Inaugural SED Inspire Lecture: Professor Irene Tracey on University’s Vital Role in Shaping the Future
The inaugural SEDInspire Lecture was given by The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Irene Tracey CBE FRS FMedSci MAE FRCA, on Friday 13th September.
Why We Need Universities and What They Bring to the UK and Globe
Professor Tracey is a former student; Senior Scholar and Warden of Merton College, Oxford; she held a Post Doctoral position at Havard Medical School and is also Professor of Anaesthetic Neuroscience in the Nuffield Department of Clinical at the University of Oxford. The Hebbian principle in neuroscience describes beneficial neuronal behaviour in the brain: if you fire together, you wire together. And, in her talk, Professor Tracey stated her objective to fire and wire Oxford University more closely with its city, our nation and the globe, working generously with the other great British universities with which the University of Oxford shares its higher education ecosystem. She outlined precisely how this is achieved, viz: knowledge generation, through discovery research, or knowledge transfer, through world-class teaching.
Numerous important lessons were wrapped up in this memorable talk; not least guarding against complacency – not holding the mirror up often enough to challenge ourselves to think and act in new ways, to get outside our ‘bubble’ and to think creatively. Whilst the substance of Professor Tracey’s talk principally concerned the University of Oxford; easy parallels could be drawn with Sedbergh School as it approaches its quincentenary year. To stay the same one must evolve, but as Darwin noted, it’s more subtle than that: one evolves to be competitive for current circumstances. Professor Tracey detailed how natural entrepreneurial spirit has always come from the university’s collegiate structure. If you have a great idea, you can take it forward and receive terrific support from across this collegiate University. Local and global engagement were covered by Professor Tracey and the routes by which our presence is felt as a positive influence in the world. It was not wasted upon me that Sedbergh School’s influence similarly extends to all corners of the globe and Sedberghian alumni continue to play their own important part in shaping Britain, Europe and the world in this era of shifting globalisation.
Professor Tracey’s talk generated considerable interest from our pupils and she was most impressed by her captive audience – regularly referencing their good manners, thoughtful and intelligent lines of questioning.
The next talk, in this series, will be given by a Global Ambassador for Global Visionary Women Network, Queen Naa Tsotsoo Soyoo I of Ghana. You are warmly invited to attend on 4th October at 19:00 in the Thornley Studio.
Dr P. Hoskin
