Each week, the Murray Edwards MCR committee will share some of the opportunities and events coming up around Cambridge.

Please send your suggestions and announcements to mcr-secretary@murrayedwards.cam.ac.uk

Please find the Lent Term Card with all college events here.

Events- Academic and Professional

Women in Business; exploring the interface between research and practice in the business world- 22nd Feb, 5.45-7.00pm

Trinity Hall are hosting a panel discussion featuring: Dr Jill Armstrong (Murray  Edwards, research on collaboration in the workplace) and Professor Sucheta Nadkarni (Cambridge Judge Business School, research on the effectiveness of quotas for boards) who will be joined by three Trinity Hall alumnae from the financial, marketing and legal worlds for a lively discussion on their experiences.

The key topics for discussion are as follows:

– How do organisations benefit by involving women at the highest level?

– How do we change workplace culture and whose responsibility is it?
The panel discussion is free of charge and open to anyone to attend however, please note that booking is required (email arts@trinhall.cam.ac.uk to register). Further information is available online at https://alumni.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/thwomen40-lecture-feb-2018

Events- Social

Sparkling Social- 13th Feb, 8:30pm

Please join us in the MCR after this week’s super formal for drinks, snacks, and socialising . Open to everyone whether or not you’re attending formal!

Salsa Dance Hills Mixer- 16th Feb, 8pm

This Friday come to our MCR for a FREE beginners’ salsa dance lesson followed by a social mixer with our neighbours from the hills colleges!! The lesson is from 8-9, and then we’ll have drinks and Latin music… all for free!! Capacity is limited and hills college students are given priority entrance, but guests from other colleges are welcome as space permits! (NB, hills colleges are: Murray Edwards, Lucy Cavendish, Churchill, St. Edmund’s, and Fitzwilliam)

Valentine’s Day Event- 14th Feb, 9pm

Valentine’s day is coming. Are you on the market and looking for that special one? Come down to Clare MCR. The bar will be open, board games will be available and plenty of other singles will be buzzing around. Who knows, you might meet that special one fighting over monopoly. The event is open to all graduate students of the University.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2344629722429967/

Brunch With Fitz- 17th Feb, 11:20am

This Saturday brunch will be a special one, because our Fitz neighbours will be deliberately joining us!! If people would like to attend brunch with Fitzwilliam people, then please meet by the back entrance of Murray Edwards (ie next to Beaufort House) at 11.20 this Saturday. Should be an easy and relaxed way to meet new people, as well as eat BRUNCH!!!

MCR Hoodies- 18th Feb

The chance to order an MCR hoodie has come. The hoodies will be grey with the college crest on the left side of the chest.

Please sign up and find payment details here

Meet the Candidates- 15th Feb, 8pm

The elections are approaching and and the Italian community will soon have to decide their representatives in parliament. So a debate between the candidates, followed by questions from the audience, has been organised.

OPEN TO EVERYONE! When entering Queens if the Porters ask you simply give the name of the event and follow the directions.

The following guests will be present:

-Giuseppe di Benedetto: Liberi e Uguali
-Mina Zingariello: PD
-Alessandro Lerario: +Europa
-Elisa Siracusa (in collegamento): M5S
-Domenico Meliti: UDC
-Matteo Cerri: Forza Italia and Volunteering

Careers and Volunteering

Farming Data

farmingdata.io is an early-stage startup with a social mission of improving market access for smallholder farmers and buyers across sub-Saharan Africa. Smallholder farmers manage small plots of land and rely on their agricultural surplus to feed and support their families. But, markets don’t favour smallholder farmers and often restrict their access. To solve this issue, we are developing a suite of digital marketplace and logistical tools that connect smallholder farmers with better markets using real-time, location-specific data. Our next step is preparing to pilot our platform in Tanzania.

Do you want to join us?

If you want to help make a positive social impact and are familiar (or can pick up new skills very quickly) with the following key technical aspects (or related areas), then drop us a line with your background / interest (info@farmingdata.io). Our team includes Cambridge alumni and students and we’re eager to bring more on board!

Our expected timeframes are:

1) Immediate

• Android / java development
• Back end
• Front end (XML)
• NoSQL databases (Firebase cloud firestore)
• Git / github​​

​2) From March / April

• Node.js / Javascript for cloud functions
• Authentication / security
• Twilio

If you have any questions, feel free to email us.

info@farmingdata.io  @farming_data

Language Futures

Language Futures is a highly innovative approach to language teaching and learning which equips pupils with the skills to develop as independent learners. Pupils choose a language they wish to learn and receive personalised support from language mentors – volunteers who provide good models of the language and culture and advise pupils on special language queries and learning tasks.

Mentors are an integral part of the Language Futures approach – both teachers and pupils speak about the difference they make and the impact they have on learning.

The Click, Connect, Learn project (part of the national Language Futures project) is exploring a blend of face to face and online mentoring in eight secondary schools across Cambridge and Peterborough and is recruiting mentors in a variety of languages including; Arabic, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.

Why mentor?

Current mentors speak very positively about the impact the experience has on them including:

• Being part of a high profile and highly innovative national project.
• Enjoying the challenge of helping others to learn and making a valuable and useful contribution to their local community.
• Gaining satisfaction from seeing pupils develop their skills and confidence as a direct result of their support.
• Achieving a practical way to share language skills and a passion for languages.
• Gaining a perspective on language learning and teaching and valuable experience if considering a career in teaching.

How can you get involved?

You can apply directly to become an online language mentor.

Student Language Ambassadors Needed!-ASAP

We need some inspirational undergraduates and postgraduates who speak other languages to help at our Languages & Careers event on Thursday 22nd February, 3.30-8.00 at Murray Edwards College.

It will be your opportunity  to inform and inspire school pupils about the benefits of language learning, sharing with them some of the reasons why languages are so important to you and advising them on the advantages of language study at Advanced Level and in Higher Education.

What’s in it for you?

Being a Language Ambassador will give you:

• Improved communication and presentation skills.
• Experience of working with a diverse range of professionals from education and the wider community.
• Valuable experience of advocacy and teamwork to include in your CV.
• The opportunity to influence young lives and make a difference.

Please  email Sarah Schechter, ss2431@cam.ac.uk as soon as possible if you can help

Camvol- Deadline 26th Feb

Camvol was established in November 2006. It is a UK registered charity which organizes volunteer placements in India for Cambridge University students. Camvol is affiliated to the Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge. The students volunteer during their summer vacation for a period of 8 weeks. Graduates (third and fourth year undergraduates, and graduate students) may go for longer periods. Students would volunteer with environment and development based NGOs in the North of India.

CAMVOL PROVIDES A BURSARY OF UPTO £500. CAMVOL WILL NOT CHARGE ANY FEE.

Deadlines for applications is Monday 26th February 2018

Please refer to website for details of Camvol volunteering and placements http://camvol.org/

Study Participants Wanted

MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit- £6/hr

The MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit is currently looking for participants to take part in a computer-based attention and creativity study. The study involves focusing attention on some words while ignoring other distracting words, plus a measure of creativity. The testing session takes approximately 2.5 hours and you will be paid £6 pounds each hour for your time and 2.5 pounds for traveling expenses.

To be eligible for this study, we ask that you:

-are aged between 18 and 32;

-are a Native English speaker;

-have normal/normal-corrected vision;

-do not have colour-blindness;

-have no history/diagnosis of ADHD or other learning/attentional/language disabilities.

The available timeslots are:

Feb. 11th – Mar. 2nd: 9:30 – 12:00 am; 13:00 – 15:30 pm; 15:30 – 18:00 pm; 18:00 – 20:30 pm

For more information please email Yingying Wang at yingying.wang@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk

If you would like to run an event please fill out the form to send your ideas and any requests to the committee