Innovative projects
As part of our commitment to widening participation, our flagship virtual outreach programme, the Lucy Cavendish College Academic Attainment Programme,is on for the fourth year running. This free programme provides over 1000 high-achieving state school students per year with comprehensive supplementary academic support tailored to their stage in the curriculum, giving them the best chance of achieving their full potential. For this year, the programme has been expanded to cover not only Year 12 (S5 - Scotland/Y13 - N.I), but also Year 13 (S6 - Scotland/Y14 - N.I), so students will continue to be supported during the crucial final stages of the UCAS application process, and in the final months of their A-Level (Scottish Highers/IB) studies.
The programme has proved very beneficial for students in the past years, with 9 in 10 receiving offers to study at Russell Group universities, and over the past 2 years participants have almost doubled their chances of being offered a place at either Oxford or Cambridge. Following the 2022/23 programme, 90% of participants felt that the programme had provided them with the resources and support to achieve the grades they wanted at A-Level (Scottish Highers/IB), and 98% of participants felt confident that they knew how to make a competitive application to Cambridge and other top universities.
Virtual Reality Public Speaking
The fear of public speaking is widely cited as being the most common fear. It affects 80% of university students and it negatively impacts well-being, academic attainment, and career progression. Furthermore, social anxiety and the fear of public speaking are on the rise. In short, the problem is prevalent, it is getting worse, and it is capping human potential. To address this, the lab has created a first-of-its-kind platform that transforms users into skilled and confident public speakers; tailored course material develops core skills and virtual reality training environments accelerate learning and build confidence. As revealed in the leading virtual reality academic journal, Frontiers in Virtual Reality, the platform has been clinically proven to increase levels of confidence and enjoyment even after a single 30-minute session. This project received Cambridge University’s Excellence Award and the Digital Health Award.
To see it in action, please see video below.
Making the Invisible Visible
This project was a response to the fact that it can be challenging to communicate climate change to the general public: the terminology can be confusing, the way in which we measure emissions can be non-intuitive, and there is a range of complicated psychological barriers (e.g., present bias, availability heuristic, pseudoinefficacy). The danger is that climate change can appear distant, insurmountable, or worse still, non-existent. A key part of the challenge is that with the human eye, we cannot see the accumulation of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. To address this, the lab is using emerging technology to better translate and visualise emissions data; they are making the invisible visible. This project received Cambridge University’s Excellence Award and the National Innovation Award.
The Future Global Leaders Programme at Lucy Cavendish College empowers the next generation of leaders and change-makers with the knowledge and skills to develop innovative solutions to this century's global challenges.
We provide a range of enterprise initiatives throughout the year culminating in the Lucy Enterprise Weekend, where students receive mentoring from successful entrepreneurs and get the opportunity to pitch for funding for their business ideas. This is as much about developing an enterprising mindset, group work, networking and presentation skills.span>
For more information, please contact the Development Office.