London
London Seminars
Regular seminars to facilitate cross-city relationships and to support local London postgraduate groups
London is a unique context with many universities but significant practical obstacles for mutual Christian support. We are delighted to be hosting termly mid-week evening seminars with the aim of bringing together postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers from across the city for mutual encouragement, as we think about our work and witness as Christians in academia.
The London seminars will function as a central hub for the postgraduate prayer and study groups in London’s universities (supported by The Association of Christian Postgraduate Groups), facilitating cross-city encouragement. In this way, they will support UCCF Research and IFES Europe’s Postgraduate Initiative in their work to catalyse support for Christian postgraduate students in London.
To hear about future events, please sign up to our mailing list.
Upcoming Seminar
Life as a Christian Postgrad in the Age of AI: Navigating Current Challenges
Wednesday 13 May, 6:30pm | Room 221, UCL Faculty of Laws, Bentham House (WC1H 0EG)
How does the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence impact the life and work of a Christian academic? Join us for an evening of insightful discussion as we explore the intersection of faith, technology, and human dignity. We are delighted to welcome Jeremy Peckham to lead this seminar. With a career spanning decades in AI—from his early work on Speech Understanding at Logica to his current roles shaping global AI ethics—Jeremy brings a wealth of expertise to this complex topic.
All Christian postgraduate students and early career academic researchers based in London are welcome to join us. The event will include time to chat over refreshments, allowing you to meet other Christian postgrads and postdocs from different institutions across the city, and to find other students from your own university. There will also be an opportunity to find out more about UCCF and IFES Europe’s postgraduate ministry and how you can stay connected.
Please register to attend by completing the form linked below. While the event is free to attend, booking is required so that our team knows which guests to expect on the day.
Speaker: Jeremy Peckham
Jeremy Peckham serves as a Commissioner for the AI, Faith and Civil Society Commission, which works to see human dignity protected in the design, development and deployment of AI technologies. Jeremy has spent much of his career in the field of Artificial Intelligence, and is part of a growing network of Christians in Europe and North America interested in AI, and speaks at the Annual European Leadership Forum. Currently, Jeremy also serves as Steering Group member for the Responsible AI Network (RAIN), and editorial team member for The Journal of Ethics in Entrepreneurship and Technology (JEET). Previously, he worked as a government scientist at the UK Royal Aircraft Establishment, and then as a Project Director at Logica, where his research on Speech Understanding and Dialogue broke new ground in AI.
Are you a postgraduate student based in London?
We are pleased to announce that we are planning to hold events in London, with the aim of bringing together postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers from across the city for mutual encouragement, as we think about our work and witness as Christians in academia.
The London seminars will function as a central hub for the postgraduate prayer and study groups in London’s universities (supported by The Association of Christian Postgraduate Groups), facilitating cross-city encouragement. In this way, they will support UCCF Research and IFES Europe’s Postgraduate Initiative in their work to catalyse support for Christian postgraduate students in London.
To hear about future events, please sign up to our mailing list.
We are pleased to announce that we are planning to hold events in London, with the aim of bringing together postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers from across the city for mutual encouragement, as we think about our work and witness as Christians in academia.
The London seminars will function as a central hub for the postgraduate prayer and study groups in London's universities (supported by The Association of Christian Postgraduate Groups), facilitating cross-city encouragement. In this way, they will support UCCF Research and IFES Europe's Postgraduate Initiative in their work to catalyse support for Christian postgraduate students in London.
To hear about future events, please sign up to our mailing list.
Upcoming Social Gathering
Next termly social to be announced soon
We look forward to our new social gathering for London-based Christian postgrads and early career academics, where we will continue conversations begun at London events this year, and facilitate connections between students across different Universities and fields of study.
Recent Events
The Biblical Mandate for Academic Work
Tuesday 24 February 2026 | 6:30-9pm | UCL 26 Bedford Way, Room 305 (WC1H 0AP)
At our fourth London Seminar event in February, we were joined by Rev Dr Andrew Sach. We enjoyed hearing Andrew speak on the biblical grounding for our vocation as Christian academics. In particular, Andrew guided us through three scriptural themes: God hates boasting, No-one is neutral, and Christ is to be honoured in everything.
As well as receiving equipping teaching, the event also facilitated a time of fellowship with Christians from across London’s universities, and across different academic disciplines.
Speaker: Rev Dr Andrew Sach
Andrew Sach works as a Christian pastor, speaker and author- especially on topics of the relationship between science and faith. He ministers at Grace Church Greenwich, and tutors for the Cornhill Training Course. Before entering into full-time ministry, Andrew pursued a doctorate of neuroscience at the University of York, having studied Natural Sciences as an undergraduate at Cambridge. Rev Dr Sach will be spoke to us on the biblical mandate for academic work, and we enjoyed learning from his years of experience both in academic study, and full-time ministry contexts.
The Twofold Calling of Christian Academics
We enjoyed hosting our third London Seminar event last October. Christian postgraduate students and early career academic researchers based in London gathered to hear from speakers, Prof John Wyatt and Dr Richard Gunton, on the topic of our twofold calling as Christian academics. Richard Gunton shared his own stories of Christian contribution to academia, while John Wyatt encouraged us of the power of dialogue in our evangelistic outreach in the University.
The event provided time to build relationships between Christian postgrads and postdocs from different institutions across the city.
Tuesday 7 October 2025 | 6:30-9pm | UCL Torrington Place 1-19, Room 433 (WC1E 7HB)
Speakers: Prof John Wyatt
John Wyatt is Emeritus Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics, Ethics & Perinatology at University College London, and is a senior researcher at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge. He worked as a paediatrician specialising in the care of newborn babies for more than 25 years. Having now retired from frontline medical practice, he engages with the ethical, philosophical and theological issues raised by rapidly advancing technology.
Dr Richard Gunton
Dr Richard Gunton is a Senior Lecturer in Data Science at Queen Mary University of London. He studied at the University of Cambridge, before completing his PhD at the University of Leeds. His scholarship in ecology has led him to institutions all over the world, including the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (France) and Charles Darwin University (Australia). Back in the UK, he began to work on environmental ethics and policy evaluation, financial modelling consultancy, and most recently as a Senior Lecturer in Statistics at the University of Winchester.
Resilience and Resistance: How to Thrive in Postgraduate Studies
We held a second encouraging gathering in June, at which we were pleased to welcome Prof George Grimble (Emeritus Professor of Medicine at University College London). Prof Grimble used insights from his own career to share how to thrive as a postgraduate student at the outset of an academic career.
Thursday 12 June 2025, 7-9pm | Drayton House, UCL
Speaker: Prof George Grimble
George Grimble is Emeritus Professor of Medicine at University College London, with expertise in clinical and public health nutrition. He joined UCL in 2008 and developed new postgraduate programmes in nutrition, having previously created Europe’s first course in Clinical Nutrition at Roehampton University in 1994, and headed up research in gastroenterology and nutrition in the NHS.
Serving God as a Christian in Academia
Tuesday 11 February 2025, 7-9pm | Drayton House, UCL
At our first London seminar, we were joined by around 30 postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers from around the city. Prof Richard Buggs (Professor of Evolutionary Genomics at Queen Mary University of London and Kew Gardens) spoke on ‘Serving God as a Christian in Academia’, and there was time for students and postdocs to connect with others from the same university over refreshments.
Speaker: Prof Richard Buggs
Richard Buggs is a Professor of Evolutionary Genomics at Queen Mary University of London and Kew Gardens. His work as an evolutionary biologist and molecular ecologist focuses on understanding how plants, especially trees, adapt in response to climate change and new pests and pathogens. He studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, before completing his DPhil at the University of Oxford. He joined Queen Mary University of London after working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Florida.
Spring Conference 2025:
Exploring the Human: As Colleagues and Teachers
Date and location
Saturday 22 February | St John’s Old Divinity School, Cambridge
Theme and focus
This conference will be more vocational in its focus. It will build on the autumn Study Day and explore how our commitment to a robustly Christian account of the human should shape our attitude to our teaching, pastoral, and collegial responsibilities.
Speakers include Prof Karen Coats (Director of the Centre for Research in Children’s Literature, University of Cambridge), Prof Brad Green (Professor of Theological Studies, Union University and Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) and Dr Cecilia Brassett (University Clinical Anatomist, University of Cambridge).
While the Autumn Study Day was a smaller event for current postgraduate students and early career academics only, the Spring Conference will also be open to other students, academics and those in university ministries.
More information will follow nearer the time – save the date now.
Conference Programme
- 09.30 - Arrival and registration
- 10.00 - Welcome and vision
- 10.15 - Dr Tom Simpson presents key ideas from his book
- 10.45 - Q&A Session
- 11.00 - Coffee break
- 11.30 - Interdisciplinary responses from academics
- 13.00 - Lunch (provided in the Round Church)
- 14.00 - Seminars for discipline clusters
- 15.15 - Panel discussion
- 16.15 - Concluding remarks
- 16.30 - Close and optional pub trip
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