Spotlight on... Professor Sir Geoff Mulgan

What is your role and what does it involve?

I’m a Professor in STEaPP. I teach undergraduates (mainly about how technology systems work – from transport to energy and AI), graduates (mainly about how government works, with a focus on AI this term) and several PhDs. I also take part in research projects on many topics, ranging from public policy to evidence, and I co-edit an academic journal on Collective Intelligence.  

How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role?

I joined in early 2020. Previous jobs include roles in government (Director of Strategy and Head of Policy in the Prime Minister’s office) and running foundations (Nesta and the Young Foundation).

What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?

Many of the things I worked on in government had quite a big impact, from cutting street homelessness and cutting carbon emissions to sorting out pensions and ageing.

I’m also proud of the role I’ve played in growing fields of knowledge and practice globally: social innovation, creative industries and collective intelligence. We usually overestimate how much can be achieved short-term and underestimate how much can be changed long-term with patience: part of my role is helping to guide longer-term change processes.

Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of your to-do list?

I’ve recently created a new team working on the design of next generation public institutions, working with governments, the UN and others, and using 21st century ideas and tools to improve governance of climate, mental health and digital.

This is a major gap in both theory and practice – and I think a top priority for the next decade.

What is your favourite album, film and novel?

It depends on the day! I listen to a huge amount of music and watch a couple of hundred films each year. From the last week, I’d say: Van Morrison Astral Weeks; Anna Karenina; and Seed of the Sacred Fig.

What is your favourite joke (pre-watershed)?

Why do Professors laugh three times when they hear a joke?
Once when they hear it, once when it’s explained to them, and once when they understand it.

Who would be your dream dinner guests?

Lyndon Johnson, Georg Hegel, Mary Douglas and Susan Sontag would be a fun mix, especially if we could get them drunk.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t worry too much what other people think of you (not least because they don’t think about you very much)!

What would it surprise people to know about you?

People are a bit surprised when I tell them about my background in Buddhism or play them my musical compositions.

What is your favourite place?

So many, but Snowdonia is definitely one (though not so much in the winter).