This week sees the launch of the Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI) Distinguished Lectures, a programme of monthly videoconferences linking MIT and the University of Cambridge.

This week sees the launch of the Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI) Distinguished Lectures, a programme of monthly videoconferences linking MIT and the University of Cambridge.

Today's lecture, Changing strategy in a sea of change, is given by Rebecca Henderson, Eastman Kodak Professor of management at the Sloan School of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She will explore the role of an explicit "strategy" in firms that face rapidly changing environments in which taking advantage of new technologies is fundamental to long-term success.

Professor Henderson specializes in technology strategy and in the broader strategic problems faced by firms in high technology industries. She has worked in a variety of high-tech industries, and her current research focuses on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

The Distinguished Lecture series is part of CMI's Professional Practice programme which aims to raise UK entrepreneurial and business skills in high-tech start-up firms. The next lecture will be given by Benoit Madelbrot, the founder of fractal geometry, who will talk about the use of fractals in science, engineering and finance on 28 November 2001. This will be followed on 19 December 2001 with a lecture on the aerospace industry by Sheila Widnall, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and until recently the Secretary of the United States Air Force.

The lectures are being held at the Judge Institute of Management Studies in Cambridge and are open to the business community, students and members of the public, however, places are subject to availability and must be reserved in advance. To book a place contact Clare Dennis at CMI by email c.dennis@cmi.cam.ac.uk

Another major strand of CMI's Professional Practice programme is the creation of new Masters courses that combine technological expertise in science and engineering with commercial and organisational skills.

Modelled on an existing range of programmes offered by MIT but tailored to the needs of the UK, the programme will be jointly developed and delivered by staff from MIT and Cambridge University. Four modules have already been developed as the initial stage of this project. They focus on the issues of technology policy, distribution networks, risk management and the organisation of work, and are offered at The Judge Institute.

Other activities within the Professional Practice programme include a regular programme of short courses which address the themes of technology, strategy and management. The first short course is a two-day Symposium on 'Innovation and Regulation in the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industries' which will be held at The Judge Institute on 17 and 18 December 2001. Other courses on Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing Strategy, Bioinformatics and other topics will be presented in 2002.


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