DEBATE: With some institutions at risk of bankruptcy, does the UK have too many universities? November 6, 2018 With some institutions at risk of bankruptcy, does the UK have too many universities? Benedict Spence, a freelance writer, says YES. Britain prides itself on its universities for their heritage, academic progress, and economic importance. But undergraduate applications dropped two per cent last year, student debt is rising, and whispers of refunds are starting to [...]
Killing Eve in real life would lead to a workplace disaster November 6, 2018 Few people seem to have missed one of this year’s most popular TV series, Killing Eve. For those who have not yet caught up with the latest craze, the show follows Eve Polastri, an intelligence officer whose sole mission becomes to track down an assassin named Villanelle – an operation that leaves a comedy (and [...]
This Living Wage Week, step up to make sure work always pays November 6, 2018 This week marks the anniversary of the campaign for a Living Wage – a cross-party movement of independent businesses, organisations, and people who believe in making work pay. I had the pleasure of speaking at the Living Wage Foundation’s parliamentary reception last week, which celebrated the extraordinary work that has been done so far and [...]
Made in Britain: The entrepreneur helping UK firms realise their exporting ambitions in Asia November 5, 2018 I am at the National Liberal Club in London. Everything about this place – from the smoking room to the 1915 portrait of Winston Churchill – screams old-world British at me. And there’s nothing coincidental about Siddharth Shankar’s choice of meeting place. Surrounded by empty chesterfield sofas, Shankar seems to be in his element – [...]
Winter is coming, let the chill of change work to your advantage November 5, 2018 Winter is coming, to borrow the oft-quoted phrase from Game of Thrones. We all know what it feels like: shorter days, darkness abounds, chilled to your bones. Pull up the duvet and prepare for hibernation. But awake, Britain – throw open the doors of your toasty warm Hobbit-holes and allow the chilly gusts of reality [...]
Pointless meetings? There’s no such thing – the peacock explains why November 2, 2018 IT’S A good rule of thumb that you can learn more by looking at what people do than listening to what they say. Everyone in the corporate world, for example, likes to talk about how much they hate meetings. But for something they profess to despise, they seem to have an awful lot of them. [...]
Vaping and e-cigs are safer than smoking cigarettes, so let your colleagues puff away at their desk November 1, 2018 I smoke. Very happily. Cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. As far as I’m concerned, tobacco is one of the true age-verified joys of life. I love the taste of the leaf, the sensation of the nicotine, and the other physical and psychological effects. I have also worked on marketing campaigns for two of the world’s biggest [...]
Google’s #MeToo moment: Staff stage mass-walkout over treatment of women November 1, 2018 Google employees staged an unprecedented global walkout today after allegations of sexual harassment were reported by the New York Times last week. Google chief executive Sundar Pichai expressed support for the protest and said he was "deeply sorry" in an email to staff. "I understand the anger and disappointment that many of you feel. "I feel [...]
City Moves for 1 November – who’s switching jobs at Oxx, Irwin Mitchell and Rabobank? November 1, 2018 Who’s switching jobs today? Oxx Oxx, the growth capital firm investing in B2B software companies, has appointed Daria Danilina as associate. Daria has joined Oxx with venture capital experience at Balderton and consulting experience at Bain & Company. Daria also has operational experience from her time at Dropbox, where she helped build the European sales [...]
British Gas owner Centrica names industry veteran Charles Berry as new chair October 31, 2018 21 Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, has appointed industry veteran Charles Berry as its next chairman. Berry is currently chairman of international engineering group Weir and will take up his new position on February, replacing Rick Haythornthwaite, who has held the role for six years and announced earlier this year that he intended [...]