This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2026. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

Useful resources:

• LITE Research Project
• Diverging and Converging for Team-Based Learning
• Design Thinking for Student Projects book
• Learning in Tandem framework

About the speakers:

Lena Jaspersen is a Lecturer in Innovation and Qualitative Research Methods at Leeds University Business School. Her expertise includes interdisciplinary teaching and research in technology and social innovation, organization theory, global development, cross-sector partnerships, sustainability research, and qualitative research methods. Lena is co-author of the bestselling textbook ‘Management and Business Research’ and co-author, with Tony, of ‘Design Thinking for Student Projects’, a textbook focused on experiential learning and employability skills development.

Tony Morgan (FHEA) is an Associate Professor in Innovation Management Practice at the University of Leeds in the UK, where he teaches interdisciplinary and team-based innovation modules at Undergraduate, Masters and MBA levels. He previously held senior innovation and technology roles at IBM. Research areas include how students learn when working in diverse and interdisciplinary teams. Tony is the author of multiple books, and co-author, with Lena, of ‘Design Thinking for Student Projects’.

This episode was recorded on 4 March 2026. A transcript of the episode is available. If you would like to get in touch regarding the episode or podcast, email research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. Visit the podcast webpage for further information.

About the speakers:

Brandon Baker rose to fame on Disney Channel’s “Johnny Tsunami”, following earlier roles in “The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story” and later appearing in “Even Stevens”. Despite his success, he realised acting didn’t feel authentic to him and stepped away to explore other passions, including music and officiating weddings, bringing his energy and creativity to ventures beyond Hollywood.

Dr Sanjay Popat is a Chartered Organisational Psychologist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow specialising in occupational stress, well-being and mental health. His work focuses on how these phenomena occur over time and how time might influence whether we adapt to stressors or reach a breaking point.

Kersten explains why effective partnerships require deep listening, shared incentives, and a commitment to long‑term relationships. Paul and Kersten discuss the impact of initiatives such as YPIP and Y‑PERN, and they explore how universities, local authorities, and communities can work together more effectively.

Paul and Kersten unpack how to balance academic incentives with place-based needs to strengthen collaboration and how to embed genuine, non-transactional relationships across sectors. The conversation highlights the importance of governance, strong networks, capacity building, and sustainable resourcing.

This episode was recorded on 9 December 2025. If you would like to get in touch, please contact contact@y-pern.org.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:

Kersten England CBE currently serves as Chair of Bradford 2025 (UK City of Culture) and Chair of the Young Foundation – having recently stepped down as Chief Executive of Bradford Council and Chair of Yorkshire & Humber Councils. She has over 30 years of experience in local government leadership across Kirklees, Calderdale, and York.

Paul Hayes is Senior Policy Engagement Fellow at Leeds University Business School, supporting academic colleagues in developing impacts from their work and in engaging with the policy community and public bodies. He was formerly corporate policy manager at Wakefield Council and policy lead for the Key Cities Group, an association of 27 mid-size UK cities. This role encompassed policy advisory work to local, regional and national politicians; development and authorship of local and regional strategies and plans; engagement with and representation on working groups of UK government and national bodies; and responses to consultations. The role also included scoping, commissioning, and joint development of academic and think tank research and engagement with business and voluntary and community sectors.

Terms and acronyms:

1. YPIP – Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership
2. Bradford 2025 City of Culture
3. The Young Foundation
4. REF – Research Excellence Framework
5. Y-PERN – Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network
6. Yorkshire Engagement Portal (YEP)
7. Yorkshire and Humber Office for Data Analytics (YHODA)
8. Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC)

This episode was recorded on 18 February 2026. If you would like to get in touch, please contact contact@y-pern.org.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:

Kate Macdonald has over 30 years of experience in academia, NHS mental health services, and grassroots community projects. She has improved mental health services locally and regionally, including early psychosis care, and uses relational practice and systems thinking to foster trust, equitable collaboration, and human-centred solutions. She founded TimeBank Hull and East Riding, co-facilitates Hull Poverty Truth Commission, and is Development Coordinator for the Ideas Fund, connecting communities and researchers. She also leads the Community Panel for the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership, championing inclusive approaches that enable communities to shape policy and co-create solutions.

Paul Hayes is Senior Policy Engagement Fellow at Leeds University Business School, supporting academic colleagues in developing impacts from their work and in engaging with the policy community and public bodies. He was formerly corporate policy manager at Wakefield Council and policy lead for the Key Cities Group, an association of 27 mid-size UK cities. This role encompassed policy advisory work to local, regional and national politicians; development and authorship of local and regional strategies and plans; engagement with and representation on working groups of UK government and national bodies; and responses to consultations. The role also included scoping, commissioning, and joint development of academic and think tank research and engagement with business and voluntary and community sectors.

Terms and acronyms:

1. Y-PERN – Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network
2. YPIP – Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership
3. Timebank Hull and East Riding
4. Hull Poverty Truth Commission
5. The Ideas Fund
6. YPIP Community Panel
7. ‘Not another toolkit’

Dan discusses his dual role as both university researcher and embedded policy analyst, explaining how he helps answer critical questions about South Yorkshire's economy, growth sectors, and regional strengths. Rather than operating as a traditional academic expert transmitting knowledge from on high, he describes a collaborative model where experts from different backgrounds work together on equal footing.

Dan contrasts his ongoing, open approach with traditional consultant models, emphasising the value of sustained relationships and accessible data. The conversation also examines the sustainability of such embedded roles, the benefits to both academics and policymakers, and the need for collaborative funding from national bodies, regional authorities, and universities to mainstream this type of engagement. Ultimately, Dan makes a compelling case for why these bridging roles matter for evidence-based policymaking and regional development.

This episode was recorded on 17 December 2025. If you would like to get in touch, please contact contact@y-pern.org.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:

Paul Hayes is Senior Policy Engagement Fellow at Leeds University Business School, supporting academic colleagues in developing impacts from their work and in engaging with the policy community and public bodies. He was formerly corporate policy manager at Wakefield Council and policy lead for the Key Cities Group, an association of 27 mid-size UK cities. This role encompassed policy advisory work to local, regional and national politicians; development and authorship of local and regional strategies and plans; engagement with and representation on working groups of UK government and national bodies; and responses to consultations. The role also included scoping, commissioning, and joint development of academic and think tank research and engagement with business and voluntary and community sectors.

Dr Dan Olner is a data analyst and geographer based in the School of Management at Sheffield University and, through the Yorkshire & Humber Policy Engagement Research Network (Y-PERN), is working with South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority on all things economic and regional and data. Dan hasn't strayed far from Yorkshire, studying politics at Sheffield University and a PhD at Leeds University. Find out about Dan's work at danolner.net and coveredinbees.org or link up at www.linkedin.com/in/danolner.

Terms and acronyms:

1. SYMCA – South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
2. Y-PERN – Yorkshire and Humber Policy and Engagement Research Network

This episode was recorded on 27 January 2026. A transcript of the episode is available. If you would like to get in touch regarding the episode or podcast, email research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. Visit the podcast webpage for further information.

About the speakers:

Dr Ranj is a physician, broadcaster, and bestselling author recognised as one of the UK’s leading TV health experts. A co-host of BBC One’s Morning Live and co-creator of the BAFTA-winning Get Well Soon, he is a familiar face across Britain’s flagship television programmes.

Dr Sanjay Popat is a Chartered Organisational Psychologist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow specialising in occupational stress, well-being and mental health. His work focuses on how these phenomena occur over time and how time might influence whether we adapt to stressors or reach a breaking point.

Joe leads the Communities in their Places cross-cutting theme for the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP), working with local authorities, voluntary organisations, and residents across Yorkshire and the Humber. She discusses Hull's "flipped university" model that prioritises community needs, the art of listening over ivory tower thinking, and building trust by not overpromising.

Drawing on projects from Local Area Coordination to cost of living crisis research, Joe illustrates how participatory action research bridges gaps between stakeholders with competing pressures - and why the most powerful research reflects lived experiences and delivers tangible outcomes for real people, not just academic publications.

This episode was recorded on 16 December 2025. If you would like to get in touch, please contact contact@y-pern.org.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

Acronyms explained:

1. Y-PERN – Yorkshire and Humber Policy and Engagement Network
2. UPEN – Universities Policy Engagement Network
3. UKRI – UK Research and Innovation
4. ESRC – Economic and Social Research Council
5. YPIP – Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership

Helpful links:

1. https://www.communitycatalysts.co.uk/lacnetwork/local-area-coordination/what-is-local-area-coordination/

About the speakers:

Dr Andy Mycock is a political scientist with extensive experience of academic public policy engagement. As Chief Policy Fellow for the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (www.y-pern.org.uk) he collaborates with a wide range of academic, government and non-government stakeholders across the region and UK and internationally. Andy is also Cross-Programme Lead for the University Policy Engagement Network and is an elected trustee of the Political Studies Association. He chaired the Kirklees Democracy Commission (2016-2018) and was recently appointed to the UK Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government College of Experts.

Joe Cook is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the Hull University Business School. Her research focuses on building lived experience and community voice into policy and practice. Joe leads on ‘Communities in Their Places’ in the YPIP. She has held 16 UK and EU grants (ESRC, NIHR, British Academy, EU, government & local authority commissions) including cross-sectoral dialogue, prevention in adult social Care, responsible business, employee volunteering and also on ageing and migration. Her leisure time is spent with her two Irish Setters Logan and Noah.

Peter reflects on the unique partnership between the region’s 12 universities, their work with local and combined authorities, and the remarkable journey since signing the 2021 Memorandum of Understanding, which laid the groundwork for major initiatives like the Yorkshire and Humber Policy and Engagement Network (Y-PERN) and the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP). Peter identifies that the diverse landscape of Yorkshire is bound together by a strong sense of identity which creates a basis for shared purpose and shared agendas.

Together, they discuss what effective collaboration looks like, why trust and communication matter, and how shared regional identity helps Yorkshire speak with one voice.

Peter also looks ahead to the challenges and opportunities for the sector, including sustaining this work, strengthening connections with communities and policymakers, and ensuring universities continue to play a meaningful civic role in the region.

This episode was recorded on 16 December 2025. If you would like to get in touch, please contact contact@y-pern.org.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

Acronyms explained:

1. Y-PERN – Yorkshire and Humber Policy and Engagement Network
2. UPEN – Universities Policy Engagement Network
3. YU – Yorkshire Universities
4. YPIP – Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership
5. YHC – Yorkshire and Humber Councils
6. MOU – Memorandum of Understanding

Helpful links:

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/levelling-up-the-united-kingdom
2. https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/
3. https://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/our-universities
4. https://www.unialliance.ac.uk/
5. https://www.n8research.org.uk/
6. https://whiterose.ac.uk/
7. https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/APPG/yorkshire-and-northern-lincolnshire
8. https://www.transportforthenorth.com/northern-powerhouse-rail/
9. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-16-education-and-skills-white-paper

About the speakers:

Dr Andy Mycock is a political scientist with extensive experience of academic public policy engagement. As Chief Policy Fellow for the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (www.y-pern.org.uk) he collaborates with a wide range of academic, government and non-government stakeholders across the region and UK and internationally. Andy is also Cross-Programme Lead for the University Policy Engagement Network and is an elected trustee of the Political Studies Association. He chaired the Kirklees Democracy Commission (2016-2018) and was recently appointed to the UK Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government College of Experts.

Dr Peter O'Brien, Yorkshire Universities Executive Director

Peter leads the Yorkshire Universities’ (YU) Executive Team, and he is Company Secretary for the Limited Company and Charity. With over two decades’ experience, as both a senior practitioner and academic, Peter has driven YU’s increasing and influential policy engagement and activity in Yorkshire. He has worked extensively, at a senior level, across the north of England, and he has published widely on a range of matters relating to local and regional development. Peter is a Commissioner on the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission, and he also represents YU and the higher education sector on many high-level regional groups and committees.

Paul and Andy discuss the origins of the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN) and the Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership (YPIP), born from a 2021 memorandum of understanding between Yorkshire Universities and Yorkshire & Humber Councils. They reflect on how COVID-19 became a catalyst for collaboration, revealing the power of bringing together universities, local authorities, combined authorities, and communities around shared challenges.

The conversation explores what makes collaboration work: building trust through sustained relationships, understanding different institutional cultures, and creating a "network of networks" that maximises regional capacity. From Early Years education to economic growth, they discuss how partnership working has evolved from coffee conversations to formal compacts and community engagement.

This episode introduces the “Gerrin’ on wit’ it” series as a space to speak to people who are making things happen in the region and driving things forward with collaboration at the forefront.

This episode was recorded on 9 December 2025. If you would like to get in touch, please contact contact@y-pern.org.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. Y-PERN is funded by the UKRI’s Research England Development (RED) Fund; YPIP is funded by the UKRI’s Economic and Social Research Council.

Acronyms explained:

1. Y-PERN – Yorkshire and Humber Policy and Engagement Network
2. YPIP – Yorkshire Policy Innovation Partnership
3. UPEN – Universities Policy Engagement Network
4. YU – Yorkshire Universities
5. YHC – Yorkshire and Humber Councils
6. ESRC – Economic and Social Research Council

Helpful links:

1. https://www.n8research.org.uk/
2. https://whiterose.ac.uk/
3. https://yorkshireuniversities.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/137/2025/04/YH-Councils-and-YU-MoU-2025.pdf
4. https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/media/csofehp1/further-education-and-west-yorkshire-combined-authority-compact-with-colleges-2025-28.pdf

About the speakers:

Dr Andy Mycock is a political scientist with extensive experience of academic public policy engagement. As Chief Policy Fellow for the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network he collaborates with a wide range of academic, government and non-government stakeholders across the region and UK and internationally. Andy is also Cross-Programme Lead for the University Policy Engagement Network and is an elected trustee of the Political Studies Association. He chaired the Kirklees Democracy Commission (2016-2018) and was recently appointed to the UK Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government College of Experts.

Paul Hayes is Senior Policy Engagement Fellow at Leeds University Business School, supporting academic colleagues in developing impacts from their work and in engaging with the policy community and public bodies. He was formerly corporate policy manager at Wakefield Council and policy lead for the Key Cities Group, an association of 27 mid-size UK cities. This role encompassed policy advisory work to local, regional and national politicians; development and authorship of local and regional strategies and plans; engagement with and representation on working groups of UK government and national bodies; and responses to consultations. The role also included scoping, commissioning, and joint development of academic and think tank research and engagement with business and voluntary and community sectors.

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2.

Visit the project webpage.

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in November 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:

Vera Trappmann is Professor of Comparative Employment Relations at Leeds University Business School. She studies the transformation of work and its impact on workers with a particular focus on climate change, just transition and the green economy.

Dario Azzellini is a senior researcher in the Department of Sociology at the University Duisburg-Essen. His research interests focus on labour studies, sustainable work and Just Transition, and workers’ self-management.

Both Rashik and Mehmet presented on these topics at the Leeds Digital Festival event - “The future is now: tech driving UK industry” - which was co-hosted by Leeds University Business School and the School of Computer Science.  

Mehmet’s research is supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/V052659/1] 

This episode was recorded on 8 December 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: 

Rashik Parmar MBE is a member of Leeds University Business School’s Research International Advisory Board. Previously, Rashik was Group CEO of the British Computer Society (BCS), and the IBM Fellow and Vice President responsible for creating and driving IBM’s European technical strategy. Rashik is a member of the Open University Council and also chairs the Industry Advisory Board for Digit Lab. 

Professor Mehmet Dogar is Professor of Robotics & AI at the University of Leeds. His research focuses on autonomous robotic manipulation. Mehmet is an EPSRC Fellow, and an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Robotics Research, and an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Robotics. 

Related journal articles by Professor Dogar and colleagues: 

• Tracking and Control of Multiple Objects During Nonprehensile Manipulation in Clutter 
• Goal-Conditioned Model Simplification for 1-D and 2-D Deformable Object Manipulation 
• Sampling-Based Model Predictive Control for Dexterous Manipulation on a Biomimetic Tendon-Driven Hand 

This episode was recorded on 24th November 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

Visit the project webpage.

This project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

About the speakers: Dr Helen Hughes is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School and Director of the Behaviour Lab. Helen in an interdisciplinary researcher, whose research spans aerospace to healthcare sectors.  Helen is currently an Associate Editor at Ergonomics journal, and a Co-Investigator within the NIHR-funded Surgical Health-Tech Research Centre, where she leads the ‘Surgical Observatory’ workstream.

Emma Findlay is a Research Officer at Leeds University Business School, working in the Surgical Care Observatory theme of the HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care.  Her research explores the underpinning psychology of complex systems; including medtech implementation, surgical sustainability and multiteam system functioning.

Articles mentioned in this episode and related reading:

• “Organisational psychologists – essential to saving the NHS”, The Psychologist, 31 October 2025, Helen Hughes and Emma Findlay  
• “The Principles of Sociotechnical Design”, Human Relations, Albert Cherns, 1976  
• “Sociotechnical principles for system design”, Applied Ergonomics, Chris Clegg, 2000
• “Leveraging socio-technical systems to tackle grand challenges: Reflections on human-robot teams, hybrid workplaces, med-tech, and digital transformation”, Ergonomics, Matthew Davis, Helen Hughes, Mark Robinson, Jeffery Scales, Shankar Sankaran, Dikai Liu, Emma Findlay and Emma Gritt, 2025

This episode was recorded on 4th August 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

About the speakers:  

Magda Osman holds a Visiting Professor of Impact Position at Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, and is a Research Professor at the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. She is a psychologist by training, with a specific interest in decision-making under risk and uncertainty, risk analysis and causal analysis, folk beliefs in the manipulation of the unconscious, as well as an interest in examining effectiveness of methods of behavioural change. 

Dr Sarah Jenkins is a Lecturer in Applied Decision-Making and a cognitive psychologist, with extensive experience of conducting applied research focusing on how people understand, communicate and make decisions concerning risk and uncertainty. She holds a joint post between the Centre for Decision Research at Leeds University Business School, and the Met Office, where she is applying social science techniques to deliver high-impact decision research in areas related to weather and climate.   

This episode was recorded in July 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

Read the journal article: “Climate change risk, investor sentiment, and the performance of new entrant firms”, Small Business Economics. 

About the speakers: 

Addi Manolopoulou is the Departmental Manager for the Accounting and Finance Department at Leeds University Business School. She is committed to translating complex research into real-world impact.   

Professor Shima Amini is Chair in Entrepreneurial Finance. Her research is focused on entrepreneurial finance, initial public offering, venture capital, private equity, corporate finance, behavioural finance, and market microstructure.   

Professor Abdul Mohamed is Chair in Accounting and Finance. His research interests are in the area of corporate finance, venture capital, bankruptcy, and market-based accounting research. 

This episode was recorded on 24th June 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

About the speakers:  

Dr Virág Blazsek is a Lecturer in Commercial, Corporate, and Banking Law and a Deputy Director of the Centre for Business Law and Practice (CBLP) at the University of Leeds School of Law. Her recent research, supported by the Michael Beverley Innovation Fellowship, examines FinTech hub development and financial sector transformation in secondary financial centres, focusing on Leeds, the US, and Singapore. The project highlighted the vital role of regional legal and tech clusters - like Leeds - in strengthening the UK’s LegalTech sector, largely due to their strong underlying real economies. 

Danat Valizade is Professor of Quantitative Employment Research at Leeds University Business School. His research focuses on labour market inequalities and the future of work; job quality; advanced econometrics, and machine learning. 

This episode was recorded in May 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

Read the book: “Systems of Deceit - Financial Fraud and Scandal in the United Kingdom, 1700–2010”, Steven Toms  

About the speakers: 

Addi Manolopoulou is the Departmental Manager for the Accounting and Finance Department at Leeds University Business School. She is committed to translating complex research into real-world impact.   

Professor Steve Toms is Chair in Accounting. His research interests cover the role of accounting (including forensic accounting), accountability, and corporate governance in the development of organisations, particularly from a historical perspective. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. 

Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers:  

Dr Alexander Beresford is an Associate Professor in African Politics, and Director of Research and Innovation for the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds. His research provides a multi-layered insight into how global normative order is mediated and contested within and between two interwoven spaces - political struggles over inequality, power and corruption from everyday sites of politics through to the highest tables of power in South Africa; and the global diplomatic contestation of vaccine access, conflict resolution and climate change led by South Africa as an emerging power. 

Dr Temitayo Odeyemi is a Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds, and Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Parliamentary Research, Berlin, Germany. His PhD research at the University of Leeds (2024) explored the public engagement repertoires of the Nigerian national and subnational Lagos State legislatures. This built on his wider interest in how key democratic institutions drive resilience and sustainability through connections with non-state actors and everyday citizens, particularly in Sub-Saharan African contexts. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in December 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast episode or the project, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk.  

A transcript of this episode is available. 

You can listen to the rest of the episodes in this series. 

About the speakers:  

Felix Schulz is an interdisciplinary researcher at Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS). Prior to joining LUCSUS, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change (CERIC), the Digital Futures at Work (digit) Research Centre and the Hans-Böckler-Foundation funded Competence Centre on social-ecological transformations at the University of Leeds, where he remains as Visiting Research Fellow 

Melanie Laroche is a professor at the Université de Montréal's School of Industrial Relations, where she teaches labour relations strategies and collective bargaining.

Jonathan Michaud is a doctoral candidate and lecturer in industrial relations at the Université de Montréal. He works on a partnership agreement with the United Steelworkers on three cases of just transition in local unions, at plant level, in different regions of Quebec under the supervision of Professor Mélanie Laroche. 

This episode was recorded on 5th March 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

Read the book: The Routledge Companion to Disability and Work, Edited by Oana Branzei, Anica Zeyen. Lee Wainwright’s chapter: Disability and Restoration Work. 

About the speakers: Nick Williams is Professor of Entrepreneurship at Leeds University Business School. His research mainly focuses on entrepreneurship in challenging contexts, and he has particular interests in the role of entrepreneurial activity in crises. Lee Wainwright is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship Studies at Leeds University Business School. His research focuses on how entrepreneurship can act as a process to take people out of restrictive or oppressive contexts. 

In this episode, they discuss how the Behaviour Lab can be used by companies to test consumer reactions, optimise workplace design, and refine communication strategies using eye-tracking, virtual reality, and other state-of-the-art tools.  

Visit the Behaviour Lab webpage for equipment details and further information, or contact the team via LUBSBehaviourLab@leeds.ac.uk. 

This episode was recorded on 31st March 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

About the speakers: Dr Lauren Machon is the Behaviour Lab Manager. Her research interests lie in innovation adoption and technology acceptance. Dr Helen Hughes is the Behaviour Lab Director and is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School. Her research focuses on the social dynamics of workplace relationships, as well as graduate employability and early career transitions to the workplace. 

This episode was recorded on 25th March 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

Read the journal article: The impact of social media influencers on the financial market performance of firms, European Financial Management. Kevin Keasey, Costas Lambrinoudakis, Danilo V. Mascia, Zhengfa Zhang. 

About the speakers: 

Addi Manolopoulou is the Departmental Manager for the Accounting and Finance Department at Leeds University Business School. She is committed to translating complex research into real-world impact.   

Costas Lambrinoudakis is Assistant Professor of Finance at Leeds University Business School. His research interests lie in corporate finance, financial markets, social networks, and big data. 

Zhengfa (Elliot) Zhang is a postgraduate researcher in the Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance. His main research areas are financial markets, textual analysis, LLMs, behavioural finance, and empirical asset pricing. 

Visit the project webpage. 

This episode was recorded on 26th February 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: 

Dr Bianca Orsi is a lecturer in economics at Leeds University Business School. Her main research interests are on monetary policy, monetary policy transmission mechanism, inflation, capital controls, interest rate, exchange rate, currency internationalization and currency hierarchy, and financial integration.  

Dr Peter Hughes is also a lecturer in economics at Leeds University Business School. His areas of expertise are: monetary economics, behavioural economics, institutional economics, money, history of economic thought, and economic methodology. 

Dr Juliane Scheffel is an associate professor in economics at the Business School. Her research interests are in: labour economics, development economics, migration, education, and elderly care.

Both David and Frank spoke at the “Ideas in Practice: Supply Chain Summit 2024”, which was co-hosted by Leeds University Business School and the Institute for Collaborative Working. The event, held in November 2024, explored how managing complex supply chains is increasingly vital to all organisations. 

Additional note: In the episode, David and Frank mention ISO 44000 and ISO 44001. These are standards, created by the International Organization for Standardization, that provide frameworks for successful collaborative business relationship management. 

This episode was recorded on 3rd February 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: 

David Loseby is Professor of Research Impact in Supply Chain Management at Leeds University Business School. He is a modern-day “pracademic” that has spent over three decades in procurement and supply chain roles internationally across a diverse set of sectors from pharmaceuticals, banking, retail, manufacturing, and public sector (NHS and Westminster City Council) and more recently as the Group CPO for Rolls Royce. He is also a visiting scholar at the University of East Anglia involved in Executive MBA and MSc programmes, as well as his own active research portfolio in Behavioural Science.  

Frank Lee is the Chief Executive Officer at the Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW), a role he has held since early 2023. He joined ICW after more than 30 years with the British Standards Institution (BSI), where he held various leadership roles. Frank has been instrumental in establishing a new vision and purpose for ICW, transforming it into a modern, agile, and outward-focused institution. 

This episode was recorded on 21st November 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

Visit the project webpage for further information.  

The research discussed in this episode is funded by the BA Leverhulme Small Research Grants scheme. 

About the speakers:  

Dr Alex Kevill is a lecturer in enterprise at Leeds University Business School. He has a keen interest in capability development in entrepreneurial firms, and how knowledge developed from entrepreneurial learning interventions influences entrepreneurial cognition and behaviours.   

Dr Mariana Estrada-Robles is also a lecturer in enterprise at Leeds University Business School. She is a researcher in the field of entrepreneurship and family business. She is also interested in examining particular challenges faced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and highlighting their importance in countries like the UK, Mexico and the global context.  

Dr Selen Kars-Unluoglu is an associate professor in organisation studies at the University of the West of England. Her research focuses on understanding the ways organisations and entrepreneurs develop and deploy their intangible resources, such as knowledge, capabilities, and networks to generate growth and achieve learning. 

This episode was recorded on 3rd October 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: 

Dr Ziko Konwar is an Assistant Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is the Director of Internationalization for the International Business Department. His research interests are in global strategy of multinational enterprises, with an emphasis on cross-national institutional and systemic challenges. He is the Leeds University Business School Research Lead for the 24-26 Cheney Fellowship project (see below), University of Leeds.   

Dr Christopher Hassall is an Associate Professor of Animal Biology in the School of Biology at the University of Leeds. He co-directs the Leverhulme Extinction Studies Doctoral Training Programme and co-leads the Aeroecology Research Group, which focuses on using radar for biodiversity monitoring. His research interests span fundamental ecology and biodiversity conservation, with a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary solutions to biodiversity challenges. 

Professor Ulf Andersson is a Professor of Business Studies in Mälardalen University, Sweden. Ulf is a research leader and expert on subsidiary management strategy of multinational enterprises, and is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business and European International Business Academy. Ulf is the first Cheney Fellow to be hosted at Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds. 

About the project:

The Cheney fellowship project will utilize inter-disciplinary research expertise to address the role of global strategy of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in biodiversity loss (e.g. species/habitat extinction and MNE global innovation). The research team comprises Professor Ulf Andersson (incoming Cheney Fellow), Dr Ziko Konwar, Professor Yingqi (Annie) Wei and Professor Frank McDonald (Leeds University Business School), Dr Christopher Hassall (Faculty of Biological Sciences,) and Professor George Holmes (School of Earth and Environment). Over the past ten years, the Cheney Fellowship programme has established fruitful and high-impact research partnerships in areas such as water security, molecular biology, medicine and materials science. This programme has been made possible through a $4 million gift from Bacteriology and Biochemistry graduate Peter Cheney and his wife Susan.   

Both Aristeidis and Rashik presented at Leeds University Business School’s “The Business of AI” event as part of Leeds Digital Festival in September. 

The HBR article Rashik referenced in this episode is “What is responsible computing?” 

This episode was recorded on 11th October 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:

Aristeidis Theotokis is Professor of Marketing at Leeds University Business School. He conducts research in the areas of shopper psychology, retail technology and prosocial behaviour. He examines theories and phenomena in the areas of consumer psychology, behavioural economics and social psychology. His current research includes exploring how consumers understand and interact with AI. 

Rashik Parmar, MBE is a member of Leeds University Business School’s Research International Advisory Board. Rashik is Group CEO of British Computer Society (BCS) where he is responsible for realising the BCS mission to make IT good for society. He is focused on inspiring the programmes that the BCS colleagues, members and partners that help us deliver the BCS strategy. Previously he was the IBM Fellow and Vice President responsible for creating and driving IBM’s European technical strategy. Rashik is a member of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Council and also chairs the Employment and Skills Panel at the Leeds City Region LEP and the Board of Trustees for We are IVE.  

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk.  

A transcript of this episode is available. 

You can listen to the rest of the episodes in this series. 

About the speakers:  

Dr Jo Cutter is a lecturer in Work and Employment Relations at Leeds University Business School. Her research focuses on employment relations, social dialogue and the regulation of work with a core focus on skills, education and training. She is currently researching these themes in relation to two contexts: workers and the just transition and labour mobility. 

Hunter Moskowitz is a doctoral candidate in World History at Northeastern with a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.  He also works as a research specialist, examining climate and labor policy and just transitions at the University of California Santa Cruz. 

Dr Mijin Cha is an assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz and a fellow at the Climate Jobs Institute, Cornell University. Dr Cha’s research focuses on labour/climate coalitions and how to actualize just transitions.   

This episode has been recorded as part of the Labour Mobility in Transition (LIMITS) project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Visit the project webpage.  

You can read the manifesto discussed in the episode here, and the LIMITS project Employer Survey report here. 

This episode was recorded on 11 June 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: 

Dr Gabriella Alberti is an Associate Professor in Work and Employment Relations. Her research interests revolve around the conditions of workers at the bottom end of the labour market, whether on non-standard contracts, engaged in gig/platform work, excluded from social protections, migrants and minorities workers facing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination and exclusion. 

Dr Jo Cutter is a lecturer in Work and Employment Relations. Her research focuses on employment relations, social dialogue and the regulation of work with a core focus on skills formation and training. She is currently researching these themes in relation to two contexts: workers and the just transition and labour mobility. 

Caroline Keohane is Head of Industry Growth at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) which is the voice of the UK’s largest manufacturing sector. Caroline leads FDF’s policy work on growth, productivity and investment and works closely with senior government officials within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). She is also a Non-Executive Board member of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink. 

Tanya Barringer is a Senior Industry Growth Policy Executive at the Food and Drink Federation.  Her areas of focus include skills (apprenticeships and skill shortages), employment and migration, the uptake of automation and digitalisation and supply chain fairness. 

Read the paper here.

“Becoming a young radical right activist, biographical pathways of the members of radical right organizations in Poland and Germany.”, Current Sociology, Janina Myrczik, Justyna Kajta, Arthur Buckenleib, Mateusz Karolak, Marius Liedtke, Adam Mrozowicki and Vera Trappmann. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2024. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers:  

Vera Trappmann is Professor of Comparative Employment Relations at Leeds University Business School. Her research engages with the comparison of labour relations across Europe, focusing on the dynamics of economic and organisational restructuring and its impact on working biographies, and organized labour.   

Justyna Kajta is a Professor Assistant at the Institute of Social Sciences, SWPS University (Warsaw, Poland). Her main research interests concern youth, social movements, class (im)mobilities, and social and political changes in Central and Eastern Europe. She is the author of several publications, including the book (in Polish) Young Radicals? On the Identity of the Polish Nationalist Movement and Its Participants (Nomos, 2020). 

Janina Myrczik is a Lecturer in Qualitative Methods and a Researcher at Medical School Berlin. Her research centres on rehabilitation, ageing, and the radical right. She is particularly interested in qualitative research, social inequality and political sociology. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2.

Visit the project webpage. business.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/dir-re…s-11-countries

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/down…al-exploration

About the speakers: Mattia Dessì is a Postgraduate Researcher at Leeds University Business School. His PhD research focuses on new technologies and the future of work in the South African mining industry.

Dr Olga Ustyuzhantseva is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg (South Africa). Her recent research focuses on the sociotechnical transition to the sustainable development of coal-mining countries (South Africa and Russia), particularly climate, energy, and just transition policies and their impact on the coal phase-out trajectory.

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2.  

Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in November 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. To find out more about the TUC’s Just Transition work, or to join the Yorkshire and Humber Just Transition Network, email Sam Perry sperry@tuc.org.uk.  

A transcript of this episode is available. 

You can listen to the rest of the episodes in this series. 

About the speakers: 

Dr Jo Cutter is a lecturer in Work and Employment Relations at Leeds University Business School. Her research focuses on employment relations, social dialogue and the regulation of work with a core focus on skills, education and training. She is currently researching these themes concerning two contexts: workers and the just transition and labour mobility. 

Sam Perry is the Green Bargaining Officer for Yorkshire and the Humber TUC. He is focused on raising the profile of environmental action within the labour movement and building capacity in trade unions to bargain for justice as organisations adapt to the need to decarbonise. His special interest is in making the case for a massive growth of energy efficiency retrofits to homes across Yorkshire and the Humber, where he brings together a background in social housing and political and union activism. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in December 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact  research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

Useful resources: 

• LITE Research Project: https://teachingexcellence.leeds.ac.uk/research/fellowships/i-de-es-project/ 
• Diverging and Converging for Team-Based Learning: https://teachingexcellence.leeds.ac.uk/diverging-and-converging-for-team-based-learning/ 
• Design Thinking for Student Projects book: https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/design-thinking-for-student-projects/book276875 

About the speakers:  

Lena Jaspersen is an early-career researcher with a multidisciplinary background in international sociology and organisation studies. Lena’s overarching research interests are in collaborative innovation processes, in particular in the context of global development, and qualitative research methods.  

Tony Morgan (FHEA) is an Associate Professor in Innovation Management Practice at the University of Leeds in the UK, where he teaches interdisciplinary and team-based innovation modules. He previously held senior innovation and technology roles at IBM. Tony's primary interests include design thinking, innovation and innovation management, emerging technology, pedagogy and student skills development. Research areas include how students learn when working in diverse and interdiscplinary teams. Tony is the author of multiple books, and co-author with Lena of Design Thinking for Student Projects. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. 

Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in October 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: Mattia Dessì is a Postgraduate Researcher at Leeds University Business School. His PhD research focuses on new technologies and the future of work in the South African mining industry. 

Dr Alexander Beresford is an Associate Professor in African Politics, and Director of Research and Innovation for the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds. His research provides a multi-layered insight into how global normative order is mediated and contested within and between two interwoven spaces - political struggles over inequality, power and corruption from everyday sites of politics through to the highest tables of power in South Africa; and the global diplomatic contestation of vaccine access, conflict resolution and climate change led by South Africa as an emerging power. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in November 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact  research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

Visit the project webpage for further information. The project is funded by Leeds University Business School’s Impact and Engagement Support Fund and International Research Collaborations Fund. 

About the speakers:  

Peter Gittins is a Lecturer in the Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Studies (CEES) at Leeds University Business School. He has a practical working background in farm management, helping to run his family-owned livestock farm in West Yorkshire. His research interests are centred around agricultural business management, specifically rural entrepreneurship and approaches to strategic management in farming businesses.   

Deema Refai is an Associate Professor in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in CEES and is currently Joint Editor in Chief of The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Deema’s research focus is developed around constrained entrepreneurship, with a particular interest in the refugee and rural contexts. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. The Competence Centre mentioned in this episode is also funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation. 

Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in November 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact  research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers:  

Vera Trappmann is Professor of Comparative Employment Relations at Leeds University Business School. Her research engages with the comparison of labour relations across Europe, focussing on the dynamics of economic and organisational restructuring and its impact on working biographies, and organized labour.  Currently climate crisis and just transition are her main focus.   

Felix Schulz is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Digital Futures at Work (digit) Research centre and on an international Hans-Böckler-Stiftung funded project on the role of labour in the “Just Transition”. His research is interdisciplinary, drawing on labour economics, industrial relations, environmental labour studies and social psychology, with justice and inequality as the overarching focus. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. 

Visit the project webpage. 

The research on the foundation industry is also available as a report with the European Trade Union Institute, funded by the European Climate Foundation. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in July and October 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers:

Vera Trappmann is Professor of Comparative Employment Relations at Leeds University Business School. Her research engages with the comparison of labour relations across Europe, focussing on the dynamics of economic and organisational restructuring and its impact on working biographies, and organized labour.  Currently climate crisis and just transition are her main focus.  

Dr Ursula Balderson is a postdoctoral research associate on a project on Work, Labour and Climate Change. She is an interdisciplinary social scientist interested in how the transition to a greener economy can improve worker well-being and quality of life. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in August 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Dr Abbie Winton is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change (CERIC). Her research explores issues related to sociotechnical change in the retail, warehousing and logistic industries, and the quality of work. Currently, Abbie is working on the HuLog project which investigates how digital technologies shape work and employment conditions in warehouses across Europe. 

Dr Lilith Brouwers is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at CERIC. Their research focuses on marginalised workers in informal labour, how hyper-precarious workers use labour mobility, and on the intersection of disability and marginalised forms of work.   

View the report discussed in this episode here.

Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in July 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Dr Lilith Brouwers is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change (CERIC). Their research focuses on marginalised workers in informal labour, how hyper-precarious workers use labour mobility, and on the intersection of disability and marginalised forms of work.   

Dr Jack Daly is also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at CERIC. His research focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion in traditionally male-dominated industries, with a specific interest in the role of men as resistance to and facilitators of inclusive working practices.

A summary of Afshan’s research on technostress is available.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in July 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this research, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research focuses on how people interact with their environments, office design, hybrid working and future workplaces. He also researches how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery.  

Afshan Iqbal is a Research Fellow in Organisational Behaviour and Socio-Technical Systems, with a keen interest in virtual working, hybrid work, the future workplace and the use of technologies in new ways of working. Her doctoral research focused on the antecedents to technostress in remote workers and the impact this had on work-family conflict, performance and job satisfaction when boundaries between work and professional lives are increasingly blurred. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. 

Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: Ursula Balderson is a postdoctoral research associate on a project on Work, Labour and Climate Change. She is an interdisciplinary social scientist interested in how the transition to a greener economy can improve worker wellbeing and quality of life. 

Olek (Aleksander) Szpor is a Lead Consultant in Climate and Energy at Ecorys Research Consultancy Poland. 

Read the journal article. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers: Annina Kaltenbrunner is Professor of Global Economics at Leeds University Business School. She is a pluralist Macro-Development Economist with an interest in financial and monetary dynamics in developing and emerging economies.

Dr Bianca Orsi is a lecturer in the Economics department at Leeds University Business School. Her main research interests are on monetary policy, monetary policy transmission mechanism, inflation, capital controls, interest rate, exchange rate, currency internationalization and currency hierarchy, and financial integration. 

Dr Sophia Kuehnlenz is a lecturer in Economics at the Manchester Metropolitan Business School.  Her research aims to establish an improved Minsky – inspired theory and an overhaul of methodology (mainstream and heterodox) with regard to modelling crisis episodes specifically and capitalist production economies more generally.   

Dr Mark Sumner (University of Leeds), is joined by his colleagues, Dr Divya Singhal (Goa Institute of Management, India) and Dr Bethan Bide (University of Leeds), to discuss their latest project - “Cotton hidden voices: stories from the makers of your clothes” - and how this follows on from their past research looking at unravelling the trail of modern slavery in the fashion and textile industry, and how Covid-19 affected the management to eradicate modern slavery from global supply chains. 

Visit the project website for further information about the research discussed in this episode. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

“Cotton hidden voices: stories from the makers of your clothes” is a University of Leeds and Goa Institute of Management project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/W006936/1). 

About the speakers: Dr Mark Sumner is a lecturer in the School of Design, focussing on sustainability within the textile, clothing and fashion industry. His research interests cover a diverse range of subjects such as textile technology, innovation, sustainability and consumer behaviour.  

Dr Divya Singhal is a Professor at the Goa Institute of Management, India. Her research focuses on responsible management. 

Dr Bethan Bide is a Lecturer in Design and Cultural Theory at the University of Leeds. Her research centres around the cultural, social and business histories of fashion.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

Visit the CIBUL website for further information about the research discussed in this episode. 

About the speakers: Marina Papanastassiou is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is a member of the Centre for International Business University of Leeds (CIBUL). Marina’s research interests include the global innovation strategies in multinationals (MNEs) and their network of overseas subsidiaries and R&D laboratories; the decision-making process in MNEs and in particular the dynamics between HQs and subsidiaries; global value chains and the role of MNEs in SDGs such as food security; impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on growth and development; the internationalisation of start-ups, and the role of incubators in local systems of innovation. 

Peter Buckley OBE is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is the Founder/Director of CIBUL. His current research interests centre on the theory of the multinational firm; knowledge management in multinational firms; the international transfer of technology; the impact of foreign direct investment particularly in China; and outward direct investment from emerging countries: China and India. 

Read the working paper.

Visit the project webpage.

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Asiya Islam is Lecturer in Work and Employment Relations. Her research interests are in gender, class, emerging forms of work, particularly service work, and feminist research methods. 

Nishi Khandelwal heads the Women’s Literacy, Education, and Empowerment work at Nirantar, where she plays a crucial role in visualizing and planning the women's education programme, and training project staff and teachers of partner organisations. She is interested in researching issues around digital literacy of women and young girls to further strengthen their literacy and digital literacy skills.   

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Dr Jack Daly is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Work and Employment Relations. His research focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion in traditionally male-dominated industries, with a specific interest in the role of men as resistance to and facilitators of inclusive working practices.  

Jennifer Tomlinson is Professor of Gender and Employment Relations at the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change. Her research focuses on gender and social inequalities in organisational, occupational and labour market contexts.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Clare Matysova is a postgraduate researcher in the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change at the University of Leeds, focusing on gender equality and exploring the impact of the UK’s shared parental leave policy from the perspective of couples’ decision-making. Clare also currently works as a Senior Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Partner at the University of Aberdeen. She has been working in EDI-related roles within HE for the past 15 years. Previously, she worked at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of East London and the University for the Creative Arts.   

Emily Humphreys is a part-time PhD student in social epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She also works part time in public health, with experience in policy development and interests in mental health, wellbeing and health inequalities. She is particularly interested in how local or national government policies can affect health outcomes. She joined LSHTM as a research student in September 2021. Her research is investigating how changes to maternity, paternity and parental leave policies in the UK might have affected mental health for parents. 

This project is funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation – Just Transition: Aktivitäten im internationalen Vergleich 2021-582-2. 

Visit the project webpage. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in February 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: 

Vera Trappmann is Professor of Comparative Employment Relations at Leeds University Business School. Her research engages with the comparison of labour relations across Europe, focussing on the dynamics of economic and organisational restructuring and its impact on working biographies, and organized labour.  Digitalisation, precarity and climate change are areas of study. 

Dr Dennis Eversberg is a Junior Research Group leader at the University of Vienna, Germany. His research interests include socio-ecological mentalities and modes of living and their role within social-ecological transformations and conflicts, particularly those surrounding the so-called ‘bioeconomy’, the sociology of social-ecological movements, degrowth, and trade unions.

Read the paper: The “Indie” Premium: How Independent Firms Create Product Value across Cultures, International Marketing Review, https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-04-2021-0157 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in January 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers:  

Dr Alessandro Biraglia is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Leeds University Business School. His research interests include: consumer behaviour; consumer psychology; branding; entrepreneurship and business development; political marketing; and food marketing. Dr Vasileios (Bill) Davvetas is also an Associate Professor of Marketing at Leeds University Business School. His areas of research include: international marketing; branding; and consumer behaviour. 

Read the paper: "Unlearning and consent in the UK Fire and Rescue Service", Human Relations, volume 75, issue 12; James Brooks, Irena Grugulis and Hugh Cook. 

This builds on Dr Brooks, Professor Grugulis and Dr Cook’s previous research on rethinking situated learning and communities of practice. You can listen to their previous podcast episode on this topic here. 

About the speakers: Professor Irena Grugulis is Professor of Work and Skills at Leeds University Business School. Her main area of research interest is learning and skills, how employees gain the skills that they have and the various workplace systems and structures that limit or encourage this. 

Dr Hugh Cook is Associate Professor in Employment Relations and HRM. He researches work and employment, specifically the implementation of strategic HRM and training systems and their effect on employee-related outcomes. 

Dr James Brooks is a Lecturer in Management Consulting and HRM. He researches work and employment, specifically how employees share knowledge and skills and also the control, management and regulation of emotions at work.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in October 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

For further information: 

Read the report.

Visit the website.

Listen to the podcast series.

This project - Adapting offices to support COVID-19 secure workplaces and emerging work patterns - is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. Visit the webpage.

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in November 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, office design, hybrid working and future workplaces. He also researches how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery. 

Dr Helen Hughes is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist, and Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School. She specialises in the social dynamics of workplace relationships, as well as graduate employability and early career transitions to the workplace. She is passionate about translating high-quality research into usable insights and strategies, working with partners such as Rolls-Royce, The National Health Service and KPMG.

Visit the project webpage. This project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). 

This episode was recorded on Wednesday 10th August 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: Dr Marketa Dolezalova is a Research Fellow in Labour Migration at Leeds University Business School. Her research interests revolve around migration, mobility, and the economic strategies of migrants, including mobility as both an economic strategy and as migrants’ social capital. 

Ewa Jamroz is a policy, data and development officer at Migration Yorkshire. She is the project lead for the Hong Kong Welcome Programme for BN(O) status holders coming to the UK through a new BN(O) visa route and policy lead for EU nationals (including Roma communities). 

Ewa Lelontko is an employer engagement manager at Migration Yorkshire. Her role focuses on the economic integration of refugees and other migrants in Yorkshire & Humber.  

Visit the project webpage. This project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). 

This episode was recorded on Wednesday 13th July 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: Dr Marketa Dolezalova is a Research Fellow in Labour Migration at Leeds University Business School. Her research interests revolve around migration, mobility, and the economic strategies of migrants, including mobility as both an economic strategy and as migrants’ social capital. 

Ewa Jamroz is a policy, data and development officer at Migration Yorkshire. She is the project lead for the Hong Kong Welcome Programme for BN(O) status holders coming to the UK through a new BN(O) visa route and policy lead for EU nationals (including Roma communities).

Professor Chris Forde (Leeds University Business School) speaks to Dr Becky Faith and Kevin Hernandez (Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex) about their research on digital inequalities. They discuss the problematic assumption that most people now have access, and the right skills, to use the internet and why we need better data to understand the nature of digital exclusion. 

This is part of a special series of podcasts in conjunction with the Digit Data Observatory, part of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre.  

Read the Data Commentary. 

Visit the Digit Data Observatory. 

The Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) is jointly led by the Universities of Sussex and Leeds Business Schools with partners from Aberdeen, Cambridge, Manchester and Monash Universities. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in June 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers: Chris Forde is Professor of Employment Studies and Co-Director of the Centre of Employment Relations Innovation and Change at the University of Leeds, and co-ordinator of the Q Step Programme at the University of Leeds, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the ESRC. He is also Deputy Director of Digit and co-lead of the Digit Data Observatory. His principal research interest is in temporary agency working, but he also conducts research into migration. 

Becky Faith is a Research Fellow and Co-Leader of Digit Research Theme 4 ‘Reconnecting the disconnected: new channels of voice and representation’. Her professional experience and research interests encompass gender and technology, mobile communication studies, human computer interaction and technology for social change. 

Kevin Hernandez is a Research Officer at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and a Researcher working on Digit Research Theme 4 ‘Reconnecting the disconnected: new channels of voice and representation’. His research interests include digital inequalities, sustainable development, and political economy of automation. 

Visit the Digit Data Observatory. 

Digit is jointly led by the Universities of Sussex and Leeds Business Schools with partners from Aberdeen, Cambridge, Manchester and Monash Universities. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers: Chris Forde is Professor of Employment Studies and Co-Director of the Centre of Employment Relations Innovation and Change at the University of Leeds, and co-ordinator of the Q Step Programme at the University of Leeds, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the ESRC. He is also Deputy Director of Digit and co-lead of the Digit Data Observatory. His principal research interest is in temporary agency working, but he also conducts research into migration. 

Dr Emma Russell is a Chartered and Registered Occupational Psychologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sussex, in addition to being the co-lead of the Data Observatory. Her research focuses on how people manage their e-communications (specifically email) and how this impacts and is impacted by well-being, goal achievement and personality. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

Read the paper: “Inequalities in the disruption of paid work during the Covid-19 pandemic: A world systems analysis of core, semi-periphery, and periphery states.” Industrial Relations: A journal of Economy and Society. Danat Valizade, Manhal Ali, Mark Stuart https://doi.org/10.1111/irel.12310  

About the speakers:  

Dr Danat Valizade is an Associate Professor in Quantitative Methods in the Work and Employment Relations Department. His research interests coalesce around the changing nature of work with a specific focus on the quality of working lives, inequalities and digital futures at work. 

Dr Manhal Ali is a Lecturer in Human Resource Management in the same department. His areas of expertise include Organisational Economics; Managerial Economics; Health Economics; Digital Economy; Data Science. 

Visit the project webpage. This project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). 

This episode was recorded on Monday 30 May 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: 

Dr Gabriella Alberti is an Associate Professor in Work and Employment Relations. Her research interests revolve around the conditions of workers at the bottom end of the labour market, whether on non-standard contracts, engaged in gig/platform work, excluded from social protections, migrants and minorities workers facing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination and exclusion. 

Dr Jo Cutter is a lecturer in Work and Employment Relations. Her research focuses on the employment relations, social dialogue and the regulation of work with a core focus on skills, education and training. 

Dr Umney and Dr Azzellini, along with other CERIC members, presented at the 40th International Labour Process Conference held on 21-23 April 2022 in Padua, Italy. This podcast episode focuses on the presentation they gave at the conference, with Dr Ian Greer - “Why most occupations won’t be ‘Uberized’”.  

This episode was recorded in May 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this research, contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this recording is available.  

Read the journal article: “Why isn’t there an Uber for live music? The digitalisation of intermediaries and the limits of the platform economy.” Dario Azzellini, Ian Greer, Charles Umney. New Technology, Work and Employment. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12213 

About the speakers: 

Dr Charles Umney is an Associate Professor in the Work and Employment Relations Division at Leeds University Business School. He has various research interests including platform worker protest; the social effects of market-centric policy in public services; and working life in arts and culture. 

Dr Dario Azzellini is an Assistant Professor and researcher at the Unidad Académica de Estudios del Desarrollo (PhD program in Development Studies) at the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas (Autonomous University of Zacatecas), Zacatecas, México. His research interests are: Labor studies, unions and new forms of worker organisation, workers’ and local self-management, sustainable work, social movements and collective action, Latin American studies.

Professor Trappmann and Dr Umney, along with other CERIC members, presented at the 40th International Labour Process Conference held on 21-23 April 2022 in Padua, Italy.

This episode was recorded in May 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this research, contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this recording is available. 

About the speakers: 

Professor Vera Trappmann is Professor of Comparative Employment Relations in the Work and Employment Relations Department. Her main research interests focus on the dynamics of organisational restructuring and its impact on working biographies, and organised labour.  

Dr Charles Umney is an Associate Professor in the Work and Employment Relations Division at Leeds University Business School. He has various research interests including platform worker protest; the social effects of market-centric policy in public services; and working life in arts and culture. 

Professor Winterton is one of the many CERIC members who presented at the 40th International Labour Process Conference held on 21-23 April 2022 in Padua, Italy. This podcast episode focuses on the presentation he gave at the conference on his work with Lizel Nacua. 

This episode was recorded in May 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this research, contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this recording is available. 

About the speakers: 

Chris Forde is Professor of Employment Studies and Co-Director of the Centre of Employment Relations Innovation and Change at the University of Leeds, and co-ordinator of the Q Step Programme at the University of Leeds, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the ESRC. He is also Deputy Director of Digit and co-lead of the Digit Data Observatory. His principal research interest is in temporary agency working, but he also conducts research into migration. 

Jonathan Winterton is Professor of Work and Employment and Head of the Work and Employment Relations Department. His principal research interests centre on human capital, including work along two axes: one concerned with the quality of work and the other with how human capital is developed, deployed, and retained. 

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in April 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk.  A transcript of this episode is available.   

Read the report: "Where is your office today?"

About the speakers: 

Dr Emma Gritt is a lecturer in Information Management, and Programme Director for the Undergraduate Business Management programmes. Her research interests focus on the role of digital technologies in organisations. 

Babak Tizkar works for Atkins as Head of BIM across their multi-disciplinary Building Design practice. He leads a dedicated BIM team whose mission it is to develop and deploy existing and emerging digital strategies and technologies to enhance the design development and delivery process, streamline production workflows and guide project teams to adapt and deliver more efficient and better-quality building projects using advance technologies. 

Read the paper: Rethinking Situated Learning: Participation and Communities of Practice in the UK Fire and Rescue Service, Work, Employment and Society 2020, Vol. 34(6) 1045–1061 

This episode was recorded remotely in May 2022. If you'd like to get in touch regarding the research mentioned, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:

Professor Irena Grugulis is Professor of Work and Skills at Leeds University Business School. Her main area of research interest is learning and skills, how employees gain the skills that they have and the various workplace systems and structures that limit or encourage this. 

Dr Hugh Cook is Associate Professor in Employment Relations and HRM. He researches work and employment, specifically the implementation of strategic HRM and training systems and their effect on employee-related outcomes. 

Dr James Brooks is a Lecturer in Management Consulting and HRM. He researches work and employment, specifically how employees share knowledge and skills and also the control, management and regulation of emotions at work.  

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in April 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers: 

Dr Emma Gritt is a lecturer in Information Management, and Programme Director for the Undergraduate Business Management programmes. Her research interests focus on the role of digital technologies in organisations. 

Babak Tizkar works for Atkins as Head of BIM across their multi-disciplinary Building Design practice. He leads a dedicated BIM team whose mission it is to develop and deploy existing and emerging digital strategies and technologies to enhance the design development and delivery process, streamline production workflows and guide project teams to adapt and deliver more efficient and better-quality building projects using advance technologies. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in April 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

Visit the CIBUL website for further information. 

About the speakers: Marina Papanastassiou is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is a member of the Centre for International Business University of Leeds (CIBUL). Marina’s research interests include the global innovation strategies in multinationals (MNEs) and their network of overseas subsidiaries and R&D laboratories; the decision making process in MNEs and in particular the dynamics between HQs and subsidiaries; global value chains and the role of MNEs in SDGs such as food security; impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on growth and development; the internationalisation of start-ups, and the role of incubators in local systems of innovation.  

Peter Buckley OBE is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is the Founder/Director of CIBUL. His current research interests centre on the theory of the multinational firm; knowledge management in multinational firms; the international transfer of technology; the impact of foreign direct investment particularly in China; and outward direct investment from emerging countries: China and India. 

Read the full report and summary report.  

Visit the webpage. 

Listen to previous podcast episodes. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in April 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

This research project – Impact of Covid-19 on management to eradicate modern slavery from global supply chains: A case study of Indian fashion supply chains – is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and is a collaboration between the School of Design at the University of Leeds, Leeds University Business School, The Goa Institute of Management, and HEC Montreal. 

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery. 

Dr Mark Sumner is a lecturer in the School of Design, focussing on sustainability within the textile, clothing and fashion industry. His research interests cover a diverse range of subjects such as textile technology, innovation, sustainability and consumer behaviour. 

Dr Divya Singhal is a Professor at the Goa Institute of Management, India. Her research interest focuses on responsible management. 

Dr Hinrich Voss is the Lallemand-Marcel et Roland-Chagnon Professor in International Business at HEC Montreal, Canada. His research investigates the interactions and dependencies between MNEs and institutions and focuses on emerging markets. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

Read the paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.12830 https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12830 

About the speakers:  

Dr Kathryn Watson is Faculty Research Impact Manager at Leeds University Business School. Her areas of expertise are: Diversity & Inclusion, career progression & development, organisational change, the retail sector, and action research. 

Dr Juliet Kele is a lecturer in leadership and HRM at Northumbria University. Her research interests include: gender, ethnicity, social class and how these correlate with (in)equalities in work, economies and societies. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. You can visit ACAS’s bullying guidance on their website. A transcript of this episode is available. 

Dr Sam Farley and Julie Dennis presented research and advice on workplace bullying in February at an Ideas in Practice seminar, along with Matthew Lewis, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs. There was also a roundtable discussion chaired by Dr Helen Hughes, Leeds University Business School. Visit the Ideas in Practice webpage for information about the series and future events. You can also read our previous blog posts on other Ideas in Practice seminars. 

About the speakers:  

Dr Sam Farley is an Associate Professor in Organizational Psychology at the University of Leeds Business School. He is particularly interested in the Dark Side of workplace behaviour, including bullying, cyberbullying and incivility. Within this field, his interests include the measurement of bullying, perpetrators of bullying and methods of preventing and addressing bullying in organisational life. 

Julie Dennis is Head of Diversity and Inclusion at ACAS. Julie is a Diversity and Inclusion specialist with 20 years’ experience, gained within the public and voluntary sectors. As Head of Diversity & Inclusion at ACAS, Julie is responsible for leading and providing expert advice on all diversity & inclusion related matters, with the aim of building an inclusive culture that drives engagement and ultimately performance.   

Visit the ACAS website for further information. 

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in February 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery.  

Simon Rees is Professor of Building Energy Systems at the University of Leeds. His research interests are in the field of Building Engineering Physics and geothermal heating and cooling systems. These interests can be summarised as sustainable building design, energy simulation and dynamic thermal modelling methods, room heat transfer, thermal networks and geothermal systems. 

Duncan Hurd is Senior Director, Global Real Estate & Indirect Procurement at Avnet. He has over 20 years’ experience working in large, complex, blue-chip organizations in public and private sectors across Procurement, Supply Chain and Property sectors. Avnet is a global leader of electronic components and services, guiding makers and manufacturers from design to delivery. 

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in January 2022. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery.  

Simon Rees is Professor of Building Energy Systems at the University of Leeds. His research interests are in the field of Building Engineering Physics and geothermal heating and cooling systems. These interests can be summarised as sustainable building design, energy simulation and dynamic thermal modelling methods, room heat transfer, thermal networks and geothermal systems. 

Mike Burton is Director for AECOM Building Engineering and also Director of the British Council for Offices Board of Management, a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of CIBSE.  Mike has designed many award-winning international offices for both developers and occupiers and is currently leading the environmental design on a number of the next generation of sustainable, smart and healthy buildings. Mike has co-authored many key workplace publications including the 2019 RIBA Future Office book looking at trends in people, technology, procurement and materials, and published industry guidance documents on sustainable refurbishment, mothballing buildings and reopening the workplace.  Mike is currently a regional RIBA judge and national BCO judge, CIBSE Building Performance Engineer 2022 finalist, shortlisted for BCO NextGen Inspirational Leader of the Year 2020, and the 2021 winner of WICE Mentoring Awards. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in December 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

Visit the project website – Understanding the Value of Internships – to find out more about this research.  

Visit the ISE website to read their blog post on their recent poll on remote working.   

About the speakers:  

Dr Helen Hughes is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School and the Programme Director for the British Psychological Society accredited MSc in Organisational Psychology. Her research areas include the ways that social interactions influence and shape jobs and careers, and new ways of working, job design, job crafting and work organisation. 

Nicola Thomas is the Head of Research at the Institute of Student Employers and is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Liverpool Management School. Her aim is to create impactful and insightful research to shape early careers into a way that best serves student hires and the organisations hiring them. Nicola is an award-winning researcher, and is passionate about the role of emotions, mental health and wellbeing at work. 

The Institute of Student Employers (ISE), formerly the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), is an independent, not-for-profit member organisation that was established in 1968. As the UK’s leading independent voice for student employers, their vision is that the success of every business is maximised by full access to student talent. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in December 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. For further information on Professor Unsworth's research, visit her webpage: Sustainable and productive?! Helping manufacturing SMEs to manage multiple goals.

About the speakers:

Kerrie Unsworth is a Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Leeds University Business School. Her research focuses on how people juggle goals, tasks and identities and the effect this has on motivation and particular behaviours such as leadership, collaboration and pro-environmental behaviour.  

John Steel is CEO of Cafédirect. He is a business leader and social entrepreneur with a passion for making business a force for good. Under John’s leadership Cafédirect has returned to growth, become profitable and yet maintained its sustainability commitments to its producers. John is determined that Cafédirect, as one of the UK’s pre-eminent Social Enterprises, plays a pivotal role in leading the change agenda. John is a passionate and genuine believer in the need for real change in the way business contributes to society and the wider world.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in December 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

To find out more about this research project – Understanding the Value of Internships – visit the website. You can also find out more about the Adapting Offices for the Future of Work research project, also discussed in this episode, which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. 

About the speakers:  

Dr Helen Hughes is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School and the Programme Director for the British Psychological Society accredited MSc in Organisational Psychology. Her research areas include the ways that social interactions influence and shape jobs and careers, and new ways of working, job design, job crafting and work organisation. 

Dr Emma Gritt is a lecturer in Information Management, and Programme Director for the Undergraduate Business Management programmes. Her research interests focus on the role of digital technologies in organisations. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in October 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

Read the report: Furloughing and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in the UK 

Visit the webpage. 

This project has been supported with funding from Research England’s Quality-related Research Strategic Priorities Funding (QR SPF). 

About the speakers: Chris Forde is Professor of Employment Studies, Co-Director of the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change, Data Observatory Lead at the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre and co-ordinator of the University of Leeds Q-Step Programme. His research interests look at the changing nature of work, and the implications of these changes for workers.  

Professor Mark Stuart is Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation at Leeds University Business School, founder of the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change, and Co-Director of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre. His current research focuses on the wide-ranging effects of digitalisation on the future of work; restructuring and displacement in the steel sector; and union modernisation, skills and learning. 

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in October 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery.  

Hannah Collis is a Researcher in Occupational and Organisational Psychology at Leeds University Business School and a Member of the British Psychological Society. Her research explores individual differences and wellbeing at work, specifically looking at how the workplace interacts with and influences personality and wellbeing over time, and what this means for work behaviours and performance. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in October 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

Visit the CIBUL website for further information. 

About the speakers: Marina Papanastassiou is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is a member of the Centre for International Business University of Leeds (CIBUL). Marina’s research interests include the global innovation strategies in multinationals (MNEs) and their network of overseas subsidiaries and R&D laboratories; the decision making process in MNEs and in particular the dynamics between HQs and subsidiaries; global value chains and the role of MNEs in SDGs such as food security; impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on growth and development; the internationalisation of start-ups, and the role of incubators in local systems of innovation. 

Peter Buckley OBE is Professor of International Business at Leeds University Business School, and is the Founder/Director of CIBUL. His current research interests centre on the theory of the multinational firm; knowledge management in multinational firms; the international transfer of technology; the impact of foreign direct investment particularly in China; and outward direct investment from emerging countries: China and India. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: Vera Trappmann is Professor of Comparative Employment Relations, and Director of Sustainability at Leeds University Business School. Her research engages with the comparison of labour relations across Europe. Vera’s main research interests focus on the dynamics of organisational restructuring and its impact on working biographies, and organised labour. 

Dr Zlatko Bodrožić is a Lecturer in Technology, Organisation and Sustainability at Leeds University Business School. Zlatko's research focuses on the evolution of technologies, organisational paradigms/ management models, and public policy. In particular, he is interested in digital transformation and the sustainability of societies. 

They are both co-leaders of the Leeds University Business School System-level Sustainability (LESS) research group. 

This episode is part of a research project exploring the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on early years education and childcare across England and Wales, led by Professors Kate Hardy and Jennifer Tomlinson at the University of Leeds. The project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of the UK Research & Innovation’s rapid response to COVID-19. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in August 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers:  

Helen Norman is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change at Leeds University Business School. Her research focuses on fathers and fatherhood, the gendered division of labour and gender inequalities in work, employment and family life. Helen is also interested in mothers' and their work-care trajectories after having children, as well as cross-national variations of work, employment and care practices.  

Nathan Archer is a Post Doctoral Researcher in the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change at Leeds University Business School. His research focusses on the professional identities of early childhood educators and how these are constructed in workforce reform policy and in practice.   

Neil Leitch is head of the largest voluntary sector childcare operator in the UK, representing 14,000 nurseries, pre-schools, and childminders. The Early Years Alliance (EYA) also supports more than 800,000 families. Before joining the EYA, Neil held several senior posts within the financial and commercial environment including chair of the Finance Industry Standards Association.  

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in August 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:  

Hannah Collis is a Researcher in Occupational and Organisational Psychology at Leeds University Business School and a Member of the British Psychological Society. Her research explores individual differences and wellbeing at work, specifically looking at how the workplace interacts with and influences personality and wellbeing over time, and what this means for work behaviours and performance. 

Antony Hylton is Ergonomics Director at Zoinomics. Antony is a Chartered Physiotherapist of 20 years and has worked in a variety of settings, treating necks, backs and various other physical ailments. He also has almost 10 years of experience working in the field of office ergonomics and has a wide knowledge base as it relates to the conditions that afflict those that are mostly desk-based in their jobs and the products and furniture that can help improve comfort and reduce risk of injury. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in July 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers: Dr Gary Graham is Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management. His research focuses on disruptive innovation and its impact on supply chain management. John Barnett has over 30 years’ experience in manufacturing and engineering. He has previously been a plant director as well as Senior Vice President in the automotive industry.   

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in July 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR. 

Cath Noakes is Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings at the University of Leeds and is on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) committee. Her research expertise is in building physics and environmental engineering and she leads research into ventilation, indoor air quality and infection control in the built environment. 

Simon Rees is Professor of Building Energy Systems at the University of Leeds. His research interests are in the field of Building Engineering Physics and geothermal heating and cooling systems. These interests can be summarised as sustainable building design, energy simulation and dynamic thermal modelling methods, room heat transfer, thermal networks and geothermal systems.  

This project – Adapting Offices for the Future of Work – is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in June 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery. 

Hannah Collis is a Researcher in Occupational and Organisational Psychology at Leeds University Business School and a Member of the British Psychological Society. Her research explores individual differences and wellbeing at work, specifically looking at how the workplace interacts with and influences personality and wellbeing over time, and what this means for work behaviours and performance. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in June 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. For more information about The Future Workplace project, visit the webpage. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers:  

Afshan Iqbal is an ESRC-funded postgraduate researcher at Leeds University Business School. Upon previously graduating from the Business School with an MSc in Management, Afshan went on to build a career in Financial Services, working as a Business Development Manager in the North East of England for a UK Life & Pensions company. Afshan’s first-hand experiences of remote and virtual working has inspired her research in this area. 

Lucy Gordon is a Director in the Employment Team at Walker Morris. She has over 15 years’ experience in advising national and international businesses on employment law. Lucy has particular expertise in advising on group restructures, TUPE and multi-jurisdictional redundancy programmes. 

You can read the reports on currency internationalisation and on the SML on the project webpage.

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

About the speakers: Dr Annina Kaltenbrunner is Associate Professor in the Economics of Globalisation and the International Economy at Leeds University Business School. Her research focuses on money, finance and macroeconomic policy in developing and emerging economies.  Dr Bianca Orsi is a Teaching Fellow in the Economics division, with research interests in monetary policy, inflation, capital controls, currency internationalisation and currency hierarchy.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  

About the speakers: Vita Kadile is a Lecturer in Marketing at Leeds University Business School. Her research interests include cognitive and behavioural entrepreneurship, international and strategic marketing. Nicky Kinsey is a Teaching Fellow in the Marketing Division. Her interests lie in team dynamics, leadership and emotional intelligence. Her research interests centre around entrepreneurial competencies. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in May 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

About the speakers:  Krsto Pandza is Professor of Strategy and Innovation at Leeds University Business School and Director of the Centre for Technology, Innovation and Engagement. His research interests lie at the intersection of strategy, technology innovation and organizational theory. Josh Morton is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Strategy and Innovation. Josh's research interests focus on strategy and innovation, including: strategy in pluralistic contexts, strategic agility, open strategy, legitimation, responsible innovation, digital innovation, and sustainability strategies.

Related papers:

The digital work of strategists: Using open strategy for organizational transformation

How Strategy Professionals Develop and Sustain an Online Strategy Community: The Lessons from Ericsson

You can read Dr Banerjee’s article on the effect viral tweets can have on a company’s sales here. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in April 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:  

Dr Sourindra Banerjee is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Leeds University Business School. He specialises in understanding: how emerging market firms grow through international expansion and innovation; how to improve the effectiveness of salespeople; and how firms can effectively use social media. 

Gareth Turner is Head of Brand at Weetabix. He has over 20 years’ sales and marketing experience working on household name brands like John Smith’s, Bulmers, Lurpak, Arla and now Weetabix where he has been Head of Brand since June 2019. Career highlights so far include buying a racehorse for John Smith’s, new product development launches like the Bulmers fruit cider range and the Lurpak Cook’s Range, and the “Weetabix and Beans” social media post in February 2021. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. 

This research project – Impact of Covid-19 on management to eradicate modern slavery from global supply chains: A case study of Indian fashion supply chains – is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and is a collaboration between the School of Design at the University of Leeds and Leeds University Business School. 

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. His research centres on how people interact with their environments, the impact of different office designs and how businesses engage in CSR, particularly to address sustainability and modern slavery. 

Dr Mark Sumner is a lecturer in the School of Design, focussing on sustainability within the textile, clothing and fashion industry, having spent over 15 years working in retail for a major international retailer. His research interests cover a diverse range of subjects such as textile technology, innovation, sustainability and consumer behaviour. 

Fergus Dowling is a Research Assistant on the project “Impact of Covid-19 on management to eradicate modern slavery from global supply chains: A case study of Indian fashion supply chains”. 

Find out more about the Living Wage Foundation by visiting the website www.livingwage.org.uk 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers: Dr Calum Carson is an academic researcher at Leeds University Business School, having recently completed a PhD on the Real Living Wage. He is also a Labour Market and Policy Research Officer at the Employment Related Services Association (ESRA). 

Daniel Howard is a Programme Manager for the Living Wage Foundation’s “Living Hours” campaign, which seeks to guarantee workers an adequate number of regular hours alongside receiving Living Wage rates of pay. He has previous research and policy experience at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in York and at the Department for Work and Pensions in Leeds. 

This project - Adapting offices to support COVID-19 secure workplaces and emerging work patterns - is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19. Visit the webpage www.bitly.com/adaptingoffices 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.   

About the speakers: Dr Matthew Davis is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Dr Helen Hughes is also an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School and the Programme Director for the British Psychological Society accredited MSc in Organisational Psychology.  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2021. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers: Fergus Dowling is a Research Assistant on the project “Impact of Covid-19 on management to eradicate modern slavery from global supply chains: A case study of Indian fashion supply chains”. Solène Bryson is the Social Development Lead for Private Sector Department at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

This research project – Impact of Covid-19 on management to eradicate modern slavery from global supply chains: A case study of Indian fashion supply chains – is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and is a collaboration between the School of Design at the University of Leeds and Leeds University Business School. 

Visit the project webpage to find out more. Impact of Covid-19 on management to eradicate modern slavery from global supply chains: A case study of Indian fashion supply chains