Christopher Persson from The London Interdisciplinary School
Biography of the speaker
Christopher Persson is an entrepreneur who has been involved in the innovation and start-up space for digital ventures for over 20 years. He has co-founded several digital companies, such as Bookatable, and is a partner/investor of multiple UK and Sweden-based firms providing capital to businesses and young entrepreneurs. Chris is now the Executive Chairman of The London Interdisciplinary School (LIS), a newly-founded university that equips students with the knowledge, skills and tools they need to tackle the multidimensional nature of the worldwide challenges we face today.
The interview was recorded virtually and transcribed by Zanichelli Venture.
Question 1: The London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) was founded in 2017 and earlier this year the school has been granted degree awarding powers, conferring a Bachelors of Arts and Science (BASc) in Interdisciplinary Problems & Methods to their future graduates. Can you tell us more about the institution? How did it start and how did it grow in the first years?
CP: I was watching my son trying to pick a university course that he could get excited about. The more we looked, the more I could see why he was struggling… all the options seemed very similar to each other. Most university courses require students to pick one specific subject; this makes it difficult for students to broaden their perspectives. As an entrepreneur, you don’t simply focus on a single aspect at any one time; it’s important to adopt a holistic approach and to see connections which, often, have been previously unseen.
I was introduced to Ed Fidoe through Big Change, a charity set-up to help young people thrive. When we first met, Ed told me about his successful launch of School 21, a 4–18 school in East London, a few years earlier. Ed had come to similar conclusions about the lack of choice at UK universities but was one step ahead of me — and had already written a well-researched business plan for what is today LIS. After a few coffee meetings we decided to get going together. I had started a few companies so I was used to the entrepreneurial experience and the idea of setting up a new university was very exciting to me. By the end of 2017, and with a lot of support from Andrew Mullinger (co-founder of Funding Circle), the three of us set off on a journey to find the world’s future leaders!
The principles behind LIS are:
- Students start with the problem rather than a discipline. Let’s take Covid-19 as an example — to understand how Covid has impacted our society, you need to draw on a combination of insights from psychology, statistics, economics, design, biology…the list goes on. Studying one discipline or aspect in isolation is not sufficient to even begin trying to minimise the impact of a pandemic.
- Our admissions process will ensure we assess student ability to thrive and be successful on the course. At LIS, we go beyond grades; all applicants, regardless of their grades, are invited to an interview. This allows us to assess a candidate’s potential using a holistic approach, taking into account their cognitive ability, attitude towards learning, problem solving capacity, along with their personal context.
- The challenges discussed at LIS are real-life issues — students may look at childhood obesity during one term and then the complexity of wellbeing in the next.
- Each year, undergraduate students will have the chance to complete paid internships with employer organisations in our network.
ZV: It sounds like a very exciting place to be in! I really like the problem-based nature of the degree and the emphasis on fair opportunities for all. In the current times of glaring disparities, I believe it is very important we take a step back and assess candidates more holistically. How did LIS develop from 2017 until now? And what content will be taught to the students?
CP: The four areas outlined above are the foundations of LIS. We gained inspiration from Ed’s experience with School 21, Carl Gombrich’s work at University College London — leading the set-up of the Bachelors of Arts and Science (BASc) — and my activity as a serial entrepreneur.
With regards to the content we’ll teach undergraduate students, our website shows detailed descriptions of our modules and the curriculum students will cover at LIS. In addition to our undergraduate degree, we also provide professional development & executive education programmes for companies. Whilst problems provide the framework for learning at LIS, it’s the focused knowledge of core academic disciplines and research methods that will give students the ability to tackle complex problems. During their learning journey, students will develop interdisciplinary knowledge; ‘superconcepts’, like evolution, entropy, and post-modernism, for example are powerful tools that will allow students to go beyond the constraints of subject silos. Originating in a single discipline, superconcepts traverse disciplinary boundaries — often blossoming in disciplines far removed from their initial genesis. Consider evolution. Evolution, originating from biology, is now found in psychology, game theory, history, ecology, environmental science, computer science, and new media. Students will also study a range of both qualitative (e.g. videography and ethnography), as well as quantitative (e.g. machine learning and data science) research methods; these will position students to do research in their own areas of interest and the areas of interest to outside organisations.
ZV: It is definitely very exciting to focus on a broader set of aspects that govern an individual problem; very challenging, but also very rewarding. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the content delivered, how do you recruit the most suitable lecturers for the course?
CP: We received over 700 applications to hire the first six faculty members. Most of them started their academic careers in one area and later ended up in another; for example, one of our lecturers started with a linguistics degree to later move to machine learning and data science. Our academics are focussed on teaching rather than research, which is also very unusual within the traditional university system in the UK.
Question 2: LIS is due to welcome its first student class in 2021 with 100+ places available. Can you tell us more about the recruitment process for students? What do you look for in potential candidates?
CP: We want to make sure we recruit a cohort that’s representative of the UK population. The country hosts many different ethnicities for example and we want our cohort to reflect this diversity both in the UK and the rest of the world. We expect that many of our students will live in or around London. Our campus will be in East London. Whilst we know from early market research, that many students wouldn’t even consider coming to LIS because we are too different compared to traditional universities, others are highly attracted to our truly unique curriculum and interdisciplinary approach.
In terms of recruiting students, we adopt a holistic approach. We have a team dedicated to running school visits, both virtually and in-person. Due to Covid, we are now holding several online sessions and we have also set up an Online Learning Hub, where we create open-source content exploring some of the complex problems students may study at LIS. Students may also discover LIS through the press; we’ve has coverage in several of the major nationals including The Times, FT, Forbes, BBC, and Today Programme. We are also attracting around 60% of applicants through digital marketing and ads, with which we target tightly to avoid bombarding potential candidates.
ZV: When you talk to high school students, how do you manage to hook them in and let them understand the importance of the connected mindset we spoke about earlier?
CP: The best way to connect with students is to start a dialogue on something that the students care about, whether that is the climate crisis, political tensions or wealth disparity. Then we try to get the students to talk to each other as this is an essential part of our degree. Making connections.
When I spoke to my son about his virtual learning set-ups at university, I found it fascinating how the use of breakout rooms in videoconferencing platforms now allows you to connect with people you previously may not have even known were in your classroom beforehand! This is a typical example of how technology can facilitate and enhance the way we can work together.
ZV: Definitely technology is acting as an enabler here, transporting students into a place that facilitates interaction with new people. Going back to Ed’s idea of School 21, you’ve earlier touched on the idea of having a fairer recruitment process. Can you elaborate on that?
CP: Firstly, it is worth noting, that studying an interdisciplinary degree like ours, is hard work. You’ve got to master many disciplines in enough depth in order to combine them so that the sum of the parts provides a better solution than if the subjects were studied in isolation.
Saying that, our recruitment process for students is based on two main core ideas:
- Any student can apply regardless of grades. We have a democratic, totally open recruitment approach; other universities struggle to do this.
- Everyone who applies is invited to an interview. Through understanding their values, competencies and drivers we are able to build a complete picture of the individual and assess whether they will benefit from LIS and if they have the potential to thrive on the course. If an applicant doesn’t meet 4 out of the 5 criteria for example we are looking for, we will provide support to achieve 5 out of 5. We appreciate that interviewing so many applicants is a logistical challenge but we use a very structured approach in which we minimise our potential biases. All our interviewers, both faculty and non-faculty members, have undergone training in these areas and we are confident they are prepared for the challenge.
Question 3: LIS offers a new teaching framework focused on problems and methods’ analysis, in contrast with more traditional discipline-specific academic structures. How does this new framework work? How can the new model help the next generations to tackle our future challenges?
CP: We have found that students are used to thinking in silos from high school and it can be challenging to connect all the dots. We will start our journey with one concept, say mental health, and we then look at four disciplines that revolve around that topic, such as psychology or neuroscience. Then we will dive into each area and explore it in depth. Students then combine the knowledge gathered to draw connections together. Similar to when a tennis player masters his forehand and is able to repeat it numerous times without paying much attention, it becomes second-nature, our students will be able to apply an holistic approach whenever they are faced with a new problem or challenge.
ZV: This way of thinking is exactly how we are all neurobiologically wired through synapses, the neuron points of contact in our brain. The more we think holistically, the more we reinforce and highlight the specific synapses that help us make broader connections. How do you think this framework can help the upcoming generations to tackle future challenges?
CP: I think this will help upcoming generations for a couple of reasons:
- If you think about our world today, we don’t have a library that stores everything we know. Knowledge is available everywhere via the internet and is definitely not well organised; if you type milk in your search engine, you probably get thousands of search results. You are required to study and think in a holistic way to achieve or find the results you’re looking for.
- Companies are already changing the way they work to a more hybrid approach. We need people that can apply knowledge in different disciplines and learn how to connect the dots together. We need to approach complex problems using a multidimensional approach and LIS can help you do that.
Question 4: It can be argued that one of the purpose of higher education institutions is to equip students with the skills/knowledge needed to find employment. What connections with the job market does LIS offer? How does LIS ensure that the skills gained during the course are sought after by employers?
CP: In our business model, we offer our undergraduates the opportunity to complete summer internships in companies that may have also sent their employees for executive education. We want to create a connection between the work environment and our students that helps both stakeholders. Students get to understand what they want to do and what they like, while companies scout for talent. By the time students graduate, they will have gained the knowledge and skills they need to help them thrive in the work environment, whether they want to set up their own business, work in a start-up or a larger corporation.
Key takeaways
- All students that apply to LIS will be invited to an interview, regardless of their grades or socio-economic background.
- The teaching framework at LIS combines the analysis of real-life problems with ‘super concepts; and qualitative and quantitative research methods.
- Each year students will have the option to complete paid internships with a broad range of employers from fast-growth start-ups to large corporations.
Closing statement
We thank Christopher Persson for taking the time to speak with us; if you want to read more about LIS, visit their website. Since you’re here, why not look at our other publications on Rethinking HE?
