Social and intellectual interaction: Clare Hall students invited to Special Interest Groups
Clare Hall students are invited to join Special Interest Groups (SIGs) of their choice this academic year, following on from the success of last year’s programme. SIGs are subject-focused groups of students and Fellows (and other members of the College including Visiting Fellows) that aim to encourage regular small group social and intellectual interactions among people with shared interests in particular academic areas.
Professor Hasok Chang, our SIGs coordinator, comments:
The SIGs are one of the ways in which we aim to make Clare Hall a true academic community, not just a place to live.
Each SIG is led by one or more Fellows of the College, and the range and frequency of activities (lunches, discussion groups, museum visits, picnics, etc) is determined by each group. The groups seek to promote learning and discussions in a subject area, and provide opportunities for mentoring (including peer-mentoring) and professional networking. There is a small amount of funding available from the College to facilitate activities.
Groups for 2022/23 include:
- Architecture and Art
- Asian Studies
- Business and Sustainability
- AI and Computer Science
- Education
- History and Philosophy of Science
- Law
- Literature
- Medicine and Neuroscience
- Physics
- Sociology, Anthropology and Migration Studies
Participation is not restricted to one’s degree subject, and participants can join more than one group. Further details can be found in Professor Chang’s email of 8 October, which explains that College members can email directly the leader(s) of the groups they want to join to express their interest – preferably by Friday 14 October to allow group leaders to compile the initial list of members – though one can always join a group later.
For any queries, please email Professor Chang.
JessicaI participated in the History & Philosophy of Science special interest group during my time at Clare Hall. I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity in the group from astrophysicists to anthropologists, and not only historians and philosophers. I found the discussions illuminating, particularly on the diverse approaches to the topics discussed.MPhil student in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine, Clare Hall
StefanI joined both the History & Philosophy of Science and the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence special interest groups in 2021/22. I really liked the opportunity to make connections with students, Fellows and researchers outside of my PhD subject area. This has allowed me to obtain a wider field of view, getting a broader perspective of how different communities view their role in science.PhD student in Astronomy, Clare Hall