Ever wondered how life changes when in the span of just 30 years, you become the Director of the School you once studied at?
Our Director, Minouche Shafik, agreed to share her experiences as both a student at LSE and as Director and how things have changed but also remained the same. We talked about how the School has evolved, her career, her favourite hang-out spots, her cherished memories and her learnings along her illustrious career.
What would you say is the one major change from when you were a student here to now as the Director?
Probably the biggest change is the physical aspects of life. When I was a student, I was living in a very modest basement flat with coin-operated heating on the Islington-Camden border. Whereas now, I live in a place much nicer than that! The Brunch Bowl [now the 4th Floor Café] was still there but you basically had chips. Chips with something, chips and fish, chips and sausages, chips and chips.
The physical character of the school was very different, too. There were very different buildings here where the Centre Buildings are! Everybody talked about the paternoster, which was a wooden lift without doors that circulated non-stop. I had never seen anything like that in my entire life. Jumping onto the paternoster for the first time was a terrifying experience!
But some other things have stayed the same. Some of the faculty who taught me are still around, believe it or not. The fact that this place was intellectually challenging and makes you work hard is very much the same. I have still got my old notes from when I was a student. These are my revision notes from when I had my exams:
How did you travel to LSE back then and how do you do so, now?
As a student, my daily commute was to take the tube from Caledonian Road tube station to Holborn. Sometimes, I would take the bus, I think the 29 from Trafalgar Square that used to take me back to Camden. Now I live near London Bridge and I walk to LSE in trainers. Everyone makes fun of all the shoes I have in my office.
How have your work hours changed?
I did my master’s in Economics here, and we had lectures or classes most days so I tended to be on campus a lot. My flat was very cold, so that was another reason to come in every day!
What’s different now is, I often have things in the evening as well. There are always public lectures or events that we are holding at the School, so my days are probably a bit longer than when I was a student. I remember going to public lecture events when I was a student, which I still do now.
Your favourite place on campus for a hot drink?
It’s very funny, but back then the only place to get good coffee was Wright’s Bar. We used to meet there and get cappuccinos. 30 years ago coffee places were not very common - now, you can get a coffee on every corner. Sadly, I don’t go to Wright’s nearly as often as I used to. These days, the truth is I usually get my coffee from the kitchen here in my office.
Where would you usually hang out after classes and how do you spend your down time now?
We were students and we didn’t have a lot of money, so we didn’t go out very much. We would sometimes go to a pizza place called Kettners in Soho. It was a very nice old building so it felt nicer than a regular pizza place. There was also a salsa place called Sol y Sombra that was good for dancing
Now, I go to out to the theatre and museums a lot, see friends for meals and try to persuade my teenagers to go on outings with their parents.
What are you currently reading?
I have been reading a lot of non-fiction these days about, populism, the welfare state, and what is happening to social cohesion. I recently read Raghuram Rajan’s The Third Pillar, a book called Bread For All, and another called Five Giants. I’ve also recently read Mounk’s People Vs Democracy and Appiah’s book Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers. I’ve been trying to understand the current malaise and why people are so angry and disappointed and what we can try and do to restore people’s faith in the future.
When you were a student, how did you envision your future?
I never had a long term plan. I think a career is not like climbing a ladder – it’s more like climbing a tree. Focusing on climbing the next step on the ladder is a mistake. Sometimes when you are climbing a tree, it’s not linear - you might move sideways, which then helps you get up to the next level...
After my masters, I did a PHD and naturally I thought of becoming an academic, and I straddled the fence for many years between Georgetown University and the World Bank But I kept finding myself drawn to the policy world, wanting to do things and not just think about things. Most of my career has been at the interface of policy and research. I think I always had at the back of my head that it would be wonderful to go back to university.
Minouche as a student in 1986. Also pictured: Nick Stern, HRH Princess Anne, and Andrew Clark, now a Visiting Professor at LSE.
Who inspires you the most?
There are many, many people who have inspired me. I had a fantastic grandmother who was a real good leader and a fantastic role model. I have had some very good bosses at various points in my career. Gus O’Donnell and Christine Legarde were great at building excellent teams around them and making people be the best versions of themselves. And some people whom I don’t know that well, but whose work I have admired for a long time. Like Fazle Abed, who runs BRAC in Bangladesh, an NGO doing transformative work supporting poor communities. And Amartya Sen, whose intellectual work changed economics.
What advice would you give to your 22 year old self?
I would tell myself to just relax and have more fun. I was far too serious, I worked very hard. I was in a rush to finish my studies and start real life. Truth is, real life lasts a very long time and that moment when you are really just studying and learning is quite short, and so I would tell myself to really just enjoy that time.
Finally, what advice would you give to current students here at LSE?
While you are here just be a sponge and absorb everything. University years are a very unique time when you have to learn what’s in your degree, but you also get access to all these people who come and speak at the LSE and meet students from all around the world. You will be surprised how many of them will resonate later in your life.
I am still close friends with my study group from my student days at LSE. Many of the faculty that taught me I later ended up working with in various forms. The relationships and the ideas that shape you when you are here will have ripple effects for the rest of your life. Take advantage of every opportunity and recognise that they are as important as the learning you get in the classroom.
As I thanked her for her time, I sheepishly asked for a selfie.
Minouche shared that she has just one picture from her days at LSE that she still cherishes. She also recalled how she and her friends used to write letters to each other, which she still has.As we ended our chat we walked down to the Wright’s Bar - for old time’s sake.
Words and photos by Social Media Ambassador Yashi.