The NCS Lecture Programme

RAF pilot and land speed world record holder Andy Green visited The NCS to discuss his new project of building a car to break the 1000mph barrier. As well as discussing the science and technology behind the endeavour, he also spoke about how he hoped this project would inspire the next generation of engineers.

Alice Bentinck MBE is a British technology consultant, educator and blogger. She is the co-founder and COO of Entrepreneur First, a London-based startup accelerator for UK and Central European tech graduates, and also the co-founder of the Code First: Girls free web programming courses for women in university. An advocate for the entry of more women to the tech field, she was named one of the Fifty Most Inspiring Women in European Tech by the Inspiring Fifty organisation in 2015.

Anthony Thomson – founder of Metro Bank and the UK’s first online only bank ‘Atom Bank’ – discusses disruptive banking and his career.

On Monday 1st February 2016 we were honoured to host Shami Chakrabarti, who spent an hour with students talking about her work supporting and defending human rights as the Director of Liberty, the British civil liberties organisation.

A Barrister by background, she was called to the Bar in 1994 and worked as a lawyer in the Home Office from 1996 until 2001 for Governments of both persuasions. After joining Liberty in 2001, she became heavily involved in its engagement with the ‘War on Terror’ and with the defence and promotion of human rights values in Parliament, the Courts and wider society. Since becoming Liberty’s Director in 2003, she has written and spoken widely on the importance of the post-WW2 human rights framework as an essential component of a free and democratic society.

On Wednesday 9th December, The NCS was lucky enough to host our latest guest speaker: The Rt. Hon. Sir Vince Cable.

Sir Vince has had a long and varied career; firstly in economics where he rose to become Chief Economist at Shell and later in politics. In 2010 he entered the cabinet as Business Secretary for the newly formed coalition government and as such Sir Vince is the first former Secretary of State we have had visiting our college.

His address touched on all these aspects of his previous career and also more broadly on the current state of the UK Economy, following the publication of his latest book: After The Storm. At the end, Sir Vince faced a number of interesting questions from students of Politics, Economics and History, covering a range of matters from the Syrian air strikes to the future of the Liberal Democrats.

Sir Vince’s visit was very well received: thoroughly enjoyed by all and prompting lots of follow-up discussions. It was a pleasure to host such an important political figure here at The NCS.

On Wednesday 14th October, British economist Jonathan Portes delivered a lecture to NCS students on the economics of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.

Since joining HM Treasury in 1987, Mr Portes has held various positions in the civil service and the private sector. He was Chief Economist at the Department for Work and Pensions and Chief Economist at the Cabinet Office before becoming the director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) in February 2011. Now a Principal Research Fellow at the NIESR, he also writes about the economic climate for numerous publications.

During his talk Mr Portes explained why economics is key to understanding the future EU referendum whilst setting the debate in its historical and political context. Mr Portes skifully went on to analyse the arguments for and against a possible ‘Brexit’ the details of which will give our students both an insight that will benefit their studies, but also some key skills to help them form their own decisions when voting day draws near in 2017.

We would like to thank Mr Portes for taking the time to meet our students.

Prof John Nicholson is a materials scientist who studied chemistry at Kingston University, then completed a PhD at London South Bank University. He also holds the DSc degree of the University of Greenwich.

His career has included spells at the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, King’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, and, most recently, the University of Greenwich.

His research covers the properties of advanced materials for hard-tissue repair, including their interactions with the body. This work has led to 160 scientific papers and 4 books.

Labour MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, speaks to NCS students.

UCL’s Dr Adam Roberts delivers a lecture on the issues surrounding Antibiotic Resistance to students at The NCS. Our students have become the first to take part in a swab and send scheme run by Dr Roberts and were given kits after the talk.

Adam graduated with an Honours degree in Applied Biology from Coventry University in 1995. In 1996 he began research at the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen , investigating the molecular genetics of Tn5397, a conjugative transposon found in Clostridium difficile . He moved from Aberdeen to the Eastman Dental Institute in 1998 to complete his PhD.

Adam was appointed as a Research Fellow at the Eastman in 1999, to Lecturer in 2006 and to Senior Lecturer in 2012.

On Tuesday 25th November, Guardian columnist, broadcaster and author Owen Jones came to speak at The NCS to our Politics students.

Picking up on themes from his latest book ‘The Establishment’, he gave his views on a variety of topics which are of concern to young people today. From voter disengagement to youth unemployment and the rise of UKIP to the part played by political, financial and media elites in modern British society, he kept NCS students and staff engaged from the beginning. His down-to-earth approach proved very successful and the students asked several insightful questions in the general discussion at the end.