At NLCS Dubai, we began a series of student-run Nicholson Lectures to allow pupils to give a talk on a subject that they were passionate about that perhaps fell outside of the set curriculum. Extra-curricular enrichment has always been at the heart of school life and actively encouraged at NLCS, and the Nicholson Lecture series is one of the ways this has been entrenched in the NLCS School community across the globe. The Nicholson Lecture Series began in September of 2012 at NLCS London, named in honour of Dr. Kay Nicholson (pictured), a member of the Physics department and Academic tutor, and all-around well-loved member of the school community. Dr. Nicholson’s love of learning in all its forms manifested itself in these lectures, and have been a truly fitting way to remember and continue the rich contribution she made to the intellectual vibrancy of the school before her sudden and unexpected death in December 2008.
Staff at NLCS London have embraced the opportunity to speak with open arms, and while some chose to talk about an obscure aspect of their subject, others have branched out - a Classicist speaking about life as an identical twin, a Physicist on Purcell...the list goes on. Some of the most memorable include: Dr. Goward’s Grime and Punishment (2017), Mr. Taylor-West’s Mathematical Incompleteness (and why it doesn’t keep me up at night) (2016), and Mr. Murray’s #geoglolz and the city (2016). Of course, the Nicholson Lectures only give a name to the long history of teachers sharing their passion for learning and knowledge with the school, and since 2012, there have been over 100 lectures. The students at NLCS Dubai have continued this project in their own way in 2020, and have channelled the energy, professionalism and expertise that Dr. Nicholson exuded into their lectures.
Where are languages derived from?
Sakina Virani
I come from a household that speaks around four languages on a day-to-day basis. This led me to question the spread of languages and how and why my family and community came to speak the languages we do today. This year I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to present a Nicholson Live Lecture on the topic of “Where are Languages derived from?” This gave me the chance to research the origins of the four languages my family speak, as well as examining the link between ethnicity, religion and language. This opportunity taught me that languages play such an imperative role in our world today and the more you are exposed to a variety of them, the better your understanding of our society. It was wonderful to receive a number of insightful questions and it truly illustrated that there is a universal appreciation of languages which I hope will remain significant in our school community and strengthened by the international schools.
Past, Present and the Future
Hyemin Shin
Entitled “Past, Present, and the Future”, I discussed the biological pathways of Ebola, SARS, MERS and SARS-CoV-2, previously named as the Wuhan Novel coronavirus. Even though the topic was significantly science-based, it was important for me to explain political and economic challenges certain countries are facing. It was a fantastic opportunity to delve deeper into a topic that I was very interested in and share all the knowledge I was aware of. It is unfortunate that my Nicholson Lecture Live wasn’t recorded, however, I truly believe that this opportunity has developed the scope of my knowledge which I am intrigued to investigate in the future.
Deforestation in Indonesian Borneo
Anshul Sinha
My Nicholson lecture was on solving deforestation with education. Over the past couple of years, I have been to Borneo multiple times. The forests of Borneo are among the most biologically diverse habitats on Earth. Unfortunately, these treasured rainforests are being cut down. In fact, Borneo has experienced the fastest deforestation rate in the world.
When I went to Borneo for the first time, I had the opportunity to interact with the locals. After speaking to them I understood that many are forced to log to ensure that their family has basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter. Logging is the one of the only reliable sources of money available to them.
Maimonides, a medieval philosopher, once said ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’. Adopting this ethos, I set out to expand my community service startup (called KEC) to Borneo. KEC allows students in marginalized communities to access free online education, by connecting them to volunteering educators in the international community. I founded KEC in Bhutan, but since then it has expanded to over three continents.
In Borneo, there are already many initiatives that collect food, medicine and other donations for locals. But, coming back to Maimonides’ quote, I wanted to provide the locals of Borneo with the fishing rod, not only the fish. Although it was hard to find educators who spoke the language, soon enough, I had more volunteers than I could have ever imagined. Previously having no access to proper education, through KEC, many children in Southern Borneo are now able to receive quality international education, even from their homes.
Watch this lecture here: https://youtu.be/O8gCHWLJpN8
The Big Pharma Conspiracy Theory: Fact or Fiction?
Mahnoor Raja
I chose to speak about a conspiracy theory concerning the pharmaceutical industry, discussing whether or not it inflicts harm on the public. This issue has puzzled me since I learned about lifestyle diseases in depth during a work experience, and I decided to read further into the structure of this industry. Surely their motive would be to maximize profit, but wouldn't this mean attempting to sell as much medication as possible? Do we really need all that medication? After discovering the 'Big Pharma' conspiracy, which states that these firms deliberately create and market disease in order to sell more of their product, I planned my Nicholson Lecture to address both sides of the argument, allowing everyone to make their own informed judgement on the matter. Despite requiring a great deal of research, it was enjoyable preparing my lecture and presenting it this novel way.
Watch this lecture here: https://youtu.be/HUGcqoKXHoc
Freedom of Speech: Should it ever be restricted?
Mireille Amro
I participated in the Nicholson Lecture Live initiative on the 12th of May, basing my talk on the concept of freedom of speech and whether it should ever be restricted. I chose to do this topic mainly based on my interest in the dissemination of information whether it be in forms of the media or simply in a conversation. I decided to research whether freedom of speech and the right to privacy should ever be restricted, delving into whether the legal world plays a part in that - to which I found that it does. Before I created the actual talk itself, I wanted to list the advantages and disadvantages to freedom of speech, while also looking at the positive and negative side to censorship. Both were very interesting to look into in depth. After some extensive research, I became interested in the rather broad question of ‘Who decides what information is restricted’ and decided to attempt to answer this in my presentation. I separated my answer into two sections; one that explored freedom of speech in the US who is ranked as being the first in relation to its position in the free expression index, and the other exploring free speech in the UK who is ranked tenth. My talk presented cases of what defined freedom of speech in both countries, and allowed me to present my own perspective on whether freedom of speech should ever be restricted, and if it is, who decides.
Watch this lecture here: https://youtu.be/csnMwoA9DBw
Youth in Politics: Understanding our Importance
Alhena Alibhai
As someone who has been in love with the world of politics for a long time, I felt it important that I expressed my knowledge regarding the importance of the youth within politics and being active members of their own countries by educating themselves in politics. Therefore, I wanted to emphasize how important the youth have become in both voting and in political representation across the world; changing entirely how we view politics today. This Nicholson Live lecture was incredibly entertaining to present and I highly appreciated the audience interaction and involvement during my Nicholson Lecture. I do hope I inspired people to be active members in politics and debunk the myth of juvenile apathy towards politics.
Watch this lecture here: https://youtu.be/sOcOOqv-7Fo
Donald Trump’s Presidency: A Success or Failure
Anoushka Ranjit
I presented a Nicholson Live Lecture on Donald Trump and assessed his failures and success during his presidency. Whilst his failures are constantly plastered across the headlines, I felt as though his economic successes deserved some recognition. I started off the Nicholson Lecture by mentioning Trump's economic policy and then assessing the economic progress, and followed by mentioning his foreign policy and how that led to his downfall (the descension of his reputation). I concluded my lecture by assessing his response to the latest coronavirus pandemic and how that could have an effect on the 2020 elections. I thoroughly enjoyed researching for this lecture and I hoped that through this lecture people would now come to a fair conclusion on their perception of Donald Trump after hearing both sides of the argument.
Philosophy and Morality: Is there a right thing to do?
Zahra Ahmad
The concept of Morality and the concept of ‘Justice’ had always been an area of interest for me, therefore during the lockdown period I decided to further my interest in this area, researching philosophers and moral trains of thought, quickly becoming obsessed with the question ‘What is the right thing to do?’ Personally, my interest originated from debate and political discussion, trying to understand why certain individuals hold certain views, and why we feel compelled to think and act a certain way. My Nicholson lecture looked at Libertarianism and Utilitarianism, two concepts of moral philosophy and their application in real-life situations. I looked at variants of the trolley car problem, the notion of murder and whether it is ever acceptable and taxation. The opportunity to present my Nicholson Lecture was a rewarding experience, allowing me to develop and showcase my passion for philosophy!
Watch this lecture here: https://youtu.be/IQ6RLP0qrHI
Public Relations and Propaganda
Seungheun (Sam) Lee
As a person who always wanted to become a journalist in the future, I have been interested in different sources of media and how they influence people’s political decisions. Through my Nicholson Lecture, I explore the link between Propagandas and Public Relations by providing various different examples of PR and how they influenced people. Understanding the power of Public Relations and the ‘spin-doctors’, we can be our own decision-maker while living through the era of Social Media and manipulative modern Propagandas.
Watch this lecture here: https://youtu.be/eABxZv-HwSk
Can Artificial Intelligence make art?
Line S. Bouziri
In the last decades, artificial intelligence has evolved at such an impressive rate that humans have begun to question the extent of its capabilities. The role of AI has been particularly interesting to investigate in the art world, a field which is so dependent on emotional intelligence. This Nicholson Lecture investigates whether AI can be determined as an “artist” or simply a “tool” to the human minds creating these algorithms. Throughout the lecture, I will discuss the definition of art, the future of AI and the threat it could pose.
Watch this lecture here: https://youtu.be/n6CA-6Ti_Tg
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