Lord Mayor pays official visit to Birkbeck
Staff and students from across the university were on hand to provide an insight into their areas of work highlighting its academic and research scope and ways in which it is keeping pace with developments in the outside world.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Mayor Alastair King visited Birkbeck last week for a tour of Birkbeck which included the Immersive Learning Centre and Earth and Planetary Sciences facility, alongside winners from the university’s Pioneer programme for budding entrepreneurs.
Alastair King, the 696th Lord Mayor since November 2024, serves by default as Birkbeck’s deputy President. He also recently took up the role as Birkbeck’s Chair of Governors following two terms served by outgoing Governor, Sir Andrew Cahn.
Throughout the recent visit to Birkbeck, the Lord Mayor met with staff and students and commented: ““I had the pleasure of meeting various members of Birkbeck, all of whom shared with me the incredible work taking place at this wonderful learning institution. I have long recognised the impact of the University and the educational value it brings to so many sections of our society. Having recently taken up the post as Chair of Governors, I am looking forward to working with colleagues across the institution to contribute to the vision to broaden Birkbeck’s teaching and research capabilities and meet the learning needs of our wide-ranging student population.”
Professor Sally Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor, who led the tour, said, “I was delighted to host the Lord Mayor at the University to showcase some of what makes Birkbeck special. We are very much looking forward to working with Alastair more closely now he has taken up the role as our Chair of Governors.”
The tour of Birkbeck’s Earth and Planetary Sciences facility, led by Keyron Hickman-Lewis included an introduction to the ongoing research in astrobiology and planetary exploration, including studies of Earth’s earliest traces of life and extraterrestrial materials as well as some of the recent research projects by Birkbeck’s M.Sc. Astrobiology students.
Members of the Digital Education team, James Cull and Laurence Chater also welcomed the Lord Mayor to the Immersive Learning Centre, where they discussed the new virtual reality technology that has recently been installed and how it can be used by students across Birkbeck – from those studying climate change to theatre making. The team also shared with the Lord Mayor research into how humans might move in Mars’ gravity, using equipment from the neuroscience lab and Motion Capture (MoCap) suits, as well as the new Virtual Reality and Gaming Society.
The visit also included introductions to Pioneer Programme winners, Carissa Szczurowski (Best Business Pitch) and Marvin Afrane (Best Business Idea) and presentations from the Carena Institute for Sustainable Archaeologies, Creative Practice Lab and the Birkbeck Centre for Environment and Sustainability.