Pembroke Representatives Speak at OxNet North East Hub Launch in Sunderland

On 22nd November, OxNet celebrated the launch of its newest outreach Hub with an event at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland. The Hub, part of the OxNet access initiative established by Pembroke Access Fellow Dr Peter Claus, is run in collaboration with several Oxford colleges and other universities, and will work with pupils in schools across Sunderland and Washington.

There was an air of excitement, with over 80 people in attendance at the launch. This included staff and pupils from four local schools, as well as representatives from four local universities. Access Hub Coordinator, Katarzyna Kosior, remarked, ‘I was thrilled about the level of enthusiasm about OxNet in the region!’

Remarking on the striking venue, she continued, ‘The National Glass Centre, which is a source of local pride, showcases the wider connections of the Sunderland region historically and in contemporary times. The current exhibition ‘Illuminating Colour’ is connected to the Ordered Universe project on which the academic course is based; it was great to see the students engaging with art and starting to formulate questions about it.’

The first programme to be run out of the Sunderland Hub will be a year-long, intensive academic course for Year 12 pupils built out of the ‘Ordered Universe’ project, a multi-institution, interdisciplinary research project involving a number of Pembroke academics, including Professor Hannah Smithson, Fellow in Psychology and Project Co-Investigator.

Attendees heard from the Master of Pembroke College, Dame Lynne Brindley, and Pembroke’s Access Fellow, Dr Peter Claus, along with representatives from Durham University and the University of Sunderland.

Dame Lynne commented: ‘It was a great pleasure and privilege to attend the launch of an OxNet hub in Sunderland. Oxford is pleased to be working in partnership with other universities in the North East and of course Southmoor Academy which  I had the opportunity to visit It was inspiring to meet pupils who show such great talent and promise, supported by dedicated teachers who aspire ‘to place no limits on the potential of their pupils’.  Such aspirations deserve support so that applications to Oxford and Pembroke become a real option for some.'