How long have you been at LSE and how did you come to join the European Institute?
I’ve been at the EI since 2008, with a short break away (just under 2 years) working for the Mayor of London. I joined the EI in early 2016, at a time when we were going through a period of change. My first task was to work with the Head of Department on a new strategic plan for the EI. I remember him telling me in interview there was a lot to do, and I told him "Great! I like a challenge."
How has the European Institute changed during your time here?
When I joined, we were a smaller department facing questions about our purpose and place within the School. But through the collective effort of everyone in the EI we have grown and achieved so much: we’re cemented our place as the LSE’s ‘hub’ for Europe, we have new and revitalised MSc programmes and international double degree partnerships, we have some of the best teaching and student engagement scores in the School, an excellent research profile, and one of the busiest and highest-profile public events programmes at LSE.
What has been the most memorable moment during your time at the EI?
Can I give you three? The first is unfortunately the EU Referendum: We held an all-night event, and I remember going from literal tears of joy at the exit poll – to genuine tears of despair at the final result. That result has coloured the whole experience of the EI over the past five years, but we have emerged stronger in spite of it.
The second is our move to the Centre Building. Shifting from our ca. 25 year home in Cowdray House to our position in the centre of the Centre Building feels like a seminal moment in our history; it has raised our profile further, and we are now sandwiched – along with the School of Public Policy – between the Departments of Government and International Relations. We are ‘home’ in our politics grouping.
Finally, COVID. I remember planning what we would do as lockdown approached. I said goodbye to colleauges on 23 March 2020, not knowing when I'd see them in person again - but hoping it would be after Easter. From Tuesday 24th we were on Zoom, and we didn't really return properly until September 2021. Even now we're working out how we can embrace the technology that's developed over the past 18 months, and how we can embrace hybrid working and improve the work/life balance for all EI colleagues.
What is your favourite thing about working at the European Institute?
I love that we genuinely care about each other in the EI. We are one big community - academic staff, professional services staff, research staff and our PhD and MSc students. We all have a place in our department, and we appreciate the roles that we each play. The EI has a well-deserved reputation at LSE for being a friendly and collegial place.
What makes the EI a special place?
The people. I always say that we are a community from the moment that you accept your offer to study with us or work for us, and that never ends – alumni and staff who have moved on are always a part of us. I still speak with a number of former faculty, researchers, PS Staff and students, and many of them still contribute to the EI, either through events, holding visiting posts, via short-term project work, or of course by giving financially.
Our research is key here too – The EI is truly multi-disciplinary; our academic colleagues come from the fields of political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, geography, and history. We are ‘the hub for Europe’ in the School, and LSE is a better institution because they have faith in our strength as an academic department in our own right, and not just a European research centre on the periphery.
What excites you about the future of the EI?
We have so much to look forward to at the EI. Our next 30 years will see continued growth for the EI: I hope to see additional double degree partnerships and further development of our Master’s programmes; I’d like to see us provide more executive offerings and maybe even an undergraduate programme; and I hope that we’ll continue our exceptional research profile and public events programme. We’ve only just begun to explore relationships with our alumni, too; I think there is so much more we can do together with them.
What’s your favourite place on LSE campus?
Honestly? My office. I’m very lucky that one wall of my office is all windows; this can make it a bit of a greenhouse on sunny days, but it also means that I have lovely views of campus – in particular the Old Building, the Saw Swee Hock Students’ Union, and the new Marshall Building. I think that helps ground me, and remind me of my place at LSE. I also have great views further beyond – I love looking out the window at Centre Point and the BT Tower in the distance. I also love how my office and the PS Office form the south end of the CBG's 7th floor.
What is your favourite place to visit in Europe and why?
Without question: Berlin. I know it better than anywhere else, and I always exhale when I step off the train or plane; I am home again and can relax. In Berlin I think anything is possible; it’s a remarkably un-judgemental place, very much like London in that respect. It also has an incredible history. There’s nowhere else in Europe (or indeed anywhere) that I love more.