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Welcome to the Summer 2012 issue of our e-Newsletter, designed to keep you up to date with courses, events and other activities at the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education (ICE).

Course highlights this Summer

Apply now for 2012/13 Certificates and Diplomas - *bursaries and student loans available*
We are now accepting applications for our one and two-year Undergraduate Certificates, Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas starting in October 2012.

This year we're offering a number of new qualifications, including Diplomas in Coaching and in English Literature, and an Advanced Diploma in Philosophy. As of 2012, our Advanced Diplomas will be taught over two years, giving extra project-based support and making it easier for students to combine study with other commitments.

If you are new to higher education, new to ICE, or if you're a state-funded teacher, you could be eligible for an ICE bursary award. You will also be able to pay your fees in instalments, and this year for the first time you will have access to part-time student loans if you're studying for your first university qualification.

Online courses beginning in September 2012
Our next tranche of online courses begins on 17 September, with courses on ancient Greece, biographical writing, psychology, and the medieval village landscape. Online courses last seven weeks and you can try out a free 'taster' before you enrol.

Weekends at Madingley Hall: new courses for 2012-13
Our new brochure of weekend courses at Madingley Hall is now available, giving details of more than 150 courses taking place between now and June 2013. As well as the new 2013 weekends, we're pleased to announce a number of additions to the 2012 programme, including seven new courses on 9-11 November on subjects ranging from flash fiction to evolutionary biology.

Madingley Weekly Programme: 2013 courses announced
Following the success of the 2012 programme, we are pleased to announce a new series of five-week courses for January to May 2013. Once again, much of the programme is multi-disciplinary, with titles including 'How science works', 'Wild Madingley' and 'Apparitions: ghosts, angels and demons in modern Britain'.

Career and professional development opportunities
Our Coaching programme is set to expand this year, with a new Diploma complementing the popular Certificate course, and Executive Coaching Online providing an opportunity to study 'anytime, anywhere'. Meanwhile, if you're involved in property investment, look out for our Investment Education Programme, a series of professional development courses delivered in London.

In May 2012 we hosted a delegation from the Shanghai government for a training programme on Financial Innovation, Risk Prevention and Control, delivered by a mix of academics and City practitioners. If you're interested in working with us to create a bespoke training course for your organisation, contact our Professional Studies team.

Summer Schools update
Our 2012 Summer Schools are now well under way, with students from around 50 countries joining us for some 150 courses this year. Our new Ancient Empires programme has been launched to great acclaim, while joint lectures have brought students together to hear about such diverse topics as the ceremonial traditions at the University, the role of the British monarchy, materials science, and 'erasing memories'.


Academic news

Common people: the origins of 'Britishness'
It's not a nice cup of tea, an insistence on orderly queuing, or even losing bravely. In this research feature, Dr Susan Oosthuizen, ICE's University Senior Lecturer in Historic Environment, argues that the essence of Britishness is embedded in the sharing of common land between early communities.

Madingley Minds: Turing, WWII, marshmallows and the Devil
Madingley Minds is a new blog where academics from the Institute of Continuing Education write about their research, their teaching and what inspires them. Find out why a 'pardon' for Alan Turing is inappropriate, how WWII prisoners used their Red Cross parcels, how marshmallows can illustrate fundamental concepts in material science, and what happened when the Devil came to Madingley Hall...

Events at Madingley Hall

Madingley Lectures: new speakers announced for Autumn 2012
We are pleased to announce our next series of free Madingley Lectures. On 8 October, Professor Andrew Balmford will give a talk entitled 'Nature's glass: half-full or half-empty?', then on 19 November, Professor Colin McGinn will speak on 'The science of philosophy'. Admission is free and you can book your place online or by phoning +44 (0)1223 746212.

You can watch videos of previous Madingley Lectures on our website - with speakers including Lord Rees, David Spiegelhalter and Ann Cotton OBE.

Festival of Ideas: free events this Autumn
ICE will once again be taking part in the Cambridge Festival of Ideas in 2012 with a varied programme of free events, including an Open Afternoon at Madingley Hall on Sunday 4 November 2012. We will be taking bookings from 12 September 2012.

Madingley Hall Summer Ball - Saturday 11 August 2012
This year's annual Madingley Hall Summer Ball will take place on Saturday 11 August 2012. Join us from 7.00pm for an evening packed with live entertainment, good food and drink, and fantastic games and activities. Dance the night away to live music from the Umbrella Big Band, and enjoy raffles and garden games in aid of the Arthur Rank Hospice. Tickets cost just £40 including supper and wine reception, and accommodation is available.

Contact us

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about this newsletter, please drop us a line at news@ice.cam.ac.uk.