S Chelvan: What’s at the end of the rainbow for the queer refugee?

Last Thursday we welcomed S Chelvan, law alumnus and globally recognised barrister to kick off our Social Impact Leaders Speakers Series. Chelvan specialises in representing LGBTI+  asylum seekers and refugees, and his work, including the DSSH model, has become a tool recognised by the UNHCR and used by governments around the world, including the Home …

3 lessons from Belgian social entrepreneurs

    I had the privilege of being invited to the Spark Social Enterprise Safari, which took place in Ghent, Belgium from the 2-6 Octoenr. At first it was those opportunities which I’ve been training myself to decline; I already had my big priorities for my sabbatical period, plus I’d already been away for 5 …

Why your 8 a night is as important as your 5 a day

A rather jolly colleague of mine was recently recounting a moment, not long ago, when his nose started to bleed. As we listened with faint horror, he described how he had been awake for 48 hours with no sleep to meet a number of clustering deadlines. When we responded with alarm, he dismissed the nose …

Why self-compassion is a leadership issue

  A couple of days ago I was at a low point. I’d come on a university delegation to India, and part of my mission was to get a few people interested in becoming sponsors or donors for our programmes. By the end of day two, when that segment of the trip was over, I’d …

The 5% rule: why universities need to show it some love

It was about this time 16 years ago that I returned to my room at the University of Warwick.  I had just returned from the Edinburgh Fringe festival (my first time, the beginning of a love affair with the city) and found, to my pleasant surprise, two letters pushed under my door. One was from the Arts …

What’s the point of teaching social entrepreneurship?

This article appears in The Pioneer's Post https://www.pioneerspost.com/news-views/20170519/what-s-the-point-of-teaching-social-entrepreneurship Teaching social entrepreneurship makes its mark, no matter the field of work the student eventually goes into Universities are caught in a seemingly irreconcilable contradiction. On one hand, successive governments have insisted that they have to work more closely with industry, producing graduates who can seamlessly fit …

Give us today our daily Lie: how we survive in post-racial society

One of the most disabling consequences of the post-racial lie is that people of colour are afraid to speak their truth. It pains me to see how deeply the Lie has penetrated our consciousness and policed our behaviour and words. Time and again we self-censor, out of fear that not to do so is to invite a world of pain on …

I don’t want a bullshit job: Why millenials are drawn to social entrepreneurship

  It pains and amuses me a bit when I realise that of everything I've ever written the most read article was this piece in The Conversation about 18 months ago. To spare those too lazy or discerning to read the whole thing,  I argue that in the hyper-competitive world of graduate employment, it isn't …

We did it! Reflecting on the inaugural Southampton Social Entrepreneurship Showcase

And breathe. Then crash. The feeling is universal when you've just pulled off an event, but a bit more acute when you're a diabetic who skipped his lunchtime medication because he was too caught up in hosting/schmoozing duties (sshh, don't tell my GP...) Last Thursday my Social Impact Lab hosted the first ever Southampton Social …

The end of invisibility (or: why it’s time to stand up)

There is a sequence in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man where the protagonist is repeatedly chastised by Brother Jack, leader of pseudo-Marxist organisation the Brotherhood, for inflaming what is termed "Negro sentiment". He is reminded that to be successful, they have to be colour-blind even if that means knowingly retarding the economic and social welfare of African Americans …