Masterclasses – programme

Where Does Fake News Leave Democracy? 'Fake news' and misinformation circulate widely on social media, and many suspect that this led to the rise of Trump, the Brexit vote, Russian support for the war in Ukraine, and so on. At the same time, we know that people don't just automatically believe what they see and…

Conflict Management in Theory and Practice: Who? How? What challenges? Violent conflict has increased over the last decade and is set to continue with climate change, mass displacement and other challenges on the rise. Today we can count more than 110 armed conflicts across the world, from the Middle East, Africa to Asia, Latin America and…

Artificial Intelligence: hype or opportunity? There is lots of excitement about Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the moment as well as plenty of anxiety. But how much of this is hype? As future contributors and leaders/practitioners, what can you practically do to make the best use of AI and other digital technologies in key areas such…

Are cartels bad for the economy? And what can we do about it? The word ‘cartel’ refers to (forbidden) conduct that unfairly restricts competition, for example by agreeing to fix prices, allocate markets, adjust shipments in collusion with other business entities. Cartels are often referred to as a “cancer to the market economy” since they…

Exploitation: What is it? Is it wrong? And what should we do about it? Professor Ferguson introduces the concept of exploitation in the context of these three debates about what exploitation is, whether it is wrong, and what can be done about it. The masterclass includes discussion of the pros and cons of the various…

Applying to Oxford, Cambridge and other competitive U.K. universities Our partners from Greene’s College, Oxford present an introduction to applying to competitive U.K. universities with an extensive question and answer session at the end. The session covers: A brief introduction to the UCAS application process; What competitive universities are looking for in successful candidates; Suggested…

Artificial Intelligence & YouTube: a toolkit What makes people stop and watch video advertisements on YouTube? What do impactful advertisements on YouTube have in common? Using video creative data and machine learning, Google’s Global Creative Works team studied 17 000 videos advertisements worldwide to define a set of YouTube best practices which are proven to work effectively for…

Spirit of the Swamps: Sustainable development through interdisciplinary research with a case study on the Wetlands of Amazonian Peru In the last fifteen years scientists have shown that there is a huge amount of carbon locked up in the peaty soils of wetlands in western Amazonia. This talk introduces the ways in which that discovery…

Europe—Connected? The Challenges of the Communications Revolution We live in a networked age, in a world bound together by the internet, social media, smartphones, trains, planes and (soon-to-be driverless) cars. How did we get here? Have these innovations brought us closer together, or pushed us further apart? What is the place of the individual, society,…

Evolving An interview with Stephanie Studer, US Senior Digital Editor with The Economist conducted by Clémence Rebora, student at Kings College London and British Section alumna. Stephanie talks about her privileged standpoint on the evolution of print and digital journalism, her experience as a foreign correspondent in Asia, and the importance of fixers and behind-the-scenes…

Power Mix and Economics for Energy Transition The key objective of this masterclass is to share fundamental insights on energy generation technologies alongside market trends and needs. How do we generate energy? What is the role of energy engineers in the energy sector? Why is our economy tied to energy? What are the current energy…

Agriculture and Climate Change: from villain to hero Agriculture is both the largest user of land and our largest engineered ecosystem. Agriculture – the way we clear land, modify landscape, treat our soils, grow our food, manage the growing environment, rear farm animals, use agro-chemicals, etc. – has a negative impact on our climate. New…

Social Inequalities in Health This interactive masterclass will first show that social conditions are related to health, this phenomenon being widespread across countries and over time. These health inequalities are unjust, avoidable, and persistent. We observed them develop in real-time during the pandemic. Participants will be asked to engage with why they think poverty, social…

Paying for our planet’s survival: who should foot the bill for decarbonization and how? Climate change is an existential peril. In order to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change, we urgently need to reduce our emissions from greenhouse gases. This requires nothing short of a complete transformation of the way our societies produce and…

Energy transition for sustainable power mix Professor Morsili has management, strategy, and experience from his work in the energy industry. He started his career as a power plant design engineer, then a project director for new power plant projects in Latin Amercia, Russia, Middle East and France. In 2021, he took the lead within EDF…

Careers in cyber and cyber security Annick O’Brien, Chief Operating Officer of CybSafe gave a comprehensive presentation on careers in cyber security and working in cyber. Annick is a qualified UK solicitor, (England and Wales, Ireland); certified compliance officer (ACOI) and certified Cyber Risk Officer. She is a senior compliance lawyer with strong track record…

Applying to Oxford, Cambridge and other competitive U.K. universities Our partners from Greene’s College, Oxford presented an introduction to applying to competitive U.K. universities with an extensive question and answer session at the end. The session covered: A brief introduction to the UCAS application process; What competitive universities are looking for in successful candidates; Suggested…

Combatting Climate Change — where do we go next? Ever wondered what more you could do for the planet, other than switching off the lights, and avoiding buying plastic? Do you have a passion for the environment, perhaps studying life sciences, politics, technology, and wish to act against climate change? Perhaps you’re considering studying Sustainable…

Brace! Brace! Using business, finance & management skills to lead an airline during a pandemic! James Westgarth is currently Senior Director, Procurement at The Lufthansa Group. In this role, he has oversight of the external spend of the Group (2019: €22 billion). James recently led the initiative to secure supply chain resilience and working capital…