Inaugural Lectures

Join us at LSE to celebrate the inaugural lectures of our professors from across the School.

An inaugural lecture is a special moment in an academic’s career as it marks that they have now been promoted to a professor or have recently joined the School.

These lectures are a chance to celebrate the successes of our community and allow our professors to present their research and achievements.

Inaugural lectures are open to everyone and are free to attend.

They are also an opportunity for family, friends and colleagues to celebrate this key milestone together.

If you are interested in delivering an inaugural lecture or have any questions about these lectures please email comms.events@lse.ac.uk.

Upcoming inaugural lectures

To celebrate his new appointment as a Professor of Practice, Rory Stewart will take part in a public event hosted by the Department of International Relations, Weaponising Dependency - The New World Order, on 14 October 2026. The event will explore how economic interdependence, technological networks and global supply chains have become instruments of geopolitical power.

Catch up on recent inaugural lectures

2026

Youngjin Yoo's inaugural lecture, The runtime revolution: how generative AI is reshaping value and organisations

Steffen Hertog's inaugural lecture, How oil rents fuel populist foreign policy

Lea Ypi's inaugural lecture, Are revolutions justified?

Hans Steinmüller's inaugural lecture, 'Complexity and complicity in social anthropology

Shakuntala Banaji inaugural lecture, Infinite justice: political cosmologies that protect our future

Past inaugural lectures