How to Win the Global Tech Race: Lessons from Biology and Football

How to Win the Global Tech Race: Lessons from Biology and Football

Silicon Valley doesn’t own the future.

Right now, a handful of giants dominate the global tech race. Everyone else is just scrambling to catch up. But what if the secret to breaking their winning streak is hidden in the natural world - and the beautiful game?

Oxford economist Dr. Amir Lebdioui reveals how the ultimate playbook for underdogs comes from the unlikeliest places. First, discover what mice and bacteria teach us about lightning-fast adaptation. Then, step off the football pitch. In sports -just as in global innovation - the real magic happens behind the scenes. Champions aren't born under the stadium lights, they are built in the shadows.

This Speak Easy talk reveals how latecomers can rewrite the rules of the game. If you love human ingenuity, unconventional thinking, or a great underdog story, prepare to see the future of technology in a completely new light.

Bio:

Dr. Amir Lebdioui is Associate Professor of the Political Economy of Development at the University of Oxford’s Department of International Development, and Director of the Technology and Industrialisation for Development Centre (TIDE).

A development economist holding a PhD from the University of Cambridge, his research focuses on green industrial policy, low-carbon innovation, economic diversification in resource-dependent nations, and biodiversity-based development models. He is the author of Survival of the Greenest: Economic Transformation in a Climate-conscious World (Cambridge University Press, 2024). In addition to his academic scholarship, Dr. Lebdioui regularly advises international institutions and governments on strategic green industrial policy and structural transformation.

Venue

Fabel Beer Hall
Bermondsey
London
SE1 2AN

Event Running Time:
Doors from 7pm
Introduction: 7:25pm
Lecture: 7:30pm
Q&A: 8:10pm