Imperial Business 2022

Imperial Business

20 Embracing innovation in White City

46 How our research is changing the world

2022

Leading responsibly in a world moving through crisis Who’s going to make sure business is a force for good in the post-pandemic world?

50 Our crucial work on childhood obesity

Deep tech: harnessing the next great wave of innovation 31 March 2022

At our seventh annual conference, business leaders, policymakers and our world-class academics will discuss how we can turn technological discoveries and deep tech startups into successful high-impact enterprises.

Find out more and register your interest at imprl.biz/Conf22Mag

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In this issue

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Regulars

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Dean’s welcome An overview of our newest issue from the Dean of the Business School, Professor Francisco Veloso.

Editorial enquiries imperial-business@imperial.ac.uk Alumni enquiries alumni-business@imperial.ac.uk Editorial Michael Mills Communications Manager Evie Burrows-Taylor Web Content Editor Contributors Laura Higgs, Amanda Houchen, Alastair Nuttall, Celia Pearce With thanks to Alessio di Capua, Lauren Pow Cover JVG Design opx.studio

© Imperial College Business School 2021 The opinions expressed in Imperial Business are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of Imperial College Business School.

While all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the information in this publication is correct, matters covered by this publication are subject to change.

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News A round-up of the top news stories from across Imperial College Business School.

Alumni updates A look at what Business School alumni have been up to over the past year.

The last word on...

A brief look at the School’s key areas of research in the words of our academics.

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Profiles

Comment

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Celia Moore

Christoper Tucci

Responsible leadership and changing corporate culture for the better with Professor Celia Moore.

Professor Christopher Tucci is showing businesses how to flourish during the digital revolution.

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Ramana Nanda

Surabhi Sundarka

Deep tech can change the world for the better, says Professor Ramana Nanda, but it needs funding.

MBA scholarship recipient Surabhi Sundarka on pursuing her dreams and supporting others to do the same.

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Post-pandemic networking

AI and machine learning

As pandemic limitations recede, three things to keep in mind when growing and maintaining your network.

Five fundamentals about the technology and how to use it.

58 Business for society The Leonardo Centre on developing enterprises that combine economic success with socio-environmental impact.

36 Shock to agribusiness Why the agricultural sector needs to start viewing climate change as an acute threat.

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Features

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Remote operations How the School’s edtech capabilities and innovative teaching continued to engage students during the pandemic.

24 Cindy Rose We spoke to the tech industry leader about life at Microsoft, the tech revolution and post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

46 Research impact How Business School academics are changing business, politics and society for the better.

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Childhood obesity

Welcome to White City

The Imperial-led STOP project is delivering the urgent insights needed to address this public health crisis.

Read about the Business School’s exciting new development in West London’s innovation district.

54 Full-Time MBA The Business School’s redesigned MBA programme will help to develop the best leaders in business.

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Responsible leadership has never been so important.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has reshaped everything that makes up our day-to-day lives in a world already feeling the effects of climate change and being redefined by movements such as Black Lives Matter. Quite simply, it is becoming essential for any organisation looking to operate beyond the next 10 years to pay greater attention to how their activities might impact the world around them.

Welcome from the Dean Academia will play a pivotal role here, and that’s why this issue’s cover has been turned over to the theme of responsible leadership. On page 12 Professor Celia Moore shows how individuals have the power to improve corporate culture; academics from the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society tell us how they are adapting business models to enable a green recovery (p 58); and Dr Michelle Rogan and Dr Anne ter Wal look at how to network after a pandemic (p 16).

Goals are key but ineffective unless they are enacted with swift, decisive leadership. Cindy Rose, President of Microsoft Western Europe, takes us through the company’s ambitious sustainability projects (p 24), and we also dive into how the Business School successfully pivoted to remote operations during the recent crisis (p 32).

Through research, we are at the forefront of developing solutions to some of society’s thorniest challenges. On page 46, find out how our major research successes are changing the world for the better, and read about our crucial work on the STOP project (Science & Technology in childhood Obesity Policy) on page 50.

Beyond responsible leadership, in this issue we also look at the Business School’s exciting new teaching and research space on the White City Campus (p 20).

The language of business is universal and, with the idea of pursuing an ESG agenda increasingly recognised as the right approach, it seems that the global business community is finally all working towards the same goals.

Professor Francisco Veloso Dean of Imperial College Business School

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The business news

A round-up of the top stories from across Imperial College Business School

WHO COVID-19 vaccine co-lead appointed to head Advisory Board Sir Andrew Witty, a World Health Organization (WHO) Special Envoy, has become Chair of the Business School’s Advisory Board. Currently President of United Health Group and CEO of Optum, a US healthcare leader, Sir Andrew was appointed alongside three other new members. He succeeded Iain Conn, recently Group CEO of Centrica, who held the position from 2004 to 2020.

Sir Andrew brings with him a wealth of experience of global business and higher education, both through his current roles, and his previous

roles as CEO of GlaxoSmithKline and Chancellor of the University of Nottingham. In 2020, he was appointed to co-lead the WHO’s vaccine efforts and, in May 2021, he joined the expert advisory group for the UK Government’s Vaccine Task Force.

Also appointed to the 14-strong Advisory Board were: Natasha Foong, a graduate of the Business School’s MSc Management Science programme and co-founder of IncuVest, a technology investment platform; Sara Murray, a technology entrepreneur who founded personal emergency firm Buddi and is a member of the College Council; and Cindy Rose, President of Microsoft Western Europe.

You can read more about Cindy Rose’s work with Imperial College Business School on page 24.

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Professor Propper appointed to President Macron’s economic commission Professor Dame Carol Propper, Chair in Economics and member of the Centre for Health Economics & Policy Innovation, was one of the authors of a report released

by French President Emmanuel Macron’s economic commission.

The report looked at the three biggest long-term challenges facing the world’s economies: climate change, inequality and ageing populations.

Her work on the report examined demographic change with regards to ageing, health and immigration.

It looked at how to achieve a balance

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between employment and retirement, the modernisation of the pension system and other ways to support older members of the population.

Professor Propper is a leading expert in health economics and, in December 2020, was made a dame in the New Year’s Honours for her contribution to economics and public health. As well as her work at Imperial, she is President of the Royal Economic Society, a Fellow of the British Academy and an International Fellow of the National Academy of Medicine.

Since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, she has been sought out by media, research institutes and governments for her expertise.

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Dame Hunt speaks at annual Business School conference Speakers and panellists from business and academia, including Dame Vivian Hunt (pictured), gathered online for Imperial College Business School’s sixth annual conference: Leading Responsibly in a World Moving through Crisis.

Dame Vivian – a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Co who was made a dame in 2018 for services to the economy and women in business – was joined by other industry experts who shared their thoughts on how businesses can lead responsibly through a crisis and prepare to lead in a post-pandemic world.

Other speakers included Neil Ferguson, Professor of Mathematical Biology at Imperial College London, and John Allan, Chairman of Tesco, former President of the Confederation of British Industry and Chair of Imperial’s Council.

Topics included being a nimble and principled leader, the role of business in dismantling systemic racism, and social inequality and leading responsibly in digitally transformed organisations.

Michael Wells appointed to the UK Endorsement Board Michael Wells, Professor of Practice (Finance), has been appointed to the inaugural UK Endorsement Board (UKEB). Following an open call for nominations and a rigorous recruitment process, Michael was one of two academics selected to join a diverse group of leaders from the public and private sector. They bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise to the 10-member board.

Together, they will work to ensure the UK capital market retains its status as a transparent global hub for business, inward capital and investment.

The UKEB was set up to endorse and adopt new or amended international accounting standards on behalf of the UK. The board will conduct research to ensure the UK is at the forefront of developing opinions in accounting. It will also actively contribute to influencing the development of financial reporting internationally, helping to ensure UK views are effectively represented in this important area.

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Business School establishes new Singapore Green Finance Centre Imperial has joined forces with Singapore Management University to open a new research centre dedicated to green finance and talent development. The Singapore Green Finance Centre is backed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and several leading global financial institutions.

It will draw on the respective strengths of Imperial College Business School and Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business in climate finance and risk, market economics and sustainable investment. The Centre aims to equip institutions and professionals with the information and skills needed to develop the scope of activities and priorities of green finance in Asia.

The Centre also aims to develop a strong pipeline of green finance talent, and its multidisciplinary research and training will help enable the transition of capital markets in Asia towards a low-carbon future.

Business School wins prestigious award for diversity and inclusion Imperial College Business School has won an award for Best Culture, Diversity & Inclusion Initiative at the 2021 AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards.

The Business School was recognised for the launch of a year-long equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) course.

The “Working in Diverse Organisations” initiative is mandatory for all students; it offers the latest EDI learnings and toolkits to enable students to be diverse-aware employees and leaders who can optimise differences and create more effective organisations.

The Best Culture, Diversity & Inclusion Initiative award reflects the growing need for business schools to adopt

more innovative approaches to diversity and inclusion. A multifaceted approach to bias, cultural awareness and systems of privilege is now demanded by both students and stakeholders.

The AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards bring together leading contributors from the global business education community to celebrate excellence and commend achievement among business schools, business students and graduates, suppliers and employers.

Professor Haskel reappointed to Monetary Policy Committee Professor Jonathan Haskel, Chair in Economics, has been reappointed for a second term to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). He has been a member of the MPC since 2018 and began his second term in September 2021.

The MPC makes decisions about the operation of monetary policy.

It comprises the Governor of the Bank of England, the three Deputy Governors, one member of the Bank with responsibility for monetary policy and four external members who are appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. External members may serve up to two three-year terms on the MPC. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “I am...delighted to reappoint Professor Jonathan Haskel to the MPC and I am confident his expertise in productivity and innovation will continue to play an important role.”

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MSc International Management enters global top 10 Imperial’s Master’s in International Management was ranked ninth in the world in the Financial Times’ 2021 Master’s in Management rankings, after first entering the global top 10 in 2020.

Within the individual criteria, the programme was recognised as having the strongest representation of international students – jumping to first place in this category after ranking fifth in 2020 – and retained the top place ranking for international faculty, highlighting the world-class talent within our community.

The Imperial MSc also stood out in terms of the percentage of students employed within three months of graduating from the programme, ranking eighth in the world and number one in the UK.

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Professor, collaborator, responsible leader

Celia Moore Professor Celia Moore is teaching the next generation of business leaders why responsible leadership matters and how individuals can help change corporate culture for the better

Imperial Business

In brief Held positions at Bocconi University in Milan and London Business School Appointed Co-Director of the Business School’s Centre for Responsible Leadership Research focuses on how organisations unintentionally facilitate morally problematic behaviour Academic Fellow of the Ethics & Compliance Initiative

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Written by Evie Burrows-Taylor

“When you behave consistently, with a clear set of values, people will listen”

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he question of leadership feels like a particularly salient issue right now.

Climate change, Donald Trump’s presidency and, most recently, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have all amplified divisions in society. As a result, we have seen calls for stronger leadership, although what is meant by that varies dramatically.

Of course, leadership affects all our lives – not only on a national scale but also at work. Professor of Organisational Behaviour Celia Moore, who joined Imperial College Business School in 2019, says her academic work is driven by a desire to make a difference to how people treat each other in the workplace.

Integrity, sincerity and compassion She is now Co-Director of the School’s Centre for Responsible Leadership, which aims to redefine how large organisations think about management. Her intellectual fascination with “why snakes get ahead” was sparked after working for a “psychopathic boss”.

“There are always going to be things motivating people not to be responsible leaders: it might be easier, more fun or it may work in their favour to make selfish choices,” Celia says. “These are hard temptations to temper, but it means that truly responsible leaders stand out.”

Among these, Celia says, is New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has been praised for her swift response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Celia admires Ardern for “the compassion and speed with which she addressed the pandemic, making decisions that were unpopular at first”.

“Unpopular decisions, such as implementing lockdowns, took longer in the UK because people like to be liked,” she says. As a result, many more thousands of people lost their lives to the virus, and there was more damage to the economy.

“When you behave consistently, with a clear set of values, people will listen.”

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Teaching responsible leadership This is advice we can all take on board.

One of the lessons Celia passes on to her students is that people can lead from wherever they are in an organisation. In other words, you don’t have to be the boss to influence your working environment.

“In our own spheres of influence, we have many opportunities to change the way organisational cultures operate,” she says.

The most rewarding moments in her career, and best endorsement of her work, she says, are when former students tell her they have taken what she taught them and used it to effectively navigate a moral dilemma.

“We have to give people the tools to make the right decisions in difficult situations,” she says, pointing to political movements, such as the women’s suffrage movement and desegregation in the US, as examples of individuals demonstrating ethical leadership.

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And while for many the task of integrating responsible leadership into business culture may still seem Herculean, Celia argues that we set too high a standard for what we consider positive change.

“Less responsible leadership often meets our more hedonic needs, and that means we’re not going to reach a place where good things happen every time,” she says.

However, she adds: “Businesses change the way they operate all the time. If I didn’t believe in moral progress, I wouldn’t have chosen this profession.”

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How to prepare your network for life after the pandemic

Written by Dr Michelle Rogan Dr Anne ter Wal

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Our relationships have been tested as never before; giving your network a little TLC now will pay dividends in the year ahead

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ince 2020, we’ve been forced into new digital interactions with friends, colleagues and acquaintances.

Despite the inevitable awkwardness of our first video meetings, we’ve learned there are many ways to touch base with others that don’t require a great investment of time and effort.

Digital interactions allow us to keep our networks in shape by simple actions such as regularly checking in with people to see how they are faring.

The question to ask ourselves now is which of these network adaptations we should keep and which we should leave behind. Could we now audit our new networking patterns, and cherry-pick the best bits? To paraphrase Nobel prize winner Dennis Gabor, the best way to predict your future network is to create it.

There are three things to keep in mind as you build your post-pandemic network.

1. Seek spontaneous interactions If your interactions during lockdown have been limited to mainly your family and immediate work colleagues, seek to interact with people who are outside that narrow world.

Take advantage of post-pandemic opportunities for spontaneous interaction. It’s these spontaneous exchanges with colleagues, or the random connections we might make day to day that fuel creativity and innovation. They can lead us to ideas we were not looking for, and they can help us spot new solutions to problems we might face. They help us see things differently – and they must be encouraged.

2. Build diversity Who do you most often go to for advice, support, resources or ideas?

To what degree are they like you or like each other? Diversity is a

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“Being in crisis mode at work has meant we have had to prioritise building and maintaining network ties for our companies”

critical element to healthy networks; unfortunately, our natural tendencies are to connect with people who are like us, i.e. from the same culture, from the same educational background or of the same gender. But too much similarity in your network can limit your job effectiveness, in particular at innovation tasks.

How to add diversity to your network? One way is to join members-only networks that are “diverse-closed”: communities that unite people with varied interests and backgrounds and foster strong bonds among them combine the advantages of high diversity, and high cohesion and trust.

Our students embody this kind of diversity within a close-knit group. They benefit from tight, deep connections, while their differences – background, education, religion, ethnicity, politics – become a real asset.

Digital interactions can help us reach more people – and more different people – further afield. There’s no need for us to stop this when normal life resumes. We can still reap the benefits with less disruption to the working day.

If we can complement our day-to-day spontaneity with intentional digital networking, we have the best of both worlds.

3. Be individual Being in crisis mode at work during the pandemic has meant we have had to prioritise building and maintaining network ties for our companies. These are the relationships we must maintain to meet our current goals, like revenues for the quarter.

Our individual networks are likely to have withered. Now is the time to rebuild your individual ties – the ones that exist because of the value you bring to them, the ones that will stay with you if you change jobs. These ties are related to your ability to identify new opportunities and knowledge, both key parts of innovation.

As the limitations imposed by the pandemic recede, our hunger for face-to-face social interaction will probably lead to an explosion in lunches, drinks and gatherings.

We might easily fall into a trap of “overnetworking” – committing to everything and then underdelivering – but social butterflies aren’t always the best networkers; it takes time to build genuine relationships and follow through on promises. Be consistent, deliver on your promises and continue to perform for others; this is key to building and maintaining your social capital and becoming a “network asset”.

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About the authors Dr Michelle Rogan is Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship. Her research centres on how individual and firm social capital affects entrepreneurship and innovation, and she is currently exploring the role of gender and networks in entrepreneurship career mobility.

Dr Anne ter Wal is Associate Professor of Technology & Innovation Management. He is interested in the role of networks in innovation and entrepreneurship, and is currently leading a large-scale EU-funded research project studying how entrepreneurs build networks to innovate and achieve success.

Welcom to White City 20

ome

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Professor Francisco Veloso, Dean of Imperial College Business School, explains the School’s plans to grow and drive innovation at White City

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n 2020, the Business School became the first tenant of Scale Space, a community of venture builders, academics and corporate innovators brought together on Imperial’s White City Campus to help innovative businesses scale. Professor Francisco Veloso, Dean of the Business School, sat down with the Scale Space team to discuss the role Imperial and the Business School will play in White City’s scaleup community.

You’ve witnessed the development of Imperial’s campus at White City – what, for you, is the unique opportunity Scale Space offers?

Imperial College London is a very entrepreneurial environment, and we are committed to embracing entrepreneurship in a meaningful and significant way across the whole community.

That starts with giving people the opportunity to tinker. One of our first initiatives in White City was the Invention Rooms, where we have a 3D-printing lab, an electronics lab and a mechanical lab. Anyone from the

Imperial community can go there and play and try different things.

We also have a variety of initiatives through the Enterprise Lab that are designed to support entrepreneurial ventures in their early stages of development.

When the idea of Scale Space came about, we felt it was a unique opportunity for the College to connect with local businesses throughout the various stages of entrepreneurial growth. Scale Space offers an environment where we can be engaged and connect with the entrepreneurial community, to learn, but to also take an academic lens to it and hopefully better understand the process of scaling a business.

How can scaling technology companies benefit from being university-connected?

They can benefit in several ways.

Firstly, by being connected to Imperial they are close to those in academia who work on the frontier of technology development and are doing research relevant to these organisations.

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“This experimental approach of connecting the worlds of academia and industry is a key part of our mission”

In addition, companies can access talent from the Imperial community through the College’s students and graduates, which is another critical element for any scaling business.

Companies can also benefit from being part of a vibrant ecosystem, where they can tap into ideas and make valuable connections with clients, investors, partners, etc. Finally, these companies will have access to management advice offered by the Business School in the areas I’ve highlighted.

How does Scale Space fit within Imperial College Business School’s education strategy?

One of the reasons Imperial developed the Business School was because it wanted to provide business education that would be underpinned by the technology and innovation the College is famous for. Understanding the challenges facing companies in today’s business world, whether we’re talking about startups or established firms, requires a critical understanding of emerging areas such as technological transition, digital transformation and sustainability, as well as having a robust business model.

To gain a solid understanding of these areas requires the insights of academics who research these subjects and teach relevant courses to students. Scale Space will allow us to increase our understanding of these phenomena by connecting our academics with the companies that are innovating in these areas.

This experimental approach of connecting the worlds of academia and industry is a key part of our mission to address the current challenges facing businesses and society through our research and teaching.

The Business School has around 2,000 postgraduate students who fall into two major groups. One group is pre-experience master’s students who are pursuing a postgraduate qualification directly after their undergraduate degree. The other group comprises post-experience students, most of whom are studying for an MBA. These students bring drive, a solid background and training, as well as some valuable experience, and aspire to change the world. They will engage with and contribute to the scaleup businesses that are going to be located in Scale Space, through projects, internships and employment opportunities.

What do you hope will be the success of Scale Space?

I see Scale Space having success in two ways. One is to create a new generation of scaleups that are changing the world in their respective fields. The other is fundamentally reshaping our understanding of what it takes to create a successful scaleup that is grounded in research.

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Written by Evie Burrows-Taylor

In conversation with Cindy Rose: “ Technology will be at the heart of the post-COVID-19 economic recovery” Coronavirus (COVID-19) has accelerated digital transformation faster than anyone could have predicted. So, what does that mean for the tech industry?

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n 2020, Cindy Rose became one of the most prominent leaders in the tech industry, taking up the reins as President of Microsoft Western Europe. We sat down with Cindy, a member of Imperial College Business School’s Advisory Board, to discuss life at Microsoft, the tech revolution and the road to recovery from COVID-19.

What skills and qualities do you think business school graduates need to succeed in today’s business world?

Digital skills are a priority. COVID-19 has intensified the pace at which sectors are incorporating digital transformation into their strategies and according to our [Microsoft’s] research, the tech sector alone is likely to create 150 million new jobs globally over the next five years.

Beyond that, successful business leaders need to be able to generate positive energy, especially during tough times when people are suffering.

And they should embrace the growth mindset, which is based on this idea that, in a fast-changing world, we must embrace lifelong learning.

How does Microsoft work with business schools?

One way we work with business schools is by developing learning content that we use for our enterprise customers. For example, we have co-created the Microsoft AI Business School, which provides a curriculum specifically tailored to business leaders.

We also recently announced a new programme, Microsoft Learn for Educators, which offers higher-education institutions access to our learning content, teaching materials and technical certification exams.

Of course, we also look to the business school community as a source of talent. We’ve hired many Imperial College Business School graduates over the years, and we see this as a fantastic way to build the talent pipeline of the future.

What can tech firms and business schools do to encourage more women into the sector?

I think diversity and inclusion must be core to your mission – it can’t feel like an afterthought or a box-ticking exercise. There is no silver bullet or

“We’ve hired many Imperial College Business School graduates over the years, and we see this as a fantastic way to build the talent pipeline of the future”

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easy path. There are dozens of small things you need to do every day to have a more diverse and inclusive culture.

We have a network of employee resource groups that are very important to us, including Women at Microsoft, which has over 18,000 members.

I think women who are successful in their careers should participate in advancing the cause. I spend a lot of time personally mentoring young women and girls. I think they need role models, and to feel this is a career choice that’s relevant, a place where they belong and can have impact.

Do you feel tech companies have a responsibility to foster digital literacy?

We know that technology will be at the heart of driving post-COVID-19 economic growth and recovery.

We’ve seen that existing inequalities have been amplified.

The significant increase in the pace of technology adoption means there is a need for a massive reskilling and upskilling of the global workforce.

Microsoft has launched a global skilling initiative aimed at bringing skills to around 25 million job seekers around the world who are unemployed as a result of COVID-19.

What role should business schools play in the ongoing development of executives throughout their careers?

It’s important for business schools to stay closely connected with their graduates throughout their careers. The business environment is constantly evolving, and that connection is important in ensuring the curriculum stays relevant. On top of that, the power of the alumni network can’t be understated.

I also think there’s an excellent opportunity for schools like Imperial to provide postgraduate learning.

There’s a huge amount of reskilling and upskilling that’s happening right now, with senior executives realising they need to know the fundamentals of cloud computing, robotic process automation, and artificial intelligence and machine learning.

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Academic, educator, trailblazer

Ramana Nanda In brief Started out in business consulting in New York and London Received his PhD from MIT Spent 14 years as a full-time faculty member at Harvard Business School Academic Lead for the Institute for Deep Tech Entrepreneurship at Imperial

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Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance Ramana Nanda believes deep tech can help change the world for the better – and that’s why it needs a lot more funding

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t is well known that tackling climate change, developing sustainable food and water systems, and improving human health and wellbeing are among the biggest issues the world is facing.

But the sticking point, argues Professor Ramana Nanda, comes with funding the technologies that can do just that.

impossible for us to fully transition over from carbon-intensive sources of power that can provide a very stable baseload,” he says. Financing the commercialisation of such technologies will be key to this effort.

It isn’t only questions around climate change where deep tech solutions emerging from universities are crucial: they are also essential to “Imperial is well positioned to solving health challenges.

This was evident with the try to tackle the bottleneck development of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. in deep tech funding” In order to create the technology necessary to Following his undergraduate degree solve these problems, he argues, in Economics at Cambridge, and a few more investment in deep tech startups years in business consulting in New is essential. But the reason these York and London, Ramana returned technologies are struggling to get the to academia to complete his PhD at funding they need is complicated.

MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

“We need to fully understand these Focusing on entrepreneurial finance, barriers before we can fix them,” he he was able to take a more conceptual says. “This is one of our goals for the approach to business, while also new Academic Strategy Initiative on looking at how theories can be applied Deep Tech Entrepreneurship.” to real-world situations.

New funding models “Entrepreneurship plays such a Some of Ramana’s recent work fundamental role in driving economic has highlighted that venture capital growth, but the best ideas don’t always firms – the most important source of end up getting the money they need,” funding for startups – tend to invest he says. in a narrow band of technologies that Funding new technologies are amenable to de-risking quickly Many of these ideas, he believes, and cheaply. are rooted in deep tech startups, Part of the dearth in funding in deep providing technology solutions tech ventures stems from them being based on substantial scientific or a poor fit for venture capital due to engineering challenges. For example, the long timelines and required levels the tricky issue of storing the energy of capital. An important exception to from intermittent sources remains this is biotechnology where validation unresolved. from agencies such as the US Federal “Until we get better at developing Drug Administration, combined with batteries that can store renewable the ability to charge high prices once energy at scale, it’s going to be a new drug is approved, makes some

biotechnology startups attractive investments.

In general, however, most deep tech investments made by venture capital investors are either into artificial intelligence-based technologies or software applications. Meanwhile, renewable energy generation, batteries or carbon sequestration and storage struggle to find funding.

In a recent paper, he argued that “new funding and organisational models at the nexus of research universities, philanthropy and ‘patient’ private capital have the potential to unlock vibrant [deep tech] innovation ecosystems.”

Fortunately, Ramana says, Imperial is well positioned to try to tackle the bottleneck in deep tech funding, with strong talent in the fundamental pillars of deep tech: science, engineering, medicine and business, as well as a strong culture of supporting entrepreneurship.

“I think there’s an amazing opportunity for us to take a lead on this.”

Written by Evie Burrows-Taylor

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Prioritising patients during a pandemic How do you decide who receives medical care during times of unprecedented demand?

This question has been critical during the pandemic – and Imperial researchers are helping to answer it

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aced with unexpected surges in demand for limited hospital capacity during the pandemic, coronavirus (COVID-19) patients were prioritised over others in need of care – but at what cost?

In most countries, concerns about managing access to hospital care led not only to lockdowns, but also rationed access to critical care and the cancellation of planned admissions.

These policies have resulted in a backlog of patients; since 2020, the number of people waiting for hospital care in England has grown by a fifth, and there are concerns that the waiting list could reach 13 million. These delays inevitably result in deaths.

The challenge of managing this growing backlog and making the best use of hospital capacity to minimise the detrimental impact of the pandemic on all patients – those suffering from COVID-19 as well as other diseases, such as cancer – remains. How do you decide who to prioritise? Individuals and authorities can’t make these difficult decisions without a deep understanding of the complex trade-offs and indirect effects.

Optimising scheduling At Imperial, we’ve created an optimal scheduling tool to help address this challenge and enable policymakers to make crucial decisions during periods of high demand.

When compared to the blanket policies implemented in England during the pandemic, our framework would result in more years of life being saved, with more patients living longer.

The main objective of the tool is to identify – for each week – the optimal allocation of patients and how many patients from each group to admit to hospital. For example, it can be used when deciding whether to admit young but frail cancer patients, or older but healthy coronavirus patients, and how to best allocate general and intensive care beds and staff. The model accounts for the possibility of capacity shortages and therefore allows users to optimally allocate care during peaks in demand, such as those we have seen during the pandemic.

While the model is data-driven, our research also highlights key prioritisation principles that save lives, meaning our findings can be used in low-income settings where resources are limited and historical data on hospital activity is scarce.

The impact Our modelling focuses on minimising years of life lost and healthcare costs. We estimate years of life lost by comparing the age of death per patient to the average life expectancy: 10 years of life gained could be one person living an extra 10 years, or 20 people living an extra six months. Looking only at the number of deaths is misleading, because it does not tell us at what age these deaths occur.

When applying our framework to NHS data, we show that an extra 50,750–5,891,608 years of life can be gained using our optimised scheduling compared to the standard prioritisation policies that were implemented during the pandemic – and in most scenarios,

these significant health gains do not come at an increased cost. In particular, we saw notable gains when optimising hospital scheduling for tumours, diseases of the digestive system, and injuries and poisoning.

Efficiency and fairness Effective prioritisation is critical during times when the health system is squeezed; it allows senior leadership and policymakers to minimise the overall impact of capacity shortages on patients, while making efficient use of healthcare systems.

Health policy should balance efficiency against equity, or what society deems fair: if we don’t study this and embed these considerations in policymaking and clinical guidance, we’ve forced the burden of choice upon healthcare professionals – do they admit the young cancer patient or the elderly person with coronavirus?

Our work means policymakers have the right tools to hand.

About the authors Wolfram Wiesemann is Professor of Analytics & Operations and the Academic Director of MSc Business Analytics (on-campus). His research explores how quantitative methods can assist organisations to make prudent decisions based on uncertain or incomplete information.

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Dr Marisa Miraldo is Associate Professor in Health Economics and a member of the Centre for Health Economics & Policy Innovation. Her research focuses on the economics and policy of healthcare innovation, the impact of policies on organisational performance, and the behavioural determinants of decision-making.

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Learning in a pandemic

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Despite the pandemic, students continued to enjoy flexible and engaging learning in 2020–21 thanks to the Business School’s world-leading edtech capabilities

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Written by Evie Burrows-Taylor

tudents quickly adapted to a “new normal” after health and safety guidelines were introduced across the Business School in preparation for the autumn 2020 term.

Face coverings were essential, hand sanitisers and multi-surface cleaning wipes were available around the campus, and social distancing measures were put in place.

Strict guidelines were introduced, with students required to sign a Protect & Respect pledge, adhering to a code of conduct. They could also use a health and safety app and receive regular updates about the measures in place on campus.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for” Students joining or returning to Imperial were impressed by the work that had gone into making the campus safe and said the overall atmosphere was positive.

Bala Kadirvel, an Executive MBA student, said: “We received very detailed instructions from the Business School and seating plans had been arranged ahead of our arrival. At first, it was a surreal experience, but I felt very secure as we were given masks, wipes and hand gels.”

Aoife Considine, an incoming Full-Time MBA student, also spoke positively about the health and safety effort that had been made by the College: “Making it possible for us to come to campus safely has honestly made the experience of deciding to pursue the MBA worth it. The Business School has done an amazing job at

enabling this, so massive appreciation and thank you goes to them – I know it can’t have been an easy job.”

Flexible study Multi-modal teaching was also put in place, allowing students and academics the flexibility to move between being on-campus and remote learning.

Professor Markus Perkmann, the Academic Director of the Imperial MBA, taught one of the first fully integrated classes for the incoming Full-Time MBA cohort. He said: “We had a great mood in the class.

I am very pleased that we are able to offer this flexible teaching mode, as the alternative would be holding virtual-only lectures, which would deprive students of the option to have a classroom experience.”

To ensure the transition to the new teaching method was smooth, the School hired co-pilots for each classroom; these additional staff supported the academics who were teaching using the multi-mode to help ensure an interactive experience was being delivered to all students, wherever they were in the world.

Somaya Ebrahim, former Interim Programme Director of the MBA Suite, said: “The work of the co-pilot has been instrumental, and they’ve made the students joining virtually feel like they’re part of the classroom. Some of the students were understandably a bit hesitant to speak up at first but they were also eager to get going and have been very positive about the system, so far.”

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“Such flexibility is likely to be appreciated by students (and staff) in the longer term too”

Taste of the future During a visit to Imperial, Universities Minister Michelle Donelan MP experienced a multi-mode lecture at the School and learned about the education technology that enables this new way of teaching.

David Lefevre, Director of the Business School’s Edtech Lab, said: “Multi-modal teaching was developed as a pragmatic solution to an unfortunate situation. Recognising that the present disruption is likely to be sustained, we wanted to give students the choice to attend their classes either on-campus or online throughout the academic year. However, it seems clear now that such flexibility is likely to be appreciated by students (and staff) in the longer term too, particularly for the postgraduate, post-experience programmes.”

Leila Guerra, Vice Dean (Education) of Imperial College Business School, said: “The School’s extensive experience in innovative teaching and long-term investments in edtech means we are well positioned to offer an integrated approach to learning, a transformative educational experience and the flexibility to accommodate students on-campus as well as remotely, due to the unusual circumstances. I would like to personally thank our academic and professional staff for their hard work and dedication.”

The success of this innovative hybrid teaching is clear: Imperial has been awarded University of the Year for Student Experience 2022, while the results of the National Student Survey 2021 show the College’s student satisfaction at an all-time high. Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London, said: “Imperial’s experience is not just a case study in crisis, it offers a glimpse of what higher education can be.”

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Agribusiness is not ready for the sudden shocks of climate change

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Written by Dr Alexandre Köberle

Climate change models suggest temperatures will gradually rise, but the agriculture sector is not prepared for the acute risk of extreme weather events

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he heatwave that hit Canada in summer 2021 left disaster in its wake.

Emergency services were flooded with calls, with municipal governments reporting dozens of deaths where heat was listed as a contributing factor. Lytton, which recorded Canada’s highest ever temperature of 49.6 degrees Celsius, was destroyed by wildfire.

The weather was also devastating for the region’s agricultural sector, with raspberry farmers in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley reporting stories of crops cooking on the vine.

Climate change models typically represent future climate predictions with a smooth, sweeping curved graph.

This suggests climate change is a gradual, ongoing process, and that reducing emissions will eventually turn this trend line around.

In reality, this is not how climate change will be experienced. Extreme heatwaves such as that in Canada, as

well as other unprecedented weather events, are predicted to become more frequent. But many businesses working in the agricultural sector have not yet got a grip on the reality that climate change poses an acute risk in the short term, not a chronic one in the distant future.

Weather vs climate It is generally understood that climate change is going to have a negative effect on the world’s crops. Increased temperatures, reduced rainfall and other shifts will reduce the yields of harvests worldwide. The Global Center on Adaptation estimated the world’s agriculture industries could see productivity fall by as much as 30 per cent by the year 2050.

This global headline-grabbing statistic is serious enough, but extreme weather may inflict deep regional losses in the coming years, not decades.

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“Climate change poses an acute risk in the short term, not a chronic one in the distant future”

The current climate drives decisions on what to plant where and when, and successful harvests are highly dependent on stable and predictable weather. While past trends might suggest a crop will go well, a late frost could wipe out an entire grape harvest.

This distinction between climate, being the average weather of a location, and weather, being the conditions on any particular day, is not obvious in the smooth graphs used to project future climates.

While the occasional bad season is a reality of farming, the frequency and severity of extreme weather events are expected to increase. This puts entire harvests at greater risk of being completely wiped out.

Sudden shocks Considering this, businesses in the agricultural sector need to treat climatic changes as an acute risk, as opposed to a chronic risk.

It is reasonable to expect market disruptions and price spikes may compromise food security. In 2018, England sweltered through its hottest

summer on record. Prices for produce including lettuce, carrots, onions and peas surged due to the expected fall in yields. Also, the insurance sector saw claims for subsidence quadruple compared to the previous year. A growth in claims might have been predicted over the coming decades, but this doesn’t account for losses driven by singular weather events, potentially happening in the short term.

It is also expected these losses will not be shared equally. In the developing world, where farms are typically smaller and lack modern irrigation systems, the success of a crop is highly dependent on the weather. In these communities, a particularly bad season could have catastrophic consequences.

Long-term trends might suggest the cost of climate change could be managed with prudent long-term planning. This is not the case, and agricultural businesses of all sizes face the increasing risk of a single weather event causing unmanageable human, environmental and financial costs.

We can no longer rely on the past to predict the future.

About the author Dr Alexandre öb K erle is a e R search Fellow at Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute. He leads the Flow of Capital for Climate Action project in collaboration with the Business School’s Centre for Climate Finance & Investment, and the School of Economics at Fundação Getúlio aV rgas in São Paulo.

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Written by Professor Marcin Kacperczyk

Five things executives need to know about AI and machine learning

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Executives responsible for technology strategy are receiving mixed messages about artificial intelligence and machine learning Financial services firms expect significant growth in their use of machine learning but are already having problems implementing it at scale. The key to making good decisions about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning is to understand the state of the technology, where it works and where it doesn’t.

Here are five fundamentals executives should know about AI and machine learning.

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AI and machine learning are different AI is concerned with creating computer systems that can mimic the way humans think. Though the term has become ubiquitous, “AI” remains a long-term vision rather than something that is here today.

Machine learning is a subcategory of AI and describes algorithms that have been designed to fit models or recognise patterns from data without being explicitly programmed and with limited or no human intervention.

It is an important step towards AI, it is already here and it has many applications.

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2.

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How to train your algorithm Machine learning excels at detecting patterns in data and works well when applied to logical systems where the algorithm can work through a range of actions until it lands on the one that results in the greatest reward.

It may therefore work well and support decision-making if you know what you are looking for, where to look for it and why you are looking for it, but where the task is hard for a human.

In a financial context, such algorithms have helped firms make sense of noisy and complex datasets.

For example, they have helped analysts distil hundreds of potential indicators of future investment returns to a few, more robust, measures.

Machines aren’t (yet) a substitute for human reasoning It is much more challenging to use machine learning to support automated decision-making in uncertain environments. While algorithms excel at identifying relationships and patterns, they cannot evaluate whether such correlations are legitimate. It can be dangerous to use them to solve problems where there is no obvious “right” answer or doubts over causation.

This challenge comes to the fore in finance when we try to establish deep economic associations from data. We could develop an algorithm to identify patterns in historical datasets to answer these questions, but it would only spot patterns and not give enough indication of the underlying economic mechanisms that caused them.

Good algorithms start with good data Machine learning can create unreliable results if applied to small or biased datasets. Many of the finance practitioners I speak to have trouble generating enough data of the right quality. It is a misconception that all areas of the finance industry are awash with data; this is true in transactional areas such as payments, but it is hard for an analyst working from quarterly reports to collate enough data to build a statistically robust machine-learning model.

We also struggle to produce algorithms that do not create biases in contexts where privacy and fairness are important. My colleague Professor Tarun Ramadorai has conducted interesting research on how machine learning propagates unfairness in mortgage-lending decisions, for example.

“It is a misconception that all areas of the finance industry are awash with data”

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5.

Machine learning can be applied to more than just numbers Advances in textual analysis mean there are growing opportunities to apply machine learning to datasets that combine text and numbers. I am working on a project that is analysing millions of words of reports to compare what analysts tell people to what the numbers objectively tell us. Academics tend to assume the two types of data deliver similar information and people respond to them in the same way, but that may not be true.

Algorithms are also increasingly being applied to analyse images.

Such applications in the finance sector could create more timely and reliable data. An analyst could, for example, use satellite imagery of the number of cranes being put up across a city to measure construction activity, producing information in advance of industry surveys.

Using machine learning for competitive advantage I believe the firms that gain a competitive advantage through their use of machine learning in the next few years will do so because they have access to novel datasets. After all, the leadership of companies such as Amazon and Google in machine learning is built on their access to massive proprietary datasets.

For executives making technology investment decisions, it will be of increasing importance to understand what machine learning and other AI technologies can do, and what uses are a long way from being implementable. Above all, to succeed at machine learning, companies must frame the right questions and have access to the right data.

About the author Marcin Kacperczyk is Professor of Finance at Imperial College London with research interests in the areas of investments, information economics, financial intermediation, climate finance and financial econometrics.

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Researcher, teacher, innovator

Christopher Tucci

Professor Christopher Tucci is showing businesses how to survive and flourish during the digital revolution

Imperial Business

In brief Worked on the foundations of the internet in the 1980s Completed his PhD at MIT in 1997 Director of the School’s Centre for Digital Transformation Teaches courses in design thinking, digital strategy, blockchain management, deep tech acceleration and innovation management

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s a computer science researcher in the 1980s, Professor Christopher Tucci worked on the foundations of the internet, as well as artificial intelligence.

His interests were varied enough that, alongside this, he even had a brief spell teaching a course on the literature of J. R. R. Tolkien.

It was while working in industrial computer science that he developed a fascination with IT and how companies were approaching their digital strategies. His focus on this subject proved to be particularly well judged, with the issue of innovation in the digital space – and how to go about it – dominating board rooms to this day.

“Once a new technology is out there, the first ones to adopt it become more efficient but once everyone has it, you don’t stand out, so then the question becomes, how can you keep innovating?” he says.

“Everyone wants what Amazon was already good at” This interest in digital innovation and passion for teaching eventually led him to academia, and he completed his PhD at MIT in 1997. Now, he is Professor of Digital Strategy & Innovation at Imperial College Business School and Director of the School’s Centre for Digital Transformation.

Written by Evie Burrows-Taylor

Amazon vs the little guy Twenty years ago, most companies were doing “absolutely nothing” to digitalise, Christopher says, and he believes that for many businesses this remains the case.

“My sense is companies are almost paralysed because there’s so much happening,” he says. “They definitely feel they want to do something, but they don’t know where to start.

“I can understand why people are hesitating but, on the other hand, it may be better to throw yourself in and start playing around. I think that’s best practice.”

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The importance of a digital strategy was particularly evident when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit, and during the initial lockdown, when every small shop and restaurant was scrambling to be online to survive, while at the other end of the spectrum, Amazon “took off”.

“Everyone wants what Amazon was already good at,” he says, but companies “need to move” to achieve this.

Time to move Unfortunately, Christopher explains, the result of all these challenges happening at once is that we’re likely to see more small businesses going under.

“The biggest companies might have enough cash on hand to play around and experiment and figure out what works,” he says. “This will allow them to weather the storm.

“Then on the other hand, you have small companies, and they may not be in a financial position to react. For companies that hadn’t thought of a digital strategy before, it’s going to be tough to navigate now.”

Since joining the School in May 2020, Christopher has been teaching courses in deep tech acceleration, digital strategy and innovation management. In addition to his primary research area, looking into how firms make transitions to new business models, he also specialises in technological innovation, new organisational forms and crowdsourcing.

“I started thinking about open innovation and how, as an element of an open innovation strategy, you could have internet participants solving your problem,” he says, which led him to publish a book and several papers on crowdsourcing.

Much of his work involves engaging with other academics, while using real-world examples so companies can see how his work is relevant and useful to them.

This dialogue with business owners is essential; companies now understand that the need for a sophisticated digital innovation strategy is urgent.

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A look at some of the ways research by Business School academics is having a positive real-world impact

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“The School’s research successes are changing business, politics and society for the better”

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usiness School academics are helping business leaders and policymakers make sense of our rapidly changing world and, in doing so, playing a key role in shaping our collective future.

Demonstrating international reach across both the public and private sectors, the School’s research successes are changing business, politics and society for the better.

Taking the risk out of farming A collaboration between Drs Enrico Biffis and Erik Chavez with Munich Re, the World Bank and Tanzanian banks led to an innovative loan-insurance product that dramatically changed the lives of tens of thousands of farmers in Tanzania.

With 30 per cent of adults globally still considered unbanked, the lack of access to the most basic financial services makes achieving long-term financial goals or managing unexpected emergencies difficult.

This research is helping some of the world’s most financially vulnerable people access affordable financial products.

Imperial Business

Planning for a low-emissions future As countries move towards net-zero emissions, policymakers are making important decisions regarding the future of energy networks. Both government and business need fast, accurate predictions to help them understand and prepare for the next 30, 40 or even 50 years.

Professor Richard Green and Dr Iain Staffell have been working to create economic and energy models that can quickly provide accurate information to help inform these decisions.

And, by making this information as accessible as possible, the benefits can be widely shared.

Boosting innovation in a FTSE 500 organisation R&D workers need autonomy to explore novel concepts, but business leaders want managerial oversight and control to ensure these ideas are of benefit to the company. This is a difficult balance to strike and getting it wrong can damage a corporation’s chances of nurturing innovation.

Professor Paola Criscuolo and Dr Anne ter Wal teamed up with a FTSE 500 multinational corporation to explore how to achieve a supportive environment for R&D. Their findings have implications for how the wider business community can drive up innovation – and, with it, employee satisfaction and company profitability.

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Determining the value of intangible assets Counting investment has long been one of the key ways economists and accountants make sense of growth, wealth and capital assets. But whereas most of the investment in these assets were once tangible (such as buildings and vehicles), intangible assets (such as R&D and design) are now a cornerstone of the economy.

Professor Jonathan Haskel worked with the Office of National Statistics to develop the measurement of intangibles, eventually leading to the inclusion of £6.2 billion of previously unidentified investment in books, film and music in the 2019 National Accounts.

Protecting innovation in the face of large-scale M&A Employees and business leaders often suffer during a merger. But innovation is also a frequent casualty of M&A deals, with consumers often ending up worse off as a result.

To address this problem, Professor Tommaso Valletti developed an innovation theory of harm, which later became an integral part of merger assessments. This then resulted in significant structural solutions, such as the divestment to rivals of large R&D facilities, during large-scale M&A deals.

Guiding homebuyers towards better financial decisions Buying a home is the most important financial decision the average person makes in their lifetime. The choice will affect their finances for decades, and, worryingly for regulators, the sum of a population’s decisions can have a profound impact on the wider economy.

For mortgages, a transaction that many find complicated and intimidating, theories and expectations can only go so far. Professors David Miles and Tarun Ramadorai carried out empirical research, which has led to more transparency in the UK and Indian mortgage markets.

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Confronting the rise in

childhood obesity

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Imperial College Business School is delivering the insights needed to address one of the most urgent public health challenges facing our society

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he STOP (Science & Technology in childhood Obesity Policy) project was funded in 2018 by the European Commission to find approaches to reduce levels of childhood obesity while supporting children already living with the disease. Led by the Business School’s Centre for Health Economics & Policy Innovation (CHEPI), the multidisciplinary collaboration includes key health and food sector partners from 16 countries worldwide.

The four-year, €10 million research project – Europe’s largest on obesity in children – set out to expand evidence on the rise in childhood obesity in European countries and make concrete policy recommendations to address this. Its primary focus is on the multiple factors impacting socially disadvantaged children and their families.

Estimates from the World Health Organization suggest 375 million under-19s worldwide are currently overweight or obese, affecting more than one in 10 children across parts of Europe – including the United Kingdom – and rising to one in three in countries such as Greece, Malta and Italy.

Professor Franco Sassi, Director of CHEPI and leader of the STOP project,

predicts that, without effective action, “this wave of childhood obesity will lead to more than one in three adults aged 20 and over being obese in the UK by 2025. Projects like STOP can prevent this by identifying and promoting effective solutions to make children more resilient to the influences of an obesogenic environment.”

The STOP project has shown childhood obesity is predominantly driven by commercial and biological forces beyond people’s control, and that urgent, bold interventions are crucial.

The role of schools STOP’s findings demonstrate the importance of schools – where children spend half of their time and consume one-third of their daily calories – in shaping healthy habits and nutrition choices. Research suggests simple visual cues, such as positive emojis next to healthy dishes, can lead to behaviour change in 76 per cent of people, while changing portion sizes or adding healthy options is effective in up to 80 per cent of cases.

The formulation of school meals is also crucial given the high consumption of ultra-processed foods

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(UPFs); Imperial’s STOP-supported study into the dietary habits of 9,000 children in England showed that one in five consumed 78 per cent of their calories from UPFs. However, STOP’s research indicates consumers are widely accepting of reformulated food choices, resulting in the reduction of salt and trans fats consumption by up to 85 per cent.

Societal impact In developed countries, socially disadvantaged children – defined as those from low-income families, low-education backgrounds, ethnic minorities or with limited means to take care of their health – are at greater risk of developing obesity. The STOP project focuses on the idea that obesity has multiple, diverse characteristics, meaning one-size-fits-all policy approaches are unlikely to succeed.

“This wave of childhood obesity will lead to more than one in three adults aged 20 and over being obese in the UK by 2025”

Professor Sassi says: “The behaviours of children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds are the ones we understand the least, and the drivers of those behaviours are what we need to change if we want to make a significant difference in childhood obesity.”

What’s next?

In 2022, the STOP project will continue to expand and consolidate the evidence base through research and cross-collaboration initiatives with partner projects also working to address the childhood obesity epidemic.

About the STOP project Led by Imperial College London and part of the Horizon 2020 programme, STOP is a four-year project that brings together 31 international research, advocacy and governmental organisations to generate evidence on the factors that have contributed to the spread of childhood obesity in Europe, and on the effects of alternative policy options available to address them.

The project engages partners from across Europe, as well as New Zealand and the US. Visit stopchildobesity.eu to find out more.

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Our redesigned MBA will develop global leaders who can deliver change With a focus on personal growth and depth of knowledge, Imperial’s reimagined Full-Time MBA will develop leaders who can drive societal change and tackle global challenges

Written by Professor Markus Perkmann

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“ Joining the London Tech Trek, students can visit the most innovative startups and forward-thinking corporations”

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mperial’s Full-Time MBA has always focused firmly on the future: the future of our students, and the future of business, technology and society. In an ever-changing world, we need to develop leaders with the depth of learning and interpersonal skills required to shape the future and address global challenges – and our updated Full-Time MBA programme has been designed to do just that.

Alongside a new module on responsible leadership, students can better tailor the programme to their interests and ambitions, and will learn to practice a more interpersonal skillset: initiative, endurance, the ability to communicate effectively with people from different backgrounds and how to present a business case effectively.

Together with dedicated careers support, the Full-Time MBA is designed to develop self-aware, purposeful leaders who make a positive impact on society.

Innovation and working on real-world challenges Imperial MBA students complete projects that focus on real-world business challenges, creating new ventures, or an applied consulting problem. This gives them the opportunity to practice key skills.

They are also coached by faculty members throughout the project, learning how to execute things in an effective way. But it’s not just about group work, it’s about experiences too.

Alongside broadening their business acumen, students experience Imperial’s ecosystem of innovation on the Innovation Challenge – a one-week learning laboratory where they can apply innovative thinking to complex international issues and find business

solutions. Joining the London Tech Trek, they can visit the most innovative startups and forward-thinking corporations and hear from the most inspiring business leaders.

Specialising early on Tailoring the MBA to your ideal company and position will leave you in the best position when you graduate. We’ve made this possible with stronger personalisation of the curriculum, reducing the number of mandatory core modules and introducing “flexcore” modules students can choose early on before the electives start.

Students are now able to specialise in a particular area at the start of the programme through choosing from one of three specialisms that align with in-demand skills: entrepreneurship, finance and analytics. Specialisms consist of a set combination of core, flexcore and elective options, as well as a project (either Strategic Consulting Project or Entrepreneurial Journey).

MBA students can network with faculty and students from other faculties while they study at Imperial. For example, AI Ventures is a new elective shared with the Faculty of Engineering.

Leadership and personal growth We’ve introduced a new faculty-led integrative module called LEADS (Leadership, Ethics, Awareness, Diversity, Sustainability). Running throughout the year, the module focuses on developing responsible, forward-looking leaders, contributors and strategists. Starting with a front end that frames the whole MBA experience, the module ends with an experiential capstone – an outdoor leadership experience – with international destinations considered for this critical component of the programme.

There is also the Personal Leadership Journey, a module led by Careers, which runs alongside LEADS and places more emphasis on personal and business communication skills.

Each student works with their allocated careers consultant to tailor their career journey and future proof their plans.

Going forwards with confidence We hope that implementing these changes to the framework of the programme will take our graduates forwards in the best way possible.

Whether you want to become a CEO, consultant or create your own business, it’s important to develop a strong sense of initiative and leadership.

Doing an MBA at Imperial is a life-changing period in a student’s career that allows them to acquire the skills, as well as the tenacity and mindset, to be a successful global leader. The MBA is an opportunity to investigate who you are and who you want to become.

About the author Markus Perkmann is Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the Academic Director of both the Imperial MBA and the Imperial Enterprise Lab. Markus also curates the Entrepreneurial Journey, an experiential startup programme across all on-site MBA programmes.

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Surabhi Sundarka MBA graduate, investment banker, advocate for women in finance Written by Laura Higgs

Imperial Business

After receiving one of Imperial’s first Advisory Board Scholarships, Surabhi Sundarka is ready to pursue her dreams and empower other young women to do the same

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urabhi Sundarka’s journey to her MBA began with a family business venture she launched at the age of 18. Working alongside her mother, Surabhi oversaw all aspects of the creative arts enterprise, from building brand awareness and networking with customers to sourcing raw materials – travelling beyond her hometown of Mumbai to do so. This eye-opening experience fueled her curiosity in the world of business, and ultimately led to her prestigious scholarship at Imperial College London.

Now, in 2021, Surabhi is a chartered accountant, a chartered secretary and a recent MBA graduate with six years’ experience in financial services – including delivering major corporate fraud projects. She’s secured a “dream job” with an American investment bank and aspires to become the managing director of a similar organisation in the future – but it’s not just about her; Surabhi is passionate about using her opportunities to support and empower other young women.

“ Being admitted to Imperial was one of the best feelings, but winning the scholarship was even greater”

In brief Completed a Full-Time MBA at Imperial in 1213 Finalist for Next Generation Leader of the Year at the 1213 Women in Finance Awards Founder of Humans of Business Schools Taught accountancy at an NGO in Mumbai

Women in finance The personal and professional challenges that Surabhi has faced have inspired a commitment to advancing the role of women in finance.

“Women are underrepresented from analyst roles to senior leadership, and I believe it is imperative to educate more women to enhance the gender diversity in finance and accounting.”

As a young woman in forensic auditing working alongside predominantly male colleagues, Surabhi recognised the “extra effort involved in making your presence felt and your voice heard.” Her experience teaching accountancy to disadvantaged students with the Taksheel Foundation – an NGO in Mumbai – was also impactful: “I’ve seen how capable young girls are, but the lack of opportunities and mentorship means they cannot

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progress further. I’ve been fortunate because I’ve had opportunities and good bosses, but not everyone does.”

A life-changing scholarship Key among these opportunities has been the Advisory Board Scholarship, which covers the cost of MBA tuition for students demonstrating exceptional merit and financial need. The scholarship enabled Surabhi to “step outside her comfort zone” and study internationally, and in the “financial capital of the world” – as well as being a powerful validation of her experience and capability.

“Being admitted to Imperial was one of the best feelings, but winning the scholarship was even greater.”

The impact is clear. Through networking opportunities with the Advisory Board – which partly funds the scholarship – Surabhi secured an investment banking internship and subsequent job offer with GrowthPoint Technology Partners, an investment bank founded by board member and Imperial alumnus Michael Shepherd.

“That’s the massive impact of the scholarship – not only did it ease my financial burden, but it also led to an internship and a dream job.”

Surabhi has also used her time at Imperial College London to establish Humans of Business Schools, a blog sharing the diverse stories of her coursemates. A trained Indian classical dancer with a love of writing and Tanjore painting, Surabhi found the blog gave her creativity an outlet while helping to bridge the distance that came from studying during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Similarly, she’s forged connections with her peers while helping to lead the university’s India Business Club and representing Imperial as a student ambassador.

Future plans Next up for Surabhi is an induction with GrowthPoint in Silicon Valley, California, and developing her skills at the bank’s London office, while using her presence and mentoring opportunities to support other women in business: “If I can bring about an interest for more young girls to pursue a career in finance, accountancy or business, I’d be happy.”

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Written by Professor Maurizio Zollo Livio Scalvini Lise Kingo Dr Samuel Tang

What form of business enterprise will enable a fair and green recovery?

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The Leonardo Centre on Business for Society has developed the first dataset of corporate initiatives targeted at social and environmental regeneration

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t the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society, we believe today’s logics of business enterprise and economic growth models are the main barriers to delivering a fair and green recovery.

The solution lies in creating a new form of business enterprise, one designed to compete based on its superior capabilities in creating economic and human value for its stakeholders.

This integrates the interests and the voice of the investors in financial, human, social and natural capital.

It requires a redesign of firms’ governance and strategic decision processes, incentive and control systems, innovation and marketing processes, supply chain and talent management, leadership models and cultural traits.

This form of enterprise will generate a virtuous cycle between economic prosperity, social equity and planetary regeneration that ensures a fair distribution of the opportunities to flourish.

We propose a collaborative model with business, policymakers

and civil society to explore, innovate and co-create evidence-based transformational change processes through a combination of behavioural data, organisational experimentation and scaling of the best solutions.

The Leonardo-Golden dataset We have developed the Leonardo-Golden dataset, the first dataset of corporate initiatives targeted at social and environmental regeneration. We used advanced machine-learning algorithms and a unique methodology that estimates the optimal distribution of effort across the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and across alternative actions to pursue them within business activities.

The data offers a baseline assessment of the status of an organisation in terms of the SDGs and the way it aims to contribute to them.

This is a quantitative and objective basis on which to create sustainability strategies that optimise financial performance as well as social and environmental impact.

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By comparing companies’ sustainability actions, we can estimate the optimal distribution of efforts across SDGs and types of behaviour that maximise financial performance and socio-environmental impact for companies within each sector.

Our goal is to provide managers, industries, investors, policymakers, civil society actors and academia with an innovative approach to corporate sustainability that is based on quantitative analysis of specific actions – moving beyond the subjective, qualitative company-level assessments in today’s ESG scores.

This is needed to help design, quantify and foster the move towards forms of enterprise that can enable economic prosperity to coexist with social justice, regeneration of nature, and mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.

New logic In addition to this data-driven work, discovering a new logic of business enterprise requires all stakeholders to come together to reimagine their roles and interdependencies. We share our diverse perspectives, approaches and experiences and, in this way, we can ideate innovative forms of change interventions and co-design scientifically sound and strategically orientated experiments inside companies, and with their stakeholders, to identify the best change approaches to core elements of business. The most effective solutions can then be scaled across the organisation and its sector through collaborative efforts.

“Our goal is to provide managers, industries, investors, policymakers, civil society actors and academia with a view on the sustainability of an enterprise”

Imperial Business

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Leonardo Centre on Business for Society The Leonardo Centre on Business for Society has been established to contribute to the transformation of the way business is done. It is a collaborative platform for business, policymakers, civil society and academia to co-create systemic change at scale. It is at the heart of a cross-disciplinary community of 15 Imperial College London research centres and a global community of more than 150 scholars in 60 universities around the world, working on a common research agenda: a more equitable, prosperous and sustainable future.

About the authors Professor Maurizio Zollo is the Head of the Department of Management & Entrepreneurship, and Scientific Director of the School’s Leonardo Centre on Business for Society. His research aims to understand how business organisations learn to grow and adapt to environmental turbulence and how managers can guide these evolutionary processes.

Livio Scalvini is Executive Director of the Leonardo Centre and CEO and co-founder of Golden for Impact, an international organisation developing alternative models of enterprise for economic and human value creation.

Lise Kingo is a sustainable business pioneer and Advisory Board Chair at the Leonardo Centre. Lise is also an Independent Board Director at Sanofi, Covestro and Aker Horizons, and was previously the CEO of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest responsible business initiative.

Dr Samuel Tang is a research affiliate at the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society. His research interests cover sustainability, corporate environmental management, climate change and environmental regulation and policy, and the science–policy interface.

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Alumni updates

A degree from Imperial College Business School is just the start of a great business leader’s journey.

Here’s what some of our alumni have been up to in the past year

Classes of 1990–99

Classes of 2000–09

Racha Alkhawaja Full-Time MBA 1994 Racha is one of the newest members of the Business School’s Global Online MBA Advisory Board. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge as co-founder of Reach NPIO, the first Dubai International Finance Centre non-profit organisation dedicated to mentoring young professionals.

David Stringer-Lamarre Full-Time MBA 2002 Theodora Kalentzi MSc International Health Management 2004 David and Theodora were married in Greece in August 2021, having met at an Imperial College Business School alumni gathering in London in 2010.

David Poole Full-Time MBA 1998 Although retired, David has just published his first book, entitled Entrepreneurs and SMEs in Rwanda, influenced by his experiences of providing support to businesses in Rwanda. This sparked his interest in the country’s efforts to kickstart economic development through entrepreneurship and SME sector creation.

Jyotsna J Chandrani MSc Management 2006 Jyotsna is a transformation specialist, with a passion for design-led change.

She is currently Senior Transformation Director and Global Product Owner, Group Operational & Resilience Risk at HSBC. A recent finalist for Mentor of the Year (Inspiring Women in Business Awards 2021), Jyotsna is deeply committed to enabling others to fulfil their aspirations. She is also an associate of the charity Education Saves Lives.

Roya Rahnejat MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering 2007 Roya joined the School’s Alumni Advisory Board in 2021 and is looking forward to helping strengthen the ties between the Business School and its global network of alumni. She is a client engagement director at Flybits, a platform that enables banks and other financial institutions to provide personalised customer experience via mobile channels. She is also Chairwoman of the Board at Anjoman, a British–Iranian business and professional networking society.

Pavel Zhdanov MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering 2008 Pavel is founder of GBL Robotics and MontyCafe, which develop service robots with human-orientated interfaces, autonomous navigation and huge language capabilities.

The MontyCafe’s robots serve coffee, drinks and sweet treats anywhere from shopping centres to airports and offices, with installations already in several countries across the globe.

He is in the process of developing a new robotic pizza machine.

Imperial Business

Class of 2012 Carolyne Denzler MSc Strategic Marketing 2012 Carolyne is a German native with an international background who spent several years living abroad in New York, London, Barcelona and now Paris. After graduation she kickstarted her career at L’Oréal where she is currently Global Marketing Director. In 2021, she launched EditionCarolyne.com where she offers free mentoring sessions to young professionals.

Thanks to Carolyne’s mentoring, many of her mentees have secured coveted entry-level positions at Fortune 500 companies.

Class of 2013 Divya Gupta MSc Management Divya was highly commended in the Alumni Entrepreneur Award category at Imperial’s Alumni Awards 2021.

She is co-founder and CEO of Momzjoy.com, India’s leading maternity and nursing fashion brand.

She is working on launching a new women’s fashion line.

Julia Osetrova MSc Strategic Marketing Julia joined the Imperial Women’s Network in 2021 and is supporting the committee to bring together women in business for peer-to-peer support. She works at Hawkeye (Publicis Groupe) as Account Manager for a big tech client, coordinating their CRM campaigns internationally.

Madalena Godinho Ramos MSc Finance Madalena was included in Forbes’ list of the top 30 finance professionals under 30 in Europe for her role as Principal at Blackstone.

Class of 2014 Virginie Bauman MSc Strategic Marketing In summer 2021, Virginie launched Instant Cactus, a weekly podcast series featuring inspiring individuals with remarkable careers, from or based in French-speaking Switzerland.

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Class of 2017 Shyam Anjaria MSc Strategic Marketing Shyam was a recipient of the Dean’s Community Award for Alumni for his outstanding support of the Business School alumni and student community.

Shyam is an active volunteer, supporting students with career queries and alumni advice. He helped establish the Alumni Guide Scheme, a buddying scheme between MSc students and alumni, which saw over 70 pairings last year. In his day job, he is a management consultant and venture scout at Deloitte UK.

Class of 2016 Vivian Tam Distance Learning MBA Vivian joined the Imperial Women’s Network in 2021. Based in Toronto, she is the Senior Consultant, Governance & Strategy Treasury Board Secretariat for the Canadian Government.

Mutlu Dogus Yildirim Distance Learning MBA Mutlu is the founder of Airsqreen, which brings together the automation technologies of the internet advertising industry to digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH). He had to reposition the company’s focus after coronavirus (COVID-19) hit, but he now manages a team of 30 people from across the globe, working to make Airsqreen the top disruptive DOOH advertising company in more than 20 countries.

Alizeh Atif MSc Strategic Marketing Alizeh is the founder of Be Guided Now, offering personalised support and guidance counselling to those looking to apply to top-tier universities.

Based in Pakistan, Alizeh provides a bespoke service focusing on effective CV writing, interview preparation, public speaking and interpersonal development.

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Kyriakos Eleftheriou and Raouf Yousfi MSc Management Kyriakos and Raouf were named in Forbes’ listing of the top 30 technology entrepreneurs in Europe under 30 for their startup Terra. After raising $2.8 million in funding, they launched their application programming interface, which allows developers to tap into fitness and health data generated by software and hardware for an enhanced user experience.

Tolu Oni MSc Economics & Strategy for Business In 2020, Tolu was appointed to the newly formed Young Adviser Programme at Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs.

The programme aims to increase the diversity of contributions from young people in global matters. He is also a mentor with the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which supports young entrepreneurs. In his professional life, he is founder of the Thread Group, based in Nigeria; he works with governments and businesses to make effective and informed decisions to innovate and grow.

Michael Rosam Executive MBA Following a successful career with McLaren, Michael decided to pursue his entrepreneurial dream.

He successfully raised $3.2 million in seed funding and was able to launch Quix, a platform that provides an end-to-end development environment for building data-driven applications. It allows developers to build applications using live data streams and real-time machine learning, to develop, test and deploy all in one place.

Asrif Yusoff Global Online MBA Asrif is a learning and development practitioner and researcher based in Kuala Lumpur. He is also a doctoral candidate at Durham University and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Social Innovation & Change at Taylor’s University. He is a great supporter of the Imperial alumni community, often sharing his advice through mentorship engagements with the Malaysian chapter and alumni blogs.

Class of 2018 Alvaro Lara MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance Alvaro recently joined the Business School’s Alumni Advisory Board as the first member from the MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance, where he supports the School’s work in alumni engagement. He is a managing consultant for Guidehouse in their Energy, Sustainability & Infrastructure practice, supporting the public and commercial sectors.

William Vandyk Global Online MBA William came back to the Business School to undertake an online course, Leadership in a Technology Driven World, as part of a specific offering to alumni who had been negatively affected by the pandemic. Since then, he has been appointed as Managing Director at financial services advisory firm Addere Capital.

Tennessee Watt MSc Management Tennessee joined the School’s Alumni Advisory Board in 2021, helping decide the strategic direction of our alumni relations and engagement. She was recently awarded the Dean’s Community Award for Alumni in recognition of her work in going above and beyond to support the School’s community through volunteering and enhancing student experience and learning. She is an advocate for equity of opportunity and dedicates much time to supporting underrepresented groups in achieving their full potential. Tennessee works as a Digital Communications Associate at Purpose Union.

Imperial Business

Class of 2019 Daniela Arroyo-Olson and Tiago Fachada MSc Climate Change, Finance & Management Daniela and Tiago met while studying at the Business School. They realised there is a widespread awareness among businesses of the need to act against climate change but that SMEs struggle to reduce environmental impact and integrate sustainability into everyday business decisions. They set up Ecofye, which supports companies to map out their climate-related risks and opportunities and provide tailored and time-efficient solutions.

Carlotta Dal Lago Executive MBA Carlotta is the founder and Chairman of the Board for the Nairobi Arboretum Conservancy Community Forest Association, which is working to restore and maintain the main urban park in Nairobi, together with the Kenya Forest Service. The aim is to manage the park without having to rely on government funds by generating strong partnerships with the private sector and communities. It has been declared a centre of excellence for urban greenification in Kenya. On top of this, she is Head of Business Development, Marketing & Communication for law firm Anjarwalla & Kanna and ALN, and a business mentor for the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

Angela Malik Weekend MBA Angela joined the Imperial Women’s Network as a committee member in 2021. Among her many other roles, she is a culinary educator, serial entrepreneur, social innovator and government advisor. Most recently, she launched the health tech company Planet Nourish, focused on aiding the remission of type 2 diabetes among South Asian populations globally via digital change programmes, helping people cook, eat and connect their way to better health.

Alice Wainwright Weekend MBA During the UK’s first lockdown, Alice launched RISE, a subscription coffee box, delivering independent, sustainable and premium coffee to customers’ doors. Part of the ethos and mission of RISE is to work with partner brands that have a social conscience, from supporting fair farmers’ wages to being plastic free. Off the back of the success of this startup, Alice launched RISE English Wine, a curated wine club.

She was highly commended in the Women of the Future Awards 2020 in the Entrepreneurship category.

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Class of 2020 Kristin Marin MSc Climate Change, Management & Finance Since graduating, Kristin has joined the Energy Transition & Sustainability practice at Ampersand Partners, a boutique sustainability strategy consultancy based in London. Her focus has been on supporting the commercial real estate sector to deliver net-zero carbon, helping them to act with the launch of the CUBE Competition. The competition uses gamification and a collaborative, fun environment to bring landlords, occupiers and building managers together to change behaviour and take the first steps towards reducing energy consumption across office buildings in the UK. She also works with ESG startups, using artificial intelligence to tackle greenwashing and support often-forgotten sectors to create long-term sustainable value.

Jessica Oliver Full-Time MBA In December 2021, Jessica will be rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. She is hoping to raise £100,000 for the charities Shelter and Women’s Aid.

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The last word on...

Coronavirus (COVID-19) “The events of the past year have proven to be a key motivator for many in understanding exactly what might be possible when demands for immediate change are heard and acted on.”

Professor Francisco Veloso Dean of Imperial College Business School

A brief look at the School’s key themes in the words of our academics Digital transformation “The ground floor of digital transformation is accessible.

Things as simple as a customerfacing website, an active social media presence or digitalising business processes can all be built into a digital strategy that contributes to basic organisational needs.”

Professor Christopher Tucci Professor of Digital Strategy & Innovation

Sustainable development and social responsibility “Many companies will need to have a rethink about their current business models and ask whether they are serving the greater good of society, particularly in relation to the climate crisis.”

Professor Maurizio Zollo Professor of Strategy & Sustainability

Finance and institutional resilience “Households have to make financial decisions as sophisticated as those made by corporations – without guidance. We need to find a way to democratise financial tools.”

Professor Tarun Ramadorai Professor of Financial Economics

Economics and finance of climate change “Investment is hampered by a narrow view of what’s ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for the climate. We want financial institutions to work with all sectors, especially those with a poor starting point, and help build finance structures that will map out a transition path towards decarbonisation.”

Mili Fomicov Research Associate, Centre for Climate Finance & Investment

Healthcare innovation management and policy “Being healthy is a precondition to learning, working and being productive.

Healthier societies perform better economically. We’ve tended to think of lockdowns in terms of health versus wealth but, as any health economist will tell you, health and the economy go hand in hand.”

Dr Marisa Miraldo Associate Professor in Health Economics

A gift that can help change the world.

PhD student Aina Roca Barcelo’s world has transformed thanks to the generosity of Imperial alumni and friends. An epidemiologist focusing on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, Aina has been able to leave her home country of Spain to pursue research in the Faculty of Medicine.

After completing a Master’s degree, Aina was awestruck to be offered a two-year research assistant contract at Imperial in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “I couldn’t believe I’d be working at one of the best universities in the world with people I’ve admired all my life. I was determined to make the most of it.”

When applying for her PhD, Aina was committed to staying at Imperial. She received the President’s Scholarship, which ensures extraordinary students are free to excel. “The President’s Scholarship is the only reason I am in London doing a PhD right now,” she says.

No one knows the value of an Imperial education – and of Imperial research – better than the College community, and it is your support that helps to ensure financial barriers do not stand in our students’ way.

With your help, we can continue to provide essential aid to disadvantaged and deserving students through the Imperial Bursary, attract the best and brightest applicants with the President’s Scholarship, and meet the needs of those facing sudden financial hardship which casts their future at Imperial into doubt.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to turn my dream into reality.

Aina Roca Barcelo, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics PhD.

Your support can transform the life of an individual student.

And because they are Imperial students, many of those you support now will go on to change the world. If you would like to support students like Aina, whether through a gift today or with a gift in your will, please contact Anna Wall, Head of Regular Giving and Legacy Giving: +44 (0)20 7594 3801 a.wall@imperial.ac.uk Find out more online at www.imperial.ac.uk/giving/ business-21

Q. How do you protect the economy and public health?

Q. Does a social conscience help in business? Q. What does your job say about you?

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