“LET ME TELL you a lovely story about artichokes,” says Michael Bird, Regional Director for Wider Europe at the British Council and alumnus of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. “Turkey is a major agriculture producer and it’s the world’s largest producer of artichokes. Did you know that? But there’s enormous wastage in the industry. Now, the British Council has brokered a partnership between the University of Reading in the UK and Izmir Technical Institute in Turkey, and they’re working with an agricultural company that produces artichokes. “Together, they’ve worked out how to turn artichoke waste into
environmentally friendly packaging—and that packaging also extends the shelf life of the artichokes. It’s a lovely project. Incredibly virtuous. And the wonderful thing is, we launched a university collaboration programme to bring people together and what happens? We produce more artichokes!” Delicious as this may be, the real point of the tale is this: that
international collaborations between universities and businesses are not only productive and enjoyable, they’re crucial in today’s global economy.
A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE The perception was not always thus. Back when Michael studied Modern and Medieval Languages—more accurately, German and Russian—at Emmanuel, he recalls a much less international culture than we see today. It was one where the very idea of spending time abroad while learning a foreign language was, well, somewhat foreign. “I had to fight to be allowed to spend a year in the Soviet Union,” he says.
“It wasn’t seen as a good idea back then, whereas it now seems obvious. Much as I loved studying in Cambridge, I wanted to go and speak Russian in a Russian context and gain a cultural understanding. And the single most life-changing experience I had was taking a year out from my Cambridge undergraduate degree to study in the Soviet Union on a British Council scholarship—a debt, after more than 30 years with them, I like to think I’ve repaid!”
In fact, it was the head of the university’s Careers Service that first
suggested a career at the British Council. “That was a life-changing moment, because I had considered it but ruled it out, and he got me thinking: why? So I did apply. And I’m still here.”
TRAVELLING TO LEARN As an undergraduate, the experience of travelling was pivotal for Michael. “It decided for me that I wanted to use my language skills for practical purposes.” And that’s what Michael has spent his life doing ever since. Returning from the Soviet Union, he moved on to the USA to take a post-graduate scholarship at Harvard. “That gave me distance and new perspectives on everything. And, since then, I’ve only spent four years in the UK, and have moved both job and country on average every four years. That’s given me new challenges on a regular basis and basically made it impossible for me to get stuck in set ways of thinking.” In his role today, Michael manages British Council operations in Turkey,
the Western Balkans and Israel, as well as the former Soviet Union countries. “The most important thing I do is try and get the right people in the right posts,” he says, “and challenge and support my 450 colleagues.”
EDUCATING THE WORLD The British Council’s primary function is to encourage and support global education, says Michael. “We create opportunities for educational institutions in the UK to contribute to the development of education systems worldwide.” It helps individuals worldwide to benefit from a UK education, and reflects well on UK plc.
“Booming populations, growing economies and greater expectations
are all fuelling huge demand for education,” he says, “and that means more pressure on education systems. The British Council does its job best when it works in partnership with other organisations, both in the UK and worldwide.” �
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