Academic and intellectual activities

Living at Goodenough College gives Members the opportunity to enhance their studies through a diverse range of academic and intellectual events and activities.

Goodenough College is a thriving academic community of postgraduate students. Our competitive admissions process ensures that our community is made up of exceptional and diverse postgraduates from around the world, studying a wide range of academic and professional disciplines at major London universities.

Each term the Dean organises the Dean’s Programme, a dynamic schedule of lectures, colloquia, volunteering opportunities and skills sessions open to all College Members. Goodenough Members have every opportunity to grow a valuable personal and professional network through their participation in the Dean’s Programme and the many exclusive and subsidised opportunities it offers.

Learn more about the distinctive benefits of the Dean’s Programme in the sections below.

Educational trips in the UK and Europe

Goodenough Members enjoy heavily discounted educational trips across the UK, Europe, and beyond through the Dean’s Trips, Colloquia and Seminars. These events are enriched by expert-led discussions and guided learning, with special guests offering insights into a wide range of topics.

Themes have ranged from urban morphology in Rome, to Islamic tiling mathematics in Granada, and Roman Africa in Tunis, all led by distinguished College Fellows and guest speakers.

Recent destinations include:
⦁ UK and Ireland: Cambridge, Dublin, Edinburgh
⦁ Europe: Athens, Berlin, Budapest, Florence, Gibraltar, Venice, Paris, Rome
⦁ Africa: Tunis

Prestigious guest speakers

Throughout the year, the Dean, assisted by the Members of the College’s Academic Committee, invites prestigious speakers to give talks and lectures – known as Port Talks.

This distinguished speaker series features business leaders, current and former Government officials and best-in-field cultural practitioners.

Recent Port Talk speakers include:
⦁ Lady Hale, British judge who served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
⦁ Professor Liam Smeeth, Director of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
⦁ His Excellency Vikram Doraiswami, High Commissioner for India

Academic retreats in Scotland

Throughout the year, Goodenough Members can take part in academic and digital detox retreats at The Burn, Goodenough College’s own country house retreat in Scotland. Led by the Dean, these unique experiences offer the perfect opportunity to focus, recharge, and connect in the glorious Scottish countryside. Discover more

Networking opportunities

By getting involved in the Dean’s Programme Members get many opportunities to grow a valuable personal and professional network.

Recent networking highlights include meetings with:
⦁ Dwayne Fields, UK’s Chief Scout, adventurer, TV presenter, and co-founder of the #WeTwo Foundation
⦁ Dr Cindy Sughrue OBE, former Director of the Charles Dickens Museum and previously CEO and Producer of Scottish Ballet
⦁ Fabian Picardo, Gibraltarian politician and barrister, serving as Chief Minister of Gibraltar

Members also get opportunities to meet the College’s Fellows (65 distinguished academics and experts) who take part in talks, trips and seminars. The Fellows help to create the unique intellectual environment for which the College is internationally renowned.

Visits to key British institutions

As part of the Dean’s Programme, Members have many opportunities to join guided tours to key British institutions helping them to find out more about how they work and their significance in British life. Some of the institutions Members have recently visited are the British Museum, Supreme Court, National Gallery, the V&A, Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum.

Getting involved in intellectual life

At the beginning of each College year, Members are invited to apply for roles on the College’s prestigious Academic Committee. Those selected after interview may function as ‘Faculty Representatives’ or ‘Special Advisors’ in a number of areas such as Diverse and Inclusive Programming or Interfaith Programming.

Developing new skills

The annual Good Skills Week in College hosts several free skills acquisition sessions delivered by College Members and Alumni. Most sessions provide deeply interactive, small group experiences to help participants develop their skills. Some of the previous sessions included: Writing a CV for Success with Alumnus Cameron Dadkhah; Speaking with Confidence with Member Sarah English (Actor); Disagreeing Agreeably with Alumnus Nathaniel Beckett; and Basic Financial Literacy with Alumna Hwee Pee (Manager, Prudential Banking Supervision at the Bank of England).

Students gathering to understand different religions

Understanding different religions

Members are given the opportunity to cultivate interfaith literacy by participating in talks, trips and personal encounters. Recent examples of inter-faith activity include Shabbat meals, Diwali firework celebrations, Iftar gatherings during Ramadan, and Easter egg hunts. Discover more

Volunteering opportunities

As part of the Dean’s Programme, we provide a range of opportunities to enable Members to volunteer in the local community. In recent years Goodenough College has worked especially closely with the C4WS Homeless Project in King’s Cross, with Coram’s Fields after school club and in providing ‘study buddies’ for Argyle Primary School. Volunteering opportunities are promoted at special events when Members join the College and throughout the year.

Learning and sharing is such a central part of the Goodenough Experience: it helps you step outside of your comfort zone, to experience perspectives that may well be new to you, and to do it in a respectful, engaged environment.