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TALK

Mon 10 Nov

An Ansoms, Professor of Development Studies, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvainla-Neuve, Belgium Spaces for Stories: Passion and Vulnerability in Research

Centre of African Studies- Michaelmas Term Seminars 2025

Centre of African Studies- Michaelmas Term Seminars 2025

Monday 10 November 2025.

4.30-6pm

Room S1, Alison Richard Building

(Seminars are followed by an informal drinks reception)

in 2 days

TALK

Tue 11 Nov

Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

Showcase event - Introduction to the programme and how to apply.

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge enables talented young Africans to pursue a master’s degree and grow their leadership potential.

The programme aims to cover everything students need to thrive in Cambridge, including tuition costs and a monthly maintenance allowance.

We’re pleased to announce that applications for the 2026/2027 academic year are now open.

Programme themes and eligibility

Our programme themes are climate resilience and sustainability. Recognising the wide range of expertise required to address these complex challenges, prospective Mastercard Foundation Scholars can apply for any full-time one-year postgraduate courses at the University, excluding:

Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Master of Corporate Law (MCL)
Master of Finance (MFIN)
Master of Accountancy (MACC)

To be eligible, you must:

Be a citizen of an African country.
Be resident in an African country, unless you can show temporary absence for study or work (except if identify as an internally displaced person or have refugee status).
Be applying for an eligible master’s course of up to one year in length.
Meet the academic requirement of the course you’re applying for. Most master’s courses require a first-class undergraduate degree, some a 'good' second-class.

Learn more and register to attend below:
Applications for the 2026/2027 academic year are now open | Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

in 3 days

TALK

Wed 12 Nov

Global Diversity in the Sociotechnical Imagination of AI - Professor Allan Blackwell

Global Experiences of Algorithmic Governance Seminar Series

Global Diversity in the Sociotechnical Imagination of AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has always been embedded in complex networks of cultural imagination, corporate business, and socio-political power relations. The great majority of AI research around the world, and almost all commentary on that research, assumes that the imagination, business, and political systems of Western culture and the Global North are sufficient to understand how this technology should develop in future.

This seminar investigates the context within which AI research has been imagined and conducted in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, and explores this in contrast to Mātauranga Māori and indigenous knowledge systems of Aotearoa and Moana Oceania. The questions raised have implications for public policy, technology strategy, future research in development contexts, and the principles that might be applied as practical engineering priorities.

About the speaker

Alan Blackwell is Professor of Interdisciplinary Design in the Cambridge Computer Laboratory. He joined the AI engineering group at Cambridge Consultants Limited in 1989, following an MSc in the field at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. His multi-disciplinary interests have included an undergraduate major in comparative religion and 40 years as an orchestral musician. He is a Fellow of Darwin College, co-founder with David Good of the Crucible Network for research in Interdisciplinary Design, and with David and Lara Allen the Cambridge Global Challenges interdisciplinary research centre.

in 4 days

TALK

Mon 17 Nov

Sarah Njeri, Lecturer in Humanitarian and Development Studies, SOAS Researching Minefield

Centre of African Studies- Michaelmas Term Seminars 2025

Monday 17 November 2025.

4.30-6pm

Room S1, Alison Richard Building

(Seminars are followed by an informal drinks reception)

in 9 days

TALK

Mon 24 Nov

Nicki Kindersley, Senior Lecturer in African History, Cardiff University New Sudans: Wartime Intellectual Histories in Khartoum

Centre of African Studies- Michaelmas Term Seminars 2025

Centre of African Studies- Michaelmas Term Seminars 2025

Monday 24 November 2025.

4.30-6pm

Room S1, Alison Richard Building

(Seminars are followed by an informal drinks reception)

in 16 days