Thank you to all our alumni who chose to return to College for our annual Alumni Weekend (formerly Association Weekend)!
We were thrilled to share with you our fantastic panel event celebrating the Life and Legacy of Churchill Fellow and IVF pioneer, Sir Bob Edwards, on his centenary; an incredible lecture by Churchill Fellow Professor Muzliffah Haniffa of the Human Cell Atlas project; along with our popular dining events, including High Table, Wine Tasting and our annual Association Dinner with Dr Graham Farmelo as speaker.
Friday’s Edwards event was by turns moving and humorous, with recollections by Louise Brown of growing up as the first ‘test tube baby’ with Bob seeming like an additional family member. Another of the panelists speaking at the event on her experience of IVF and why Bob’s work was so important, was broadcaster Emma Barnett, currently a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, who wrote about the event in her blog. The event was recorded and we will share the video shortly.
Saturday’s talk by Professor Haniffa (known as Muzz) was an astonishing insight into the work she and her team are doing, in collaboration with other research teams, to create comprehensive reference maps of all human cells, which could one day lead to individually tailored medical treatment. It was a real honour to have such an impressive speaker discuss this cutting-edge research. Again, the talk was recorded and we look forward to sharing the film soon.
The annual Association Dinner is always a highlight of the Weekend, and so it proved this year. A delicious meal was rounded off by Graham Farmelo’s interesting and amusing look at Winston Churchill’s interest in science, and the people that he chose to listen to on the topic. It’s a subject not often discussed in relation to a Prime Minister more commonly viewed through the lens of his wartime leadership, but of course it has a direct link to the founding of our College, which Churchill wanted to Britain’s MIT.
You can find photos of the Weekend below. Next year’s Alumni Weekend takes place slightly earlier in the month over 18–20 September, we hope to see you then!