ISSUE 20 EASTER TERM 2014 Hughes
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THE MAGAZINE OF HUGHES HALL, CAMBRIDGE ISSUE 20 EASTER TERM 2014 Hughes AFRICA PROGRAMME HONG KONG ENTREPRENEURSHIP SIR ANDREW MOTION Culture, Public Health, Loyal friends and families: Small beginnings and big War, Peace and Poetry: Research, Training: Hughes the relationships between successes: the innovators remembering the Great War engages with Africa. Hughes and Hong Kong. from Hughes Hall. at Hughes PAGE 4 PAGE 12 PAGE 14 PAGE 18 RISING HIGH – OUR SPECIAL PARTNERSHIPS IN HONG KONG DR EDWIN LEONG’S MAJOR GIFT TO HUGHES 1 IN THIS ISSUE From The President 3 Student News 20 Hughes Hall in Africa 4 The Honor Chapman Lecture 22 College and Staff News 9 PGCE – Then and Now 23 Fragrant Harbour: Hughes Hall and Hong Kong 12 Alumni News 24 Entrepreneurs 14 Overseas Trips 25 Sport 16 Hughes Hall and the Great War 26 Events 18 The first game of the season at Fenner’s 2 WELCOME From The President Dear Alumni and Friends of Hughes Hall This will reach most readers shortly before I move on from Hughes Hall at the end of August, after eight years as President. So I take this opportunity to say a warm ‘thank you’ to all those who have given such friendly support over this time, to me and to the College – and not least to the many who have responded with such wonderful generosity to the ‘leaving fund’ which goes to swell our scholarships endowment. It has been an extraordinary experience. Perhaps more than any other college, Hughes is in a state of evolution. We seek to keep the best of the past – our sense of a proud history, our friendliness and informality – and harness that to new ambitions as we grow and build our academic reputation and as we assert ourselves on the Cambridge scene. The College is a lively place, animated by the hundreds of bright young people who bring their energy and ideas to enhance our daily life. I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this life and feel it a great privilege to have played a part in the history of Hughes. I wish my successor, Anthony Freeling, and all those who will steer its future path, every success. With all good wishes Sarah Squire President 2006-2014 3 HUGHES HALL IN AFRICA University launches Cambridge-Africa programme The Cambridge-Africa projects, to enhance and Wolfson, King’s and Churchill, Africa Programme, Professor Programme aims to boost sustain research culture in will be matched with a David Dunne, Fellows spoke training for doctoral and Africa in the long term Cambridge academic and on topics as diverse as ‘Framing post-doctoral researchers and to continue building spend up to a year in their Peace: Exploring Conciliatory from African Universities and Cambridge’s engagement research group or laboratory. Radio Programming in Burundi Institutes through partnership with the continent. and Uganda’, ‘Graphene Based with Cambridge University. A Research Showcase featuring Natural Dye Sensitized Solar These relationships will enable Hughes Hall is one of four the Visiting African Fellows Cells’ and ‘Genetic Diversity, researchers from Africa and colleges to host an affiliated took place at Hughes in late Linkage Disequilibrium and Cambridge to collaborate on African Fellow. The Visiting November. Chaired by the Genomic Selection of the academic and administrative Fellows, who will also be at Director of the Cambridge- Ashanti Dwarf Pig of Ghana’. Programme initiatives: Wellcome Trust-Cambridge African researchers to address institutions to improve health and senior fellowships as well Centre for Global Health problems which inhibit the use and welfare throughout the as collaborative partnerships Research (WT-CCGHR) of medical advances to meet region. Talented young African with African researchers. key healthcare challenges: the researchers working in health- The University is home to one lack of scientific infrastructure, related disciplines will be of the Wellcome Trust’s Centres research training and assigned mentors who will Training Health Researchers for Global Health Research. mentoring, unavailable in large help them with the writing, into Vocational Excellence in These five University-based parts of the continent. planning and presentational East Africa (THRiVE) centres support researchers skills required to secure funding working in public health The Centre will benefit from for their projects. Clinical and African countries have a and tropical medicine and access to the extensive basic biomedical researchers in disproportionately large encourage interaction between biomedical and health-related Cambridge deemed to have number of diseases that are UK institutions and those research capacity across many exceptional ability to carry less understood, or for which in low and middle income departments and institutes out independent research medicines are unavailable, countries. The Cambridge in Cambridge, exchanging programmes in Africa will be which slows economic Centre will be working with knowledge with African offered clinical intermediate development across the 4 of the Alborada Trust. Primarily come to Cambridge for a concerned with animal welfare six-month visiting academic The Cambridge-Africa collaboration in the UK and Ireland, the Fellowship. The second is charity also supports worldwide for four African research will enhance Africa’s research “ health projects. The Fund will managers or administrators to culture in the long term. assist collaborators from the receive a few weeks’ training University of Cambridge and at the University’s Research sub-Saharan African institutions Operations Office. continent. The THRiVE and co-mentorship provided with research and travel costs, partnership aims to strengthen by leading Cambridge research with grants ranging from the scientific infrastructure of scientists. African PhD students £1,000 to £20,000. Makerere University/UVRI the region, boosting disease may choose to spend a year Infection and Immunity control and improving public working in their mentor’s Research Training health. Led by Makerere laboratory in Cambridge, while Cambridge Africa Programme (MUII) University in Uganda, the post-doctoral researchers are Partnership for Research partnership will support young offered two-year Fellowships Excellence (CAPREx) MUII will combat the shortage researchers, helping them to and the possibility of spending of trained professionals develop into self-sustaining up to 8 months in Cambridge. Two types of Fellowship are qualified to deal with endemic scientific leaders capable of available every year through diseases by supporting the addressing health threats. the CAPREx programme. training of East Africans University launches Cambridge-Africa programme Alborada Research Fund The first enables 10 to 15 researching infection and Cambridge University will African scholars working in immunity. This will be achieved support African researchers The Cambridge-Africa the fields of humanities and through the collaboration working in Africa on health Alborada Research Fund was social sciences, engineering of regional and international priorities, with co-supervision established with the support and biological sciences to research institutions. Visiting African Fellows share their research at Hughes On 26 February, the Visiting Dr Ferdinand Okwaro spoke work on gender stereotypes in African Fellows took part in a on the ethics of transnational Ugandan oral literature. Prior Research Showcase at Hughes. bio-medical research, and the to 1970, the literature studied Each Fellow explained their unwillingness of governments in the country was heavily work, highlighting the key in the south to provide funding influenced by its status as a research they have undertaken for Public Health research. former British colonial territory. since starting at Cambridge. Gradually, more African writers After an introduction from Ms Allen Kabagenyi explored were taught and an armchair Professor David Dunne, who the high population growth revolution took place. Without thanked Hughes for hosting rate in Uganda, a result of high completely rejecting European the event and supporting the fertility and declining mortality literature, the revolution made programme, the five Visiting levels. The country’s population a case for the reduction of Fellows took to the floor. is the youngest in the world: these texts to make room been described as the most 78% of Ugandans are under for African literature. The Pentecostal city in the world, Dr Betty Nannyonga, a 30, and 52% are under 15. development of oral literature although Muslims make up mathematician working with Ms Kabagnyi examined the was a result of this movement. almost 50% of the population. the Department of Education, low rate of contraceptive use is one of only three women in the region that has led to The final speaker was Dr Egodi Hughes was proud to host in her department at the this phenomenon Uchendu from the University this event, to demonstrate University of Makerere. She of Nigeria, who spoke on the Hall’s commitment to wants to understand why girls In collaboration with the narratives of conversion to supporting innovative research consistently fail at maths in English Faculty, Professor Abasi Islam in Nigeria’s eastern in and for Africa and to help secondary school in Uganda. Kiyimba has advanced his Niger Delta. Lagos has make it more widely known. 5 Electronic medical records strengthen pathways of HIV care in Kenya John assisting with the Kenya Red Cross emergency response to the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi (EMR) that could strengthen the linkages between testing and care, as well as subsequent support and follow-up. We secured some funding and a year later returned to Kenya to implement the system. In 2009, we returned to Kakamega and worked with the Ministry of Health to ensure that the system adhered to national standards. We implemented the first version of the EMR in Provincial General Hospital David Okello is 52 years old remains inadequate and fewer constrained settings like Kenya, and enrolled as many patients and lives with his wife and than 40% of people living with antiretroviral treatment (ART) is as we could still find who had four children in a village near HIV know their status.