A third student-led symposium took place on Monday 23 June 2025:Â Temporality and religion.
Divinity PhD students Imad Ahmed and Luke Wilkinson initiated the theme. They brought in assistance from Arwa Hanif Al-Qassim (a PhD student in Education) and Ferhat Kafali (an MPhil student on the Religion and Conflict pathway).
A co-written call for papers yielded more than 30 responses. This level of engagement was encouraging, but also required the convenor team to sift carefully and employ some creative solutions.
Some were invited to deliver 5-minute lightning papers in place of longer presentations. A decision was made to exclude those who were not current students, with some other proposals rejected due to weaker alignment with the theme.Â
Streams of activity
Student organisers evaluate and provide feedback to help the following year’s team. In 2024, it had proven challenging to balance time for discussion. That learning emboldened the 2025 organisers to set up parallel sessions, co-opting three different spaces at the Faculty of Divinity for panels focused on literature, modernity, and ritual. These streams were framed by joint opening and concluding panels, each somewhat philosophical in character.
Accounting for absences, the symposium featured 24 presentations—including one poster—drawing work from 9 different University of Cambridge faculties and departments.
Invited to provide feedback in the form of compliments, participants praised the creativity and sophistication of work shared, noted the generosity of questions and engagement during discussion, and celebrated the positive, encouraging atmosphere created by the convenors. Special mention goes to Lola, who incorporated numerous references to others’ papers within her 15-minute presentation—a well-timed close to the day.
Background to the eventÂ
In 2023, the Cambridge Interfaith Programme team initiated a summer symposium as an opportunity for students to share their research and hone their organisation skills. Realised as an offshoot of the Cambridge Interfaith Research Forum, these symposiums are organised by students with staff support.Â
A PDF copy of the Temporality and religion programme, including speaker’s abstracts, is available to download.
Want to get involved?
University of Cambridge students are encouraged to volunteer as organisers for the 2026 symposium. Preference may be given to those who are members of the Research Forum (normally postgraduates; third-year undergraduates may apply). Organising work typically begins in January.