Reuben College launches Global Challenges Programme

18 March 2024

Reuben College has been awarded a $250k grant to pilot a new programme designed to address some of the most pressing global challenges of our day. The Global Challenges Programme will take an interdisciplinary and impact-driven approach, bringing researchers, innovators, technologists, and policymakers together to explore solutions to a range of issues relevant to Reuben College's research themes. 

In its pilot phase (2024-2026), the Global Challenges Programme will explore the impact of advanced AI systems on human development. A workshop focusing on AI and childhood and early adulthood developmental phases will officially launch the programme on 10 May 2024.

The Global Challenges Programme is led by Dr Andrew Serazin – a researcher, entrepreneur, and philanthropy executive who joins Reuben College as Senior Research Fellow and Global Challenges Programme Director.

"As a DPhil student and Departmental Lecturer at Oxford 20 years ago, I wanted to bridge the gap between research and social impact. Throughout my career in philanthropy and entrepreneurship, I have seen amazing breakthroughs borne out of interdisciplinary collaborations – ranging from new vaccines for malaria to innovations that promote forgiveness. The Global Challenges Programme will bring this ethos and ambition home to Reuben College, offering College members and the wider University community opportunities to take part in projects that generate solutions to major global challenges." - Dr Andrew Serazin

 

andrew serazin

“An Oxbridge College brings all academic disciplines under one roof; at Reuben College, we design multi-disciplinarity into all our events. The Global Challenges Programme brings together the founding themes of the college, such as AI & Machine Learning, and the international character of the student body and the College Fellows. The first Global Challenges workshop has a stellar cast of speakers from multiple Departments within the University and beyond, and it focuses on an issue of global importance; the same will be true for all subsequent events.” - Prof. Lionel Tarassenko, Reuben College President

 

Learn more about the Global Challenges Programme here.