Corpus E-newsletter - March 2026

It's hard to believe that just over a month has passed since our last e-newsletter - so much has happened in that short time. The Bursar and I were pleased to connect with Corpuscles in Australia and New Zealand on our whistle-stop tour in February. Upon returning to College, we were straight into our Corpus Connects networking event, kindly hosted by the Girdlers’ Company at the Girdlers’ Hall in the City of London. It was inspiring to see alumni, students and recent graduates come together to share insights and advice on navigating today's jobs market. This was capped by our community coming together so wonderfully to support our first ever Giving Day on 18 & 19 March. Alumni, Friends of Corpus, Fellows and staff all united in their support to raise vital funds to help our students, who themselves embraced challenges on the day to help unlock kindly donated match funding. To date we have raised over £225,000 from 366 donations, with gifts still being received. The project remains open until the end of July. Your generosity is heartwarming and will help support so many students!

Our next big event for the whole community is the Corpus Garden Party on 27 June at Leckhampton. Gather your friends, family and picnic baskets and join us there. Click here to book your tickets.

Rachel Lawson, Development Director

COLLEGE NEWS

CORPUS MEN TAKE BLADES IN LENT BUMPS

The Corpus M1 boat put in an outstanding performance in this year’s Lent Bumps to take blades after bumping on every day of the competition, a huge achievement for the squad. Men’s captain Owen Marlovits reported it as their best Lent Bumps performance in two decades! Read his full report here

BISHOP GREEN CUPS AWARDED

Deputy Master Professor Chris Howe presented Luke Quinn (Medicine) and Marko Trandafilovski (ASNaC) with their well-deserved Bishop Green Cups in recognition of outstanding academic achievement. The annual award of the Bishop Green Cups are made (to quote the ordinance) ‘to the Bachelor of Arts who takes their degree with the most credit, and one or more to those who passed the best examination in the Easter Term’.

CAMBRIDGE TRIUMPH AT ANNUAL CORPUS CHALLENGE

After a two-year hiatus, the Corpus Challenge returned to Cambridge, with both Oxford and Cambridge colleges competing in an array of sporting and non-sporting activities, from arts and crafts to badminton, and board games to football. Corpus Cambridge prevailed with a resounding 19-6 victory over their Oxford counterparts. Read more here

Jacob (third from left) celebrates his victory

JACOB SIMMONDS WINS MOOT AT ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE

Third-year lawyer Jacob Simmonds won the Grand Final of Landmark Chambers' Annual Property Moot at the Royal Courts of Justice. Jacob has strong form in this field, having won both the 7KBW Varsity Moot in contract law and the One Essex Court De Smith Moot last year. Read more about Jacob's mooting success here

CORPUS OUTREACH TEAM ON THE ROAD

Access and Outreach Coordinator Lucy Thompson has been out on the road supporting Year 12 students at Capital City College with the next steps of their educational journey. Lucy delivered an information session to support students and their parents in making a competitive application, explaining the admissions process, interviews, and admissions assessments. Read more

STAFF TAKE ON STUDENTS IN FOOTBALL MATCH

Earlier this month College members braved the cold, windy conditions for a friendly Students vs Staff football match at Leckhampton. Spirited efforts from both sides made for excellent viewing. With a reported 72 shots from the students, the staff team succumbed to a respectable 6-5 defeat. Read the full match report here

MCR CONFERENCE RETURNS

The Corpus MCR Conference returns to Leckhampton on 10 June. The event invites applications from postgraduates, research associates, Fellows and alumni interested in presenting their work in a friendly, familiar environment. Whether you wish to present or simply want to come along to support and hear from your fellow Corpuscles, you can register your interest here.

CONCERT AT CORPUS - TATREEZ TRANSFORMATIONS

PhD student Benedict Turner-Berry (m.2018) is hosting a special performance in Chapel on Saturday 28 March as part of the Cambridge Festival. Tatreez Transformations in Concert will feature oud musician Rihab Azar, who will perform among embroidered works from Threading Memory: Tatreez Transformations, offering a reflective encounter with Syrian and Levantine cultural traditions.

The free 45‑minute concert begins at 6pm, followed by drinks in P1. Read more

ALUMNI NEWS

PHILIPPE SANDS NOMINATED FOR HONORARY CAMBRIDGE DEGREE

Congratulations to barrister, author and academic Philippe Sands (m.1979) has been nominated for an honorary degree from the University of Cambridge. He is one of eight distinguished individuals from the fields of law, politics, science, the arts and music to have been nominated. Following final approval, all nominees will be admitted at a special Congregation on 24 June.
Read more

TOM STUART-SMITH WINS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Congratulations to Tom Stuart-Smith OBE (m.1978) has been given the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers Lifetime Achievement Award. Tom, a highly acclaimed landscape designer, read Natural Sciences at Corpus and designed the prairie meadow at Leckhampton, which was planted 15 years ago and continues to thrive. Read more

Photo credit: JA Skelton

CORPUSCLE CHOSEN TO JUDGE ALUMNI AWARDS

We're delighted that Phillippa Garner (m.2006) has been selected as one of the University of Cambridge Alumni Awards judges for 2026. Nominations for the awards, which celebrate the amazing impact of achievements of University alumni, remain open until Sunday 19 April. Read more about the judges here and submit nominations here.

MASTERS STUDENTS GRADUATE

On 28 February, we welcomed alumni back to College to receive their MA degrees. It's always a joy to see familiar faces, share memories, find out what our graduates are doing academically and career-wise and share a delicious lunch after their trip to the Senate House.
View more photos

CAT DAVISON'S EDUSPOTS WINS INNOVATON AWARD

Cat Davison (m.2006) is the founder and CEO of EduSpots, a collaborative, community-driven education charity currently developing its model in Ghana and Kenya. EduSpots has won an Education Innovation award, securing £40,000 to support its scale-up process, alongside leadership coaching, masterclass training sessions and one-to-one mentoring. Well done, Cat! Read more

NEWS FROM THE FELLOWSHIP

JOHN CARR & JULIAN ALLWOOD AWARDED THE PILKINGTON PRIZE

We are delighted to see two members of our community, Fellow Professor John Carr and Professor Julian Allwood (m.1984), have been awarded the Pilkington Prize for excellence in teaching. We wholeheartedly agree with what the judges had to say below:

"Prof. John Carr has made an exceptional, sustained contribution to teaching, practical training and public engagement in Plant Sciences over his 30-year+ career as a University Teaching Officer." Read more

"For 25 years, Prof. Julian Allwood has delivered a high teaching load with clarity and humour, initially in Manufacturing and the MBA, and subsequently Civil & Environmental Engineering." Read more

EMILIJA LEINARTE DELIVERS FIRST POSTGRAD AI LAW COURSE

Congratulations to Corpus Fellow Dr Emilija Leinarte, Associate Professor in EU Law in the Cambridge Faculty of Law, on the successful creation and delivery of the first ever postgraduate AI Law course at the University of Cambridge. Read more

ROBERT DORSCHEL PUBLISHED IN BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOICIOLOGY

Assistant Professor of Digital Sociology, Dr Robert Dorschel's article Entrepreneuring Legitimacy: A Case Study of the Cultural Codes and Boundary-Makings of the Tech Elite analyses and unpacks dominant narratives in the world's most famous and elite startup accelerator: YCombinator. Read more

JOHN CARR BECOMES HONORARY MEMBER OF THE BRITISH SOCIETY OF PLANT PATHOLOGY

In addition to being awarded for his teaching, Professor John Carr is being recognised for his research career, which has helped shape modern understanding of plant defence signalling and plant-virus interactions. Honorary Membership recognises not only scientific achievement but also lasting contributions to the plant pathology community. Read more

BOOK WRITTEN IN HONOUR OF OLIVER RACKHAM NOMINATED FOR AWARD

Countryside History: The Life and Legacy of Oliver Rackham, which features a collection of essays written in honour of former Master Professor Oliver Rackham, was shortlisted for the Marsh Book of the Year Award.

Although it didn't win, the book has received high praise for its contents, which includes contributions from some of the world's leading landscape and countryside historians. Read more

MEET OUR ALUMNI

VERONICA ROGERS (m.1995), is a veteran of the world's leading technology firms, having spent over 20 years with Dell and Microsoft before joining PlayStation as Global Leader Sales and Operations.
Originally from Poland, Veronica was one of the first of a small group of undergraduate students from Central and Eastern Europe to come the UK to study after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Read more

JONATHAN MANT (m.1979), is a Professor of Primary Care Research at the University of Cambridge, where he leads the Cardiovascular Research Group. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and an Emeritus National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator. Read more

Meet more of our Alumni

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING

Thanks to all alumni who joined us for the Corpus Connects - Help Students Get Career Ready event at Girdlers’ Hall. It was great to see the connection, support, wisdom and practical advice being shared across the generations.

Development Director Rachel Lawson and Bursar Richard Leather were delighted to meet with alumni in Australia and share the latest news from the College. A huge thank you to all they met and everyone Rachel was able to connect with in New Zealand - it was inspiring to see our alumni network thriving in both countries and to reconnect with so many talented Corpuscles.

Many thanks to all those who came together for International Women's Day, to celebrate the achievements, contributions, and experiences of women across our College community.
The evening started with a poster presentation session showcasing the breadth of STEM talent of our female students, organised by Seyi Adeyemo, President of the Lovelace Society for Women in STEM. Guests then convened for a panel session, featuring current students, alumni and a former Fellow, relating to the International Women's Day theme of Give to Gain. The discussion, ably hosted by Marie-Ange Camara (m.2021), featured Seyi Adeyemo (m.2022), Cat Davison (m.2006), Eliza Lockhart (m.2019) and Jenny Zhang (former Fellow). Read more about our speakers here.

CORPUS SUMMER GARDEN PARTY - BOOKING NOW OPEN!

Join fellow alumni, friends, and family for the Corpus Garden Party on Saturday 27 June, 12–4pm, in the beautiful gardens of Leckhampton House. Enjoy walking tours, croquet, children’s entertainment, live music, and plenty of space to picnic.

Reserve your place now and be part of our biennial summer celebration! Book now