BEI Memorial Lectures Tackle Technology and Climate Change
The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP and Paul Clarke, Former Chief Technology Officer at Ocado delivered thought-provoking lectures as part of the BEI School annual memorial series.
The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Paul Clarke, former Chief Technology Officer at Ocado recently delivered memorial lectures in the School of Business, Economics and Informatics.
The memorial lectures commemorate individuals who have made an exceptional impact on the Birkbeck community and in their field. Each year, a significant figure in industry is invited to deliver a lecture in their memory on a pressing issue facing society.
On Wednesday 16 June, Paul Clarke delivered the Andrew and Kathleen Booth Memorial Lecture to staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems. Entitled ‘Where Physical and Digital Worlds Collide’, the lecture explored how innovation and disruptive technologies can be harnessed to drive improvements in society. The lecture was followed by a lively question and answer session from the audience.
The following week, the Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP joined Rachel Neaman, Non-Executive Director and Independent Governor of Birkbeck, in conversation for the Department of Management’s Lord Marshall Memorial Lecture. Following an update on the government’s progress towards net zero from the Secretary of State, Kwarteng and Neaman discussed the recent G7 summit, how the pandemic has impacted our climate targets and the highlights of Kwarteng’s academic and political career.
The memorial lectures continue in July, when the Department of Organizational Psychology will welcome Professor Sally Maitlis, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford to deliver a lecture entitled ‘Hidden from View: Leading with Depression and Anxiety’. This talk is open to all and is available to book online.