Past Events
An evening with Keble Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneur Club, Thursday 2 Feb 2012
In early February we launched the first event for Keble Entrepreneurs, open to all Keble Old Members and guests with experience in running a business and/or investing in small to medium size enterprises (SMEs). Keble has a wealth of entrepreneurial talent so this was an opportunity to bring Old Members and their guests together for an informative and sociable evening. The event held at a central London Entrepreneur Club operated at maximum capacity to the extent that we had to find extra chairs and even ran out of refreshments. It was a great atmosphere with lots of new Keble connections made. Our thanks to Vivek Sharma (1988) and Au Capital for sponsoring the event.
Laurence one of our speakers even had the event blogged – see http://thecustomerevolution.blogspot.com/2012/02/bbhwcca.html
Four Keble Old Members each gave a ten minute presentation with a question and answer session afterwards covering their experience of the of launching a SME, working with start-ups or the opportunities and threats in the internet business world. There were tough questions from the audience too. Many thanks to our speakers:
- Ben Carswell (MBA 2005) Commercial Director of a fast growing mobile online retail e-commerce platform the Mobank Group, http://www.mopowered.co.uk/
- Simon Duffy (History 1996) The Co-founding MD of a fast growing male grooming international brand, Bulldog, http://meetthebulldog.com/
- Laurence Buchanan (History 1995) A global expert in Cloud computing at Capgemini. http://www.capgemini.com/experts/cloud-computing/laurence-buchanan
- CEO Vivek Sharma (1988 Engineering Science) www.aucapital.com our sponsor. As well as outlining his investment strategy Vivek also talked about the Oxford Entrepreneur Society which is based at Keble’s Acland site and is the largest University Society.
If you are interested in sponsoring, or taking part in the next such event then do get in contact with Duncan.Macintyre@keble.ox.ac.uk;Tel: +44 (0)1865 282506.
Professor of Poetry Geoffrey Hill MT 2011 Lecture
Examination Schools, Tuesday 29 Nov 2011
‘Poetry, Policing and Public Order (1)'
In his first lecture of the academic year, 'Poetry, Policing and Public Order', Professor (now Sir) Geoffrey Hill offered a wide-ranging consideration of poetry's place in culture, education, and the public sphere. Hill took the current state of public discourse on poetry fiercely to task as found in the national press, at book festivals and in the promotional efforts of the Poet Laureate. He also recalled with gratitude his own critical awakening to poetry as a schoolboy, fostered by the inspired English teacher who introduced him to the early poetry of W.H. Auden.
‘Poetry, Policing and Public Order (1)’
Prof Geoffrey Hill
[AUDIO]
The London Lecture
Hogan Lovells, Holborn, Thursday 17 November 2011
Building a Brand
Andy Street (1982), MD of the John Lewis Partnership
A record breaking number of Old Members and their guests attended the London Lecture on Thursday 17 November and filled the auditorium at Hogan Lovells in Holborn. Hosted by Kevin Ashman (1976), the lecture was given by Andy Street (1982), MD of the John Lewis Partnership. Andy’s talk was entitled Building a Brand and he enthusiastically took us through the history of the Partnership, its ethos which has been the bedrock of its success, the strategy employed since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008 and the, sometimes surprising, impact of its ad. campaigns.
The London Lectures are kindly sponsored by Jonathan Mills (1987) and his venture SF Metropolis Valuefund. The next one is on Thursday 1 March.
From left: David Harper (Hogan Lovells), Andy Street, Jonathan Mills, The Warden and Kevin Ashman
Lecture given during the OU Alumni Weekend
O’Reilly Theatre, Keble College, Saturday 17 September 2011
‘Geoengineering – fantasy or feasible future?’
Professor Richard Darton FREng
Senior Research Fellow and Tutor in Engineering Science, Keble College
We face a huge challenge in satisfying the need for development that is sustainable in the long term, given our slow movement towards a low-carbon economy. Geoengineering is the deliberate, large-scale intervention in the Earth's natural systems to address climate change. Which, if any, geoengineerng proposals are technically feasible, and what the consequences might be, is something we need to know, when considering our options.’
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17th Sept 2011 |
Professor of Poetry Geoffrey Hill Third Lecture
Examination Schools, Tuesday 10 May 2011
‘Poetry and disproportion’
In his third and final lecture of the academic year, Professor Hill addressed the theme of 'Poetry and Disproportion' -- while also invoking its necessary counterpart, poetry and right proportion. Works chosen to elucidate these themes included the contrasting treatments of the Coriolanus story by Shakespeare and Bertold Brecht; Chaucer's reworking of conventional wisdom from Boethius, in the lyric 'Truth' / 'The Balade de Bon Conseyl'; and Breugel the Elder's 1562 painting of 'Dulle Griet', or 'Mad Meg', the Flemish peasant who leads an army of women in a raid on hell. Poetry, Hill suggested, must seek its own equivalent to the wild, staring eye of Mad Meg.
‘Poetry and disproportion’
Prof Geoffrey Hill
[AUDIO]
The Third London Lecture: Dr Tom Higham
The Royal Society, London, Thursday 19 May 2011
Dating the Past: from Neanderthals, to ancient Egypt, to forensic science
The final London Lecture for this academic year, sponsored by Jonathan Mills (1987) of Metropolis International, took place at the Royal Society, London, on Thursday 19 May.
Dr Tom Higham, the Interim Director of Keble’s Advanced Study Centre,* presented his lecture, Dating the Past: from Neanderthals, to ancient Egypt, to forensic science. At the end of the session there was a Q & A session as always. Old Members and their quests also enjoyed informal drinks and nibbles in the Royal Society’s Marble Hall before and after the lecture.
In his Lecture, Tom covered how Radiocarbon dating underpins not only a proper understanding of the prehistoric past, but is also useful for dating very recent events. Upon its inception in 1949, the radiocarbon method ushered in the modern era of science in archaeology and was one of the most important inventions of 20th century science. His talk focussed on the application of the latest cutting-edge techniques for dating past events in three principal areas:
- The first concerned the crucial question of the dating of the dispersal of the first modern people out of Africa and into Eurasia, and the subsequent extinction of the Neanderthals whom they displaced, from about 45000 years ago.
- The second concerns the reliability of the chronology of ancient Egypt, painstakingly built up by Egyptologists over the last 200 and more years. How reliable this chronology is has been debated vigorously. It is a key historic sequence used in the comparative dating of vast areas of the eastern Mediterranean, so it is important to know whether or not it is right. Radiocarbon has helped here too.
- Finally, the use of radiocarbon in the modern era, dating forensic cases, fakes and forgeries, was explored. Examples ranged from dating human remains from unsolved murders, to anthrax, to faked art and whisky samples! In the latter, the importance of atomic bomb testing was shown to be a key indicator as to whether old whiskey was indeed very valuable or a more recent copy!
* Keble’s Advanced Study Centre will have a home in the Acland Site once it is developed in 2013 as part of Keble’s Vision for 2020 celebrating College’s 150th anniversary.
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Some of Tom's most recent research was also reported in the global press last month:
- Neanderthals and early humans may not have mingled much, New York Times, 9/5/2011, N Wade
- New evidence reopens Neanderthal debate, The Times, 14/05/2011, p.85, N Hammond
- Did humans and Neanderthals co-exist in Europe?, The Hindu, 12/05/2011, R Prasad
This is in addition to appearing with David Attenborough in the last programme of his recent 2011 popular television series, 'Madagascar'.
The next London Lecture will be held on Thursday 17 November and will have a business theme from Old Member and John Lewis MD Andy Street (1982). Details to follow. Send enquiries to the Alumni & Development office.
Professor of Poetry Geoffrey Hill Lecture
Examination Schools, Tuesday 8 March 2011
‘Eccentrique to the ends of his master or state’
Taking his title from Francis Bacon’s essay ‘Of Wisdom for a Man’s Self’ (‘whatsoever affairs pass such a man’s hands, he crooketh them to his own ends; which must needs be often eccentric to the ends of his master or state’), Professor Hill addressed poetry’s relation to the demands of the age. Redefining the ‘eccentricity’ of the poet as his opposition or athwartness to public discourse, Hill considered the alternately ‘flattening’ and ‘sharpening’ effects of verbal maneuver and the relation of paradox and oxymoron, with examples drawn from Shakespeare, Sir John Suckling and Mike Skinner’s The Streets.
Professor Geoffrey Hill's second lecture as Professor of Poetry, ‘Eccentrique to the ends of his master or state’, is available to listen to here.
'Eccentrique to the ends of his master or state'
Prof Geoffrey Hill
[AUDIO]
The Second London Lecture: Dr Nick Cutler, Fellow and Tutor in Geography
Goldman Sachs, London, Thursday 3 March 2011
'Vikings, volcanoes and vegetation: long-term ecosystem development in Iceland'
The second London Lecture was held at Goldman Sachs in London on Thursday 3 March. About 120 Old Members and their friends or business associates were in actual attendance, and a further 60 bank employees listened to the lecture streamed to their desks. There were some astute questions from the floor including the implications of the thaw of carbon rich lands in northern Russia as well as queries as to the effects of potassium in the nutrient cycle demonstrated by Dr Cutler in his presentation. There was also a fascinating insight into the activities of a little known group of organisms that are vital to the development of a healthy soil profile. Goldman Sachs kindly recorded the presentation. Both audio and video versions are available below.
Vikings, volcanoes and vegetation
Dr Nick Cutler
[AUDIO] [VIDEO]
