Departmental news

14 sixth form students were welcomed to the department by Ally Caldecote (Outreach Officer) to give the students the chance to find out what university physics is all about and to consider their post A-level choices.

The visit was aimed to raise aspirations, find out about university, what it’s like to be an undergraduate and what it’s like to study physics.

Find out more.

This year’s National Student Survey (NSS) results show a continuing high level of satisfaction among Economics final year undergraduates across almost all themes in the survey.

Almost 90 per cent of Economics finalists say they would recommend Warwick to future students, 7 per cent more than the average across the university.

Other areas where finalists indicated strong satisfaction with their course include:-

• Course content: 92% of participants agreed that they had found their Economics course intellectually stimulating; while 90% agreed that the course had often challenged them to achieve their best work.
• Study resources: 91% of respondents agreed that they had been well supported with IT resources and facilities.
• Feedback and academic support: 91% of respondents agreed that they received assessment feedback on time; while 90% of finalists agreed that it was easy to contact teaching staff when they needed to.

The cohort of students taking part in this year’s NSS had arrived at Warwick under the exceptional circumstances of the COVID 19 pandemic. The Department was pleased to note that 88 per cent of the survey participants felt that information about Warwick’s mental wellbeing support services had been well-communicated.

The annual UK-wide survey gathers final year undergraduate students' opinions on the quality of their courses. The Department carefully analyses the feedback received from the NSS. Every year the quantitative scores and the comments made help shape the future of Economics in the Department and the University of Warwick.

Changes to the survey questions and the response scales make direct year-on-year comparisons not possible in 2023. The data, however, allows the Department to compare​ Economics to other courses at Warwick, and to benchmark its performance against other universities.

Detailed comparisons with other UK Economics departments will be made later this year; however, initial analysis comparing Warwick’s results to other Departments within the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, are very positive, with Warwick Economics ranking in the top 5 across two thirds of the questions.

Head of Department Ben Lockwood commented:

“As a department we strive to deliver an outstanding student experience. The feedback we receive through the NSS is one of the tools which helps us to understand and meet student needs.

“We are of course delighted to receive strong satisfaction levels in so many areas and we will look closely at the areas where, as a Department, we have done less well to see what changes may be required.

“I would like to thank all of this year’s finalists. They have certainly had a very different university experience to the norm and it is a huge credit to them that they engaged with new ways of teaching, learning and research with great resilience. The Department is absolutely delighted that 90 per cent of our finalists would recommend Warwick.

“I would also like to thank all of our staff who rose to the challenge of delivering Covid-safe teaching and learning, and those who work behind the scenes to keep everything running. These high satisfaction scores are a real tribute to your skills and commitment.”

15 August 2023

This year was designated by the Commonwealth Heads of Government as the Year of Youth and last month and WLS's Cherisse Francis was invited by the Commonwealth Association (an organisation made up of former staff of the Commonwealth Secretariat) to deliver the 3^rd Annual Patsy Robertson Memorial Lecture at Marlborough House.

WMG at the University of Warwick’s Outreach Team was pleased to take part in the Royal Institution’s (Ri) holiday workshops.

Professor Margaret Low and Dr Phil Jemmett both led sessions at the holiday workshops designed to bring all areas of science - including mathematics, computing and engineering - to life for 9 to 14 year olds.

Professor Margaret Low’s session was a fun and creative introduction to programming using TurtleStitch. TurtleStitch is free, easy to use, and generates patterns that can be stitched by embroidery machines, enabling the creation of physical things from code.

At Dr Phil Jemmett’s session he asked, ‘Where is engineering?’ Dr Jemmett explained how every product, tool, device and service relies on engineers designing, refining and creating solutions to problems. Students used programmable electronics and sensors, and had the opportunity to make a product for the future.

Dr Phil Jemmett, Widening Participation Co-ordinator at WMG, University of Warwick, said: “The Royal Institution has centuries of tradition in educating people about science in a fun and engaging way. We are so proud to have supported the holiday workshop programme for another year, and continue to work with one of the most famous scientific bodies in the world. What better place to showcase the engineering and innovation that WMG is part of in building the future? We aimed to show people how simple it can be to start to create their own projects, whether making a smart city for the future, or controlling an embroidery machine in Margaret’s workshop. And it really showed in the engagement of the students in the activities – the things they were able to build in one day were mind-blowing.”

Professor Margaret Low, Director of Outreach and Widening Participation at WMG, University of Warwick, showed her commitment to making science accessible: “Science, engineering, mathematics, and computer science are not traditionally seen as being fun subjects to dip into. With these workshops we were able to provide an inspiring introduction for young people, and perhaps set them on a path to becoming scientists or engineers in the future. Working in partnership between a university and a public body like the Ri is a good example of how we can create opportunities for young people to discover what they want to do, and be empowered to achieve it.”

Peter Gallivan, Family Programme Manager, at the Royal Institution, explains: “Holiday Workshops at the Royal Institution are one of the main ways we work with young people, welcoming around 2,000 young people across the summer to get hands-on exploring STEM subjects. The sessions run by Margaret and Phil are some of my favourites, as they showcase how creativity and imagination are important skills used by scientists and engineers. It was a delight to see their sessions packed full of excited young scientists happily working together to solve a variety of engineering challenges. How else would you want to spend your summer holidays?!”

Find out more about WMG’s Outreach programmes here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/about/outreach/

We all recognise that what we learn at university can have a long-lasting effect on our lives, shape our careers and have a wider impact on society. But it can also teach us a range of practical skills beyond our expectation, skills that can empower us to make different choices and apply them successfully to problem solving in a business context.

Meet Shishir Garg, Warwick Economics graduate of class 2018 and second-generation entrepreneur based in India, who reflects on how his degree course in economics transformed him and his ability to apply economic knowledge in real life situations. After graduating with a BSc in Economics from Warwick, with an Examiners’ Prize for Best Performance in Research in Applied Economics, Shishir stayed on at Warwick as a Research Assistant for Professor Thiemo Fetzer who had been his personal tutor and dissertation supervisor. Before moving back to India, Shishir undertook an MPhil in Economics and Finance at Cambridge and then became a consultant at the World Bank.

Now Shishir runs R.P Poly Plast Ltd, a leading manufacturing company in the city of Kanpur, India. Shishir attributes the success of his business to his ability to implement economic techniques he learnt during his time at Warwick and Cambridge.

We ask Shishir a series of questions about his enterprise and how he perceives the connection between academia and business.

Could you tell us more about your business and the economic impact it is having in Kanpur and the surrounding region?

Our business interests include manufacturing edible oils (such as rice bran oil and soyabean oil), high density Polyethylene based tarpaulin and Polypropylene based woven sacks and fabric. Our most recent venture is to manufacture expanded polyethylene sheets and rolls which are used in mattresses, packaging, furniture, and consumer goods. This new manufacturing unit will provide employment for about a hundred people who come from rural backgrounds and live under extreme poverty.

How is it possible for an economics graduate to run a manufacturing business without a scientific or science technology background?

I strongly believe that if you are provided with the right skills or tools, you can solve any problem that comes your way. I have come to observe and appreciate how my experience, at world class universities under top professors, equipped me to handle problems, implement novel techniques and put theories into practice. These skills are especially hard to come by in my part of the world, so I can truly say that my university education has had a huge positive influence on my life.

What were the most important lessons you learned during your time at Warwick?

My undergraduate tutor at Warwick, Professor Thiemo Fetzer, always taught me to think differently and to approach the unique challenges that each research paper brings in a structured way. The challenge can be anything: from considering how proxies can be used if there is not enough data available to deciding which economic technique would be most suitable to apply.

This was especially liberating as sometimes in undergraduate study things are structured in such a way that you have to find answers in quite a defined and rigid manner. But in practice, you get a lot of curveballs and there are no set answers. Professor Fetzer really taught me how textbook economics is deployed in real life through his work and the research I did for him.

I especially learnt a lot from him while I was working on my undergraduate dissertation, under his tutelage, for which I was awarded the Department prize. During that time, I got a good grasp of what a research paper looks like and the importance of finding the mechanisms through which changes are taking place. Previously my understanding of research was based on preconceived notions such as finding a result by running regressions in Stata and finding the significance of a variable by looking at the p-value, rather than considering the wider context and economic theory.

How have you applied your economics skills to improve your business practices?

After I graduated I worked as a research assistant for Professor Fetzer for four years. I got to work on some amazing projects and learn about the best research methods and economic techniques. The skills I learnt have helped me immensely to transform the business. For instance, there are lot a of manufacturing steps involved in refining edible oils. A small change in temperature or pressure at any step may lead to a huge change in the yield and quality of oil. Virtually no data on this was being documented before. However, since I joined the business, we have implemented a variety of novel data collection techniques using various instruments and field experiments to isolate how a change in one variable affects the final product.

Through such techniques, we have developed an unparalleled understanding of the mechanisms and variables which alter the composition of oil. This, in turn, has significantly reduced our costs while enhancing the quality of our oils. These changes would certainly not have been possible without the knowledge of economic techniques gained during my time at university.

Could you tell us more about the sustainability initiatives that your business invests in?

Our new manufacturing unit is unique due to a plethora of factors. Foremost, half of the energy consumption will come from the grid-connected 250 KW Solar rooftop installed on our plant (pictured above). It was installed in collaboration with Tata Power, the premier solar manufacturer in India. This is especially important given that India meets most of its power needs by burning fossil fuels such as coal. Given the fact that heatwaves are becoming common in India, this will help tackle climate change in a small way. This programme is just the tip of the iceberg as we plan to generate 1 MW of solar energy in house at our manufacturing units.

Secondly, all the waste generated in the manufacturing process will be recycled through a first-of-its-kind recycling machine whereby the recycled product can again be reused to make the sheets and rolls. Moreover, there will be zero water discharge as water used in the manufacturing process will be recycled and reused again.

Shishir Garg, BSc Economics 2018

The Department of History at the University of Warwick is pleased to announce that the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme is now open and welcomes expressions of interest. More information available here.

For an outline of the process and required documents visit: https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DBE888/british-academy-postdoctoral-fellowship

Note that Warwick's internal deadline for receiving the materials is 28th August.

An exciting opportunity is available for this PhD Scholarship funded as part of the Monash Warwick Alliance. The studentship will be jointly supervised by Professor David Lambert (Warwick) and Professor Gordon Pentland (Monash).

For full details and how to apply visit Jobs at Monash. Closing Date: Sunday 3 September 2023, 11:55pm AEST

Arun Advani, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick, has been appointed as a member of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR’s) advisory panel.

The advisory panel consists of leading economic and fiscal experts whose remit is to help develop and scrutinise the OBR’s work programme and forecasting methods.

The revised panel membership was announced in August 2023 and includes 25 academics, economists and industry specialists with expertise across different aspects of the OBR’s work. Dr Advani will contribute specific advice in the areas of public sector finances and public economics, and labour market and migration.

The OBR was created in 2010 to provide independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances. Its roles include economic and fiscal forecasting, evaluating the Government's performance against fiscal targets, scrutinising the Government’s costing of tax and welfare policies, and assessing fiscal risks and the long-term sustainability of public finances.

Commenting on his appointment, Dr Advani said: “I am delighted to be joining the OBR’s revised advisory panel. The OBR plays a key role in ensuring the sustainability of public finances and holding the UK Government to account and I look forward to contributing to its important work.”

Find out more about the OBR advisory panel

View Arun Advani’s staff profile

On 26 July, 2023, Professor Stanley Whittingham FRS, Nobel Laureate 2019, was awarded an honorary degree as part of the Chemistry graduation ceremony.