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No 7 - Autumn 2000
Hello again! What's the news from Economics at Buckingham? Well, January 2001 will see the launch of a new degree programme in International Studies and indeed the creation of a Faculty of International Studies, of which the Department of Economics is now a part. International Studies is at the interface between Economics, Politics and History and we hope to attract students of a high calibre. The creation of an International Studies degree seemed like a new departure, but in fact there is already a flourishing programme at Keele University and we find that one of our IT services department at the University here (who, incidentally, are exceptionally helpful and sweet to people who don't know their mouse from their elbow) did his undergraduate degree in History and International Relations. So, if you have friends who, after appropriate postgraduate courses in IT, would like to end up earning a fortune, tell them to come and do International Studies at the undergraduate level. There are entries in January, July and September each year. This could be the start of something big!
We've had a good summer. The swans on the river have successfully raised two cygnets and the geese in the carpark are looking self-satisfied and prosperous. It hasn't been too hot, but instead rather beautiful with green, green fields and trees, high, billowing skies and enough fine weather for us to hold the Christmas barbecue in comfort. We felt it was the best ever this year, with lots of people in attendance. Professor Tideman and Dr Putney were there and Professor Daneshyar and his wife, as well as permanent staff members. Mrs Daneshyar kindly took photographs of everyone so that we have some nice mementos; some alumni came back, including Hisashi Okada, (who greatly impressed Professor Daneshyar by speaking to him in Hindi - that course at SOAS wasn't wasted, Hisashi!) and Ilan Sebba, who turned up wearing shoes but no socks, and brought along his cousin to bear witness to this not altogether coincidental resemblance to Einstein.
Dr Mudambi couldn't make it for the barbecue; even though he was at Reading for a while this summer, his schedule was very hectic, especially as he was in the middle of a move from Case Western to Temple University in Philadelphia. But he came to Buckingham on 7th June to give his seminar, cycling up from Reading in the afternoon, as predicted, and arriving clad from top to toe in yellow lycra. Disappointingly, he insisted on changing into a suit before the formalities began. Dela Wosornu, who dropped by to hear Dr Mudambi expatiate on strategic alliances in the context of electoral reform, and who accompanied the party for a drink afterwards, brought us up to date on his news at the same time; he's been appointed Sales and Marketing Dealer in the Treasury Division, Standard Chartered Bank in Accra, responsible for Relationship Management for the Timber and Mining Firms in Ghana. This is a major source of foreign exchange for the bank and for the country; Dela is also working with the ecommerce team for the African Regional Office.
The first July intake in Economics (1998) graduated in July 2000. From this remarkable cohort, we had two first class degrees and we congratulate both Hiro Kushiya (who's now job hunting in Tokyo) and Xu Zhao, who's doing an MSc in Finance at Warwick University, for their well-deserved success. Rana Farah has been in touch to tell us that she has interviews arranged with a number of interesting sounding firms; at the moment, perhaps having heard second-hand about Dr Mudambi's decision not to flout the sartorial conventions any more than is strictly necessary, she is busy choosing a suit to look business-like for the recruitment teams. She's promised to come and show us the result early next week; we're longing to see you, Rana.
Mr McCrostie took his new bride to Scotland for a week's holiday in September. He says he particularly likes spending time there because he is hardly ever asked to spell his name! Mr. Rees gave a very successful seminar on AIDS / HIV and is working on the resultant publication. However, he informs us that he has another, contemporaneous project, which is the production of an epic poem Europa and the Bull for the Christmas Crackers staff / student entertainment at the end of term, and since Professor Brook, the impresario of that event is already pressing for receipt of copy, we're not quite sure which project will be finished first.
We've had lots of visits from and contact with Alumni students this summer. Chiho Hara dropped in to see us and to dazzle us with the latest in computer technology from Japan. She amused us hugely by taking photographs of us all with what seemed like nothing more than a very small lap-top, and then emailing the pictures to our machines before we had time to turn round. She also wondered, about the amount of glass in Mr Rees' office - were we ever to have an earthquake, she informed us, the danger to life and limb would be considerable. This took us all by surprise - it was, quite simply, something we'd never thought about before, cloistered here in Buckingham. Karsten Heise sent us a postcard from the Bayreuth Festival where he had tickets to see Meistersinger and Lohengrin. While he was topping up on the culture, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette was being taken over by Crédit Suisse, so he returned to a good deal of excitement. Catharina Schnetz was working there this summer. Karsten fell to talking to her about Buckingham... and the upshot is that she's joined our October 2000 entry to read for an economics degree.
Kala Shivasabesan (née Thamotharalingam) returned with her brother Rajan (a Buckingham graduate in Information Systems) to introduce her children and to keep us up to date with her news. During this trip she's visiting India, England and the States and then it's back home to Australia. Perhaps on the way, she crossed the path of Glen Greener, because he's been to Australia to catch some snow for summer skiing and to visit his mother. He's spending the Autumn in Nepal before heading back to Andorra for Christmas. Arif Hanaafi dropped by on his way to the States, with Blanche D'Souza; they both looked well and happy and have promised to keep in touch.
And those who couldn't come in person, made contact by other means. Professor Ricketts was hailed in the street during a recent visit to London by Tunde Aiyegbusi, who's enjoying life in the City. We've had news from Nikki Rokni, Mariam Kawawa, Norman Laverack, who's finished his ICSA and is now planning to do a law degree; (he tells us that he's 'nearly a chartered secretary' and that he's 'looking forward to ordering paperclips and structuring janitorial arrangements'), from Irene Bouas who is busy with a young family and quality control and computer inventory work in her olive oil production plant, Brandon Lewis, who's looking for old friends and Professor Greenaway, who sent us a postcard from Kiel. Gabriel Mendy was doing a course in pensions management in Turin and wrote to tell us about it.
Carmen Alcaniz-Lorenzo sent us a nice long email detailing her activities; she's got her MA in Economics from Reading and was with Arthur Andersen in Spain, before marrying Suthipas Ariyawatgul (a Buckingham Business Studies graduate) and moving to Thailand where she worked in Bangkok in the financial department of Teka Thailand Co Ltd. After her return to Spain she's begun work in the financial department of a TV production company which she says she greatly enjoys, though she hastens to reassure us, charmingly, that she really misses Buckingham a lot.
It was lovely to see again Basirat Fawehnimi, a Business Studies alumna, when she came up to Buckingham in July 2000, smiling as ever, to introduce to us her sister, Simbiat, who has joined our July 2000 entry to read for a degree in Economics.
We figure that Marc Gené has probably had a pretty busy year by
anyone's standards. We were impressed therefore that he still
managed to be one of the first past the flag when it came to
logging on as a Buckingham alumnus on the new Alumnet
www.buckingham.ac.uk/alumnet What about you? Have you checked
whether those Buckingham peers that you're sorry you lost touch
with are, possibly, just the click of a mouse away? Give it a shot,
and write and tell us how you got on. Unless we speak to you or see
you between now and then, Happy Christmas from everyone in
Economics at Buckingham. Don't forget to keep in touch, will
you?