It was at the start of this year that Ruth Perry, the headteacher of a primary school in Reading, took her own life after being informed that the school she led (and attended as a child) would be downgraded by Ofsted from “outstanding” to “inadequate”. This story, tragic on many Read more…
Image: AI-generated by DALL-E* I had a chat with a robot the other evening. The OpenAI project has released an interface called ChatGPT, so I decided to do some research on artificial intelligence by consulting the authority at my fingertips: an AI dialogue partner. I asked it what progress there Read more…
Sad news emerged last week about Tom McLeish, professor of natural philosophy at the University of York and longstanding associate of Thinking Faith Network. Tom passed away on 27 February aged 60, leaving an amazing legacy of scholarship in understanding the physics of soft matter and of proteins in living Read more…
Understanding is a wonderful thing! I hope you’ve had many light-bulb moments in your past education, and that you continue to have moments of stunning insight in your current work. I don’t have such moments as much as I’d like, and my scientific research has never yielded a significant breakthrough. Read more…
At the start of this new year, I’d like to offer you my selection of online initiatives that you could connect with for inspiration and fellowship on your journey of faithful thinking and research. The following resources give me hope and inspiration for Christian academic work, and share in the Read more…
This is the title of a conference I have just returned from in Liverpool – and also, I would say, the result. The Hope Ecumenical Network was launched last week with a two-day international meeting that brought together representatives from at least fifteen universities and colleges with Christian identities, and Read more…
Many people know of C.S. Lewis through his Narnia stories. Many Christians also know him as an apologist, whose own journey from atheism to Christianity informed his defence of the faith on radio and in person as well as in numerous writings. Not so many know him as a contributor Read more…
Now is a time when many students are choosing subjects to study. Those applying for undergraduate degrees in the UK will be browsing university prospectuses, booking open days and filling out UCAS forms. Those already at university may be finalising module choices for the coming academic year. And some doctoral Read more…
News reports in the UK these last few days have commented on the resignation of Lord Geidt, the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser. Alongside the speculation by columnists, bewilderment about the reason for Lord Geidt’s sudden departure has been expressed by none other than the Prime Minister himself. The puzzle seems Read more…
This Friday sees the launch of a series of lunchtime webinars about a topic that affects all of us: sustainable food systems. From farm to fork, what does it mean for our food to be sustainably produced, processed, distributed and consumed? As consumers, what kinds of products and ingredients are Read more…