Bye-Fellows to boost teaching at Catz

Monday 19 February 2024

St Catharine’s is welcoming applications for new Bye-Fellow appointments which have been created to enhance the world-class teaching and academic opportunities available to students from October 2024.

These new appointments are open to postdoctoral researchers or experienced supervisors who can offer at least 40 hours (70 hours in the Medical Sciences Tripos) of undergraduate supervision annually, thereby boosting the undergraduate teaching already provided by the Fellows of St Catharine’s. While further calls for applicants are expected in future years, this initial call is focused on the following subjects for which additional teaching support has been requested by Directors of Studies:

Subject	Teaching area
Engineering	(one or more of the following) fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, electrical engineering, electronics, information, control, mathematics
History	modern British history
Mathematics	(one or more of the following) statistical modelling, mathematics of machine learning, automata and formal languages, topics in analysis
Medical Sciences	biochemistry or physiology
Natural Sciences (Biological)	biochemistry or cellular biology
Natural Sciences (Physical)	physics and/or mathematics for natural scientists
Psychological and Behavioural Sciences	social, developmental, and experimental psychology

In addition to contributing to the education of undergraduates, Bye-Fellows are expected to participate in the academic life of the College, for example, by taking part in subject societies, college events, dinners, and celebrations, or interviewing candidates for admission to undergraduate courses. Benefits offered by St Catharine’s to Bye-Fellows will include full membership of the Senior Combination Room, use of all College facilities, and dining rights of three meals per week all year round.

Dr Holly Canuto (2020), Fellow and Senior Tutor at St Catharine’s, said:

“The role of Bye-Fellow is intended to enrich academic life for both the College and the postholder. These appointments can be a springboard into a college community and a great opportunity to work with our students and Fellows. The model is new to St Catharine’s but has been well tested across Cambridge. I secured a Bye-Fellow position at Fitzwilliam College when I was based in a research institute earlier in my academic career; this enabled me to keep my research going in parallel to teaching undergraduates and taking part in college life. It was an amazing introduction to Collegiate Cambridge and I’m thrilled now to offer this opportunity to others!”

How does a Bye-Fellow compare to a Fellow?

	Fellow	Bye-Fellow
Initial term	Three years (with re-election subject to a qualifying College/University of Cambridge position)	One year (with extension subject to the College’s agreement)
Status	Trustee	Not a trustee
Voting	Votes at Governing Body meetings	No vote and does not attend Governing Body meetings
Affiliation	Must hold a qualifying College/University of Cambridge position	No prior College/University of Cambridge affiliation required