Soundbites and Director's Seminars: Entrepreneurship and Prosperity in Extreme Contexts

The Soundbites and Director's Seminars series are public events hosted by the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, and open to all. The theme for the Autumn 2022 series is 'Entrepreneurship and Prosperity in Extreme Contexts'.

We are currently living in times that Peter Atwater in his 2021 Financial Times article, referred to as ‘normalized unprecedentedness’, where extreme events such as increased humanitarian crises, a global health crisis, a cost of living crisis and extreme weather conditions are becoming the norm. These unprecedented occurrences and shocks are happening at such an accelerated pace that they are, as Atwater highlights, becoming our ‘new normal’. These accumulating and interrelated crises create extreme conditions and exert further strain on society. How do we create a path to prosperity in such conditions? This series presents cutting-edge approaches to these challenges from an entrepreneurial perspective. Contributors are leading thinkers, both academic and otherwise, who problematise current assumptions and proffer new ways of thinking and doing to generate prosperity.

Soundbites are a platform for professionals and entrepreneurs who are leading in their field. Speakers are innovators and inspiring actors working in new and traditional sectors, outside of academia. The Soundbite gives the audience an insight into how their organisation contributes to sustainable and inclusive prosperity.

Director's Seminars are an opportunity for audiences to get an in-depth theoretical perspective on sustainable and inclusive prosperity. These Seminars are given by academics who are pushing for new ways of thinking and new ways of researching society's grand challenges.

Upcoming Director's Seminars 

6 October, 16.30-18.00: Complying in the ‘right’ way: Competing fiscal rationales in highland Bolivia and the problem of ‘compliance’ in tax studies, Dr Miranda Sheild Johansson (Anthropology, UCL)

20 October, 16.30-18.00: Standing on the shoulders of giants. Connecting current and past research on Grand Challenges, Silvia Dorado-Banacloche (University of Massachusetts Boston)

3 November, 16.30-18.00: Recalibrating entrepreneurship: Myths, fads, and the need to embrace the pluralism of entrepreneurial activity, Pablo Munoz (Durham University Business School)

24 November, 16.30-18.00: Entrepreneurship in Chronic Adversity, Ramzi Fathallah (Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa) THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED AS IT COINCIDES WITH UCU STRIKE ACTION

8 December, 16.30-18.00: Community Entrepreneurship in a Challenged World: Lessons from Fogo Island, Natalie Slawinski (Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria)

Upcoming Soundbites

13 October, 13.00-14.00: Panel discussion: Responsibly fostering prosperity in Asia through entrepreneurship and technology (Part of the Asia Prosperity Research Hub launch)

27 October, 13.00-14.00: Creating Prosperity in Society-the case of AMAATI, Salma Abdulai (AMAATI)

17 November, 13.00-14.00: Purpose Driven Innovation for building our Future Civilization, Christian Schmitz (Purpose Driven Innovation Ecosystem Group)

1 December, 13.00-14.00: Farm diversification and land-management for a climate-positive future: building a new rural incubator model at an upland farm, Antonia Boyce

15 December, 13.00-14.00: My commitment to the world – Using technology for Good, Dimitris Vassiliadis