Cake and connections

Newnham is a learning community where ideas are shared, research discussed and connections made across generations and academic disciplines. 

As well as informal networks, supervisions and conversations over meals, the College benefits from the Senior Members Research Forum and our much-loved Pudding Seminars. These regular events enable students, academics, alumnae and staff to learn from the rich expertise within Newnham, to the enrichment of all. 

A quick review of the topics discussed at the termly Senior Members Research Forum shows the breadth of research interests across Newnham. The sessions touch on some of the major issues of our day, sharing in-depth insights to illuminate and inspire discussion. There have been sessions on ethnographic work with women in India; Neanderthal skeletons; legal borders and discrimination; how ecosystems respond to changing fire regimes; Xenophon and the problematic legacy of Greek political thought.  

In the beautiful surroundings of the Principal’s Lodge, speakers have 30 minutes to present their research before questions and discussion, and then conversations continue informally over dinner. The Forum provides an opportunity to share original research and disseminate ideas to others, as part of the interdisciplinary ethos of the college. Junior members are also welcome to attend these sessions. 

Criminologist Dr Caroline Lanskey was asked to run the Senior Members Research Forum when she joined Newnham in 2019. 'It grew out of a wish to share the rich diversity of research interests. A friendly informal event is the best place to hear about other people’s work and it helps us all make connections. That social dimension is really important,' she says. 

In 2022 Professor Tina Potter shared news of the largest experiment in human history, the Large Hadron Collider, with hopes of a new discovery to help explain some of the mysteries of the universe. And Dr Hana D’Souza discussed human development and Down syndrome, and why complex interactions between elements such as motor ability and attention allocation should be at the core of research.  

Caroline presented some of her own longitudinal research on children’s experience of paternal imprisonment, exploring stigma, mental health and factors which mitigated the negative impact, as well as reflections on the implications for criminal justice and social policy. She is also researching the criminalisation of migrant women and foreign national prisoners who can be deported if their sentence is more than 12 months. 'Very punitive if they have lived here all their life, as we saw with some of the Windrush cases.' 

'After my presentation I found that people who knew my research invited me to other things: Jenny Mander asked me to take part in postgraduate training for the Centre for Global Human Movement, which then led to further opportunities for speaking. Others put me in touch with students with relevant dissertation interests. That collaboration happens across the Forum,' she said. 

 Caroline's experience is typical and shows how helpful the Forum can be. The College also gives funding through Senior Members Research Support grants, which together with the connections between people and different disciplines fostered through the Forum can spark all sorts of new opportunities. Fellow and Director of Studies in Engineering Dr Sakthy Selvakumaran (NC 2015) travelled to Turkey after the earthquake in 2023, to support the rescue mission, using her engineering expertise and specialist equipment funded by one such grant. 

Pudding Seminars

Running in parallel with the Forum are Newnham’s unique Pudding Seminars, which started at the turn of the century and offer a chance for all members of college to present and discuss their work, including undergraduates, postgraduates, staff, Senior Members and occasional alumnae. The sessions are held on a Friday lunchtime, with the welcome accompaniment of tea or coffee and cake. 

Dr Delphine Mordey, Director of Studies in Music, joined the group commissioning the seminars when she was a Junior Research Fellow in 2008 and has been running them ever since, lately single-handed. Pudding Seminars offer a friendly, encouraging space – particularly valuable for students who might be fairly new to presenting or to sharing complex ideas with a non-specialist audience. 

That doesn’t mean they are too cosy though: the seminars draw a knowledgeable audience who often have challenging questions, experience to share or points to discuss. Delphine gives the example of Mahera Sarkar (JCR), who spoke about end-of-life care, in a seminar titled Should a different approach be permitted for people who do not recognise brainstem death as death for religious reasons?  'She had some very tough questions, but dealt with them very well and found that interdisciplinary feedback she was getting very valuable,' Delphine says. 

People tend to present about something they feel passionate about, not necessarily academic research, and all members of the College community participate. Newnham’s Curator, Laura Dennis, often takes part to share the stories she is uncovering in the art collection with a wide audience. Other seminars have featured a member of the Catering staff, Daisy Thurston-Gent, who is a slam poet and gardener Jerome Viard reporting on his conservation work in South Georgia. Students have talked about charity work they undertook in the Long Vac.  

'I would not want to be prescriptive about topics. It is a space for any member of the College community to share what they are doing. There is so much exciting research and so many activities taking place here that we would not otherwise know about. It is a really lovely way to find out about things outside of your own field, like tropical butterflies' responses to climate change, or comparing and contrasting in English and German,' Delphine added. ‘And, of course, the presence of food and tea or coffee does make it a more relaxed experience. That cake is an essential element!'