UCL experts including President & Provost Dr Michael Spence and Professor Tali Sharot joined global leaders taking part in the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland this month.
This year's WEF Annual Meeting, with a theme of 'Collaboration for the Intelligent Age', took place from 20-24 January.
The event brought together close to 3,000 leaders from government, academia and industry from more than 130 countries - including over 50 heads of state and government - to address key global and regional challenges.
Attendees discussed responding to geopolitical shocks, stimulating growth to improve living standards, and stewarding a just and inclusive energy transition.
Other UCL delegates included alumnus Henrike Schlottmann (MSci Mathematics), Managing Director of ProjectTogether; Victor Chu CBE, UCL Chair of Council; and Dominic Blakemore, UCL Council Member.
Throughout the week, Dr Spence spoke at and moderated various panel events, and met with HMA James Squire, UK Ambassador to Switzerland as well as UCL alumni, partners and philanthropists.
Professor Tali Sharot (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences, Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology) took part in a panel event 'Renewing the Promise of Democracy', exploring what actions are needed to restore trust in institutions and strengthen the world's democracies.
UCL President & Provost Dr Michael Spence said: "UCL values working in partnership to tackle the most pressing challenges facing us all, and Davos is a brilliant example of how diverse minds can come together and draw on complementary strengths to come up with innovative solutions to address these."
Dr Spence joined the event "United for Impact: Education, Science, Technology and Blended Finance for Better Business Better World" hosted by GITI Group and Tsinghua University, as well as meeting with Tsinghua University President, Professor Li Luming.
He also took part in the WEF Global University Leaders Forum, a high-level dialogue to discuss the most pressing challenges facing universities in the intelligent age, and examine the strategies, policies, and partnerships essential to foster innovation, mobilize resources, and deliver impactful solutions at scale.
Dr Spence spoke at a CBI event on the "Future of Investment in Global challenges - a UK perspective" and joined the "Bridging the Gap: From Lab to Market" meeting that examined challenges faced in translating research into commercial applications.
He moderated two discussions, a town hall event on 'Debating Education', exploring what success can look like for education globally in training and teaching future generations, and an event examining how institutions can foster safe yet open research environments essential for scientific advancement, entitled 'Free Science at Risk?' Dr Spence also joined an Infosys event on "Leading Global Business Through Turbulence and Transformation".
Prior to Davos, Dr Spence led a UCL delegation to Geneva to visit CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, for an in-depth look at some of the world's most groundbreaking scientific advancements.
In February 2025, UCL's Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement) Professor Geraint Rees will lead a delegation to Sweden, Denmark and Germany to strengthen UCL's strategic partnerships and expand opportunities for collaboration across mainland Europe.
