Happy St David's Day/ Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus to our Welsh community! 🐉 #StDavidsDay #DyddGŵylDewi #UniversityOfCambridge #Wales

The teams have just been announced for The Varsity Rugby Matches and we are thrilled to see our very own George, Elina and Amelie will be playing for the #lightblues! 🏉 Returning Blue George commented; "Coming off the back of such a historic victory last year, this year we have had to work really hard to make sure there is no complacency amongst the squad. Our captain, Fergus has worked hard to instil this in us and I feel we are now in a strong position to win the first three-peat since 2007 and write our own names in history." George and Elina will take on the #darkblues at the StoneX Stadium on 8 March, and Amelie will face them as part of the CURUFC Jaguars (women’s 3rd XV) in Cambridge on 2 March. Elina told us “I’m very excited to be starting 10 for the Blues rugby Varsity team. After bringing home the trophy whilst captaining the 2nd XV last year, we’ll be hoping for the same result this year at StoneX Stadium in London" Amelie says "It's extremely good fun. Everyone at CURUFC (players and coaches) are lovely. I've never enjoyed a sport so much before - if you are at all curious, TRY IT OUT!" 👇 Make sure you get your tickets! – link in bio. @curufc @camunisport @cambridgeuniversity @saracensofficial

Looking back at a jam-packed LGBT+ History Month (and beyond) at King's: 🏳️‍🌈Alongside a selection of borrowable LGBT+ titles, our Library team also curated an exhibition of rare books from the Library’s special collections on the theme of ‘Activism and Social Change’ the official theme of this year’s LGBT+ History Month. 🏳️‍🌈Our students enjoyed the LGBT+ Formal, with special guest speaker Steven Friel, CEO of legal-finance company Woodsford, and Chair of the Cambridge LGBT+ Alumni Association. 🏳️‍🌈Following on from his successful talk as part of the @cambridgeuniversity LGBT+ History Month activities, our own Simon Goldhill will be discussing his new book "Queer Cambridge" in College on 13 March. #LGBTHistoryMonth

The winners have been announced of this year’s Rylands Art Prize.🖌️ This year, College Chef Adrian and King's student Teddy share the first prize for their respective oil and multimedia works. King’s Fellow Sophie Pickford, who judged this year's competition says; “King’s is known as a creative college, but the powerful range of works that greet you when you enter the room speak to something deeper; a self-reflexivity and astonishing emotional range that highlight our wonderfully imaginative community.” 👉 Read more: external link #RylandsArtPrize #ArtCompetition #CreativeCommunity #ArtInCollege

Rounding off our week of Halfway Hall stories is Petra: "Life at Cambridge can be so busy and fast-paced but I've found a sense of home at King's. Waking up with the view of the Chapel from my window has become a bizarrely familiar sight. I have found a community through taking part in sports and societies in College. I’ve loved playing football and helping start the King’s Women’s Run Club as well as being part of the Christian Union (CU). Sport and CU are always a highlight of my week and a way to unwind, I love the chill, social vibes of college sport. There are so many opportunities in King's, last term I received a travel grant from College and was able to go to Spain to compete in the U23 SkyRunner world series. 🏃‍♀️ Academically, I have landed in the Earth Sciences department after a broader first year of Natural Sciences. Rocks have proven to be quite interesting, and I have loved going on field trips with my course mates to beautiful, mountainous places. 🏔️ Halfway through is an exciting place to be, my time has been filled with so many rich experiences, I’m looking forward to what the second half has to hold." #HalfwayHall #WoahWereHalfwayThere #CambridgeUniversity

Also taking part in Halfway Hall this week is Trinity: "This should not be my Halfway Hall. In fact, I attended last year’s too. As a student returning from intermission, my experience at King’s has been far from usual; however, it is within my experience returning from the near nine-month gap in my education that I am most proud of. Re-adjusting to College life the second time around was not easy. Though I was back and re-integrated within my friendship group, Department, and student societies, I still struggled amidst the dizzying return of formals, seminars, socials, supervisions, and a self-structured life. With this uneasiness, I embarked on the King’s Summer Research Programme. I worked with Dr. Katie Campbell (King's Research and Graduate Fellow) on paleoclimate research in Central Asia. I had previously heard Katie lecture on the archaeology of Mongol conquest, and this led to my interest in the issues of the archaeology of nomadic people, trade, and cultural exchange. Climate science is highly relevant today and it was a skill I wanted to improve for my own archaeological research. Nevertheless, starting a week after Easter term on a meta-data analysis of complex climate data from Iran to Xinjiang was a challenge. Little did I know that this project would inspire the most fruitful part of my Cambridge journey thus far. The research I undertook as part of the programme was incredibly useful, if challenging! began to engage more critically with the literature and my own methodologies. With Katie’s support, I continued my work following the end of my programme and in December, with the help of a King’s Travel Grant, I backpacked from King’s to Istanbul before flying to Kazakhstan to visit the very lakes and paleo-archives I had been studying [pictured]. Though I am still preparing my research for presentation, this programme has by far been the most intellectually challenging and pivotal moment in my academic life. It has made me more confident in my ability to work through spreadsheets, code for statistical analysis, and sharing my research to non-specialists. " #HalfwayHall #WoahWereHalfwayThere #CambridgeUniversity

Also marking the halfway point in his degree is second-year Freddie. "My time at King’s has gone by so quickly, yet every day has been filled with something new and exciting! Even just walking through the college, the sight of the towering chapel never fails to amaze me. One of the things I love about King’s is its community - I have made friends that I can bake amazing treats with and even got to present them at a bake-off event the college hosted! 🍰 I joined the tennis team at the start of this year and love playing to relax after lectures and studying, as well as playing some college games on the weekends. I am also preparing for the Cambridge Half Marathon, which is a new challenge for me and I’m really looking forward to running through King’s college! 🎾🏃 King’s has consistently made me feel academically supported, and allowed me to explore my subject, which is chemical engineering and biotechnology. I’m really enjoying the coursework this year and feel that I have been put in a position to excel creatively and academically. I am grateful to the college for allowing me to explore my interests and to share my experiences and hope that I can continue to make the most of Cambridge!' #HalfwayHall #WoahWereHalfwayThere #CambridgeUniversity

Next up in our Halfway Hall series is Frank, a second year economics student and Treasurer of this year's King's Affair. "My time at King’s so far has been an amazing journey filled with unique opportunities and wonderful people. I’ve had the chance to learn in some pretty cool settings—such as attending supervisions in the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of Economics, John Maynard Keynes’ roomset. Even though our May Bumps results weren’t exactly what we hoped for, I was happy to pick up rowing during my first year at King’s and being part of @kingscollegeboatclub was a highlight of my first year. Last summer King’s provided the necessary funding for me to join a research group as part of the Summer Research Programme. This opened my eyes to the world of academic research and the financial sector, helping shape my career decisions. Being involved in @kingsaffair as Treasurer has been a fantastic chance to contribute to our community. As I look forward to the second half of my degree, I’m grateful for all the support, opportunities, and friendships I’ve made here at King’s." #HalfwayHall #WoahWereHalfwayThere #CambridgeUniversity

Tonight our undergraduate students will come together for Halfway Hall - the official mid-point of their degrees. Over the next few days we'll be meeting some of these students, like Beni, second year Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS) student and @KCSUcambridge President. 📚🌐 "Approaching the halfway point is a wonderful opportunity for both self-reflection and an acceptance of the challenges that lie beyond. King’s has not just been a welcoming community for me, but one that demands continued change and adaption, both as a student and also as a person. Learning from the diverse tapestry of views, backgrounds and identities has been an astounding privilege, one that has no doubt shaped me for the better. Even with British roots, coming from abroad was an intimidating experience cut short by the pure warmth I was met with from the very first meal shared with my college family. The people and the community are what make me such a proud Kingsman. The E-Lab residential was a great chance to learn about something very distant from my normal academic work; the formals give me a chance to enjoy Guido’s wine collection; the plethora of societies that students voluntarily give their time to provide a range of activities that tear me from the clutches of the beautiful library. My heartfelt thanks goes out to those who have made my daily life a joy. As a student of HSPS, building bridges and creating dialogue has come to pervade more than just my degree; I have been lucky enough to work with the wonderfully engaged students at King’s, listening, communicating and working through college governance with the KCSU. I hope to encourage the passion that students have for key issues during my presidency, using my capabilities to channel their concerns into reality. [continued in comments] #HalfwayHall #WoahWereHalfwayThere #CambridgeUniversity