in Economics at LSE; Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science; N K Singh, President of the Institute of Economic Growth and the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission; Professor Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, Chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at LSE; Martin Wolf CBE, Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times.
How are cultural institutions reframing their relationships with audiences, the community and the city?
Investment in cultural infrastructure has become a familiar tool in urban strategies. But the way cultural organisations operate is changing rapidly, and this will affect how they contribute to urban life going forward. This Urban Age Debate will rethink collaboration between the city, community, and culture over the next decades.
Speakers:Elaine Bedell, Chief Executive of the Southbank Centre; Gabriella Gomez-Mont, Founder of Experimentalista; Andreas Görgen, Head of the German Foreign Office’s Culture and Communication Department.
The Aristocracy of Talent: how meritocracy made the modern world
Meritocracy: the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their status at birth. For much of history this was a revolutionary thought, but by the end of the twentieth century it had become the world's ruling ideology. How did this happen, and why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left?
Speaker:Adrian Wooldridge, the Economist's political editor and author of its Bagehot column.
Social Unrest in Colombia and Chile: Causes and Cures
Why did Colombia and Chile experience bouts of social unrest and street violence recently? What are the roots of this discontent and what can be done about it? Might a new social contract in those countries provide a way out?
Speakers: Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile; Juan Manuel Santos, former President of the Republic of Colombia; Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Support from alumni and friends enables us to form a strong and ambitious education community, and is very much appreciated by everyone at the SPP. Whether that be donating financially or through donating your time by volunteering with student support, you are helping us keep the SPP a truly fantastic place to learn.
A particular thanks to everyone who donates financially, either to the SPP or to the wider LSE. Your support helps us do wonderful things for our student community, and we are thrilled to offer an outstanding policy education experience to those who come to our School - everyone at the SPP really appreciates your kindness.
If you are interested in supporting us or would like to find out more, contact us at spp.alumni@lse.ac.ukor visit our website.
Stay connected! Keep in touch via our Facebook and LinkedIn Alumni groups, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
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School of Public Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Houghton Street, London, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom
