City News Issue 25 by City St George's, University of London

City News Issue 25

REACHING FOR THE SKIES

HELLO

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of City News. As you read this the EU Referendum will be mere days away. Regardless of your voting intention, it’s probably safe to assume you may be experiencing a reasonable degree of ‘referendum fatigue’. This has been a campaign based on rhetoric and supposition rather than policies and political beliefs. It has created some unlikely bedfellows – when again are we likely to see David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon all united around the same cause? On page 8 we look at the referendum, not from an ‘In vs Out’ perspective but rather to analyse the campaign itself. We consider the psychology of decision-making when voters are asked to decide on the basis of very little information. We also look at the media reporting – in a traditional election the papers tend to divide down party lines, but how are they aligning themselves this time, when that party line is unclear, at least for the Conservative-leaning press? The London skyline is once again dominated by cranes – is this simply evidence of a recovery in the construction sector, or part of a new ‘global gold rush’ to build ever taller buildings? On page 6 we speak to academics whose research considers the foundations upon which these skyscrapers are built and how to make them more sustainable and cost-effective. We also ask whether the motivation for building skyscrapers is to create status symbols for cities wishing to declare themselves ‘open for business’. Development of a different kind is the topic of discussion on page 19, where we learn more about a suite of staff development programmes in leadership and management, which are currently being rolled out. On page 10 we meet Professor Andrew Jones, who has recently moved from Dean of the School of Arts & Social Sciences to his new role as Pro ViceChancellor (Research and Enterprise). Keeping on the theme of Enterprise, on page 16 we meet the Entrepreneurship team and learn more about how team members help turn a business idea into a reality for students and graduates. And finally, with the Rio Olympics fast approaching, we look at the psychology of elite athletes, their decision-making processes and how they stay one step ahead of the competition. Perhaps there are some lessons for us as we enter a Clearing period which is expected to be more competitive than ever before.

Simon Watts Head of Communications and Events

CONTENTS 10

Vice-Chancellor’s Awards: the results

Keeping networked

Empowering, Enlightening and Developing

Reaching for the skies

The European Referendum – what’s behind the campaign?

A word with Professor Andrew Jones

Images of Research

14 Mind games: Psychology of sport and decision-making 6

Meet the team – Entrepreneurship team

The Conversation article: Confidence trick

Developing the next generation of City leaders

20 50th anniversary of the Charter 21

Getting to know the University of London

IT’S YOUR MAGAZINE Comments and feedback are always welcome, as are suggestions for future editions such as exciting new research outputs or a new project. Please contact the Editor. Marketing & Communications reserves the right to edit submissions. About City News City News is published by the Marketing & Communications department at City University London. Back issues: https://issuu.com/cityuniversitylondon Editor: Demetri Petrou Deputy Editor: Jennifer Mills Tel: 020 7040 8783 Email: demetri.petrou.1@city.ac.uk THANK YOU... ...to all of this issue’s contributors: Thalia Anagnostopoulou, Professor Costas Andriopoulos, Professor Peter Ayton, Professor Philip Corr, Professor Sir Paul Curran, Dr Graham Daborn, Dr Aaron Einbond, Alex Elkins, Taryn Ferris, Oliver Finch, Dr Joana Fonseca, Alex Galvez-Pol, Dr Agathoklis Giaralis, Jonathan Hewett, Professor Lis Howell, Professor Andrew Jones, Helton Levy, Simon Magness, Dr Dan Mercea, Naheed Mirza, Lotta Olsson, Professor Andy Pratt, Nicola Ranson, Clare Reilly, Helen Reynolds, Marco Rosti, Marius Stancu, Professor Caroline Wiertz, George Wigmore, Dr Kielan Yarrow.

On Thursday 16th June, City staff gathered to celebrate the annual Vice-Chancellorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Awards which recognise and celebrate the outstanding contribution of our staff in establishing City as a leading global University. The awards were designed to reward individuals and teams going above and beyond their nominative roles to support City; showing dedication, passion and commitment. If you werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to attend, here is a look at all of the winners:

FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITY.AC.UK/ VICE-CHANCELLORS-AWARDS

Best Collaborative Project between a School and a Professional Service Winner: Micro-placement Programme, by the Employer Engagement team led by Mona Vadher and Sarah Gale, Dr David Seymour and Professor Jason Chuah of City Law School Nominated: CitySCaPE, by Lorna Saunder, Sandra Partington & Steve McCombe International Womens Day, led by the IWD working group, part of Marketing and Communications International Collaboration of the Year Winner: Nikki Walsh Nominated: Professor Laura Empson

Outstanding Service in Support of Students (The Robert Kitchin Award) Winner: Louis Cecile Nominated: Caroline Jenkins Blessing Theophilus-Israel Amanda Brown Team of the Year Winner: City Starters team Nominated: Library team SHS Research team Excellence in Learning and Teaching (The Chancellor’s Award) Winner SASS: Dr Stian Reimers

Samantha Roylance

Nominated: Dr Anke Plagnol

Outstanding Contribution to Equality and Diversity Winner: International Women’s Day Working Group, part of Marketing and Communications

Richard Evans

Nominated: Jenny Aster and Matt Dumas Bowden, LGBT+ Network

Winner Cass: Dr Aneesh Banerjee Nominated: Dr Simon Hayley Dr Andreas Tsanakas Winner SHS: Janet Hunter

Athena Swan SHS Team

Nominated: Dr Sarah Greenwood

Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community Winner: Dr Madeline Cruice

Rosa Benato

Nominated: Ben Robinson Alex Elkins Outstanding Personal Achievement Winner: Ben Robinson Nominated: Mark Smith Miriam Styrnol Outstanding Engagement with Business and the Professions Winner (joint): Professional Liaison Unit Thalia Anagnostopoulou and Taryn Ferris Nominated: Professors Tong Sun and Ken Grattan

Winner SMCSE: Dr Efstathios Milonidis Nominated: Ivana Tomic Dr Ernesto Priego Winner CLS: LLM International Business Law Distance Learning Teaching Team Nominated: Paul Mckeown Dr Enrico Bonadio Research Project of the Year Winner: Professors Tong Sun and Ken Grattan Nominated: Professor Panicos Kyriacou Professor Jane Marshall

KEEPING NETWORKED Over the years, IT has completely changed the face of education by revolutionising the way students learn and the way staff facilitate their learning. Each day at City, over 2,000 computers are accessed by staff and students and up to 6,500 devices log on to the wireless network. It is natural to expect all of them and the services they provide to operate like clockwork and to ensure this is the case, over 200 members of staff in Information Services work behind the scenes to maintain the system. From developers to technicians and librarians, every member works tirelessly to make sure that services are provided to staff and students 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Following an eventful year, City News looks back at some of the highlights from the Information Services Annual Report which is available in full on the City website.

2,000 COMPUTERS ACCESSED DAILY

= 50 DEVICES

6,500 DEVICES LOG ON TO WIRELESS NETWORK DAILY

= 50 DEVICES

IT SERVICE DESK CALLS RECIEVED

42,784 UNIVERSITY DOWNLOADS PER MONTH

50TB

SERVICE NOW JOBS PROCESSED

65,859 UNIVERSITY UPLOADS PER MONTH

17TB

VISITORS TO THE CITY WEBSITE FOR THE YEAR

3750 0 0 0 EBOOK CHAPTERS VIEWED 2,147,008 THIS YEAR 1,421,859 LAST YEAR

FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITY.AC.UK/INTRANET/IT-SERVICES

Empowering, Enlightening & Developing Every year around 740,000 students leave UK universities with their degrees in hand, most on the hunt for employment. But the competition for graduate roles is fierce, with most new graduates entering the job market at the same time each year, many can end up feeling lost. City, ranked highly in the UK for both graduate employability and starting salaries, supports students’ career progression in many innovative ways. One of the most successful initiatives is the nationally-accredited Professional Mentoring Programme which matches students with experienced professionals to develop their skills, confidence and future employability. The team brokers relationships that enable the student journey, empower students and prepare them for the world of work. Since 2002 the scheme, led by Professional Mentoring Leader, Thalia Anagnostopoulou, has established 1,567 Professional Mentoring Relationships. It supports 400 pairs and is on offer to second and third year undergraduate and taught postgraduate students who need industry insight, guidance and support. “Applicants go through a rigorous selection process and have to be willing to invest and commit time and effort in their development. If successful, students have the opportunity to engage in a mentoring relationship with an experienced

Taryn (left) and Thalia (right) working through the applications

individual who advises, supports and guides them as a professional role model” Thalia explains. “Our mentors are committed, caring and charismatic professionals from various backgrounds. 71 per cent are alumni, 13 per cent are staff members and 16 per cent have been referred to the team. In 2015/16, eight previous ‘mentees’ joined the scheme as mentors which is evidence of the impact the process had on their lives and of how they want to give back to the next generation of mentees” she continues. Clare Reilly, Corporate Relations Manager at Citizens Advice, has been a professional mentor for City for the past eight years and won ‘mentor of the year’ in 2010. “I started mentoring because at the time I was working in the commercial sector and feeling a bit disillusioned, so was looking to get more involved in volunteering projects. I had no expectations of any benefits for me when I joined, I was genuinely hoping to help a student who might be feeling a bit lost, the way I did when I was approaching the end of university.” “I didn’t realise the positive impact the scheme would have on my life or that I would have on my mentees. The impact was so far-reaching that I quit my job the next year and joined the charity sector. I’ve developed much deeper relationships with the

FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITY.AC.UK/ PROFESSIONAL-MENTORING

mentees that were more driven to succeed and really knew what they wanted to get out of the programme.” “You cannot underestimate the value of sharing your experiences and knowledge with someone who is feeling unsure, insecure or knows their ultimate career goal but not how to get there.” In 2013 due to high demand from students, the scheme - which has been growingly rapidly since 2002 - introduced a second intake and a postgraduate strand, co-ordinated by Taryn Ferris. Members of the 2014/15 mentee cohort were asked if they felt more employable after the process and 78 per cent of respondents stated that they did. In 2015/16, 340 undergraduate and 60 postgraduate pairs were formed. Maria Rudd, a 2nd year undergraduate Mathematics and Finance student 3 months into her relationship, says “ultimately I think this programme is important as it gives students someone who is focused solely on their progress rather than a whole class. Being a mentee gave me the opportunity to hear first-hand what it takes to become a professional, from someone who has gone through the same journey I am taking today. It has allowed me to consider what actions I must take to ensure I can reach where I want to be in the future.”

Reaching for the skies

A F T E R A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E AT D I E D, O N E O F H I S G E N E R A L S, PTO L E MY I S OT E R A N N O U N CE D H I MSE L F KING OF EGYPT IN 305 BC. ONE OF HIS FIRST ACTS AS KING WAS TO COMMISSION THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA. THE PROJECT TOOK 12 YEARS TO COMPLETE BUT WHEN F I N I SH E D, AT A H E I G H T B E L I E V E D TO B E 118M (387F T ), I T WA S O N E O F T H E WO R L D’S TA L L EST M A NMADE STRUCTURES FOR MANY CENTURIES UNTIL IT WAS DAMAGED BEYOND REPAIR BY A SERIES O F E A R T H Q U A K E S , T H E L A S T I N 1 3 2 3 A D . A T R O U G H LY T H E S A M E H E I G H T A S T H E T O W E R S O N T H E BA R B I C A N ESTAT E, I T WA S A N E N G I N E E R I N G M A R V E L O F T H E T I M ES A N D I S CO N SI D E R E D O N E O F T H E A N CI E N T WO N D E R S O F T H E WO R L D, A LO N G SI D E T H E G R E AT P Y R A M I D AT G I Z A A N D T H E H A N G I N G GARDENS OF BABYLON. IN THE MODERN WORLD, CITY NEWS EXPLORES HOW CIT Y’S ACADEMICS ARE H E L P I N G TO SH A P E T H E SK Y L I N ES F O R T H E G E N E R AT I O N S TO COM E.

The Lighthouse is a fraction of the size of contemporary buildings. At 830m, the world’s tallest building is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, with ‘The Tower’, also in Dubai, scheduled for completion in 2018, set to exceed it. Even more impressive was the announcement of the Jeddah Tower, currently being constructed in Saudi Arabia and expected to be the first building in the world to exceed 1km in height when it is completed in 2020. CITY’S ROLE IN DEVELOPING THE SKYLINES Many students and staff come to City with the intention of making a longstanding difference to engineering both in London and around the world. It is common for City alumni to work at some of the renowned companies responsible for developing our skylines, such as Skanska UK, Balfour Beatty and Atkins. City has a proud history in Engineering, with the subject being one of the first subjects offered in 1894. Today, City’s Engineering departments boast cutting-edge facilities; dedicated, research-active staff; a culture of collaboration; and strong links with industry. HOW ARE CITY ACADEMICS IMPACTING THE INDUSTRY? As would be expected, there are several complications when building skyscrapers, especially as tall as those that we are seeing in the Middle East. One of the key components is soil behaviour. “A building is

only as strong as its foundations,” says Dr Joana Fonseca, Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering. Joana’s research considers the behaviour of different soils and how they respond to supporting structural loads. In London, there is ‘London clay’, a soft yet stable foundation that is difficult to build on, but is well understood by engineers who build foundations accordingly. New York has ‘Manhattan Schist’, a hard metamorphic rock, which is a very good foundation for tall buildings. By contrast, in the Middle East, where a lot of the areas are man-made, the soil is brought in from the sea. This kind of soil is known as carbonate shelly sand. “On a scale of the best soils to build on, we’d consider carbonate shelly sand to be ‘problematic’,” says Joana. “The carbonate soils are of biogenic origin, comprising skeleton bodies and shells of small organisms. These soils are complex and poorly understood. To combat this unpredictability, engineers build conservatively and tend to overcompensate with foundations making construction more expensive and requiring a great deal more material, making them less sustainable.” Joana works with her colleagues to improve understanding of this soil. To do so, they submit the soil to several tests, including applying artificial gravity created using a centrifuge. Her research could lead to buildings, including complex structures such as skyscrapers and offshore constructions, being built with fewer materials, making them less expensive and more sustainable.

FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITY.AC.UK/ DEPARTMENT-CIVIL-ENGINEERING

BUILDING WITH SUSTAINABILIT Y IN MIND Sustainability is definitely a key factor when considering the construction of skyscrapers. It’s also at the forefront of Dr Agathoklis Giaralis’ research. Agathoklis, a Senior Lecturer in Structural Engineering, considers several methods in his research to make skyscrapers more sustainable. “In addition to strong and deep foundations, many skyscrapers are sometimes equipped with ‘tuned mass dampers’ (TMDs)” explains Agathoklis. “TMDs feature a relatively large free-to-vibrate mass usually placed near the top of skyscrapers which is designed (or “tuned”) to vibrate out-of-phase from the rest of the building and therefore to counteract movement due to strong winds or earthquakes. They are generally large concrete blocks or steel bodies. For example, Taipei’s 101 skyscraper features a 660-tonne steel pendulum that serves as a TMD. The damper cost US$4 million and the system takes up around five storeys”. Agathoklis’ research considers coupling TMDs with a different type of mechanical damping device, currently used in suspension systems of F1 cars and of other high-end vehicles to ensure rider’s comfort, which could reduce the weight of current TMD implementations by up to 60-70 per cent. In this manner, skyscrapers will be using less material, making them more sustainable, slender, and aesthetically pleasing. “Although the headline grabbers in engineering feats are the very tall buildings we see going up in the Middle

Left: Internal structure of the Shard’s spire and radiator floors, seen from the 72nd-floor observatory Right: The Midtown Manhattan skyline at night from the Empire State Building.

East, there is a recent significant trend towards taller and slender buildings in congested metropolitan areas such as central London. This is justified by high demands for office and residential space in urban environments with increasing cost of land: the only reasonable option is to build upwards, and this kind of innovation may help us push the boundaries of slenderness in building structures even more.” Not content with this innovation, Agathoklis takes his research one step further. “As engineers, it is our duty to be as sustainable as possible by creating buildings that are smart and self-sufficient.” With that in mind, his research also considers how to harvest the kinetic energy from the natural vibrations experienced by tall buildings. “At this point, we’re not looking at a building being completely self-sustaining using this technology but we can definitely harvest enough to keep the lights on,” he concludes. THE SOCIAL IMPACT On face value, with innovations like these, tall buildings seem a perfect solution to cities such as London where there are housing shortages and little space. However, one City academic seems to think that there is more at stake with London’s surge in development. “As things stand, taller

Below, in descending order of height: Burj Khalifa (828m), Taipei 101 (509m), Shanghai World Financial Centre (492m), The International Commerce Center (48m), Petronas Twin Towers 452m)

buildings are more about status and the development of ‘star-chitects’, rather than being developed out of necessity,” says Professor Andy Pratt, Professor of Cultural Economy. “For years, there were few tall buildings in the City. Much to do with the view of St Paul’s, local planning was fairly strict. The popularity of tall buildings in Central London was a response to the new skyscrapers of Docklands, where land was cheaper and local planning was more flexible. It was when businesses started leaving the City that we saw our skyline start developing.” Andy’s research focuses on the cultural industries in the US, Europe and Japan. He has worked as a consultant or advisor for national and urban policy makers, the EU, UNESCO and the British Council and has a particular interest in the social and economic dynamics of co-location and clustering. “The building of skyscrapers is more about cities declaring themselves ‘open for business’ to the rest of the world, so for the moment, I don’t think we’re fully utilising the feats that are being pioneered by my engineering colleagues.” As the population of London continues to grow, would London be able to adopt these skyscrapers

for residential purposes? “It’s an interesting concept,” says Andy. “A good example of this is the Shard. At its premise, unlike many of the other skyscrapers in London, part of the original planning application included a provision for residential units. With London Bridge station being a transport hub, having residential units there potentially mitigates a huge demand for transport, in a system stretched to its limits.” “There are many strong arguments to build more residential properties in Central London,” continues Andy. “As things stand, with the surge in house prices and the tendency to build expensive condominiums there is a danger of London becoming a monoculture, with only one (very rich) type of person. London is a unique cultural melting pot. If we can find a way of creating more and affordable housing in London through more skyscrapers, then I think this could be the way forward. The post-war building boom delivered plenty of high-rise accommodation (much of which we are in the process of demolishing), the problem was that it was often poorly built, badly maintained and managed. We do not want to repeat this. So, engineering capability has to be balanced with good governance and social concern.”

THE EUROPEAN REFERENDUM WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN? After the Second World War, European integration was seen as an antidote to the extreme nationalism which had devastated the continent. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community (EEC) and established a customs union. In 1973, Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath led the UK to join (alongside Denmark and Ireland) despite the opposition of the Labour Party. The key Commons vote was won comfortably, by 356 to 244. 69 Labour rebels voted for entry and only 39 Tory rebels voted to stay out. Within two years, 67 per cent of the British people endorsed the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s membership in a referendum.

40 years later, the EEC is now the European Union, comprising 28 member states and the UK is facing another referendum on its membership. This time around, the political playing field is very different. The referendum has been called by a Tory party seemingly deeply divided in its opinion and a Labour party largely wanting to stay in, despite historical disagreements.

On Thursday 23rd June, the British populace will return to the polls, with the Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister, David Cameron, leading the campaign to stay and former Conservative Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, one of the biggest advocates to leave. Due to the deep embedding of European systems in everyday British

FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITY.AC.UK/EU-REFERENDUM

lives, it has been close to impossible to obtain verified facts on how things will be post-referendum, either in or out. The campaign so far has been acrimonious, with mudslinging common in media outlets on both sides. With few actual facts on what a postreferendum UK will look like, how will the British people know which way to cast their votes? How have the campaigns been managed and how do the British people really feel?

DO PEOPLE REALLY CARE?

Dr Dan Mercea, Lecturer in the Department of Sociology So far, we’ve not seen any specific protests for or against a European exit. Which, when you compare with earlier referenda in Ireland, France and more recently Greece and the Netherlands, is a fairly rare occurrence. In the run up to the vote in Greece last year, there were mass protests on a daily basis with feelings running high among the Greek populace. It is difficult to draw comparisons with the UK beyond the general observation that the governing parties in both countries used the referendum as an instrument to score political points in negotiations with the EU. Situations that reveal the relative deprivation of a group or section of the population (‘we are the 99 per cent’), tend to cause moral outrage and a deep sense of injustice. For example, things like the Iraq war and Junior Doctors contracts seem to galvanise protests. The referendum has not yet produced either of these effects but if the vote is for exit, both could materialise with protests by EU citizens or British EU expats living in the UK and Remain groups. Social media may well become a key arena where protest is fomented.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE LANGUAGE BEING USED?

The EU consists of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It covers an area of 4,324,782 km2, with an estimated population of over 508 million.

Professor Philip Corr, Professor of Psychology The Brexit debate is one of the most important in living memory and the ramifications of the vote will reverberate throughout British society for decades to come. The facts of the debate are crucial, but it is more than likely that the final vote will be as much, perhaps more, influenced by the language of the debate than by Treasury econometric forecasts or factual rebuttals. One powerful emotion is likely to sway the debate: loss aversion. Loss aversion reflects the fact that we value things we own – or think we own – higher than things we do not. Coupled with the fact that we place more weight on negative information than on positive – even when the objective values of losses and gains are held constant – this means that the Leave or Remain camp that best exploits these powerful psychological forces will get the upper hand. The Remain camp benefits by convincing voters that they will lose by leaving the EU. To be most successful, they need to make salient that it is ‘our’ EU and the potential loss is ‘yours’. If this can be personalised, all the better (e.g., reduced economic prosperity, more expensive holidays, increased mortgage rates and so on). When such indecision over the factual merits of the case exists, we assume that there will be a strong pressure to avoid potential loss and vote to Remain. The Leave camp will benefit if they can convince the voter that to remain in the EU would lead to further losses: erosion of sovereignty, less control of borders, more immigration and the general loss of the ‘British way of life’. On balance, the Remain camp has a rather easier psychological job to convince voters: just stress how much they might lose from leaving the EU, which, in any case, is an unknown quantity and say ‘why risk it?’ But the challenge for the democratic process is not to let the medium of the debate dominate the factual message. The language of Brexit may be just as important as the substance – indeed, it may be decisive.

WHAT ARE THE PAPERS SAYING?

Jonathan Hewett, Director of Interactive and Newspaper Journalism Journalists love change and debate – or reporting it, at least; such factors often underlie what they consider to be news. So the EU Referendum provides them with plenty of raw material. But the forward-looking nature of the debate poses a challenge, particularly for reporting that goes beyond the relaying of claim and counter-claim. Key discussion points, such as whether we would we be better or worse off if we leave the EU, are at best speculative, in a contested debate with high stakes. Effective verification and analysis may require underlying assumptions and other complexities to be checked, needing resources that hard-pressed editors sometimes find hard to justify allocating. Many people claim they want to improve their patchy knowledge of the EU, according to Electoral Commission research. For most media organisations – commercial businesses that prioritise attracting and engaging users – coverage of ‘how much we pay the EU’ or immigration projections have to be weighed up carefully. Often more appealing in the eyes of editors are the ‘big name’ stories in the EU debate, from the Queen (allegedly) to Barack Obama. Opinion pieces by politicians and star columnists have their places, too. But beyond the headlines, specialist correspondents analyse the complexities and implications which form part of the BBC’s public-service remit. Verifying facts remains a core journalistic function, vital in the flurry of claims about the EU, but they have been joined in recent years by new fact-checking organisations around the world. Full Fact, founded in 2010 with a mission to improve the quality of public debate in the UK, is factchecking the claims of politicians and others in the EU Referendum debate, funded by a crowdsourcing initiative.

A word with Professor Andrew Jones Having hung up his hat as Dean of the School of Arts & Social Sciences (SASS) in March, Professor Andrew Jones is now settling in to his new role as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise). With the next Research Excellence Framework a key target in the Vision and Strategy 2026, City News caught up with Andrew to find out how heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s taking to the challenge.

CN: What attracted you to the role? AJ: Well it seemed a natural development. I really enjoyed my time as Dean, which involved implementing the Strategic Plan 2012 to 2016 and building City’s research in each of the departments in SASS. I enjoyed delivering the Vision and trying to build the strength of our research towards the Research Excellence Framework (REF), so when this opportunity came up it seemed a good progression. City’s trajectory is very exciting and actually one of the things I like about this role. Universities generally keep things steady whereas there are not that many places with ambition in the way that City has. CN: Why do you think Research and Enterprise are important for City? AJ: In terms of the Vision and Strategy, research is absolutely essential. It’s probably one of the key anchoring points. If you look at where the funding is and the nature of the REF, the institutions we compete with are research intensive and we are proportionately catching up, but we’ve got a bit further to go and you don’t want to be caught in the squeezed middle position. Enterprise is interesting in that there’s a lot of emphasis on research in the old sense of publishing papers, but the game of the REF has changed and enterprise has become more important. Now the funding for research and the way in which research is framed both by the REF and by research councils is very much about society impact and of course enterprise then comes into that in a much more significant way. CN: Why were Research and Enterprise separated and then bought back together? AJ: Well, having been here only three and a half years I can’t speak about previous decisions, but the reason for Research and Enterprise support to be integrated is they are increasingly entwined. One of the ironies is that we have talked a lot about increasing the proportion of our academic staff producing papers and world-leading research in order to look more like some of our competing institutes, for example in The Russell Group, but actually they are increasingly trying to become more like us, for reasons of impact and enterprise and having to be mindful of how research and enterprise activities are applied.

The language and emphasis embrace the idea of co-production. For quite a long time, the research councils have been talking about end users of research. Now it’s more that research should be interwoven with its wide uses, which makes for better research. So research and enterprise are tied much closer together. CN: Is there an area of research you would like to see develop at City?

Professor Andrew Jones is an interdisciplinary social scientist with a background as an economic geographer. His interest in issues of globalisation has seen him contribute to studies in the fields of political science, sociology and management studies. His research focuses on global economy, including firms, governing organisations and the activities of key individuals.

AJ: Our first priority is to develop our scope and capability for interdisciplinary research. There are several reasons for that. One is because you tend to produce more robust, widely applicable forms of research outcome and can be dealing with many world problems. For example, if you are considering food, economists can’t answer the world’s problems alone without people in the natural sciences. The second reason is much more strategic. The world increasingly looks to interdisciplinary research, which is reflected by what’s funded in the REF, but also by research councils and other large funders. So for City, interdisciplinary research is important and that reflects some of the things in our emerging Vision. CN: Will more interdisciplinary research come when we join the University of London (UoL)? AJ: I think that will be the case and the UoL will assist greatly. Collaboration is already happening, but what we are hoping is to build the infrastructure to support it and make it even more likely. It is also important for the reputation of the University because we want UoL partners to feel comfortable including us in collaborative research. Being part of the UoL gives us more capacity. CN: Have you come across any unusual research in your new role? AJ: I haven’t been in the role that long but I’m rapidly learning about aeronautical engineering which was one of the areas that was furthest away from me. I don’t know that much about the specific engineering aspects, so it’s very interesting for me to learn about wind tunnels and I look

forward to seeing more bits of big machinery. CN: Are you going to stay research active? AJ: Despite having a busy schedule, I do intend to pursue my own research. I had a research project when I first came to City that isn’t yet written up. I have quite a number of collaborators and have recently had a book published for which I wrote two chapters on the environmental economy with collaborators in Scandinavia, Japan, Europe, the US and South America. I can’t be a principle investigator on a grant, but I have plenty of things to be writing, generally on Sunday afternoons. I think it’s important to be writing and to be active in my research community. So being at conferences is important. We talk about internationalisation and we have to have people present in the key international subject conferences. It’s how you build the reputation of the University and it’s how you attract people around the world to come here. CN: What has been your career highlight so far? AJ: I don’t really think in those terms. I’ve enjoyed many aspects of my career. Different things stand out at different stages. In an academic career, you have the chance to be an early career lecturer once. I don’t teach at the moment but I enjoy teaching. Variety is the highlight, I think it is one of the great things about academic endeavour. CN: What do you like to do in your spare time? AJ: I have a young daughter so I don’t have huge amounts of spare time. I would go skiing, I enjoy the outdoors and I like to travel. CN: And finally, any favourite places to eat that you would recommend to new staff? AJ: Well, Exmouth Market has a great range of places.

IMAGES OF RESEARCH Following the success of last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inaugural Images of Research competition at City, the 2016 competition saw over double the number of research projects entered from across the University. Over 50 images were submitted by academics and postgraduate students which depict Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world-leading research in a new light and open the application of the research to new audiences. The images were placed into four categories: people, society, world and technology; and scored by a panel of six selected

judges representing a cross section of University staff. An exhibition of the 18 highest scoring images was displayed at Made@City, the University end-of-year project showcase event, where the winners of the four categories and the overall winner were announced. At the time of writing, we could not reveal the overall competition winner, but please check the Images of Research website to find out who won.

FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITY.AC.UK/IMAGES-OF-RESEARCH

Category: Technology 1 Marco Rosti Title: Turbulent flow around a wing Department: Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics

“We have studied the three dimensional, unsteady flow around a wing in various flight conditions, emulating those experienced during take-off and landing or the influence of a wind gust. With the aid of numerical simulations, an alternative to experiments in wind tunnels, we were able to develop new wing designs that can enhance the aerodynamic performance at no extra cost. This improves the aircraft’s manoeuvrability, increases the amount of weight it can carry, or can reduce the fuel consumed, all of which may contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases.”

Category: People Alex Galvez-Pol Title: Facing Curiosity Department: Psychology

“Seeing a human body does not merely involve perception of light, but its transformation in the brain into an internal body-representation. In this lab-based artistic image, two key elements: a faceless mannequin wearing a cap of electrodes (representing a tribute to our unknown participants) and a researcher who seeks to understand the secrets of the brain. Literally ‘facing curiosity’.”

Category: Society Dr Aaron Einbond Title: Recording the Passages of Paris Department: Music

“I research creative and technological approaches to the sounds of our environment. Inspired by Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project, I document the soundscapes of Paris’ covered passageways as they are transformed by changing architecture, social conditions and urban contexts. Here I am making a field recording of the resonance beneath the vaulted glass ceiling of Galerie Vivienne. As a composer I incorporate these recordings into music that increases the listener’s awareness of her or his own physical and acoustic surroundings.”

Category: World Helton Levy Title: The Little Hill project: The bricks of citizenship Department: Sociology

“This photo was taken during field research in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in September 2015. It depicts an art installation made with painted bricks representing a Brazilian favela by the art collective Projeto Morrinho (or Little Hill Project). As my PhD research analyses media projects aimed at covering inequality, I believe it echoes well with this piece. There is a need to overcome stereotypes and read favelas as spaces of communion, communication and opportunity.”

A FRACTION OF A SECOND IS ALL IT TAKES. A FOREHAND HIT DOWN THE LINE IN A WIMBLEDON F I N A L O R A F O O T B A L L D E F T LY C H I P P E D O V E R T H E D I V I N G G O A L K E E P E R I N T H E L A S T M O M E N T S O F A F R A U G H T P E N A LT Y S H O O T - O U T I N T H E F I N A L S O F T H E E U R O P E A N C H A M P I O N S H I P S . SUCH MOMENTS WILL DEFINE LEGACIES AND CAREERS THIS SUMMER, BUT BEYOND A FORTUITOUS SE T O F G E N ES, W H AT SE TS T H E COM P E T I TO R S I N T H ESE E V E N TS A PA RT F R OM T H E A M AT E U R S, S U N DAY M O R N I N G R E G U L A R S A N D T H O S E O F U S W H O S I M P LY W A T C H F R O M T H E C O M F O R T O F O U R S O F A S ? I N T H E D E P A R T M E N T O F P S Y C H O L O G Y, S E V E R A L A C A D E M I C S A R E E X P L O R I N G H O W S U C H D E C I S I O N M A K I N G AT T H E N E U R A L A N D B E H AV I O U R A L L E V E L A R E A F F ECT I N G O U TCOM ES.

MIND GAMES: PSYCHOLOGY OF SPORT AND DECISION-MAKING

When discussing sports stars we often herald their skills on the court or field. Skill itself is an interesting concept, as although often arbitrarily assigned, a skilled professional can be defined as a person who has had the motivation to practise one thing for approximately 10,000 hours extended over more than 10 years. But what changes are going on in the brain during these long hours of practice? Within our brains we all have a trainable internal simulation model known as the ‘forward model’. This enables us to simulate and predict movement of either a body part or an object, allowing precise actions that are too fast to rely on sensory feedback from your eyes and other parts of our body. TO P AT H L E T ES

Academics are seeking to understand better what enables elite sportspeople to have such an advantage when it comes to making decisions and anticipating the movement and shots of an opponent. At City, Dr Kielan Yarrow, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, is using a computational approach to explore what parts of the brain and certain body cues are involved. “Top sports people are very good at guessing body cues,” says Kielan. “For example, a professional tennis player can guess shots from body cues before the ball is hit instead of just relying on following the trajectory of the ball to know where it will go.” Looking at a one-versus-one situation such as a tennis match, Kielan is using a method known as visual psychophysics in collaboration with Professor Joshua Solomon in the School of Health Sciences to understand what confers such an advantage. Using a particular technique called reverse correlation, they introduce large ‘bubbles’ into a video of a certain

activity. By introducing gaps to part of the video in the form of bubbles that block out some of the athlete’s arm or shoulder, the scientists can see exactly what part of the body – and its associated body cues – are needed for people to guess correctly and make decisions on where the ball will be hit. “As many sports are played under extreme time pressure, a key distinguishing feature of expert performance is the ability to react to sports-specific events with seeming time to spare. This ability often manifests itself in scenarios requiring complex choices, like selecting the right pass or shot. In essence, the expert is able to anticipate how a sporting scenario will unfold based on a detailed understanding of situational probabilities,” says Kielan. “As a result, a skilled athlete could be considered a person who has learnt very good forward models which allows them to plan a better movement in any given context. For example, a professional tennis player has learnt an accurate forward model of their arm, their racket and even of the actions of their opponent based on their body cues. This knowledge allows the player to decide on the best control policy for that moment in time. As a result they are experts at anticipatory advantage due to mainly training and a bit of genetic advantage,” he adds. BEHAVIOURAL BIAS But while the computational parts of our brain can give us great benefits in certain situations following thousands of hours of practice and a perfectly honed anticipatory advantage, we can still be the architects of our own downfall due to our own behavioural decision-making. Professor Peter Ayton, Associate Dean Research and Deputy Dean, is interested in behavioural decision theory, specifically how people make judgments and decisions under

FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITY.AC.UK/PSYCHOLOGY

certain conditions. This work has led him to football and penalties. To understand better the decisionmaking processes that go on in something as seemingly simple as a penalty shoot-out, it is necessary to go back 40 years to 1976 and the European Championships. In a penalty shoot-out it used to be assumed that there were essentially two options – either place the ball to the right or the left of the goalkeeper, giving them a chance to dive to either side. But an event in 1976 changed forever the way penalties are taken. A Czechoslovakian player known as Antonín Panenka became famous following the last penalty kick in the 1976 European Championships when, under huge pressure, Panenka feigned shooting to the side of the goal – causing the goalkeeper to dive to his left – before gently chipping the ball into the middle of the net. Before this event the choice had appeared binary, yet this moment introduced a third option. For goalkeepers life got harder – now they had to guess which of three locations the kicker would choose. While the average success rate for penalty kicks pre-Panenka from 1963 to 1973 was 69 per cent, the average success rate post-Panenka from 1977 to 1987 went up to 77 per cent as penalty takers realised this was a viable and acceptable option. Looking at the penalties more closely, Professor Ayton found that despite their higher success rate, penalties aimed at the centre of the goal are rare. He found that for all the World Cup penalty shootouts, only 30 penalties out of 204 – 14.7 per cent, were aimed at the middle third of the goal. “Although it takes nerve to chip the ball down the middle, every penalty taken in a World Cup penalty shootout which was aimed high directly at the middle of the goal resulted in a goal. So why, given the higher success rate

of penalties aimed at the middle of the goal, are there so few of them?” he asks. To help us understand why this happens we can use Norm Theory. Taking its name from the idea that people‘s expectations are based on what is typical, we can apply this concept to penalties to explain such behaviour. “As shooting the ball to one side or the other is a norm, penalty takers who breach this norm and fail are viewed with particular criticism,” says Peter. “By the same standard as goalkeepers typically dive to one side or the other when penalties are taken diving is also a norm – accordingly if a goalkeeper breaches this norm by staying in the middle and then fails to save the penalty this will also be seen as particularly bad.” Research by other academics in 2008 confirmed this, as they found that goalkeepers would feel worse about conceding a goal when standing in the middle than when diving to either side. “Diving and missing – or even diving the wrong way – at least shows you made a conspicuous effort. Not moving looks suspiciously like not caring. But a curious double tragedy arises as a result of conforming to the

norms: the data indicate that penalty takers would score more goals if they more often targeted the middle rather than aiming to one side; at the same time goalkeepers would save more penalties if they were brave enough to violate the norm for diving to one side and stood in the middle more often” continues Peter. “This shows the power of decision biases. Despite the fact that penalties placed down the middle having a significantly higher likelihood of success and that goalkeepers could improve their success rates if they stayed in the middle more often, both continue to err towards the norm. This apparently biased decision making is particularly striking since both penalty takers and goalkeepers have huge incentives to make correct decisions and it is a decision they encounter frequently” he concludes. SUBTLE CUES Decision-making is critical and complex, but by using psychology to understand better why we do what we do, we can help to explain sporting skill at the highest levels of performance. So what does elevate certain individuals above the rest of us? Certainly thousands of hours of practice

can help develop the anticipatory advance that distinguishes elite performers. But while such decisionmaking is undeniably important and can be the difference between winning and losing, at a different level there are fallacies and biases in decision-making that can also affect performance. As a result, psychological research at City can help us explain certain aspects of sporting skill at the highest level and understand better how we predict behaviour and develop better approaches to counter it. Clearly a more scientific approach to sport can make a significant difference at a certain level. As seen by Panenka, when you challenge the norm, it can lead to great changes in the sport. As Kielan concludes, “ultimately, an understanding of the neural mechanisms that distinguish elite sportspeople from others means we can refine future training strategies. It may also open the possibility of predictive physiological profiling and, in time, genotyping to foretell the likelihood of success at the highest level.” Clearly the mind games have only just begun.

MEET THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP TEAM Entrepreneurship is the application of creative problem solving and innovation to produce novel ideas. “That’s the core of what we try to get students to learn and practise” says Alex Elkins, Head of Entrepreneurship Education at City. The Entrepreneurship team offers the tools and resources to students and recent alumni to allow them to set up their own business. They do this through education, coaching and support and by providing funding and organising events and seminars. The team’s mission is to encourage students to spot opportunities and seize them. “The message we try to portray is, if there’s something really bugging you, why not try to solve it? If you’re constantly wondering why something is the way it is then why not try to find the answer? The Entrepreneurship services give students the skills and tools to do that, to change things.”

WHO ARE THEY? The team is led by two Associate Deans of Entrepreneurship; Professor Caroline Wiertz, Professor of Marketing and Professor Costas Andriopoulos, Professor of Innovation. Caroline and Costas help to develop research and academic practice in entrepreneurship and oversee postgraduate programmes. Aurore Hochard is the Head of Entrepreneurship Programmes at Cass Business School. Aurore oversees the programme at Cass, which includes EntrepreneursTalk@Cass, a series run in partnership with Thomson Reuters. The talks are intimate, in-depth interviews with some of the UK’s most innovative and inspirational tech entrepreneurs. Alongside this, Cass runs specific postgraduate courses such as the MSc in Entrepreneurship. Within the Entrepreneurship team, there is a sub-team concentrating on education. This is where Alex Elkins,

the Entrepreneurship Education Manager sits, alongside Marius Stancu and Simon Magness, both Enterprise Education Projects Officers. They run events and seminars for students and offer support to students on a one-toone basis. Lotta Olsson is the Community Manager for the Hangout, City’s very own incubator based in media agency Unruly’s headquarters. It’s a place where students who have founded their own business can go to develop their ideas. The Hangout is more than just desk space, though. Residents of the Hangout can connect with industry experts and other start-ups and receive coaching and support to develop their business. Funding is managed by Helen Reynolds, Investment Director and Oliver Finch, Senior Associate who both work for the Peter Cullum Centre for Entrepreneurship. The Centre was established by high-profile Cass alumnus Peter Cullum, the founder of

“In London, we have one of the biggest hubs of start-ups and new businesses in Europe. It’s a great place to be if you want to start a business and work alongside the country’s brightest minds”

WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS IMPORTANT TO UNIVERSITIES

From left to right: Professor Caroline Wiertz, Professor Costas Andriopoulos, Alex Elkins, Aurore Hochard, Lotta Olsson, Simon Magness and Marius Stancu. Towergate Insurance. Linked to the Centre is the Cass Entrepreneurship Fund, a £10 million venture capital fund, again established by Peter, that provides growth equity to early stage companies. The Entrepreneurship work is supported by this fund. W H AT T H E Y D O Bootstrap Business Seminars are free sessions that give students the chance to learn from business experts and to network with successful entrepreneurs. The team also runs CitySpark, the enterprise competition for students and recent alumni. It allows students to develop their ideas, obtain feedback and pitch for the chance to win funding to develop them. As part of the competition, students have the chance to receive advice from industry experts, other start-ups and to hone and develop their ideas.

The team offers legal advice clinics and even has a free e-book called The Starters Manifesto. City Unrulyversity is a free pop-up University based at the Hangout. The weekly sessions aim to ‘inform, inspire and empower’ the next generation of Tech City entrepreneurs with talks led by academics and business experts. The team also runs Start-up Surgeries where students are offered expert advice and direction on how to launch a specific business idea. Students who engage in these programmes will learn how to spot opportunities, creative problem solving, how to segment the market and the importance of branding and marketing. They are pushed to explore how their ideas would make money in reality. Once their ideas have been refined and narrowed down they’ll learn how to pitch, which to many can be daunting. FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITYSTARTERS.CO.UK

Geographically placed between the growing Knowledge Quarter at Kings Cross and Tech City in North London, City is in the heart of entrepreneurship in the UK and beyond. “Here in London, we have one of the biggest hubs of start-ups and new businesses in Europe. It’s a great place to be if you want to start a business and work alongside the country’s brightest minds,” Alex says. The combination of academia and entrepreneurship is a winning one. Google, for example, was born out of a research project between two students at Stanford University. “Innovation and Entrepreneurship based at a university means academia can feed the innovation and creativity. It’s a perfect combination. The buzz word is ‘pracademia’,” says Alex. “Actually starting a business might not be the end result of taking part in the programmes,” says Alex. “The skills we help students to develop will stand our students in good stead for all aspects of life after City. Whether that’s starting a business or looking for and succeeding in a job, skills such as creative problem solving, being able to pitch – or to put forward your ideas in a convincing way – are all things employers look for. In fact, companies are increasingly looking for ‘intrapreneurs’ – that’s people who act like an entrepreneur, working within a company.” As more and more jobs become automated, creative roles will be the ones to stand the test of time. These are some of the skills that students will gain as part of the CityStarters programme. “It’s called the Robot Curve. In order to avoid being replaced by a machine, it’s critical to have creative skills that can’t be replicated by a computer. Those that can’t be automated,” Alex explains. A big misconception the team faces is that the services provided by the Entrepreneurship team aren’t for everyone. “All students from all Schools can take advantage of what we offer,” Alex argues. “I even lecture on entrepreneurship in some of the courses, like Journalism and Computer Science, alongside various courses at Cass. In fact, we have more students from the School of Mathematics, Computer Science & Engineering than we do from Cass. A Health student was one of the winners at CitySpark last year. It’s a complete mix.”

THE CONVERSATION

Confidence trick: the great disappearing act that keeps women experts off the air W I T H P R O F ESS O R L I S H OW E L L, D E PA RT M E N T O F J O U R N A L I SM, S CH O O L O F A RTS A N D S O CI A L S CI E N CES

The revelation by researchers from Loughborough University that 91% of press coverage of the EU referendum campaign featured men will have come as no surprise to the delegates at the Women on Air conference – held at City earlier this year. At the WOA conference, award-winning reporter Penny Marshall, ITN’s social affairs editor, said she had never felt more excluded from a national debate in her life. Figures announced at the conference show that women are more likely to be excluded generally on national broadcast news when it comes to expertise and authority. Former work from City has shown that on national news bulletins, case studies and vox pops represent the genders equally at roughly 50/50 male/female. But when it comes to authority figures the picture is very different. The latest figures from City show that on BBC’s News at Ten programme, for every woman expert there are 3.8 men. ITV News at Ten is much the same at 3.6 men to every woman. Yet Channel 4 has 2.2:1 and “Today” on BBC Radio 4 has 2.8:1. So it’s not a great picture overall; but it is even worse when it comes to the referendum debate. Why is this? BOY’S CLUB In 2013, students at City who were monitoring flagship news for the surveys quoted above, looked informally at a snapshot of three weeks of ITN News at Ten programmes by genre and noticed that in those three weeks in July, the genre where men outnumbered women most as experts was not sport or international news, but British domestic politics – where ten times as many men as women were interviewed. This is not a hard and fast statistic but it is indicative. In the Brexit debate, there is a similar disparity. That is because

it has become a domestic politics story about leadership of the Tory party. But that is not the whole answer. If this was a straight leadership campaign, instead of a leadership campaign by stealth, there would be women in there. Theresa May, Justine Greening, Nicky Morgan, Amber Rudd – to name but four – would all be quoted. Some of them may be contenders. And what about the women pundits? Where are the women economists or the women campaigners or the women academics? TO BE SURE In 2014, City surveyed women who had taken part in the BBC’s Expert Women training scheme. A high proportion of the women reported the need to be absolutely sure of their ground before appearing on air. This suggests that their confidence did not lie in their ability to argue but in their ability to present knowledge. This need for confidence in their knowledge means that women are probably less likely to take part in debates where it is purely a question of conflict. We all know that the Brexit issue is very much one of emotion and the constant complaint is that nobody really knows the facts. The result of this is that it becomes a gladiatorial combat between opinionated people on both sides with no opportunity for discussion or compromise. You are either in or out. This is not a club many women want to join. The clobbering style of debating fostered in certain schools and universities is not usually the style adopted by women even when they disagree. In a 2004 study sub-titled “the dilemma of the informed woman”, psychologists Carol Watson and L Richard Hoffman asked 80 men and 80 women, placed into mixed-

gender groups, to solve a problem. In half the groups, a woman was given a “hint” to the solution, and in the other half a man received the hint. The exercise found no gender differences in problem-solving success. Yet other group members rated the informed women as significantly less likeable than the informed men. Women recognise this and do not want to be disliked, so they do not participate unless they are absolutely sure of their ground. Nobody is really sure about what will happen if Britain leaves the EU. So it’s better left to George and Boris, who have the confidence to speak without hard evidence – and to laugh off any gaffes. Hardly any women in public life have either that sense of entitlement, or the brass neck to apply it. So they keep their heads below the parapet. This will change over time, as more women gain confidence and experience on air. Our next conference in 2018 may well show a difference in female expertise on TV and radio flagship news but that will be too late for the Leave and Remain debate. Or perhaps, and maybe this is too much to hope for, men may learn from women and opt out of slanging matches.

FIND OUT MORE WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM/ INSTITUTIONS/CITY-UNIVERSITY-LONDON

91% of EU Referendum press coverage featured men.

Developing the next generation of City leaders

W H AT M A K ES A G O O D M A N AG E R? H OW D O YO U D E F I N E T H E Q UA L I T I ES R EQ U I R E D TO B E A L E A D E R? A N D C A N T H ESE SK I L L S B E TAU G H T O R I S I T A C A SE O F N AT U R E OV E R N U RT U R E?

The Organisational Development team will be hosting City’s first Develop@ City day on Wednesday 27th July which will be a chance for all staff to develop their current skills and learn new ones.

These are some of the questions which the Organisational Development (OD) team at City has been considering, as the team members develop a new suite of leadership and management programmes for staff at all levels – from those taking their initial steps in to management through to those in senior roles. “We’ve been conscious to ensure the programmes are designed to fit City’s needs,” says Naheed Mirza, Organisational Development Manager who joined the University in October 2014 having previously worked with private and public sector organisations including PwC, RBS and Imperial College London. Naheed has been working closely with her colleague, Sally Sambrook, Leadership and Staff Development Manager. “We’ve taken the consultancy approach, meeting with Deans, Professional Service Directors (PSDs) and Chief Operating Officers (COOs) to see what was needed. We also considered what staff were saying in their appraisals as to the kinds of training and development they felt they would benefit from.” For many people, the concept of ‘leadership’ refers to those at the very top, but as Naheed points out, in any organisation there are ‘leaders’ who operate at all levels who need to manage and motivate their teams to be effective and successful. “Most organisations have an idea of what they want from their leaders,” says Professor Jo Silvester, Professor of Psychology at Cass Business School. “They consider newcomers and see what qualities they possess – do they have drive and motivation and the interpersonal skills required to be effective? Then they try to develop them further, effectively creating a leadership pipeline.” This concept is what has framed the development of City’s new approach. For the Leadership at City Development Programme, participants had to be nominated by Deans, PSDs or

COOs – having been identified as effective leadership and management individuals of significant potential. skills. These programmes are Naheed explains: “In briefing Deans complemented by ‘Practical Skills for and PSDs on whom from their teams Managers’ where staff can complete to put forward, we stressed that those all modules or choose specific ones nominated needed to benefit from as a refresher. Topics covered include and be enthusiastic ambassadors for managing finance, motivating and what we are trying to achieve. I’ve developing others and enhancing seen in other organisations that it can performance. be about ‘filling places’. People turn Every successful pipeline has to up without any prior conversation have a beginning and for the first or scene setting and this can affect time at City, there is a course for those adversely their whole experience. It at grades 4 and 5 who may aspire to also fails to deliver value for money management but are not sure what for the organisation who is investing it involves. ‘Management at City – is in the person attending. It was also it for me?’ is a one day workshop crucial that we brought together both designed to introduce the role and academic and Professional Services responsibilities of the manager staff and gave them the opportunity to and explore the behaviours which see both perspectives.” inspire, motivate and engage people. In addition to classroom-based After the workshop, staff can work learning from an external trainer, with Organisational Development to the programme includes one-to-one produce a personal development plan. coaching and 360 degree feedback “It’s important that we engage people from direct reports, line managers and at the start and help them define a colleagues. The variety of approaches career path and show them where that is designed to increase self-awareness could lead,” Naheed adds. of their leadership style and the Over the next three years, the OD consequent impact they have on team anticipates in the region of others. 400 staff will have “It’s important benefited from one Feedback on the whole has been that we engage of the leadership and very positive with management courses people at the participants saying they on offer, which will hold start and help City in good stead in the appreciate the chance to network with and years ahead. Naheed them define gain insight from peers says: “The programmes a career path going through similar grow with us and and show them will challenges. change according where that “What’s also exciting to feedback from is that the cohorts are participants and to be could lead” forming new networks responsive to the wider of senior managers across the environment. Like any other higher University,” says Naheed “and that education institution, we are subject internal networking is vital to making to many external forces and we need an organisation successful.” to link the development of leaders and For those at grades 6 and 7 there is managers to where we need to be as now a ‘Future Leaders’ programme, a university.” the first cohort of which started in April. This is for staff who may not be leading teams but are managing people and are keen to develop FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITY.AC.UK/ ORGANISATIONAL-DEVELOPMENT

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHARTER O N 6 TH A P R I L , C I T Y C E L E B R A T E D T H E 5 0 TH ANNIVERSARY OF RECEIVING ITS ROYAL C H A R T E R A N D B E C O M I N G A U N I V E R S I T Y.

While City received its university status in 1966, the institution’s heritage stretches back to 1852, when the Inns of Court School of Law was founded. This would later become part of The City Law School. In 1894, the Northampton Institute was founded with the aim to improve the skills, knowledge and employment prospects of local people. By 1963, the institution (then known as the Northampton College of Advanced Technology) had grown considerably, with research assuming an important role in the College’s life. In 1963, the Northampton College of Advanced Technology was recommended to the Government to become a university. The University was created by Royal Charter in 1966 with Dr James Tait appointed as its first Vice-Chancellor and Oliver Thompson as its first Pro-Chancellor. The Lord Mayor of London was invited to become the Chancellor of the University, a relationship that has symbolised the link between the institution and the City of London ever since. The University campus bears witness to its history and achievements since its foundation as the Northampton Institute in 1894. The highlights include:

D r Charles Vickery Drysdale was Head of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics at the Northampton Institute from 1896 to 1910. A leading social reformer, in 1921 he established the first birth control clinic at 153 East Street, Southwark, which is commemorated with a blue plaque.

C ollege Building was designed by the architect Edward W. Mountford (1855 to 1908), later the architect of the Old Bailey.

T he Great Hall played host to the boxing competition of the first London Olympic Games in 1908.

T he iconic University Clock – the George Daniels Clock – was built by Messrs Dent & Co, the family firm of clockmakers who constructed the clock in the Elizabeth Tower (where the bell is popularly known as Big Ben). During the Second World War, it was disassembled so that it would not be damaged during air raids.

P arts of the 2008 film Incendiary, starring Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams, were filmed in Northampton Square. The film was directed by City alumna Sharon Maguire (who also directed Bridget Jones’s Diary).

FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITY.AC.UK/FIFTY-YEARS-OF-CHARTER

Holden planned an enormous campus, all built in solid stone, comprising a pair of skyscraperhigh towers and no fewer than 17 courtyards linked by a powerful spine of continuous building. Only a part of the scheme was ever realised, however, Senate House is widely considered one of London’s first skyscrapers.

Getting to know the University of London

AHEAD OF CITY’S FORMAL ACCESSION TO THE UNIVERSIT Y OF LONDON IN SEPTEMBER, CITY NEWS TAKES A TOUR OF ITS LANDMARK BUILDING, SE N AT E H O U SE. Senate House was designed by British architect Charles Holden, who was also the creative force behind many of London’s Underground stations. King George V laid the foundation stone on 26th June 1933 and the building welcomed its first occupants in 1936. It consists of 19 floors, stands 64m (210 feet) high and was Grade II listed in 1969. During the Second World War, Senate House was home to the Ministry of Information and inspired George Orwell’s description of the Ministry of Truth in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The north block of Senate House is being redeveloped to accommodate a new teaching and learning space for SOAS. A covered central courtyard will have a double-curvature glass roof, similar in construction to the one seen at the British Museum.

Senate House is a famous film location and can be seen in Batman Begins, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang and Fast & Furious 6. Senate House Library is the central library for the University of London. It occupies the fourth to the eighteenth floors of the building, with the public areas on the fourth to seventh floors and contains material relating chiefly to arts, humanities and social science subjects. The library holds around three million volumes, including 120,000 volumes printed before 1851 and has more than 32,000 registered users. It offers more than 30,000 print and electronic journal titles. FIND OUT MORE WWW.CITY.AC.UK/UNIVERSITY-OF-LONDON

This year, Senate House is marking the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare with a major exhibition in the library, until Saturday 17th September. Over the last four centuries, Shakespearean text and scholarship, in addition to the perceptions of the man himself, have undergone continuous reinvention. Inspired by the famous ‘seven ages of man’ speech from As You Like It, ‘Shakespeare: Metamorphosis’ traces and explains this 400-year transformation by highlighting and displaying over 30 rare texts from seven significant ages of development.

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