Trinity Term 2026 Events Programme announced

The Trinity Term 2026 events programme kicks off in Week 3 with a a series of talks showcasing different AI tools for historical research, and discuss methods of archival discovery, document analysis and transcription, and data visualisation. AI Tools for Historical Research on Thursday 14 May (17.00-19.00, FREE) looks at how is AI transforming the way historians uncover the past. Speakers include Javier Cha (Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities in the Department of History at the University of Hong Kong), Giles Bergel (Senior Researcher in Digital Humanities, Visual Geometry Group, University of Oxford) and Miguel Arana-Catania (Senior Research Software Engineer, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Digital Scholarship @Oxford). The event will be moderated by Glenn Roe (Professor of Digital Scholarship and French Literature & Senior Research Fellow at Jesus College, University of Oxford). The talks will be followed by a drinks reception. Hosted in partnership with Digital Scholarship@Oxford. 

On Wednesday 20 May, the Hub hosts an Extended Reality Film Experience: Living in Water (Sessions available at 14.00, 14.45 and 15.30, FREE)

For some, climate change is not a feared future development, but an everyday reality. Enter an extended reality (XR) film experience to meet the coastal community of Isla Tibaguin in the Philippines, where global warming and excessive groundwater use are causing cities to sink. Here, the climate crisis shows up in small but disruptive ways nearly every day; water rising higher than chairs and tabletops, and feet that are never fully dry. Nearly daily flooding reshapes routines, health, and dignity, and dictates how people can move, work, and live. ‘Living in Water’ is an immersive 360/XR experience that places you inside a reality where climate change unfolds in slow motion. Each session lasts 45 minutes. This event is a collaboration between the XR Lab, Atlantic Institute and the Cheng Kar Shun Digital Hub programme. 

On Friday 22 May, we are delighted to welcome back the Institute For Ethics in AI for its fifth Annual Lecture in partnership with the Digital Hub Programme. Professor Cass R Sunstein from Harvard Law School will explore how artificial intelligence can achieve some of the core goals of a liberal society, by overcoming human error that produces discrimination and unfairness, but also how AI cannot overcome problems of randomness and contingency, which are core concerns of liberal thinking with respect to justice. The lecture will be chaired by Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt. This event is currently fully booked, any available waiting list spots will be advertised here.

In partnership with Ox Tech Week and the Jesus Entrepreneur Network, we are delighted to invite you to a day-long forum where AI meets entrepreneurship. The AI Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum 2026 on Thursday 28 May is an opportunity for founders, investors, and the innovation community to come together to explore emerging ventures, hear investor perspectives, learn from founder stories, and join a structured networking reception designed to help like-minded people connect, learn, and grow together. Features a keynote from Jesus College Principal Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt. 

In his last public lecture as Principal of Jesus College, Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt will be giving the Digital Hub Annual Lecture on Tuesday 2 June (18.00-20.00, FREE). Sir Nigel will be discussing the 'Silicon Spires: Oxford in the Age of AI'. His talk will explore emerging themes in the application, ethics and governance of artificial intelligence, with a specific focus on the Oxford ecosystem. The event will start with a drinks reception at 6pm, and the talk will be chaired by Professor Jim Naismith (Head of MPLS Division and Professorial Fellow at Jesus College). Book tickets here.

On Thursday 11 June, the Hub hosts the Scale Up Conference 2026 (09.30-17.30, £45-£65). This one-day conference explores the scientific and technical challenges of translating laboratory-scale discoveries into viable industrial-scale processes. Scaling up represents a crucial, yet often neglected, aspect of scientific innovation. Many researchers discover the limitations of “It worked in the lab” only years after leaving academia. Embedding scale-up considerations into early-stage research can greatly enhance the societal (sustainability, world health, etc.) and industrial impact of academic discoveries. The in-person Scale Up Conference 2026 explores the scientific and technical challenges of translating laboratory-scale discoveries in chemistry, biology, materials science, and pharmaceuticals, into viable industrial-scale processes. The event includes a keynote - ‘AI for Scale-up Challenges’ – by Antonio Del Rio Chanona (Imperial College London), and fireside chat - ‘How to scale-up the manufacturing of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine’ with Sandy Douglas (University of Oxford). Plus parallel speaker tracks on scale-up challenges in Biology and Chemistry. Ticket price includes lunch, tea breaks and wine reception. 

Later in the day, the Lab Automation Showcase (17.30-19.30, FREE) discusses lab automation practices. Scaling up of biological and chemical processes is crucial for delivering promising new products to the market. Collecting the right data, high signal low noise, is crucial and laboratory automation is increasingly enabling reliable and reproducible experimental workflows and generation of high-signal, standardised datasets that inform scale-up decisions. This event, in partnership with the London LabAutomation Community, includes lightning talks and brings together lab automators, scientists, decision makers and vendors from the Oxford ecosystem for an evening of productive exchange and ecosystem building. Concludes with networking over drinks. Book tickets for Lab Automation Showcase here.