Policy in Practice Seminars

Seminar Series

The Policy in Practice seminars are aimed at engaging with professionals, policy actors and practitioners involved in public policy in various capacities in order to bring together practice and academia and to deepen the learning experience of SPP students.

These seminars are organised by Professor Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Associate Dean for Extended Education in SPP, and are for current SPP students.

Upcoming seminars

11 March - Pablo A Pena
26 March - Edward Bannerman

Past seminars

Policy in Practice seminar with Gabriela Ramos

Tuesday 10 June

Speaker: Gabriela Ramos, a Mexican economist, diplomat and international civil servant. In 2020 she was appointed Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO. In the seminar, she spoke on 'Artificial Intelligence and the Renewal of Multilateralism: UNESCO’s Role in Shaping a Human-Centered Future'.

Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Ousmène Mandeng

Thursday 5 June

Speaker: Ousmène Mandeng, Visiting Fellow at the School of Public Policy, currently a Senior Advisor with Accenture’s Global Blockchain Technology Practice with a focus on digital currencies.

Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Amal-Lee Amin

Tuesday 25 March

Speaker: Amal-Lee Amin, managing Director and Head of Climate, Diversity and Advisory at British International Investment. Previously a senior adviser to the UK COP26 presidency, among other UK Government roles.

Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Elisa de Anda Madrazo

Wednesday 12 March

Speaker: Elisa de Anda Madrazo, current President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), with over a decade of experience in leadership positions in the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism sector.

Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Isabel Saint Malo

Thursday 6 March

Speaker: Isabel Saint Malo, aPanamanian politician and diplomat, speaking about the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Alexis Crow

Tuesday 4 February

Speaker: Alexis Crow, principal at PwC Trust Solutions, and a global economist who focuses on geopolitics and long-term investing.

Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Sir Jon Cunliffe

Thursday 30 January

Speaker: Sir Jon Cunliffe, a senior British civil servant, who served as Deputy Governor of the Bank of England for Financial Stability.
Chair: Andres Velasco, Dean of the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Tim Leunig

Wednesday 27 November

Speaker: Tim Leunig, former economic adviser to the Chancellor and LSE SPP Visiting Professor in Practice. In his talk was on how the UK furlough scheme came into being, what worked and what could have been better, and what wider lessons we can draw from this episode in policy making.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Charles Okehalam

Wednesday 13 November

Speaker: Charles Okehalam, SPP Visiting Professor in Practice, co-founded an investment firm and has served as a director and chairman of several major private sector companies in Africa. His talk was on 'Complexities in Funding and Financing Infrastructure Projects in Developing Economies'.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez,Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Bill Morneau

Wednesday 30 October

Speaker: Bill Morneau, Canada's 39th Minister of Finance 2015-2020, and was also Governor at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. His talk was on 'the challenges of developing policy on growth and productivity in our current polarised political environment'.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Ali Cheema

Thursday 17 October

Speaker: Ali Cheema, Vice Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and co-lead academic of the International Growth Centre’s Pakistan programme. His talk was on 'Norms and Gender Inequality: Pathways and Limitations to Change in Pakistan'.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Irene Espinosa

Wednesday 9 October

Speaker: Irene Espinosa, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mexico. She is also Former Treasurer of the Federation, with over 25 years’ experience in financial and academic sectors. Her talk was on "the institution, its challenges and the experiences of a policy-maker" in relation to her current role at the Bank of Mexico.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Pedro Gomes

Wednesday 5 June

Speaker: Pedro Gomes (Professor in Economics at Birkbeck, University of London, previously worked for the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, author of 'Friday is the New Saturday' which was featured in the Financial Times as one of the "Business books of the month".)
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Rosehanna Chowdhury

Wednesday 15 May

Speaker: Rosehanna Chowdhury (Senior Director in the Department for Levelling Up, Emeritus Governor at LSE, member of the advisory board for the international publication 'The Crisis Response Journal')
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Richard Davies

Wednesday 8 May

Speaker: Richard Davies (Director of Growth Co-Lab at LSE, founding director of the UK's Economics Observatory, Professor of the Public Understanding of Economics at Bristol University)
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Carmine Soprano

Tuesday 12 March

Speaker: Carmine Soprano (Development economist, policy advisor, academic lecturer, proud LSE SPP alumnus)
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Paloma Merodio

Thursday 15 February

Speaker: Paloma Merodio (Vice President and Member of the Board at National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico (INEGI))
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Lisa Quest

Thursday 8 February

Speaker: Lisa Quest (Market Head for UK&I and European Head of the Public Sector Practice for Oliver Wyman)
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Hugh Cole

Thursday 25 January 2024

Speaker: Hugh Cole, Director of Policy and Strategy for the City of Cape Town, reporting to the city leadership including the MayorChair: Simon Bastow, Associate Professorial Lecturer and MPP Programme Director at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Manuel Atunes

Wednesday 29 November 2023

Speaker: Manuel Atunes, VC investor at Mustard Seed, previously in businses development at Bloomberg, covering the Nordics.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Sapana Agrawal

Wednesday 8 November 2023

Speaker: Sapana Agrawal, director for modernisation and reform in the UK Cabinet Office, responsible for the strategy and delivery of the cross-government Modernisation and Reform and for the Evaluation Task Force.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Dame Marcela Contreras

Monday 30 October 2023

Speaker: Dame Marcela Contreras, leading blood expert in the UK, immunologist and university educator.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Luis Garicano

Wednesday 11 October 2023

Speaker: Luis Garicano, SPP Professor. Former member of the European Parliament (2019-22), Vice president of Renew Europe (Renew) and Vice President of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE Party).
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Irene Mia

Thursday 1 June 2023

Speaker: Dr Irene Mia, editor, 'Armed Conflict' Survey, Senior Fellow for Latin America, Conflict, Security, and Development.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Galya Molinas

Monday 22 May 2023

Speaker: Galya Molinas, investor, board advisor and leadership mentor with over 30 years in global leadership experience.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Charles Okehalam

Thursday 30 March 2023

Speaker: Charles Okehalam, Visiting Professor in Practice at LSE SPP.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Lisa Quest

Wednesday 15 March 2023

Speaker: Lisa Quest, leads Oliver Wyman's Public Sector Practice in UK and Ireland.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Luis Miguel Castilla

Wednesday 8 March 2023

Speaker: Luis Miguel Castilla, Former Minister of Economy and Finance of Peru.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Dr Barry Quick

Tuesday 28 February 2023

Speaker: Dr Barry Quick, London Council Chief Executive 1993-2022.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Valeria Gontraneva

Wednesday 8 February 2023

Speaker: Valeria Gontraneva, former governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Ousmène Jacques Mandeng

Wednesday 25 January 2023

Speaker: Dr Ousmène Jacques Mandeng, Senior Advisor and Lead of Economic and Financial Strategy with Accenture's Blockchain and Multiparty Systems.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Ana Maria Aguilar

Thursday 1 December 2022

Speaker: Ana Maria Aguilar, Regional Advisor at the BIS Americas Office, on Monetary Policy in Latin America, Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Gene Frieda

Monday 21 November 2022

Speaker: Gene Frieda, Executive Vice President and Global Strategist at Pimco, on the role of financial markets in public policy.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice Seminar with Baroness Kate Fall

Thursday 10 November 2022

Speaker: Baroness Kate Fall on life at the heart of No.10 Downing Street.

Policy in Practice Seminar with Dr Zainab Usman

Monday 31 October 2022

Speaker: Dr Zainab Usman, Senior Fellow and Director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice Seminar with Natalie Samarasinghe

Thursday 13 October 2022

Speaker: Natalie Samarasinghe, the Global Director for Advocacy at Open Society Foundations.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Hallelujah Lulie Wondimu

Wednesday 1 June 2022

Speaker: Hallelujah Lulie Wondimu, a specialist in the politics and security of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.
Chair: Dr Lloyd Gruber, Assistant Professor in Political Economy of Development within the Department for International Development and the School of Public Policy.

Policy in Practice seminar with Victoria Marquez-Mees

Tuesday 24 May 2022

Speaker: Victoria Marquez-Mees, first Chief Accountability Officer of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Managing Director of the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism, the Bank's non-juidicial project grievance mechanism.
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice seminar with Dr Mohammad Haqmal

Tuesday 15 March 2022

Speaker: Dr Mohammad Haqmal, Former head of the Strengthening Mechanism Department of the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health, Lecturer at City, University of London, and Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge
Chair: Vanessa Rubio-Márquez,Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy

Policy in Practice Seminars

Seminar Series

Upcoming seminars

Past seminars

2025-26

2024-25

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

2020-21

2019-20