Sawyer Prize showcases students’ research presentation skills

HMC student Andrej Zeman during his presentation

Harris Manchester College student Saad Ismail has won this year’s Sawyer Prize for a presentation on our philosophical understanding of knowledge.

The Sawyer Prize, which is reserved for postgraduates at HMC and rewards the winner with £200, was made possible by a generous bequest from the late David Sawyer. The annual competition, now in its fourth year, seeks to give students the opportunity to present their research in an enthusiastic and engaging way.

In previous years, students have been tasked with producing a poster showcasing their field of study. This year, the four entrants were instead asked to give a three-minute presentation to a panel of HMC Fellows led by Professor Mark Harris, Professorial Fellow and Tutor for Graduates, with the winner selected on the basis of how successfully they communicated the originality of their research.  

In his presentation Ismail, who is studying for an MPhil in Philosophical Theology, illustrated the Islamic philosopher Avicenna’s theory of knowledge by considering the extent to which his own children recognised him as their father.

Also presenting their research were History DPhil candidate Spencer Drake, who gave an overview of America’s nineteenth-century cultural and intellectual relationship with Britain; graduate-entry medic Zoe Stamoulis, who introduced the Oxfordshire Lactation Survey; and Religion and Theology DPhil candidate Andrej Zeman, who outlined his work on eighteenth and nineteenth-century theories of divine action.

Professor Harris commented: “Every one of our entrants performed extremely well, making the judges' task a hard one. We were delighted to see such high standards of presentation, originality and interest on display among our students.”