The 50th Anniversary of the TSU celebration
On 30 June and 1 July, we welcomed sixty past and present TSU staff, students and visiting researchers to St Anne’s College for a two-day celebration of the 50th anniversary of the TSU.
The first day had a more academic orientation with a series of reflections on the past and future of TSU. Former Director Phil Goodwin offered a keynote speech on past TSU’s research, emphasising achievements in the 20th century. He was followed by a panel, chaired by Jennie Middleton, with reflection on TSU DPhil research and what institutes like the TSU can do to enhance diversity among future cohorts of DPhil students and early career researchers.
The Vice Chancellor came by to offer her well wishes to the TSU, while the afternoon programme featured an interactive game and saw former Senior Researcher, Karen Lucas, offer her reflections on research on transport and social exclusion, a topic that has long featured prominently within the TSU’s research activities.
The second day had a stronger social character and consisted of a lunch for past and current staff, students and visitors as well as the professional services staff in the School of Geography and the Environment who support the TSU in many ways. Stand-up comedian and LSE climate researcher, Matt Winning, performed a tailored routine with pointed jokes about climate change and transport, which was well appreciated by the audience. They also enjoyed the overview of 50 years of TSU in photos put together with the help of Gordon Stokes, and the visualisation of former DPhil students’ views on their time at the TSU and career paths since graduation.
The anniversary event was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old colleagues and friends and to meet some of the people who were at the TSU. We certainly won’t wait with another anniversary celebration until the TSU has reached its (first) century, and hope to bring everybody together sometime in the coming years.
