SPECIAL GUESTS

Described by one commentator as ‘the most prolific historical scholar of our age’, Jeremy graduated with a starred first in history from Queen’s College, Cambridge in 1976, followed by graduate research at Oxford. He has been a Professor of History at the universities of Durham and Exeter and is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West, Philadelphia. Jeremy has published over 180 books, ranging over almost every aspect of modern British and European political and military history.

Professor Jeremy Black

Helen is a director of the London-based architecture and urban design company Burrell, Foley Fischer. Helen graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA in Architecture and a DipArch and is a member of both the UK professional architecture societies. Helen has worked on a number of important projects, most recently on multi-award-winning projects Depot Lewes, a new three-screen community cinema and the remodelling of Hall for Cornwall, a Grade II* theatre and creative hub.

Helen Grassly

Menna is the author of six magical realism novels: Men, Money & Chocolate (translated into 26 languages), The House at the End of Hope Street, The Dress Shop of Dreams, The Witches of Cambridge, The Lost Art of Letter Writing & The Patron Saint of Lost Souls, all set among the cafes and colleges of Cambridge.

Menna graduated with a BA in Modern History from Balliol College, Oxford. She was a Royal Literary Fellow (2022-23) and she supervises Master's students for the MSt in Creative Writing at Cambridge University, as well as teaching The History of the Novel for the MA in Creative Writing at Anglia Ruskin University.

Menna van Praag

Susie Boyt is the author of seven acclaimed novels which have been praised for their precision and wisdom about the human heart under duress, as well as for their mordant wit. Susie graduated in 1992 from St Catherine’s College, Oxford with a degree in English and subsequently obtained an MA in Anglo-American Literary Relations from UCL. Susie is a Director at the Hampstead Theatre in London. She also works for Cruse Bereavement Care. Last year she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Susie Boyt

Zeynep is Associate Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture in the Faculty of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford and a fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. Zeynep studied in Turkey as an undergraduate, subsequently transferring to Harvard for her PhD. Zeynep has published widely on Islamic art, architecture and historiography. Zeynep will be offering sessions on studying architecture and art history.

Zeynep Yurekli-Gorkay

George is a Lecturer in Economics at the University of Leeds, primarily teaching the BSc Business Management course. George holds a BA in Economics from the University of Thessaly; a Diploma in Music Performance (piano) from the Hellenic Conservatory; and an MA in Culture, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship from the University of Leeds. His PhD, also from Leeds, explored discourses of sustainability within the music industry.

George Zifkos

Suraj is currently pursuing a PhD in International Development at SOAS, University of London, where he also tutors undergraduates. His research is situated in the Political Economy of Development in South-East Asia. Suraj graduated with a BSc in Economics from Cardiff University, ranking top of his cohort. He holds an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Oxford and has also studied Economics at the University of Cambridge.

Suraj Nair

Liam studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford, graduating with First Class Honours. He was made an Oxford scholar after achieving a distinction in his first year exams, and was Vice-President of his college JCR in his second year. He has taught English in international schools for three years, tutored both A Level and GCSE students, and coached gymnastics for a number of years. Liam plays saxophone, and has performed at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and Disneyland Paris.

Liam Connolly

Andrea is a Lecturer in Thermofluids in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, London. He graduated BSc and PhD from the University of Florence, Italy. Andrea also supervises students at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Spray and Combustion Dynamics. Andrea has worked with F1 team Ferrari and is involved in their internship programme. Andrea will be giving an interdisciplinary lecture on AI and Sustainability.

Andrea Giusti

Aaditya is an Aeronautical Engineering major from Imperial College London. Aaditya’s key interest lies in utilising core engineering skills to help create a sustainable future in the aviation sector. Aaditya studied the CBSE curriculum at school in India and achieved the highest grade of 98.2% in his school in the Class 12 final year examinations, with a 100/100 in mathematics.

Aaditya Kashyap

Aditya is a graduate in Engineering from the University of Cambridge. He specialised in Information Engineering with an emphasis on Machine Learning, achieving a first-class result for his MSc project, entitled ‘A novel reinforcement learning technique for financial fraud detection.’ Currently, Aditya is a data science engineer at a digital consultancy in London. His role involves driving the transformation of data science systems in multiple global organisations.

Aditya Jain

Adrib Ahmed

Adrib Ahmed has a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College London. He graduated recently and is about to start employment as an analyst for Rokos Capital. Adrib has been President of the Imperial College Fintech Society, and he served as an Electrical Project Engineer with Imperial College Jet Propulsion, where he led innovative projects that achieved efficiency improvements and cost savings.

Alison holds a BA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in Population Health from University College, London. Alison currently divides her time between tutoring/mentoring and studying for a PhD in Epidemiology and Population Health at University College, London. Alison is particularly interested in the effects of the environment on health.

Alison Nicoll

Akinbami Akinlabi

Akinbami graduated from the University of Oxford, St Hugh College, BA in Economics and Management. His professional pathway includes experience with a fostering agency, internships and work experience with leading firms in the financial sector such as Bain & Company, Accenture, Deutsche Bank and PwC. He received an offer to venture into economic consultancy, and alongside this has taught himself to trade. He has also been acknowledged as part of the UK Top 150 Black Future Leaders 2022-23.

Ayush Mehrotra

Ayush is a student of Economics and Management at the University of Oxford. He is a member of the university finance and economics societies. .Ayush achieved A*s in Maths, Economics and Chemistry and an A in Further Maths at A-Level and was involved in mentoring younger pupils and running his school's economics society

Brenna holds a BA in Human, Social and Political Sciences and an MPhil in Politics and International Studies, both from the University of Cambridge. Brenna mentors students applying to university and also volunteers for SecurityWomen, a small NGO working to promote women's inclusion in peacekeeping operations. Brenna previously worked as the International Relations Managing Editor for the Cambridge Journal of Political Affairs.

Brenna Salkin

Dr Catherine Grainger is a cognitive psychologist, independent researcher and teacher of Psychology. Her psychology research specialises in neurodiversity, in particular autism. She holds a MSc in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, a PhD in Psychology, and co-led the Stirling Autism Research (STAR) lab at the University of Stirling for several years. She now works full-time as a psychology teacher, and continues to supervise a small number of research projects.

Dr Catherine Grainger

Craig graduated from the University of Oxford with a first-class degree with distinction in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics. His specialisation is in High Energy Particle Theory and he wrote a dissertation on Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) and predicting the production cross-section of the Higgs at the LHC. He is currently studying for a PhD in Cosmology and Particle Theory at SNS in Italy.

Craig Clark

Charlie has a BSc in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Durham and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford. Charlie was the joint founder of the payroll and HR software company, Onfolk and tutor in mathematics, physics and computer science.

Charlie Thomas

Erika has a BA in History from the University of Cambridge, where she attained First class marks in her final year Dissertation, Extended Essay and Special Subject exam. After Cambridge, Erika moved to UCL where she was awarded a Distinction in an MA in Legal and Political Theory, an interdisciplinary course drawing on philosophy, politics and sociology.

Erika Brown

Ed is studying for a DPhil in Classical Philosophy at the University of Oxford with a prestigious Ertegun Scholarship in the Humanities. Ed graduated with a Congratulatory First in Literae Humaniores (Classics) at the University of Cambridge, followed by a distinction in the Classics MPhil at Cambridge. Ed Rowed received rowing Blues and has published articles for the New Statesman.

Edward Lamb

Ioana Zamfir

Ioana Zamfir is a DPhil student in History at University of Oxford. She holds an Honours BA in History and International Development from McGill University and an MA in European and Eurasian Affairs from the University of Toronto’s Centre for European and Eurasian Studies. Her work examines identity formation under Soviet and post-Soviet regimes, and her areas of expertise include mis/disinformation, governance in authoritarian contexts, and transnational influence and interference strategies. Her academic work has been published in Aspasia Journal and she is currently supported by the prestigious Ertegun Graduate Scholarship and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship.

Enoch Tilahun

Enoch has just completed a degree in dentistry at King's College London. He serves as the President of the KCL Smile Society, a charity led by students to help people in need in the local area, and has also served as a representative of his cohort to the staff and faculty of Guy's Hospital. Enoch is an experienced tutor, advising students applying for dentistry.

Isaac Fee

Isaac has a BA and MSc in Natural Sciences (Biological) from the University of Cambridge He conducted research on cancer therapeutics for his MSc. He currently works as a Senio Consultant at Cambridge Consulting Service, which supports student researchers with real-world projects. Isaac is planning to develop his cancer research at PhD level

Joshua Abioye

Joshua has an MChem from the University of Oxford (First Class) and is currently a PhD student in organic chemistry at Corpus Christi College, the University of Cambridge. Joshua’s research focuses on medicinal chemistry and chemical biology. Joshua has several years of tutoring experience.

Maksim is a junior doctor currently working in Urology, with rotations in Acute Medicine, Geriatrics, Trauma & Orthopaedics (Orthogeriatrics), General Practice and Emergency Medicine. He has a strong interest in emergency and trauma care with respect to vascular surgery. He takes a keen interest in academic surgery working to improve care on a large scale, directly impacting clinical practice.

Dr Maksim Richards

Nik is studying for a Master's degree at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, having obtained a First as an undergraduate at Cambridge. His areas of research interest include Topology, Geometry, Category Theory and Algebra, areas of Pure Mathematics concerned with abstract structures, particularly with spatial interpretations.
Nik is a skilled chess player, having been ranked up to 7th in national competitions.

Nikolas Brown

Sam Hill

Sam is a graduate from the University of Cambridge, where he achieved a double-first-class degree in Philosophy, ranking 4th in his cohort, and 1st in his college, for all three years of his degree. He specialises in Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, and Kant. Sam then went on to complete the Graduate Diploma in Law at BPP University, in which he achieved a distinction.

Nicholas Testa

Nick graduated with First Class Honours in Economics from the University of Cambridge (being awarded the Pigou Prize for ranking first in Part I Exams) and a Distinction/University Prize from the LSE's MSc Finance and Economics. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Financial Economics from the LSE.

Yedidiah Tilahun

Yedidiah read Medicine at the University of Oxford, serving in outreach activities and programmes, and advising prospective students. As President of Queen's College Medical Society, he facilitated networking events for healthcare professionals and scientists; and as Welfare Officer at University societies, he provided workshops and collaborations for students across the colleges to enhance their University experience. Yedidiah is now a junior doctor.

Tesfahiwet Abraha

Tesfahiwet is a PhD candidate in Geophysics (Seismology) at the University of Oxford. His research interests include seismology, deep learning, geothermal imaging, and critical mineral exploration. Tesfahiwet obtained his BSc in Earth Sciences from the Eritrea Institute of Technology (EIT) in 2016 and a Post Graduate Diploma in Natural Science Education.

Patrick is currently studying for a DPhil in Imperial and Commonwealth history at the University of Oxford, focusing primarily on twentieth-century Sino-British relations.

Patrick has a first-class degree in History from Oxford and his undergraduate thesis won the Robert Herbert Memorial Prize, awarded by the Faculty of History for the best undergraduate thesis in Imperial and Commonwealth History.

Patrick Hao

Perlina has an LLB from King’s College London (First Class) and an LLM from the University of Cambridge. Perlina has a particular interest in international law and human rights. She has interned at the UN, managed the Cambridge Pro Bono Law Project and is a general editor of the Cambridge International Law Journal.

Perlina Patel

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