Oxford Martin School: Public Lectures And Seminars

Dave Smith, Chief Executive of South Yorkshire City-Region Authority and Colin Mayer, Professor of Finance, discuss how South Yorkshire can forge a strategy for change. South Yorkshire, crucible of the Industrial Revolution, was once a proud, prosperous and highly-skilled society. In the 1980s its two major industries collapsed and it is now the poorest region in England. It still has huge assets, including coherence between its economic geography and its political organisation. It has a nationally-central and under-utilised logistics hub at Doncaster, with fast road, rail, air and port connections. In the public sector it has two top-rated universities, and excellent teaching hospitals. In the private sector it has major clusters of SMEs, including a network of 800 IT firms. It has a vibrant civil society, with world-leading social enterprises. In other countries, similarly hit cities have revived. Join Dave Smith and Colin Mayer as they discuss opportunities and challenges for the region.

Dr Alexandra Zimmermann, WildCRU, discusses the challenges of managing conflict between different groups in order to protect wildlife and natural resources The conservation of biodiversity and natural resources is unavoidably about managing conflicts between groups of people.To be able to withstand the additional pressures and impacts from climate change and the pandemic, conservation efforts need to become adept at preventing and mitigating conflicts over protected areas, wildlife, and access to natural resources. Tensions frequently arise over access to land, resources and benefits from protected areas, the management of wildlife, sustainable use, livelihoods, development, and social justice. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s 2050 Vision of ‘Living in Harmony with Nature’ envisages a world in which such environmental conflicts are much reduced. However, to reach this aspirational goal, managing and preventing conflicts over biodiversity is essential if global ambitions of nature recovery and susta

Diane Coyle and Ian Goldin discuss Diane's new book 'Cogs and Monsters' and how economics can face the challenges of technological change. Digital technology is disruptive, and it is not sparing economics from that disruption. What are the challenges facing economics and economists in the post-financial crisis, post-pandemic, world as they respond to fundamental structural changes? Digital technology, big data, big tech, machine learning, and AI are revolutionising both the tools of economics and the phenomena it seeks to measure, understand, and shape. In this talk Diane Coyle, Author of Cogs and Monsters, and Professor Ian Goldin, Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Technological and Economic Change, will explore the enormous problems - but also opportunities - facing economics today if it is to respond effectively to these dizzying changes and help policymakers solve the world’s crises, from pandemic recovery and inequality to slow growth and the climate emergency.

Economists Paul Collier and John Kay discuss their book, Greed is Dead, with Sir Charles Godfray Throughout history, successful societies have created institutions which channel both competition and co-operation to achieve complex goals of general benefit. These institutions make the difference between societies that thrive and those paralysed by discord, the difference between prosperous and poor economies. In their 2020 book, Greed is Dead, the leading economists Paul Collier and John Kay argue that extreme individualism has today weakened co-operation and polarised our politics, and call for a reaffirmation of the values of mutuality across the social, political and business spheres. In conversation with Charles Godfray, the authors will develop this argument and explore how the experience of the global pandemic may affect how societies and policymakers view the balance between individualism and mutuality.

Join Nick Eyre and Steve Smith for a discussion on a renewable energy, energy efficiency and carbon emissions. The combustion of fossil fuels is responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in industrialised countries. Systemic change in energy systems is therefore a critical component of any net-zero agenda. It is a huge global challenge, but recent developments give cause for optimism that a Green Industrial Revolution is possible. Join Professor Nick Eyre, Lead Researcher, Oxford Martin Programme on Integrating Renewable Energy, where he will discuss with Dr Steve Smith, Executive Director of Oxford Net Zero, how the declining costs of renewable electricity mean they can provide cheap mitigation, as well as enabling major improvements in energy efficiency, so that the total amount of energy that will need to be decarbonised is much lower than often projected.

The first discussion in the Oxford Net Zero Series, hosted by the Oxford Martin School, hones in on the fundamental motivation of the research programme: ‘Why net zero? Join the Oxford Net Zero Initiative’s Research Director, Professor Sam Fankhauser; Director, Professor Myles Allen; Net Zero Policy Engagement Fellow, Kaya Axelsson as they discuss with the Chair, Executive Director. Dr Steve Smith, the meaning of the word ‘net’ in net zero, reviewing what is needed to mitigate global warming, as and before we fully phase out activities that generate greenhouse gas emissions. The discussion will explore the framing opportunities and challenges that the term ‘net-zero’ offers for science, policy, and advocacy informing effective climate action, as well as the innovation required at scale to achieve the global goal.

Why is it important to understand the 3-D structures of protein, why are they difficult to construct, and what is the nature of AlphaFold’s advance? Why is this so exciting and what further advances in medicine and the other biosciences may result? On the 30th November it was announced that the Artificial Intelligence computer programme AlphaFold had made a decisive breakthrough in the determination of the 3-D structures of proteins. The announcement was immediately hailed as one of the major scientific advances of the decade. To find out why, join a conversation between Yvonne Jones, Director, Cancer Research UK Receptor Structure Research Group, Professor Phil Biggin, Professor of Computational Biochemistry, and Charles Godfray, Director, Oxford Martin School, who will explore these fascinating issues.

Professor Gina Neff discusses artificial intelligence and data work, and the ethical and social implications of integrating these tools into organisations. What happens when new artificial intelligence (AI) tools are integrated into organisations around the world? For example, digital medicine promises to combine emerging and novel sources of data and new analysis techniques like AI and machine learning to improve diagnosis, care delivery and condition management. But healthcare workers find themselves at the frontlines of figuring out new ways to care for patients through, with - and sometimes despite - their data. Paradoxically, new data-intensive tasks required to make AI work are often seen as of secondary importance. Gina calls these tasks data work, and her team studied how data work is changing in Danish & US hospitals (Moller, Bossen, Pine, Nielsen and Neff, forthcoming ACM Interactions). Based on critical data studies and organisational ethnography, this talk will argue that while advances in AI ha

Prof Susan Jebb and Sir Charles Godfray discuss the possible implications of the pandemic on health policy and tackling obesity. The current covid-19 pandemic has focussed attention on the variability in personal risk of serious illness. After age and ethnicity, one of the most important factors associated with developing serious covid complications, requiring admission to hospital or ICU, is being overweight. Excess weight has long been known to be a risk factor for ill-health, though governments have rarely encouraged weight loss, and have even been cautious about interventions which may help to prevent obesity developing, for fear of accusations of ‘nannying’ or because of opposition by the food industry. However covid-19 seems to have sparked a notable change. In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister, who acknowledges he is overweight, suffered complications from covid-19, and since his recovery has launched a new government plan to tackle obesity. This offers more support to people trying to lose weigh

Join Professor Chas Bountra, Professor of Translational Medicine and Professor Sir Charles Godfray as they discuss how the healthcare system has had to adapt due to the Covid-19 pandemic and what this means in the future.

Professor Jeff Sachs discusses his new book 'The Ages of Globalization' with Professor Ian Goldin. We are justified to say that we are living through a new age of globalisation, which Professor Jeff Sachs calls the Digital Age. The hugely disruptive changes were already with us before Covid-19, but now we’ve been hurled head-first into the new age. It is marked by enormous geopolitical, technological, and environmental disruptions, posing great risks as well as opportunities. To understand the Digital Age better, it is enormously valuable to gain a historical perspective. Professor Jeff Sachs' new book The Ages of Globalization and this talk, explores the interactions of technology, geography, and institutions throughout human history, describing seven ages of globalisation and the nature of societal change from one age to the next.

Christophe Fraser of Oxford’s Big Data Institute, who advises the UK’s NHS COVID-19 Tracing app, and Prof Oliver Pybus discuss the opportunities and challenges of successfully applying new technologies to pandemics past, present, and future. The COVID-19 pandemic has become a defining event of the 21st century. New technologies such as ubiquitous smartphones and virus genome sequencing offer powerful new ways to understand virus transmission and to tackle the problem of epidemic spread. But can those new tools be deployed fast enough to make a real difference to public health? And can we balance the need for privacy with the life-saving benefits of understanding how transmission occurs?

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented disruptions to urban mobility systems across the globe yet also presented unique opportunities for people to drive less, walk/cycle more and reduce carbon emissions. Join Professor Tim Schwanen (Director of the Transport Studies Unit and Lead Researcher on the Oxford Martin Programme on Informal Cities), Dr Jennie Middleton (Senior Research Fellow in Mobilities and Human Geography in the Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford) and Professor Jim Hall (Professor of Climate and Environmental Risk, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford) as they discuss post-pandemic mobility futures in relation to the re-imagining of transport systems across different geographical scales and contexts.

Professor Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development at Oxford University, discusses his new book 'Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years' Expert in globalisation and development, Professor Ian Goldin uses state-of-the-art maps to show humanity’s impact on the planet and demonstrate how we can save it and thrive as a species. He has traced the paths of peoples, cities, wars, climates and technologies on a global scale in his new book Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years, which he co-authored with Robert Muggah. In this book talk he will demonstrate the impact of climate change and rises in sea level on cities around the world, the truth about immigration, the future of population growth, trends in health and education, and the realities of inequality and how to end it.

Dr Julia Giese, Bank of England, discusses the impact of Covid-19 on the financial system and how banks can play their part in economic recovery. Date 14 October 2020, 12:30pm - 1:30pm Location Online Event Recording: COVID-19 has caused a global collapse in activity and loss of jobs that is probably unprecedented in its scale and speed. Small and large businesses across every country in the world have had to close their doors to customers and employees. The sharp accompanying decrease in firms’ revenues and households’ incomes will result in the first global recession since 2009. It will also present the global financial system with its largest stress event since at least the global financial crisis. Dr Julia Giese, Bank of England, and Professor Cameron Hepburn, INET Oxford, will discuss that banks are now part of the solution, rather than part of the problem, thanks to regulatory and institutional reforms over the past decade. Heeding the lessons from the Global Financial Crisis has paid dividends. T

Professor Sarah Smith, Professor Almudena Sevilla and Professor Cameron Hepburn discuss the gender division of childcare during the covid-19 pandemic, and the impact of this on welfare and employment. The nature and scale of the shocks to the demand for, and the supply of, home childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic provide a unique opportunity to increase our understanding of the division of home labour and the determinants of specialisation within the household. Real-time data was collected on daily lives to document the impact of measures to control COVID-19 on UK families with children under the age of 12. This documented that these families have been doing the equivalent of a working week in childcare, with mothers bearing most of the burden. The additional hours of childcare done by women are less sensitive to their employment than they are for men, leaving many women juggling work and (a lot more) childcare, with likely adverse effects on their mental health and future careers. However, some househol

Carissa Véliz discusses her new book 'Privacy is Power', focusing on the importance of understanding how our data is used and how we can protect our privacy. Have you ever been denied insurance, a loan, or a job? Have you had your credit card number stolen? Do you have to wait too long when you call customer service? You might have the data economy to thank for all that and more. Digital technology is stealing our personal data and with it our power to make free choices. To reclaim that power, and our democracy, we must take back control of our personal data. Surveillance is undermining equality. We are being treated differently on the basis of our data. But what can we do? Join the author of Privacy is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data, Carissa Véliz and Professor Rasmus Nielsen, Lead Researcher on the Oxford Martin Programme on Misinformation, Science and Media, as they discuss the need to understand the power of data better, how we can start protecting our privacy and how we ne

Professor E.J. Milner-Gulland and Professor Sir Charles Godfray discuss our relationship with nature, how it relates to the Covid-19 pandemic, and what we need to do differently in the future. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected both wildlife and our relationship to it. This includes calls to ban the wildlife trade, highlighting the relationship between conservation and public health, and what became of the “2020 biodiversity super-year”. Join Professor E.J. Milner-Gulland, Lead Researcher of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Illegal Wildlife Trade and Professor Sir Charles Godfray, Director of the Oxford Martin School as they discuss how wider economic shocks have affected the wildlife trade, particularly in Africa, and how to fulfil the bold targets for nature recovery (in the UK and globally). And how can Oxford contribute, both practically through its operations and through research and educational activities.

In this recorded talk, Professor Doyne Farmer and Maria del Rio-Chanona talk about their new paper on supply and demand shocks, and the impacts on society, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on societies around the world. As governments mandate social distancing practices and instruct non-essential businesses to close to slow the spread of the outbreak, there is significant uncertainty about the effect such measures will have on lives and livelihoods. While demand for specific sectors such as healthcare has skyrocketed in recent months, other sectors such as air transportation and tourism have seen demand for their services evaporate. At the same time, many sectors are experiencing issues on the supply-side, as governments curtail the activities of non-essential industries. Which industries will suffer most from demand-side or supply-side shocks resulting from the pandemic? Which workers are most of risk of unemployment or reduced wage income? Who wi

In this talk, Professor Chris Adam, Professor of Development Economics looks beyond the public health aspects of the pandemic to examine the medium-term macroeconomic adjustment challenge confronting domestic policy-makers and international donors. When the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, most of sub‑Saharan Africa went into lockdown. What happens next for the pandemic across Africa remains uncertain, but the combination of domestic lockdowns and the spill-over from the global recession means immediate and severe economic hardship. Prof Chris Adam will discuss epidemiological and macroeconomic models to calibrate the scale of the combined shock to a representative low-income African economy and to show how alternative policy options for slowing transmission of Covid-19 impact on public revenue, and on GDP in the short run, and hence shape the path to recovery. Noting that the first lockdown, however costly, does not by itself eliminate the likelihood of a re-emergence of the epidemic, he will then lay out the age