Alongside our main episodes of Oxford Plus for Season Four we are
introducing a short fortnightly miniseries in between the main episodes.
Brought to you by me, Susannah de Jager, and in partnership with Mishcon de Reya.
In each episode, we ask our guests the same four questions designed to reveal how
they think, what shapes their decisions, and what they're curious about right now.
The questions stay the same.
The answers rarely do.
This is Oxford Plus in brief.
Thank you Lord Hague.
Just a few quick questions for you for the mini episode.
What would success look like if we got this right and for this conversation,
I mean, innovation in the UK?
Success would be that the UK would again, be one of the most
prosperous countries in the world.
There would be great careers for young people in Britain, and we'd
be able to say, when we look at the whole area between Oxford,
Cambridge, and London, well, that is the place in the world to be.
To make money.
To build a career.
To learn.
That's where the movers and the shakers are.
That would be success.
What advice would you give somebody entering the Oxford ecosystem tomorrow?
You are entering a fantastic ecosystem.
You've come to the right place.
You will find an abundance of talent.
You'll be able to invent some of the world's best technology.
But you will need the capital.
So I hope that person arriving in the ecosystem, he's bringing some
capital to invest in all the talent.
Wonderful.
What is Oxford uniquely good at and what is it structurally bad at?
It's uniquely good at, although other universities would come close, at
really cherishing all disciplines and having the fullest possible breadth
and this is true in particular across science of having the entire breadth
of human intellectual endeavor.
Of course what any university like that can be bad at is rapid change and bringing
everybody along together because it has a very decentralised structure there.
There are great strengths in decentralisation.
As I said in my speech of being admitted as Chancellor, we may make mistakes,
but there's no danger we will all make the same mistake at the same
time because it's so decentralised.
But that can mean that it's difficult to respond quickly enough.
And in your opinion, what do you think Oxford will look like, in
whatever that means to you, in 2050.
Well, I hope it will look very similar, of course, because one of its great
attributes is it's one of the most beautiful cities in the world and
that does actually contribute to its intellectual and social environment.
So I hope it looks very similar, although with ever, ever more numerous and stronger
science parks and growth zones around Oxfordshire and around and about Oxford.
So physically I hope it looks like that.
It looks today like a place where the whole world can meet and
make connections and share ideas.
I hope it's even more central to what's going on in the world.
Even more than today.
Wonderful.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Oxford+, presented
by me, Susannah de Jager.
If you want to stay up to date with all things Oxford+, please visit our website,
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Oxford+ was made in partnership with Mishcon de Reya and is produced
and edited by Story Ninety-Four.