University News Last updated 13 May 2010
As part of its ‘Aspects of Design’ series of guest lectures, Birmingham City University is next week welcoming Dr Andrew Sentance, Professor of Sustainable Business at Warwick Business School and external member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee.
Dr Sentance will deliver a talk on "how design and technology can help forge the future Low Carbon Economy". The lecture will be held at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design’s (BIAD) campus at Gosta Green on Wednesday 19 May at 5pm.
In the business arena, combining good design with leading edge technologies has been key to adding value, maintaining and building market share, building customer loyalty and delivering higher margins. Addressing competitiveness, Dr Sentance will talk about the role of design in the context of the UK's transition to the future Low Carbon Economy, drawing on his current research into the Low Carbon Society at Warwick Business School, as well as referring back to his previous work on design in the 1990s.
BIAD, part of Birmingham City University, is one of the UK’s leading centres for design education, and has recently become engaged in Low Carbon research. Along with others in the ‘Aspects of Design’ series, this lecture highlights BIAD’s aspirations to maintain its position at the forefront of cutting-edge design as the UK moves towards a more sustainable future.
In the 1990s, Andrew Sentance was engaged in research projects with the Design Council on the contribution that design makes to the UK economy and to business success. Measuring the economic impact of design is a tricky area; ‘design’ is a broad concept with a wide range of aspects. While at London Business School (LBS) Prof Sentance used data, collected via a survey of Confederation of British Industry (CBI) members, to estimate the relationship between different aspects of design and productivity growth, differentiating between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ elements within the design process.
Admission to Dr Sentance’s talk is free, by ticket only. Bookings can be made by contacting Yanyan Wang in BIAD’s Research Office (yanyan.wang@bcu.ac.uk / 0121 331 7823). Refreshments will follow the talk.
Event Summary
Date and time: Wednesday 19 May, 5pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre, Phipps Building, BIAD – Gosta Green Campus (Birmingham B4 7DX)
Admission: Free
Bookings: via yanyan.wang@bcu.ac.uk / 0121 331 7823
ENDS
For further information, contact Joy Krishna (joy.krishna@bcu.ac.uk / 0121 331 7984)
Issued by Birmingham City University Media Relations Office.
Tel: 0121 331 6738 / Email press@bcu.ac.uk / Out-of-hours: 07967 271 532
Notes to Editors
1. Birmingham Institute of Art and Design is part of Birmingham City University, the substantial arts training provision of which also includes Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham School of Media, Birmingham School of Acting and the National Academy of Writing.
For more information on Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, please visit www.bcu.ac.uk/biad
For more information on Birmingham City University, please visit www.bcu.ac.uk or, for events information, www.bcu.ac.uk/events
2. Dr Andrew Sentance has worked as a business economist since the mid-1980s, and on environmental issues since the late-1990s. He was formerly Director of Economic Affairs at the CBI, Director of the Centre of Economic Forecasting at London Business School, and Chief Economist and Head of Environmental Affairs at British Airways. He has been a key participant in international discussions on limiting the contribution of aviation to climate change from 1998 to 2006.
He has been a member of Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee since 2006 and is also a member of the Commission for Integrated Transport. Within Higher Education, he is currently Professor of Sustainable Business at Warwick Business School and a Visiting Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Dr Sentance’s research interests include policy responses to climate change and their impact on the economy and society, and the climate change impact of energy and transport industries, with a particular interest in the global aviation industry.