Dr Khal Soufani, Faculty (Professor level) in Management Practice, Director of the Executive MBA Programme and Director of the Circular Economy Centre at Cambridge Judge, was honoured for his work on the University of Cambridge’s multi-departmental project on eliminating plastic waste, and for research into the introduction of circular economy principles in the Internet of Things, a project sponsored by the European Union.
Khal and his team helped set up the Cambridge Centre for Circular Economy Approaches to Eliminate Plastic Waste. The industry partner that is working with the team, Huntingdon, UK-based packaging manufacturing firm Charpak, has said: “To be collaborating with the University of Cambridge on their Research Project extends our vision of starting with local circularity; with a view to this circular model being deployed further afield, UK-wide and internationally.”
An article co-authored by Khal in California Management Review, “Introducing a circular economy: new thinking with new managerial and policy implications” was named to the 2020 Financial Times list of business school research with social impact.
“The work by Khal Soufani and the Circular Economy Centre at Cambridge Judge has in a very short time demonstrated a keen impact on how businesses and policymakers approach this very important objective of reduction, reuse and recycling,” says Cambridge Judge Dean Christoph Loch, in announcing the awards.
Daniel Ralph, Professor of Operations Research and Academic Director of the Centre for Risk Studies at Cambridge Judge, received the award for his work leading the Centre for Risk Studies over the last 10 years. Through its research, the Centre continues to monitor emerging risks and changes in the risk landscape and to assess the implications on risk management of variables such as new events, trends, the global socio-economic outlook and advances in science and technology.
The Centre has produced significant impact through the development of new cyber risk products, which have been adopted in insurance markets through Lloyds of London. In particular, the Global Risk Index provides firms and policy makers with a toolkit for assessing the international risk of business disruption. Additionally, the Centre has set up a Business Hub, through which partner businesses can check out the latest studies on risks they might be facing, assess how the situation is evolving through the help of scenario planning and, based on that, take the necessary steps prevent or mitigate the impact of emerging and rising risks.
“Daniel Ralph and the Centre for Risk Studies at Cambridge Judge have led the way for a decade in underlining the impact of academic research on the risks facing companies and organisations around the world,” said Dean Loch.
The annual Cambridge Judge Research Impact Award was established through a generous donation from Professor Dame Sandra Dawson, a former Director of Cambridge Judge. Winners are chosen based on reach (the extent and diversity of the organisations which have benefited from the research) and significance (the degree to which the impact has influenced or changed the policies, opportunities, perspectives or practice of non-academic organisations).