The Trinity Hall research grant allowed me to visit Iceland where I met with researchers at both the University of Iceland and Reykjavik University to discuss the use of AI in Iceland and how the unique culture of Iceland informed that use. I spoke with Professor Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir, Pro-Rector of Science and Professor of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the University of Iceland about the increased wealth in Iceland since the 1940's when fishing technology improved the industry, and Iceland's economy increased, this has created a drive in Iceland to embrace new technology in all capacities, even if it comes at a negative cost.
I also had the opportunity to speak to a researcher at the interdisciplinary research centre in artificial intelligence spanning multiple departments at the School of Technology and School of Social Sciences at Reykjavik University. We discussed the unique language of Icelandic and how it brings up unique bias issues when programming AI due it's gendered grammar. This trip was an essential part of my research and directly informing the essay I am writing in my MPhil on how cultures form AI use in unique ways. Additionally, this unique opportunity helped me to expand my knowledge on Icelandic AI use, allowed me to build broader relationships across the academic world.
"I am so glad I made Trinity Hall my first choice of college, it is a friendly and inclusive college that have supported me to thrive here. My research grant enabled me to travel to Iceland and meet researchers within my topic so I could study the culture of AI there."
Henry Mark Lugobe, PhD, Medicine and Medical Sciences, 2022
I am Henry Mark Lugobe, an obstetrician and gynaecologist from Mbarara University of Science and Technology and currently a PhD in Medicine student at the University of Cambridge. I belong to trinity hall. My work focuses on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. I am exceedingly honoured and humbled to have received postgraduate research support. When I joined college, the postgraduate coordinator informed me that the college had financial support towards the research activities of postgraduate students.
Through these funds, I attended a variety of conferences. I presented in France at the 23rd World congress of the international society for the study of hypertension in pregnancy https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2210778923001381, where I shared our experience with blood pressure measurement for women being admitted for delivery across 14 hospitals in Uganda. I also attended the British and Irish Hypertension Society conference in Manchester and the 4th East of England Global Health Conference, https://cambridgeghp.org/poster-competition-2024/ . I was fortunate enough to be one of the very few Africans at these meetings. In France, for example, I was one out of the 6 Africans present and this was only possible because of the postgraduate research support fund. As a clinical academic from Uganda, Africa, our voice and research work is under represented at many of the international conferences. The barriers range from visa restrictions, unaffordable conference registration fees to high costs of travel and accommodation.
I also attended the Cambridge Judge Business School Enterprise Tech, partially funded by my postgraduate grant, where I received entrepreneurship training. This particular training was important because as a clinician, I had not received any formal training in entrepreneurship and so this was an opportunity that enabled me to learn and receive skills in this area.
My long-term career goal is to become an independently-funded clinical and academic researcher with expertise in developing, testing, and implementing innovative strategies to improve maternal and new born outcomes in resource limited settings to tackle an issue of critical public health importance. After my PhD I will be actively involved in the clinical care of high risk pregnant women and I will also be teaching medical students. I will be applying for early career research funds to test innovations within our setting that can reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with pregnancy hypertension. I will also seek funding to develop a birth registry and preeclampsia registry that will help us understand the women at risk and also their long term risk for future cardiovascular disease following a pregnancy complicated by hypertension.
"I am grateful for having received the postgraduate research support that enabled me to present my research work and also attain entrepreneurship knowledge and skills."
Martin Kirsch, PhD, Politics and International Relations, 2024
The College’s postgraduate research grant has made it possible to attend the largest international conference in my field, the International Studies Association Conference. Without the grant, I would not have been able to go to San Francisco to present my research. This was crucial for my development as a researcher – presenting at an international conference is an important stepping stone to finding future employment in academia. In the same vein, attending the conference was important to connect with other researchers interested in similar work. Ever since attending the conference, I have become a part of a workshop of researchers that is currently in the process of publishing a special issue on the themes and topics that we discussed at the conference in San Francisco. The College’s financial support has been indispensable for making this possible, and I am very grateful for that.
Throughout my PhD research, the college community in the MCR has been a welcoming space in which I found great friends. I greatly value the College community for its inter-disciplinary environment, which is something that attracted me to come to Cambridge in the first place. Nowhere else is it possible to find so many people working on such a variety of things. This has not just been inspirational professionally, or interesting socially, but has led me to find great friends outside of my own area of study, which would otherwise be difficult in the postgrad community.
The College plays an important role in facilitating this environment and is highly supportive of the MCR committee that helps making postgrad life possible.
"Trinity Hall brings us all together, socially and professionally."
I had never considered rowing before I came to Trinity Hall. In fact, I had never really encountered it and knew nothing about how the sport. I tried out some learn-to-row sessions during Freshers’ Week after others told me how much they enjoyed it, and never really looked back.
As a sport, I found rowing incredibly rewarding. There is a reason some people argue that rowing is the ultimate team exercise; working with seven other rowers and a cox, where every athlete is acting in unison and thinking together creates a unique atmosphere. I love racing, especially in the Bumps which are such a distinctively Cambridge experience.
College rowing allows those who were never exposed to the sport to learn in an accessible and encouraging environment, and Trinity Hall Boat Club is a great example of this. The resources available to such a small college is what has helped our boats have such a significant presence on the Cam. As a novice, it was inspiring watching the senior women continue to improve and be successful, and I am glad that this is a reputation which has continued to solidify itself and I get to enjoy in my final year at THBC.
The Club’s nurturing and stimulating environment ensures that Trinity Hall rowers leave Cambridge with a well-rounded and diverse university experience.
My time at Trinity Hall has been filled with experiences and memories that have shaped me into who I am, but the Boat Club has been one of the most notable. I have learnt just as much during my time with the Club, and especially as Women’s Captain, as I have during all my other academic endeavours at the University.
Receiving the Rowan Williams Cambridge & Trinity Hall Studentship was a decisive moment in my life. If not for the Studentship, I wouldn’t have been able to accept the offer to pursue the LLM at the University of Cambridge. As an international student from Ukraine, I am beyond grateful for the support that Trinity Hall provides to students from conflict zones. Thanks to the donors’ generosity, I found a safe learning place and a welcoming community at Trinity Hall. The academic rigour of the course and brilliant community at Cambridge made me constantly expand my horizons. Naturally, studying at Cambridge has had a profound impact on my outlook, professional knowledge and future legal career.
Upon graduation from the LLM program, I progressed to complete an internship with a leading arbitral institution in London and now look forward to commencing a new chapter working for a leading international law firm. The standard of education at Cambridge was fundamental for me in achieving these professional milestones. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who supported the Give TogeTHer campaign - together, you made a transformative impact on my life.
"The support from Trinity Hall community has enabled me to fulfil my biggest academic aspirations and pursue the LLM at the University of Cambridge. Thank you so much to all Trinity Hall supporters and donors - I will be forever grateful for your generosity that has truly changed my life."
I graduated from Cambridge with an MPhil in Public Policy, with distinction, in 2022, as a proud recipient of the first Rowan Williams Cambridge Trust and Trinity Hall Studentship. It is an understatement to say that my Cambridge education has been transformative, especially with the institution’s long history of contributions to economics and policy globally. Now as a policy professional at the Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council, I am grateful that my time in Cambridge helped me to develop technical policy skills, including novel strategies in data analysis which are indispensable in today’s policy landscape. Working on risk assessments of money laundering and terrorism financing, I am beyond grateful for the ability to utilise my Trinity Hall education to serve and protect my country, the Philippines.
