COP 26

Last year the School organised a series of initiatives to mark the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

This included an Interfaith Pilgrimage, the Alexandra Duff Lecture, and the creation of two banners, each 22 meters long, that were suspended from the towers of the College.

Forty faith and community groups, as well as students and staff contributed patches to the design on the theme of Creation Care.

Principal’s Medal

In November 2021, Dr Sara Parvis and Dr Emma Wild-Wood were joint winners of a Principal’s Medal – an award that recognises their exceptional efforts in providing pastoral care to students during the pandemic, and in shaping a welcoming community for the School’s postgraduate students.

Sam Nwokoro

PhD student Sam Nwokoro won Student Tutor of the Year in the 2021 Edinburgh University Students’ Association Awards. The students who nominated Sam praised his ability to create “an extremely open, non-judgmental atmosphere where everyone felt comfortable expressing their opinions.”

Helen Bond FRSE

Our Head of School Prof. Helen Bond has been appointed to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh – a significant honour that recognises the broad social impact of her academic work.

Shaw Scholarships

As a result of a generous legacy donated by our former Dean and Principal Rev. Prof. Bill Shaw, we have recently launched two fully-funded PhD scholarships – fees and maintenance – to start in the coming academic year.

Schools Outreach

This year has seen the relaunch of our Schools Outreach Programme coordinated by Dr Linden Bicket. Dr Paul Fuller has been appointed to promote the Edinburgh Buddhist Studies Network within schools. Alongside a team from the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, Dr Hannah Holtschneider has developed Points of Arrival – a teaching resource on immigrants and refugees who came to Scotland to escape poverty, persecution and war.

Loyalty

Prof. Mona Siddiqui and Dr Nathanael Vette have been awarded a grant by the Issachar Fund for a two-year project on ‘Loyalty and Fidelity: Christian and Muslim Perspectives’ – an award that will enable international worships and publications exploring these themes. Alongside this, the School has continued to partner with the Issachar Fund and Edinburgh College of Art in awarding the Issachar Fund Art Prize. This year’s prize, on the theme of loyalty, was won by Yunji Zhang, a current MSc student at ECA.