In the Room at Accelerate Debates: Rethinking Recruitment

01/01/2026 55 min
In the Room at Accelerate Debates: Rethinking Recruitment

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Episode Synopsis

In The Room at Accelerate Debates is a podcast which broadcasts the live debates from Accelerate, Open City’s free educational programme. In this episode, you’ll hear our third debate of the year, “Rethinking Recruitment”, where we ask: just how transparent is the recruitment process in the field of architecture and design? Moderators Siraaj Mitha and Jasmin Yeo are joined by six guest speakers: Andrea Villate, Associate Architect who, at the time, was driving talent development and HR policies at architecture practice RCKa; Mat Barnes, architect and director of CAN, an architecture and design studio based in London; Accelerate-alumna and founder of the publication For African People Hani Ali; Nikki Linsell, who was working at the time as Chief Operating Officer at Public Practice; Neil Onions, Creative Strategist, Cultural Leader, and the Founding Director of Beyond the Box CIC and Sana Tabassum, Creative Director of to scale and multi-disciplinary designer. Hosts: Siraaj Mitha and Jasmin YeoMusic: Massive MusicThis episode includes conversations about problematic practice in recruitment processes that some listeners may find challenging. If you’ve been affected by the issues discussed, please find support through the organisations below:* Samaritans – 116 123 (free, 24 hours a day) – samaritans.org * Mind (mental health support) – mind.org.ukFurther reading: - Open City Accelerate Alumni - RIBA Future Architects - Section of Architectural Workers (SAW) - Future of London Emerging Talent Programme - Future Architects Front (FAF) - Beyond the Box - To Scale- The London Practice Forum- CAN instagram- Public PracticeThe podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage. It's recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Subscribe on Spotify, Soundcloud or iTunes and to further support, become an Open City Friend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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