Third William Pitt Seminar - “The Narratives of Risk”

As the events of recent weeks have reminded us, modern life is full of risks: financial, physical, psychological and technological. This seminar looks at why we take risks and how risk is used, abused, or minimised and its broader consequences.

Speakers with expertise in a number of fields will give short presentations which will be followed by an open panel discussion. The audience will consist of senior academics, policy makers, representatives of the College’s major corporate partners, alumni and current students. The event will be chaired by Sir Howard Davies, Director of the London School of Economics.

There will be four main speakers. Ross Anderson, Professor of Security Engineering at the Computer Laboratory will talk about some of the operational risks faced by the banks and how this impinges on customers. Dr Luke Clark, from the Department of Experimental Psychology will speak about the interactions between brain mechanisms and gambling decisions. Dr William Janeway, Senior Advisor and former Vice-Chairman at Warburg Pincus, a leading private equity firm, will discuss risk versus uncertainty in the financial markets. Finally, Ms Sarah Mukherjee, Environment Correspondent for the BBC will talk on the media’s response to risk.

The initial response to the four speakers will be given by David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, University of Cambridge.

Each of the speakers’ presentations will use particular scenarios to illustrate the opportunities and dangers inherent in taking and managing risk.

The seminar will take place this Friday 17 October, commencing at 4:00 pm (refreshments from 3:30 pm) in the Pitt Building, Trumpington Street and is followed by dinner at Pembroke College. Remaining places to attend the event are limited and these must be booked in advance. To book a place, please contact Jane Moorman (email: corporate@pem.cam.ac.uk or tel: 01223 332598).