Jannis Angelis, a previous student of Stockholm University, has returned to campus as a guest lecturer in operations management with an impressing resume including research positions at Cambridge, Harvard and Oxford. In addition to this Jannis has a background in venture capital and has worked for the UN in Geneva.
Please tell us about your background and research area.
- I have studied at several Swedish universities (Stockholm, Uppsala, Lund) and I graduated with multiple degrees. I chose to continue my studies in the United Kingdom where I completed my PhD at Cambridge University. Before returning to the academic world I worked in the venture capital business in London and for the UN in Geneva. Today I have a position with Warwick Business School and ties to Cambridge and MIT. I am also a guest lecturer here at Stockholm University and active in a number of international research projects and business collaborations. As a consequence of this I travel the world quite often.
My initial research interest was political philosophy. However with time this evolved into political economy, which in turn developed into a focus on business administration and underlying industrial processes. My aim is to highlight the factors which give businesses long term advantages.
You give lectures in both Sweden and the UK, what is the main difference between the two?
- My only experience of teaching on undergraduate level is from Cambridge, which is very different from most universities around the world as the focus is on individual tutorials rather than lectures. However I have taught various post-graduate courses on several universities, and I find no major difference with the education here at the School of Business when it comes to content and structure.
Swedish and UK students are very similar, but in my experience UK students have a stronger focus on their future career, and often choose programmes and courses with this in mind. The pressure and hysteria surrounding grades is also much more intense among UK students.
Do you have any advice about the future to give today’s students?
- Your career has already begun. So make sure you are active and seize every opportunity to get valuable experience, whether it is from the student association or from a part-time position with a company. I also hear a lot of discussions about double degrees, the status of this and that university etc, but the main thing is to get involved, take initiatives and develop your way of thinking. This is important on today’s ever changing and truly global market.
Take advantage of the time and privilege you as a student have to ask questions. And don’t forget do have fun!