Gazette: Michaelmas week 6
MCR events
Freshers’ Week Feedback Form
With the MCR Committee, we hope you enjoyed the Freshers’ week and had the chance to participate some events.
Every year, we aim to improve and organise traditional as well as new events but to be able to do so, we need your feedback. Please, fill in this anonymous form by 7pm on 10th November (Thursday) to help the Committee to improve organising skills.
If you have any questions, please contact Eva at mcr-secretary@chu.cam.ac.uk.
2MT Competition last call
Registration closes 5th November
Registrations for entering the two-minute thesis competition, Super Short Summaries, are closing on 5th November. Sign up here before it’s too late! The competition will be held on Saturday 19th November and will be followed by the first MCR/SCR common table. If you signed up for the mentoring scheme you can attend this dinner for free with your assigned SCR (fellow) mentor; Super Short Summaries will conclude at 7 pm to provide time for mentees to find their mentors and attend the dinner at 7:30 pm. The event itself will take 1-1.5 hours, depending on the number of entries received.
Postgraduate students from Churchill college, both PhD and Masters students, are invited to register to present using the link above. Presenters will be allowed one slide (with no animations) and given 2 minutes to explain their research to a general audience. Presenters are expected to explain what their research is about, why it is interesting, and what they have found. Since it is aimed at a general audience, they need to assume at most a high school level of knowledge in their field, explain terminology, and avoid jargon. The talks will be judged by the Master, Prof. Dame Athene Donald, the Senior Tutor, Rita Monson, and the Senior Postgraduate Tutor, Mairi Kilkenny, along with the MCR president, Michaela Taylor-Williams. Prizes will be given for the best talks.
If you are not too sure how to distil your research into a short format, have a look at some great FameLab examples.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at mcr-academic@chu.cam.ac.uk
CHUTalks: Call for Presenters
Churchill MCR organises fortnightly CHUTalks; informal seminars run by the MCR for the MCR. These CHUTalks are a great way for you to get practice with presenting and show your friends what your research is all about. The talks themselves are typically held on Thursdays at 7 pm in the Tizard room.
PhD and Masters students are welcome to apply. The talk is meant to be 20-25 minutes long and aimed at a general audience (keeping in mind that the audience members are not professionals in your field). After the presentation, there will be a small discussion, which is always very friendly. There will be cheese and wine with other snacks and non-alcoholic drinks for those who attend.
If you are interested in presenting, either for this term on the next, please send an email at mcr-academic@chu.cam.ac.uk
Yoga
Join our weekly yoga class! Whether your an experienced yogi or have never been on a mat before, anyone is welcome to join. We provide mats, but please bring your own if you have one.
We’re in the Jock Colville Hall every Wednesday from 6 – 7pm.
What’s Whisky?
Whisky tasting at the MCR Bar
Come down to the Vicious Penguin on Wednesday 16th November at 7.30 pm for a relaxed evening of lightly informative whisky drinking. We’ll have six whiskies for you to taste, ranging from classic Scotch, to more modern Japanese whisky and possibly even spirits from further afield. Whether you’re completely new to whisky or already an aficionado, you’re sure to find something interesting in the range of flavours we’ll explore.sign up here sooner rather than later. Tickets are limited to Churchill MCR students. Presented by Elre and Elliott from the Cambridge University Whisky Appreciation Society. Heavily subsidised by the MCR Bar 🙂
Tickets will be £5 at the door, but you need to reserve your spot. We’re limited to 30 people so
Associate Members
The Churchill MCR would like to welcome all partners of postgraduate students to become Associate Members of the MCR.
With recent changes to the MCR Constitution, partners of postgraduate students must now register their interest to formally become an Associate MCR Member which must be approved by the Senior Tutor. This enables partners to run for MCR committee positions, attend MCR events without their partner, and vote for the MCR Families Welfare Officer.
For further details and the application, please check your email about MCR Associate Members (subject).
Around the College
Joint MCR/SCR pub quiz event
Date: Tuesday 8th November
Time: 6-7pm
Venue: Club room (off the buttery/main concourse).
Pub quiz with drinks and light snacks (think picture round style, not with a quizmaster). No team needed. Come along to meet with other MCR and SCR informally. To help with catering, it would be really helpful if you could sign up on this google form. If you don’t remember to do this though you are still welcome to just drop by! (Note: this event was formerly called bowl food!)
Open Chapel Drop-In Session
Friday 11th November, 3.30-5.00: For those of all faiths and none
Members of the Chapel Trust would like to invite students, families living onsite, and staff to share a cup of tea with us in the chapel and talk about the various roles the chapel might serve in our community. Members of the Trust come from a range of religious, spiritual, and non-religious backgrounds and we want to hear from you how you think the chapel might function as a space of reflection, community-building, music, and beauty as well as a space of worship.
If you have thoughts on this or simply want to venture up the perimeter path to see the chapel for the first time, please come along! Any questions can be directed to hb391@cam.ac.uk
Portrait of a Landscape
Special Offer to Students
This Bridgemas, why not buy a copy of the College’s newly published book Portrait of a Landscape for your family and friends? It’s available from the Porters’ Lodge for £20.
Written by Paula Laycock (former College Registrar) with the advice and expertise of John Moore, Head of Grounds & Gardens, Portrait of a Landscape is a sumptuous chronicle of the grounds and gardens over the past sixty years. There are 200 pages of historical record detailing the landscaping of the site, peppered with observations and recollections from current and former students, Fellows and staff, as well as contributions from others who have been involved in the grounds and gardens over the years. With short stories about key events and people, too, it’s a good read!
Beautifully illustrated with over 200 photos, Portrait of a Landscape won’t fit into a stocking, but it will grace any Christmas (or Bridgemas) coffee table! Available now from the Porters’ Lodge for £20. See also Portrait of a Landscape – Churchill College (cam.ac.uk)
Give me Inspiration!
The Paradigm Shift with Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE
What do academics actually do? What motivates them to get out of bed each morning and to deliver what is — or in many cases what isn’t – expected of them?
For a student setting out, the life of senior academics may seem very mysterious, particularly as many may end up taking on responsibilities and activities far removed from where an individual started. The trajectory from student to senior academic is rarely a straight line, with twists, setbacks, time out and/or opportunities (taken or declined) all to be combined with a personal life.
This series of conversations aims to explore the individual paths of some eminent academics who have made it to the top in their own particular ways. How have they found their own solutions to ‘life’, what tips do they wish they’d been given earlier on, and what might they view, retrospectively, with most pleasure or regret?
The next in this series of conversations will be with author, thought-leader and co-founder and CEO of ‘Stemettes’, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon.
This is a hybrid event, taking place in person in the Wolfson Theatre, but also live-streamed online as a Zoom webinar. Please click on the link below to book for either format, you will be asked to specify which ticket you require.
Places are free but bookings are essential, click here to register.
The event will be followed by a drinks reception at 7pm. All are welcome to attend.
ChuSciSoc
Talk
Term Card
Churchill Poetry and Play Writing Prizes Prize
For all poets and playwrights, the College runs a prize in combination with the English faculty. All student at the University may enter.
Prizes:
- £500
THE SALT MARLOWE POETRY PRIZE (for a new poem) - £500 & £100 of Drama Books from Methuen Drama
THE METHUEN MARLOWE OTHER PRIZE (for a new play)
Deadline: Last day of Lent Full Term 2023
More details and the entry form can be found here: Poetry & Play Writing Prizes – Churchill College (cam.ac.uk)
Wellbeing Seed Library
What is the Wellbeing Seed Library?
Growing your own produce locally not only saves money but is great for mental health and wellbeing. The Garden Society, Grounds and Gardens team, and College Library have teamed up to provide free seeds, to encourage people getting their hands dirty!
The Wellbeing Seed Library provides free seeds for students and families to use in the garden. Seeds currently include basil, chives, parsley, spinach, lettuce, rocket, radish, mizuma, nasturtium, corn, leek, spring onions, courgette, carrot, pak choi, tomatoes, beetroot, turnip, celery, sweet pea and sunflower.
You can find the Seed Library in the College Library, in the entrance foyer of the Bracken reading room. You do not need a University Card to access this area. Simply take a pinch of seeds from a packet, put them in an empty envelope, label your envelope with the variety, and then you’re ready to get started.
Where can I garden?
In the 70 Storey’s Way Garden there is a student gardening club greenhouse and some raised beds that can be used by students and families.
Compost, pots, a watering can and plant labels are kept in the greenhouse for student use, and the College gardeners will be on hand for any advice.
I’ve never grown anything before, where do I start?
Our suggestions for first-time gardeners are sweet peas, lettuce, or spinach. The Royal Horticultural Society website and Vital Seeds have some helpful tips for growing different kinds of plants.
The College Library also has a collection of books on Gardening and Wildlife.
Around the University
Student Parent Welcome Event
Time: Friday 18 November 10.30-12.00
Venue: Students’ Union Lounge, Mill Lane
The Leslie Stephen Lecture
Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah: This identity we so feverishly cherish
Date: 18 November 2022
Time: 17:30 – 18:30
Location: The Senate-House, 1 St Mary’s Passage, Cambridge, CB2 3PQ
On 18th November 2022 Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah will give a lecture entitled “This identity we so feverishly cherish”, taken from The Waves by Virginia Woolf. It will be held in the Senate-House, from 17:30 until 18:45.
Professor Appiah is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Honorary Fellow of Clare College, Professor of Philosophy and of Law at New York University, and President of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His lecture will address social identities: what they are, why they matter for ethics and politics, and how they can get out of hand.
For more information please see: The Leslie Stephen Lecture: “This identity we so feverishly cherish” by Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah – Trinity Hall (cam.ac.uk)
Black Advisory Hub
Applications open: student research assistants for Cycle 4 of the APP PAR Project
The Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning and the Black Advisory Hub is now seeking to recruit 10 Black students to work as co-designers and co-facilitators for a university-wide conference on decolonising the curriculum, awarding gaps and Black student experiences.
Project background:
The Access and Participation Plan Participatory Action Research Project (the APP PAR Project) has involved annual cycles of student co-researchers working with the Cambridge Centre for Teaching and Learning to co-develop small team projects to investigate and address the awarding gaps, or differential degree outcomes, experienced by undergraduates with declared mental health conditions and Black British undergraduates at Cambridge.
This fourth year of the APP PAR Project, we will be working to draw together the strands of the previous three years of student work and sharing these with the wider University community in a one-day event on the 28 February 2023. For more about the work of the previous three cycles of student projects, see the APP PAR Project webpages.
What the work will involve:
Students will be paid for 20 hours across the period November-February to contribute to the planning and coordination of the event, and then 6 hours for the actual event itself on the 28 February 2023. The work will involve a variety of activities including programme design, consulting with relevant stakeholders, inviting speakers, reviewing paper proposals, designing a communication strategy, chairing panels and/or facilitating workshops.
Eligibility:
We will welcome Black undergraduate and postgraduate students. Please note that permission will need to be granted for this work by Senior Tutors (if undergraduate) and Supervisors/College Tutors (if postgraduate).
How to apply:
If you are interested and available to work with us in Cycle 4 of the broader project, we would love to work with you! Please apply online here! Closing date: Tuesday 8 November 2022 (at 8am)
Time period:
November 2022 – March 2023
Students will be paid for 20 hours at research assistant rates of approximately £14.22 per hour
For more information:
If you have any specific questions about the project or application process, please contact Dr Ruth Walker (rgcw3@cam.ac.uk) or Dr Snigdha Dutta (sd917@cam.ac.uk)
Cambridge Trust Funding Petition
Graduate students funded by the Cambridge Trust have launched a petition to get the Cambridge Trust to guarantee four years of funding to all Trust-funded PhD students. 230 people have signed the petition so far, including 115 Trust scholars. We need to get 350 scholars to sign the petition by 10 November to pressure the Trust. If you are a Trust scholar, or simply agree that four-year PhD courses require four years of guaranteed funding, sign here.
Consultation on Greater Cambridge Partnership’s City Access Proposals
A consultation on proposals to change the way we travel in Cambridge opened this week. The proposals by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) include a new bus network for the city alongside improvements to cycling and walking routes, with revenue to be generated through a proposed road charging scheme.
If the proposals go ahead, changesto bus services and faresmay come into effect as early as next year.Any member of the public can submit a consultation response, and I encourageyou to share yourviews. You can find out more about the proposals andsubmit a responseon the GCPwebsite.An online open meeting with representatives from GCP will be held on 10 November from 12.30 to 13.30.Pre-registration is required.
Junior Research Fellowships (JRFs)
It’s the time of year where many JRF opportunities at Oxford and Cambridge are being advertised. If you are trying to work out if a JRF might be a good step for you, or looking for advice on how to prepare your application you’ll find advice on our JRF webpage. If you’re feeling stuck, book a 1:1 appointment with a Careers Consultant, we’ll be happy to discuss how a JRF may fit with your career plans or support you with your application materials.
University Counselling Service: Groups and Workshops
University Counselling Service runs three kinds of groups at UCS – workshops, focused groups and longer counselling groups.
The workshops are generally one-off events and do not require any ongoing commitment. The focused groups are for people who want help with a particular issue. Longer counselling groups offer support over a period of several weeks. To ensure a group experience, they aim to run groups and workshops of six participants or more and if there are insufficient numbers to run a group or workshop it may be cancelled.
If you wish to register your interest in attending the workshops that are accepting registrations, please complete the relevant registration forms, which can be found on clicking the following link for workshops: Workshop registration form
All of the workshops apart from the ‘How Art Thou’ one, will be held remotely, online via Zoom.us (The How Art Thou workshop will be held in the Student Services Centre and in person.)
Open access: where next?
A symposium to challenge the status quo and imagine new futures in academic publishing.
Homerton College, 18 November 2022, 9am-5pm
You are warmly invited to take part in ‘Open access: where next?’, a symposium to challenge the status quo and imagine new futures in academic publishing.
Many researchers are dissatisfied with the current system of publishing and rewards, but it is not yet clear what feasible alternatives could dominate instead. Open access is becoming the norm, and offers many benefits, but is it fulfilling the initial promises of fairness and inclusivity – across disciplines and across the globe?
What would you like the future of academic publishing to look like? It’s time to be bold so we can take action to create that future.
Hosted by Cambridge University Libraries Research Services and taking place in the beautiful surroundings of Homerton College, 18 November 2022, 9am-5pm. Explore the full programme and book your place (free to current members of the University)
Other opportunities
CCVS online volunteering events and advice service
As you all know, volunteering changes people’s lives, not only by helping the community and those who need the most, but also giving the chance to the volunteers to improve their skills and wellbeing, creating social connections and sense of purpose and belonging.
CCVS Volunteering for All offers free guidance and 1:1 support to anybody who would like to find volunteering opportunities, organises face to face and online events about volunteering and works closely to local groups in Cambridge supporting them to improve their diversity and inclusivity.
They will have an online volunteer fair on the 2nd of November from 12.30 until 2pm on zoom. 8 local organisations will be talking about their work and volunteering opportunities. Click here for further details!
Also, on the 3rd of November from 10.30 to 11.00, again on zoom, they are hosting the volunteer coordinator from the local branch of NSPCC who will present their projects and volunteering roles. Click here for further details!
They will do their Walk and Talk about volunteering on the 9th of November in Jesus Green (registration is essential).
Finally, they offer ongoing advice sessions every Wednesday and Thursday that anybody can book by emailing ellie@cambridgecvs.org.uk
Watersprite Film Festival is recruiting
For Video Production and Education & Outreach Committees
They are the biggest international student festival in the UK, and the second biggest in the world. This year, they’ve received submissions from over 100 countries, and they need you to help make this year’s festival the best one yet!
Find out more here or below.
Video Production Committee:
They are looking for first year students from Cambridge or ARU to join the video committee for the Watersprite Film Festival. You’ll be able to meet and work alongside like-minded people in celebrating young filmmakers from across the world. No experience is needed! There’s plenty of roles to choose from – filming events, live streaming, vision mixing etc. and plenty of training will be provided before the festival.
You will also meet a lot of people in the industry – writers, directors, etc who you can meet and ask questions. Past speakers include David Lynch, Olivia Coleman and Eddie Redmayne. It is a great opportunity for students that you do not want to miss! If you are interested, you can fill out this form!
If you have any further queries, please contact:
Education & Outreach Committee:
On the education and outreach committee you’ll get to help inspire young film talent and work closely with teachers and students, as well as with sponsors, including at the BBC Three Creative Futures Day at Watersprite!
Key tasks include:
- Attending Weekly Education & Outreach Subcommittee meetings.
- Organising the planning and running of Education & Outreach events at the 2023 Watersprite Film Festival. Events management process includes research, brainstorming event ideas, brainstorming speaker ideas, writing speaker letter templates, editing and proofreading letters, corresponding with speakers, coordinating and marketing with schools.
- Organising the planning and running of virtual events happening via Zoom throughout the academic year
- Assisting with events logistics such as venues, catering, tech requirements, access
- Working with external organisations, such as Into Film, to market events and to get support for how to organise school events
- Liaising with Communications and Creative Design team about marketing of the events.
- Seeking advice and speaker suggestions from the festival Steering Committee.
- Building and developing relationships with schools and other education establishments in the East of England
- Working to make Watersprite Education & Outreach as inclusive as possible
Click here to the application form!
Registration open for CID ECR symposium
Registration is open for the upcoming Cambridge Infectious DiseasesEarly Career Researchers’ symposium ‘Work in progress and challenges in infectious diseases research’.
The symposium takes place on Tuesday 6th December, from 1.30 to 4.30 pm, at the Postdoc Centre at Eddington and aims to encourage the ECR participants to share what they are working on, even if these are not conclusive results, and give mutual advice.
You can register to attend using the Eventbrite page here. In order to plan for catering, register your attendance before 25 November.
Fill in this form to present a talk (15’) or a poster by 11 November.
During the poster session, there will be some food and drinks, sponsored by New England Biolabs. If you have any questions, please contact the organisers (mb2464@cam.ac.uk).
Invest in Innovation 2022
Setting the stage for the next healthtech revolution
Invest in Innovation 2022 brings together leading investors, founders, and industry leaders from around the health and technology space to set the agenda for the next stage in healthcare innovation. This an exclusive opportunity to apply to engage with the leading innovators shaping the future of healthcare technologies. This half-day conference will be fully online on the 9th of December 2022. With opportunities to engage and connect with fellow participants, browse top startups from across deeptech, and listen to key opinion leaders discuss. Apply for your free ticket now.
Innovation Forum is recruiting
Could you be part of our Central and Cambridge teams?
We are looking for proactive, engaging scientists and those with a passion for healthcare innovation to participate and engage with our diverse network of academics, industry leaders, investors, and start-up founders. The Innovation Forum gives opportunities for PhDs, Postdocs, and early career researchers to demonstrate their capacity to shape their ecosystem by leading events, working closely with both a local and international team of volunteers, supporting exciting early-stage start-ups, and engaging with key opinion leaders in leading organisations.
We have positions available in our Central team in business development, events, and marketing, and leadership roles available in our Cambridge team. You will be able to coordinate global activities within our network and gain project management experience working on different initiatives including our accelerator programme, global conference, forming and managing global partnerships, and more. These are purely virtual positions therefore we accept applicants from all locations. Find out more and apply online.
Takeda UK Limited ADHD innovation challenge 2022
Takeda UK in partnership with The ADHD Foundation and the Eastern Academic Health Science Network (EAHSN) is searching for innovative solutions to help patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We are looking for innovations which could help to increase ADHD recognition and diagnosis or to enhance patient educational resources, support, and monitoring.https://ichallenge.takeda.com/adhdUK
This project is funded by Takeda UK. International applicants are encouraged to apply, however, the winner will be obliged to carry out the pilot in the UK. To learn more or begin an application, please visit us here:
2023 CSAR Student Award
The Cambridge Society for the Application of Research is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications for the 2023 CSAR Student Award programme.
Submission deadline: December 2022
Selection: Candidates will be notified of the outcome in February 2023
Interviews: We aim to interview shortlisted candidates in April 2023
The CSAR PhD Student Award of £1000, is intended to recognise outstanding research with real world application and to assist students to pursue their research or careers.
The application link can be found here.
Special days this month
If you’re interested in what kind of special days are in November, please have a look at the calendar picture which is including but not limited to most popular ones. Please note that this is shared with the purpose of informing you and do not reflect the days celebrated by the MCR student body or the College.