About: Battle of Ideas 2012 committee
Duleep Allirajah sports columnist, spiked; Crystal Palace fan

Simon Belt IT consultant; coordinator, Manchester Salon

Piers Benn philosopher; author, Commitment and Ethics; visiting lecturer in ethics, Heythrop College, London and Fordham University, New York

Helen Birtwistle history and politics teacher, South London school

Tim Black editor, Spiked Review

David Bowden associate fellow, Academy of Ideas; culture writer

Justine Brian director, Debating Matters Competition

Miguel Fernandes Ceia writer, critic and translator; editorial assistant, Writers' Hub; contributor, Culture Wars

Dave Clements adviser to local government; blogger, Guardian, Huffington Post; convenor, IoI Social Policy Forum.

Robert Clowes chair, Mind & Cognition Group, Nova Institute of Philosophy, Lisbon University; chair, Lisbon Salon

Joel Cohen communications manager, BeyondMe

Niall Crowley freelance designer and writer

Dolan Cummings associate fellow, Academy of Ideas; author, That Existential Leap: a crime story (forthcoming from Zero Books)

Neil Davenport sociology and politics teacher; writer on culture; former music journalist

Stuart Derbyshire reader in psychology, University of Birmingham; associate editor, Psychosomatic Medicine and Pain

Ceri Dingle director, WORLDwrite & WORLDbytes

Alastair Donald associate director, Future Cities Project; architecture programme manager, British Council

Wendy Earle impact development officer, Birkbeck, University of London; convenor, Academy of Ideas Arts and Society Forum

Martin Earnshaw co-editor Future of Community: reports of a death greatly exaggerated; chair, IoI Social Policy Forum

Kathryn Ecclestone professor of education, University of Sheffield; author, Governing Vulnerable Subjects in a Therapeutic Age (forthcoming)

Craig Fairnington associate fellow, Academy of Ideas; university finance and accommodation officer

Claire Fox director, Academy of Ideas; panellist, BBC Radio 4's Moral Maze; author, I Find That Offensive

Tony Gilland associate fellow, Academy of Ideas

Luke Gittos criminal lawyer; director of City of London Appeals Clinic; legal editor at spiked; author, Why Rape Culture is a Dangerous Myth: From Steubenville to Ched Evans

Helene Guldberg director, spiked; author, Reclaiming Childhood: freedom and play in an age of fear and Just Another Ape?

Rania Hafez programme leader, MA Education, Greenwich University; fellow, The Muslim Institute

Dennis Hayes professor of education, University of Derby

Patrick Hayes director, British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA)

Bríd Hehir writer, researcher and traveller; retired nurse and fundraiser

Matthias Heitmann freelance journalist; contributor, NovoArgumente; columnist, Schweizer Monat

Tiffany Jenkins writer and broadcaster; author, Keeping Their Marbles: how treasures of the past ended up in museums and why they should stay there

Angus Kennedy convenor, The Academy; author, Being Cultured: in defence of discrimination

Geoff Kidder director, membership and events, Academy of Ideas; convenor, IoI Book Club; IoI’s resident expert in all sporting matters

Shirley Lawes researcher; consultant and university teacher, specialising in teacher education and modern foreign languages; Chevalier dans l’ordre des Palmes Académiques

Kirk Leech interim director, European Animal Research Campaign Centre; government affairs, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry

Toby Marshall A Level Film Studies Teacher; PhD researcher in sociology of education, UCL Institute of Education

Tara McCormack lecturer in international politics, University of Leicester; author, Critique, Security and Power: the political limits to emancipatory approaches

Sally Millard co-founder, IoI Parents Forum

Alan Miller chairman, Night Time Industries Association (NTIA)

Para Mullan senior project manager, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development; FCIPD

Ed Noel teacher; former schools and alumni coordinator, Debating Matters Competition

Anwar Oduro-Kwarteng promotions manager, Academy of Ideas; writer on politics and ideology

Martyn Perks digital business consultant and writer; co-author, Big Potatoes: the London manifesto for innovation

David Perks founder and principal, East London Science School; director, the Physics Factory

Nina Powell doctoral research fellow, National University of Singapore

Paul Reeves engineering software designer, SolidWorks R&D (part of Dassault Systèmes); convener, manufacturing work group for Big Potatoes: the London manifesto for innovation

Viv Regan managing editor, spiked

Richard Reynolds trainee barrister; formerly, paralegal, Baha Mousa and Al Sweady Public Inquiries; founder, Student Academics for Academic Freedom

Jacob Reynolds consultant, SHM Productions

Jane Sandeman convenor, IoI Parents Forum; contributor, Standing up to Supernanny; director of finance and central services, Cardinal Hume Centre

Alka Sehgal Cuthbert educator, writer, doctoral researcher

Peter Smith director of tourism, St. Mary’s University College, Twickenham, London; co-author, Volunteer Tourism: the lifestyle politics of international development

Jason Smith associate fellow, Academy of Ideas

Susana Soares designer; senior lecturer, London South Bank University; former research fellow, Royal College of Art

Sandy Starr communications officer, Progress Educational Trust; webmaster, BioNews

Richard Stubbs educational consultant; former teacher; advocate, Greenwich Advocacy

Richard Swan writer and academic

Mark Taylor vice principal, East London Science School; London convenor, IoI Education Forum

Dan Travis director, Brighton Salon; tennis coach; author How to teach Young Children Tennis and In Defence of Competitive Sport.

Smart drugs: magic bullet or cheating ourselves?

"There's a real sense of intellectual delight that so much can be discussed in just sixty minutes - and so thoughtfully - both by the speakers and especially by the audience. A rich feast of ideas."
Christopher Kelly, reader in Ancient History and Fellow and Director of Studies in Classics at Corpus Christi College

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