Prime Minister turns to Imperial academics and business leaders to help tackle the “first crisis of the global age”

Gordon Brown reveals his plans to deal with the credit crunch - <em>News</em>

Monday 27 October 2008
By Naomi Weston and Emily Ross

Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Imperial College London today to meet with academics, business leaders and MBA students and discuss the global financial crisis.

The meeting, in which the Prime Minister revealed his plans to deal with the credit crunch and restructure the UK economy, attracted figures including Iain Conn, Director of BP and Chair of Imperial College Business School Advisory Board and Ian Coleman, Global Head of Emerging Markets at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

During Mr Brown’s introductory speech he described his special affinity with Imperial College, saying: “I have seen the expansion of this College and how it leads the world in so many different fields.” He also revealed that it was the first place that he applied for a job as a lecturer when he left university in the 1970s.

His speech was followed by a Q and A session chaired by Professor David Begg, Principal of Imperial College Business School, and attended by Imperial’s Rector Sir Roy Anderson plus academics from the College including Professor Richard Templer, Director of the Porter Institute.

During the meeting the Prime Minister said that the Government was not intending to cut investment in areas such as education and training and that the world economy was set to double in the next twenty years, adding “the opportunities are immense for those with talent and initiative.”

The Prime Minister revealed his plans to deal with the credit crunch and restructure the UK economy

Addressing the Prime Minister, Professor David Begg questioned why Mr Brown’s monetary policy has been so timid and there hadn’t been moves to cut interest rates even further when the Government has made a big step in nationalising the banks.

Mr Brown responded saying that industry was still “dealing with the shock” of the price of commodities and that they were increasingly reluctant to slash interest rates.

Professor David Gann, Head of Imperial’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship group, was also at the meeting. He commented to the Prime Minister: “Innovation in the new economic age is going to be very different from any of the models we have had in the past…but if we overdose on pain relieving pills in the short term and destroy the momentum we have built in this country, to trade talent internationally then we will lose big opportunities.”

Before this meeting, Mr Brown met ten MBA students, from Imperial’s Business School to discuss the credit crunch and hear their views.

Imperial’s Rector Sir Roy and Professor Begg joined Mr Brown in the informal discussion. The students talked about the MBA programme, why they chose the course, what they were doing before and what their future plans are.

 

Mark Wood was one of the MBA students who met Mr Brown. He said: “It was great to meet the Prime Minister this morning. He was really receptive and open. He wanted to know what we had learnt so far and what the rest of the course involves.”

Mark left his job as a general manager of a large restaurant chain to take up the MBA. He said: “I decided to invest in my future and increase my learning opportunities. The course is forward looking and there are great facilities here. I agreed with a lot of what Mr Brown said and he is taking a very proactive approach to finding a solution to the economic problems.”

Fellow student, Aneel Bhandari, spoke to Mr Brown about his reasons behind starting the MBA programme. “It was a privilege to meet him. He was very easy to talk to and he seemed really relaxed,” he said.

Most of the MBA students Mr Brown spoke to plan to set up their own businesses once they have finished the course. Shweta Khetan added: “I was working at Goldman Sachs before and I quit my job as I needed a different challenge. I have always wanted to set up my own business and the MBA programme here makes you think outside of the box. It’s a great location too as London is the global financial hub.”

She was excited about meeting the Prime Minister. She said: “He was very friendly, warm and personable. He seemed really interested in what we were saying.”

For more information about the programmes at Imperial College Business School please visit: www3.imperial.ac.uk/business-school/programmes