The Vice-Chancellor’s Colloquium is a unique extracurricular programme for Oxford students. Through weekly sessions in Hilary term you will:

• Learn from Oxford’s leading academics
• Participate in discussions and hands-on activities
• Work with other students on a group project

Keynote sessions feature academics from different departments/faculties responding to the same question, revealing how disciplines generate and share knowledge.

Through college-based sessions and group projects, you will develop skills related to critical thinking, data literacy, communication and collaborative problem solving.

An event in early Trinity term brings together both cohorts for presentations by the group project finalists and a celebration with the Vice-Chancellor.

This programme is for anyone looking build their CV, get to know students from different courses and colleges, and stretch their interdisciplinary comfort zone.

In 2026-27, the Vice-Chancellor’s Colloquium will be offered on two themes: artificial intelligence and climate change. Starting this year, both undergraduate and postgraduate students are invited to participate in the programme.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Colloquium on AI

Thursdays of Hilary term, 5:30-7:30pm

With speakers spanning computer science, engineering, social sciences and humanities, you will explore the following questions:

• What is AI?
• What is the cost of using AI?
• How can AI help us?
• How will AI impact my future?

Student activities include co-designing appropriate uses of AI in higher education and applying vibe-coding to digital humanities.

For group projects, you and your group will identify a problem in student life and propose a responsible use of AI to solve it.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Colloquium on Climate

Tuesdays of Hilary term, 5:30-7:30pm

Drawing on expertise across environmental humanities, social sciences, biology, earth sciences and physics, the Climate Colloquium explores:

• What are the causes of climate change?
• What are the impacts of climate change?
• What are the solutions to climate change?
• What can I do about climate change?

Student activities involve discussions of ethics, the basic maths of models, and a climate litigation mock-trial.

For group projects, you and your group will identify a local problem related to climate change and propose an interdisciplinary solution.