News & events from Corpus Christi Cambridge
No images? Click here
Corpus Christi College
Easter Term 2021
Rachel Lawson joined the College in March as our new Director of Development & Alumni Relations
From the Development Director
"I am delighted to have joined a beautiful College with such a welcoming community. From speaking with the Master, Professor Christopher Kelly, the Fellows and many other Corpus members, I know the past year has challenged us all in different ways. With this newsletter, I would like to convey my best wishes to all our alumni and friends and to thank you for your continued support during this time.
The gates of Old Court were closed during the pandemic, but College has been as busy as ever, with plans drawn and redrawn to continue to deliver excellence in teaching and learning, albeit at a distance. From the Development Office there is plenty to share and plenty to do. These are exciting times, with the launch of new initiatives such as the Bridging Course. If you’d like to find out more about our future plans, do get in touch." Continue reading
College News
Innovative Bridging Course enters second year
Last September, Corpus became the first Cambridge college to launch a full-length residential Bridging Course. We welcomed 16 new undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds for an immersive three weeks in College to help prepare them for their studies. Thanks to the extra places we created for the Course, the College in 2020 has already met its diversity and widening access targets set for 2025 by the Office for Fair Access.
"The course built my confidence in my academic ability and strengthened my core skills." - Jamie
Corpus Fellows develop COVID-19 tracker for India
A new COVID-19 Tracker that forecasts the pandemic’s trajectory in India has been developed by researchers at the Cambridge Judge Business School and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. The tracker is based on a time-series model developed by Life Fellow of Corpus Professor Andrew Harvey and Fellow Dr Paul Kattuman. The results are published weekly.
Rising Star Award for Dr Sam Behjati
The College warmly congratulates Fellow in Medical Sciences and academic paediatric oncologist, Dr Sam Behjati, for this inaugural award. The Pezcoller Foundation-EACR Rising Star Award celebrates a cancer researcher who has the potential to make significant contributions to future cancer research progress.
So, is there life on Mars?
Corpus Junior Research Fellow Dr Claudia Bonfio is eagerly awaiting data from the recently landed NASA Mars rover Perserverance. Claudia’s research focuses on the chemical precursors to very early biological systems and Perseverance is looking for evidence that the Martian crater Jezero may once have housed an environment conducive to the emergence of life — in much the same way it might have emerged on earth.
Isabella (second from left) is a member of the laboratory of Professor Ravi Gupta at the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Diseases
Retooling to fight COVID
Inspired by a medical mystery at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Gates Scholar and PhD student Isabella Ferreira switched her focus from HIV reservoirs to investigating immune responses to new variants of COVID-19 and the contribution of different mutations to infectivity.
Fellow Dr Shruti Kapila to join a Cambridge Conversation on 15th June
As the fragile promise of globalisation fragments, will Asia’s profound legacies of empire, violence and ideology collide to create harmony or dissonance? Join Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Toope with distinguished panellists, Professor Hans van de Ven and Dr Shruti Kapila for an illuminating discussion ranging from World War II and decolonisation to the present day and beyond. The shaping of Asia will shape our future. BOOK HERE.
Food glorious food – catering staff delighted to be back on the job
Students, staff and Fellows were all pleased when the Corpus kitchens reopened this term, but nobody was more relieved than the kitchen and catering staff, who have been furloughed since early December 2020. Now they're back with a new menu focused on local and seasonal produce.
News from the Parker Library
Search, zoom, save! Discover the new Parker on the Web features
The launch of the searchable digital collection Parker on the Web in early 2018 made all 550 rare manuscripts available to members of the public. Since then, nearly 60,000 users have accessed the collection, viewing 288,000 individual pages. Now Parker on the Web is even more accessible thanks to an extensive overhaul of the manuscript descriptions and exciting new features.
Parker Library loans items to British Museum Becket Exhibition
The British Museum exhibition Thomas Becket: murder and the making of a saint marks Becket's tumultuous journey from a merchant's son to an archbishop, and from a revered saint in death to a 'traitor' in the eyes of Henry VIII more than 350 years later. The Library has loaned three precious items from its collection for the exhibition.
Alumni in the sustainability spotlight
Alumna Yeo Bee Yin (m2009) recently participated at the Gates Cambridge 20th Anniversary’s Digital event Climate Change: The world's greatest challenge, hosted by Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Toope. Bee Yin is a former Minister of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment of Malaysia, and author of the book, Reimagining Malaysia.
Bishop Graham gives a hazel sapling to each person he confirms
The Rt Revd Graham Usher (m1993), Bishop of Norwich, has accepted the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury to lead the Church of England Environmental Programme from June 2021. He will tackle issues related to biodiversity loss and climate change, leading on the commitment to net-zero carbon impacts across the Church of England by 2030.
Alumni events
2020 Graduation
Friday 16th July 2021
Those 2020 graduates who missed in-person graduations last year can celebrate their degrees in the Senate House on the 16th of July. We will hold a celebratory dinner in Hall on the 15th, and a buffet lunch on the day itself. Although no guests can attend the Senate House ceremony, the event will be live-streamed and the College will provide screenings both in Hall and in the McCrum Lecture Theatre.
McCurdy Dinner
Saturday 25th September 2021
Finally, and hooray! We can't wait to restart our reunion programme and welcome back those alumni who were scheduled to attend the cancelled Beldam dinner in April 2020 (matriculation years 1987-1989 and 1999-2000). Invitations and registration forms will be sent out from the Development Office shortly. Let this be the start of a 2021-2022 programme of rich and varied alumni events.
Master of Arts Congregation
Saturday 29th January 2022
Save the date. Those in the 2014 cohort will have recently become eligible for the degree of Master of Arts – congratulations! Congregations this January and February were suspended, so we wanted to give you plenty of notice that we will celebrate this milestone with you on Saturday 29th January 2022. We will send you more details when in-person congregations resume. You are eligible to receive your MA in absence if you prefer; if you wish to do this, please contact the Praelector’s Secretary Tess Milne.
Cambridge University Alumni Festival
This year’s Alumni Festival will once again take place online with an array of fascinating talks, tours and discussions for you to enjoy from the comfort of your own home. The Festival runs between Friday 24th September and Tuesday 28th September; the programme will be available in mid-July and booking will open a week later.
Alumni notices
Grantchester picnics are a Cambridge summer staple
Book your summer staycation at Corpus
Would you like to relive your student days over the summer months? How about introducing your friends and family to the quirks of Cambridge whilst residing in a student room. Why not organise a year group reunion for a couple of days? We are offering the rare opportunity for Old Members to book College rooms at an attractive tariff this summer.
Get your news on the record
Family news? Life events? Career updates? New article, publication or book? Exciting projects? Send us your recent news so that we can feature it in this year's The Record. It is a great way to keep the Corpus community up to date.
Follow us on LinkedIn
We have recently created an official College LinkedIn page and asked you to follow it. The page brings alumni closer together as their careers progress, and creates opportunities to develop professional relationships with other Corpuscles. We also post news of Corpus corporate activity, Fellows’ successes and other career- and business- related items. Your support will expand our network of alumni — linking members, encouraging discussions and reconnecting old friends.
Keep in touch with fellow Corpuscles!
ALUMNI DIRECTORY: Have you signed up to your Alumni Directory? The Directory allows you to update your details and to contact fellow alumni who are also registered for the service.
If you do not have a username and password, register now. If you are already registered, please login to your account.
Cambridge Union Alumni (CUA)
The Cambridge Union is delighted to have launched the Cambridge Union Alumni (CUA) network. If you haven't joined, sign up to receive quarterly CUA newsletters. CUA will offer lifetime Union members the chance to attend CUA events, keep up to date with Union news and receive an invitation to the official reopening of the refurbished Union building later this year.
More...
- Lost' Hawks' Club Members please get in touch
- Intercollegiate Golf Tournament Thursday 28th October 2021 in Cambridge
- Lovely Lent Term Music videos now online
- Remembering HRH Prince Philip at Corpus by former Master Stuart Laing
