Join St Edmund’s College as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate

If you are currently a PDRA at Cambridge, or are about to begin as one, you might like to consider joining a college.  As a collegiate university, many of the University’s social, teaching and extra-curricular functions are based in its 31 constituent colleges.  All students (both graduate and undergraduate) are required to be members of a college and many live, dine and receive teaching in the college.  In addition to having several hundred student members, colleges also have senior members including PDRAs, tenured academics, senior university staff and a range of other professional people with other connections to the college.  Senior members are offered the benefits of the college (e.g. formal dining, use of facilities) and in return often volunteer to assist with the running of the college, for example teaching, tutorial responsibilities, helping with student clubs, though this is not a requirement.

Colleges within the university vary in what they offer to PDRAs specifically, but St. Edmund’s prides itself on being a very inclusive college that is equally welcoming to all its senior members.  As a mature college, all our students are 21 or over and we have a strong egalitarian ethos: for example, at formal dinners there is no “high table” and you might sit next to anyone from undergraduate students to professors.  We are also a very family-friendly college. A long standing tradition at St. Edmund’s is that partners/spouses are automatically considered welcome in college and may attend most college events, such as formal dinners, which is not the norm amongst colleges.  We have regular activities for children of our members including family lunches on Sundays followed by play sessions (the St. Teddy’s club) and a visit from Father Christmas once a year.  It is often said that we’ve exchanged “high table” in favour of “high chairs”!  We are an international community with members from over 70 countries.  Whatever your circumstances, you will never feel alone at Eddies.

Aside from joining a friendly, inclusive community there are a range of other benefits of joining St. Edmund’s as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate (PDRA) member.  You will have the opportunity to attend formal dinners held twice each week (think suits, gowns, long tables, candles and a 3-course meal with wine) and you can bring up to 3 guests. You can also eat at the college cafeteria (breakfast, lunch, dinner Mon-Fri, brunch Saturday, roast lunch Sunday).  For both formal and cafeteria dining, you will be given a certain free allowance that renews each term.  You can attend our regular dinners for PDRA members to encourage networking with senior academics from the university. You can join college clubs (rowing, rugby, chapel choir, etc).  You can also book cheap guest accommodation, and enjoy our quiet orchard and playing field in central Cambridge.

If you would be interested in applying to join St. Edmund’s College as a PDRA member, please email Dr Miriam Wagner at emw36@cam.ac.uk

Post-Doctoral Research Associates
Mr Harry Bevins
Dr Natanael Bolson
Dr Giorgio Caselli
Dr Thomas Caton Harrison
Dr Alicja Dabrowska
Dr Andrea Degasperi
Dr Simone Ferrari Toniolo
Dr Andrew Lim
Dr Vanessa López-Barquero
Dr Paul Noorlander
Dr Hadi Putra
Dr MaryStella Ramirez Guerra
Mr Javier Ruiz del Rio
Dr Javad Shamsi
Benjamin Woolf, FRSA