SPP Connections Newsletter - End of Lent 2022

In Lent Term the SPP held three alumni events:

The SPP & LSE Cities Partnership Discussion, where Tony Travers discussed the new collaboration between the SPP and LSE Cities with the Directors of LSE Cities Ricky Burdett and Philipp Rode.
'The New Hybrid Workplace' Professional Development Training: a training session held in partnership with LSE Careers to explore challenges and opportunities arising from new flexible working practices.
Alumni and Student Networking Evening, a drinks reception where alumni, students and staff came together on campus to make new connections and catch up with old classmates.

Once again, a big thank you to all alumni who have come back (either in-person or virtually) to the SPP to speak to our students this term - whether that be for one of our networking panels, career events or study advice sessions. Our community really appreciates all the time and effort you put into supporting our students.

Alumni and the GPPN 2022 Conference

We would like to thank those in our alumni community who returned to campus this term to support our student teams presenting at the annual GPPN conference!

Our alumni joined the students before the conference to provide valuable insights and feedback about the student GPPN presentations. This was a great opportunity for the SPP community to collaborate and support each other (and enjoy pizza together) - it was good to see some of you back at the School.

SPP Alumni working in Ukraine

Alumnus Misha Zelinksky (2019, EMPA) is currently working in Ukraine as the Ukrainian-Russian war correspondent for the Australian Financial Review.

An LSE alumni and Fulbright Scholar, Misha is an expert in political warfare and national security. He has been in Ukraine since before Putin’s invasion and has travelled all over the country telling the stories of ordinary Ukrainians doing extraordinary things.

Misha is also working with refugee networks to raise money for the 10 million displaced Ukrainians. “ The world must urgently help Ukrainians win the war and shelter those in need,” says Misha.

You can read more about Misha’s work and fundraising via Twitter and Instagram @mishazelinsky or online https://www.afr.com/by/misha-zelinsky-p5363h

Alessio Terzi (MPA, 2011) has recently completed a new book, Growth for Good - a work presenting a credible agenda to enrol capitalism in the fight against climate catastrophe.

Alessio tells us: “I’ve approached the topic of this book with the concerns of our generation: that economic growth is contributing to striking inequalities and catastrophic climate change. I’ve re-emerged realising it has been an engine of progress throughout human history, and with the right policies it can be once more a force for good.”

Growth for Good is available for pre-order, and will be released in May 2022. You can find out more online.

Meet Jenny McInnes

Our featured Alumni in Action is Jenny McInnes, who took part in our Executive Masters in Public Policy, and graduated in 2019. Jenny has been in government for sixteen years, and for the past six years has been the Deputy Director in International Climate Finance at BEIS. She has recently joined HSBC to work at Sustainability Policy & Partnerships - all the best in the new role, Jenny!

You can read more about Jenny's story here.

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.

Alumni Benefits in the Spotlight

Don't forget: you can connect to fellow School of Public Policy alumni easily via our LinkedIn and Facebook groups.

You can also find out more about what's going on at the SPP by following us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Global Public Policy Conference 2022

Well done to all student teams who took part in the annual Global Public Policy Conference this term. The annual conference is held as an opportunity for policy students from around the world to compete - this year the event was hosted by Hertie School in Berlin, but was held virtually due to the pandemic.

A particular congratulations to MPP students Jonathan Odumeru, Rachel Pilc, Nikita Singh and Sidhartha Tibrewal, whose team won the coveted Best Presentation prize. They came together to identify, research and try to solve a pressing policy challenge focused on improving the air quality and living conditions of rural communities in Northern India while reducing harmful carbon emissions.

In addition, the SPP succeeded in getting three teams through to the final round, celebrating the highest representation out of all of the policy schools attending!

You can read more about our students' work at the GPPN Conference online.

LSE-Fudan Global Public Policy Hub Activities

In Lent Term the two inaugural research fellows of the LSE-Fudan Global Public Policy Hub, Dr Yan Wang and Dr Yuxi Zhang, joined Andrés Velasco for the Dean's Dialogue. Yan and Yuxi presented their research project: “Contesting for Consensus: Social sentiment towards fellow citizens’ COVID-related behaviour in China”. The event facilitated a lively discussion regarding the COVID-19 situation and policies in China, as well as their social impact.

Publications emerging from the Hub include:

“Implementing Public Accounts Committee Recommendations: Evidence from the UK Government’s ‘Progress Reports’ since 2012” (written by Dr Yuxi Zhang )
“Chinese provincial government responses to COVID-19” (written by Dr Yuxi Zhang)
“Too Cynical: why the Stock Market in China Dismissed Initial Anticorruption Signals” (co-written by Dr Yan Wang)

War in Ukraine: SPP Discussions

Dr Lloyd Gruber (MPA Program Director) has begun a series of Q&A discussions on the unfolding crisis in Ukraine. The inaugural event was titled War Returns to Europe, with Professor Peter Trubowitz from the LSE International Relations department providing insight from the perspective of academic literature on power politics.

This was followed by War in Ukraine: How We Got Here and the Path Forward, in which Valeria Gontareva (Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine from 2014-2017) offered thoughts on the lead-up to the war, the Ukrainian experience of the conflict, and her work on international sanctions and humanitarian aid.

We plan to hold more of these sessions and are hoping to invite alumni along, so please keep your eyes peeled for further invitations.

LSE Harvard Growth Co-Lab Activities

During Lent Term Professor Miguel Santos held a discussion event with the CEO of the Namibian Investment Promotion and Development Board, Mrs Nangula Uaandja. SPP students were able to hear about Nangula’s experience in investment promotion, the Growth Diagnostic of Namibia, and the challenges that women in development careers face when trying to reach leadership roles in government and policymaking.

'Global Democracy Insight for Cabinet Office'

Dr Omar Hammoud Gallego (Fellow in Political Science & Public Policy at the SPP) is currently working on the policy research project, ' Global Democracy Insight for Cabinet Office'.

Funded by the UK Cabinet Office and done in partnership with academics at Cambridge University, the project seeks to explain changes in satisfaction with democracy in the UK over the last two years, using data from more than two hundred thousand survey respondents.

The team presented their research findings at the LSE Department of Government in February in their seminar series ‘Political Science and Political Economy’.

Britain adopts a 'do-it-yourself' asylum plan

Russia’s FX reserves slip from its grasp

Professor Tony Travers was quoted in the Washington Post, discussing the British asylum plan for fleeing Ukrainians. He explains how the UK Government ' are suddenly being faced with the public having a completely different view of asylum seeking...and they are having a very hard time adjusting because they’ve spent 20 years trying to keep immigrants out."

Read Online

Dr Ousmène Mandeng has been quoted in the Financial Times, discussing the current economic situation in Russia and central bank reserve management. " Foreign exchange reserves are not held by central banks," Dr Mandeng says. " Securities and money never move, everything is external . . . In the case of securities, central banks would ask their brokers to sell the asset in question."

Read Online

Russia's war with Ukraine: asking the right questions

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen large-scale warfare return to Europe for the first time in nearly 80 years. With many in the West concerned about the conflict escalating towards a confrontation between two nuclear powers,MPA Programme Director Dr Lloyd Gruber poses the key questions – and offers some unexpected answers.

Read Online

SPP Public Events and Podcasts

We have a number of public events coming up in Summer Term 2022, including:

Lessons from Afghanistan - Wednesday 4th May 2022
Join our panellists as they come together to discuss the new issue of the LSE Public Policy Review Lessons from Afghanistan.
The House of Contradiction - Thursday 12 May 2022
A conversation on the book "The House of Contradiction" by Jesús Silva-Herzog Márquez, chaired by Andrés Velasco.
Justice Across Ages - Wednesday 18 May 2022
Each life-stage brings its characteristic opportunities and vulnerabilities, which spawn inequalities between young and old. How should we respond to these age-related inequalities?
Today's Fight for Open Society - Thursday 19 May 2022
Join us for this conversation between Mark Malloch-Brown, Director of the Open Society Foundation and Minouche Shafik, Director of LSE.

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?

Lent Term 2021-22 Public Event Podcasts

One Party After Another: The Disruptive Life of Nigel Farage

Wednesday 2 March 2022

Journalist and broadcaster Michael Crick speaks about his new biography One Party After Another, which explores how Nigel Farage did it, despite never once managing to get elected to British parliament.

Listen to the podcast

Boosting the Lending Power of Multilateral Development Banks Through Risk Transfer

Tuesday 22 March 2022

This event focuses on the potential and the obstacles for Risk Transfer and the wider implications for development finance provided by Multilateral Development Banks.

Listen to the podcast

Wellbeing as a Goal of Public Policy

Tuesday 18 January 2022

Panellists discuss the new issue of the LSE Public Policy Review, Beveridge 2.0: Wellbeing. This latest LSE Public Policy Review issue discusses the extend to which wellbeing considerations can (and should) inform policy decisions, particularly as we start to fully understand the consequences of the pandemic on people's lives.

Listen to the podcast

After the Virus: lessons from the past for a better future

Tuesday 1 February 2022

Hilary Cooper and Simon Szreter discuss their book: which sets out a manifesto for change post-COVID to create a society necessary to tackle the global challenges that lie ahead - climate change, biodiversity collapse and global inequality.

Listen to the podcast

Thank You for Supporting the SPP

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.uk or visit our website.