Day in the life: David Currie, principal of Business School
0630: Wake up in my flat near Smithfield Market, on the edge of the City
of
London. Enjoy a quickish breakfast with my wife. Sometimes this is one
of
the few chances we get to see much of each other.
0720: Walk to my office at the Business School, in the Barbican Centre.
This
takes just five minutes and it is a wonderful way to get to work. I'm
glad I
don't have to commute. On the way I pick up a coffee from Starbucks
below my
flat and buy some newspapers - the Financial Times, The Times and The
Guardian.
0730: Reach my office through the Barbican Centre's labyrinthine
corridors
and scan emails that have arrived overnight - I probably get 70 a day
altogether. I also look over the newspapers. Today I put on a recording
of
Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach on the cello. I've started playing the cello
myself,
though not like that.
I use this time of the day to think, sort out
priorities, and reply to correspondence.
0900: Attend a meeting of senior managers of City University, of which
the
Business School is part. The agenda is wide, ranging from the
university's
financial position to health and safety issues and the student intake.
On
the last point I am pleased that applications to the Business School
have
risen sharply, particularly from overseas students, who already make up
a
large part of the student body. I put the increase down partly to what I
like
to think is our growing reputation and partly to the economic downturn.
This
has made people realise that investing in their future in first-rate
management programmes is more important
than ever. Some of them are able to fund it with redundancy payoffs.
1030: Meeting with chairman of a large UK bank. We have a lot to
discuss.
Our research could be useful to the bank, in the field of regulation for
example, or in managing change.
We also have a lot to offer in training its staff - such as part-time
MBAs
and MScs, or bespoke courses for executives. As with nearly all my
meetings
in the City of London, it is just
a short walk from my office to his.
This emphasises our extremely close
links with employers in the district. We are international by being
close to
our local business community at London Business School, by contrast,
the
focus
was more geographically spread.
We also discuss our funding needs. We receive money from a variety of
institutions, some of it for a new building which the entire Business
School
will move into later this year, and some of it for academic needs such
as
sponsorship of a course.
1130: Back at the Business School, I hold a meeting with some of the
staff.
Their concerns range from their salaries - academics after all are not
the
best paid people in the world - to various projects they hope to
develop.
Sadly I have to turn down one proposal for a web-based facility because
of
its cost. I also ask one staff member to take on an administrative
project
and discuss with others how we can best promote the research done by the
Business School.
These days I no longer do any teaching myself, as I don't have the
time.
1230: Mini-cab to the House of Lords, where I'm buying lunch for a
wealthy
alumnus of the Business School. I order a simple salad as I dislike
heavy
lunches. My guest has a drink, so I do as well otherwise I would not.
I'm
hoping he will consider making a financial contribution to the
Business School. We've raised millions of pounds already to pay for our
new
building, but we're still looking for millions more.
1400: Visit the site of the new building taking shape in Bunhill Row,
very
close to our present premises. I put on a hard hat and discuss details
with
the architect, including the brickwork and the internal design. I also
try
out a type of seat that could go in all the lecture rooms, but I'm not
sure
about it. It feels awkward to sit in and I hope they can find something
better. It is important that we get these details right, so that the new
building is a top class facility.
My aim is for it to become the
intellectual
hub of the City, a place where City leaders come on a regular basis, and
to
achieve that the building must be first class.
1500: Back in my office, I meet our marketing people to discuss a big
advertising campaign we're planning in newspapers and magazines. Our
postgraduate programmes have great relevance to those who want to work
in
management or specialist roles in the City or in business, and in a time
of
rapid change we need to bring them to people's attention.
1630: Some of the MBA students come to my office for a chat. I regard it
as
vital to get their feedback about the courses they are doing. I am
pleased
that generally they are pretty satisfied, though one complains that the
workload
is very heavy. The course wouldn't be much use if it wasn't, it seems to
me.
In any case, in my experience, all MBA students complain, rightly so,
when
they don't get perfection - and that helps us continually to enhance the
product.
The students also say they value the networking opportunities that we
organise with employers and would like to have more, which we are
organising.
1800: Off to a dinner in the City given by one of the livery companies.
It
is using the occasion to award a prize to one of our students for a
dissertation she has done.
2200: Arrive home and realise I still have papers to read for tomorrow's
meeting of the Abbey National Board on which I sit. I also find time to
read some of the newspapers I bought in the morning. I need little sleep
and
often stay up until after midnight.
