Past events

Romanticism and the Black Atlantic

Romanticism is best known as a movement celebrating political and imaginative liberty - the human mind freeing itself from the...

The power of storytelling: care survivors and reparative justice

How can the powerless make their voices heard? On Monday 20 March, as part of the Cambridge Festival, Dr Véronique...

Beyond online safety: AI, web3, and the Metaverse

What is the future of online safety? The Online Safety Bill gives social media companies a duty of care towards...

The next generation: navigating the age of generative AI

How will the coming age of generative AI shape our daily lives? Who should have access to these tools? And...

Technology and geopolitics with Britain’s former chief cyber negotiator

How should democratic governments and societies prepare for the future? What different skills are needed in public policy today? Is...

Lisa Jardine Memorial Lecture 2023 - Archival pursuits: unediting lives and letters

All editors and archivists have biases hidden even from themselves, but what do we do when they wilfully mislead us...

Enhancing vaccine uptake in an age of COVID-19

On 7 February, the Intellectual Forum hosted a critical discussion about how to make our communities - our world -...

Hacktivism and Black creativity

"This lecture series will cultivate a global community of change-makers that want to build at the intersection of disruptive innovation...

The Curiosity Incubator at the Intellectual Forum: an 'Accelerator for Good'

On 24-25 January, Intellectual Forum Senior Research Associate Bridget Gildea held the pilot of her Curiosity Incubator, an 'Accelerator for...

Building sustainable communities: rehabilitating 33 million people after the 2022 Pakistan Floods

What happens if you involve communities in post-disaster development? On 1 February, the Intellectual Forum was joined by Yasmeen Lari...

The Falling of Dusk

Why should Christians embrace suspicious doubt? Can a suspicious Christianity challenge doubters? On 12 January, the Intellectual Forum hosted a...

Hostile Film Screening

On 29 November, the Intellectual Forum screened Hostile, an award-winning feature-length documentary written, produced, and directed by BAFTA-longlisted filmmaker Sonita...

Boy Actors in Early Modern England

What was life like for early modern boy actors, and what was it like to write for them? The Intellectual...

Lessons for the NHS from high-stakes decision making

What can be learned from situations where high-stakes decisions have to be made? “The route to making safe high-pressure decisions...

Abortion is still a crime in Britain: changing the law for women and girls

Many people assume that the right to an abortion is enshrined in law in most of the UK. But that's...

Bridges or walls: a competitive or cooperative planet?

On 1 October the Intellectual Forum was joined by Intellectual Forum Senior Research Associate and former diplomat Farukh Amil. Farukh...

An evening with Lemn Sissay

The Intellectual Forum was joined by renowned poet, playwright, memoirist, performer, and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE. Lemn read from his...

Infrastructure and time: what future should we build?

How long does it take to build new infrastructure and why does this matter? Are we imagining useful infrastructure futures...

New leaders, new rules: an immersive workshop for aspiring leaders

We are in a leadership and motivational crisis today - as individuals, in our organisations, and as a society at...

College community environment forum

The Intellectual Forum hosted the College Community Environment Forum as part of Green Week Michaelmas 2022. In 2021, the College...

Drawing without seeing at the Intellectual Forum

Is beauty in an object, or in a concept? Materials have the ability to seduce or distract us from the...

The Great Post Office Scandal

How do you expose one of the UK's biggest ever miscarriages of justice? The Great Post Office Scandal is the...

Joined Up Thinking

At a time of existential global challenges, we need our best brainpower. How do we create genius environments, help our...

An Intimate History of Evolution

Jesus College Honorary Fellow Alison Bashford FBA came to the Intellectual Forum on Wednesday 5 October to discuss her book...

Here We Are: film screening and Q&A

On the 27th August, we screened the animated short film Here We Are, based on the award-winning book by Oliver...

From ‘altruism’ to solidarity: funding feminist movements

On Thursday 16 June, we were joined by feminist activist Lori Adelman. Lori is Vice President at Global Fund for...

Communities in space: a one-day conference

On Friday 29th April, this one-day conference investigated the social, economic, cultural, legal, governmental, and other issues relating to future...

Twitter: power and responsibility

On 27th April Twitter’s Senior Director of Global Public Policy, Nick Pickles, joined us to discuss the issues and principles...

Imaging in four dimensions

On 8th April, as part of the Cambridge Festival 2022, Dr Tiffany Harte led a turn-based game to help build...

Productivity: does it really matter?

We spend a significant portion of our waking hours on our work, and “productivity” has become a ubiquitous term for...

Financing the transition to a sustainable economy

On 7th April Dr Nina Seega asked: What is sustainable finance? What has COP26 meant for the financial sector? And...

Make your own medieval medical charms

On Sunday 3rd April 2022, as part of the Cambridge Festival 2022, Intellectual Forum Senior Research Associate Dr Kat Hindley...

Breaking the rules of protein synthesis in living systems

On Friday 1st April 2022, as part of the Cambridge Festival 2022, synthetic biologist Dr Kim Liu questioned whether we...

Pre-packaged: corporate and political influences on children’s nutrition

On Thursday 31st March, in a talk for the Cambridge Festival 2022, Dr Sarah Steele, of the Intellectual Forum and...

Holding Facebook accountable: why independent oversight matters

Dex Hunter-Torricke, The Oversight Board’s Head of Global Communications & Public Engagement, joined us on Tuesday 29th March 2022 to...

Being in connection: a conversation with Sharon Dodua Otoo

On Friday 18th March 2022, attendees had the chance to hear an exciting preview of Ada’s Realm, the remarkable new...

The Lisa Jardine Memorial Lecture 2022

The 2022 Lisa Jardine Memorial Lecture was given by Professor Bill Sherman on Tuesday 15th March 2022. This illustrated lecture...

The Voice of Sin

In conjunction with the Cambridge Film Trust and the Japan Foundation, Jesus College and the Intellectual Forum were delighted to...

Real lives in science

On International Women’s Day (Tuesday 8th March 2022) we were joined by a number of university members including undergraduates, postgraduates...

Intact: what would it take for your body to be good enough?

Professor of Political Philosophy and Jesus College Fellow Professor Clare Chambers joined us on Friday 25th February 2022 to rethink...

Should the police use more facial recognition?

On Friday 25th February, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Bernard Hogan Howe, who argues for increased use of facial recognition...

Iwane: Sword of Serenity

Tales from a reformed establishment lackey

On Thursday 10th February, Andrew Mitchell returned to his alma mater Jesus College, Cambridge to talk about his life and...

What’s the worst that could happen?

Did you know that you’re more likely to die from a catastrophe than in a car crash? On Monday 17th...

Professor Mary Beard: in conversation

Can we grow artificial leather? The future of materials with Andras Forgacs

How will the world move away from petrochemical and animal-derived materials? On Thursday 18th November 2021, the Intellectual Forum's Dr...

Good Data – reasons to be cheerful about our digital future

In conversation with the father of India’s IT revolution, Sam Pitroda

How will the ethics of technology and data sharing impact governance? Sam Pitroda joined us on Friday 29th October 2021...

Screening of experimental film: Lady Blackshirt

On Friday 22nd October 2021, the Intellectual Forum hosted a screening of the new experimental film Impermanence: Lady Blackshirt, followed...

Creating an equitable future through education

On Thursday 7th October 2021, The Yidan Prize Foundation, the University of Cambridge (the REAL Centre at the Faculty of...

Confronting the past, reimagining the future: universities, the legacies of enslavement, and restorative justice

In a one-day virtual conference on Friday 1st October 2021, speakers from universities, the museum sector, local government, and the...

The #MeToo movement in the UK and Australia

On 16 July, the Intellectual Forum, the Australian National University, and the Centre for Social Impact at the University of...

Jesus College Perspectives: long-term thinking with Roman Krznaric

At the first Jesus College Perspectives: Long-term Thinking event on Tuesday 29th June 2021, public philosopher and author of The...

Digging up the past: nuns, the early College, and how they lived

On Wednesday 23rd June 2021, we heard from project leader Preston Boyles and Jesus College archivist Robert Athol about the...

Can positive psychology build a brighter future?

On Monday 21st June 2021, we were joined by Professor Felicia Huppert, Founding Director of the Well-being Institute, University of...

Museums of the future

What are museums for? What will they be like in decades to come, and has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the...

How should a government be?

For over a century, the most pressing question in political thought has been about the size and capacity of the...

Business ecosystems of the future

Businesses are increasingly being challenged to solve problems and come up with new offerings that are way beyond the capabilities any company has in-house.

Vaccine equity: the defining challenge of our times

Are COVID-19 vaccines getting to those who need them most?

COVID-19 mutations: what do they mean for vaccine science?

What do we know about COVID-19 mutations?

Ripples: a live interactive event

How do ripples form the fabric of our world, and how do we make sense of them? From social media...

Young scientists gather for a workshop on atoms

The world is made of atoms, but what does this mean? College Postdoctoral Associate Tiffany Harte delivered an interactive workshop to young scientists.

How can we fix the financial system?

How can university endowments, pension funds, and individual savers contribute to the mitigation of inequality and the climate crisis through their investments?

Is social media changing your life? Watch the discussion

The Intellectual Forum and the University of Cambridge ThinkLab welcomed an expert panel to talk about the impact social media is having on our lives for the Cambridge Festival 2021.

Why lifelong learning matters

Available to watch online: A virtual fireside chat with MasterClass Founder and CEO David Rogier.

The economic costs of insufficient sleep

Michael Whitmore, Research Leader at RAND Europe, counts the costs of insufficient sleep.

A big data approach to improving sleep

Sleep Cycle's CTO Mikael Kågebäck and Malin Abrahamsson, Director of PR and Partnerships, gave a talk for the Intellectual Forum and ThinkLab's Sleep Week.

How does sleep health affect society?

Internationally renowned sleep scientist Dr Michael Grandner gave a fascinating lecture for the Intellectual Forum and ThinkLab's Sleep Week - now available to watch online.

Children's sleep: facts and myths

Sleep Week continues with a data-driven discussion on 'what works' when it comes to infant sleep - now available to watch online.

What is 'normal' infant sleep?

The Intellectual Forum's Sleep Week started with a discussion of infant sleep with anthropologist Professor Helen Ball.

Watch the 2021 Lisa Jardine Memorial Lecture

How should historians study emotions to help them understand the past? The German Peasants' War of 1524-6 was the biggest...

The experience economy with James Wallman

Available to watch online: former British Deputy Ambassador to the US Patrick Davies OBE discusses US politics.

Transition in the USA: what just happened and what’s next?

Available to watch online: former British Deputy Ambassador to the US Patrick Davies OBE discusses US politics.

How The Simpsons predicts the future

Available to watch online: The Simpsons writer and Producer Al Jean talks about Humour, Politics and how The Simpsons predicts the future.

Dr Giles Yeo explains 'the truth about diets'

Watch Dr Giles Yeo talk about diets, bodyweight, and why we eat the way that we do.

Dr Matthew Young explains the developmental origins of cancer

You can now watch Dr Matthew Young talk about the developmental origins of cancer.

Dr Temple Grandin explains why we need "different kinds of minds"

You can now watch Dr Temple Grandin talk about neurodiversity and different ways of thinking.

Dr Ulrich Schneider asks: is "detecting" the same as "seeing"?

You can now watch Dr Ulrich Schneider's talk on whether or not we can believe what we see.

Mo Gawdat shares the secrets of staying happy in difficult times

You can now watch Mo Gawdat's talk on finding silver linings in the face of crisis.

How is tech changing how we work, think and feel?

You can now watch our panel discuss the ways in which tech is having an impact on our lives.

Watch Professor Sarah Bridle explain how we can take a bite out of climate change

You can now watch Professor Sarah Bridle talk about her new book: Food and Climate Change without the Hot Air

Yidan Prize Conference Series: Europe 2020

On Wednesday 11 March 2020 Jesus College hosted this year's Yidan Prize Conference, welcoming guests from around the world to...

Climate Finance Conference

On Tuesday 3 March 2020, the Intellectual Forum hosted the first Climate Finance Conference: an invitation-only gathering of key investors...

RBBC Russo-British Conference Series: Building the Future Together

On 27 February 2020, this Conference, held at Jesus College, brought together high-level participants from the UK and Russia to...

Belinda Wilkes brings the high-energy universe to Jesus College

On 5 February 2020, Dr Belinda Wilkes showed enthralled audiences images taken from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. During her talk...

A night of poetry with Raymond Antrobus: a journey through the deaf and hearing world

Winner of the 2018 Ted Hughes Award, Raymond Antrobus, came to the Intellectual Forum to deliver his poems in spoken-word...

Jesus College Conference on Food, Farming and Climate Change

On 30 January 2020, this Conference brought together experts from a diverse set of backgrounds to explore the future of...

Has the UK's aid commitment advanced the sustainable development goals? A conversation with Stephen Twigg

On 23 January 2020, former MP and Chair of the International Development Select Committee, Stephen Twigg, came to the Intellectual...

Lex Ex Machina: a conference on law's computability

On 13 December 2019, this conference brought together a diverse range of experts to explore the advances in artificial intelligence...

An Evening with Simon Reid-Henry on the Empire of Democracy from 1970-2017

On Wednesday 27 November, author, academic, and Jesus Alumnus, Simon Reid-Henry, came to the Intellectual Forum to talk about his...

Are British politics in turmoil?

On Tuesday 19 November, the Financial Times journalist and Jesus Alumna, Miranda Green, came to the Intellectual Forum to talk...

Prisoners? Artists? Or Both?

PhD student Ellie Brown came to the Intellectual Forum to talk about her work with prisoners.

Discovering the untold history of the Parthenon

Dr Elizabeth Key Fowden came to the Intellectual Forum to interrogate the diverse history of the Parthenon.

Watch Professor James Clackson's history of taboo words

Professor James Clackson joined us at the Intellectual Forum to talk about taboo language as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2019.

Is the law just "common sense with knobs on"?

Jesus College Fellow Julius Grower came to the Intellectual Forum to put the public through their paces with a number of tricky legal conundrums.

How does industry influence health and nutrition research? Watch the live-stream here

Public health experts Dr Sarah Steele and Professor David Stuckler came to the Intellectual Forum to discuss the influence of industry over what we know about health and nutrition.

Rustat Report on the Future of Homes, Housing and Urbanisation

On 27 September 2019, this Conference brought together a diverse range experts to explore the future of cities and housing...

Novelist returns to Jesus College for Cambridge Science Festival event

The Intellectual Forum welcomed Megan Hunter (2006) to the Cambridge Science Festival to discuss her debut novel The End We Start From.

The world of quantum computers: Jesus Fellow gives Science Festival lecture to packed audience

Jesus College Fellow Dr Ulrich Schnieder delivered a lecture on quantum computers for the Cambridge Science Festival.

Beyond Star Wars: Professor Tim Willkinson explains Holographic Projection Displays

You can now watch Professor Tim Wilkinson talk about his work on Holographic Projection Displays for the Cambridge Science Festival.

Is technology making you miserable? Watch the debate

On the 11th of March 2019, experts in law, the psychology of technology use, social media, and gamification, met to...

Watch Baroness Helena Kennedy QC discuss international law in the age of Brexit and Trump

A video of the 2019 Lisa Jardine Memorial Lecture, delivered by Baroness Helena Kennedy, is now available to watch.

Rustat Report on Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Healthcare

On 31 January 2019, the Rustat Conferences brought together experts from across academia, industry, the NHS, government, and enterprise, to discuss Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data (BD), and healthcare.

Making better decisions with Steven Johnson at the Intellectual Forum

The Farsighted event with non-fiction writer and TV presenter Steven Johnson is now available to watch.

Book Launch of It Keeps Me Seeking with Andrew Briggs

Intellectual Forum hosted the Cambridge launch of It Keeps Me Seeking: The Invitation from Science, Philosophy and Religion, a new book by Andrew Briggs, Hans Halvorson & Andrew Steane.

What should children learn?

The importance to the next generation of high quality education is undisputed. However, the substance of a good education is often less discussed. A half-day conference on 1 November debated this and more, challenging delegates to think about what and how children should learn.

Influenza - 1918/19 and now

Take two authors and add one virologist to talk about pandemic flu and what do you get? A fascinating discussion about the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak and an insight into modern day preparations for a future pandemic.

The importance of ice: Professor Julian Dowdeswell explains extreme climates

College Fellow Professor Julian Dowdeswell spoke to a packed Intellectual Forum event about the importance of polar ice to the global climate system.

Transforming the future? Anticipation in the 21st Century

The Intellectual Forum was pleased to host Riel Miller to discuss his recent book, Transforming the Future.

Facebook under scrutiny at Intellectual Forum event

Professor Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects us and Undermines Democracy joined an expert panel to discuss the effects that social media is having on democracy and society.

Ballet film premieres at Festival

The premiere of The Ballet of the Nations, a film by Bristol-based Impermanence Dance Theatre, has been screened as part of the Jesus College Intellectual Forum programme for the Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2018.

Watch Dr Clare Chambers argue against state-recognised marriage

You can now see College Fellow Dr Clare Chambers critiquing state-recognised marriage in this livestream of the Against Marriage event hosted by the Intellectual Forum.

Rustat Report on Reconfiguring Careers: Recruitment, Retention and Diversity

On the 21 of September 2018, experts came together to discuss recruitment, retention, and diversity.

Healthcare and data: how do we get it right?

On 13 September 2018, the Intellectual Forum co-hosted with Understanding Patient Data and Hal Hodson, a day-long public conference to explore, engage, discuss, and challenge, ideas around how we manage healthcare data.

Watch The Simpsons star Harry Shearer at Intellectual Forum event

Watch one of the stars of the internationally renowned TV series The Simpsons take questions from the public at an Intellectual Forum event.

Rustat Report on Generations

On 21 June 2018, this Rustat Conference explored 'is there such a thing as a generation gap?'.

How science really works: the secret life of science

Professor Jeremy Baumberg FRS explored "Is the scientific enterprise truly as healthy as we tend to think? How does the system itself shape what scientists do?”

Building a business within the creative industries: an evening with Flora Alexandra Ogilvy

Flora Alexandra Ogilvy, the founder of Arteviste, which helps companies to inspire their audiences by engaging with the contemporary art world, came to the Intellectual Forum to discuss building a business in the creative industries.

Creating the coolest objects in the Universe

Intellectual Forum was pleased to host Jesus College Fellow, Ulrich Schneider, to explore how you can make things colder than anything in outer space.

Using Materials to Think

Advances in science provide the means to probe matter on increasingly minute and vast scales, expanding human senses and calling into question what it means to know and perceive.

Fashion and the circular economy: engineering biology for textile dyeing

The textile industry is a global environmental disaster. Everything from the production of both natural and synthetic fibres to making finished garments carry a negative environmental impact.

Hot topics in bioscience I wished I knew more about

Intellectual Forum hosted a panel of bioscientists from around the University of Cambridge to discuss the hot topics of the day for the Cambridge Science Festival.

Jimmy Choo 'In Conversation' in College

World-famous shoe designer, Professor Datuk Jimmy Choo OBE, kept an audience entertained for over an hour last night as he shared personal stories and sage advice.

China's Belt and Road from a European Perspective

China's economic Belt and Road Initiative was approached from a global and European perspective at a lecture given by Dr Danilo Türk.

Yidan Prize Convenes Educating for the Future Conference

Dr Charles Chen Yidan, founder of the world’s biggest education prize – the Yidan Prize – addressed leading global academics and educators on key issues facing the sector at the Yidan Prize Cambridge Conference held at Jesus College.

Cambridge Railway lecture features College archive material

Nineteenth Century plans from the College archives are just some of the never before published images that formed part of an illustrated lecture about the history of Cambridge Railway Station.

Watch the inaugural Lisa Jardine lecture

Watch the inaugural Lisa Jardine Lecture - delivered by College alum and author of The Silk Roads, Professor Peter Frankopan.

Rustat Report on Global Mobility

On 30 November 2017, this Conference discussed human mobility, including Brexit, now and in the future.

My Year with Helen screening

A film following the Rt Hon Helen Clark, former Prime Minster of New Zealand, was screened at an Intellectual Forum on 24 November.

Does education improve social mobility?: A Question Time style event at the Intellectual Forum

The Intellectual Forum at Jesus College ran a sold-out event for the Cambridge Festival of Ideas involving a Question Time panel style about school education and social mobility.

The automation of consensus: Democracy and the dark arts

The Intellectual Forum co-hosted with Byline Cambridge a discussion on whether the utopian promises of the sharing digital economy have now turned into a dark dystopian present.

Italian town focus of earthquake recovery research

Effective ways to reconstruct and protect communities, buildings and cultural heritage in earthquake-prone areas are being explored by international academics, the Italian authorities and people from the town of Amandola in Italy.

Rustat Report on Ageing Well

On 23 March 2017, the Rustat Conference on Ageing Well discuss ageing in our society from a variety of perspectives.

Rustat Report on the Future of Work

On 22 November 2016, the Rustat Conference on the Future of Work considered pressing questions about the destabilising effects of new technology, and what they means for individuals and workforces.

Director's Discussion on the Rise of Trump

At this Director's Discussion, Dr Julian Huppert, the newly appointed Director of the Intellectual Forum, chaired a panel comprising of...