Introduction to Warwick Innovations for Arts and Social Sciences

• Monday 17 March 2025 - 1-2pm (with time for discussion and networking until 2.30pm) - Faculty of Arts Building, Room 3.32
• Wednesday 30 April 2025 - 12-1pm (with time for discussion and networking until 1.30pm) - Social Sciences Building, Room S0.10

The content of both sessions will be the same, and both are open to any researchers from the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences. Lunch will be included.

Register here: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/innovations/commercialise/shape/introduction/

Are you interested in exploring new ways to use your research to address societal challenges?

Warwick Innovations supports researchers to develop their ideas into an innovative product or service. From licensing tools and resources to building fully independent spinouts and social ventures, there are many ways to increase your impact, maximise the social good your research can achieve, or ensure that a great idea can become self-sustaining.

At this lunchtime event, hear from Warwick Innovations about how we can help Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences researchers to take your work into an exciting new area. Come along to hear more about ways to:

• Create a sustainable model that can support your work longer term
• Open up new funding opportunities
• Increase your impact by addressing a pressing societal need
• Reach a wider range of audiences and stakeholders
• Develop new skills and build your profile

It will cover the following topics:

• What is innovation and commercialisation in SHAPE disciplines?

• How can it benefit your work?
• Mythbusting
• Pathways
• Examples
• Warwick Innovations and support available

If you have any questions, please get in touch with emma.roberts.1@warwick.ac.uk

We are delighted to offer two PhD scholarships linked to these two important topics:

1. Intercultural research on diversity in professional contexts

2. Linguistic Bias in Large Language Model Artificial Intelligence

We’re excited to share a newly published, peer-reviewed article co-authored by Dr Katie Crompton.

This study explores the child’s perspective on the school-based mindfulness programme Paws b. Journal of Child and Family Studies. Crompton, K., Fasulo, A., Kaklamanou, D., & Somogyi, E. (2025). Advance online publication. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-025-03047-6

We are delighted to share some positive results we have received from National Student Survey 2022.

We caught up with Simon Huss, a former student of the Department of Economics, who tells us about how his career path has developed and evolved since graduating with a MSc in Economics in 2011.

What career path did you decide on when you completed your Master's in Economics at Warwick?

I graduated with a Master’s in Economics from Warwick in 2011 and my career has taken a few turns, each one bringing me closer to a life that feels more aligned. From management consulting to a tech start-up, I have now found my home in Executive and Life Coaching.

After university I found a natural fit in management consulting, where I could explore different industries and solve diverse problems. I joined the strategy consulting firm L.E.K. Consulting and thrived in the fast-paced, demanding environment surrounded by brilliant people. But after two years, the lack of work-life balance took its toll, and I knew it was time for a change.

Did you manage to achieve a better work-life balance in your next career move?

I moved into independent consulting, which gave me the freedom to choose my projects and work directly with leadership teams. This included work on global strategy and transformation projects with John Lewis, BT, and Coca-Cola. It was intellectually stimulating, financially rewarding, and I had my evenings back. But after a few years, I began to long for something more meaningful.

This led me to a rapidly growing tech start-up, where my work had a direct and immediate impact. In the intensity of the start-up environment I found myself informally coaching other senior executives, helping them to grow as leaders. When I was tasked with building a coaching team to support the company’s growth, I discovered an approach that made personal development both accessible and transformative. Something clicked.

This wasn’t just a solution for the business. It connected to something much deeper in me.

What did you do next to align your personal and professional goals?

For almost two decades I’d been on a personal development journey, exploring meditation, embodiment, spirituality, and building community around these practices. These experiences have enriched every area of my life. Over time, I led workshops and retreats to share this with others, simply because I loved the work. And now I saw a path to turn my passion into a profession.

"Either you take the lead in shaping your life, or someone else’s expectations will do it for you."

What kind of training did you have to undertake to become a life coach?

I trained extensively with leading coaching schools, deepening my expertise and refining my approach. Now, I work with founders, directors, and high-performing professionals who are looking for more, not just success, but fulfilment. I help them to get clear on the life they long for, even the one they may not yet feel they deserve, and I support them to make it real.

After years of following a path, there comes a moment to ask if it’s still yours. Then, taking the lead in shaping your life becomes not just important, but essential.

How can the Warwick Economics alumni community reach you?

I'd love to hear from you if anything in my story resonated. You can reach me at Explore@SimonHuss.com or at https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonhuss/. I’m always happy to connect with fellow Warwick alumni.

We thank you, Simon, for getting in touch with us, and wish you the best for the future.

Details of more successes for our students

Public procurement is an important market and a key area of public spending. As such, it has increasingly come into focus as a tool for promoting social policy objectives. In this vein, ‘social value’ is an increasingly important concept in public purchasing.

Warwick Law School, in collaboration with United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa), hosted a successful public lecture last month in Nairobi, Kenya, that attracted over 100 students, academics, and legal professionals. The event provided a platform for insightful discussions on pressing legal and social issues, reinforcing Warwick’s commitment to global engagement and academic collaboration.

Attacking gender education in Latin America: an ambiguous consensus?, Globalizations, DOI: 10.1080/14747731.2025.2479332

Attacking gender education in Latin America: an ambiguous consensus?

British Philosophy Fortnight #philosophymatters is a new annual initiative to celebrate, promote and champion philosophy and raise awareness of what philosophy is and why it matters. Philosophy matters intrinsically, as a vibrant intellectual discipline, and extrinsically, providing crucial skills for living in complex worlds and for responding to pressing global challenges, from pandemics to climate change. Prof Heather Widdows was invited by the British Philosophy Association to speak about why philosophy is so important.

Click here to view

The Department of Sociology is deeply saddened by the death of Dr Carol Wolkowitz on March 4^th 2025. Carol was a hugely valued member both of the Department and of the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender. She will be remembered as a much-loved and inspirational teacher who was devoted to helping students grapple with ideas and hone their sociological imaginations.

The University of Warwick’s Centre for Teacher Education (CTE) has received a glowing report following a recent Ofsted inspection, highlighting the exceptional quality of training and support provided to its teaching trainees. The inspection report underscores the University’s commitment to nurturing future educators who are well-prepared and passionate about their careers.