Innovation and entrepreneurship in disaster management was the subject of an inaugural lecture delivered by Bournemouth University’s Professor Lee Miles.
Professor Miles, a Professor of Crisis and Disaster Management, discussed the role and value of innovation, integration and entrepreneurship in crisis and disaster management situations during the lecture, which took place at BU’s Executive Business Centre.
This was the second in a new series of BU inaugural lectures which enable newly appointed Professors to celebrate their achievements and share their work with friends, family, colleagues and members of the public.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” said Professor Miles. “As my area of disaster management has wide implications it’s always good to see a wide and diverse audience.
“I’d like people to take away and an understanding that disaster management is relevant, it’s important and in many ways it affects our everyday life.
“The second point, and what I’m saying, is that part of disaster management itself is actually that the space is for everyone to be part of that – it’s about a whole society and whole groups coming together to provide a response and it’s in places like this that those discussions start.”
Professor Miles’ talk took place to a full lecture theatre as part of BU’s Interdisciplinary Research Week, which celebrates the breadth and depth of the university’s research and collaborations.
Opening the lecture, Professor John Fletcher, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at BU, said: “The purpose of the inaugural lectures is to allow academics who are experts in their field to provide an enlightening, stimulating overview of their contribution to the subject."
“Lee epitomises Bournemouth University’s concept of fusion – so he works with industry, he works in education and he develops research, and he merges those three activities together.
“He’s also quite an interdisciplinary academic – which is really fitting given that it is Interdisciplinary Research Week."
Professor Miles said it was great to be part of the Interdisciplinary Research Week programme.
“I see the Interdisciplinary Research Week as being about creating bricks, where you can build new relationships and you can also continue a story", he said.
"So some of the things that I’ve talked about here might be picked up in other discussions throughout the week and by the end of the week you might end up with a much more comprehensive view on an interaction which is across the university and beyond.”
