The week in review

Could a collaboration involving London Business School have sketched a “fast and cheap” way out of lockdown? 

A new study authored by Kamalini Ramdas, Professor of Management Science and Operations, with Imperial College London’s Lord Ara Darzi and the University of Oxford’s Dr Sanjay Jain, proposes using multiple independent tests, that individually don’t meet the highest standards, to pinpoint the virus. 

By using multiple cheap tests in batches, the approach is faster and all but eliminates false negatives. 

They propose that if their multiple test approach is coordinated between health organisations and overseen by those who are familiar with point of care and laboratory practices, it could match the results currently provided by slower ‘gold standard’ tests. 

You can learn more about the study and watch a Wheeler Institute interview with Professor Ramdas here. 

Clear plans

How worried should you be about the economic fallout of the pandemic? Andrea Galeotti, Professor of Economics and Paolo Surico, Professor of Economics at London Business School, can’t put your mind at ease. However, they can give you the big picture and put the crisis in context. 

In this comprehensive survey of the economics of the pandemic, they provide a clear action plan for governments and business. 

Underlying trends

While events of the crisis have unfolded, the trends, challenges and opportunities that underpinned the direction of society before the outbreak haven’t gone away. One of the most profound and underrated of these is life expectancy.  

This is the subject of this webinar with Andrew Scott, Professor of Economics, a former Deputy Dean at London Business School and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research. 

Professor Scott’s talk follows the themes of technology and the opportunities for an older workforce that he explores in depth in his new book The New Long Life: AFramework for Flourishing in a Changing World. Co-authored with Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice, it is the much-anticipated follow-up to their acclaimed 100-year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity. 

Education goes on

On top of the webinars, students at London Business School have been getting on with their ‘on-campus’ lives which are now no less vibrant, albeit digital. You can read how our landmark student-led event the China Business Forum is adapting and thriving here. 

Changemakers

One takeaway from the China Business Forum is how determined the student community is to continue to make a difference in the world and in their communities.  

Inspired by the same spirit, this week we welcome Amina Taher, Vice President Brand and Marketing for Etihad Aviation Group, to our long-running Changemakers series. In this profile, she discusses the challenges she has met in her industry and the changes for women she is helping to bring about.