The Good Leader

Chhavi Sharma - Laidlaw Scholar from the University of Hong Kong - discusses her research into the way augmented reality can be used for complex data visualization, and her project Change The Code, which aims to improve the gender ratio in STEM industries by encouraging more female students to take up science and technology-related fields.

Roma Agrawal - structural engineer, diversity campaigner, and author of Built: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Structures, discusses how structures can be oppressive (and inclusive!), the gender gap in STEM professions, and facing discrimination in the workplace.  

Sir David Carter shares his recipe for successful multi-academy trust leadership, such as the 5 things to focus on when turning around a failing school, the 4 most important aptitudes of a trust CEO, and how to effectively transfer best practice between schools.

Durham University Laidlaw Scholarship alumna Beth Davenport discusses her research into plant genetic engineering, climate grief, and white privilege in a global crisis. 

Composer, academic, and cultural activist Dr Shirley J. Thompson discusses the importance of constantly questioning the status quo, transforming established narratives, and how music can change the world. You can find the references, further reading suggestions and the transcript of the episode, on the Laidlaw Scholars Network.

University of Toronto Laidlaw Scholar Sanjna Ullal discusses her investigation into the double-marginalisation of dalit women in urban India, the role of personal identity in research, and her podcast, Women Advocating for Change - a space that simultaneously recognizes the struggles many women go through, and highlights their ability to effect change in dynamic ways. 

Best-selling author and Acumen Founder & CEO, Jacqueline Novogratz, and Laidlaw Foundation CEO, Susanna V. Kempe, discuss how to become a moral leader in a world that desperately needs a new model of leadership. What is a moral imagination and how do you exercise it? How do you write your own personal manifesto? And how do we redefine success to enact a moral revolution, moving away from putting profit at the centre, to prioritizing humanity and the Earth instead?

This week Nikol is joined by Ana Cuteanu - an Arts & Sciences student and former Laidlaw Scholar at University College London, to discuss Ana's research into the use of the internet in medical patients, her social enterprise project aimed at alleviating youth unemployment, and the importance of experiencing other cultures.  Send us your thoughts at contact@laidlawfoundation.com or leave a comment below! #TheGoodLeader

Dr Patricia Fara - an incredibly established and respected academic in the field of History of Science and the author of A Lab of One's Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War - discusses her unusual leadership journey, the position of women in science throughout history, and what is wrong with the way we write female biographies. Dr Fara was a Director of Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge, the Senior Tutor at Clare College, President of the British Society for the History of Science, and currently she is an Emeritus Fellow at Clare College and President of the Antiquarian Horological Society. She has published a range of academic and popular books on the history of science, such as Science: A Four Thousand Year History, Newton: The Making of a Genius, and most recently A Lab of One's Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War, which we will discuss in this episode. She also regularly writes for publications such as Nature, and appears on TV and radio programmes, such as In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg. You can access the transcript, references, and further reading on the Laidlaw Scholars Network: https://laidlawscholars.network/rooms/846-the-good-leader-podcast #TheGoodLeader

Former Laidlaw Scholar at the University of York, Elif Emma True, discusses her research into the importance of the way we talk about poverty in the UK, the power of being angry in this world, and her amazing podcast called Deprivation Discourse, which you can find at deprivationdiscourse.com or on Spotify. You can access the transcript, references, and further reading on the Laidlaw Scholars Network: https://laidlawscholars.network/rooms/846-the-good-leader-podcast #TheGoodLeader

This week Nikol talks to Kaitlin Fritz (COO) and Olga Kravchenko (CEO) - co-founders of the VR edtech startup Musemio that is set to make children's arts & cultural education accessible. Olga and Kaitlin discuss their entrepreneurial journeys, what it's like to be young international female co-founders in the tech startup world, and the importance of finding your foil.  Musemio has won numerous highly-regarded awards such as the £10,000 UCL Launch Award and Queen Mary’s Engagement and Enterprise Awards for social impact, and it has been named UCL’s ‘Most Promising Startup’ at the 2019 UCL Awards for Innovation and Enterprise. The startup secured over £30,000 in funding, from angel investment and being in Bethnal Green Ventures. Send us your thoughts at contact@laidlawfoundation.com  #TheGoodLeader You can access the transcript, references, and further reading on the Laidlaw Scholars Network: https://laidlawscholars.network/rooms/846-the-good-leader-podcast

This our first Scholar Spotlight episode - a rubric of The Good Leader podcast dedicated to exploring the research and leadership journeys of our brilliant & diverse Laidlaw Scholars. How is their research helping us make the planet a better place for everyone? Which challenges have they faced throughout the process, and what have they learnt? How are they embracing the Laidlaw values of being ambitious, brave, curious, determined, extraordinary, and fast? To stand in for the first Laidlaw value - ambitious - we have Charlie Bingham who is a mature Archaeology student and Laidlaw Scholar at the University of York. We explore how being a single mother of two wonderful sons helped her become a better leader and how she is learning to overcome imposter syndrome while conducting research into ancient plant DNA.  You can access the transcript, references, and further reading on the Laidlaw Scholars Network: https://laidlawscholars.network/rooms/846-the-good-leader-podcast #TheGoodLeader

This week Nikol talks to the CEO of the Laidlaw Foundation and Chair of Laidlaw Schools Trust - Susanna V. Kempe - about her remarkable leadership journey, gender bias in the workplace, and the bravest thing she has ever done.  Susanna started as a Marketing Assistant at Lord Laidlaw's former company - Institute for International Research - and left it as Chief Marketing Officer. She was the CEO of Emap Networks, WGSN, CMO of several organisations, and founded her own business before turning to philanthropy and education.  Send us your thoughts at contact@laidlawfoundation.com  #TheGoodLeader You can access the transcript, references, and further reading on the Laidlaw Scholars Network: https://laidlawscholars.network/rooms/846-the-good-leader-podcast