A conversation for staff and students at Durham University - contributions welcome, opinions wanted.

Welcome to August’s edition of Dialogue magazine. We're looking back at Summer Congregation where we said a fond farewell to Sir Thomas Allen who took his final bow as Chancellor of the University.

You can also find out about: the rare discoveries in Athenian history involving researchers from our Department of Classics and Ancient History; how one of our colleagues in CIS will represent England at the next World Kickboxing Championships in Hungary; and how one of our PhD students has been awarded the prestigious title of 2022 Laureate for the Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music.

Dialogue has been in conversation with Kay Gelder, a Food Service Supervisor at Van Mildert College, who is retiring after more than 35 years working there.

One of our University interns also reveals the secret history of chocolate. What’s not to like?

You can start a conversation about any of our articles in Dialogue, share our stories via social media and comment on your favourite articles. If you'd like to share a story with us, please email: dialogue@durham.ac.uk

Dialogue highlights

A look back at congregation

We’ve loved following this year’s congregation ceremonies, and keeping you updated with the moments that make us all proud to be part of the Durham community.

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Durham twinned with Ukrainian University

We’ve been twinned with Zaporizhzhia National University (ZNU) in Ukraine as part of an initiative that sees UK and Ukrainian universities matched to share resources and support.

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Discover my world

Higgs boson 10 years after its discovery

Ten years ago, scientists announced the discovery of the Higgs boson, which helps explain why elementary particles (the smallest building blocks of nature) have mass.

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People can recognise emotions of other people in face masks

Leading psychologists from our Department of Psychology have discovered in their latest research that people can identify emotions and traits of other people wearing a face mask when the whole body is visible.

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Rare discoveries in Athenian history

Researchers from our Department of Classics and Ancient History have discovered an unpublished Athenian gravestone in a museum in the North East of England.

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Durham inspires

Staff learning and development at Durham

To increase job satisfaction, productivity and career progression routes, and create communities of practice within which colleagues can develop their professional expertise, are just some of the goals of our University Strategy.

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Celebrating sustainability this summer

On Thursday 16 June, we were delighted to be joined by a range of student groups, researchers, sustainable businesses and charities to celebrate the annual Greenspace Festival.

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Get on your clean, green, mobility machine

This year, Cycle to Work Day reaches its 10th birthday.

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Durham student becomes Canadian Music Laureate

PhD Music student Rita Ueda has been awarded the prestigious title of 2022 Laureate for the Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music. Offered by the Azrieli Foundation, this is the most coveted title for composers in Canada.

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CIS colleague to represent England

Huge congratulations to our Computing & Information Services (CIS) colleague Adrian Betchette, Senior IS Specialist, who has been awarded Bronze in the International Combat Organisation (ICO) British Championships which took place in Birmingham in May.

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University internship reveals secret history of chocolate

Who likes chocolate? It’s probably easier to ask who doesn’t like chocolate.

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Insights

A family affair

The Catering Team at Van Mildert College doesn’t just regard themselves as like a family; it really is a family affair, with many mothers and their sons and daughters also working there over the years.

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A fond farewell to Sir Thomas Allen

Opera star Sir Thomas Allen took his final bow as Chancellor here at Durham University during this year’s Summer Congregation.

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Contribute

Do you have a story to share? We want to hear from you! Get in touch via dialogue@durham.ac.uk.