Departmental news

Class of 2016 MSc Economics alumna Ankita Pathak got in touch with the exciting news that her book on Macroeconomics is a best-seller in India.

Since graduating, Ankita has been working as an economist in the Indian capital markets. The questions she encountered every day from clients, colleagues and managers inspired her to write The Macro Faire, which introduces macroeconomics in simple language with a specific focus on the Indian economy.

Ankita says:

“While textbooks are great, they never offer a practical perspective. Additionally, very few books cover the Indian economy in particular. I felt the urge to write what I know as an answer to those questions. It also turned out to be a great learning exercise for me.”

 

After 7 years in the capital markets Ankita has returned to study and has been accepted onto the MBA programme at INSEAD.

We asked Ankita to tell us more about her publishing success, her reflections on being a Commonwealth Scholar at Warwick, and her plans for the future.

What were your first career steps after graduating?

I was a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of Warwick. Staying true to this mission, I chose to contribute to India and its economy. I came back right after graduation and started working as Senior Economist at an institutional equity broking firm. I also worked very closely with organizations that contributed towards the education of teenage girls.

Can you tell us more about what being a Commonwealth Scholar meant for you?

The scholarship was an instrumental step in me finding the resources to study in the UK. I felt its mission, imbibed it and - to my best abilities - delivered it.

Warwick has insightful modules in Public Policy and Development Economics. Taking them as my electives made me realize the importance of the mission of the Commonwealth Commission even further, and I was further inspired by the opportunity to interact with Mark Carney, then Governor of the Bank of England, on our farewell dinner.

Being a commonwealth scholar at Warwick was something which changed the course of my life - it accelerated it in the right direction.

What’s the focus of your book?

The focus of my book is macroeconomics and very specifically, the many indicators in the subject such as growth, inflation, trade, balance of payments and many more. The book effectively simplifies these complex topics and tailors their understanding for investing in asset classes- equity, debt, commodity and currency. While the examples are from an Indian context the theory is pretty universal. Also, the book is a toolkit and application of the concepts can still be very individualistic.

How long did it take to write it?

I think it’s fair to say that it took two years of planning and 6 months of actual sitting down to write regime for me to make sure the book sees the light of day.

How did you keep yourself motivated to finish it?

It was something I was genuinely interested in so motivation was an easy find. In fact, finding time was the harder bit but I had the most supportive ecosystem at home and at work which made this an easier journey.

What do reviewers say about it?

While I await professional reviews, this is typical of what I’m hearing from actual people who have read it:

“The Macro Faire is a perfect bridge between the world of Academics and its practical application as far as Macro Economics goes. I wish I would have had the privilege of something like this when I started out my career in Equities. Needless to say it’s a useful read even for professionals who often in the day to day work schedule overlook the basics in search for the complex. And this book is uniquely Indian!”

I feel very grateful that I could contribute to people’s understanding and add some value to my peers.

What were your highlights from studying at Warwick?

I remember it being the most amazing time of my life - so much greenery, clean air, endless opportunities of knowledge enhancement and a fantastic peer set. Warwick still feels like home. It brings a very warm sense of nostalgia.

Among other things, the curriculum was amazing. The choice of electives were relevant. It was a very enriching time of my life. It is impossible to believe the amount of work and travel I was able to fit in one year.

What was your favourite module and why?

I think it was Public Policy. At that time, I was very keenly interested in the differences in public policy in emerging and developed economies. Coming from India, some cases and class discussions were not just engaging but also eye opening. They made me have a very different lens and perspective to the world- something that I did not have before.

Do you keep in touch with your fellow students from Warwick?

Yes, we did an all-girls trip 3 years after graduation. However, then covid-19 interrupted us. I have been to their countries and I have hosted 4 of my Warwick friends in India. We talk almost every week and we keep sharing Instagram stories/other trivia to keep it going. It doesn’t feel like it’s been many years, it always feels like we just were together last week or something.

And finally, what are your next steps now that the book is published?

In my last job, I was the lead economist with DSP Asset Managers in Mumbai. As of today, I’m enrolled in the MBA programme at INSEAD.

This is turning out to be another gruelling but exciting experience! I think some of us just always want to learn and I’m beginning to recognize myself as someone who’s always curious. I’m learning a lot every day and I hope to use the knowledge to advance myself and my country someday.

Here is a link to more information about Ankita's book The Macro-Faire: An Investor's Guide to MacroeconomicsLink opens in a new window

We were delighted to welcome participants to campus last week for a topical summer school on digital health apps and regulation, organised by the There Is No App For This! project team.

The Warwick Sociology Department is sad to share the news of the death of our colleague Professor Annie Phizacklea, who died of pneumonia on 9 September 2022. Everyone who knew Annie respected her vibrant, inclusive, and good-humoured leadership in research, teaching and other departmental activities, including long stints as director of research and director of the graduate school. She was a uniquely generous and supportive colleague, and her research, teaching and outlook was formative for both staff and students. Her research made a path-making contribution to the sociology of gender, ethnicity, international migration and work and employment. She retired in 2008 and went on to write a novel based on her academic research on the experiences of migrant women in Britain.

We are pleased to announce that Warwick Law School has achieved high levels of satisfaction in the latest National Student Survey (NSS) 2023.

Researchers at Warwick Crop Centre have celebrated the successful harvest of a homegrown bean developed to thrive in a British summer.

Press Release (9 September 2023)

Professor Eric Holub and research fellow Rosanne Maguire discuss the novel bean varieties on BBC CWR.

Radio interview 

If you, or someone you know are interested in studying one of our undergraduate courses the registration for our October open days is now open. Our Open Days consist of talks and tours of the department by our academics and current students, as well as demonstrations throughout the day. When visiting, you will also get the chance to take tours of the University campus, find out about societies and sports club as well as accommodation and on-campus facilities.

You can find out more about our courses on our admissions pages or register for an open day.

As we prepare to welcome our new and returning students for Term 1, we would like to wish a warm welcome to our new colleagues, congratulations to staff commencing secondment opportunities, and a fond farewell to those we have had to say goodbye to.

• WMG at the University of Warwick and leading self-driving technology developer Wayve have received £1.9 million in government funding to lead a research project on AI safety in self-driving vehicles
• This pioneering project, DriveSafeAI, aims to develop scalable methodologies and mechanisms to prove that the use of AI is safe for self-driving vehicles, which national and international self-driving vehicle developers can adapt the findings to their technology developments
• The project supports the UK government’s ambition to make the UK the leader in AI and its vision of deploying self-driving vehicles in 2025

WMG at the University of Warwick and leading self-driving vehicle technology developer Wayve have been awarded £1.9 million to undertake research to ensure the safe use of AI in self-driving vehicles.

This project, DriveSafeAI, is taking the initiative to research and develop scalable mechanisms and methodologies to prove that AI is safe to use in self-driving vehicles. WMG is a world-class research institution with internationally recognised research capabilities in safety assurance of self-driving technologies, combined with Wavye’s expertise in developing end-to-end machine learning for self-driving, a set of evidence- and data-based methods and tools will be developed and made available for global self-driving developers to test their technologies. The research result will help shape the UK's policy and regulatory framework for AI in the future.

Self-driving vehicles can potentially bring £42 billion in economic benefits to the UK. Proving the safety of AI is a crucial step to unlocking this huge market. However, currently, there is no internationally or nationally agreed methodology in place to prove AI is safe to use in self-driving technologies, which hinders the commercialisation of self-driving vehicles. Therefore, this project will create a solution for AI safety assurance and develop societal trust in AI and self-driving technology.

More information about the DriveSafeAI project and the funding

DriveSafeAI is part of CCAV’s Commercialising CAM Supply Chain Competition (CCAMSC).

The Commercialising CAM programme is funded by the Centre for Connected and Automated Vehicles, a joint unit between the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK and Zenzic.

The £18.5m CCAMSC competition was launched in October 2022 to support the deployment of self-driving vehicles, by strengthening the capabilities of the sovereign UK CAM supply chain and is part of the Government’s vision for self-driving vehicles. Connected and automated mobility 2025: realising the benefits of self-driving vehicles.

Alex Kendall, CEO and Co-founder of Wayve, said: "At Wayve we know that confidence in our technology is crucial to commercialisation and widespread adoption of self-driving vehicles. Leveraging AI, we have the chance to bring the benefits of self-driving vehicles to everyone’s door. But first, securing trust in AI is paramount.

"That’s why we’ve been working closely with government and academia to ensure the methodologies we use to evidence safety are clear and trustworthy. Today, we’re excited to announce a formal partnership with WMG, University of Warwick, global leaders in the safety of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. DriveSafeAI will give the public and policymakers confidence in this technology, which has the potential to revolutionise transport."

Professor Siddartha Khastgir, Head of Verification & Validation at WMG, University of Warwick, said: "AI – and particularly embodied AI – like self-driving vehicles, is one of the biggest topics currently discussed in society. Deploying this technology safely is essential to realising the huge opportunity AI can offer society.”

“At WMG, through DriveSafeAI we are excited to be partnering with Wayve, a leader in self-driving vehicle technology, to help shape the safe AI landscape in the UK and globally.”

“We believe the safety of this technology needs to be proven collaboratively, in a scalable manner and that future policy should have strong research foundations."

Note to editors

About Wayve

Wayve is on a mission to reimagine autonomous mobility through embodied intelligence. Founded in 2017, Wayve is made up of a global team of experts in machine learning and robotics from top organisations around the world. We were the first to deploy autonomous vehicles on public roads with end-to-end deep learning, pioneering the AI software, lean hardware, and fleet learning platform for AV2.0: a next-generation autonomous driving system that can quickly and safely adapt to new driving domains anywhere in the world.

Wayve has raised over $258M and is backed by Eclipse Ventures, D1 Capital Partners, Baillie Gifford, Moore Strategic Ventures, Balderton Capital, Virgin, and Ocado Group. The team is based in London and California, with a fleet of vehicles testing in cities across the UK. Wayve aims to be the first to deploy autonomy in 100 cities. To learn more, visit www.wayve.ai.

Hosted by the ‘International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists’ (INWES), the award celebrates Professor Georgia Kremmyda’s achievements in global capacity building (developing and building knowledge and skills internationally) and commitments to the representation of women in STEM.

Dr Federico RossiLink opens in a new window, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick, is one of just 400 researchers across Europe to have been awarded an ERC Starting Grant, and the only successful applicant from the University of Warwick.

The grants are intended to support cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from medicine and physics to social sciences and humanities. The ERC say the funds are awarded to “help researchers at the beginning of their careers to launch their own projects, form their teams and pursue their best ideas.”

Dr Rossi has been awarded €1.45m for an ambitious five-year study, Human Capital, the Organisation of Production, and Economic Development – HUMANDEV for short.

He explains:

“The ERC grant will allow me to kick-start a new research agenda on the role of human skills for the past and the future of economic development.

“There is a general sense among economists and policy-makers that the accumulation of human capital is key ingredient of economic growth, but we don’t have yet a clear understanding of which specific skills are particularly important, why their accumulation varies so much across countries and over time, and how exactly these skills transform the process of production.

“My project, HUMANDEV, will leverage micro-level data from many countries and new theoretical frameworks to shed light on these issues.

“A key objective of this work will be to provide insights on how educational and training policies can facilitate the adaptation to some of the most pressing global challenges of our time, such as population ageing, climate change, and technological change.

“I am extremely grateful to the ERC for supporting this endeavour.”

Commenting on the awards programme as a whole, ERC President Professor Maria Leptin said:

“It is part of our mission to give early-career talent the independence to pursue ambitious curiosity-driven research that can shape our future. In this latest round of Starting Grants, we saw one of the highest shares of female grantees to date, which I hope will continue to rise. Congratulations to all winners and good luck on your path to discovery.”

This competition attracted over 2,696 proposals, which were reviewed by panels of renowned researchers from around the world. The overall success rate was 14.8%. The grants are expected to create more than 2,600 jobs for postdoctoral fellows, PhD students and other staff at the host institutions.

The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU).