Human Resources Division
Springboard for Undergraduates
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Trainers
There will be two trainers on each programme. All the trainers are experienced as teachers/trainers and are familiar with and understand the Cambridge system very well.
Litsa Biggs
I did an undergraduate degree in Physics and Philosophy and a PhD in Astrophysics, both at the University of Oxford. I then decided to leave academia and started working in University administration (still with Oxford), first in the undergraduate admissions office and then in central administration. I also became involved in delivering training to University staff, and wrote and delivered courses on presentation skills, telephone skills, equal opportunities and admissions interviewing for tutors. I completed the CIPD's Certificate in Training Practice in January 2006. In February 2006 my husband and I moved to Cambridge, where I worked in the Planning and Resource Allocation Office until June 2007. I now work in the Board of Graduate Studies, where I am Head of Admissions. I trained to be a Springboard trainer in September 2006, and really enjoyed delivering the programme in 2006–07. My main hobby is dancing of different kinds — my husband and I were married in 2000 and met while on Oxford University's Ballroom and Latin American dance team.
Nicky Blanning
Nicky Blanning became a Springboard Trainer for Undergraduates in July 2000, having previously been a helper for a number of years. She is Head of the University's Accommodation Service, and has followed a varied and interesting career path both before and after graduation. She has completed a Higher Certificate in Accommodation Management as part of a Distance Learning programme organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing. Nicky is a keen swimmer and tennis player. She also undertakes voluntary work, and is Chairman of the Trustees for the Foundation of Edward Storey, a local charity. Nicky has two children, Tom and Lucy.
Carolin Crawford
I have been both an undergraduate (maths) and a postgraduate (PhD) student at Cambridge University, and a research Fellow in Colleges both here and at Oxford. I work in Astronomy; my research concentrates on carrying out and interpreting observations of extra-galactic objects using a wide range of telescopes and satellites. I am also the Outreach Officer at the Institute of Astronomy, and a College Lecturer at Emmanuel College. I took part in the first Springboard programme in Cambridge University in 1992, and have been involved since as both a speaker, and as a helper for several of the programmes. I have been taking undergraduate Springboard programmes annually since 2000.
Alison Maguire
I was both an undergraduate (natural sciences/chemistry) and PhD student at Cambridge University and studied part time at the University of London (MSc in Clinical Microbiology) during my first ‘post-doctoral’ position in the (then) Public Health Laboratory Service. I came back to Cambridge University as a Research Associate in the Department of Medicine in 1999. I have been involved in undergraduate teaching here in Cambridge since 1994 (as supervisor and demonstrator) and have also been a Module Leader for a Distance Learning MSc course at Anglia Polytechnic University. After working as a Recruitment Officer for the University's Women in Science Engineering and Technology Initiative (WiSETI) for 2 years, I was appointed as part time Research Administrator in the Department of Geography in 2005. I spend the rest of the week looking after 2 young children.