This Cambridge Life

Topic description and stories

Stories from the people that make Cambridge University unique.

Kirstie Stage in the gardens at Christ's College

The graduate student rewriting Deaf histories and disability histories

05 January 2024

When Kirstie Stage was diagnosed with hearing loss, she realised that the experiences of Deaf and disabled people were missing from the history books. Kirstie is determined to bring these narratives to the fore.

The man who helped to preserve Stephen Hawking’s iconic voice

26 Apr 2018

Self-confessed geek Peter Benie began programming computers when he was ten. A chance meeting in 2009 led to him playing a key part in the upgrading...

The administrator whose job is to welcome newcomers to Cambridge

19 Apr 2018

Julie Darsley exudes the warmth needed to run an organisation that helps newcomers settle into life at Cambridge. Her personal experience has given...

The “king of scuttle flies” who continues to discover new species

12 Apr 2018

Henry Disney admits that the task of classifying hundreds of species of scuttle fly has sometimes seemed a crazy undertaking. But his deteriorating...

The thrill-seeking Glaswegian who finds it impossible to switch off

05 Apr 2018

Linda Fisher is an administrator who hates committees. Her commitment to the courses she organises at the Institute for Continuing Education (ICE)...

The multi-talented scientist who finds inspiration in far-flung places

29 Mar 2018

Tom Bundell is an eminent biochemist whose passions for politics, music and travel enrich his scientific research. He’s led some of the country’s...

The African scientist making enduring connections between Cambridge and Africa

22 Mar 2018

As a graduate student in Cambridge almost 20 years ago, Pauline Essah asked herself: “Where are the other Africans?” Today she manages the expanding...