The NCS Lecture Programme

Andy Green on Bloodhound SSC

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 on women in tech

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 on Banking

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

Shami Chakrabarti

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.

Sir Vince Cable

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.