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Best podcasts about university of birmingham

Latest podcast episodes about university of birmingham

ResearchPod
Diagnosing Traumatic Brain Injury with a Handheld Device

ResearchPod

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2024 12:52 Transcription Available


Traumatic brain injury remains a major cause of disability and death worldwide, and timely detection of the injury could lead to early intervention and save lives.Professor Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer at the University of Birmingham, UK, has developed a novel handheld device that helps detect and classify brain injury by scanning the back of the eyes.Read more in Research Features Read the original research: doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adg5431

Navigating Major Programmes
Optimistic Estimate Hypothesis With Ian Heptinstall | S2 EP9

Navigating Major Programmes

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2024 63:23


Riccardo Cosentino takes an ongoing LinkedIn debate with Ian Heptinstall live in this episode of Navigating Major Programmes for a fascinating conversation with one common goal: to elevate major programmes. The pair discuss the use of reference class forecasting, the predominance of strategic misrepresentation, and optimism bias during project estimation—both drawing on their practical and academic experiences to substantiate their points. “One of my concerns, if we think the problem with projects is that our estimates are too light and the answer is to increase the estimates, is that it is a vicious spiral. That just means expected costs will go up and up and up over time. If we separate the three elements of time, and think maybe we missed the target, not because the target was impossible, but our methods of execution were such that it made it very hard to achieve the target. That actually gives us an opening for a virtuous cycle because there are, so called, black swans that show that the same estimates are achievable and can be done reliably. ” –   Ian Heptinstall   Ian Heptinstall combines over 35 years of industry experience with academic expertise, to bring a unique perspective to CapEx & Construction Project Management and Procurement & Supply Chain. As an Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham, Ian focuses on practical methodologies like Theory of Constraints (TOC), critical chain, and collaborative procurement, which he advocates for practically improving performance in various industries. Key Takeaways:The importance of focusing on execution and preparation over quality of estimations  Tipping the Iron Law on its head with collaborative contracting, IPD and alliance contracting  Reference class forecasting in project management: advantages and limitationsImpact of strategic misrepresentation and optimism bias; the political influence on project estimates and management  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. The conversation doesn't stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community: Follow Ian Heptinstall on LinkedInFollow Navigating Major Programmes on LinkedInFollow Riccardo Cosentino on LinkedInRead Riccardo's latest at wwww.riccardocosentino.com Transcript:Riccardo Cosentino  0:05  You're listening to Navigating Major Programmes, a podcast that aims to elevate the conversations happening in the infrastructure industry and inspire you to have a more efficient approach within it. I'm your host, Riccardo Cosentino. I bring over 20 years of Major Programme Management experience. Most recently, I graduated from Oxford University Saïd Business School, which shook my belief when it comes to navigating major programmes. Now it's time to shake yours. Join me in each episode as I press the industry experts about the complexity of Major Programme Management, emerging digital trends and the critical leadership required to approach these multibillion-dollar projects. Let's see where the conversation takes us.   Riccardo Cosentino  0:53  Hello, everyone, and welcome to a new episode of Navigating Major Programmes. I'm here today with Ian Heptinstall, who is Associate Professor in Programme and Project Management at the University of Birmingham and he's joining me today from Birmingham, I assume. How are you doing, Ian?   Ian Heptinstall  1:09  Hi, Riccardo. Not quite Birmingham, I live in Cheshire. So I'm closer to Manchester or Liverpool than Birmingham.   Riccardo Cosentino  1:15  Okay.   Ian Heptinstall  1:16  But fortunately, most of my students aren't at Birmingham either, they're all over the world. Riccardo Cosentino  1:21  And I mean, maybe just for the audience, you and I connected a few times on LinkedIn exchanging views, exchanging comments on various posts on various topics. And so I think we finally, I think you finally prompted that we could have a more productive conversation on the podcast rather than on comments on LinkedIn, which is always helpful, but probably not the most conducive way of having a conversation. And so why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?   Ian Heptinstall  1:48  Exactly, thank you, Riccardo. I am Ian Heptinstall. I'm a late career academic, I've been working in academia at the University of Birmingham now for five years, primarily in a teaching role, although I've started to add some research elements to that. And I currently teach on an MSc program that's delivered to part-time students who study by distance learning. So my students are working in project organizations on projects all around the world. And they want to add to that master's level insight. And as we were chatting too before, our focus in the UK is that at master's level, the key component of that is critical thinking, critical analysis, critical thinking, understanding the evidence behind ideas. But before I joined academia, I had 35 years or so in practical experience. I qualified as an engineer. I started working in the chemical industry in the mid-80s, mostly in project-related roles, either managing small projects or manufacturing facilities, and managing larger projects, being a technical expert, often supporting projects. That was back in the days when project owners had a self-delivery capability, so they had their own engineering organizations. Interestingly, in the 90s, the company I worked for was known as ICI, which doesn't really exist anymore. But it was the third largest chemical company in the world, so-called bellwether of the U.K. business environment and the U.K. stock market. But during the 90s, it was one of the many organizations that started to sort of what Professor Stuart Reid calls "hollowing out," that in-house capability of employees was reduced with a view to what we can but that service in as and when we needed it. And actually, in the late 90s and early 2000s, client organizations could buy that in because the contractors and consultancies had ex-employees there who had got that 20 years of experience of how to think like a project owner and what impact that had on managing the project through its own lifecycle. So that gave me the chance to see projects from the owner's perspective and a supplier's perspective. Later in the 90s, I was involved in one of the first collaborative contracted project alliances in the U.K. that wasn't in the oil and gas industry. And now, I don't understand why all project procurement is not done collaboratively using project alliances. But that's not the topic for tonight's discussion.  Riccardo Cosentino  5:08  Yeah, that's another podcast. That's another long podcast. You and I exchanged on this a few times.   Ian Heptinstall  5:14  Yeah, definitely.   Riccardo Cosentino  5:17  So what are we talking about today, then? Ian Heptinstall  5:20  We, as you said, we had some chats on LinkedIn about the ideas of the use of reference class forecasting, the predominance of strategic misrepresentation, optimism bias during project estimation, all wrapped up into what I've started calling the optimistic estimate hypothesis. In the debts, a proposed way that project environments work. The idea being because the data shows that most estimates, sorry, most projects fail to achieve their targets, Flyvbjerg made famous as the Iron Law of projects, was the Iron Law of mega project management, but became projects, that is about over time, over budget, under benefits, over and over again. And I think there's a significantly strong range of data that says a large proportion of projects fail to hit their own targets. So my argument wasn't with that conclusion. What I'm calling the optimistic estimate hypothesis says the reason for that is that the targets themselves were always impossible to achieve. And because they're impossible to achieve, that's why we never hit them. And therefore, the solution to that is to stop impossible targets being associated with projects when they get approved. And then the proposed intervention is using a technique known as reference class forecasting or a variation of reference class forecasting. So not always based on absolute values but relative percentage performance, which is another concern of the implementation of the method. It basically says, let's make sure that the target is at least compatible to targets we've had in the past. And on face value, I've got no issue with that. If, like me, you've come up from fairly mature project management and engineering environments, one of the estimating methods that has always been used is based on past performance. Riccardo Cosentino  7:56  Benchmarking.   Ian Heptinstall  7:57  Yeah. It's not performance benchmarking in the true sense of the term, it's taking your own data and seeing how compatible it is. Parametric estimating is a method, so long as you've got the feedback cycles from actuals that keep your estimating databases up to date. Now maybe tying into the observation about the hollowing out of project-owning organizations, maybe that feedback loop of capturing actuals and feeding it back into estimating data was broken. I don't know, you're probably more closely associated with that than I am. Professional estimators should not be naive of real estimating data in the past. I can't see it just as being biased from professional estimators. Amateur estimators, I can understand how they would be naive and miss things, but not professionals. Riccardo Cosentino  9:02  Look, I'm a big subscriber of your theory. I am 100% in agreement with you. In fact, I think your theory or thesis has got a lot of strength and in fact.   Ian Heptinstall  9:21  Can we clarify which one because I don't think the optimistic estimate hypothesis is valid. I'm just describing what it is. We're here for me to fix some holes in it.   Riccardo Cosentino  9:31  So, I actually think it's, I think it's actually very valid. And the reason I think it's very valid, because in my experience, I have always looked at a project, you know I've 25 years experience in this industry, and I always wondered from a purely technical standpoint, if you had unlimited access to data or if you have a lot of data and you have a lot of experience and you have a lot of experienced individuals, you can approximate an estimate. However, historically, or my experience was that all of the projects I worked on were over budget, all of them. So I could not understand how very capable, very intelligent human beings, with great experience could not estimate a closer to the actual. Because statistically speaking, I mean, if it was random, it will be 50/50. Right? You know, sometimes.   Ian Heptinstall  10:33  Why? There's many phenomena in the world that are not normally distributed. So why would we expect it if it was really random? But I don't think it is random? I think it's (inaudible). Riccardo Cosentino  10:48  I don't think it is random either. But that's what I'm saying. It's like, if it was random, it would be 50/50. Right? So if he was really, if it was impossible to estimate something, or really, really, really difficult to estimate something, then it will be a random outcome, which will be a 50/50. But that's not a problem we have because the majority of the projects are over budget, right? It's not, or at least the mega project. Let me define it a bit, a bit better, it's not really the mega project that I have experience with.   Ian Heptinstall  11:25  Shall I give you a mega project that smashed the reference class?   Riccardo Cosentino  11:31  Yes.   Ian Heptinstall  11:33  Anyone who travels a lot long distances will know Embraer who work along with Bombardier, make the sort of medium-sized passenger jets, with Boeing and Airbus on the much bigger jet. The reference class for designing, developing and bringing to operations a new passenger jet was between 80 and 100 months. And in the new jets that have been produced the century since the turn of the millennium, many have estimated six years, but they've all taken about eight years. Embraer estimated five years and completed the project seven weeks early. So had they planned and achieved to the reference class, they'd have brought the second generation E-jets, the E2 jets to market just before COVID struck. As it is now, the E2 jets have had, for them, record sales performance and one of the most efficient in their class on the market at the moment. So they didn't follow the reference class. And it's extremely complex to about a four to $5 billion project. Riccardo Cosentino  13:08  And I don't, okay, I think, I think, I don't, I think we were saying, I think I was trying to explain why I believe that the, how do you call it, the optimism estimate hypothesis, because it resonates with, why it resonates with me is because I think there is something systemic in the way the estimates are put together. I couldn't put my finger to it before I started reading, got myself educated on the topic. And that sounds a fairly rational explanation that, you know, strategic misrepresentation and optimism bias play a role in that. The reference class forecasting, I think I need to clarify, because I would never make an estimate out of a reference class forecaste. Like, that's not how you estimate things. And I think when you don't have the certainty, when you're talking about things where you making assumptions, you're never going to be 100% correct. So the way, personally, I think you have to do it and this is done in other industry, you triangulate, you know, you start from a bottom up, then you do a top down and then you start layering on qualitative factors and then at the end, you make a decision on what number to pick, but it's a decision based on on multiple parameters. And to me, reference forecasts, you know, I give the example many times about the mergers and acquisition industry, right? In M&A, you start with the discounted cash flow, lets you bottom up estimate of how much your company's worth and then, but whenever you do a DCF you need to make assumptions you know, you got to predict what the revenue growth over the next five years is going to be, blah, blah, blah. And so those assumptions might or might not be right. So you have one data point, then you have another data point, which is your reference class forecast. So in the finance industry, it's going to comps ratio, comps analysis, where you're looking at similar companies. You're looking at how much they're worth on the stock market and you trying to draw similarity. And that's your second data point that will be different from your bottom up. It'd be your top, right? So now you got two data points on trying to identify what a company is worth, and the worth of a company is very subjective as well. So then you got to layer in your qualitative analysis. So to me, yeah, I'm not here to debate the reference class forecast. It is an estimating tool. I'm here to debate that there is optimism bias and the risk strategic measure representation. And so what do we do about that? Ian Heptinstall  15:56  I agree that those things exist. The optimism bias, I'm not sure. I'm still still thinking about that bit. Because if you, in reading the literature, a strong link is made to the work of Kahneman and Tversky and Daniel Kahneman's introduction of the term optimism bias and estimates. And what's interesting is if you look at, Kahneman use as an example that he was involved in developing a new educational course and textbook in Israel, and when you read it through, the bad with retrospect estimates were from the non-experts, the expert in the room knew it would take seven years and had the reference class in their head. But they were not, you know, they were in a support role. So actually, the expert estimate was quite good. It was the amateur estimate that was deemed to be optimistic. But when thinking about that, it seemed to me that when we're talking about time and money, either spent or estimated, they, an estimate will have three components. The first component is what it is feasible to do with it. The perfect position. Then there's another set of factors that relate to things outside your control, outside influences, unknowable risks and things that could emerge that have an impact on how long something will take. But there are two separate components. There's actually a third component particularly relevant when we're talking about projects, and that the whole collection of, of managerial practices of how we go about doing the thing, so that the time that we estimate and the time that it takes, I like to see us having at least those three major components. Now, the "iron law of projects" tells us that the total time estimate was less than it actually took us. I think we get much more insight, if we think okay, well, which of those three components had the biggest role to play? Was it, it being feasible or unfeasible? Was the estimate that bad it was physically impossible to do? Were there things that were unreasonable that professionals to have known about in advance? Were there the black swans, so to speak? And if there were, at least that explains to us where the issue arose? Or was it how we go about managing and implementing our projects? Are they inherently inefficient? Are they the reason that we struggle so much to deliver to our estimates? So, I'm questioning is it the feasibility of the estimate that's wrong? Or is it how we've gone about doing it? Because in the field of construction capital projects, the methods around the world are fairly consistent. You know, where I've done my straw polls over my career, I see great levels of similarity. People often, "How do you know so much because you've never been to our country before?" Colombia, you're not that different. How do you know African oil and gas industry? I've had the same conversations. Because I've said you're not as different as you think you are. But I think that third element is where the differences arise. Now, an analogy that I often use is if we think about the winning a marathon, world class athletes have no problem running a marathon in two and a half hours. Now, if I estimate that I will run my first ever marathon in two and a half hours, that estimate is not unfeasible. It's very unlikely. But it's unlikely because of the managerial aspects. Will I put the time and effort into the training? Will I do the preparation? Will I drink less and eat better food? Will I? So it's how I go about preparing for the marathon. One of my concerns if we think the problem with projects is our estimates are too light, and the answer is to increase the estimates, that's a vicious spiral. That just means expected costs will go up and up and up over time. If we separate the three elements of time and think maybe we missed the target, not because the target was impossible, but our methods of execution was such that it made it very hard to achieve the target, that actually gives us an opening for a virtuous cycle because there are so-called black swans that show that the same estimates are achievable and can be done reliably. We touched upon the area of collaborative contracting, IBD, project alliancing. This project from hundreds of real-life projects that have tipped the iron law on its head, you probably know, well know the Walker Hartley and Mills paper from 2013 from Australia, they had, 4% of projects went over budget, and about 20% went over time. So 90% were on or under budget 75% were on or under time. And all they changed was how the projects was procured. Riccardo Cosentino  22:13  So you're not going to get an argument from me on on that topic because I do believe, I, you know, another hypothesis, I do believe that collaboration is the answer when you're dealing with complex projects. However, just going back challenging a little bit on the is it the estimate was not feasible to begin with, is it actually the execution, if we increase the budgets to begin with, are we just to even cover the poor execution. I'm paraphrasing what you're saying. But, having said that, well, yeah, and this, this is more on the, you know, when you are dealing with lump sum, turnkey contracts rather than Alliance contract, where ultimately, a client comes up with an estimate, right, they have their own estimate, they have a budget, and especially for public sector clients, those budget are, even are fully disclosed and known in ballparks. And now you have a contractor trying to win the work. And, I think we talked about this, before we came online is you know, the contractor knows that in order to win the contract will have to be near or below the client estimate. And so now, the optimism bias, the strategic misrepresentation is perpetuated in the bidding process by the contractors because they need to secure the work. Right? So in in an environment where you have lump sum turnkey fixed price, I do think it matters to start with the right budget, because that dictates the behaviors of the parties in the following steps.   Ian Heptinstall  23:57  But what is the right budget? If you want a budget that is very feasible to be achieved? If people work in a particular way, yes. But then you risk just wasting lots of money because a fixed price lump sum contract is that what it will cost you whether it's needed or not. And yeah, if there weren't these high-risk pressures on the participants to sort of play games, hide things, not be totally open and honest. And one of my concerns with the idea of strategic misrepresentation and the term deception, these people are being deceptive, no, they're playing by the rules of the game that are set in. Now, as Eli Goldratt once said, "Tell me how you measure me, and I'll tell you how I will behave. If you measure me in a dumb way, don't complain about my behavior." And I think that's what we're observing in many of the practices in the construction sector where owners are using processes and then they're complaining when they don't win, or change the rules of the game or the approach they take is to get better at this adversarial aggressive game. So we see projects where the most experienced, the most capable and the most highly-salaried individuals are those trying to control and police the contractual loopholes and administrating and nail everything down, and the lawyers, the commercial managers, the senior (inaudible). Yep. A fortune is being spent on people who are not thinking about   Riccardo Cosentino  26:00  Solving problems. Ian Heptinstall  26:01  How do we get this hospital built quickly? How do we get this hospital built so that it's open and treating people 18 months sooner than we have in the past? Or that we can have 20 more beds, or that we can free up some money to employ so many more healthcare practitioners? It's focusing on the skills on the wrong thing. And actually, I think the industry is going to have a big problem if we get our way and collaborative contracting becomes the norm. What are we going to do with the hundreds of thousands of professionally qualified contract police? That's what a lot of people do. Riccardo Cosentino  26:46  Ian, again, I'm not gonna argue with you, because on that you and I agree, 100, like, to me, I think you said it and I always say it, like, there are resources on projects that add no value or solving problems for the success of the project. And so redirecting the the effort to those results, or redirecting those resources, to more meaningful, yeah, as I said, a lawyer, you know, a claim against the client does not make concrete being poured faster, you know? A schedule analysis in order to substantiate a claim does not make concrete being poured faster. Ian Heptinstall  27:29  And actually, the the issue with that is I think that the skills and the capability to manage the detail flow of work so that concrete is poured faster and worked on sooner, that sort of logistics flow management capability is also petrifying. Now, projects that are getting into techniques and methods like lean construction, are starting to work on that, or project production management are starting to bring in some of those skills and knowledge of how to how to manage the flow of work. But it's suddenly become a niche rather, whereas it should really be core. And the core skill is actually contract administering and locking up (inaudible).   Riccardo Cosentino  28:23  No value add, right? There is no value add to the ultimate goal, which is building infrastructure.   Ian Heptinstall  28:29  Back to the strategic misrepresentation, maybe. Riccardo Cosentino  28:30  No, I actually wanted to probe you on this, because I've had a few people in the past challenging me, and you and I have exchanged messages on this topic. But you know, one of the big criticism, and this is a small parenthesis because this is not what we're talking about today, but like the cost certainty, right? You know, I have people telling me, well, you know, if you don't have a fixed price contract, you don't have cost certainty. Ian Heptinstall  28:58  And they have got evidence that the contracted price is the final price. I have not seen that evidence. And whenever I ask experienced practitioners, they say none of the final price is always more than the tender price. So if you want cost certainty, put so much padding in there that everybody can fill their boots. But if you're in the public sector, that's almost malfeasance. Yeah, just just wasting taxpayers money just so that you can have an easy life. That's not what a professional job should be about, in my view. And I think the important point in there is focusing on reliability. Are you hitting our targets? The only thing that we can do is we take the target as sort of wherever it comes from that's the important thing and we've just got to match it. What about absolute value?  Why are we not focusing on what is the absolute value? Yeah, but by the reliability school of thinking, it's better if your company makes $10 million a year, having targeted $10 million, that's actually better than making $15 million of profit in the year, because your target was 18. The 15 is rubbish, because you were 18% underneath your target, it's much better to have 100% reliability even if the profit is lower. I don't buy that. There is a role for a stretch target. The idea of smart has caused a lot of damage to performance improvement. Now, if you're looking to strive to continuously improve the performance, you don't want to put too much pressure on the individual if they miss what they're trying to achieve. Now you need to be able to manage in different ways. You need to be able to, the accountability is about how somebody goes about doing the job. Not the trivial, easy to measure accountability of numbers on a spreadsheet. I don't need to know how they're doing the job, I just need to look at some numbers. Well, if you want a simple career, become an arm's length investor or go buy a casino in Las Vegas. Because then you don't care about the individual gamblers and who makes or less. You're managing by the average statistics of the organization. On project, we want to be the individual who knows what to do. We need to be striving for what is it we do to deliver a P-10 project? Not let's make our life easy, and plan for P-90. And that's my other concern about if we blame the estimate, we're taking the focus off our leverage improvements or improvement, our leverage opportunities for improvement rather, those are how we go about doing projects. And I actually believe that if we focus first on absolute performance, reliability will get better. Yeah, that I don't whether you play golf, I (inaudible). Riccardo Cosentino  32:45  Unsuccessfully. Yes. Ian Heptinstall  32:47  My son is very good at playing golf. And he's got a very low handicap, certainly much lower than mine. And his focus, the focus of low handicap golfers is getting better at golf. Their focus is absolute performance. And you know what comes with it? They're much more reliable, their variability of play also goes down. But if you focus on just playing to your handicap, yeah, you will do some very different things. And you might, you might play to your handicap, but you won't do very good rounds of golf. And I think on project, we should be focusing on how can we make your project performance significantly better? Yeah, I think if I was still operating in large, mega projects, I'd be frustrated that the Starrett Brothers and Eken could build the Empire State Building and formed it in 10 days in 1929 when we can't do anything like that today, and I don't believe it's because we have safety rules these days. It's nowhere near as simple as that. If the industry had started to perform like other industries have, the Ford was making the Model T around that time, yet cars are just as affordable these days, but you get much, much, much more for your money. Construction projects cost more and take longer.   Riccardo Cosentino  34:31  Yeah, I take your point. I mean, you know, absolutely, I mean, we should be focusing on measuring performance and focusing on the performance because ultimately, that's the stuff that gets things built. It's not, an initial estimate is not what gets things built. But unfortunately, stakeholders and shareholders focus on it.   Ian Heptinstall  34:57  They want to make more money. If you've only got a business, the idea of risk comes with any entrepreneurship and business. They know all their forecasts or estimates. Yeah, if sales come in on forecasts, somebody's been playing with the numbers. Yeah, nobody can see the future. So where do you think that comes from? Riccardo Cosentino  35:23  Again, I think cooperation and public, especially public company, by any corporation, has to deliver, has to provide indication of future performance.   Ian Heptinstall  35:37  Yeah. Let me give you an example. Because my other set of black swans that disprove the optimistic estimate hypothesis, so I've mentioned all the data on collaboratively contracted budgets, so all done. All projects are not overspending. It is possible to deliver and achieve the estimates. There's no evidence on those projects that the estimates have been done in any different way. And if they have, then that approach has helped avoid optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation. Which surely must also be a good thing. But one of my other set, and this is the Embraer example that I used earlier on, that's an example that have used the critical chain of both scheduling and execution management, which is, needs a collaborative team. But exploits that collaboration to identify issues much earlier on and overcome them. So it focuses on that doing the work. Even though from one perspective, it's just a way of scheduling and reporting. If it's done well, it helps to introduce a much higher frequency, a higher cadence of reporting and decision making at a much lower level. That is what achieves more efficient performance. So on critical chain, critical chain, scheduling and execution projects, hit their project-level commitments, very, very regularly. I know many organizations and I have talked to people in many organizations who have sort of moved from 20% projects on time in full to 95-100% in all sorts of project domains, simply from changing how they're scheduing and managing execution. They've also increased productivity as well. But if we're just looking, the reliability has gone up at the project level. What hasn't changed is the ability to predict how long individual tasks take. So that's the sort of strange dilemma, the individual tasks are nowhere near as predictable and reliable. But the overall project is, and I think if you're striving for reliable project level, cost and time is quite feasible, I think. I think it's quite feasible to live it. But if you pass the same mindset down at the detail levels of projects and try and get each individual task and activity to give an estimate, turn it into a commitment will hold you to accountable for it, that actually drives the behaviors that makes the project level achievement much worse. Riccardo Cosentino  38:56  Yeah and why is that? Ian Heptinstall  38:59  I think its inherent in the behavior of complex systems. Because the future is unknowable. And we all know that estimate is a fancy professional name for guests. So the important thing when you're working is to work efficiently and flag up issues that can have a consequence to the rest of the project as soon as you notice them without giving the boy who cried wolf signals that sort of says I've got a problem when it's not a real problem. And methods like critical chain, try and sort of do that damping. So individual tasks that are just taking a bit longer than normal the project to accommodate because we know that some projects, some tasks will have problems and some will go smoothly. But in advance we don't know which. So methods like critical chain and the costing equivalent for collaborative contracting, let's not worry about it. Because if we don't make those estimates into commitments, they will average each other out. That's one of the ironies of organizations that use Monte Carlo simulation to try and sort of aggregate up the numbers and produce and use the central limit theorem to get overall probability distributions at the project level. Because the the basic method of sorry, the basic algorithm for Monte Carlo assumes that the pluses balance the minuses. That's built into the maths. The trouble is, behaviorally, the managerial behaviors inhibit that, because the task estimates are commitment, what tends to happen is tasks get completed, on the due date or later. It's the managerial behaviors that inhibit a project or task saying ours finished three weeks early, the next task can start earlier. But that plus and minus is built into the maths of Monte Carlo. So when critics say well, Monte Carlo analysis is inaccurate, because the numbers never look like the analysis, and you know, a P-80, we never, we don't have 80% of the cases coming in, under or on that number. So the method must be wrong. Or actually, maybe it's giving us some insight into our managerial practices, or inhibiting the sort of pluses and the minuses. So I think that's what critical chain builds in. It allows and encourages the Task Managers to, so long as they're working in a focused way and they're reporting regularly, if it takes longer, it takes longer, because we know, there'll be other tasks in the project that go shorter than expected. And because we've removed the managerial obstacles to reporting admitting an early finish, nobody's going to come back and said, You must have added your estimate. We will reduce all of your other future estimates. We'll say, great, well done. Look who's with you. So in effect, you're embracing the inherent uncertainty, so that the central limit theorem will apply. And so that the project actually gets a tighter normal distribution. So the reason we don't get that in reality, in more common conventions, is that the management practices inhibit the pluses and the minuses averaging out. That's one hypothesis. That's the underpinning thinking.   Riccardo Cosentino  43:05  So if we link that back to the initial, at the beginning, you were talking about the three element of the hypothesis, right? Is a project over budget because of the inherent lack of feasibility of the initial estimate, poor, at the other spectrum, is the poor management, sorry the management practices we're not running these jobs properly and that's why we're late and over budget. And what was the middle one? The middle one was   Ian Heptinstall  43:34  Those are the true black swans and unknowable risks that come along with that, you know, they, that the the ground conditions on your chosen route, really were bad. Yeah, whether you do lots of geotechnical surveys before or after that is still at risk. Riccardo Cosentino  43:57  So your, one of your hypothesis, if I'm not mistaken, is that if we focus on the unfeasibility of the estimate, if we assume that is the unfeasibility of the estimate that is creating the delays we were hiding, that allows us to hide the true reasons why the project is going bad. Ian Heptinstall  44:20  Yeah, and it   Riccardo Cosentino  44:21  It could be the black swans or it could be poor performance.   Ian Heptinstall  44:24  Yeah, it hides it and it stops us focusing on getting our performance well. So yeah, back to my marathon running analogy. I had someone looked at some data from the London Marathon. So the P-90 duration for winning the marathon is six hours 15 minutes. And if I planned for the P-90, six hours 15, and managed to achieve it, great but no big thing counts a great winner. And to be honest, I will be dissatisfied myself. Because I know if you've, if you've put some time and effort in, it's quite feasible for average humans to hit the P-25 or the P-10 number. So it's not it's not the estimate, it's how we go about doing it. That's, that's my main concern. We've lost, we're blaming the estimate, and we're losing focus on execution. And there's so much actual strategic opportunity for executing differently. I, once we get the estimate, right, we turn the handle, turn the handle, churn out the railway easy.   Riccardo Cosentino  45:47  Okay, so now, the comments on LinkedIn are not very conducive to understand each other's points. So I think that's the conclusion I draw. And I agree with you, I 100% agree with you. My only note is that I also tried, the reason I'm a big defender of optimism bias, which is human representation is for very similar reason to yours, but I'm coming from a different perspective. You know, I am so fed up of seeing, especially in large, mega projects, sponsored by the public sector, they end up becoming political, in Canada will be a hockey puck, a political party, right? They just get tossed around. And, you know, there's a new government and an old government and you know, there's a blame game that happens. And the blame games is always around project over budget and late, right? And there is never a recognition of, you know, there's, the management of the project was very poor and that's why he's over budget. Well, you don't actually know that, Mr. Politician, or Miss Politician, you don't know that. You just, you're using that situation to your political to create political advantage. And so to me, I find that it's also disingenuous, right? It's both sides of the coin, it's two sides of the same coin, right? Where, you know, estimate could be used not to focus on the performance, but that performance being good or bad? Because a lot of time, my experience is that project leaders get blamed for project being late. And the analysis is never done why was the project late? And there's never an analysis around was it ran properly and you had a bad estimate? Or did you have a good estimate and and they were ran badly? I think I agree with you that the conversation should be about the project performance, always should be about the project performance. And I would, I, sometimes, you need a proper estimate to have a proper conversation. Ian Heptinstall  48:01  Oh, yes, you, you definitely need to have a decent estimate that in the same way, that the iron law of projects doesn't prove that the management was bad, it doesn't prove that the estimate was bad, either.   Riccardo Cosentino  48:16  Absolutely. Ian Heptinstall  48:17  You need to scratch below the surface. That's my concern about the optimistic estimate hypothesis is it's being used in many environments as the explanation for the iron law. And therefore we focus on the estimate. And there's promotion of reference class forecasting, which good estimates are always based on the reference class anyway. And if they're not, there's something sort of structurally strategic wrong with the organization that's delivering the projects. And that will touch upon your comment there regarding that. Where's the analysis being done? Where's the evidence being gathered from an individual project and fed back so that future projects at least don't suffer from those particular issues and problems? How's that being built in? When I started, we had such a system, this so-called double loop feedback, so that project managers on a project, the guidance was reasonably well up to date, whether it was estimates, methodologies, checklists, they were kept up to date. If you don't have that, it's very difficult for organizations to manage and continuously improve their performance. But, having said that, I see these so many execution, efficiency opportunities that I'm not sure why that's where we don't start. Yeah, there's some opportunities in that I've mentioned and discussed that there's also the idea, which also has a very strong evidence base, that projects that move into execution, before sufficient preparation has been done, the extensive data from IPA, Independent Project Analysis and the CII, Construction Industry Institute, in the U.S. Yeah, that sort of 30-year-old data, a strong correlation between the degree of preparation before execution is commenced. But how many projects today, the politicians want to talk, they talk about shovels up, get shovels on the ground. I want some shovel-ready projects. Okay. But that does mean we've spent seven to 10% of the capital value to get them to shovel-ready state. No, you can't do that. I know one of the Canadian public sector bodies has that, oh that's done on out of operating expenses. And we don't want you to spend more than 2% of the capital value, getting it to a final business case. Well, that's bonkers. Because as soon as the business case is approved, somebody's going to rush into execution. And that's going to be wasteful.   Riccardo Cosentino  51:35  Absolutely. Absolutely. Ian Heptinstall  51:37  So I think, once we've sorted those things out, then we can start using the once we've crossed the execution and the preparation things off the list, then we can start looking at the quality of the estimates, I think.   Riccardo Cosentino  51:54  I mean, as project practitioners, I mean, researchers in the U.K., I mean, there is, unfortunately, sometimes we discuss and discuss these topics with a certain amount of preassumptions in, there are some things that I assumed are understood, right? And so my starting point is always I assume that we have capable contractors and capable supply chain. So that's typically the starting point for my analysis, which is not always true, but that I want to, I always try to start from there. So if you start from there, then obviously I've already solved that problem. And then now I want to focus on the strategic misrepresentation and optimism bias in the estimate process, right? Because my starting assumption is that we have a capable supply chain. Ian Heptinstall  52:55  Let me give you just one example from my own experience, when I worked at a contractor. We had a probably one of our largest clients, we had a strategic relationship with actually the project owner that we did all the building services work on their projects, and they had dozens of projects every year. When we estimated, and interestingly, we put an estimate for the building services together when the conceptual design was put together. And this, although our pricing was through an agreed mechanism, this particular client had a fixed-price approach, I want to go to a main contractor, but your work will be sort of given to them on a platter, they will be told to use you etc. But we want single point of contact. That meant that when we estimated the amount of man-hours we put in on a job, it ranged from x to 2x. Simply dependent upon who we were working alongside. And that was not just competence. It wasn't even at the level of the company. Yet the people who came and the way they managed the worksite could double the demand on our resources. And that that's a significant impact. And strangely, it was the same number that I had when I was buying spray dryers in the chemical industry 20 years earlier. And one of the global manufacturers told me yeah, depending who the client is, some clients take two times the demand on our engineering hours than others with the questions they asked. They're all competent. So there's enormous differences with how you put competent people together. You can't just assume a team forms like putting a hockey team together.   Riccardo Cosentino  55:01  I said, I made that assumption and never said it was the correct assumption. But, you know, I need to simplify certain things in order to have certain conversation. But yeah, you're right. I mean, it's not the right assumption. Ian Heptinstall  55:15  And it's a common one. And the, particularly, if you tie it with this assumption that a competitive market force will drive innovation within your supply base. It may do but it won't necessarily, particularly since main contractors are basically, variable cost organizations. They're not high-fixed cost. They're not major upfront investment that they react and increase temporarily, their variable costs only after they've won a contract. I'm not sure that that sort of market will drive innovation, you, you just need to be similar or slightly better than your fellow competitors. You don't need to be world-class, you just need to beat the other guy or gal in the room. Riccardo Cosentino  56:12  That's the bear story, right? We have that. Ian Heptinstall  56:15  That's it. That's exactly the bear story. And I think there's many from back in my procurement days, there's many examples where owners facilitating supply-side innovation, drove significant improvements. But if they just sat there and waited for responses to tenders, nothing would have changed. They the whole topic of so-called reverse marketing, where it's the customer who encourages suppliers to enter new supply markets, or to work in different ways. It's a known technique that I wish I saw more of it amongst major project owners in the construction space. Riccardo Cosentino  57:07  Look, I mean, I might not have time to unpack this, but like, and it goes back to your alliance contract, right? I mean, that the reason and it's a very crude description, and you're probably gonna cringe the way I say it. But you know, when you have alliance contracting, especially the public sector clients have to be at the table, right? Now, the cost overruns are no longer somebody else's problem. They're our collective problem. And so you need to come to the table. So the, you know, for the contractor, it basically removes the unproductive resource, legal and commercial resources. And so now you have all of the resources, just focusing on problems. On the public sector, you actually create skin in the game, where now you don't longer have a command and control posture, because you have transmitted fixed price risk to somebody else, you're at the table, you need to contribute to problem solving, and you need to help, like you said, innovation. But that only happens if you have the legal and the right legal commercial framework that is associated with alliance, in my mind. I don't think you can achieve that through any other, because any other commercial contractual method, because the behaviors that those frameworks create, are not conducive to collaboration and innovation. Because exactly what you said, I mean, a contractor, a contractor will do what a contractor will do. Like it's a variable cost organization, they're not going to invest in R&D because the next project might not need the R&D you just developed for this project. And an owner wants to, as you said, there was an all-knowing how to most of the owners worldwide. And now the owner organization doesn't actually have the resources and the capability to be at the table, to be the informed or capable owner that is needed to run these projects. Ian Heptinstall  59:10  They got to have some of it. Because I think that input depends on what the project is about. I'd like to start thinking about the inherent project and forget who employs the people that you need in your project team. So doing a project is a team sport. And you need people around that table with the sort of operating experience for what the asset will be used for. And you need that mix of expertise. And very often the owner organization is the obvious place to provide that kind of expertise. Now, I'm less convinced that the owner has to be the one with the team facilitation syncronization skill. I think that depends on the individual you've got. And that can come from any, ideally, any one of the participants. And if you're short there, you might have to bring in an additional individual or party to manage that synchronization. But that could that could come from any of them, not necessarily the owner. But which is, you know, thinking lifecycle cost, an understanding of needs, regulatory environment, the political environment, those sorts of changes will probably come from the owner. So their representatives, there's a lot of value they can add, rather than being arm's length, and hoping that the, your contractors will sort that out by themselves is, as one of my friends would say that you're taking hopium. Riccardo Cosentino  1:01:01  The command and control posture right, I think you call it arm's length, I call it command and control posture. Anyway, I'm conscious of time. (Inaudible) Yeah, I mean, this has been a fascinating conversation that I want to thank you for, for joining me, thank you for suggesting that we do this. And honestly, I'd love to maybe, on another episode, to pick up the collaborative contracting versus lump sum debate, right? Because it's a very live debate right now in where I am in Canada, even in the U.S. a little bit. But Canada, or we are certainly now starting to enter the collaborative space and you can see, yeah, I love to have a conversation with you about that on another episode.   Ian Heptinstall  1:01:57  That sounds like a plan, Riccardo we'll work on it. Riccardo Cosentino  1:02:01  Great. Okay. Ian, on that note, again, thank you for joining me, and I look forward to further exchanges, both on another episode or on LinkedIn. Ian Heptinstall  1:02:14  Thanks, for the opportunity. And yes, this gets around the 125 or 1250 character limit of LinkedIn. Riccardo Cosentino  1:02:23  Absolutely. Ian Heptinstall  1:02:24  Thanks for the opportunity. I've enjoyed it. Thank you. Riccardo Cosentino  1:02:26  Thank you. Bye now.   Riccardo Cosentino  1:02:29  That's it for this episode of Navigating Major Programmes. I hope you found today's conversation as informative or provoking as I did. If you enjoyed this conversation, please consider subscribing and leaving a review. I would also like to personally invite you to continue the conversation by joining me on my personal LinkedIn at Riccardo Cosentino. Listening to the next episode, we will continue to explore the latest trends and challenges in major programme management. Our next in-depth conversation promises to continue to dive into topics such as leadership risk management and the impact of emerging technology in infrastructure. It's a conversation you're not going to want to miss. Thanks for listening to Navigating Major Programmes and I look forward to keeping the conversation going. Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin
Dr Georgina Dransfield: University of Birmingham scientist on identifying a a potentially habitable ‘Super Earth'

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2024 6:08


A team of international astronomers have discovered a potentially habitable ‘Super Earth' orbiting a star 137 light-years away. Astronomers spotted the planet, known as TOI-715b, using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Dr Georgina Dransfield, the University of Birmingham scientist who led the project, says the planet is estimated to be one and a half times bigger than earth- with a rockier surface. "It could actually turn out to be gassy, which would make it a slightly different classification. There's still a lot to find out about this exciting planet." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

God Conversations with Tania Harris
(081) A Psychological Perspective on Hearing God – Mark Chironna

God Conversations with Tania Harris

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2023 34:47


Does our personality have anything to do with hearing God's voice? How does our human imagination, thinking and intuition interact with the Spirit? Our guest on this show Mark Chironna, calls our human interaction with God a “dance,” where God never violates our humanness and the journey to wholeness is the place where theology and psychology meet. Mark calls himself a dysfunctional Italian from New York City. He grew up in a Presbyterian church, but was disillusioned by the lack of evidence of the power of God. So he dabbled in metaphysics, esoteric Christianity and even the occult before finding himself radically converted to Jesus at 19 years of age at the height of the Jesus people movement (Think the movie, Jesus Revolution). Mark says he knew the devil and that scared him enough to realise Jesus must be real! Today Mark is a theo-semiotician, prophetic minister and media personality who holds a Doctorate of Ministry in Future Studies and a Master of Arts in Psychology. While at times in the church, psychology was seen to be a kind of enemy to spirituality, Mark firmly believes theology and psychology need to be in conversation with each other. He brings a unique and necessary psychological perspective to the experience of hearing God's voice. This is a rich and deeply insightful conversation! Tania and Mark talk about: Mark's story and how he experienced prophetic inclinations at an early age. He “just knew things about people.” The interaction of our humanness and God's divinity:  “At that place where the divine and human interact, God never violates the way he made us, so there's this dance - this participation with the Spirit - that graces us to yield to insights and intuitions that come." The importance of quietness and contemplation in hearing God. The interaction of personality and hearing God. Mark suggests that that people who lean towards the prophetic tend to be more introverted and spend more time in self-reflection and self-awareness. The connection between creativity and prophetic expression. How our pain and suffering teaches us to listen and hear. This is very different to “magical thinking,” where we've been inundated with the idea to “make this decree and it will come to pass.” The importance of the cross in recognising and understanding the Spirit's voice. “There is no prophetic without cruciformity. The cross has to touch all of us: introvert, extrovert, thinker, feeler, judger and senser." Subscribe to God Conversations with Tania Harris and never miss an episode! About Dr. Mark Chironna Helping people learn how to flourish and become life-long learners has been Mark's life's journey. As an avid student, Dr. Chironna is a theo-semiotician, holding a Doctorate of Ministry in Future Studies and a Master of Arts in Psychology (www.markchironna.com). He is also an author, BCC certified coach, and is currently seeking a Ph.D. at the University Of Birmingham, UK. Most importantly, Dr. Chironna has been in the people-helping arena for over forty-seven years, guiding others towards growth in Christ and all areas of life.

RNIB Sport
S2 Ep103: IBSA World Games 2023 - Closing Ceremony - Malene Stanley - Director of Venues and Events - University of Birmingham

RNIB Sport

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2023 1:28


ToShare Podcast
EP.83 - เรียน(เอก) : ประสบการณ์เรียน PhD in Civil Engineering ณ University of Birmingham [Part2]

ToShare Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2023 72:09


#ToStudySeries EP นี้มาต่อกับ Part 2 ของประสบการณ์เรียน PhD in Civil Engineering ณ University of Birmingham ของ อ. ดร. ปานรวี รุ่งสกุลโรจน์ หรือ K'พราว ที่ Part 1 นั้นได้มีการเล่าถึงจุดเริ่มต้นและเส้นทางของการตัดสินใจเรียนต่อในระดับปริญญาเอกกันไปแล้ว . ซึ่งขอทวนข้อมูลกันก่อนนิดนึงว่าสาขาที่ K'พราว ไปเรียนต่อในระดับปริญญเอก (PhD) นั้นคือ PhD in Civil Engineering ใน School of Engineering, University of Birmingham - United Kingdom และทำงานวิจัยทำใน Theme ของ Railway Operation and Planning . โดย Part ที่ 2 นี้เราจะมาลงลึกถึง Detail ในเส้นทางการเรียนต่อปริญญาเอกกัน เริ่มต้นกันตั้งแต่ก่อนสมัครเรียน/ทุน ไปจนถึงระหว่างการเรียน PhD in Civil Engineering เค้าต้องทำอะไรกันบ้าง เรียนอะไรกัน และไปจบที่การจบการศึกษาของระดับ ป.เอกในหลักสูตรที่ Guest ของเราไปเรียนมานั้นมีขั้นตอนอย่างไรบ้าง EP นี้เราจะได้ฟังกันแบบจัดเต็มสุดๆ รวมไปถึงเกร็ดเล็กเกร็ดน้อยต่างๆ ที่จะทำให้ทุกคนเข้าใจการเรียนต่อระดับ ป.เอก ได้เห็นภาพมากขึ้น . ถ้าพร้อมแล้ววววววว ไปฟังกันได้เลยยยย! . . . - ฟังเรื่องราวการ “เรียนต่อ” อื่นๆ ได้ใน #ToStudySeries #Seriesเรียนต่อ SS2 :: EP.25 - เรียนต่อ : เส้นทางการตัดสินใจ / วิธีการเตรียมตัวไปเรียนต่างประเทศ (USA) EP.28 - เรียนต่อ : เบื้องหลัง/ประสบการณ์ นักเรียนทุน ป.โท ที่สิงคโปร์ EP.32 - เรียนต่อ : ไปเรียนภาษาญี่ปุ่นที่ญี่ปุ่นกัน! EP.34 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์การเรียน ป. โท 1 ปี ที่ USA EP.45 - เรียนต่อ : ทำความรู้จัก “ทุน ก.พ.” และคำแนะนำจากรุ่นพี่นักเรียนทุนฯ ป.โท EP.47 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.โท ด้านการถ่ายภาพที่ AAU, USA EP.51 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.โท ที่ไทย ด้าน Transportation Engineering ที่ AIT EP.52 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.ตรี 4 ปี เต็มที่จีน ณ Peking University (ม.ปักกิ่ง) EP.53 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.โท ที่ไทย ด้าน Computer Science ที่จุฬา EP.60 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.ตรี หลักสูตร DBTM - Design, Business and Technology Management EP.65 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.โท ด้าน Service Design ที่ UAL EP.69 - เรียนต่อ : ทุน Chevening 2021 - MSc. In Health Policy Planning, and Financing EP.70 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.โท บริหารการโรงแรมที่ออสเตรเลีย ที่ BMIHMS, Torrens University EP.78 - เรียนต่อ : เรื่องที่อยากให้รู้ก่อนตัดสินใจเรียนต่อ ป.เอก (ป.เอก 101) EP.81 - เรียน(เอก) : ประสบการณ์เรียน PhD in Civil Engineering ณ University of Birmingham [Part1] - :: ติดตาม Toshare Podcast ได้ทาง https://www.facebook.com/tosharepodcastTH/ . The more we share, the more we experience #TosharePodcastTH

Propulsion Swimming Podcast
E147 - Gary Humpage: University of Birmingham Swimming Club

Propulsion Swimming Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2023 55:40


This week on the Propulsion Swimming Podcast, we are swimming to the head coach of the University of Birmingham Swimming Club, Gary Humpage. Gary has been leading the University swimming program at Birmingham for 26 years and has seen it grow from 30 members in 1996 to 160 swimmers today. With swimmers competing at an international level, such as Ollie Morgan, to those learning to tumble turn for the first time, the swimming club is finding a wide range of success at all levels of the sport! We speak with Gary about why universities in the UK are doing such a great job at keeping senior swimmers in the sport for longer than ever before, and why respect, ownership, and enjoyment are helping the University of Birmingham Swimming Squad reach new levels of success!

Beyond Biotech - the podcast from Labiotech
Beyond Biotech podcast 31: Orgenesis, Phacilitate, Terumo, University of Birmingham, VIVEBiotech

Beyond Biotech - the podcast from Labiotech

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2023 48:49


01:22 Labiotech.eu news03:03 Phacilitate/Advanced Therapies Week14:15 Orgenesis25:18 Terumo31:47 VIVEBiotech38:33 University of BirminghamPhacilitate's Advanced Therapies Week took place last week in Miami Beach, Florida.This week, we speak with the organizers, as well as some of the companies in attendance.Our guests are Kim Barnes, EVP, Phacilitate; Kathie Schneider, director and global commercial lead at Terumo; Vered Caplan, CEO, Orgenesis; Ivan Wall, head of the Centre for Advanced Therapies Manufacturing Training, University of Birmingham; and Natalia Elizalde, business development director, VIVEBiotech.PhacilitatePhacilitate stages two major events each year, Advanced Therapies Week, which took place from January 17 to 20 in Miami Beach, Florida, and Advanced Therapies Europe 2023, which takes place in Estoril, Portugal on September 6 and 7.The company also provides market intelligence and hosts a variety of webinars.OrgenesisOrgenesis is a global biotech company working to unlock the full potential of cell and gene therapies in an affordable and accessible format at the point of care. Orgenesis identifies promising new therapies and leverages its POCare Platform to provide a rapid, globally harmonized pathway for the therapies to reach and treat large numbers of patients at lowered costs through efficient, scalable, and decentralized production. Its POCare Network unites patients, doctors, industry partners, research institutes, and hospitals worldwide to achieve harmonized, regulated clinical development and production of therapies. TerumoTerumo is a global provider of medical technology. Based in Tokyo, it provides medical solutions in more than 160 countries and regions. The company started as a Japanese thermometer manufacturer, and has been supporting healthcare ever since. Now, its portfolio ranges from vascular intervention and cardio-surgical solutions, blood transfusion and cell therapy technology, to medical products essential for daily clinical practice such as transfusion systems, diabetes care, and peritoneal dialysis treatments. University of BirminghamThe Centre for Advanced Therapies Manufacturing Training is a newly established National Training Centre based in Birmingham, U.K. It is one of several centers that form the Advanced Therapies Skills and Training Network, which is coordinated by the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult. Its aim is to provide training to U.K. advanced therapy and vaccine manufacturers, to enable rapid and sustainable workforce growth.VIVEBiotechVIVEBiotech is a Spanish developer and manufacturer of lentiviral vectors working under both EMA and FDA standards. The lentiviral vectors produced by VIVEbiotech are used to treat a range of disorders, including hematological and solid cancers, and rare diseases.SponsorInterested in sponsoring one or more episodes of the podcast? Learn more here!Leave a review on Apple podcastsReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love to hear your feedback!Connect with uslabiotech.euSubscribe to our newsletter

ToShare Podcast
EP.81 - เรียน(เอก) : ประสบการณ์เรียน PhD in Civil Engineering ณ University of Birmingham [Part1]

ToShare Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2022 40:03


#ToStudySeries EP นี้เรามาทำตามสัญญาที่จะกลับมาพูดคุยเจาะลึกในสาขาปริญญาเอกกับ Guest Speaker คนเดิมของเรา อ. ดร. ปานรวี รุ่งสกุลโรจน์ หรือ K'พราว ที่เคยได้มาเล่าเรื่องความรู้แบบ 101 ในเรื่องการเรียนต่อระดับปริญญาเอกให้พวกเราฟังกันมาแล้วใน EP ที่ 78 . โดยเราจะขอแบ่งออกเป็น 2 Parts ด้วยกัน เพราะว่าเนื้อหามันแน่นมากจริงๆ เพื่อแบ่ง content ให้ผู้ฟังได้ฟังง่ายขึ้น ซึ่งขอเกริ่นก่อนนิดนึงว่าสาขาที่ K'พราว ไปเรียนต่อในระดับปริญญเอก (PhD) มานั้นคือ PhD in Civil Engineering ใน School of Engineering, University of Birmingham - United Kingdom และทำงานวิจัยทำใน Theme ของ Railway Operation and Planning . Part 1 นี้ เราจะขอพูดคุยถึงจุดเริ่มต้นและเส้นทางของการตัดสินใจเรียน PhD in Civil Engineering กันก่อน ซึ่งเราจะพาทุกคนไปฟังเหตุและผล ความสนใจ และทริคเล็กๆ น้อยๆ ต่างๆ ที่ K'พราว ได้ใช้ในการทำการบ้าน ในการตัดสินใจในการเลือก Choice ของการไปเรียน ป.เอก ในครั้งนี้ เช่น - เส้นทางหลังเรียนจบ PhD in Civil Engineering สามารถทำอะไรได้บ้าง - จุดเริ่มต้นของการตัดสินใจเรียน PhD in Civil Engineering - แนะนำวิธีการเตรียมตัวเลือกมหาลัยที่จะไปเรียนต่อในระดับ ป.เอก - วิธีการหา Research Theme ของตัวเอง - เหตุผลของการเรียนไปเรียน PhD ที่ University of Birmingham . พร้อมกันแล้ววววววว ไปฟันกันได้เลยยยย! . . . - ฟังเรื่องราวการ “เรียนต่อ” อื่นๆ ได้ใน #ToStudySeries #Seriesเรียนต่อ SS2 :: EP.25 - เรียนต่อ : เส้นทางการตัดสินใจ / วิธีการเตรียมตัวไปเรียนต่างประเทศ (USA) EP.28 - เรียนต่อ : เบื้องหลัง/ประสบการณ์ นักเรียนทุน ป.โท ที่สิงคโปร์ EP.32 - เรียนต่อ : ไปเรียนภาษาญี่ปุ่นที่ญี่ปุ่นกัน! EP.34 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์การเรียน ป. โท 1 ปี ที่ USA EP.45 - เรียนต่อ : ทำความรู้จัก “ทุน ก.พ.” และคำแนะนำจากรุ่นพี่นักเรียนทุนฯ ป.โท EP.47 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.โท ด้านการถ่ายภาพที่ AAU, USA EP.51 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.โท ที่ไทย ด้าน Transportation Engineering ที่ AIT EP.52 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.ตรี 4 ปี เต็มที่จีน ณ Peking University (ม.ปักกิ่ง) EP.53 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.โท ที่ไทย ด้าน Computer Science ที่จุฬา EP.60 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.ตรี หลักสูตร DBTM - Design, Business and Technology Management EP.65 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.โท ด้าน Service Design ที่ UAL EP.69 - เรียนต่อ : ทุน Chevening 2021 - MSc. In Health Policy Planning, and Financing EP.70 - เรียนต่อ : ประสบการณ์เรียน ป.โท บริหารการโรงแรมที่ออสเตรเลีย ที่ BMIHMS, Torrens University EP.78 - เรียนต่อ : เรื่องที่อยากให้รู้ก่อนตัดสินใจเรียนต่อ ป.เอก (ป.เอก 101) - :: ติดตาม Toshare Podcast ได้ทาง https://www.facebook.com/tosharepodcastTH/ . The more we share, the more we experience #TosharePodcastTH

Healing Rain with Sue Detweiler
On the Edge of Hope with Mark Chironna

Healing Rain with Sue Detweiler

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2022 52:07


How do you win the battle for your mind and well-being? How do you bring healing and hope in the midst of your struggles? Pastor Mark Chironna candidly and with vulnerability integrates the best of theology with psychology to help you get a breakthrough in your life.     About Dr. Mark Chironna Helping people learn how to flourish and become life-long learners has been his life's journey.As an avid student, Dr. Chironna is a Theo-Semiotician, holding a Doctorate of Ministry in Future Studies as well as an MA in Psych. He is also an author, BCC Certified Coach, and is currently seeking a Ph.D. as Post Grad Researcher at the University Of Birmingham, UK.   Most importantly, Dr. Chironna has been in the people helping arena for over forty-seven years guiding others towards growth in Christ and all areas of life. 

Higher Ed AV Podcast
181: Caroline Pepper, Learning Space Manager at the University of Birmingham UK

Higher Ed AV Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2022 54:47


181: Caroline Pepper, Learning Space Manager at the University of Birmingham UK | Higher Ed AV PodcastHigher Ed AV PodcastEpisode 181Caroline PepperLearning Space Manager, University of Birmingham UKVice-Chair, SCHOMS

Theomagination With Phil Aud
PART II: The Need for Prophetic Reform ft. Dr. Mark Chironna

Theomagination With Phil Aud

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2022 31:46


This is part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Mark Chironna on the need for prophetic reform.Dr. Chironna's Article: "Elijah - Depression - and the Prophetic Community"Mark is the pastor of Church On The Living Edge in the Orlando area. He is a Theo-Semiotician holding a Doctorate of Ministry in Future Studies as well as an MA in Psych, and he is currently seeking a Ph.D. as Post Grad Researcher at the University Of Birmingham, UK. Mark has a new book which was released on July 19th called On the Edge of Hope: No Matter How Dark the Night, The Redeemed Soul Still Sings. Canadian LinkAmerican Link

BARTON WILLMORE: UNCUT. IN CONVERSATION. FINDING A WAY.

Back in 2017, we hosted a survey and debate alongside the Birmingham Post, on the future ambitions for Birmingham to 2030. Five years on, and five years into Andy Street's tenure as West Midlands Regional Mayor, how is the ‘capital' of the region reflecting these ambitions and implementing change? How has the direction for the wider region changed post-pandemic? What areas of focus do we believe should now be a priority? How is the Commonwealth Games impacting the urban fabric? What should the priorities be for growth to 2050?We brought together a range of people to discuss this topic, who are working within and delivering change across the city, while we happily came together within it to celebrate all things Barton Willmore and Stantec, at The Custard Factory in Digbeth. Featuring: Rob Garratt, St Joseph Homes; Charles Goode, University of Birmingham; Jez Collins, Birmingham Music Archive; Daniel Griffiths, Stantec; Kathryn Ventham, Barton Willmore, now Stantec; Robin Shepherd, Barton Willmore, now Stantec (Chair)

Theomagination With Phil Aud
The Need for Prophetic Reform ft. Dr. Mark Chironna (Part I)

Theomagination With Phil Aud

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2022 38:44


Dr. Mark Chironna believes that we are in desperate need of prophetic reform in our time. In this conversation we talk about the nature of prophecy and how the prophetic tradition needs to shape (and confront) our understanding of the prophetic task in our times.Mark is the pastor of Church On The Living Edge in the Orlando area. He is a Theo-Semiotician holding a Doctorate of Ministry in Future Studies as well as an MA in Psych, and he is currently seeking a Ph.D. as Post Grad Researcher at the University Of Birmingham, UK. Mark has a new book coming out on July 19th called On the Edge of Hope: No Matter How Dark the Night, The Redeemed Soul Still Sings. Canadian LinkAmerican Link

Buildings of Tomorrow
The Insiders: #2 Redefining the future of Universities with the University of Birmingham (Part 2)

Buildings of Tomorrow

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2022 30:40


The Insiders is back with Part 2 on how the University of Birmingham is transforming its campus into the world's most intelligent University campus. Join Matt Beveridge and Simon Burgess and discover how partnerships are key in fostering innovation and how sustainable goals can be achieved through digitalization.

Buildings of Tomorrow
The Insiders: #2 Redefining the future of Universities with the University of Birmingham (Part 2)

Buildings of Tomorrow

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2022 30:40


The Insiders is back with Part 2 on how the University of Birmingham is transforming its campus into the world's most intelligent University campus. Join Matt Beveridge and Simon Burgess and discover how partnerships are key in fostering innovation and how sustainable goals can be achieved through digitalization.

Buildings of Tomorrow
The Insiders: #1 Redefining the future of Universities with the University of Birmingham (Part 1)

Buildings of Tomorrow

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 34:50


As our first episode on The Insiders, our brand-new series of the Buildings of Tomorrow podcast, we will discover how the University of Birmingham is redefining the future of Universities. Tune in with Jon Lester, Matt Beveridge, the Innovation Manager at the University of Birmingham and Simon Burgess, the Solution Developer for campuses in the UK for Siemens Smart Infrastructure, and learn how the University is using digital technologies while moving towards becoming a smart, decarbonized campus.

Buildings of Tomorrow
The Insiders: #1 Redefining the future of Universities with the University of Birmingham (Part 1)

Buildings of Tomorrow

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2022 34:50


As our first episode on The Insiders, our brand-new series of the Buildings of Tomorrow podcast, we will discover how the University of Birmingham is redefining the future of Universities. Tune in with Jon Lester, Matt Beveridge, the Innovation Manager at the University of Birmingham and Simon Burgess, the Solution Developer for campuses in the UK for Siemens Smart Infrastructure, and learn how the University is using digital technologies while moving towards becoming a smart, decarbonized campus.

Realcomm - CRE Technology, Automation and Innovation
Realcomm Live: The University of Birmingham: The Smartest University Campus in the World?

Realcomm - CRE Technology, Automation and Innovation

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2022 35:34


This week, Realcomm Live welcomes Trevor Payne, Director of Estates at the University of Birmingham, to discuss their journey and what makes Birmingham the smartest campus and first university in the world to roll out Internet of Things (IoT) technology at scale.

On Point
How Character and Wisdom Affect Young Leaders, with Dr. Tom Harrison, Director of Education at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham

On Point

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2022 21:00


This episode features a conversation between Dr. Scott Parsons, Character Education Integrator for the Military Program at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Dr. Tom Harrison, Director of Education at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham.Dr. Harrison's specialist interests include character, cyber-wisdom and the internet, character education and virtue ethics, and youth social action and citizenship education. He researches, publishes and gives presentations in the UK and internationally in these areas. He also develops resources and training programmes for schools, the voluntary sector and other organisations. In this episode of On Point and the West Point Association for Graduates ‘Character Cut' series, Dr. Harrison talks about how he coined the term ‘cyber-phronesis,' its relevance at West Point in training young leaders, and the models he came up with for cultivating character in children. He also talks about his most recent book that focuses on how to cultivate character in your children so they can flourish online.---------------“The path to full wisdom is never really completed. I don't think any of us can say that we're ever fully wise in kind of a moral sense, mainly because new situations and challenges come at us all the time. Look at the number of new quandaries and dilemmas that just living in the digital age has thrown up and et cetera. But it is considered that, you know, we hopefully become more wise over time.” - Dr. Tom Harrison---------------Episode Timestamps(01:47) Introducing Dr. Tom Harrison(02:44) About Tom's book, Thrive –how to cultivate character so your children can flourish online(06:25) Coining and defining cyber-phronesis(08:58) The relevance of phronesis at West Point(10:11) Phronesis in a combat setting(10:55) Explaining the ‘thrive' model(15:10) Using the ‘react' model as a young leader(18:54) Virtues in Tom's life---------------LinksDr. Tom Harrison TwitterDr. Scott Parsons LinkedInWest Point Association of GraduatesOn Point Podcast

Bitesize Business Breakfast Podcast
Do entrepreneurs still need to be at University?

Bitesize Business Breakfast Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2022 32:04


We speak exclusively to Lord Karan Bilimoria about entrepreneurism, start-ups, and Expo's UK National Day. Plus, its earnings seasons, we speak to Aldar Properties' CFO Greg Fewer who reported a 21 per cent jump in its full-year 2021 profit. And with Dana Gas CEO Dr. Patrick Allman-Ward having a record year net profits of $317 million (AED1.16 billion). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beyond Your Research Degree
Episode 20 - Holly Prescott (Careers Advisor of Postgraduate Researchers at the University of Birmingham)

Beyond Your Research Degree

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2022 27:00


Welcome to the Beyond Your Research Degree podcast from the University of Exeter Doctoral College! The podcast about careers and all the opportunities available to you... beyond your research degree!  In this episode we talk to Dr. Holly Prescott, Careers Advisor of Postgraduate Researchers at the University of Birmingham! Music from https://filmmusic.io 'Cheery Monday' by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses   Transcript   1 00:00:10,890 --> 00:00:23,630 Hello and welcome to the Beyond Your Research Degree podcast by the University of Exeter Doctoral College.   2 00:00:23,630 --> 00:00:27,020 Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Beyond Your Research Degree.   3 00:00:27,020 --> 00:00:32,870 I'm your host, Kelly Preece, and in this episode, I'm going to be talking to one of my colleagues from the University of Birmingham.   4 00:00:32,870 --> 00:00:36,830 Dr. Holly Prescott, about her career beyond her research degree.   5 00:00:36,830 --> 00:00:49,100 Holly, are you happy to introduce yourself? Yeah, sure. So I'm Holly Prescott, and I did my Ph.D. at the University of Birmingham.   6 00:00:49,100 --> 00:00:54,800 I did it between 2008 and 2011. It's tough to get my head around.   7 00:00:54,800 --> 00:01:03,050 The fact that it's nearly 10 years since I finished my Ph.D. was a crossover between literature and cultural geography.   8 00:01:03,050 --> 00:01:14,200 So I was looking at the effective, and narrative agency of abandoned spaces in contemporary British fiction.   9 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,200 And once I'd completed that.   10 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:25,520 I felt like I'd taken research as far as I wanted to take it.   11 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:34,760 And so from then, I forged a career in what we might call higher education professional services,   12 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:43,780 and I'm currently the careers advisor for postgraduate researchers at the University of Birmingham.   13 00:01:43,780 --> 00:01:47,980 Amazing. I just want to pick up on a phrase that you use, though, which I thought was really interesting,   14 00:01:47,980 --> 00:01:52,630 which is that you came to the end of the PhD and you'd taken research as far as you wanted to take it.   15 00:01:52,630 --> 00:01:58,510 Can I ask you more about what you mean by that? Absolutely, yes.   16 00:01:58,510 --> 00:02:07,240 And I think what I mean by that would be in comparison to how I felt after I finished my master's degree.   17 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:13,570 So I did, a taught MA and in literature and culture at the University of Lancaster.   18 00:02:13,570 --> 00:02:18,760 And I just got really into it, got really into my dissertation.   19 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:26,050 And one of the main reasons I progressed to the Ph.D. was because after I've done that MA dissertation, I thought I'm not done yet.   20 00:02:26,050 --> 00:02:32,210 I felt like there was more mileage in the ideas and the research I was doing.   21 00:02:32,210 --> 00:02:34,000 So just to give you some context.   22 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:46,570 My master's dissertation was looking at uh urban exploration photography and say where people go into abandoned buildings, take photographs,   23 00:02:46,570 --> 00:02:50,860 display them online and especially of maternity hospitals,   24 00:02:50,860 --> 00:03:00,370 and crossover between the online display of these images of these abandoned maternity hospitals and birth narratives.   25 00:03:00,370 --> 00:03:10,390 And and yeah, I felt like and the more I was reading, the more I was seeing abandoned hospitals,   26 00:03:10,390 --> 00:03:16,570 especially cropping up in and in novels that I was looking at.   27 00:03:16,570 --> 00:03:21,640 And so I think there's more I can get out of this.   28 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:28,390 And and that was one of the main reasons I went on to do something I think kind of served   29 00:03:28,390 --> 00:03:38,320 me relatively well throughout the process was that I was treated like a fixed term job,   30 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:45,880 if you like. I was very lucky and privileged to have funding from Research Council.   31 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:51,150 But I, yeah, I treated. It really is kind of a fixed term job.   32 00:03:51,150 --> 00:04:00,780 And and when I was coming towards the end of it, where after my master's, I saw.   33 00:04:00,780 --> 00:04:06,470 I still feel like there's some mileage in these ideas, I want to keep going with the research.   34 00:04:06,470 --> 00:04:09,800 That sort of came to a natural end for me.   35 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:20,540 And as I was going to say, it was actually in my second year, I really started to think I will probably do something different after this.   36 00:04:20,540 --> 00:04:29,150 And I started to, on a small scale, explore what that something different might be.   37 00:04:29,150 --> 00:04:33,410 Yeah, I think that's really interesting and just that kind of concept of the research   38 00:04:33,410 --> 00:04:39,130 coming to sort of this or your your motivation coming to the natural conclusion.   39 00:04:39,130 --> 00:04:48,780 And so when you kind of when your second year when you were starting to investigate what that might be, how how did you go about that?   40 00:04:48,780 --> 00:04:56,390 How did you go about the process of going? What else is there and what might what might be suitable for me?   41 00:04:56,390 --> 00:05:03,290 Hmm. I think it's important to point out that I don't think I did this completely consciously, right?   42 00:05:03,290 --> 00:05:09,590 I don't think this was a conscious, purposeful career planning process.   43 00:05:09,590 --> 00:05:19,250 I don't think my line is so difficult, isn't it, to put yourself back in the past situation, actually think what your line of thought was?   44 00:05:19,250 --> 00:05:27,670 But I don't think it was. Oh, I have to start career planning now, so I'm going to try some things and see what's right for me.   45 00:05:27,670 --> 00:05:33,100 It was much more and it was much more.   46 00:05:33,100 --> 00:05:37,430 I don't think I'm going to be continuing with research after this.   47 00:05:37,430 --> 00:05:47,420 So feeling like that gave me the freedom to dip my toe into a couple of other things and try some things out.   48 00:05:47,420 --> 00:05:53,030 And I think another big part of it was what I was naturally drawn to.   49 00:05:53,030 --> 00:05:59,420 I think what I ended up doing from second year onwards was following my interests a lot more.   50 00:05:59,420 --> 00:06:09,660 And so just to put that into some context, my interests ended up being things like teaching anything where I was in an advisory work,   51 00:06:09,660 --> 00:06:20,360 in an advisory capacity and anything where I was doing things like training or mentoring other people.   52 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:23,600 And those were things that I was naturally drawn to.   53 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:30,620 So that meant I picked up quite a bit of undergraduate teaching, some master's level teaching as well.   54 00:06:30,620 --> 00:06:39,050 And it meant that I worked as postgraduate student ambassador in the Post Graduate Recruitment Office.   55 00:06:39,050 --> 00:06:44,960 So helping organise post-grad open days, doing campus tours, things like that.   56 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:53,630 And it was actually that part time role that led to my first full time job after the PhD as well.   57 00:06:53,630 --> 00:07:01,220 And then some of the things I did was I did a stand up comedy course, random, I know.   58 00:07:01,220 --> 00:07:12,500 And but that has been so useful and in my work now because I felt like if I could stand up in front of the lamp tavern in Dudley and tell jokes,   59 00:07:12,500 --> 00:07:16,790 I could probably cope with any audience and whatever was thrown at me in any job.   60 00:07:16,790 --> 00:07:20,330 So. And yeah, that that was what I did.   61 00:07:20,330 --> 00:07:30,380 I think it was that I became very aware quite quickly about what and what I was drawn towards what I wanted to do more of.   62 00:07:30,380 --> 00:07:33,800 So when I spotted opportunities like those,   63 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:45,510 I took them and as much as I could and and it was doing that and especially the post-grad ambassador work, It ended up really showing me.   64 00:07:45,510 --> 00:07:57,170 How broad the range of. University based careers is and it started to spark thought in me as well,   65 00:07:57,170 --> 00:08:04,070 if I do still want to be student facing, I want to be teaching or advising students in some way.   66 00:08:04,070 --> 00:08:11,820 I still want to be in a university environment and I want to keep that feeling of being an expert in something   67 00:08:11,820 --> 00:08:19,220 some someone people come to and for for expertise in a certain area.   68 00:08:19,220 --> 00:08:30,820 That was when I started to realise there were other avenues that could give me that that weren't traditional academic research or teaching.   69 00:08:30,820 --> 00:08:39,670 Yeah. I think the things I'm really picking up on there is follow it following your interests and continuing to do the things that interests you,   70 00:08:39,670 --> 00:08:49,900 because they will they will lead you to kind of something that's more perhaps more fitting to interests and values,   71 00:08:49,900 --> 00:08:53,830 but also kind of getting involved with stuff.   72 00:08:53,830 --> 00:09:02,590 It raises your awareness, it raises your awareness of what other opportunities and what other options are available to you career wise.   73 00:09:02,590 --> 00:09:09,190 Because I think, you know, I I was an academic for seven years, six years, six years and,   74 00:09:09,190 --> 00:09:13,600 you know, until I decided I didn't want to do that anymore and start signing up for job alerts.   75 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:20,080 Even working as an academic, I didn't really have a concept of the breadth of professional services and all of that you   76 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:27,780 could do within a university that weren't being an academic and so important to do that.   77 00:09:27,780 --> 00:09:34,150 And can I can I give you another example Kelly just wanted to while pick that you've picked up?   78 00:09:34,150 --> 00:09:39,010 What I think was important there about, say, about following your interests.   79 00:09:39,010 --> 00:09:44,240 I think two points here. Number one, I was a bit naughty really, my PhD,   80 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:55,960 because I would find myself regularly shirking my research to prepare teaching and and to see how I might do more open days and things like that.   81 00:09:55,960 --> 00:10:00,100 And at the time, I felt bad for that.   82 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:04,960 But really, it was a very important message I was giving myself.   83 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:13,810 I was sort of telling myself whre I drew My energy, but also another example of what you say about following your interests.   84 00:10:13,810 --> 00:10:18,370 So and a couple of years ago, and I think it's going on for about three years ago now,   85 00:10:18,370 --> 00:10:30,610 I was working with a PGR and she had a physics physical sciences background and and had done a really interdisciplinary PhD.   86 00:10:30,610 --> 00:10:35,320 And um, she had done a similar thing.   87 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:40,840 So she knew very early on she was very interested in communication just in general,   88 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:47,620 whether it was communication, science, communication, research, communication of ideas, whatever it was.   89 00:10:47,620 --> 00:10:56,410 So she decided to wherever there was a communication theme and she had time and the ability to explore that.   90 00:10:56,410 --> 00:11:04,060 She ended up doing some media training. She ended up getting involved in a podcast.   91 00:11:04,060 --> 00:11:14,650 She ended up making some videos about her research, and she just purely did that because that was where that was, where interest lay.   92 00:11:14,650 --> 00:11:21,500 She just really enjoyed those things. When she came to graduate through talking to a friend,   93 00:11:21,500 --> 00:11:33,740 she learnt about a role that was being advertised and it was in a microscope company and the job pretty much involved   94 00:11:33,740 --> 00:11:45,440 interviewing scientists to find out how they used this equipment and how they use the applications that this company created.   95 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:53,420 And that's not even a job she would have known was a job. But by taking those opportunities doing those training she made,   96 00:11:53,420 --> 00:12:01,460 she accidentally made herself an ideal candidate for a job that suited her really well.   97 00:12:01,460 --> 00:12:10,010 But she didn't know it was a job, and I just love that as a career planning model, if you like the fact that it's not a plan.   98 00:12:10,010 --> 00:12:13,460 She didn't identify a type of job in eighth grade.   99 00:12:13,460 --> 00:12:23,510 She just developed herself in the ways that she was most interested, and it accidentally made her a great candidate for the job that suited her.   100 00:12:23,510 --> 00:12:31,610 And so I thought, Yeah, I really rate that as a strategy.   101 00:12:31,610 --> 00:12:41,680 Yeah, I think I think Kate Foster at Exeter has said that's called planned happenstance or something like it.   102 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:46,060 It's a theory,   103 00:12:46,060 --> 00:12:56,880 and I think it is so important because I've I had a very similar experience in that I was involved in my national kind of subject area network dance   104 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:05,050 HE and through that set up and a network for early career researchers because I was one of two early career researchers heavily involved in it.   105 00:13:05,050 --> 00:13:12,670 And and we didn't really know anyone at other institutions on each other, and we wanted to have that support system.   106 00:13:12,670 --> 00:13:13,240 And actually,   107 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:20,380 that was a huge thing when I applied for the role that I'm in now as a researcher development manager that worked in my favour because actually,   108 00:13:20,380 --> 00:13:31,000 that's the kind of stuff that my role now is doing. And it was a really cool experience and the fit directly into the work that I'm doing now.   109 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:35,200 But it was kind of a a a side hustle kind of.   110 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:43,780 I just want to do this and like you, something I was taking taking time out with my quote unquote day job to do.   111 00:13:43,780 --> 00:13:50,500 And I think lots of us do that. And I really like how you're talking about the importance of acknowledging and   112 00:13:50,500 --> 00:14:00,100 reflecting on those instincts and those pathways and those things that you're drawn to.   113 00:14:00,100 --> 00:14:07,510 I think it's like any aspect of life, whether it's, you know, whether it's academic,   114 00:14:07,510 --> 00:14:13,720 professional relationship, family links, if you keep doing something,   115 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,140 if you keep being drawn to a pattern of behaviour,   116 00:14:17,140 --> 00:14:26,020 you're being drawn to that pattern of behaviour for a reason and uncovering those reasons can unlock a lot of nuggets for you.   117 00:14:26,020 --> 00:14:33,300 I think. Yeah, it can. You know, it really ties into all of that stuff that we talk about in our respective roles,   118 00:14:33,300 --> 00:14:39,050 about kind of self-awareness and reflecting on your values and all of that.   119 00:14:39,050 --> 00:14:46,710 I like you. I've always done that kind of unconsciously, I guess, and through my career.   120 00:14:46,710 --> 00:14:51,420 But actually, you put yourself ahead of the game if you actually engage with all of those processes and all of those   121 00:14:51,420 --> 00:14:59,790 resources because you learn about yourself and what you're drawn to and what interests and excites you.   122 00:14:59,790 --> 00:15:08,880 And that can kind of step ahead to thinking about, Okay, so where where does this fit, you know, career wise, sector wise?   123 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:17,040 And I think that reflection can also perhaps save you some stress in the long run,   124 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:21,660 because especially when we're talking about postgraduate researchers,   125 00:15:21,660 --> 00:15:31,380 you know, I really appreciate that not everybody has the time, exactly space to just say yes to these extra things.   126 00:15:31,380 --> 00:15:34,060 So I think it's a balance.   127 00:15:34,060 --> 00:15:45,330 And if you are someone who is juggling your postgraduate research with a hefty pile of other responsibilities and challenges,   128 00:15:45,330 --> 00:15:58,550 and the more you can do to to to be very strategic and in the few opportunities that you do take.   129 00:15:58,550 --> 00:16:03,950 The better, so you don't feel the pressure to have to say yes to all of these things,   130 00:16:03,950 --> 00:16:13,760 but you're just investing in the few things that are going to develop you in the line of how you think you want to develop.   131 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:22,490 This is why I, you know, I I do think career planning is very outdated in terms of deciding you want to   132 00:16:22,490 --> 00:16:27,740 be something and then planning in a very linear way to actualise that plan.   133 00:16:27,740 --> 00:16:36,440 I think jobs, if jobs are being born and dying, a rate that is too fast for that to be an effective strategy anymore.   134 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:43,880 And what I do think is that if you just have some idea about how you want your doctoral   135 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:52,490 experience to develop and to use that to be strategic in the things you say yes and no to,   136 00:16:52,490 --> 00:17:03,500 that can save you. I think some conflict and some stress to to grant yourself the permission to say no to things that don't fall within that.   137 00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:08,660 Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely. And yeah,   138 00:17:08,660 --> 00:17:15,830 I'm really interested about what you said about this kind of career management career planning thing being being outdated because   139 00:17:15,830 --> 00:17:25,100 I my experience is that kind of I came to this knowledge area kind of after I'd made some quite dramatic decisions in my career.   140 00:17:25,100 --> 00:17:31,490 It's going to stop being an academic and actually looking at it helped me contextualise the decisions that I've made,   141 00:17:31,490 --> 00:17:35,000 but I'm not sure if I'd have someone to put the career management cycle in front of me.   142 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,120 I'd necessarily have still made those decisions.   143 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:47,620 But on reflection, help me understand that I was actually following my, my values and my interests and my mind.   144 00:17:47,620 --> 00:17:55,010 And so can you tell us a bit more about what you're doing now and how that kind of fits in   145 00:17:55,010 --> 00:18:00,140 with kind of you following those interests and those passions during your research degree?   146 00:18:00,140 --> 00:18:02,900 Yeah, definitely so.   147 00:18:02,900 --> 00:18:16,700 And so as well as my day job being the careers advisor post graduate research, going to University of Birmingham, I keep a Ph.D. careers blog.   148 00:18:16,700 --> 00:18:24,980 It's called Post Gradual and its phd-careers.co.uk to give a shameless plug.   149 00:18:24,980 --> 00:18:29,240 And and in our own blog.   150 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:38,520 And I. Talk quite a bit about a thought experiment that I'm quite a fan of.   151 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:49,770 And it really is a it is me putting into words something that I was doing unconsciously through this process of what led me to what I do now.   152 00:18:49,770 --> 00:19:03,790 So. Obviously, what I do now is I support postgraduate researchers with that and career development who will take their next steps.   153 00:19:03,790 --> 00:19:11,880 But it's taken me a while to come around to this and it's taken me a while to realise that this was.   154 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:19,830 And this role was dealing with the problems in the world that I wanted to solve.   155 00:19:19,830 --> 00:19:30,510 But what I feel like I have done and this is something I encourage other people to do is say from coming out of the PhD into the first role I was in   156 00:19:30,510 --> 00:19:37,000 which was working in postgraduate student recruitment. There were things about that I really enjoyed.   157 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:46,500 So the first thing to say was. And having done part time work with them during my PhD, gave me an easy in right.   158 00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:53,740 That was an easy step sideways into doing some work because it was academic.   159 00:19:53,740 --> 00:19:58,110 adjacent if you like. I knew the team I'd worked with before.   160 00:19:58,110 --> 00:20:08,190 And so that gave me a nice Segway into my first proper job after the Ph.D. as I was going through that job.   161 00:20:08,190 --> 00:20:24,060 I started to more consciously think about what were the bits of it that motivated me the most, and it was anything where I was advising people.   162 00:20:24,060 --> 00:20:29,400 It was anything where prospective students were coming to me as an expert,   163 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:34,980 as somebody who could be a postgraduate and wanting to ask questions about the experience,   164 00:20:34,980 --> 00:20:40,350 the application process, being hungry for information, and I was the one that could give it to them.   165 00:20:40,350 --> 00:20:43,170 I really liked being in that situation,   166 00:20:43,170 --> 00:20:50,970 and I really enjoyed being the person who made people feel more confident and more reassured with taking the next steps.   167 00:20:50,970 --> 00:21:00,090 Those were things that really lit me up, but the bits of it I wasn't so enamoured with were only being able to promote one opportunity to them,   168 00:21:00,090 --> 00:21:06,930 which was postgraduate study and and and the kind of salesy aspect of the role.   169 00:21:06,930 --> 00:21:12,510 I quickly realised that the conversations I wanted to be having with these people were more   170 00:21:12,510 --> 00:21:19,920 impartial and conversations about what would really be right for them in the next steps.   171 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:28,020 So what I was doing here semiconsciously, I was asking myself if I was going to turn my current job into my ideal job.   172 00:21:28,020 --> 00:21:33,660 What bits of it, what I want to keep? What aspects of it would I want to lose?   173 00:21:33,660 --> 00:21:40,950 And what kinds of activities or things might I want to add to it that I'm not doing at the moment   174 00:21:40,950 --> 00:21:46,320 And I think I was doing that throughout the PhD as well. I just didn't realise it.   175 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:48,510 I think when I was going through the PhD, I was thinking,   176 00:21:48,510 --> 00:21:58,530 I want to keep working in a university environment to keep this advisory, teaching and authority kind of figure.   177 00:21:58,530 --> 00:22:07,860 But I wanted to lose working on my own a lot, and I wanted to add more contact with a broader range of people in my work,   178 00:22:07,860 --> 00:22:12,000 and I wanted to add a bit more kind of work life separation.   179 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:22,130 And so I guess what led me from the Ph.D. to where I am now is this iterative process of each role I took.   180 00:22:22,130 --> 00:22:27,090 Keep asking myself, What do I want to keep, what I want to lose, what I want to add?   181 00:22:27,090 --> 00:22:32,670 And it says that that actually led me to undertake a professional qualification in career   182 00:22:32,670 --> 00:22:41,670 guidance and take a sideways move to do a secondment and into the careers service,   183 00:22:41,670 --> 00:22:50,520 which is how I got it originally. And that was originally a six month secondment, and I ended up establishing a permanent role.   184 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:59,940 And then once I was in that again asking myself those questions, what do I want to add, specifically working with researchers?   185 00:22:59,940 --> 00:23:08,460 So so far, I feel like my career has been this iterative process of keep asking myself these three questions Why don't you keep what I want to lose?   186 00:23:08,460 --> 00:23:16,710 What do I want to add? And I think I will always be doing that. And throughout my career, and it's something I would really encourage people,   187 00:23:16,710 --> 00:23:22,500 especially post-grad researchers, to to think about and to bring into their consciousness,   188 00:23:22,500 --> 00:23:32,430 because I think too often we can fixate on the idea that we have to solve our entire lives with our first post job, right?   189 00:23:32,430 --> 00:23:38,880 Especially if we're going to be jumping out of academia into something else, we can think, Well,   190 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:46,800 what if I don't like it or if the job is terrible, etc. You're not trying to solve your whole life with your next job.   191 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:53,910 You're just trying to take the next step in this iterative process. You're just trying to think, What do I want to add next?   192 00:23:53,910 --> 00:24:05,100 What do I want to lose next? And I'm making very small incremental changes towards something that ticks more boxes   193 00:24:05,100 --> 00:24:11,510 I hope that answered the question, that's my best way of describing the process that I've gone.   194 00:24:11,510 --> 00:24:22,370 through from PhD to where I am now, it has and I think it's hit on a really, really and insightful bit of advice,   195 00:24:22,370 --> 00:24:31,490 which is the thing about not, you know, you're not solving your whole life, you're not kind of committing to something forever   196 00:24:31,490 --> 00:24:36,260 I think that's that's such an important point to make because actually, you know,   197 00:24:36,260 --> 00:24:44,390 careers evolve over time and you know, you discover you discover interests that you didn't necessarily know you had.   198 00:24:44,390 --> 00:24:50,840 I mean, through doing some of the kind of community based work with PGRs I have become really interested in equality and diversity,   199 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:58,850 and I'm actually going on secondment shortly to do a role looking at inclusive research and research ultures, you know?   200 00:24:58,850 --> 00:25:05,930 That's when I was an academic. I would never have imagined that I would taken,   201 00:25:05,930 --> 00:25:14,210 but it's something that's evolved throughout the process of doing different roles and engaging with different PGR communities.   202 00:25:14,210 --> 00:25:22,260 And so I think what you're saying is really crucial because. We discover new things our interests change over time.   203 00:25:22,260 --> 00:25:26,840 Now, you know that none of these things are static, so thinking about that first,   204 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:34,790 your post is a kind of deciding what you will be doing forever is deciding kind of what what the next step is.   205 00:25:34,790 --> 00:25:39,320 Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I know I didn't.   206 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:50,960 I didn't think straight out of my PhD dying to be a careers advisor, and I'd only mean that kind of partially, irreverently.   207 00:25:50,960 --> 00:26:00,140 Yeah, but it's it's like it's as if I was going through in my first couple post jobs capturing these breadcrumbs that   208 00:26:00,140 --> 00:26:09,730 were giving me clues as to that was what was going to to help me make people feel the way I wanted them to feel,   209 00:26:09,730 --> 00:26:16,700 the way I wanted to support people and to working with the groups of people that I wanted to make a difference to.   210 00:26:16,700 --> 00:26:24,350 Thanks so much to Holly for taking the time to speak to me and for giving us some really fantastic insight about following your interests,   211 00:26:24,350 --> 00:26:27,290 your values, using your intuition,   212 00:26:27,290 --> 00:26:36,800 but also fundamentally not seeing that first job post research degree as it as the culmination or the the end point of your career.   213 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:47,210 Actually, it's about finding something that's interesting and gathering those breadcrumbs, as Holly said, to find the right thing for you.   214 00:26:47,210 --> 00:27:03,066 And that's it for this episode. Join us next time when we'll be talking to another researcher about their career beyond their research degree.  

The Vast Podcast
E21: Radical Conversions, Dark Seasons & Pentecostal Theology w/ Dr. Mark Chironna

The Vast Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2022 142:51


In E21 we talk with Dr. Mark Chironna about his radical conversion, his dark season of depression & anxiety, and Pentecostal theology. Dr. Chironna is a Theo-Semiotician, holding a Doctorate of Ministry in Future Studies as well as an MA in Psych. He is also an author, BCC Certified Coach, and is currently seeking a Ph.D. as Post Grad Researcher at the University Of Birmingham, UK.  Find complete show notes & links on our site https://my.captivate.fm/www.vast.faith. (www.vast.faith.) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vastfaith/ (https://www.instagram.com/vastfaith/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/VastFaith (https://twitter.com/VastFaith) Follow Jake: https://www.instagram.com/jakesweetman (https://www.instagram.com/jakesweetman) Follow Michael: https://www.instagram.com/michaelwhittle (https://www.instagram.com/michaelwhittle) Feel free to shoot us an email at mw@vast.faith with any feedback, recommendations, questions or ideas for future topics of conversation. 

The Vast Podcast
E21: Radical Conversions, Dark Seasons & Pentecostal Theology w/ Dr. Mark Chironna

The Vast Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2022 142:51


In E21 we talk with Dr. Mark Chironna about his radical conversion, his dark season of depression & anxiety, and Pentecostal theology. Dr. Chironna is a Theo-Semiotician, holding a Doctorate of Ministry in Future Studies as well as an MA in Psych. He is also an author, BCC Certified Coach, and is currently seeking a Ph.D. as Post Grad Researcher at the University Of Birmingham, UK.  Find complete show notes & links on our site https://my.captivate.fm/www.vast.faith. (www.vast.faith.) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vastfaith/ (https://www.instagram.com/vastfaith/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/VastFaith (https://twitter.com/VastFaith) Follow Jake: https://www.instagram.com/jakesweetman (https://www.instagram.com/jakesweetman) Follow Michael: https://www.instagram.com/michaelwhittle (https://www.instagram.com/michaelwhittle) Feel free to shoot us an email at mw@vast.faith with any feedback, recommendations, questions or ideas for future topics of conversation. 

Military Historians are People, Too! A Podcast with Brian & Bill
S1E5 Jonathan Boff - University of Birmingham UK

Military Historians are People, Too! A Podcast with Brian & Bill

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2021 67:01


Today's guest is Great War scholar Jonathan Boff. Jonathan is a Reader in History and War Studies at the University of Birmingham, where he teaches courses on conflict from Homer to Helmand. He specializes in the First World War. He is currently an AHRC Leadership Fellow, researching a book on Money in Wartime which will be published by Oxford University Press in 2024. His last monograph, Haig's Enemy: Crown Prince Rupprecht and Germany's War on the Western Front, 1914-18 was published by Oxford University Press in 2018. It won the British Army Book of the Year award, and was joint winner of the World War One Association's Tomlinson Prize. His previous book, Winning and Losing on the Western Front: The British Third Army and the Defeat of Germany in 1918 (Cambridge University Press, 2012) was short-listed for the Templer Medal and for the British Army Book of the Year award. He was educated at Merton College, Oxford and the Department of War Studies, King's College London, and spent twenty years working in finance before returning to academia. He serves on the board of advisors for the National Army Museum and Army Records Society, has worked as a historical consultant with the British Army and the BBC, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. And he is a Rugby and F1 enthusiast, so Bill is quite pleased! Follow Jonathan on Twitter @JonathanBoff! Join us for our chat with Jonathan Boff! Rec. 11/30/2021

Talking Tech Transfer
David Coleman: University of Birmingham Enterprise

Talking Tech Transfer

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2021 41:53


David Coleman is the chief executive of University of Birmingham Enterprise, and he's a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion. That is just one of the topics covered in this interview –he also tells about the importance of MICRA and its ambition to raise a fund, how the TTO has grown over the years and […]

Talking Classical Podcast
Ep. 51: University of Birmingham MA Music (Choral Conducting) - interview with students and course director Simon Halsey

Talking Classical Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2021 37:54


Last week, I went to the University of Birmingham (UK) to learn about its MA Music: Choral Conducting pathway, celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. In the first part of this podcast, we'll hear from the course's director Simon Halsey. He talks about how the course was developed from his desire to pass on what he'd learnt from an extensive career as a choral conductor and director, specifically, training a choir to sing with an orchestra. This is the course's main focus - it's the only choral conducting course to be run with a major international orchestra: the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. However, students are immersed in many genres of choral conducting throughout the degree. It's an intensive course but the students should leave with plenty of ideas about how to conduct choirs in their home countries or other capacities. Then we'll hear from four students on this year's course (2021/22), why they chose to specifically come to Birmingham, their ambitions and what attracts them to choral conducting. Simon Halsey occupies a unique position in classical music. He is the trusted advisor on choral singing to the world's greatest conductors, orchestras and choruses; as an ambassador for choral singing to amateurs of every age, ability and background he has led ground-breaking massed choral events, notably for New York's Lincoln Center. Making singing a central part of the world-class institutions with which he is associated, he has been instrumental in changing the level of symphonic singing across Europe. He holds positions across the UK and Europe as Choral Director of London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Chorus Director of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Artistic Director of Orfeó Català Choirs and Artistic Adviser of Palau de la Música, BarcelonaCreative Director for Choral Music and Projects at WDR Rundfunkchor, Conductor Laureate of Rundfunkchor Berlin and Professor and Director of Choral Activities at University of Birmingham. He is also a highly respected teacher and academic, nurturing the next generation of choral conductors on his post-graduate course in Birmingham and through masterclasses at Princeton, Yale and elsewhere. He holds four honorary doctorates from universities in the UK, and in 2011 Schott Music published his book and DVD on choral conducting, Chorleitung: Vom Konzept zum Konzert. Halsey's numerous awards include three Grammys for his recordings with the Rundfunkchor Berlin. He was made Commander of the British Empire in 2015, was awarded The Queen's Medal for Music in 2014, and received the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2011 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to choral music in Germany. Born in London, Simon Halsey sang in the choirs of New College, Oxford, and of King's College, Cambridge and studied conducting at the Royal College of Music in London. In 1987, he founded with Graham Vick the City of Birmingham Touring Opera. He was Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Choir from 1997 to 2008 and Principal Conductor of the Northern Sinfonia's Choral Programme from 2004 to 2012. From 2001-2015 he led the Rundfunkchor Berlin (of which he is now Conductor Laureate); under his leadership the chorus gained a reputation internationally as one of the finest professional choral ensembles. Halsey also initiated innovative projects in unconventional venues and interdisciplinary formats. MA Music (Choral Conducting) students: Jonathan Hatley, Jonathan Lucas Wood, James Bate and Daniel Tíjaro. *Interview with the MA students recorded in the foyer of Birmingham University's Music Hub - edited transcript here: https://bit.ly/3mHZzLf. Interviews recorded on 4 October 2021; published 12 October 2021. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/talking-classical-podcast/message

Afternoons with Helen Farmer
THE SEVEN STAGES OF EXPAT LIFE

Afternoons with Helen Farmer

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2021 77:50


13 September 2021: Steve Cronin of Dead Simple Saving outlines the seven stages of expat life. Where are you in your expat journey? Teens and Money: Now that teens can do part time work in the UAE, will "Dubai kids" have more opportunities to learn the value of money? Helen meets Mateo, who says he's been earning his own money at 10 years old. Women are more stressed than men during the pandemic. Fact? That's what a Cigna survey has found.  What are some courses to take in university to survive and thrive in a post-pandemic world? Chris Taylor of the University of Birmingham fills Helen in.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dental Appointment
26th Dental Appointment: University of Birmingham

Dental Appointment

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2021 25:54


In this episode, Ryan and Becky are joined by Golasa (Instagram: @golsteeth), a student from University of Birmingham who has just finished her 3rd year! They discuss what makes Birmingham stand out as a Dental School, a year by year break down and teaching style! They also discuss the the widening access route to dentistry. Consider researching to see if this is an option for you and which dental schools offer widening access routes! Make sure to listen to all dental school episodes when Ryan and Becky are joined by a student from each UK dental school ahead of UCAS applications in October! Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/dental_appointment Contact us: dentalappointment21@gmail.com Instrumental by Forget The Whale: www.instagram.com/forgetthewhale

Pacey Performance Podcast
Expectations of sports science, the rise of the PhD, and the 'problem' with research with Barry Drust (Industrial Professorial Fellow at University of Birmingham)

Pacey Performance Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2021 72:13


In this episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast, I am speaking to Industrial Professorial Fellow at the University of Birmingham, Barry Drust. Barry has been on the hit list for some time but I didn't realise that he would take the title for the best job title ever in one fell swoop. Barry has an incredible amount of experience, both in the applied and academic world. He was one of the first sports scientists in football here in the UK alongside Chris Barnes and a number of others. To chat with Barry again was a pleasure and we dived into some really interesting topics which are outlined below. In this episode, we discussed... Who is Barry Drust (background, experience and current roles)? Sports science Where is sports science research at? Gaps in education Evidenced based practice What is grossly overhyped in sports science Doctoral training Why pursue a PhD? Is it becoming the new MSc Various ways you can get one? Practice-based research/evidence-based practice – is it important? How do you do it? What might it do for your practice? Barriers to PhD’s? Characteristics needed to complete a PhD? ...and what is overrated? Barry can be found on Twitter @BARRYD22 This episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast is sponsored by Output Sports – a Swiss Army Knife for optimising off field performance. Output Sports have developed a one-stop portable tool for comprehensive, valid and reliable athlete assessment. You can learn more about Output on outputsports.com or follow them on social media on @OutputSports where you can schedule a demo. This episode of the Pacey Performance Podcast is sponsored by Hawkin Dynamics, the team behind the world's only wireless force plate system. Hawkin Dynamics can be found at hawkindynamics.com and you can follow them on Twitter @hawkindynamics This episode is also sponsored by IMeasureU. IMeasureU are a world leading inertial platform to precisely quantify body movement and workload metrics in the field. IMeasureU can be found at imeasureu.com and you can follow them on Twitter @imeasureu. This episode is also sponsored by Omegawave, the only non-invasive readiness technology to assess both brain and heart. Omegawave can be found at omegawave.com and you can follow them on Twitter @omegawave. This episode is also sponsored by Fusion Sport, the global leader in human performance solutions for elite sport, military, and workplace health. Fusion Sport’s data management and analytics platform, Smartabase, is designed to provide elite human performance organizations with a one stop shop solution for the holistic performance management of their teams. Visit www.fusionsport.com/smartabase to learn more about how Smartabase can help turn your data into a winning advantage. Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following on Twitter @strengthofsci or visiting strengthofscience.com. Enjoy PP

Independent Thinking - Exploring a new era for retail and the high street
Experiential retail, predicting consumer trends and the rise of Phygital with Dr Sarah Montano, University of Birmingham

Independent Thinking - Exploring a new era for retail and the high street

Play Episode Play 23 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 15, 2021 50:49 Transcription Available


Now feels like a good time to gain a little perspective and think about what's happening in retail and on our high streets in more depth; help us understand why we are where we are, what our high streets could look like in the future and what trends we can expect to emerge.And who better to do this with than Dr Sarah Montano, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at University of Birmingham who has written extensively around this area. In a recent piece, she proposes that to emerge successfully in 2021, the UK high street needs to focus on blending physical and digital, creating 'Phygital' spaces, increasing consumer confidence, and for government to understand more deeply what we, as consumers need, and the constraints that we are likely to face in future. We unpack all this and more in today's fascinating episode - enjoy!This is the last episode of our current series, but fear not - we'll be back in May! Read Dr Montano's piece in full here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/thebirminghambrief/items/2021/jan/what-does-the-high-street-need-for-a-successful-2021.aspx  Support the show

Burn FM
Politics 4 You - Raw Interview with University of Birmingham in Aid of Unicef

Burn FM

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2021 31:11


An uncut interview with Niamh Baker who is on the committee for University of Birmingham Aid of UNICEF society

SciPod
How Ought the Law to Deal with Implanted Medical Devices - Professor Muireann Quigley, University of Birmingham

SciPod

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2021 13:32


Attached and implanted technologies are now part of everyday life for many millions of people. Yet as the capabilities of these devices have advanced rapidly in recent years, lawmakers have struggled to keep pace. Professor Muireann Quigley at the University of Birmingham believes that it is now more critical than ever that the law catches up with the technological and social change wrought by attached and implanted medical devices, especially ‘smart’ ones. Through the Everyday Cyborgs 2.0 and DIY Diabetes projects, she and her colleagues hope to bring law, regulation, and policy regarding these technologies into the 21st century.

TheSugarScience Podcast- curating the scientific conversation in type 1 diabetes
Episode 56: David Wraith, PhD, Professor of Immunology, Director of the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham

TheSugarScience Podcast- curating the scientific conversation in type 1 diabetes

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2021 37:15


In this episode, David Wraith joins us to discuss his profound knowledge on autoimmunity and immunotherapy. His research team has revealed mechanisms whereby autoreactive T-cells escape deletion in the thymus and thus appear in the repertoire of all individuals. He also demonstrated that autoreactive T-cells can be silenced by suitable administration of fragments of their protein targets.

Podcast UNNES
#PodcastUNNES - Jejak Alumni: Raeni, Anak Tukang Becak Lulusan University of Birmingham

Podcast UNNES

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 11, 2021 36:27


#raeni #becak #unnes #PodcastUNNES kali ini akan membahas tentang Raeni, M.Sc adalah penerima beasiswa bidikmisi dari Universitas Negeri Semarang pada tahun 2011. Sejak mengenyam pendidikan di Fakultas Ekonomi UNNES, Raeni terbukti berkali-kali menunjukkan keunggulan dan prestasinya. Berkat keunggulan dan prestasinya lah, Raeni berhasil meraih Awardee Beasiswa LPDP di University of Birmingham, UK. Setelah menyelesaikan studi Masternya, wanita kelahiran 13 Januari 1993 ini mengabdikan diri sebagai dosen di FE UNNES. Mahasiswa yang pernah viral beberapa tahun silam, karena prestasi ipknya yang nyaris sempurna dan sempat ramai dibicarakan karena mencuri perhatian khalayak setelah diantar ayahnya menuju prosesi wisuda menggunakan becak. Saat ini Raeni masih menyelesaikan studi s3 di University of Birmingham. Kisah Raeni yang berjuang menempuh studinya hingga doktoral di tengah kondisi ekonominya tersebut, telah menginspirasi banyak orang. Dan berikut obrolan Podcast unnes bersama Raeni... Website: https://podcast.unnes.ac.id Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Bn0RYl Instagram: @podcastunnes Silakan dibagikan ke seluruh media sosial anda (Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, dll). Informasi seputar Podcast UNNES, saran, kritik dan sanggahan bisa dilayangkan via email ke podcast@mail.unnes.ac.id

Speed Change Repeat
Michaela Mahlberg - Professor & Chair in Corpus Linguistics at University of Birmingham

Speed Change Repeat

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2020 54:50


Natural Language Processing is a subfield of A.I where the main goal is to enable machines to analyze, understand and manipulate language. That is why the academic field of linguistics and especially computational linguistics has really gained massive attention both in the academia but also industry. Therefore we invited Michaela Mahlberg on to the show to talk about her perspective on the field and where she sees the field heading. Michaela has a very fresh perspective when it comes to the collaboration between academia and industry, which lead to multiple collaborations already with her team and multiple organizations. She currently works with 'The Times' digital archive to apply data science methods to all their digitised issues back to 18th century - to explore political trends and how they were reflected in the newsTune in and Subscribe to the SPEED CHANGE REPEAT Podcast! 

Radio Islam
The World View interview with the University of Birmingham`s Professor Scott Lucas

Radio Islam

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2020 16:50


The World View interview with the University of Birmingham`s Professor Scott Lucas by Radio Islam

RT
Worlds Apart: Demo democracy? Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy at the University of Birmingham

RT

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2020 29:32


It’s hard to find a more loaded subject in governance and international relations than democracy. On the national level, it’s supposed to be a safe way of ensuring that governments are accessible and responsive to the people. Yet, internationally, it can be a major source of insecurity, and one that’s driven by the maneuverings of foreign powers. Is it possible to decouple domestic governance from geopolitical games? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy at the University of Birmingham, in the UK, and co-author of ‘How to Rig an Election’.

How To Become A Doctor
36. Open Pod: University of Birmingham

How To Become A Doctor

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2020 26:06


In this Open Pod episode, Lucy interviews Ciara from the University of Birmingham. Birmingham is an integrated course with an optional intercalation year. The A Level entry requirements for 2021 entry are AAA, and the UCAT score will be used to rank applicants for interview. Whilst there is no minimum UCAT cut-off score, the total UCAT scores of all applicants to the university will be ranked and put into deciles and given a score out of 3. For example, the top 10% of applicants' scores will be in the top decile and will receive a maximum score of 3.0 in the process. Listen to this episode to hear all about how students really find the course and get some top tips on how to get in! Comment any questions for Ciara on her post on Instagram @howtobecomeadr!

Shoot The Shot Podcast
Why Study At The University of Birmingham, Best Part of 1st Year at Uni and Funny Uni Stories

Shoot The Shot Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2020 58:03


Timestamps: 1. What's it like doing Philosophy at University of Birmingham: 1:30 2. Why did you decide on Birmingham: 5:35 3. What would a typical semester for a Philosophy degree at Birmingham look like: 9:10 4. Who would you recommend for Philosophy as a degree: 10:33 5. What's the best thing about University of Birmingham: 11:43 6. What was your experience with uni halls like: 13:38 7. What would your advice be for finding a house in 2nd year: 16:00 8. What would your advice be for new students on how to find the right friends at uni and how to tell whether they've made the right friends: 19:11 9. What do you actually do in fresher's week: 21:36 10. What's your advice for 1st year students regarding societies and sports: 25:03 11. Funny Uni Stories: 27:45 Shoutouts: Andre Babayan: 5:13 Flo Byrne: 8:18 Alex Curtis: 13:30 and 38:00 Uni house mates: 15:10 - 16:00 Jolie Bediako: 16:20 and 19:00 and 56: Eddie Szlachetko: 29:20 Paige Powell: 57: Welcome to a new episode of the Shoot The Shot Podcast. This is the first episode of a new series on the podcast where we are gonna be breaking down different uni experiences across both the UK and internationally. Host: Mark De Monte Furtado IG: https://www.instagram.com/shoot_the_shot_podcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/shot_podcast Guest: Paddy Edis Guest IG: https://www.instagram.com/paddys_photoshop/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/shoot-the-shot-podcast/message

LCIL International Law Seminar Series
LCIL Friday Lecture: 'Minorities and the Making of Postcolonial States in International Law' - Dr Mohammad Shahabuddin, University of Birmingham

LCIL International Law Seminar Series

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2020 40:54


Lecture summary: While the Rohingya genocide is one of the worst incidents against minorities in recent times, ethno-nationalism and minority oppression in various forms and intensities are defining features of postcolonial states in general. Whereas most states, including Western liberal democracies, are not completely immune from ethno-nationalism and the minority ‘problem’, question remains, why are postcolonial states more vulnerable to this phenomenon? Also, why do postcolonial states respond to ethnic tensions in the manner in which they do? And, what role does international law play in all these? Minorities and the Making of Postcolonial States in International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2021) analyses the geneses of ethno-nationalism in postcolonial states, and articulates how the postcolonial state operates as an ideology to address the ‘minority problem’. The ideological function of the postcolonial ‘national’, ‘liberal’, and ‘developmental’ state inflicts various forms of marginalisation on minorities but simultaneously justify the oppression in the name of national unity, equality and non-discrimination, and economic development. International law plays a central role in the ideological making of the postcolonial state in relation to postcolonial boundaries, liberal-individualist architecture of rights, and neoliberal economic vision of development. In the process, international law subjugates minority interests and in turn aggravates the problem of ethno-nationalism in postcolonial states. With these arguments, the book thus offers an ideology critique of the postcolonial state and examines the role of international law therein. Dr Mohammad Shahabuddin is a Reader in International Law and Human Rights at Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham. He is also a Faculty Member for Harvard Law School’s Institute for Global Law and Policy (IGLP). He holds a PhD in international law from SOAS, University of London. Shahab is the author of Ethnicity and International Law: Histories, Politics and Practices (Cambridge University Press, 2016). He has recently been awarded the prestigious Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship (2018-2020) for writing his new monograph – Minorities and the Making of Postcolonial States in International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2021).

ChromeRadio
THE BRITISH HOME FRONT 29 | War Finance - Jonathan Boff

ChromeRadio

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2019 16:25


Welcome to the BRITISH HOME FRONT IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR. This series was recorded at the UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS in June 2018 to accompany a conference marking the contribution by the peoples of the British Isles to the national war effort. In this podcast, DR JONATHAN BOFF, Senior Lecturer in Modern History, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, talks about how Britain financed the First World War. IMAGE | J Weiner Ltd, 71/5 New Oxford Street, London WC1 (printer), National War Savings Committee (publisher/sponsor) - http://media.iwm.org.uk/iwm/mediaLib//154/media-154489/large.jpg Photograph Art IWM PST 10475 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums. Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24234591 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With thanks to JOHN CAWTHORN and the 1926 FOUNDATION for making this podcast series possible, and to the DEPARTMENT FOR DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT and the SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT for supporting the Conference. PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio for the UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS | Music performed by the PIPES AND DRUMS of the ROYAL SCOTS DRAGOON GUARDS | Series Editor - Professor Sir Hew Strachan | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Post-production - Chris Sharp.

Stories in Public Health
Interview with Dr Robin Miller, Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham

Stories in Public Health

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2018 27:54


Dr Robin Miller is the Deputy Director of the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham. His main research focus is evaluating and learning from change initiatives.

Stories in Public Health
Interview with Prof. Judith Smith -Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham

Stories in Public Health

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2018 31:50


Professor Judith Smith is the Director of the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham. Judith shares her professional journey in to health services research, with a lot of helpful insights about how best to influence policy. For those who have an interest in health services research, this podcast gives a good big picture of health services research and management, with an added dose of encouragement for early career professionals who have a genuine interest in the field :)

CBI
University of Birmingham building bridges with business

CBI

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2017 1:28


SRHE (Society for Research into Higher Education) Conference And Network Podcasts
Teachers' sense making as ‘acts of imagination': A transdisciplinary approach to understanding the role of possible selves in intercultural education

SRHE (Society for Research into Higher Education) Conference And Network Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2016 32:57


SRHE (Society for Research into Higher Education) Conference And Network Podcasts
Teachers’ sense making as ‘acts of imagination’: A transdisciplinary approach to understanding the role of possible selves in intercultural education

SRHE (Society for Research into Higher Education) Conference And Network Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2016 32:57


SRHE (Society for Research into Higher Education) Conference And Network Podcasts
What does "local" mean? Place as contested and constitutive for the HE in FE student

SRHE (Society for Research into Higher Education) Conference And Network Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2016 16:53


SRHE (Society for Research into Higher Education) Conference And Network Podcasts
What does "local" mean? Place as contested and constitutive for the HE in FE student

SRHE (Society for Research into Higher Education) Conference And Network Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2016 16:53


The Perception & Action Podcast
19D – Interview with Michael Grey, University of Birmingham, Motor Neuroscience, Neuroplasticity & Concussions

The Perception & Action Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2016 34:19


A discussion with Michael Grey, Reader in Motor Neuroscience and Director of the Neuroplasticity & Neurorehabilitation Lab at the University of Birmingham. We discuss topics including neuroplasticity, applying brain stimulation to sports, the similarities between neurorehabilitation and skill acquisition, and share our thoughts on the recent Will Smith movie Concussion.   More information about my guest: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/sport-exercise/staff/profile.aspx?ReferenceId=9921 https://twitter.com/drmichaeljgrey http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Grey+MJ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MWbCvpnVn4   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc) Twitter: @Shakeywaits Email: robgray@asu.edu   Credits: The Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action Lo Fi is Hi Fi - I’m on a Talk Show Mark Lanegan - Saint Louis Elegy via freemusicarchive.org

The Perception & Action Podcast
19A – Interview with Jennifer Cumming, University of Birmingham, Imagery and Mental Skills Training

The Perception & Action Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2016 33:26


A discussion with Jennifer Cumming, University of Birmingham. We discuss topics including imagery use and observational learning in athletes, mental skills training, tools for assessing the psychological abilities of athletes, and using sports psychology to help homeless kids.   More information about my guest: http://jennifercumming.com/ https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jennifer_Cumming http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/sportex/cumming-jennifer.aspx https://twitter.com/drjenncumming   More information: http://perceptionaction.com/ My Research Gate Page (pdfs of my articles) My ASU Web page Podcast Facebook page (videos, pics, etc) Twitter: @Shakeywaits Email: robgray@asu.edu   Credits: The Flamin' Groovies - Shake Some Action Lo Fi is Hi Fi - I’m on a Talk Show Mark Lanegan - Saint Louis Elegy via freemusicarchive.org

Literature Studies at the School of Advanced Study
Researching Contemporary Culture - Dr Kieran Connell

Literature Studies at the School of Advanced Study

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2014


Institute of English Studies Researching Contemporary Culture Archiving Now Dr Kieran Connell (University of Birmingham) Researching Contemporary Culture is a series of summer workshops for postgraduate and early career researchers. It is or...

Literature Studies at the School of Advanced Study
Researching Contemporary Culture - Dr Kieran Connell

Literature Studies at the School of Advanced Study

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2014 43:09


Institute of English Studies Researching Contemporary Culture Archiving Now Dr Kieran Connell (University of Birmingham) Researching Contemporary Culture is a series of summer workshops for postgraduate and early career researchers. It is or...

14th International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) 2013
Epigenetic reprogramming of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in MM: Dr Sarah Essex - University of Birmingham

14th International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) 2013

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2013 3:20


Dr Essex talks to ecancetv at the 14th International Myleoma Workshop, Kyoto, Japan, 3-7th April 2013. Multiple myeloma (MM) plasma cells co-cultured with stroma taken from MM bone marrow demonstrates that it is the stroma, rather than the plasma cell, that acts as a major determinant of disease progression in MM. The role of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSC) in the progression of MM and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) was investigated. BMMSC were isolated from control, MGUS and MM bone marrow. The full genetic profile of these cells was examined using microarrays, with detailed pathway analysis to determine the genes involved in disease progression. 30 patients BMMSC were analysed using U133 plus 2.0 GeneChip microarrays; this highlighted 187 genes that had over a 1.5 fold difference in expression between control and disease BMMSC. Pathway analysis of these genes generated several differentially expressed pathways, with Wnt signalling being the most evident. Two Wnt pathway genes whose expression is significantly decreased in disease BMMSC are secreted frizzled-related proteins (sFRPs) 2 and 4. This decrease in expression was confirmed by RT-PCR, with a concurrent increase in methylation status suggesting these genes have become epigenetically silenced. Splice variant analysis of these particular genes showed a differential expression of exons, which may be functionally significant for Wnt signalling. For the first time Dr Essex's team showed profound silencing of negative regulators of Wnt signalling within MM and MGUS BMMSC, which may help to design early interventions aimed at patients in the premalignant state.

2013 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium
Chemo-radiotherapy for bladder cancer: Prof Nick James - University of Birmingham, UK

2013 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2013 5:52


Prof James talks to ecancer at the 2013 ASCO GU symposium about chemo-radiotherapy for bladder cancer. His study found that preservation rather than cystectomy is an option in most older patients and many others. Prof James discusses the results and the implications for practice in the UK and further afield.

African Agency
The return of Omnibalancing?

African Agency

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2011


Dr Danielle Beswick is a Lecturer in the International Development Department, University of Birmingham, and Director of the Research Group on Statebuilding in Difficult Environments. Reflecting the contention that politics should be seen in systemic p...