Minds that Dare – liberation of thought and expression: The ALM and Academic Freedom

Paul Frijters is a highly esteemed economist known, particularly, for his work in the field of wellbeing. Having held Professorships at universities across the world (including LSE), he and colleagues recently took the bold step of establishing their own academy in a castle in Belgium: Academia Libera Mentis (ALM). In this talk, Paul will share his experiences in academia that led him to set up ALM, with the ambition of establishing form of rigorous academic education that encourages independent thought fostered by communal living. He discusses the challenges to academic freedom in traditional institutions that ALM aims to avoid and which have afflicted many of those now participating in this educational initiative. Discussing his newly-published book, Minds that Dare, he reflects on the way forward for academic education that puts academic freedom at its heart.

Meet our speaker and chair

Speaker: Paul Frijters is Professor of Economics and Academic Director at Academia Libera Mentis, which he co-founded, and is Visiting Professor in Social Policy at the LSE. He was previously Professor of Wellbeing Economics at LSE and in Saudi Arabia; and Professor of Health Economics at Queensland University. Professor Frijters specializes in well-being economics; but has published on many different topics in micro-economics. He has advised the UK government and others on wellbeing policies.

Chair: Lucinda Platt is Professor of Social Policy and Sociology at the LSE. She has previously worked at the University of Essex and at UCL. Lucinda’s research focuses on the analysis of inequality within and between social groups; and she was a Panel Member of the IFS Deaton Review of Inequality. She is a co-founder of the LSE Academic Freedom Network and a founder member of London Universities’ Council for Academic Freedom.

Copies of Minds that Dare will be available for purchase at the event.

There will be a drinks reception to follow.

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