Margaret Thatcher Scholarship Trust Bulletin: 2022

CONTENTS

PRINCIPAL’S FOREWORD

THE NEW 2022 THATCHER SCHOLARS

SCHOLAR AND ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS

REPORTS FROM THE DIRECTORS

SUMMER TEA PARTY

THE THATCHER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

ALUMNUS PROFILE: MATHEW MADAIN

ALUMNA PROFILE: ALTHEA SOVANI

TRUSTEES AND PATRONS

Trust Director: Jessica Mannix

Programme Director: Dr Claire Cockcroft

Editors: Jack Evans and Jessica Mannix

Design: Jack Evans

Contact: jessica.mannix@some.ox.ac.uk

3: Maciek Tomiczek

5&6: Jack Evans

9: Jack Evans (Portrait); Claire Cockcroft (event photo)

10: Jack Evans

11: Claire Cockcroft (Glendonbrook scholars), Jack Evans (Portraits)

13: Misbah Reshi

14: Dariusz Kanclerz (Jerusalem panorama); Mathew Madain (Portrait)

15: William Dwight Whitney and Charles Rockwell Lanman (Codex); Jack Evans (portrait)

Oxford Thatcher Scholar Martin Fellermeyer and Lord Powell of Bayswater, one of our patrons, in conversation at the Summer Tea Party (see page 10)

Photo Credits

“A COMMUNITY OF CHANGEMAKERS”

The Rt Hon. the Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

Principal, Somerville College Chair of Trustees

The Margaret Thatcher Scholarship Trust was formed 9 years ago on a promise: that we would honour the legacy of Britain’s first woman Prime Minister by supporting the brightest students who have triumphed against the odds to come to Oxford, and, in doing so, establish a community of leaders and change-makers.

From our origins under the leadership of my wise and learned predecessor Dr Alice Prochaska, we have grown rapidly towards the fulfilment of that promise. From working with the Carnegie Endowment to preserving and restoring the tropical forests of the Yucatan Peninsula, and from finding new insights in linguistics to creating spinouts with the potential to save the NHS over £1bn: our alumni are changing the game. This year’s ten new 2022 scholars (pg. 4) are now taking their first steps along this same path, one that leads into the courtrooms, boardrooms, newsrooms, hospitals, NGOs, schools, universities and governments around the world.

This path has always been shaped, guided and supported by you, our donors, patrons and trustees. Your support, whether in the form of endowing scholarships, leading events or offering sage advice, has been crucial in the success of this ambitious project.

Taking a step back to look at this group of people gives me a renewed appreciation for Lady Thatcher. While it is true that there are many points of politics on which we would have disagreed, there can be few other people whose memory can forge such a connection between the leaders of today and the leaders of tomorrow.

Our Thatcher Scholars embody those values and these aspirations for the future. They are academically excellent; they have shown they have the strength to triumph over adversity; and they are ambitious to find new insights and opportunities, whether in academia, the professions or on the ground. I hope that you enjoy reading more about them, and the year we have had, in these pages. At a time of such great uncertainty and insecurity – globally, economically, politically, and environmentally – they are exactly the people we need.

THE NEW THATCHER SCHOLARS

Zoë Campbell

Charles Powell Thatcher Scholar BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Home for me is a small village in Dorset where I attended the local state school. I spent part of my childhood in Kenya, which opened my eyes to the extremes of social and economic inequality, and also to my relative privilege. This early experience, combined with my studies of how societies develop politically and economically, motivated me to understand what causes inequality and how to tackle it. I believe my degree is a great stepping stone for this goal as it gives me a broad understanding of how the world works, exploring the role of governments, economic systems, communities and cultures and how they interact. I am particularly interested in international relations and in environmentally sustainable and socially-just economic models. In the future I am keen to explore how different sectors address inequality, including academia, government, NGOs, and the private sector, so I can get a sense of which would best help me to fulfil my aspirations. In my spare time I enjoy playing for the college rounders team as joint captain, painting and going to charity shops. I am extremely grateful for the scholarship and the opportunities it offers to support me in my efforts to tackle inequality.

Holly Cobain

Michael Bishop Foundation Thatcher Scholar BA Modern Languages (German, and Russian)

I grew up in a rural area of Northern Ireland, where I discovered a passion for modern languages while attending my local grammar school. I was particularly drawn to German as I was fascinated by the logical nature of its grammar, alongside the endless nuances of learning to speak another language fluently. I was always intrigued by the Russian language and the Cyrillic alphabet, so I decided to study Russian ab initio at university. I am currently on my year abroad in Estonia, taking part in a Russian language course, where I am gaining a valuable insight into the impact of the war in Ukraine on relations between Europe and Russia. I am particularly interested in translation and the role of language in facilitating communication on both an individual and international level. Outside of my studies, I enjoy spending time outdoors, listening to music, and playing the piano. I have also been involved in several cross-community projects in Northern Ireland. I am proud to be a Thatcher Scholar and I am extremely grateful to Lord Glendonbrook for giving me the opportunity to realise my full potential and engage with my local community and the wider world.

George Seager Michael Bishop Foundation Thatcher Scholar BA Classics

I grew up in a small town in Suffolk. My exposure to the classical world was practically non-existent until sixth form, when a chance decision to attend a taster session led to me discovering my passion for ancient history. Since then, I have thrown myself into the subject, discovering here at Somerville that my greatest interest lies in late Republican Rome and its judicial processes, as well as the study of the Latin language, topics which my degree has given me ample opportunity to explore in depth. The lack of opportunity for me to study Classics when I was young has led me to be deeply passionate about access and outreach work, and I hope to contribute to helping others from underprivileged backgrounds to discover a wonderful subject which they might otherwise never even consider as a possibility. Outside of academia, I am also an avid writer, managing a writing group here at Somerville which meets once a week to discuss one another’s work. I am honoured to have been chosen to receive this scholarship and am deeply grateful to Lord Glendonbrook for funding my education. I hope to make the most of the opportunity that has been provided to me to pursue excellence in all that I do, academic or otherwise.

Ming Song Oh

Lee Kuan Yew - Thatcher Scholar

BA Law

I read law at the National University of Singapore for a year before coming to Somerville. Only a handful of my extended family have ever pursued higher education, so I had no one to approach about it. I chose the subject because I am fascinated by how it sits at the junction of multiple intertwining disciplines. I also studied Law in order to help the underprivileged in the form of pro-bono work. Serving the community and helping others has always been close to my heart. In junior college I led a project giving academic support to students across Singapore from under-privileged backgrounds, and I was also Project Director of the NUS Law Golden Years Project 2022, where I led a team of 25 students to educate the elderly on wills, lasting power of attorneys, and the CPF nomination scheme. I will use my degree to help those who cannot afford legal aid so that justice is truly accessible to all. Outside of work, I enjoy chess, badminton, and going on food hunts. I am looking forward to trying out the different sports and clubs that both Somerville and the university have to offer. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity; as the second Lee Kuan Yew-Thatcher scholar, I will do my best to protect the rights of the marginalised and promote access to justice.

Xiya Yu

Ng Teng Fong Thatcher Scholar

BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics

My name is Xiya Yu, a first year PPE student in Somerville College. Social sciences have always been my passion, and I am truly grateful for being able to study my favourite subjects here with the support from MTST. I grew up in Hunan, a province in South Central China. Since I was a child, I have always been interested in reading and thinking. My enthusiasm for social sciences continued to grow in high school as I joined the school debate team and Model United Nations. Therefore, studying the three different yet internally related subjects is definitely the most exciting thing for me entering university, since I can listen to past thinkers in depth through reading, communicate ideas with extraordinary teachers and like-minded fellows, and explore the problems that have long been haunting my mind. Throughout my three-year study here, I hope to improve academic and critical thinking skills, which I believe would be invaluable for my future career and lifelong development.

Achraf Brahim

Qatar Thatcher Scholar

MSt Late Antique & Byzantine Studies

Originally from Tunisia, I have studied in Lebanon, the USA and France. I graduated with a BA in History from the American University in Beirut, where my work was focused on Middle Eastern (mainly Islamic) history. While working towards a minor in Semitic Studies, I was introduced to the rich realm of Syriac literature and the diverse traditions of Christian communities under Islamic rule. I was taken aback by the voices of Syriac authors who often produced counter-narratives to mainstream Abbasid historiography, and went on to research the role of Syrian Melkite communities in the flow of historiographical material between the Caliphate and Byzantium. Following my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge of Eastern Christian traditions studying at the EPHE in Paris. At Oxford, I hope to research the impact of the Byzantine reconquest of Antioch on the Melkite Church in northwest Syria and the local translation movement of Greek religious literature into Arabic and Syriac. In my spare time, I enjoy cycling and hiking as well as sketching and visiting museums. I am grateful and honoured to continue my academic journey and join Somerville’s dynamic community as a Qatar Thatcher Scholar.

Dayin Wijaya

Oxford Qatar Thatcher Scholar

MPhil Economics

Before coming to Oxford, I graduated cum laude from NYU Abu Dhabi on a fully funded scholarship. I undertake empirical, data-driven research with a focus on labour economics and international trade. My undergraduate thesis explored the effects of lower trade barriers on upskilling in Indonesia, earning a distinction. I applied my knowledge as an intern across the private and public sectors, including as an analyst in venture capital; driving customer analytics and business development at startups in New York and Jakarta; and conducting market research at the U.S. Commercial Service in Abu Dhabi. As child from a low-income household in rural Indonesia, I am deeply invested in efforts to democratize access to education. In 2018, I spoke at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Boston about the importance of educating economically disadvantaged students, drawing on my own experiences as a recipient of two high school scholarships in Indonesia and the Netherlands. Education is not a fruitless act of charity; it is a long-term investment that can spur growth and foster community development. I continue to mentor first-generation students applying to universities, and to serve on a committee to nominate students for scholarships overseas.

Harrison Nicholls

Clarendon Oxford Thatcher Scholar

DPhil Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary (AOP) Physics

My research focuses on the chemistry and dynamics of atmospheres on planets outside the solar system. These are complex environments that we can only indirectly measure, so having a comprehensive understanding of the processes involved is important for accurate characterisations. More specifically, I have developed cutting edge computer models to account for certain interactions between a star and its planets. This is particularly relevant following the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope and all of the exciting data it will bring us. Working within the Astrophysics department during my masters allowed me to be involved with the questions and people on the forefront of the field and make critical connections within the astrophysics community. My new home within the Atmospheric Physics department here in Oxford provides me with the opportunity to learn more about this rapidly growing area of study and hone my research while working alongside world-leading experts. In my free time, I enjoy rock climbing. Approaching each climb is like solving a puzzle with its own crux which often requires significant thought to solve most optimally, not dissimilar to some problems in Physics. I am so grateful for all the opportunities made available to me thanks to my Clarendon Oxford Thatcher Scholarship.

Giuseppe Di Pietra

Clarendon Oxford Thatcher Scholar

DPhil Atomic and Laser Physics

I come from a small town in the hills of central Sicily. My passion for physics started at high school, where I became fascinated by the elegance and precision with which it allows us to understand a complex and unpredictable world. After my Bachelor’s degree in Physics at the University of Catania, I did an International Masters in the Physics of Complex Systems at the Politecnico di Torino and the Université de Paris. My DPhil research focuses on Quantum Information Theory, studying the information-theoretical foundations of systems in biological entities made of a subsystem that fully obeys quantum theory interacting with a macroscopic component with many degrees of freedom (a complex system). In my spare time, I enjoy playing tennis and table tennis, watching movies, TV shows and motorsport (I’m an avid Ferrari fan!), and reading. I am also interested history, European and United Kingdom monarchies in particular. I’m honoured to have been awarded this prestigious scholarship. I hope to make the most of my studies and career thanks to the community of brilliant fellow Thatcher Scholars and Somervillians!

Oxford Qatar Thatcher Scholar

DPhil Engineering

I grew up in Tripoli, a beautiful city in north Lebanon. With hard work and my parents’ encouragement, I graduated high school as one of the top five students in Lebanon and received the CNRS scholarship to study Electrical Engineering at the Lebanese American University (LAU). I developed my passion for Communications Engineering while working as a Research Assistant with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at LAU, which led to a Masters degree in the field and now my doctoral studies at Oxford. In my spare time, I enjoy walking and playing volleyball with my siblings and cousins. Previously, I was a member of the IEEE club and the Artificial intelligence club at LAU. I was involved in different activities through them including tutoring sessions, introductory sessions to programming and artificial intelligence, and research directing sessions to present work to younger university students. I also volunteered as a proctor for exams, and helped to teach the Control Systems laboratory course during the Fall 2021 semester. I am honoured to be a Thatcher Scholar and I am looking forward to making the most of the great opportunities that it offers me in the next few years.

SCHOLAR NEW S

» Sarafina Otis (2020, Medicine, Margaret Thatcher Scholar) achieved the 2nd highest overall performance in the University 2nd year medical exams.

» Reyam Remmahi (2021, DPhil English, Oxford Qatar Thatcher Scholar) has been volunteering as an editor for the studentrun, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal Oxford Middle East Review

» Zoë Campbell (2021, BA PPE, Charles Powell Thatcher Scholar) interned in water policy research with Dr Hussam Hussein, Executive Director of Partnerships for Development at the Royal Scientific Society, Jordan.

» Caitlin Kelly (2020, BA English, Giles and Ann Currie Thatcher Scholar) gained experience in the archives of four Cambridge colleges organised by the Programme Director. She has received an offer for Oxford’s MSt in English Literature.

» Luca Ricci (2020, DPhil Ancient History, Oxford Thatcher Scholar) spent 3 months at the British School in Rome as a Pelham Scholar. He carried out research at the sites of Tivoli and Lanuvio, and curated an exhibition at a local museum.

A LUMNI NEW S

» Kate House (2016, BA English, Qatar Thatcher Scholar) has been working pro-bono with firms including the Toynbee Advice Clinic and Maternity Action during her training contract with Allen & Overy.

» Isobel Hettrick (2015, BA PPE, Michael Bishop Foundation Thatcher Scholar) joined Autonomous Research in December 2022 to lead coverage of the European Asset Management sector.

» Anna Gee’s (2017, MBiol Biology, Thatcher Scholar) PhD research at Imperial College continues with field work in the Yucatan Peninsula with the climate justice and forest restoration charity Plant-for-the-Planet.

» Will Sargent (2015, Graduate Entry Medicine, Margaret Thatcher Scholar) continues his work as an army doctor. He has published research in Clinical Radiology and Injury this year, and has a third article in review.

» Malak Al-Shaikhali (2018, MSc Immunology, Oxford Qatar Thatcher Scholar) is teaching immunology at the Medical School in Gaza and supervising medical students in clinical settings.

Sawsan El Zahr

JESSICA MANNIX TRUST DIRECTOR

The number of Thatcher Scholars studying at Somerville rose this year to 28, our largest cohort yet. One thing helping the growth in our ranks was the assistance of the prestigious Clarendon Scholarships. By parterning with them this year, we were able to award scholarships to not just one talented physicist, but two - a plus all round! Some of our graduate students have needed to extend their studies owing to the interruption of their research by the pandemic, also contributing to the number.

There is a real sense of community among the Thatcher Scholars, which was on full display at our tea party event last summer (pg. 10). Some of our undergraduate scholar alumni have stayed on at Somerville to undertake graduate studies, and continue to remain engaged with the Trust and their peers, such as Althea Sovani (pg. 15).

Along with two of our trustees, Stephen Sherbourne and Clara Freeman, we all got together over lunch at the beginning of term which allowed the new scholars to meet the ‘old hands’, for Stephen and Clara to talk with the scholars, and for shared interests and ideas to be exchanged. Across the table at lunch, I heard physicists and linguists animatedly talking about their subjects, and English graduates sharing ideas with their undergraduate counterparts. These intellectual exchanges bring a rewarding depth to the students’ academic experience, not just among the Thatcher Scholars, but across the Somervillian student body as a whole.

The community of Thatcher Scholars is now a truly interdisciplinary one, and spans the divisions, degree levels, and years. I am excited to see how it continues to grow in the years to come.

THE DIRECTORS

DR CLAIRE COCKCROFT PROGRAMME DIRECTOR

Reflecting on my undergraduate days at Somerville, it is a great privilege to lead the Trust’s efforts to enrich our students’ educational experience, through events strengthening academic skills, mentoring and career guidance. The rebranded Development Programme — ‘SkillsHub’ — also provides avenues for knowledge exchange within our broader college community. Junior Research Fellows (JRFs) offer academic guidance, as well as invaluable internships, enabling students to make more informed choices about their futures.

There has also been a steady growth in one-to-one mentoring, a unique offering at Somerville, which has opened minds and doors to possibilities. A deeper understanding of students’ needs and aspirations facilitates tailored ‘matching’ with training opportunities, resonating with our mission to identify and support future ‘change makers’. One student gained entrepreneurial experience last summer with the LIBER programme at Oxford Said’s Entrepreneurship Centre, which places students from BAME backgrounds in start-ups to increase accessibility to leadership positions. Another was pointed towards the Careers Service’s Future Leaders Innovation Programme, an entrepreneurship skills development programme to equip students with knowledge and positive behaviours to innovate and drive change. It also leads to an ILM Level 3 award in leadership and management.

Scholars have seized initiatives to develop their skills and contribute to social good. Following a seminar showcasing JRFs’ research, Sarafina Otis (Medicine, 2020) approached Dr Shobi Nagraj, to participate in a public health project. Sarafina, who came second in last year’s University medical exams, evaluated government programmes aiming to address holiday hunger through community schemes in Oxfordshire.

Volunteering features prominently among scholars. Some are engaging with schools to help ‘demystify’ Oxford, or raise aspirations in STEM careers, while others volunteer with community projects. Ming Song (Law, 2021) leads the Oxford Hub’s Schools Plus Twinning Programme for Somerville, and is busily recruiting student tutors to help prepare St Frideswide Primary School pupils for Maths SATs. Taking classics into the community, George Seager (Classics, 2020) was selected as an Ashmolean Ambassador, giving museum tours to students visiting Oxford through the Access Programme.

Internships and Thatcher Development Awards have provided students with an unrivalled insight into research fields, from Antarctic ice core modelling, to excavating literary archives, documentary film-making highlighting whale conservation and also delivering innovation training in Benin. Thanks to our generous support, scholars and the wider student body can access career enhancing experiences, keeping them motivated and moving towards their future goals after Oxford.

Sarafina Otis presents her work evaluating community schemes to address holiday hunger

SUMMER TEA PARTY

With Covid restrictions relaxing, we were finally able to gather together our scholars and supporters on 22nd June for a summer tea party to celebrate our growing community.

Lord Sherbourne chats with Hannah Andrews (2020, BSc Psychology, Michael Bishop Foundation Thatcher Scholar) and Somerville Principal, Jan Royall

Martin Ritchie, Lord Powell, Ann Currie, and her daughter Lorna Robson listen as the Principal makes her speech

Lord Powell speaks at the party

Michael Bishop Foundation Thatcher Scholars Joe Salf (2017, Medicine) and Luca Webb (2019, History) with Lorna Robson

Mr Ibrahim Al-Fadala (Student Supervisor, Embassy of the State of Qatar) with Qatar Thatcher Scholar Althea Sovani and Oxford Qatar Thatcher Scholars Salma Daoudi, Esra'A Sha'Ban and Hazim Azghari.

A COMMUNITY ACROSS GENERATIONS

The afternoon also provided an opportunity for our scholars to meet with the donors who generously fund their scholarships. Our Ann and Giles Currie Thatcher Scholar, Caitlin Kelly (2021, English) reports.

The Margaret Thatcher Scholarship Trust annual tea party was the perfect end to the academic year. The stresses of a gruelling Trinity term soon dissolved in the June sun, replaced by the joy of celebrating a truly life changing year for the scholars, donors, patrons, and volunteers of the Margaret Thatcher Scholarship Trust.

As Ann and Giles Currie Thatcher Scholar, it was a pleasure and a privilege to finally meet Ann and her daughter Lorna in person and thank her for her and her late husband’s generosity. Over summery glasses of Pimm’s, we chatted about her time at Somerville as well as her work at the Museums’ Association and the National Maritime Museum. As someone aspiring to a career in academia and heritage, it was inspiring to hear her experience and insights in the field.

Though the face of the College has changed since Ann’s days as an undergraduate, there was no doubt that the essence of Somerville has remained the same: ambitious, inclusive, and optimistic. This was very much the spirit of the afternoon. Looking around me, I felt a sense of hope and community – things that the world needs now more than ever. This Trust brings together people from across generations, academic disciplines, political viewpoints, and the globe - and will for years to come.

Lord Glendonbrook (centre), Martin Ritchie (second left) and the Michael Bishop Foundation Thatcher Scholars: Luca Webb (left), Joe Salf (second right) and Hannah Andrews (right)

Caitlin Kelly and Ann Currie

THE THATCHER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

The Thatcher Development Awards offer grants of up to £2000 to enable Somerville students to pursue an innovative project with wider social benefits and that facilitates personal growth.

The funding the Awards provide can support innovation, such as in the case of Alfie Brazier (2020, MCompSci Computer Science) and his internship with the Institute for Marine and Antartctic Studies (IMAS) at the University of Tasmania.

Alfie brought vital technical expertise to their sea ice record reconstruction project. Antarctic sea ice is a critical measure of the climate crisis, but complete records only date back to the invention of satellite measuring systems in 1979. It is still possible to extract chemical data from ice-cap cores for the years before this and use it as the basis of a reconstructed sea ice record, but there is a major hurdle: decadal shifts in wind patterns that drag snow over sea ice and then deposit it at the ice core site significantly increase the challenges in creating a reliable result.

What started as a physical sciences challenge had entered the realm of computer science: cue Alfie. Working under Dr Will Hobbs, Alfie helped to create a new model using a non-linear, random forest approach to combining historic proxies rather than the linear regression method the team had used so far.

The results were startling. Alfie’s finished model outputted significantly better results than anything in the current literature, representing a step change in the field of sea ice prediction and creating a new academic resource. His work will be published in the next year, and has also earned him an invitation to return to IMAS for a PhD or Research Masters in January 2024.

Misbah Reshi (2021, MSt Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies) used her Development Award to scale up a pioneering virtual mentoring scheme for some of the world’s most disadvantaged students. Project EduAccess seeks to democratise access to higher education and further inclusivity in universities by providing mentorship, guidance workshops and fee waiver support to learners in marginalised communities in South Asia.

With the extra funds, Misbah collaborated with the Centre for Career Planning and Counselling (CCPC) to hold three days of workshops at the University of Kashmir focused on providing the right knowledge and skills for

Alfie outside the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Antarctic ice is the subject of Alfie Brazier’s research at the University of Tasmania, supported by a Development Award

applying to university. They invited speakers from across India who had studied around the world to conduct sessions covering the Social Sciences, STEM, and the Humanities. The event generated huge interest locally: over 900 students registered to attend across the three days. The in-person breakout sessions and their opportunities for targeted CV assistance proved to be especially popular.

“It was much bigger than I had anticipated or planned when I made an application for the Thatcher Development Award,” said Misbah. “Not only local Kashmiri students, we also had some students flying in from Jharkhand, Gujarat to attend the workshop.”

“In a place like Kashmir, marred with regular curfews and constant shutdowns, it is even more important for universities to create opportunities when there is a lack thereof.”

Misbah and her colleague’s efforts will continue to be available to aspiring university applicants through the Project EduAccess website, where the information was consolidated and transformed into a series of guides by a professional designer. She also presented her project in Somerville at our showcase of development awards and internships in Hilary Term 2023 to inspire students considering projects of their own.

RECIPIENTS OF THE 2022 THATCHER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

• Duncan Marsden (2019, Medicine) received an award of £1000 to help him travel to Costa Rica and volunteer at the Cabo Blanco nature reserve with their waste management and conservation team. Duncan helped to collect and analyse plastic waste from the beaches and monitor biodiversity.

• Nikita Ostrovsky (2019, MPhys Physics) was awarded £475 towards the costs of his internship with the African Education and Innovation Group in Benin. Nikita helped to plan and teach a summer course for local children aged 8-18, creating a web design bootcamp for the International Trade Centre, and giving an English crash course to incoming first year students at Epitech Benin.

• Misbah Reshi (2021, MSt Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies) received £2000 to run three days of workshops at the University of Kashmir with the charity Project EduAccess to help students from marginalised communities apply to universities around the world (see above).

• Alfie Brazier (2020, MCompSci Computer Science) was granted £1000 to support his research internship at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania in Hobart. Working with their sea-ice team, Alfie created a highly successful new machine learning model to reconstruct records from partial ice-cap core data. His research is due to be published (see pg. 12).

• Bethany Smith (2019 MBiol Biology) received an award of £2000 for a documentary film project based in the Azores, exploring the islands’ transition from being sustained by the whaling industry to whale watching tourism and conservation.

• Susannah Ames (2019, BA PPE) used her Award of £2000 to travel to the Amazon with Working Abroad to volunteer in their research and conservation projects.

• Sam Morley (2019, MEng Engineering Science) was awarded £2000 to support his access to theatre project. He organised workshops in schools with story-tellers and facilitators to develop ideas that can be scaled up and taken on tour around the UK to regions with poor access to the art form through a circus tent set-up, which will form the basis of an Arts Council England grant application.

Misbah (second from left) and her colleagues

Right: A packed lecture hall during workshops in the University of Kashmir

BREAKING THE DEADLOCK: MAKING PEACE THE HUMAN RIGHTS-LED WAY

As an Oxford Thatcher Scholar, Mathew Madain (2019 MSc, Somerville College) deepened his knowledge of the political, diplomatic, and social history of the contemporary Middle East. Now, he uses his historical expertise and policy insight to support the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in its work to create a paradigm shift in U.S. – and global – engagement with Israel-Palestine.

With renowned scholars at the Oxford Middle East Centre, Mathew examined the records of the Foreign Office on the post-war Middle East, culminating in a dissertation on the reign of King Talal of Jordan. With its emphasis on diplomatic support to the Hashemite monarchy in Amman, it assessed a foundational era in the strengthening of Anglo-Jordanian partnership and charted the growth of U.S. regional influence during this period. This research coincided with in-depth studies on the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and critical assessments of the approaches of successive U.S. administrations to Israel-Palestine.

In the summer of 2021, Mathew interned with the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on the European and Eurasian regional portfolio in the months preceding the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the invasion of Ukraine. His work on the Committee promoted the strengthening of Transatlantic bonds, democratic governance, and the robust protection of human rights. These formative experiences – with his training at Somerville – led Mathew to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. As a Research Analyst in the Washington D.C. headquarters, he provides timely reports on political developments and geopolitical change in the Middle East and North Africa for officials and the policy community.

With violence once again engulfing the Holy Land, the imperative for U.S. and global engagement towards peacebuilding has never been clearer. At this juncture when the prospect for a diplomatic breakthrough is moribund, mediation should prioritize safeguarding the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians and addressing structural barriers to conflict resolution. Through upholding accountability to international law for all parties, international actors may best advance a just and enduring political solution, one that promotes the human dignity and security of both Israelis and Palestinians. Understanding the threats facing civil society, regionally and globally, is further crucial towards achieving a rights-based peace in the region. His robust training in history frequently shapes his approaches to policy research. Questions of global peace will remain at the forefront of Mathew’s future engagements

The city of Jerusalem

THE SECRET MECHANISMS OF ANCIENT LANGUAGES

Althea Sovani (Oxford Qatar Thatcher Scholar, 2018, BA Classics and Oriental Studies, MPhil Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics) is an aspiring philologist. As an undergraduate, she won the Chancellor’s Latin Prose Prize and the Gaisford Greek Verse Prize for her translations into Latin and ancient Greek, the Boden Prize for her Sanskrit exams, the Gaisford Essay Prize for her dissertation, the Faculty’s Comparative Philology Prize, and the Proxime Accessit award for the second-highest overall mark in Classics, and Classics and Joint Schools. She is President of the OALS and Academic Director of Oxford Latinitas Ltd.

Languages require hard work and dedication. In my years at Somerville, I have been working strenuously for my aspirations to become a philologist. I have always loved delving into the secret mechanisms of languages. Language changes in various ways at once, diachronically, across registers and social classes. Ancient languages are fascinating because they preserve only some glimpses of a much larger dimension, which is the philologist’s task to recover.

While learning Greek and Latin in high school, I already knew that I wanted to broaden my studies. This is why I came to Oxford to read for a BA in Classics with Sanskrit. Sanskrit has changed my perspective in countless ways, enhancing my understanding of the vast Indo-European language family and charming me with its productive morphology, poetic styles and compound structures.

The ancient Indian tradition of grammar, vyākarana, especially fascinated me. I made my first steps into this wonderfully complex system in my undergraduate thesis, where I explored the ways in which two ancient grammarians, the Greek Theodosius and the Indian Pānini, interpreted the linguistic phenomenon of ‘suppletion’ (i.e. when two etymologically unrelated words belong to the same paradigm — e.g. ‘go’ and ‘went’).

For my MPhil thesis, I want to study the infinitive. This is an enigmatic category, insofar as it is a verb, but it develops from certain nouns. While keeping a philological focus on Vedic Sanskrit, I will address the larger questions of what an infinitive is. What does the infinitive express that nothing else can express? Why should a language ever develop one? And why do some languages have it while others don’t?

My background in philology has given me an intriguing starting point from which to approach the challenge of theoretical Linguistics. Surprisingly, Philology and Linguistics are often thought of as very different fields and kept distinct. My ambition is to use my knowledge to bring them together more than has been and is usually done.

Image of Codex Cashmiriensis folio 187a from Atharva-Veda Samhita

The Rt Hon. the Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, Chair of Trustees ex officio

Professor Daniel Anthony

Mrs Clara Freeman OBE

Mr Andrew Parker ex officio

Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury

Professor Almut Suerbaum

Professor Stephen Weatherill

PATRONS

The Rt Hon. Sir Tony Blair

The Rt Hon. the Lord Forsyth of Drumlean

The Hon. Dr Robert Gates

The Hon. Dr Alan Greenspan

Ho Ching

The Hon. John Howard

The Hon. Dr Henry Kissinger

The Rt Hon. Sir John Major

The Rt Hon. Brian Mulroney

The Rt Hon. the Lord Owen

The Rt Hon. the Lord Patten of Barnes

The Lord Powell of Bayswater

The Hon. Dr Condoleezza Rice