MCR Academic Symposium launched

On 27 November, during the penultimate week of Michaelmas term, Harris Manchester College’s MCR, led by new President Jay Mok, launched its inaugural Academic Symposium, in conjunction with the College’s Principal, Professor Beth Breeze.  

The event, which is set to become a regular feature of the College calendar, provided an opportunity for HMC’s postgraduate community to come together, share and discuss their own areas of research in the relaxed setting of the Principal’s lodgings; students not able to attend in person were able to join online. 

The research that was presented ranged from the legal stewardship of archaeological landscapes (Krasimir Ivanov, MSc Applied Landscape Archaeology) and the significance of women in 16th and 17th century York via the study of wills (Anne-Marie Harvatt, DPhil English Local History) through to the architectural politics of English churches in 19th century Italy (Robert Gullifer, DPhil Architectural History) and the role of hepatoma derived growth factor in tissue injury and repair (Anastasia Ardasheva, Graduate-Entry Medicine). 

HMC students Anastasia Ardasheva and Anne-Marie Harvatt either side of the HMC Principal, Professor Beth Breeze

Image: Federico Murgia

The event also provided an opportunity for the attendees to ask questions and find out more about their fellow students’ research. 

MCR President Jay Mok commented: “The initiative began with some inspiring conversations at the MCR, and I started developing this idea with the Committee’s amazing Mature and Academic Officer, Robert Gullifer. Many of us at the MCR shared a desire to create a space to connect, share, and be inspired by each other’s work at Oxford. To see that idea come to life, and to witness the incredible range of scholarship it celebrated, was a true highlight of the term. But this is just the start; together, we hope to build a legacy of curiosity and connection worthy of Harris Manchester’s unique scholarly community.”