Sandi Toksvig is going back to university for a very good reason
Sandi Toksvig is taking a break from broadcasting to go back to university. (Future Publishing via Getty/ Wiktor Szymanowicz)
Sandi Toksvig is putting her broadcasting and comedy career on pause to go back to university for a very noble cause.
The QI presenter has been invited to return to Cambridge University as part of the Department of Sociology’s new fellowship, The Q+ Fellowship.
Toksvig, who originally studied law, archaeology, and anthropology at Cambridge’s Girton College, has returned to school as the first participant of the new initiative, which allows LGBTQ+ alumni to return to uni for the purpose of developing a new research project.
The purpose of the Q+ Fellowship, according to Cambridge University, is to “build stronger links to the distinguished worldwide community of LGBTQ+ Cambridge alumni and to widen participation in the research and teaching activities of the university.”
For her project, named the Mappa Mundi project, Toksvig will create a digital “three-dimensional, interactive view of the globe” from the perspective of women’s positions, achievements, and struggles.
As part of the fellowship, Toksvig, who is married to Debbie Toksvig, will also host a number of events, workshops, and meetings on campus over the course of the academic year.
Toksvig’s return to academia means you probably won’t see much of her on your television screens for the foreseeable, as she buries her head in the books.
Meanwhile, Cambridge students will see plenty of her around the university’s hallowed halls.
Speaking on her return to school, Toksvig said: “I’m delighted to be returning to my old stomping ground of Cambridge to lead such an innovative project.
“This new Mappa Mundi project will be a three-dimensional, interactive view of the globe from a female perspective, with the goal of changing the world by learning to see it differently.
“It will be story-led, data-driven and allow women from all countries to present their stories, their hardships, and their triumphs.”
Simon, Lord McDonald of Salford, master of Christ’s College added: “Sandi Toksvig’s Q+ Fellowship comes at a vital time for both the college and the university communities as we continue to redefine learning, education and knowledge in the digital age.
“Thinking creatively about how we build publicly engaged and inclusive college communities is essential to the delivery of world-leading teaching and research, as well as excellence in education and scholarship.”
And, the founding director of the Q+ Fellowship, Professor Sarah Franklin said: “The Q+ Fellowship is dedicated to recognising the many extraordinary achievements of Cambridge’s LGBTQ+ alumni over many centuries and across the globe.
“It also aims to show that building partnerships through research and engaging ever more inclusive audiences is an important way we can fulfil the University’s core mission.”
