On 19th May we were delighted to welcome Zen Cho to Pembroke as this year’s speaker for the 2025 Annual J.R.R Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature. Over a hundred Pembroke students and fantasy-enthusiasts gathered in the Pichette Auditorium for Zen’s lecture 'The Uses of Fantasy'.

Pembroke Professor and Governing Body Fellow, Yimon Aye, is one of seven researchers at the University of Oxford awarded Advanced Grants from the European Research Council to pursue cutting-edge research. Each grant is worth up to €2.5 million over a period of five years.

It's that time of year again when we celebrate all the incredible achievements of Pembrokians, teaching staff and students alike, and their commitment to the college community. A range of awards and prize money offer college the opportunity to recognise those who have shown extraordinary leadership skills, community building and academic and sporting excellence.

An important exhibition has just opened in the JCR Art Gallery. Showcasing works by Mexican artist Chantal Meza, the exhibition forces us to confront what for many of us is unimaginable: disappearing without a trace. A series of public talks attached to the exhibition reveals that for some families, the disappearance of loved ones is far from unimaginable, it is their reality. 

They’ve done it again! Our incredible W1 have gone and won their second Headship this year at Summer VIIIs, marking a very successful year for PCBC. Great performances from all crews, including M3 winning blades, have ended a week of rowing on a high. 

Year 12 OxNet pupils took part in a programme of subject-specific seminars, delivered by leading academics from Pembroke and beyond. Our Access and Outreach team offer us an insight into the academic content and aims of the seminars, presented alongside testimonials from the pupils themselves.

Two Pembrokians, Dr Lois Brand and Dr Catherine Jenkinson, were recognized at this year's Vice Chancellor’s Awards which celebrate achievements across the University in key strategic areas. 

Working in international development, Pembroke graduate Isabela (2024, MPhil Development Studies) focuses on how large-scale initiatives impact the lived experiences of local communities. While conducting fieldwork in Guatemala, she interviewed small-scale producers participating in an agricultural and financial development project, seeking to understand how they perceive and experience "development" in their everyday lives.

A group of Pembroke graduate students have recently published a second volume of the Pembroke Academic Journal, a forum for showcasing the diverse intellectual interests of our talented MCR community.